The Epistle To The Hebrews - Executable Outlines

. The rest (of which there were 603,548 men) died in the wilderness!
Mark A. Copeland
[Because of hardened hearts Israel departed from God which led to rebellion. In turn, they fell short of
the Canaan rest that had been promised them. With “A Warning From The Wilderness” fresh on their
minds, the writer therefore exhorts his brethren by warning them of...]
II. THE DANGER OF DEPARTING (12-14)
A. THERE IS A NEED TO “BEWARE”...
1. A believer can develop “an evil heart of unbelief”
a. Remember that the recipients of this epistle were “holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling” - He 3:1
b. The warning against developing a heart of unbelief presumes a real possibility
c. Thus a “believer” can become an “unbeliever”!
2. Unbelief is produced as one is “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin”
a. Sin is deceitful...
1) Promising pleasure, power, and prestige
2) In the short term that may be true, but such things are “passing” (temporary”)
- e.g., He 11:25; 1 Jn 2:17
b. Because of its deceitfulness, it is easy to become “hardened”
1) I.e., to be stubborn and not heed the Word of God
2) It happened to Israel, and it can happen to us!
3. The consequence of unbelief is “departing from the living God”
a. As one grows in unbelief, so they drift away from God
b. While a believer remains in fellowship with God, an unbeliever can only depart further
and further away from God!
B. THE SOLUTION IS TO “EXHORT ONE ANOTHER DAILY”...
1. This is how a believer avoids becoming an unbeliever!
2. Through mutual edification on a daily basis, we can prevent the “hardening” that comes from
sin’s deceitfulness
3. An important part of such exhortation is our assembling together - cf. He 10:24-25
a. Which should certainly involve assemblies on the first day of the week - e.g., Ac 20:7
b. But with a need for “daily exhortation”, should we be content to limit our assembling to
one service a week?
c. If we have the opportunity to assemble more often, shouldn’t we?
4. Even if it is only by phone, we should seek to “exhort one another daily”!
C. OUR PARTICIPATION IN CHRIST IS CONDITIONAL...
1. Once again we see the conditional nature of our participation with Christ
a. We are house of Christ “...if we hold the fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the
hope firm to the end.” - He 3:6
b. We have become partakers of Christ “...if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end,” - He 3:14
2. What about the security of the believer?
a. The “believer” does indeed enjoy the assurance of his salvation
b. But we have seen that a “believer” can develop “an evil heart of unbelief”; i.e., become
an “unbeliever” - He 3:12
c. When a “believer” becomes an “unbeliever”, what promises of security and salvation
Sermons From Hebrews 24