Rebellion's Root

Turn to Hebrews chapter 3. We're going to complete

Hebrews 3 · chapter mention

our study of this chapter today. A couple of

weeks ago we talked about this ongoing argument

for the greatness of Jesus Christ, really the

superiority of Christ in the New Covenant. And

we learned a couple of weeks ago that we should

view Jesus as far greater than Moses. Again,

the New Covenant as far greater, superior to

the Old Covenant. That's what we're seeing argued

here in this book of the Bible. that this greater

thing has come, this greater person has come

and it is he that we are now to embrace and to

follow and to put our faith and trust in, to

listen to. And I think we were reminded and I

really. The songs that were selected today, they

go along perfectly with the message that we're

gonna be bringing this morning. It is easy for

us to get off track, isn't it? It's easy for

us to lose sight of the greatness of God. Especially

when we go through difficulties. I know a man

who was at one time a member and a participating

member of this church. From all outward appearance,

he was a Christian. I mean, he attended worship

services regularly. He served in various ministries.

He supported the church financially. I mean,

he was one of those guys that you could just

count on. But as often happens in our lives,

there was a series of unfortunate events that

impacted his life, his family. And in the process

of that, I guess he became disillusioned. and

ultimately left the church. And of course, there

were people that reached out to him. None had

much of an impact upon him. And finally, after

some time had passed, I had the opportunity to

speak with him. And this is what he said to me.

He said to me, I no longer believe the things

that I once believed. He said, And this is, I

can't quote him exactly anymore after all these

years, but he said, God, if he even exists, has

let me down. He described himself as walking

alone at night and how he would shout to the

sky, God, if you're real, and this is what he

actually said, he said, burst that street lamp.

Well, of course, God didn't burst the street

lamp, right? And to him, just further evidence.

that God didn't exist, that God was not present

in his life, not listening to his cries. And

what's strange about this, and really what's

really not so strange, it's common in most cases

like this, in spite of all the biblical evidence

that this man had, in spite of all the personal

experience that this man had with God and his

blessings. Every reason in the world as Neil

shared last week about our reasonable faith.

We have enough evidence in our own lives and

certainly within the lives of a church this size

and the experiences of a body of believers over

the course of many years. We have more than enough

experience with the blessings of God to trust

in him, to believe in him, to follow him. But

in this case, this man stubbornly refused to

believe. And the Bible calls this kind of thing,

you know, asking for signs, burst that street

lamp. The Bible calls that kind of thing putting

God to the test. And of course, in scripture,

we are commanded not to do that. We are not to

put God to the test. In Deuteronomy 6 16, Moses

commands the people of God and he says those

very words, you shall not put the Lord your God

to the test. And of course, it is those words

that Jesus repeats to Satan in his 40 days of

temptation, as is recorded in Matthew chapter

four, verse seven, as he rebukes one of Satan's

temptations. And he says again, it is written,

you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

So the teaching of scripture is clear. We are

not to put the Lord God to the test. We are not

to stubbornly refuse to believe in spite of the

evidence that we have to the contrary and to

ask God to somehow prove that he is worthy today

of our respect, our love, our ministry, our service.

The writer of Hebrews, of course, warns his readers

that what some of them were contemplating, the

temptation that was upon them to Reject Christ,

to go back to their old way of life, back into

Judaism, back under the old covenant, to do that.

That's what they were thinking of doing. And

what the writer of Hebrews is going to say to

them today is, in essence, what you're contemplating

is in actuality simply putting God to the test,

which we're commanded not to do. And he calls

their plan to reject what knowledge they had

of God and to renounce Jesus Christ and his gospel

of grace. He calls it rebellion. That's in verse

eight there, rebellion. And further, not only

does he call this kind of thinking and action

rebellion, but he makes it clear that such thinking

and action such a rebellion is rooted in an evil

and unbelieving heart. And I think that's important

for us. We sang today, I believe, I believe.

