This snow and the salt on the roads wrecks havoc on our cars, doesn’t it? The places over our back wheels is slowly rusting away. The next car we get, I hope, has that protection over the wheels so this doesn’t happen. Rust slowly “chips away” the paint on a car. Like sin, rust is a corrosive power. Over time, it can remove the paint from our vehicles, just like sin can remove saving faith from our lives.
The Hebrew writer is trying to encourage Christians to think seriously about Jesus and our relationship with Him and just stay faithful! Let’s feed our spirits on Hebrews 3. I do not plan to study every single verse in this letter; some chapters will be too long for us to consider. But I will look at all of chapter 3.
CONSIDER JESUS – 3:1-6:
Christ is the Apostle of our confession and the High Priest of our confession. An “apostle” is someone sent on a special mission. It is very similar to our English word “missionary.” Jesus is the “apostle” sent from heaven, from the Father, with the Father’s message.
Jesus represents the Father to us; but He is also our “high priest.” The writer of Hebrews is going to use the expression “high priest” 17 times, and ultimately his point is going to be Jesus is our High Priest. In other words, not only does Jesus represent the Father to us, but He also represents us to the Father. Jesus is the only one who stands between us and the Father.
The author of Hebrews ends this passage by reminding his audience that they must “hold fast” to their confidence and their hope in order to ultimately inherit their home in heaven. Christians must remain steadfast in their faith and persevere in the hope of Christ to enjoy the promise of the consummation of that heavenly calling.
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEART – 3:7-11:
The psalmist is quoting from Psalm 95 and he is applying its message to Christians. “Do not harden your hearts.” That is the behavior the writer wants us to take away from this quotation because he quotes this verse again in verse 15. Do not harden your hearts. In other words, keep a humble heart and a submissive mind to the teachings of God.
Aldous Huxley, the twentieth-century English novelist and essayist said, “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach” (Aldous Huxley, “A Case of Voluntary Ignorance,” Esquire Classic, October 1, 1956).
TAKE CARE AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER – 3:12-19:
Now the Hebrew writer shows that he is not talking to Lone Rangers… “Encourage one another” (ver. 13). Of course, the famous text in Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Why? Because there is strength in numbers. God created us to worship, yes, but He also created us to worship together.
The writer tells us that we are, effectively, our “brother’s keeper.” We need to “encourage one another.” This verb “encourage” is used 111 times in the NT! The Hebrew writer will use it four times: 3:13; 10:25; 13:19, 22. The pronoun “one another” is used 106 times in the NT. Clearly, God wants us as Christians to know one another, encourage one another, and worship with one another. Christianity is not a stay-at-home, practice on your own, religion.
On January 21, 2023, the University of Michigan relay team was competing in the Simmons-Harvey Invitation in Ann Arbor. Runner Sophie Isom fell during the first leg of the 4×400 race. After Isom got back to her feet, the other three members of her team were able to make up 30 seconds of lost time and Michigan won and beat that team down south (OSU) by 8 seconds. When we struggle to find our balance in life, we need our church family to help pick us up and carry us to victory.
Consider Jesus and do not harden your heart to His message. Take care and let’s encourage each other to stay faithful!
Paul Holland
