DO NOT HARDEN YOU HEARTS
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the end. Just as it has been said, ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. (Heb. 3: 12-14)
A powerful and relevant message indeed!
The writer may have been speaking to a group of people who lived over 2000 years ago, but his message is just as relevant today as it was then. His readers then may have been tempted to pull back because of the severity of persecution to save their skin, but the temptation to resist or ignore the Holy Spirit is just as strong now as it was then because human nature has not changed.
When we consider the state of the church today, we must admit that, over the centuries it has surrounded itself with so many protective measures that Jesus’s message and instructions about the kingdom of God are hardly recognisable among the traditions, additions and rituals that have been collected.
Jesus issued one simple command, ‘Follow me.’ In that instruction lies the secret of true discipleship. Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher of torah – God’s teaching and God’s way – whose authority was recognised by both common people, and religious leaders, although they would not admit it. He spoke with the understanding and authority of one who knew God intimately.
It was the role of a rabbi with sh’mikah – authority, to train talmidim – disciples – to replicate him. He would call them with two simple words, ‘Follow me,’ which indicated that he considered them able to learn from and imitate him, and to exceed him in what he did.
Why would Jesus want them to do that? It was His goal for them to teach and bind His yoke – His teaching and lifestyle – onto others so that He could be replicated and perpetuated down the generations. In this way, the good news of the kingdom of God would be published to the whole world.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12: 24)
He would guarantee the success of their mission by the gift of the Holy Spirit who would teach and direct them from within. When the issue of sin was dealt with once and for all through His death on the cross, Jesus was free to reconcile sinners to Himself and then to send them in the power of His Spirit to do what He did and much more because He accompanied them everywhere they went. (Matt. 28: 19, 20)
So, what was the problem here? These Hebrew believers were afraid to obey the Holy Spirit because it cost too much. They would rather go back to a religion that was acceptable in the Roman Empire and dodge the persecution that the followers of a radical rabbi suffered..
What is the problem with the church today? The church has surrounded itself with a covering of respectability by creating a religion of do’s and don’ts which obscures the real Jesus and takes away the reproach of the cross.
Instead of the cross being an instrument of death, the symbol of Jesus’s victory over the devil and the reason for our obedience to our Rabbi, it is now an inoffensive decoration around our necks or on our buildings. It means nothing to the world any more. Anyone can wear a cross and no one thinks anything of it. Imagine if we wore gallows or an electric chair on a gold chain around our necks!
Sin does not have to be the big stuff in order to harden us. Every time we refuse to take Jesus seriously, we have a sinful heart of unbelief. ‘Follow me,’ means three things. ‘Teach what I taught; do what I did and live like I Iived. Add nothing and take away nothing otherwise you are disqualified from being my disciple.’
‘Believe’ can be spelt in four letters, r-i-s-k. Taking risks means being in partnership with the Holy Spirit, hearing His voice and doing what He says. It’s simple but not easy because we constantly hear voices inside – our own thoughts, the subtle voice of the enemy and the voice of the Holy Spirit. How do we know who is speaking? There is no simple formula to know. We must learn by doing and making mistakes.
The enemy is a liar. He speaks the language of lies. He always contradicts the word and ways of God. We can distinguish his voice by comparing what he says with the truth. The Holy Spirit will never contradict His word. His role is always to glorify Jesus. We learn to distinguish His voice from our own thoughts by risking obedience to Him and examining the outcome. We learn obedience by obeying as Jesus did.
The life of taking risks is an adventure. If we are willing to make mistakes and even make fools of ourselves, we will become real disciples who ‘follow’ Jesus into a life of adventure.
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.