Scripture says we should believe. There's ample

evidence, overwhelming evidence that we should

believe. It's our reasonable worship of God.

We should. but we struggle and so we are reminded,

we are warned, we are repeatedly encouraged to

maintain our belief in this God who loved us

and gave himself for us. And what we're gonna

see today is that rebellion, and it's important

that we learn this now because there are gonna

be some subsequent studies in Hebrews that might

tempt us to think otherwise. Rebellion and its

root, well rebellion's root is unbelief. In other

words, Christians can sin, all right, and we

do, don't we? But the kind of rebellion that's

gonna be talked about here this morning is something

far beyond an occasional failure, all right?

This is outright rebellion, and that's what we're

gonna be talking about. And the root of rebellion

is unbelief. It is a refusal to believe God,

to take him at his word. And that's what belief

in the New Testament is, that word believe or

the word faith. It's not just an intellectual

exercise, but it's acting upon what we know to

be true, living in light of the truth of God's

word. And when we decide we're no longer gonna

do that, that's no longer for me, God, you let

me down. If you can't burst that street lamp,

then why should I believe that you exist? Why

should I believe that you care about me at all?

That's called rebellion. Rebellion's root is

unbelief. If these discouraged church members

abandon the faith and leave the church, it does

not indicate that at one time they were saved

and now suddenly they have become lost. And that's

what we like to think sometimes, right? Well,

they were saved at one point, but they've lost

their faith. We even refer to it as that. I've

lost the faith. Genuine believers can never reject

the faith. They would never reject the faith.

And we need to just establish that right up front.

It is only unbelievers. You know there's only

two kinds of people in the world, right? Believers.

and unbelievers. I was at a table one time after

a wedding rehearsal and I was seated with two

guys. One of the guys I knew pretty well and

we were talking about the Lord, we were talking

about scripture, we were actually talking about

the biblical doctrine of marriage and all of

that and the other guy was sitting there listening

quietly, wasn't making too many comments and

something came up in the conversation and I referred

to another person that just came to mind as an

unbeliever. Well, the guy that was sitting there

at the table with us suddenly spoke up again

very quiet throughout the entire conversation

And then he said oh, so that's what you guys

call me In other words he hadn't agreed with

anything that we had said I Mistakenly assumed

because he was related to the guy that I was

talking to who I knew to be a Christian that

he was a Christian that well You know what they

say about assuming, right? Oh So that's what

you Christians call us unbelievers. Well, let

me just tell you There are only two kinds of

people in the world. There are unbelievers and

there are believers. Nothing in between. And

let me just say this also. God goes much farther

than simply calling the lost unbelievers. He

calls them rebels, sinners, wicked. And we could

go on and on. Unbeliever is a pretty mild term

for those who are lost and undone in their sin.

at the root of rebellion is an unbelieving heart.

Again, as the scripture's gonna say here in just

a minute, an evil, unbelieving heart. So again,

if these discouraged church members do indeed

abandon their faith, leave the church, what it

will say, or should say to the rest of us, to

those who were fellow church members with them

in the day, and to us now looking back on this,

is that these weren't Christians who suddenly

decided not to be Christians anymore. These were

unbelievers who simply followed in their unbelief

and abandoned the Lord. That's what 1 John 2

.9 tells us, right? They went out from us, but

they were not of us. For if they had been of

us, they would have continued with us. But they

went out that it might be complained that they

were not of us. Despite their outward profession

of faith, they were not truly believers. That's

what John is saying. and their rebellion makes

it clear that they are unbelievers, that they

do not believe. So with that, let's read together.

We're gonna begin in verse seven. We're gonna

read down through the end of the chapter. If

you need to look on here at the front, the words

will be on the screen for you. The scripture

says this. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

and then there's a citation of Psalm 95, or at

least a portion of it. Today, if you hear his

voice, do not harden your hearts. as in the rebellion.

