Hebrews Chapter 3
We learned in chapter 2 that God delights to call us His brethren, and in this chapter we are exhorted to hold fast to our faith. We all go through seasons in life that are difficult, and we can be tempted to lose faith or to not trust Him to carry us through. We can also simply become complacent in our faith, stagnant. What is the cure for our lack of faith? It is to be intentional about focusing our eyes on Jesus. The Bible says to consider Jesus – which has a deeper meaning than to just look at Him. To consider your Savior is to spend time just meditating on who He is and what He has done for you.
We know from Hebrews 2:10 that Jesus is committed to bringing many sons to glory. And we know that since we are considered His holy brethren, we are partakers in that endeavor as well. Our growing commitment to keeping our eyes focused on Jesus will be a living testimony to others of the greatness of our God and they will want it for themselves.
Let's Reflect
1. When we consider Jesus and really focus on Him, we see that He is an apostle, meaning He is our ambassador of a message of love sent from God. What is the second title given to Jesus in this first verse which tells us that Jesus is the ultimate representative or mediator between us, terrible sinners that we are, and a holy God?
2. Jesus was and is more faithful than what Old Testament saint whom the Jewish people held in such high esteem?
3. God has built us a house in the work of Jesus. We are a part of God’s house as long as we do what?
4. A huge component of our faith is the confession of our faith as seen in verse 1. We confess our faith with both our mouth and the way we live. Matthew 10:32Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. How do we confess our faith as seen in verse 6?
5. Then it is as if God is saying “don’t be like the Israelites who hardened their hearts in the wilderness.” What is the phrase that directly follows the statement “they always go astray in their heart”?
6. A season of doubt or not trusting God can turn into a long period of time if we are not careful. For those who have never learned to trust God what will likely happen to them?
7. This is why church attendance is crucial. We need to encourage one another to remain strong in our faith, to be built up in the house of God to which we belong. Sin and the curse of sin and all of its ramifications will shake our faith. But if we realize that we share Christ and He is our hope we can hold on to our faith and have _____________ that is firm to the end.
8. If you hear the gentle voice of God calling you to talk with Him, it is of the utmost importance that you do so. The Holy Spirit longs to do His job and that is to comfort you. When should you give Him your attention? See verse 15.
