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 our original confidence firm to the end.

Hebrews 3:12–14

In Hebrews 3, the author tells his readers to “take care” that they do not develop an “evil, unbelieving heart” (3:12). In the context of the passage, the author is comparing the Christian under Christ to the Jew under Moses. The Jews had the incredible experience of the Exodus and the very real presence of God as they journeyed to the Promised Land. They had no excuse for the unbelief which ran rampant through them and lead to the regular grumbling, rebellion, and apathy which both caused and exacerbated their wilderness wanderings.

However, the author has just spent two chapters helping us see that Jesus is superior to Moses. He is greater—much greater. Thus, for the believer, there is an even higher standard to meet than that of the Jew, because compared to Moses, Jesus and his testimony are better on every level. This is an area where the body of Christ can be such a mutually beneficial entity—we can, and must, challenge each other not to give in to apathy and unbelief. For those of us who are truly saved, we hold a much greater, much more beneficial gift than the Law—we have the Word of God, Christ Jesus himself.

So, two questions flow from this: first, are you being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? Do you need to repent? And second, are you actively encouraging your brothers and sisters in Christ in this area? Let us work together to ensure that we run and finish this incredibly race with endurance!

---

The “Isolation Introspection” series started as an opportunity for me to encoruage members of our Bible Study with daily reflections from the M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan during the 2020 “Stay at Home” mandate in Los Angeles. I’ve moved them here so that they can be shared easily, and perhaps benefit others. I hope you enjoy!