On the day of testing in the wilderness where

your fathers put me to the test and saw my works

for 40 years. I hope by now you're realizing

he's talking about the Exodus experience, right?

And they saw my works for 40 years. Therefore

I was provoked with that generation and said

they always go astray in their heart. They have

not known my ways and as I swore in my wrath

they shall not enter my rest. And of course we

know that that whole generation apart from Caleb

and Joshua, didn't enter the promised land. And

then the writer comes back to us and so he says,

take care, brothers, lest there be in any of

you an evil, unbelieving heart leading you to

fall away from the living God. But exhort one

another every day as long as it is called today,

that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness

of sin. for we have come to share in Christ if

indeed we hold to our original confidence firm

to the end. As it is said, and then he repeats

that verse again, today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled?

Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

And with whom was he provoked for 40 years? Was

it not with those? who sinned, whose bodies fell

in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that

they would not enter his rest, but to those who

were disobedient? So we see that they were unable

to enter because of unbelief. Unbelief, the root

of rebellion. So we begin this passage of scripture

with a warning against unbelief. And what these...

struggling church members were really battling

was a heart of unbelief. We have to assume because

we're really not given any clear numbers on how

many people read and were encouraged and strengthened

in their faith and continued on with Christ or

how many actually abandoned their faith and left

the church, but we have to assume it was probably

a mixture of both. And anytime we're talking

about the church, anytime we gather as a church,

the odds are we are gathered together with people

who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I use

that word in the present tense, who are believing

this very moment in the Lord Jesus Christ. And

then there are those who are unbelievers. They

may have made a profession of faith. They may

have signed a membership card. They may have

even been baptized. But in their heart, there's

unbelief. Jesus. talked about this in the Gospels.

He tells us the story of the wheat and the tares,

right? They're gonna grow up together in the

church. And we can't really concern ourselves

too much with that. We just have to be aware

that it's going on within any congregation, within

any body of Christ, within any church family.

There are both believers and unbelievers. Hopefully,

few unbelievers, more. believers, but we have

this warning here. And the New Testament is full

of these kinds of warnings. He says, take care,

brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil,

unbelieving heart. And of course, he's making

reference now to the illustration that he has

just shared with them that he cites from Psalm

95, an illustration of rebellion that flows from

an evil, unbelieving heart. Now, David is the

one King David who wrote the 95th Psalm, it's

attributed to him. So he's writing about a historic

event in the life of the nation of Israel, his

people, his nation. And now the writer of Hebrews

is referring to what David wrote centuries before

the people that are reading this letter are alive.

And now here we are 2 ,000 years after the fact,

being encouraged, being warned by this same passage

of Scripture, and of course, I love the way this

passage of Scripture starts. Therefore, as the

Holy Spirit says. And then he cites Psalm 95,

making it very clear that certainly this Old

Testament text, and really all of the Old Testament,

is the Word of God. It's the voice of Almighty

God speaking to us. And notice he says today,

if you hear his voice, don't harden your heart.

That word is as relevant for us this day Today,

if you hear God speak, if you hear the voice

of God, don't harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

Again, don't refuse to believe what God is saying,

but receive God's word is what he's saying, because

unbelief, which characterized the people who

did not enter their rest in the days of the Exodus,

has as its root its foundation, unbelief. These

were not believers. and their lives and their

actions, their words, their attitudes clearly

displayed their unbelief. And of course, in this

citation from Psalm 95, he really refers to two

events that took place during the Exodus. The

first one that he mentions took place very shortly

after Israel's miraculous delivery from Egypt.

