Hebrews 3:12-13

Hebrews 3

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Verse 12 in Hebrews 3 tells us to be careful. Take care to be sure there isn’t an evil unbelieving heart, in you, that leads you to fall away from God. At first, it seems like this would make more sense if it were talking about our friends or those around us that tempt us and lead us away. However, it clearly says to be sure that your own heart doesn’t lead you to fall away from God.

So, can your heart lead you away from God? Absolutely. In fact, even when it is others tempting you, it is your own heart and flesh that is giving in, taking strides away from God.

The problem is, the world tells us to ‘follow your heart.’ Your heart tells you to feel good, have fun, make mistakes while you’re young, do whatever makes you happy… But Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our heart is deceitful and desperately sick or wicked. We can’t trust it and we shouldn’t follow it! It is the Holy Spirit within us who reshapes and changes our desires to match God’s. It is the Holy Spirit’s leading that we should follow.

This passage continues and does give us a command as friends and fellow believers. It says to exhort (encourage, insist) each other every day- as long as it is called ‘today’- so that none of you are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

When we do follow the wickedness of our hearts, and fall into repetitive sin, our hearts become hard. This chapter explains that this is exactly what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness. Verse 13 gives us a responsibility to be on the watch for each other, to prevent this from happening.

We are to encourage each other to walk in righteousness, but another part of exhorting is helping those we love recognize and repent of their sin, so they do not fall away and their heart is not hardened. It says to exhort each other as long as it is called ‘today’- in other words- do it now! Before it is too late. If you have friends or family that has fallen into sin, help (do not condemn) them, today. Before their heart is hardened by their sin, and resistant to the drawing of God.