Hebrews 3: 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
4 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it….11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
At first glance we see all these verses and want to believe that they are for those who never really accepted Christ as Savior. When we read verse 12, we pass through it with a quick glance that would want to say "Oh, certainly God sees the heart of man and knows who are really saved and who are just going through the motions to see what they might profit from joining the crowd. Much like the crowd that followed Jesus for the miracles, but screamed "crucify Him" when he stood before Pilate" If we look a little deeper, we may see that there is a message of hope for all of us who are redeemed. A guide that helps us to enter into His rest rather than to be dismayed by the conflict which surrounds our soul. The word of God is that guide which while we study it digs deep into the crevices of our soul to search out all those areas in which we may be lacking in faith so as to shed light on that area of darkness, to provide us hope. Do I really believe His promises? We do not even need Satan to draw us into sin, within our own hearts there are those areas in which we don’t really trust God and it becomes those areas where the deceitfulness of sin draws us into believing in the the lies that sin would tell us. Sin might whisper, "This is your last chance for love; after all God really doesn’t care if you compromise yourself by having an affair with an unbeliever–He knows you are lonely. Didn’t He promise you the desires of your heart?" Or sin may whisper, "Surely God knows your finances are bad, so what if you skim the time clock, cheat on your taxes or engage in some scam–after all maybe He allowed that opportunity to present itself" Again it is the deceit of sin that tells us to lie if the truth might cost us our job or our friend. I would say that all of sin comes out of a lack of belief in the Word of God and His promises. The Word of God is our hope for rest and peace–it shines it’s light on the truth so that we may discern what is real. It is our guide to discern what is really precious to us. It provides hope, joy and peace so that we may rest in His Grace that covered yesterday to remove all the guilt and worry for the past. It is the light that shines deep into our hearts to remove every ounce of unbelief so that we might hold tight to the truth and not be tempted by sin’s deceitful lies. It is the brilliant glorious light that shines into tomorrow with the promise of Future Grace to sustain us. That is why we must not neglect our study of the word. That is why we must share His Good News and encourage all those around us who are in need.