And of course, you remember, it was indeed a

miraculous. Delivery, right? I mean, God called

Moses. Now again, the people didn't see the burning

bush. Moses saw the burning bush. But Moses in

the power of God came to Egypt as God had told

him to. And now as they watched what was transpiring,

they saw God at work through Moses and Aaron

as they performed signs and wonders before the

Egyptians, before Pharaoh. Of course, they saw

the 10 plagues that ultimately came upon the

Egyptian people inflicted upon them by God. These

people, of course, then left Egypt. And what's

interesting about that story is that God did

this wonderful thing. God put it in the hearts

of the Egyptian people to give the Israelites,

who were now leaving, wealth, resources. And

the scripture says, so thus they plundered the

Egyptians. They didn't have to put a sword to

their throat. God just did this wonderful thing

and the Egyptians freely gave them gold and silver

and precious jewels and all the support that

they needed to make this trip. Again, the miracle

of God being displayed before these. these Israelites

who were now leaving. And of course then they

stood at the Red Sea and they saw God miraculously

part the waters of the Red Sea. They walked across,

the Bible says, on dry land and then they turned

and they watched as those waters came back together

and drowned the Egyptian army. All of this and

more. These Israelites who ultimately would rebel

against God in the wilderness. saw the power

of God, the love of God, the miracles of God,

the wonders of God, and yet they stubbornly refused

to believe. That's what we're talking about.

So there was that. And then the second event

that's really referred to here is this, they're

camped at Rephidim, or the first event, really.

They're camped in a place called Rephidim. So

they've seen all these miracles. And now they're

in a place that the Bible says there was no water

for the people to drink. Now that's a serious

thing. I mean, we got millions of people out

in the wilderness and there's no water for them

to drink. But the way that the people respond

to that adversity is telling. Because these very

people who have seen this powerful presence of

God in their midst, delivering them, defending

them against Egypt, scripture says they quarreled,

they complained, they moaned, they groaned. with

Moses and they demanded, give us water to drink.

And of course Moses responds, why do you quarrel

with me? Maybe he said it this way, why do you

quarrel with me? Remember who it is that's defending

us and then he says this, why do you test the

Lord? So there it is, they were testing, they

were putting the Lord to the test. Quarrel with

Moses because there was no water, they needed

water. It was a legitimate need. but they didn't

respond to that legitimate need in a proper way.

They put God to the test. And of course later,

Moses characterized the demands of the people

as questioning God's presence and provision.

In Exodus 17, Moses said it was as if they were

saying, is the Lord among us or not? And that's

the problem with difficulties in life. If we're

not careful, we can be tempted to ask that very

question, well God, are you there or not? Do

you see the trouble I'm in or not? Do you hear

my prayers or not? And again, when you find yourself

in that situation, remember what the Bible calls

that, that's testing God. It's putting God to

the test. It's not trusting him. The Israelites

should have trusted God. I mean, he had done

miracle after miracle. He had provided for them

every step of the way. Why would he not give

them water? But they put God to the test. And

then the second, he reminds them of the rebellion

that took place at Kadesh, another story we're

all familiar with. The spies had been sent out

to look over the land to see if it really was,

as God had described it, a land flowing with

milk and honey. And of course, they came back

and every one of them agreed, yes, the land is

just like God described it. It is a land flowing

with milk and honey. However, 10 of them said,

but God, Moses, there's no way we can take possession

of the land. The people who live there are giants.

We're as grasshoppers in their sight. We can't

do it. Only Joshua and Caleb said, the Lord's

given us this land. He's rendered them helpless

before us. We can do this. But no, the people,

of course, went with the majority report and

they decided not to go in and take possession

of the land. And again, the scripture says in

Numbers 14, the people of Israel grumbled against

Moses and Aaron. They said, why is the Lord bringing

us into this land to fall by the sword? In other

words, has God just brought us out here to die?

They said, let us choose a leader and go back

to Egypt. You know, there were several times

in the Old Testament where the people not only

wanted to replace Moses as their leader, but

they wanted to kill him. They wanted to stone

Moses and Aaron. That's how they wanted to go

back to Egypt. If you can even imagine that,

after all that they had seen, all of the evidence

of God's glory, power, goodness, grace, over

and over again, they grumbled against Moses and

wanted to go back to Egypt. Well, in response

to this grumbling, the Lord says to Moses, and

listen to this, this is what God says to Moses.

