Hebrews 3

     3:1.  Therefore, holy brethren…consider Jesus; he calls the brethren holy because of the faithful propitious work (2:17) of the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.  We are saints (made holy) by him who sanctifies (2:11).

     3:2-6.  Moses was faithful in all his house (Nu.12:7), but as a servant.  Jesus, as Son of God, was the builder and owner of the house.  Moses was faithful in the house (2); Jesus was faithful over it (6).  And we are that house if we hold fast our hope firm to the end.  (It may be a circular argument for the perseverance of the saints, but 1 John 2:19 says that those who don’t persevere to the end were never truly part of the house).

     3:7-19.  Arguing from what the Holy Spirit says in Ps. 95:7-11, the author shows from the example of those who died in the wilderness the necessity of perseverance in faith and obedience, and the danger of falling away.

      3:8.  From the Hebrew, two places in the wilderness were given names which remain in our version of Psalm 95:8: Meribah (the provocation, see margin) and Massah (trial, or temptation).  Forty years of wandering separated Meribah from Massah.  In all that time they never learned to trust God, but always provoked and tried him.

     3:11.  Rest; i.e., Sabbath rest (cf. 4:9).

     3:12.  The living God; i.e., Christ Jesus the Son (cf. 3-4, and 1:8, etc.).  It is the Son’s voice the Holy Spirit warns us not to harden our hearts against (7 ff.).  “His name is called The Word of God” (Rev.19:13).

     3:13.  As long as it is still called “Today”; when it ceases to be “Today” the final age of the world (these days of grace extended to sinners) will be over (cf. 2 Peter 3:8 ff.).

     The deceitfulness of sin; sin is deceitful because it denies it is bad, and denies that God’s word is good (cf. Gen. 3:4-5).

     3:14.  Note that it is only those who hold fast to the end who have truly become partakers of Christ (cf.6).  This is resting each day in Christ’s finished work, and not trusting in our own works.

     3:15.  Perseverance is accomplished day by day in the obedience of faith.

     3:16-19.  These verses show the foolishness of those who separate faith and obedience (cf. Ro. 6:15-16).  Disobedience demonstrates unbelief (Gen. 3:6).  Faith is demonstrated by obedience (5:8-9; 11; 12:2).  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

     “Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).  Thus both the legalist who believes in his own righteousness rather than what Christ says about him, and the antinomian who says he believes yet presumptuously disobeys Christ’s unchangeable moral commandments are alike disobedient unbelievers.