“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Heb. iii, 12, 13.
These are words of solemn warning, and they are drawn from one of the most striking examples of backsliding and apostasy that can be found in all the Bible. The case of the children of Israel, journeying from Egypt to Canaan, is made, by the apostle, the subject of this solemn warning: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” If we look into the book of Hebrews with carefulness, we shall find that the two mightiest powers that man is able to exercise, are brought to view there, and commented upon very largely. The mightiest power that man is able to exercise, is the power of faith. It makes feeble man mighty with the strength of God. Faith unites us to the arm of the Almighty; and to learn what faith can do, you have only to read, for instance, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. We there learn that all the wonderful things brought to view, as wrought by the servants of God, were wrought by the power of faith. It was faith in the promises of God, that led them, at certain times, when the providence of God called them to it, to perform the wonderful things that are recorded in the Bible. By faith all the great works enumerated in the Scriptures, as wrought by patriarchs, and prophets, were accomplished.
Now, there is another power brought to view in the book of Hebrews, that is next in strength to the power of faith, and that is the power of unbelief. When Moses was at the Red Sea with the children of Israel, in answer to his prayer, or by his act of faith in stretching out his rod, the sea was divided, and the children of Israel passed through it as on dry land. Now that was a wonderful thing, surely; and we are all ready to acknowledge it as the mighty power of God. But the power of unbelief that can look on and see such a work wrought, and not be moved by it, is certainly next to it, in the influence it exerts upon the hearts of men. What was it that gave Pharaoh and his army such boldness to enter into the Red Sea, into that path so miraculously opened for the children of Israel? It was the power of unbelief. They dared to venture into the abyss, and pass between the walls of water on either hand, which were stayed up by the power of God; and it was unbelief that gave them that remarkable degree of courage. The power of unbelief had the same effect upon the Egyptians, that the power of faith had upon the Israelites. The one dared to step down to enter the water when it was yet undivided; the other dared to enter its awful abyss though it was God who supported the walls of water.
Take the case of the children of Israel in the wilderness. The act of Moses in smiting the rock, so that water came out, and various other things represented as there happening in answer to the prayer of Moses, were all wonderful illustrations of the power of faith. The children of Israel looked on, and many times were unmoved by it. What was it that gave them this astonishing indifference? It was the power of unbelief; and this is second only, certainly, to the power of faith in the influence it exercises over men. The power of faith works miracles by laying hold upon the arm of God; and the power of unbelief enables a man to look on, and behold the wonderful work, and be unmoved by it.
The apostle calls attention to our danger. The words are timely and proper. I cannot think of anything of greater weight and consequence than some thoughts that may be drawn from this verse. Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. It is a heart of simple, sincere, confiding, and childlike trust, that enables us to join ourselves to God by vital union. It is the evil heart of unbelief that separates us from the truth, and from the Holy Spirit. Take heed. Those that think their mountain stands strong (Ps. xxx, 7), and that they are sure of Heaven and eternal life, and have few fears concerning themselves—it is such that are admonished by these words, “Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”
Brethren, we are not yet past our danger. We are not yet removed from the power of temptation. We are not where we are safe from the power of the Devil. We have not yet reached the place where we are not in danger of backsliding. We are not yet secure from the shafts of the Devil, not yet across the enchanted ground. We are still in the utmost danger of departing from the living God, and apostatizing from the faith. If the children of Israel, with the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, to lead them, and with the ark of God’s testament to go before them, and with Moses, the servant of God, as their especial guide and instructor, and with manna rained down from Heaven to supply them with the purest food, and with the rock opened from time to time, that they might be provided with water, and with the clothes upon them, and the shoes upon their feet, not waxing old,—if with all these manifestations of the power and presence and favor of God, they could backslide, I want to know if there is not danger with us? If the evil heart of unbelief could take possession of them, and they could look on unmoved, when all the works of God were wrought by the power of faith, if unbelief was mighty enough in them, to bring this fatal spell upon them, surely there is danger with us.
The children of Israel were led into backsliding, in part, by the fact that these things were so common. Now, the first time the manna fell they were surprised. They said, What is it? for they had never seen the like. And, undoubtedly, their hearts were considerably affected. But when that manna had fallen for weeks and months, it became a common occurrence; it ceased to be a wonderful providence; and from being surprised, and astonished, and feeling deep gratitude to God for providing them with bread from Heaven, they even dared to murmur against him, and speak of it as something not at all adapted to their wants.
