Beware of Stubborn Delusions - Hebrews 3:1-19
How often do you get these spam phone calls? Seems like I get more than one every day now. I’ve learned not to answer, but now and then I still do. Do you ever get the calls where you hear only silence or the other end hangs up?
I recently learned that those calls are the initial attempt of scammers to see if the phone number is held by a real person. They get loads of phone numbers through hacking or some other means; then they use a computer to test the numbers and build a list of people to target with their scam.
Many people have been deceived or deluded by these crooks. A delusion has been described as “a false belief...based on an incorrect interpretation of reality.” The phone scammers want to trick you into believing that there is some important reason for you to supply your private financial information.
You might think, “Well, I know better. No scammer will deceive me.” And probably so. But the Scriptures tell us that we are naturally and frequently deceived by sin. We are prone to many delusions. Our hearts can become hard and stubborn toward God.
We believe that life apart from God is better, that autonomy from God is better, that disobedience is more satisfying, and that a life of trusting God is unrewarding, unfulfilling, and uncertain. That is the grand delusion of Satan; that is his primary scheme.
And yet, through faith in Jesus Christ, there is freedom from the many delusions of life. Through Christ, the delusion-producing power of sin over us is broken and we are able to know and obey God and demonstrate our trust in Him. This is why those who would follow Jesus must make every possible effort to resist the stubborn delusions of life and be determined to humbly trust God and live by faith.
No one wants to be fooled, to be tricked, to be delusional. But how can we avoid the scam? Hebrews chapter 3 addresses this. You can find an outline listed on page 6 of the WG. To resist stubborn delusions and humbly trust God, we must perceive the glory of Jesus, heed the warning of Jesus, and surrender your will to Jesus. So let’s look at each of these.
In the previous chapter of Hebrews, we saw that though Jesus became truly human, he is above all heavenly beings. He was and is fully God, yet he can empathize with us because he became fully human, bearing the full weight of temptation and suffering. The writer of Hebrews pleads with first-century Christians not to turn away from Jesus even as they endure persecution.
He stated at the beginning of chapter 1 that though God spoke in previous times by the prophets, he has now spoken to us by His Son. Chapter 3 seems to revisit that, because the writer launches into this comparison between Jesus and Moses, Moses being a great prophet of God and the mediator through whom ancient Israel received God’s law.
The writer appeals to his listeners with love and respect, he calls them “holy brothers...who share in a heavenly calling.” He tells them that in light of the priestly role of Jesus, who made an offering for sin and is able to help them in temptation, they should, verse 1 says, “consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”
In other words, they must perceive or understand Jesus; they must truly see Jesus. This is the only place in the NT where Christ is called “apostle” and that title highlights that Jesus was sent by the Father. He is the one in whom we believe, in whom we trust, and so we have confessed, with our mouths, faith in Jesus.
Now verse 2 says Jesus, “was faithful to him who appointed him just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.” “House” here refers not to the physical temple but to the people of God. The apostle Paul told the church in Corinth that believers are “God’s building.” Moses was appointed by God and he faithfully served the people of God. Jesus did this also, but moreso. Notice verse [3], “For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.”
A house can be a beautiful thing, but no house ever built itself. The same is true of God’s people, during both the Old covenant and New covenant eras. God is the builder. Look at verse [4] (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Obviously, the writer is saying that Jesus is God, Jesus is the builder.
And Jesus is greater than Moses. How so? Notice verse [5] Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, [6] but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.” To what things did Moses testify that were to be spoken later? The gospel of Jesus Christ. Moses in his role in receiving and communicating the law of God pointed to something greater to come, Someone greater, who was Jesus. The people of ancient Israel were God’s house, so to speak, and notice the rest of verse 6, “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
You may be familiar with the name Frank Lloyd Wright, great 20th century architect. Among his famous designs is a house about 90 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, PA known as Falling Water. The house was built partly over a waterfall. It has been called the best all-time work of American architecture. Smithsonian magazine named it one of 28 places to see before you die. It is a National Historical Landmark in the U.S.
But as amazing as the home is, with its beauty and detail, no one praises the house. They praise the builder, the designer, the architect. Moses was part of the house; he was part of the people of God. But Jesus is over the house, he is the builder. And so he alone deserves the glory.
If you and I would resist stubborn delusions about life and humbly trust God and live by faith, we must first perceive the glory of Jesus. Repeatedly the Scriptures speak of those who are “ever seeing but never perceiving,” never knowing God with an intimate, personal knowledge. Someone might say that to resist delusions about life you need to read the Bible, and pray,
and go to worship on the Lord’s Day, and be involved in the church. Those are excellent things, but they do you no lasting good if you do not perceive Jesus, if you do not see his glory with the eyes of your heart, if you do not understand the person and work of Jesus.
Therefore, we must look intently on Christ. We must think deeply about him and his gospel. It’s natural to think you must move on from Christ to greater things. That’s the scam. We must spend the rest of our lives exploring the implications of all Jesus has done, that we may see Jesus. We must perceive His glory, and also, that we may heed his warning.
The writer of Hebrews next quotes Psalm 95. He says, verse [7] Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,” and notice that he sees Psalm 95 as the words of God, “Today, if you hear his voice, [8] do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, [9] where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.” The people of ancient Israel rebelled many times, but specifically Psalm 95 refers to the rebellion at Rephidim. The people complained about not having water, and God gave them water through Moses striking a rock.
