Hebrews 3:12 Study Bible: Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;

◄ Hebrews 3:12 ►

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.

See to it
This phrase is a call to vigilance and personal responsibility. The Greek word used here is "blepete," which means to look, beware, or take heed. It is an imperative command, urging believers to be watchful over their spiritual condition. In the historical context of the early church, this vigilance was crucial as believers faced persecution and the temptation to revert to old ways. The call to "see to it" is a reminder that faith requires active participation and constant attention.

brothers
The term "brothers" (Greek: "adelphoi") is inclusive, referring to both male and female members of the Christian community. It emphasizes the familial bond among believers, united by their faith in Christ. This familial language underscores the importance of community and mutual accountability in the Christian walk. In the early church, this sense of brotherhood was vital for support and encouragement, especially during times of trial.

that none of you
This phrase highlights the collective responsibility of the community. It is not just an individual concern but a communal one. The early Christian communities were tightly knit, and the spiritual health of one member affected the whole body. This reflects the biblical principle that believers are interconnected, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:26, where if one part suffers, every part suffers with it.

has a wicked heart
The "wicked heart" refers to a heart that is morally corrupt or evil. The Greek word "poneros" is used here, which can denote something that is harmful or malicious. In biblical terms, the heart is the center of one's being, encompassing thoughts, emotions, and will. A "wicked heart" is one that is not aligned with God's will and is prone to sin. This warning serves as a reminder of the deceitfulness of sin and the need for constant self-examination.

of unbelief
Unbelief, or "apistia" in Greek, is a lack of faith or trust in God. It is not merely intellectual doubt but a deeper spiritual issue that affects one's relationship with God. In the context of Hebrews, unbelief is a serious concern, as it leads to a hardening of the heart and separation from God. The historical backdrop of the Israelites' unbelief in the wilderness serves as a cautionary tale for the readers of Hebrews.

that turns away
The phrase "turns away" (Greek: "aphistemi") implies a deliberate departure or rebellion. It is an active turning away from God, not just a passive drifting. This term is often used in the context of apostasy, where one abandons their faith. The warning here is against the danger of gradually moving away from God, which can lead to a complete renunciation of faith.

from the living God
The "living God" is a powerful designation, emphasizing God's active and dynamic presence. Unlike the lifeless idols of the surrounding cultures, the God of the Bible is alive and involved in the lives of His people. This phrase serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty and the reality of His existence. In the historical context, the early Christians were surrounded by paganism, and the affirmation of serving a "living God" was both a declaration of faith and a rejection of idolatry. The call is to remain faithful to this living God, who is the source of life and salvation.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The Author of Hebrews
Traditionally attributed to Paul, though the exact authorship is uncertain. The author writes with authority and deep understanding of Jewish traditions and the supremacy of Christ.

2. The Recipients
Jewish Christians who were familiar with the Old Testament and were facing persecution and temptation to revert to Judaism.

3. The Living God
A term used to emphasize God's active and dynamic presence, contrasting with lifeless idols.

4. The Wilderness Generation
The Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years due to their unbelief and disobedience, serving as a warning example.

5. The Heart
In biblical terms, the heart is the center of human will, emotions, and intellect, often used to describe one's spiritual state.

Teaching Points

Guard Against Unbelief
Vigilance is necessary to prevent a heart of unbelief. Regular self-examination and prayer can help maintain faithfulness.

Community Accountability
The use of "brothers" suggests a communal responsibility. Encourage and support one another in faith to prevent spiritual drift.

The Danger of Turning Away
Apostasy, or turning away from God, is a real danger. Stay rooted in Scripture and fellowship to remain steadfast.

The Living God
Remember that God is active and present. Cultivate a relationship with Him through prayer and worship.

Heart Examination
Regularly assess the state of your heart. Are there areas of doubt or disobedience that need addressing?

Bible Study Questions

1. What are some practical ways you can guard your heart against unbelief in your daily life?

2. How can you encourage others in your community to remain faithful to the living God?

3. Reflect on a time when you felt tempted to turn away from God. What helped you stay on course?

4. How does understanding the nature of the "living God" impact your faith and daily walk with Him?

5. In what ways can you apply the lessons from the wilderness generation to your own spiritual journey?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Numbers 14
The rebellion of the Israelites in the wilderness, which serves as a backdrop for the warning against unbelief.

Psalm 95
A call to worship and a warning against hardening hearts, which is quoted earlier in Hebrews 3.

James 1:6-8
Discusses the instability of a doubting heart, similar to the warning against unbelief in Hebrews 3:12.

Jeremiah 17:9
Describes the deceitfulness of the heart, highlighting the need for vigilance against unbelief.

Proverbs 4:23
Advises guarding the heart, as it is the wellspring of life, aligning with the exhortation to watch over one's heart in Hebrews 3:12.