I am satisfied that the spirit that dwelt in the children of Israel, dwells in us, and the same feelings are likely to cause the ruin of a great number of us. God speaks; and the first time he speaks, it makes a strong impression upon our minds; but when he speaks again and again, we lose our interest in it, and lose the force of it, and instead of being solemnly admonished, we come to be accustomed to the most solemn realities, and even make light of them.
The children of Israel, when at the foot of Sinai, were called of God, before the law was there proclaimed, to make solemn preparation. They were to sanctify the mountain, that is, to set themselves apart from it, and not a man or a beast should touch it. And after this solemn preparation on the part of the people to meet with God, he descended in awful grandeur on the mountain. The thunders rolled, and the trumpet sounded exceeding loud. Such a scene as was there witnessed, cannot be paralleled until the Son of God shall descend from the opening heavens, with a mighty shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and the trump of God, to wake the dead. The people were alarmed, and entreated Moses to speak with God, and then speak with them, but not to have God speak with them any more, lest they should die. God accepted the arrangement. And a few days afterward he called Moses up into the mount. The whole top of the mount was like devouring fire. Moses was gone forty days. The people were waiting at the foot of the mountain, while Moses was, during this time, in the mount, communing with God. All this while the manifestations of God’s power and grandeur were before their eyes, and they became so accustomed to them that, before the42forty days were expired, they said they did not know what had become of Moses, and made themselves a golden calf for worship.
This shows what the power of unbelief can do, and how we can accustom ourselves to think and speak in a careless manner, of the awful realities of the Judgment, and the consequences hanging upon our conduct here, until the force and solemnity of it are entirely lost out of our minds. Now the apostle solemnly admonishes us to take heed lest there be in any of us this same evil heart of unbelief.
“But exhort one another daily while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Did you ever weigh this expression, and think of the meaning of the term “to-day,” as used by David in the ninety-fifth psalm? It is the time limited by the Spirit of God, as the period of human probation. It is to me an awful thought that there is a period of time limited by God, beyond which his mercy will not wait, beyond which the voice of pardon shall not be heard by sinful men, and at the expiration of which probation shall close with mankind forever. The Spirit of God has fixed such a time; and while it lasts it is called to-day; a period that is distinguished by the offer of God’s mercy to man, and of pardon, forgiveness of sin, and acceptance with him, if man will repent. But when that time is past, wasted by the most of those that are favored with it, the offer expires by limitation, and such an offer is no longer made to sinful men. Now, says the apostle, while it is called to-day, exhort one another daily, constantly, continually, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
If we take this as the whole period of time that is assigned to mankind for their probation, and carefully consider the declarations of the Bible in reference to it, we shall find that this time is almost expired. There can be no mistake in reference to this. The Judgment, with all its terrible realities, is but just before us. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great time of trouble that precedes his coming, but which immediately follows the closing up of his work in the heavenly sanctuary—these things in their order are right before us. We that are here this morning, profess to believe that this period of time fixed by the Spirit of God, as the “to-day” in which we can find his favor and the forgiveness of sin, is almost expired. And when that ends, then the Judgment! Then we stand before God, to render a strict account to him of all our actions here. And now I want to know how many of us in our hearts believe this. If we believe it, it will be the thought uppermost in our minds. It will not be our worldly business, and how much we can increase our property by skillful management, nor how we can make sharp trades, nor even how by honest industry we can advance our worldly interest. I do not speak against giving proper attention to the gaining of a livelihood; but the one absorbing thought will be, “The period of our probation is now far spent, and will be very soon past, and when that period is ended, our destiny is fixed, either to have eternal life in the kingdom of God, or to be excluded therefrom, and have our part in the lake of fire, which is the second death.”
Eternal consequences are hanging upon the manner in which we spend these few days; yet few of us have any sense of the fact, and we are quite generally unmoved by it. We are like the children of Israel when they saw the hand of God working for them, and yet were so completely paralyzed by unbelief as to be wholly insensible to the wonderful providence of God.
