Better Than Moses?

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house. For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house... But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end... Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God... So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3)

Jesus is worthy of more glory than even faithful Moses—and the warnings that follow exist for a reason.

Jesus Is Better—But Why Establish It?

Jesus is better. That has been my proposition since we began moving through Hebrews, and it is the proposition of the author, who I believe to be Timothy. Timothy has been making the case that Jesus—the uncreated, eternal Creator, Son of God—is better. We saw in our previous two messages that Jesus is better than angels. Now, here in chapter three, the author makes the case that Jesus is superior to and worthy of much more glory than Moses.

The recipients of this letter were Christians who came out of Judaism, out of a Hebrew background. They lifted Moses high—the great lawgiver of Israel, the redeemer who brought them out of Egypt by the power of God. They honored and looked up to Moses in a big way. Now the author argues that Jesus is superior even to him, and he will continue to do so for several chapters: Jesus is better than angels, than Moses, than Abraham, than the priesthood, than all other options.

But why is it important to establish the superiority of Jesus? Why write such a long letter arguing that thesis? The apologetic is for Christians who came out of Judaism, so all the arguments draw on the Old Testament Scriptures and the traditions of Israel, because those were authoritative to them. Still, the question stands: why?

The Pressing Problem Behind the Letter

Timothy has already alluded to the reason. Look at Hebrews 2:3:

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

Then chapter 3, verse 6: "But Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." Circle that word if. He says it again in 3:12–14: "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief... lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin... if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end."

He repeats it in 4:1, "let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it"; in 4:11, "let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience"; and in 4:14, "let us hold fast our confession." Over and over the author says: be careful, be on guard, beware of this potential disaster.

The issue is clear to me. Early Christians brought to faith out of Judaism were in danger of leaving the faith of Jesus, neglecting His salvation, losing confidence in Jesus alone as the superior sacrifice—and therefore coming short of the promise of God through Jesus. That is what prompted the letter.

Does This Apply to Us?

This raises an objection from us, sitting 2,000 years later: "What's this got to do with me? I'm not Jewish. I didn't come out of Judaism." By the sheer numbers, it's unlikely many of you came out of Judaism to follow Jesus.

And yet it does apply. Every one of us came out of some belief. Maybe it was Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism. Maybe it was naturalism and scientism. Some of you came straight out of paganism—I know a few of you; hedonistic paganism was where you came from. But you came out of something to follow Jesus. And in leaving that old worldview, there is the danger the author warns of: that you could turn away, neglect this great salvation, and return to your old pattern of belief and life.

We know that danger is real, because every one of us knows someone who once attended church with us, who seemed to walk with Jesus, who opened the Bible and even sat in a Bible study with us—yet today is no longer walking with Him, having gone back to their old way of thinking.

Is It Really a Danger?

The second question: is leaving the faith really a danger to lose the promise once held? The author says, "Let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it." Those are frightening words. And 3:12 gets even more challenging—he's not speaking to non-believers or non-churchgoers, but to brothers and sisters: "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God."

So is it possible to have an evil heart of unbelief, to be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin? Depending on the flavor of Christianity you like, some say emphatically no, and can give chapter, verse, and commentary. Others sheepishly hold back a smile and say, well, it's possible.

This is a real debate. Some hold a Calvinistic position and say no, you cannot miss the promise. Others hold an Arminian position and say it's quite possible. If those words mean nothing to you, you may be among the most blessed Christians in the world—rejoice. But I teach at a Bible college and watch this happen every semester: new students know nothing about these positions, and by the fourth week they're experts, arguing and fighting. It happens in churches that are divided over it. And this year, 2017, we mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, where many of these arguments came from.

Warnings Exist for a Reason

I like the chocolate flavor of security in Jesus—it's like chocolate brownie ice cream; just lap it up. The other flavor is broccoli. I'd much rather have ice cream. But one will help you grow strong, and the other might lull you to sleep with fatness. I'm concerned that one of these positions can lull the Christian to sleep. Both flavors are found in the Bible.

That brings us to point number one: warnings exist for a reason. The entire book of Hebrews is one big warning to Christians—whether they came out of Judaism or out of secular humanism. Maybe that's why people love to argue about the authorship of Hebrews; it keeps them from being confronted with the warnings. But we've already figured out who wrote it.

Someone once sent me a picture of a warning sign that read: "Danger. Not only will this kill you, it will hurt the whole time you're dying." If I saw a sign like that, I would heed it. I've been shocked a time or two—enough to know I don't want to be shocked unto death. We had dinner with a couple in our church; the husband was a lineman for SDG&E and got a major shock. It did not sound fun. When you see a sign like that, you take heed and don't get close.

Here's my thinking. The only person worried by these warnings—about whether you can lose the promise you have in Jesus—is the Christian. You'll never meet a non-churchgoer worried about eternal security. And if you're a Christian, you believe all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction. So you must believe this passage was inspired by God—that God inspired the author to say, "Beware, brethren." The God who inspired Scripture considered it necessary to put a warning sign in front of the church. So is it really a danger? Apparently it is, because God saw fit to put it in the Scriptures.

The Right Question

So, can you lose your salvation? That's the wrong question—as if you could lose your wallet or your keys. I don't think you go around saying, "Gosh, I seem to have misplaced my salvation; I had it a few minutes ago." You can't lose it like that, which is refreshing, because as time goes by we tend to lose things more.

The right question is the one the author alludes to: can someone, through an evil heart of unbelief and the deceitfulness of sin, depart from Jesus and therefore miss the promise that Jesus gives in salvation? Let's just say there's a big warning in Hebrews that reads: "Danger—not only will this kill you, it will hurt the entire time you're dying."