Sermons

An Evil Heart of Unbelief	J. M. Sherwood, D. D.	Hebrews 3:12
Apostasy	W. Jones	Hebrews 3:12
Apostasy from the Living God	Homilist	Hebrews 3:12
Dishonest Doubt	The Homiletic Monthly	Hebrews 3:12
Duties Due to Christ, as He is the Living God	W. Gouge.	Hebrews 3:12
Of Infidelity	I. Barrow, D. D.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Evil and Aggravations of Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Heart of Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Improvement of the Doctrine of Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Necessity of Vigilance as to Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Prevalence of Unbelief in Believers	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On the Tendency of Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
On Vigilance as to a Heart of Unbelief	John Jamieson, M. A.	Hebrews 3:12
The Evil Heart of Unbelief	J. Garbett.	Hebrews 3:12
The Evil Heart of Unbelief	D. Young	Hebrews 3:12
The Evil of Unbelief	W. Gouge.	Hebrews 3:12
The Necessity of a Believing Heart	Bp. Sherlock.	Hebrews 3:12
The Rejection of Revealed Truth Referable to Moral Depravity	S. Miller, D. D.	Hebrews 3:12
To All, Faith	W. McLean.	Hebrews 3:12
Unbelief	J. Cumming, D. D.	Hebrews 3:12
Unbelief	J. P. Lange.	Hebrews 3:12
Unbelief and Faith		Hebrews 3:12
Warning Against Backsliding	W. P. Lockhart.	Hebrews 3:12
The Comparison of Christ and Moses Suggests the Possibility of Apostasy from Christ	C. New	Hebrews 3:7-19
There is Here Asserted the Need of Mutual Exhortation to Avoid Unbelief and Follow Christ Fully	J.S. Bright	Hebrews 3:12-14

People

Hebrews

Places

Egypt, Jerusalem

Topics

Belief, Beware, Brethren, Brothers, Care, Chance, Departing, Ever-living, Evil, Fall, Falling, Falls, Haply, Heart, Heed, Itself, Leading, Lest, Manifesting, None, Perhaps, Revolt, Sinful, Turning, Turns, Unbelief, Unbelieving, Wicked

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Hebrews 3:12

     1080   God, living
     1412   foreknowledge
     5016   heart, fallen and redeemed
     6022   sin, causes of
     6257   unbelievers
     8028   faith, body of beliefs
     8478   self-examination
     8706   apostasy, warnings
     8718   disobedience
     8741   failure
     8835   unbelief, nature of

Hebrews 3:7-12

5790 anger, divine
8743 faithlessness, nature of

Hebrews 3:7-13

8438 giving, of time

Hebrews 3:7-19

6195 impenitence, results

Hebrews 3:12-13

     5263   communication
     6030   sin, avoidance
     8723   doubt, results of

Hebrews 3:12-14

     6156   fall, of humanity
     6243   adultery, spiritual
     8707   apostasy, personal

Hebrews 3:12-15

6178 hardness of heart

Hebrews 3:12-18

8023 faith, necessity

Hebrews 3:12-19

5705 inheritance, spiritual
8836 unbelief, response

Library

March 22. "Hold Fast the Confidence and the Rejoicing of the Hope Firm unto the End" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" (Heb. iii. 6). The attitude of faith is simple trust. It is Elijah saying to Ahab, "There is a sound of abundance of rain." But then there comes usually a deeper experience in which the prayer is inwrought; it is Elijah on the mount, with his face between his knees, travailing, as it were, in birth for the promised blessing. He has believed for it--and now he must take. The first is Joash shooting the arrow out of the windows, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 10. "Hold Fast the Confidence" (Heb. Iii. 6).
"Hold fast the confidence" (Heb. iii. 6). Seldom have we seen a sadder wreck of even the highest, noblest Christian character than when the enemy has succeeded in undermining the simple trust of a child of God, and got him into self-accusing and condemnation. It is a fearful place when the soul allows Satan to take the throne and act as God, sitting in judgment on its every thought and act; and keeping it in the darkness of ceaseless condemnation. Well indeed has the apostle told us to hold firmly …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Persuasive to Steadfastness
We shall have to show the value of faith while we try to open up the text before us, in which I see, first, a high privilege: "we are made partakers of Christ;" and secondly, by implication, a serious question--the question whether or no we have been made partakers of Christ and, then, in the third place, an unerring test. "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." I. First, then, here is A VERY HIGH PRIVILEGE. "We are made partakers of Christ." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Mind of Jesus.
THE MIND OF JESUS! What a study is this! To attain a dim reflection of it, is the ambition of angels--higher they can not soar. "To be conformed to the image of His Son!"--it is the end of God in the predestination of His Church from all eternity. "We shall be like Him!"--it is the Bible picture of heaven! In a former little volume, we pondered some of the gracious Words which proceeded out of the mouth of Jesus. In the present, we have a few faint lineaments of that holy Character which constituted …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

