Let Us Fear, Let Us Be Diligent

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark opened in Hebrews 4, working through some of the most difficult grammar in the New Testament to show why the writer's warnings about unbelief are not a contradiction of confidence in God, but the very thing that produces it. The passage uses the Exodus generation as a warning mirror held up to believers who are in danger of drifting. The aim was to help the church hold together the...

Read together

1. Hebrews 3:7-19 Covered in previous week's message, recapped as 'let us take heed' section; includes quotation of Psalm 95 warning against hardening hearts as in the wilderness
2. Hebrews 4:1-13 Main passage for the sermon, covering 'let us fear' and 'let us be diligent'
3. Hebrews 4:14-16 Previewed at end of sermon as 'let us hold fast our confession'; Jesus as great high priest tempted in all things yet without sin, throne of grace
4. Psalm 95 Quoted repeatedly throughout; 'today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts' and the opening praise section read aloud at the close
5. Genesis 2 God rested on the seventh day from all His creative works; no closing of the seventh day mentioned
6. Hebrews 2 Referenced as 'we must pay closer attention to what we have already heard' so that we do not drift away
7. James If you break even one of the laws of God you have broken the whole thing; every transgression receives a just penalty

Talk about it

1. Pastor Mark described the Exodus generation as people who had seen God work with their own eyes and still hardened their hearts. Where in your own life have you seen God act clearly, and how has that shaped or failed to shape your response to Him?
2. The sermon drew a distinction between hearing good news and actually receiving it by faith, pointing out that the Exodus generation had the gospel preached to them but it did not profit them because it was not united with faith. What does it look like in everyday life for someone to hear the gospel without it being united with faith?
3. Pastor Mark said that unbelief is the state of mind and disobedience is the action that follows from it, and that the two are inseparable throughout Hebrews. Can you think of an area in your own life where you have noticed that pattern, where a failure to trust God led to a specific pattern of disobedience?
4. The sermon described the word of God as living, active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and connected reading it closely to not drifting away. What has helped you, or what has gotten in the way, when it comes to paying closer attention to what you have already heard from Scripture?
5. Pastor Mark closed by pointing to Jesus as a high priest who was tempted in every way we are and yet was without sin, and said that because of this we can draw near with confidence to the throne of grace every single day, not just at the moment of initial salvation. How does knowing that Jesus sympathizes with your weaknesses change the way you approach Him when you are struggling?