Exhort one another while it is called to-day. Thank God that to-day all that are here, as I verily believe, may, if they will only be in earnest, make their calling and election sure. And I invite you and beseech you to attend to this; for it is a matter of infinite consequence. I earnestly desire to point out your danger. What is the reason we are not all of us alive and earnest in this matter? What is the reason we cannot be interested to make this brief to-day tell on our eternal destiny? The terrible foe that is likely to ruin many of us, is mentioned in the text: “Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” What is sin? It is breaking God’s commandments; it is wrong-doing; every kind of evil; every kind of wickedness, of every close, and every description. The kinds and the quantities are beyond all expression; yet it is all summed up and expressed in this short word of three letters, s-i-n. Why do so many allow themselves to be ruined by sin? It is because there is nothing honest about sin. It is all deceitful, ruinous, fatal. It lies in wait to ruin and destroy men. Of course I connect with this, the author of sin, as the great instigator of it.
Now sin comes to us in its fairest colors. It does not come to us in all its nakedness and deformity, as some terrible monster to devour us. But it comes with fair looks, and makes great promises to each of us, if we will only do what it requires at our hand. It does not come and say, “I want you to do so and so, that you may find your portion in the lake of fire.” That would be honest. But it comes and says, “I promise you great joy if you will disobey God this time, or a few times. And there are such and such joys, very good, and very desirable, which I promise to secure for you; and there will be time enough after that for you to make the matter all right; and so far as its affecting your eternal destiny is concerned, God is very merciful, and you will come out a great deal better off for doing this, than as though you refrained from it.”
This is what the apostle means by the deceitfulness of sin. Let us take some case to illustrate this point. I will refer to that of our common mother, Eve. When our first parents were situated in Paradise, with everything to make them supremely blest and happy; when there was no evil of any kind existing in the earth, and every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and every one good for food, existed in the garden of God, and they were restricted from only one, and had enough besides, and could commune with God, and had everything that heart could wish, then the tempter entered, and promised Eve great joy if she would only eat of the forbidden fruit. Unfortunately she did accept of it. And what was the consequence? You know. This simple act of rebellion against God brought death and all our woes into the world; and whereas we once possessed Paradise, we lost it, and whereas we once had no sickness, now it came upon us, and death came with it; and all our race, with two exceptions, have gone down to the silent grave.
But all that sin has ever promised has proved false every time. And after the experience of six thousand years has tried this thing again and again, and always found it false and deceitful, like the apples of Sodom, sin has the effrontery and brazen-facedness to come forward with the same assurance, and tell men what it will do for them, if they will only disobey the God of Heaven. And, strange to say, the great mass of men will do it, and even act as though it were a privilege to disobey the Most High!
The deceitfulness of sin is likely to ruin many of us. It presents itself to us in a thousand alluring ways. It takes us on the right hand and on the left. It draws our hearts away from God. It causes us to lay down our guard.
We frequently come to the forks of the road; that is to say, come to a great many places where the road divides, and one is the path of duty, while the other is the path that appears to be the path of self-interest. They seem to divide only by a slight angle; and sin says, If you will only take the path of interest instead of the path of duty, you will not go very much out of the way; for it diverges only by a slight angle. Now every time you come to such a place, God tests you. It is like passing grain through a sieve to see what that will take out. Now we do not all realize that we must take the path of duty and right, and never deviate from it for the supposed advantage we may derive from doing something that is wrong.
Every time you take the right and shun the wrong, the more certain it is that you will find salvation at the last day. God does not subject us to any trial and temptation that is unnecessary. A certain amount is needed to form our character and prove us; and every time you take the right path, and are not allured into the wrong, you make it more certain that you will gain Heaven at last. But how very few persons there are that spend the “to-day” of human probation in always taking the path of duty, and never swerving from the right for any supposed advantage whatever.
There is a terrible danger suggested by the apostle Paul in the next clause, to which I will now call your attention. He says, “Exhort one another daily while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” There is no greater calamity that can come on us while this life lasts, than to have our hearts made hard. There is no more hopeless condition a man can live in, than to have his heart hard, unfeeling, and insensible to the influences of God’s Holy Spirit. And there is no state so desirable, as it seems to me, while we live in this condition of probation, as to have our hearts tender, capable of feeling, and ready at the first intimation of God’s will, to yield ourselves without reserve to him. There are plenty of people that we find, and some even of our own brethren and sisters, that have grieved the Spirit of God so many times that their hearts are hard and unfeeling. They are callous. They have lost their sensitiveness, and their capacity to feel and tremble at the word of God; and the tender, gracious influence of the Spirit of God is gone, because the heart has been hardened by yielding to the influence of sin. It is a terrible thing to be in this condition; and, brethren, the end of this is surely death.