Discourse II.
Chapter XIV.--Texts explained; Fourthly, Hebrews iii. 2 Introduction; the Regula Fidei counter to an Arian sense of the text; which is not supported by the word servant,' nor by made' which occurs in it; (how can the Judge be among the works' which God will bring into judgment?') nor by faithful;' and is confuted by the immediate context, which is about Priesthood; and by the foregoing passage, which explains the word faithful' as meaning trustworthy, as do 1 Pet. iv. fin. and other texts. On the …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

The Exercise of Mercy Optional with God.
ROMANS ix. 15.--"For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." This is a part of the description which God himself gave to Moses, of His own nature and attributes. The Hebrew legislator had said to Jehovah: "I beseech thee show me thy glory." He desired a clear understanding of the character of that Great Being, under whose guidance he was commissioned to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. God said to …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Of the Creation 0F Man
Gen. i. 26, 27.--"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them."--With Eph. iv. 24.--"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."--And Heb. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Weighed, and Found Wanting
'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4. And they said one …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"And if any Man Sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,",
1 John ii. 1.--"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,", &c. There is here a sad supposition, but too certain, that any man may sin, yea, that all men will sin, even those who have most communion with God, and interest in the blood of Christ. Yet they are not altogether exempted from this fatal lot of mankind. It is incident even to them to sin, and too frequently incident, but yet we have a happy and sweet provision, for indemnity from the hazard of sin,--"we have an advocate …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Saints' Privilege and Profit;
OR, THE THRONE OF GRACE ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The churches of Christ are very much indebted to the Rev. Charles Doe, for the preservation and publishing of this treatise. It formed one of the ten excellent manuscripts left by Bunyan at his decease, prepared for the press. Having treated on the nature of prayer in his searching work on 'praying with the spirit and with the understanding also,' in which he proves from the sacred scriptures that prayer cannot be merely read or said, but must …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

The Work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ Himself is the one perfect manifestation in history of the complete work of the Holy Spirit in man. 1. Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke i. 35, R. V., "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee; and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God." As we have already seen, in regeneration the believer is begotten of God, but Jesus Christ was …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

Apostles To-Day?
"Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are ye not my work in the Lord?"--1 Cor. ix. 1. We may not take leave of the apostolate without a last look at the circle of its members. It is a closed circle; and every effort to reopen it tends to efface a characteristic of the New Covenant. And yet the effort is being made again and again. We see it in Rome's apostolic succession; in the Ethical view gradually effacing the boundary-line between the apostles and believers; …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Introduction to Four Discourses against the Arians.
Written Between 356 And 360. There is no absolutely conclusive evidence as to the date of these Discourses, in fact they would appear from the language of ii. 1 to have been issued at intervals. The best judges, however, are agreed in assigning them to the fruitful period of the third exile.' The Discourses cannot indeed be identified with the lost account of the Arian heresy addressed to certain Egyptian monks (see Introd. to Arian Hist. supra); but the demand for such a treatise may have set Athanasius …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Predestination and Calling
Eternal Father, who shall look Into thy secret will? None but the Lamb shall take the book, And open every seal. None but he shall ever unroll that sacred record and read it to the assembled world. How then am I to know whether I am predestinated by God unto eternal life or not? It is a question in which my eternal interests are involved; am I among that unhappy number who shall be left to live in sin and reap the due reward of their iniquity; or do I belong to that goodly company, who albeit that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

How Shall the Soul Make Use of Christ, as the Life, which is under the Prevailing Power of Unbelief and Infidelity.
That we may help to give some clearing to a poor soul in this case, we shall, 1. See what are the several steps and degrees of this distemper. 2. Consider what the causes hereof are. 3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case; and, 4. Give some directions how a soul in that case should make use of Christ as the Life, to the end it may be delivered therefrom. And, first, There are many several steps to, and degrees of this distemper. We shall mention a few; as, 1. When they cannot come …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Coming of the Called.
"That the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth."--Rom. ix. 11. The question is, whether the elect cooperate in the call. We say, Yes; for the call is no call, in the fullest sense of the word, unless the called one can hear and hears so distinctly that it impresses him, causes him to rise and to obey God. For this reason our fathers, for the sake of clearness, used to distinguish between the ordinary call and the effectual call. God's call does not …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Shepherd and the Fold
... Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.' EXODUS XV. 13. What a grand triumphal ode! The picture of Moses and the children of Israel singing, and Miriam and the women answering: a gush of national pride and of worship! We belong to a better time, but still we can feel its grandeur. The deliverance has made the singer look forward to the end, and his confidence in the issue is confirmed. I. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. The original is 'lead gently.' Cf. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

After Prayer Jesus Selects Twelve Apostles.
(Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. X. 2-4; ^B Mark III. 13-19; ^C Luke VI. 12-16. ^c 12 And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain ^b 13 And he goeth up into the mountain, ^c to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God. [It was a momentous occasion. He was about to choose those to whom he was to entrust the planting, organizing, and training of that church which was to be the purchase of his own blood. Jesus used such important crises, not as occasions for anxiety and …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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