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Taking Heed against Unbelief
Message Given June 1, 2008 - audio
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Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us,
- 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God.
- 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built
all things is God.
- 5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a
servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken
after;
- 6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we,
if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end.
- 7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear
his voice,
- 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of
temptation in the wilderness:
- 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works
forty years.
- 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said,
They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my
ways.
- 11 So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
- 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
- 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
In the Old Testament stories of Israel and how God dealt with Israel
we can learn from the experiences they went through. Through Israel
we can learn what pleases God and what displeases God. The land of
Israel was promised to Abraham years before he had any offspring to
inherit what God promised him. We read of how God later reminded
Isaac and Jacob who later became Israel of that same promise.
After years of bondage in Egypt, God sent Moses to deliver the
Israelites out of Egypt and bring them into the land of promise.
Egypt symbolizes the world or our bondage to sin. The promise land
is symbolic of our inheritance of salvation through faith in Jesus
Christ and the hope of eternal life.
The mistakes and short comings of Israel are similar to the mistakes
and shortcomings of the church and of us as individuals. Although
God makes many promises to the nation of Israel and those promises
are still in effect, salvation through Jesus Christ is an individual
thing. In order to inherit eternal life, each and every individual
whether Jew or Gentile has to come to Christ on their own. There is
not group salvation. It is a decision all of us have to make on our
own.
I wish the doctrine of eternal security of the believer was true.
That is once we are born again by the spirit and have had our sins
forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we can never be lost.
There are so many scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments
however, that warn of backsliding and sin.
Salvation is promised to those that believe to the point of turning
from sin and turning to Christ but along with that salvation is many
take heeds, if's, and warnings from Jesus Himself to repent and do
the first works if one has fallen away from their first love.
Because of unbelief, the first generation of the children of Israel
that came out of the land of Egypt with Moses, were forbidden to
enter the Promised Land. Unbelief led to murmuring and complaining,
fear and rebellion that followed and caused them to lose out on the
promise. That can happen to us as believers today.
Remember the verses I read previously:
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Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
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13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
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14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
In Hebrews chapter 4:
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Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us
of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short
of it.
- 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in them that heard it.
It is possible to start out great but allow unbelief to enter into
us and that will be the first step back into sin and into the life
we lived before we came to Christ. This is why we gather together to
hear the word and worship. It strengthens our faith and helps guard
against unbelief. Without faith it’s impossible to please God.
Unbelief is the opposite of faith. When we forget that Christ has
cleansed us from sin, that is the first step to returning to the sin
we are cleansed from. Just as Israel was promised a land flowing
with milk and honey if they would obey God, salvation is given to
those that obey Jesus Christ.
1. We hold fast
our confidence and hope in Christ
2. We obey His
words.
Hebrews 5: 7-9 speaking of Jesus Christ:
- Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up
prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him
that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he
feared;
- 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered;
- 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him;
There are ifs, and many take heeds all through the scriptures. Not
only by the apostles but by our Lord Jesus Himself.
We must press forward and not look back. We must continue in the
doctrine that was once delivered to the saints. Do not take the word
of any television preacher, any pastor or myself. Be as the Bereans
and check out all anyone says by the written word.
We do not have time to stand and read the whole bible and can
sometimes only quote a few verses to prove the points we try to
make. It is a great idea to write down the verses and later look
them up but study the chapters before and after the verses I give or
anyone else gives. Even if I make a mistake and get it wrong you
will be blessed and strengthened by the study alone.
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Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
- 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool.
- 14 For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that
are sanctified.
- 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after
that he had said before,
- 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their
hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
- 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
- 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering
for sin.
- 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus,
- 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us,
through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
- 21 And having a high priest over the house of God;
- 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
our bodies washed with pure water.
- 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
- 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and
to good works:
- 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the
manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the
more, as ye see the day approaching.
We see from these scriptures that salvation is supposed to be
eternal. We are to draw near to God with assurance after having been
cleansed from sin. If I quoted only verses 16 and 17 and didn’t read
further, we could get an eternal security message but as we read
further, we see warnings to hold fast our profession of faith
without wavering and provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together.
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Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins,
- 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
- 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two
or three witnesses:
- 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and
hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?