Now, the people are grumbling against Moses.

You can only imagine what Moses must have been

feeling like. But this is what the Lord says

to Moses. How long will this people despise me?

Moses probably thought, well, that's what I was

thinking. How long are they gonna despise me?

But God says it's me, Moses, that they despise.

I know they've directed their grumbling, their

moaning and groaning to you, but it's me that

they despise. How long will they not believe

in me, God says. And listen to this. In spite

of all the signs that I have done among them.

In other words, they have more than enough evidence

of who I am and what I'm capable of. And yet,

in spite of the evidence that I have clearly

presented, in spite of the word that has gone

forth proclaiming who I am and how much I care

for them, they've chosen not to believe. How

long will they not believe in me, God said. So

this is the picture of what's happening. The

writer of Hebrews is comparing the rebellion

of the Israelites following the exodus from Egypt

to what was going on in the hearts and the minds

of these early churchmen who were contemplating

renouncing Christ and going back to Judaism.

And of course the word of God is perfectly clear

here. To those who stubbornly and rebelliously

refused to believe in spite of all of the evidence.

in spite of all that God, all the signs that

God has done among us. Well, God says to those

people, as I have sworn in my wrath, they shall

not enter my rest. No one with an evil, unbelieving

heart has any hope of entering heaven. That's

what the scripture's saying. No one with an evil,

unbelieving heart has any hope of entering heaven.

Now let me just say this, if you're a Christian,

you don't have an evil, unbelieving heart. Unbelievers,

lost people, those who reject Christ, those are

the ones we're talking about here, this evil,

unbelieving heart. But these in the rebellion,

in the days of Moses and the Exodus, they were

revealing. and evil, unbelieving heart. They

had seen the glory of God. They had seen the

provision of God. They had witnessed God's miraculous

power and yet in spite of that overwhelming evidence,

you know, this guy that I was talking about,

he just wanted God to burst a street lamp. These

people had seen far greater miracles than that.

And yet, evil, unbelieving hearts, stubbornly

refusing to trust the Lord, to take him at his

word. That's what was going on, and that's what

we are warned against. And then we're given some

information on how we can war against an unbelieving

heart. Look what it says. Again, it's verse 12.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of

you an evil unbelieving heart, leading you to

fall away from the living God, but exhort one

another every day as long as it is called today,

that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness.

of sin so that he gives us some encouragement

here as to how we can do battle with the deceitfulness

of sin, how we can help one another when we experience

the difficulties of life that might cause us,

again, perhaps legitimate needs. Being thirsty

in the desert was a legitimate need, but we never

should put God to the test. We should have faith

in God that he sees us in our need, that he's

gonna provide for our need. Hasn't he always?

And so we can help one another with that. And

it's answered here, how we can help our struggling

brothers and sisters. He says, first of all,

take care. Those words could be translated, see

to it. In other words, this is really a command.

We tell people, I routinely tell people, take

care when I'm leaving them. We say that very

casually. This is a much stronger command. He's

saying, you have a responsibility. You have a

responsibility to your fellow church members.

You're to see to it that we regularly share not

only their struggles, that we listen to them

and what they're going through, but we also share

our struggles. You know, one of the great things

I think that's taking place in our life groups

is that this is happening on a weekly basis now.

Small groups of believers have gathered together

and they're not only engaging in Bible study,

but they're sharing with one another about what's

going on in their lives. They're doing life together.

And that's what scripture tells us to do here.

Exhort one another every day, as long as it's

called today, that none of you may be hardened

by the deceitfulness of sin. So we gather together,

as the scripture says, and we share our own struggles,

and we listen to the struggles of others. We

become aware, intentionally become aware of the

struggles of others. I've said these words, you've

probably said them too. Hey, don't ask so and

so to tell you. Don't ask them how you're doing,

because they'll tell you. But the truth is, we

should want to know how our fellow believers

are doing, right? We're commanded. See to it.

