Yesterday we saw the dramatic dichotomy of Jesus being both fully God and fully man. We also have been concentrating quite a bit lately on the benefits of believing in Him and trusting our lives to Him, but what about the alternative? What happens if we choose not to live our lives by faith and instead practice unbelief? That is the warning in Chapter three of Hebrews. In the context of the day the author was still trying to reach the Jews who held Moses in such high esteem, but as we know Christ is greater than Moses, something that flew in the face of everything the Jews believed.
"3Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." – Hebrews 3:3-6
This is just a great comparison of Jesus and Moses and shows what place both served. Both played huge roles in the Bible (in the case of Jesus, duh) and were instrumental in shaping the faith of a people. Once again though, we see that Jesus is set up as the master. It is important that the author continued to state this fact as he was breaking down the traditions and beliefs of his day and setting up newer, better ones.
"12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. – Hebrews 3:12-13"
Look at how these verses supports verses 8 through 11 above them. Those verses are taken from Psalm 95 and reflect the state of the Israelites in the time of Moses. How are we to believe that Moses is greater than Christ when he rules in a time of such rebellion, but we are promised that faith in Christ will lead eventually to peace? Moses was unable to lead them to the rest that God had promised, but Christ is able to lead us to that rest.
What is the danger of unbelief, however? Well, as it says here in Hebrews, the danger is that our hearts can become hardened and we can turn ourselves away from God if we wait too long. We are warned here not to wait when we feel the pull of God on our hearts. This is true even if we have already committed our lives to Christ because we are still capable of being stubborn and unbelieving. If we hear God's call on our hearts it behooves us to react according to what that calling may be.
When I was getting ready to start college I had a choice to make. I felt that God was calling me to a life of working in the communications field, specifically sports writing and broadcasting, because it is something I had always wanted to do. I had always wanted to go to Purdue University as well, mostly because it is where my father went to school and because of its sports teams. If you know colleges, however, it is not the best for this type of work. When I was a senior in high school I had a great offer to attend another school, Bradley University, with most of my tuition paid for due to academic scholarships. This school was perfect for what I wanted to go in to, but I became stubborn. For various reasons I turned this offer and ended up at Purdue as an athletic training major. This major lasted all of three weeks for me as it became clear once I got there that it was not what God wanted of me. I remained at Purdue for four years and graduated with a degree in Communications and TV production, but I missed out on getting it from a better program.
My heart was hardened and I didn't believe, but God used it for good anyway. While there he turned me on to writing, and I was able to minor in creative writing. These classes started a spark that has led me to my passion of writing, even though I know I was lucky. I wish now I had not ignored God's call on my heart because it has cost me a lot, but I thankful I did not hear it too late.
TODAY'S QUESTIONS:
- Why is it important to compare Christ to Moses?
- Is it possible to still believe and unharden your heart?
- What value is there in trusting in God fully the first time?
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