- 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto
me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall
judge his people.
- 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God.
Strive not to fall back into unbelief. When times are good and when
times are bad, press on believing God will never forsake us.
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Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which
hath great recompense of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye
have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet, a little while, and he that shall
come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any
man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
We must continue forward and not look back to Egypt like the early
Israelites did. They began to lust after the food and the things
they had in Egypt forgetting that they were in bondage.
If we look back into our past and desire the things Jesus saved us
from, we too could forget how deep in bondage we were in and how
Jesus paid a great price to free us from that bondage. The flesh
desires to return to those old ways and still think eternal life is
there for the taking just because we made a one time decision to
accept Jesus Christ. Yet we know that it is not what happened years
ago that matters it is what we are today.
- Hebrews 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that
which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be
healed.
- 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord:
Remember the example of Esau. Esau was the firstborn and was to
inherit the blessing handed down from his father Isaac. Esau was so
hungry one time that he sold that birthright to Jacob just to
satisfy his natural hunger for food. He cared more for the temporary
things than for his inheritance. He lost the blessing. This is one
reason that a fasting helps us overcome the flesh and walk in the
spirit. Sometimes instead of eating to live, we live to eat.
The message of salvation is easy to understand but we must continue
in the word and abide in Christ. How would a marriage work if we had
a beautiful wedding with all the trimmings but after we were married
we spent very little time with our spouse and went our own way and
did our own thing? Sooner or later any couple would drift apart and
they would have no marriage.
If we come to Christ, we then begin to walk with Christ, abide in
Christ and obey His teachings. We begin to walk in the spirit and by
doing that we overcome the desires of the flesh that are defeating
us.
In James 1:27
The world and God do not mix. The Holy Spirit dwells in a vessel
that God has cleansed. We can overcome the world by following
and receiving the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is our helper. He
is there to lead, and keep up from going back into the sin Jesus
saved us out of.
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1Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the
soul;
Lusts of the flesh, the pride of life and lust of the eye will war
against the things of the spirit.
- 2Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things,
ye shall never fall:
- 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
Again and again we see looking back and unbelief is caused by
neglect and not staying in fellowship with the Lord.
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2Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of
the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the
way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn
from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation
and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless.
Remain steadfast, unmovable, not up one day and down the next.
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2Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things
before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of
the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
The same bible that tells of the new birth, the living water and
salvation by grace also warns us against losing that which we have
by neglect and unbelief.
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1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
We are cleansed from sin as we continue to walk in the light.
- Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were
before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men,
turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying
the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once
knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the
land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
- 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Unbelievers in the wilderness didn't make it to the promised land.
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Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor
hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
- 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Remember Christ’s warning the church in Revelation that had gotten
lukewarm. Unbelief also leads to apathy and lukewarm faith.
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Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life.
Once we've been made free from sin, we are to abide in Christ and
bring forth the fruits of holiness.
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Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God as dear
children:
- 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.
- 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let
it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
- 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which
are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
- 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person,
nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience.
- 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
We have been given a new and better way to live. We can overcome the
flesh and walk in the spirit but it takes determination to hold out
and not look back. Remember Lot’s wife.
There was a lady named Emma that sometimes sang a song called, “I am
determined to hold out til the end.” That is what we need to do.
- John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
- 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh
away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that
it may bring forth more fruit.
- 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you.
- 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye,
except ye abide in me.
- 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
- 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch,
and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned.
God never left us without a way out. He sent Jesus as a way out of
sin, He sent the Holy Spirit to sanctify us by the word and by the
spirit. In other words we continue on with Christ by allowing the
Holy Spirit to take away the old desires and give us new desires in
its place.
God provided the written word so that we could know how to receive
all these promises and then on top of all that He endues us with
power by that which we call the baptism with the Holy Spirit which
is promised to all that believe.
All these things is ours but like the seed that fell on both good
and bad ground some of us just go so far and get our sins forgiven
and get just enough to last from one meeting to the next and do not
seek God for a deeper walk and overcoming power that will allow us
to walk in the Spirit.
When we follow God afar off, we are weak and will not be victorious.
We do not have to follow Him afar off; we can have the living water
flowing in and out bubbling over onto others. It is ours for the
asking.
Dorna J Chambers
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