In the previous mini-series of articles, Hebrews 3 showed how Jesus is greater than even Moses. Moses oversaw the building of the tabernacle (and Moses earned great honor from God), but Jesus is the Son of God, reigning supreme over the very house of God.
Going back to Moses’ time, ancient Hebrew (Israelite) people – including those who had just been miraculously liberated from slavery in Egypt – failed to believe in the true God, resulting in their disobedience. This angered God (and rightly so), compelling God – in His holy anger – to keep those rebellious people from entering His rest. In that light, let’s read from the end of chapter 3 to serve as an introduction to chapter 4.
So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Hebrews 3:19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.3.19.NIV
I think that it is important here to understand what “belief” means. When someone makes a promise to us, we might say that we believe them, but the real test of belief is when we do something to demonstrate that. Consider what it means to show someone that we truly believe them when they ask us to do things like this:
- “Go ahead, it’s safe to reach your hand into this dark hole and get something out of it”
- “I’ve turned off the power so it’s OK to open that electrical panel and use a screwdriver to replace the connections”
- “Trust me, that rickety ladder will hold you while you climb up and work from that height”
- “I’ll take care of investing your money safely and securely”
In that light – where belief isn’t just a claim, but instead it is demonstrated through action – what might it have looked like for the Israelites in the wilderness to believe God when He said things like the first few commandments from Exodus 20 (see Exodus 20:1-6)?
- Would believing God look like worshiping a golden calf?
- Would believing God look like rejecting the delegated authority that God gave to Moses?
- Would believing God look like complaining that they didn’t have food or water?
Similarly, what does it mean for us to really believe God – to take Him at His word? What about when He tells us things like the statements below?
- He loves us, and following His instructions is better than sinning.
- He is powerful enough to take care of us, so we do not need to rely on sinful alternatives.
- He is good, and a close relationship with Him is better than anything our sinful nature craves.
- Jesus is the only way to be saved from all that is bad in this world, and for eternity.
Believing in God is not just a statement. When we believe something, we naturally take action that shows what we truly believe in. If we think about it, would anyone truly believe God’s explanation of the truth – about Himself, about reality, about eternity – and then choose to reject it? I suspect that rejection of God is ultimately rooted in unbelief. For instance:
- Not believing that God is unique and sovereign; e.g., “I had better cover all my bases, just in case I got it wrong about God”
- Not believing that God is perfectly good (i.e., holy); e.g., “God is just a cosmic killjoy”
- Not believing that God has to punish sin; e.g., “God will let me in if I’m at least ‘good enough’ ”
- Not believing that God really and truly loves us; e.g., “God doesn’t care about me”
- Not believing that Jesus fully took care of our sins; e.g., “I had better work hard to follow all of the rules that other Christians tell me I should obey, even if they aren’t all from the Bible”
- Not believing that God’s way really is better; i.e., “I know what God says to do, but this other thing would be so much more fun, and make me feel so much better”
We can discuss motivations for sinning and why people don’t accept and follow Jesus, but maybe they boil down to a lack of belief: not having real belief that cannot help but result in actions. I’m pretty sure that Christians also run into our own versions of unbelief, but each of us can ask God to “help our unbelief” (see Mark 9:21-24).
From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 1, 2026
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Hebrews, by Jim Girdwood and Peter Verkruyse. © 1997 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 