We need to encourage one another. I can't encourage

you unless I know what's going on in your life.

So we listen, we learn, we love one another,

and then we consistently comfort and encourage

one another. Later on in this book of the Bible,

in Hebrews, the writer will say this. in chapter

10, verses 24 and 25, a verse we're very familiar

with. And let us consider how to stir one another

up to love and good works, not neglecting to

meet together. So in other words, what he's commanding

us to do here and what he's commanding us to

do later on in this book requires us to meet

together, to be together. We can't do this. I

mean, you can. I mean, you can get, I guess,

receive a prayer list in the mail and still pray

for people. But this is done much more effectively

when we gather together. Whether it's Sunday

morning worship or whether it's a Wednesday night

or it's our life group or it's some Bible study,

we need to gather together. We need to meet together.

And of course, he says right there that it is

the habit of some not to do this, and it's easy

to fall out of the habit of meeting together,

isn't it? Don't let that happen. But encourage

one another all the more as you see the day drawing

near. We're awaiting the return of Christ, right?

That's what he's talking about here, the day.

We need to encourage one another. We need encouragement,

all of us. And so we need to share with one another.

the areas that we need encouragement, and we

need to listen to one another. And again, all

of this done for the purpose that none of you

may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Sin has an effect on our lives, and sin and its

effect on us can fool us into thinking that God

has somehow forgotten us or that he simply doesn't

care. And anytime you begin to think like that,

and let me tell you, there are events that can

occur in your life that would tempt you to think

that. But man, banish those thoughts immediately.

God loves you. God cares for you. And no matter

what's going on in your life, that's true. So

again, we need to remind one another of that,

the temptation that these early... church members

were experiencing, if we let it go unchecked,

can render us unreceptive to his word. If we

suddenly decide that God doesn't love me, he

doesn't care about me, why would we ever open

his word and listen to him? Why would we come

and hear the word of God proclaimed? So we wanna

be careful of that. That's what he's referring

to there is the hardening of our hearts, this

unreceptiveness to the word of God. But the constant

encouragement, that we're supposed to be receiving

from those around us and that we're supposed

to be giving in return will help us to continue

trusting in God. Even when His will for us brings

us hardship. And you know that at times the will

of God will bring hardship to your life, right?

I mean, following Jesus is not some easy road.

It's difficult. And so we need to encourage one

another. And of course, notice that it's not

the difficulties of life that lead to the rejection

of God. But again, it's this evil, unbelieving

heart. It's unbelief that leads to the rejection

of God. And I wanna just talk about these words.

We're not gonna talk about them in depth because

we will later on in our study. But that little

phrase, leading you to fall away from the living

God. Some have looked at that in other passages

and thought, there it is. Christians can fall

away from God. But that word, fall away, are

those words, don't mean, we used, the word drift

was used earlier. Keep your mind focused on Jesus,

because if you don't, you'll drift away from

the course. This isn't that word. This fall away,

it's an intentional thing. It's a determined

effort on our parts. These words speak of willful

departure. from the church and from the things

of God, from the word of God. So falling away

is not some inadvertent accidental thing. That's

how it's been picked up by some over the years

that we can, if we're not careful, we can fall

away from God. You might not even notice it.

No, if you fall away from God, then you've made

a determined choice to walk away from the one

who loves you, gave him son for you. So. And

then of course here again we are told that the

proof of genuine salvation is in perseverance,

persevering in the faith. For if we have come

to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original

confidence firm to the end, that which you believed

in the beginning, that God loves you, that Christ

died for you, that he rose again on the third

day, that he's seated at the right hand, being

access for you to God, if you put your faith

and trust in him, turn from your sins, that's

what we're talking about here, cling to that.

