Community Bible Study Engaging Hebrews Lesson Four Notes

THE PERIL OF UNBELIEF

Scripture: Hebrews 3:7-19

Be Faithful
7 8

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

10

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Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest.

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Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:

Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers
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For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Hebrews 3:7-11 Look to the Past and Learn About Consequences 1. Why do you think the author used the words, as the Holy Spirit says, in verse 7?

2. In 10 words or less, what is the message of verse 7-11?

3. In Psalm 78:32-37, what characteristics are revealed about the Israelites during the Exodus period?

4. Who is the speaker in verse 10?

5. Explain to the best of your ability these phrases from verses 10-11: a. They always go astray in their heart. b. They have not known my ways. c. They shall not enter My rest.

Hebrews 3:12-14 Look to the Present and Prevent Sorrow 6. Read 2 Peter 1:5-8 with Hebrews 3:12. From these passages, what can believers do to guard their hearts so they dont fall away from the living God?

7. Read Ephesians 4:29-32 with Hebrews 3:13. From these verses, what can believers do to encourage and aid one another in the maturing of faith?

8. What are the similarities between Hebrews 3:6 and 3:14?

Hebrews 3:15-17 Let the Circumstances Be a Warning 9. What do you think the author repeats the words of Psalms 95:7-8 in Hebrews 3:7-8 and 15?

10. Summarize the historical situation to which the author refers. (See Numbers 13:25 14:24.)

11. Read verses 16-17. To whom do these questions refer?

12. Reread Hebrews 2:2-4. To whom is the author of Hebrews asking the question in verse 3?

13. How does Hebrews 2:2-4 and 3:16-17 relate to you?

Hebrews 3:18-19 We See the Reason for Loss 14. Why did God withdraw the benefit of rest from a generation of Israelites?

15. How is unbelief fostered in our own time?

16. What words and ideas come to mind when you think of His rest (3:18)?

17. Has there been an occasion in your life when a specific choice was pivotal in your spiritual or personal growth? How did your choice make a difference?

APPY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED: We constantly face choices, and our decision can have important consequences. In what way do you sometimes waver in doubt rather than trusting God? Will you choose to turn from unbelief, and instead, encourage faith in your own life and the lives of others?