Today’s passage: Hebrews 3:7-19
Helpful thoughts:
- The Holy Spirit led the writer of Hebrews to rightly attribute Psalm 95:7-11 to its true author, the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
- Today’s passage and tomorrow’s will apply this passage to the Jewish people.
- For the Hebrew person to see the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and not believe is being equated with those Hebrew people who were led out of Egypt and saw and heard the miracles and ministry through Moses and chose not to follow the Lord.
- They were called “Israel.” But not all who were “Israel” were truly the people of God (Romans 9:6).
- The Jewish people were/are not saved simply because they were/are Jewish. In the same way, people who go to church are not saved simply because they “identify” as church-going Christians.
- Verse 19 – “They were unable to enter because of unbelief.”
Questions to consider:
- When is the right time to repent and follow Christ as Lord (First word of the Psalm 95 quote in verse 7.)? Why do you think we tend to put off repentance? What does the next phrase in verse 8 say is happening when we choose not to repent immediately?
- What is the specific repentance being called for in this passage? What is the one sin that makes forgiveness of all other sins an impossibility? (John 3:18)
- What did unbelief result in for those Israelites in the wilderness (The last words of verse 18)? What do those who believe grow in doing in our journey toward “His rest?”