Those things are as true today as they were the

day you believe them. And he says it's persevering

in that belief, growing in that belief, continuing

in that firm to the end that will ultimately

determine or say that you are a genuine believer.

And then again, that verse is quoted, today if

you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts

as in the rebellion. God is speaking today. And

we have the responsibility just as those Exodus

Israelites had to listen to God, to do what he

says, to trust him. And then he asked these questions.

It's as if, again, he goes back to this illustration

as a witness to us, as a testimony of the truth

of what he's been saying. He said, for who were

those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not

all those who left Egypt, led by Moses? In other

words, these people who saw This miraculous deliverance

brought about by God through the person of Moses

and Aaron, they were the very ones who rebelled

against God. Again, demonstrating that they never

really believed God. They were rebels, deceived,

and in sin. So who were they? They were those

who left Egypt by Moses. And then he says, and

with whom was he provoked for 40 years? Let me

tell you, this kind of unbelief, it provokes

God. It angers him. I know we don't like to talk

about God being angry, but sin angers God. He

was provoked with these people for 40 years.

Matter of fact, at one point he contemplated,

or at least in what we read in scripture, Moses

had to plead with God to spare these people.

And of course he did, but he did not allow them

to enter into the promised land. They all died

in the wilderness because they stubbornly refused

to do what God had clearly told them to do. And

then he asked another question, to whom did he

swear that they would not enter his rest? But

those who were disobedient, those who did not

enter God's rest, again here, who did not enter

the promised land, were those whose lives were

consistently characterized. by disobedience.

Again, sometimes these warnings like this worry

us because we all stumble and fall sometimes.

We're not talking about occasional sin. What

we're talking about is a life that's characterized

by sin, a life that is continually going away

from God, going my own way. That's the life of

a lost person. That's the life of an unbeliever.

The life of a believer is always Godward. We

want to do what God wants us to do. We desire

to do what God's will is in our lives. Sometimes

we fail, but that's the desire of our heart.

And of course, verse 19, the last verse here,

makes it absolutely clear that rebellion, sin,

disobedience are all the result of unbelief.

Verse 19 says, so we see that they were unable

to enter because of unbelief. Why did those Israelites?

that were led out of Egypt by Moses, why were

they not allowed to enter the promised land?

Well, it's because of their unbelief. Why will

people die apart from Christ and spend eternity

away from the presence of the Lord? Well, it's

because of their unbelief. Unbelief. Scriptures

are plain. It was unbelief, willful, determined.

resolute unbelief in spite of overwhelming evidence

that kept them from experiencing God's salvation.

It's what keeps people from experiencing salvation

today, unbelief. You know, in Acts chapter 16

Acts 16:31

verse 31, Paul's response to the Philippian jailers

question, and you remember the question? After

all that took place that night, he looked at

Paul in silence and he said, sirs, what must

I do to be saved? And what did they say to him

in response? Believe. Believe in the Lord Jesus

and you will be saved in your household. Of course,

Jesus responds to Nicodemus in John chapter three.

Nicodemus can't believe what Jesus is saying

about being born again. And of course, one of

our favorite salvation verses is there for us.

But in John 3, 16 through 18, this is what the

scripture says. For God so loved the world that

he gave his only son that whoever believes. Again.

present, active, that is, whoever is believing,

we could say. The believing ones, they're the

ones that God is going to save. Those who believe,

that whoever believes in him should not perish

but have eternal life. For God did not send his

son into the world to condemn the world, but

in order that the world might be saved through

him, whoever believes in him is not condemned.

But whoever does not believe is condemned already

because he has not believed in the name of the

son. of God. It is reasonable in light of all

that God has done for us to believe in him. And

yet many cling stubbornly to their unbelief.

I pray that that's not true of anyone in this

room today. Not true of anyone who's watching

from home. But if you find your heart convicted,

just come to the Lord today. Turn from that unbelief.

Turn from that sin. Turn from that disobedience.

and receive Christ as your Savior and Lord.