Notice verse [10], God says, “Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ The people didn’t like God’s decisions or His actions. The problem was they did not perceive the ways of God. In Isaiah 55, God says to the people, [8]...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Look at verse [11], God says, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” Those who rebelled against God did not enter the Promised Land of Canaan. We will see next Sunday that the “rest” provided in the Promised Land foreshadowed or pointed to an eternal rest for the people of God.
But notice the warning here based on God’s treatment of ancient Israel. Verse [12], the writer of Hebrews states, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” Obviously, this is a diagnosis of the problem in ancient Israel that day at Rephidim. They had evil, unbelieving hearts which led them to fall away from God. They didn’t understand the ways of God, so they didn’t perceive the glory of God. And the warnings were numerous.
Much of today’s preaching fails on multiple levels. Many preachers fail to call people to repentance, they fail to present the true Jesus, they fail to exalt God’s Word, they fail to put God at the center of all things rather than man. But also, much of today’s preaching fails to issue warnings. Warning is one of the primary functions of the preaching of the Word.
The Scriptures of the OT and NT are filled with the warnings of the Lord. If you look back at verse 1 of chapter 3, the writer calls his listeners “holy brothers...who share in a heavenly calling” and yet here he warns them to, “Take care;” they must see to it that, with the eyes of their hearts, they do not cultivate or develop a stubborn, faithless, untrusting heart toward the living God. Why “living” God? Well, that’s OT language. Repeatedly in the OT, God is described this exact way. He is living, over and against the dead gods of the nations.
Where have you been ignoring the warnings of Jesus? Do you remember a time when you ignored a clear warning? Beware. You are susceptible to many scams, scams not as obvious as these annoying phone calls we receive. The danger of stubborn delusions is that they cause you to think you’re right; you think you’re fine. When you’re being deceived, you can think you know God’s ways but your idea of who Jesus is and what He wants will not match the truth of His Word. Perceive his glory, heed his warning, and surrender your will.
Look with me at verse [13] But exhort one another every day,” the writer says, “as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. This process of hardening is literally being “made stubborn.” Becoming increasingly obstinate.
Can you be nonchalant with immorality and grow hard in your heart toward God? Yes. Certainly, those who are born again will persevere to the end. Christ cannot lose one. But only God can see the hearts of people. For preachers like myself, we comfort folks with the gospel of grace, but also, we warn people that if you do not bear fruit in keeping with true repentance, you should have no confidence that you are born again.
Notice verse [14] “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. [15] As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” You and I can see the visible church, all who have outwardly confessed faith in Jesus. Jesus sees the visible church, but also, he sees the invisible church.
Jesus recognized the true people of God. Not just those who have been baptized or those who have “asked Jesus into their hearts,” to borrow the phrase; Jesus recognizes those who are truly born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The covenant community will always have both. This was true in the OC community of ancient Israel, and is just as true in the NC community of the church today. This is just one of many points of continuity between OC and NC. In fact, this whole chapter of Hebrews testifies to the continuity of the one people of God. Continuity from Moses to Jesus, from ancient Israel to the church. Throughout redemptive history, the true people of God are the ones who perceive His glory, heed his warnings, and surrender their wills.
Is it possible to observe the glory of God in the covenant community and yet turn from God? Of course! Look at verse [16] For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? [17] And with whom was he [God] provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? [18] And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
Do you get the point? These people were with Moses and yet they rejected God. They saw the many glorious works of God and heard the magnificent Word of God, but they turned away. Why? Look at verse [19] So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” In other words, because of a lack of trust and faith.
Do you know that in the first century, at the time of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, the Jewish people had great confidence in their heritage as Jews. They were very proud of the OC sign of circumcision, in the names and status of their forefathers and the OT law of God, and they held up those things as proof that they knew God.
Then Jesus came on the scene and clarified what the OT actually taught, that what was necessary for salvation was genuine trust in God, authentic faith, true humility. It’s natural for people to put their confidence in the name of their church or pastor or denomination, or in their baptism, or in their public profession of faith, or in the faith of their parents or grandparents.
People look to all of those things. But you see, the Lord looks at the heart.
What does Jesus see when he looks at your heart? I’m sure he sees sin; doubts and fears and worries, lust and greed and selfishness. He sees more of your sin than even you can see. The Scriptures teach us that we are worse than we realize we are.
But does the Lord see surrender? Will you show the Lord surrender today? For thousands of years, the universal sign of surrender in battle has been the white flag. Will you wave the white flag to God the Son today? Regarding whatever way you have been resisting God, whatever hurts or questions you have, would you surrender your will to God?
If you would resist the stubborn delusions of life and humbly trust God and live by faith, you must surrender your will, you must surrender your ways and trust God’s ways. Romans 11 says, [33] “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
The ways of God are like the deepest places of the ocean, which even mankind with all our technology cannot explore. God’s wisdom cannot be fully comprehended by finite human understanding!
Have you been so delusional to think that you have plumbed the depths of God’s wisdom? Have you been scammed? Beware! And come to Jesus. Come to him who understands and who has mercy for you. Come to him who has been tempted like you and is able to help you. Come to him who has compassion on you and who has paid for every sin of His people. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Bow with me in prayer.