Jesus Is Better—and That Itself Is a Warning

Point number two: Jesus is better—and that statement is itself a warning against departing from Him. The author writes in 3:1, "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus." That word consider means look to Jesus. Verse 2: "Who was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house."

Notice "partakers"—it connects chapter three to the stern warning of Hebrews 6:4–6, which we'll examine in depth later. And notice "therefore," which points us back to the end of chapter two:

Therefore, in all things he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself suffered, being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:17–18)

Jesus suffered the power, presence, persistence, and penalty of sin for us who are tempted. Therefore, holy brethren, consider Him.

Only Jesus Is Always Faithful

Point number three: Jesus is better because only Jesus is always faithful. Do we have any Marines in the room? What's the motto of the Marine Corps? Semper Fidelis—always faithful. I have the utmost respect for the United States Marine Corps. But the reality is, only Jesus is always faithful. We may strive to be, may make it our aim, but only Jesus is absolutely, one hundred percent, always faithful.

A Hebrew Christian reading this might object: "Yes, but Moses was faithful too." They honored Moses, and there was the temptation to shift their trust from Jesus back to faithful Moses and the law he gave. That danger is clearly written about here. The author does not counter by saying Moses was unfaithful. He agrees—Moses was faithful in his household. But look at 3:3:

For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house... And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant... but Christ as a son over his own house.

Why is Jesus worthy of more glory? Moses was faithful as a servant; Jesus was faithful as a Son.

The Son Is Greater Than a Servant

Point number four: Jesus is better than Moses because the Son is always greater than a servant. The author continues in 3:7:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 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... So I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."

The original readers, hearing this quotation from Psalm 95, would have understood immediately. But for those of us 2,000 years later, here's a refresher. God sent Moses to Egypt to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Through ten plagues recorded in Exodus, Pharaoh finally released Israel. They crossed the Red Sea, came to Mount Sinai, and there God delivered the law through angels to Moses; they entered into a covenant with God. After about two years they set out for the promised land—the land God had promised Abraham 400 years earlier.

But as they reached the border, they sent in twelve spies. Ten came back saying it was too hard, there were giants in the land, they couldn't go in. The people who had trusted God to bring them out of Egypt lost their confidence. Two spies said God would give them the land if they would only trust Him. Yet that night the people wept in unbelief and began to test God—even after seeing His power in Egypt and His provision for two years. So God said, "I was angry with that generation... they shall not enter my rest."

And here is the amazing, challenging reality: even Moses, the great lawgiver, died in the wilderness. He did not obtain the promise. The one whom later generations exalted and venerated died without entering the promised land.

Beware—Exhort One Another Daily

So the author warns in 3:12:

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Stir one another up every day, before the sun goes down. "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." Then he asks: who rebelled after hearing? Was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? With whom was God angry for forty years? Those whose corpses fell in the wilderness. To whom did He swear they would not enter His rest? Those who did not obey. "So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief"—not because their works weren't good enough, but because their confidence swayed, their faith shifted, and they began to trust something else.

Old Warnings Are No Less Important Than New

Point number five: old warnings are no less important than new. Just outside a ghost-town village in central Ukraine there's an old, rusted, hard-to-read sign. In several languages it says: "Danger. Do not enter. Radioactive." It's at Chernobyl, where an invisible killer resides. It's an old sign, but no less important than a new one.

There is an old sign in Scripture. Paul speaks of it in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Edmund Burke said, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it."

Trust Jesus Alone—and Don't Be Lulled to Sleep

So what does this say to us? The enduring message is: trust in Jesus alone, because Jesus is better. There may be a temptation to shift your faith, having once walked strong, and turn aside to something else, returning to an old pattern of life and thinking. You may object that this could never happen. I simply say there's a warning in the Bible, and warnings exist for a reason.

We must be careful not to overeat the chocolate ice cream of eternal security—it's there, but we mustn't fall asleep eating it, growing spiritually fat and making ourselves feel better. So often we say, "That brother of mine used to go to church; he prayed a prayer. He's left his spouse, he says he's agnostic now, maybe he's returned to drunkenness or addiction—but it's okay, he prayed a prayer. I was there." Don't lull yourself to sleep on ice cream. The Scriptures say:

If a brother is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.

Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall. As we sit here this morning, there may be dozens of phone calls that need to be made to say, "I'm concerned for your salvation." Research says Easter is the number one Sunday people return to church—and Easter is three weeks away. It just might be an opportunity to call that person who once seemed to walk in the faith but whom you're now not so sure about.

I would want to be sure. And the only way to be sure of someone's salvation is whether they're abiding in Jesus. May our passion for Christ burn ever bright as we follow hard after Him, knowing His hand holds us up. And notice: the Calvinist says, "They could never lose their salvation—they must not have truly been a Christian." The Arminian says, "They've lost their salvation." Both come to the same conclusion: they need to repent. They need the gospel. And it may be that the Lord wants to use you to share that good news with them again.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your grace, Your loving kindness, Your mercy. It is because of Your mercy that we are not consumed. You are holy, completely separate from sinners, and just—and yet time and again You have given us Your mercy and grace. We thank You for Your saving grace. But Lord, this moment there are faces and names coming into our minds—friends and family who once seemed to walk with You and now do not. We pray that You would draw them by Your Spirit and use some of us in this room to invite them back.

And it may be that you're here this morning for the first time in a long time, invited by a friend or family member, and you realize you want to put your faith and trust in Jesus again—or maybe you've never done that. Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago to deal with the penalty of our sin, and He makes that grace available to you right now. If you'd like to receive His grace and forgiveness, pray with me: Dear Jesus, I recognize my need for You. I've failed and I've sinned, but I thank You that You died for my sin so that I could live with You forever. Would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith. Amen.