We read a good deal in the Bible about men’s having their hearts hardened. The case of Pharaoh is often brought up, and I will refer to it for a moment. There are some places that speak of the Lord as hardening Pharaoh’s heart, and other places which speak of Pharaoh as hardening his own heart. I think I can explain this, so that there will be perfect consistency. Some have an idea that God hardens the heart; that he wills the ruin of some men, and makes them hard and stubborn for the purpose of destroying them. But if God hardens their hearts because he wants them lost, the blame is upon God, not upon them. This can never be. How, then, does God harden the heart? by his grace? by his Holy Spirit? No, indeed. The grace of God comes into a man’s heart, and the Holy Spirit visits him, and it makes his heart tender, and his conscience quick, and the tears trickle down his face. If the grace of God could be given in full measure to every one of us, it would not harden our hearts, but render them susceptible to all the impressions of his Holy Spirit. Our hearts would be more and more tender, and we should be more willing to obey God in everything; and when we come to where the road divides, we should take the right road every time.
Well, if it is not the Holy Spirit that makes a man’s heart hard, what is it? My text tells us: “Exhort one another while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” That is the trouble—the deceitfulness of sin! How did Pharaoh harden his heart? By becoming a victim to the deceitfulness of sin. He gave himself up to a strong delusion. But does God desire to have men believe a lie? Never. Strong delusion comes from the opposite source. It is the spirit of the great Adversary that brings strong delusion and darkness upon men. I will tell you what the Lord does do, and what men do, and then you can see how the case stands. The Lord sends the truth, and it lights up the way of mankind, just as the sun lights up this ground. He sends the melting influence of his Spirit to make their hearts feeling and tender, just as he sends the rain upon the earth to water the parched ground, and to make everything green and flourishing upon the earth.
This is what God does; and what do men do? They resist it! The Spirit says, Take up the cross, and walk in the footsteps of your divine Redeemer. The heart ponders and replies, The cross is so heavy, I never can bear it. The Spirit of God says, You must do it or go to ruin. And then there comes more light pouring upon the man, till his mind is all lighted up; and still there stands the cross; and again he says, I cannot take it. The crucifixion is too great, and I cannot endure it, and I never will do it. By-and-by the “to-day” of that man is past. The Spirit of God being grieved time after time, at length leaves the man to himself; and being left to himself, his heart becomes hard and obdurate. He can hear all the terrible threatenings of God’s word, and all the gracious invitations of the Holy Spirit, and be unmoved by them. And this43hardening of the heart is the work of the man himself. All that God does is simply this: After he has plead and plead and plead with the man till he can plead no longer, he leaves him to himself; and when thus left, his heart is hard and unfeeling and dark. And how will the man come out in the day of Judgment? He will stand absolutely inexcusable. That will be the case with Pharaoh, and with all others who have pursued a course similar to his. God never made a man’s heart hard, only in this sense, that when he could plead with him no longer, because he had wantonly and inexcusably resisted the influence of his Holy Spirit, he left him, and thus the light that was in him became darkness. And how great is that darkness! I am afraid, brethren and sisters, that some of us will come to ruin in just this manner. And if we do, it will be no common ruin. If, after all that God has done for us, in giving us the light of his truth, and the strivings of his Spirit, we come up to the Judgment unprepared, no words can express the terrible situation in which we shall find ourselves. The man that has never made a very high profession, nor entertained much hope of Heaven, will find his punishment far more tolerable than ours, favored as we have been, with the clear light of Heaven shining upon us.
Take heed, says the apostle; and I pass his earnest exhortation over to you this morning, with the prayer that you may heed it. The “to-day” of some of us is just expiring. The “to-day” of all of us will soon be past. But some of us stand at the very termination of our probation, and there is but a step between us and death. Shall we be unmoved and unconcerned? Or shall we arouse, and go to work, with an earnestness that becomes men in such a situation? May the Spirit of God come mightily upon us; and may we regard the solemn admonition of the apostle, lest we be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.