“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 Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13, KJV).

You may ask, “Could that be true of a believer?” It certainly could! In fact, I see three “D’s” of danger in these two verses that we all need to beware of:

1. DISBELIEVING – v. 12a

It is important to realize that God was very angry with Israel’s sin. What was it? “How long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them?” (Numbers 14:11). What was their sin? They didn’t believe God. It’s not that the Israelites did not believe in God’s power to redeem them from Egypt. They could not doubt that, for it had already occurred. That was no longer a matter of faith but of fact. The problem was that they did not believe that God could lead them into Canaan. Despite the miracles which He had already shown them in the past, the brilliance of their former experiences in faith had so faded that they did not believe God for their future trials and ultimate victory. The point here is not a past faith disavowed, but a future faith not yet expressed.

Israel had every reason to believe God. God had been faithful to Israel time and time again. The problem was not God’s faithfulness, but Israel’s failure to trust Him completely. What is “an evil heart of unbelief”? It is one that stands off from God, rebels against God, does not trust God and His promises, and does not obey as He commands. Israel’s failure to believe in God’s power for future conquests is a stark warning to us that we should beware lest we have no faith in God concerning the trials and temptations of this life. Don’t be guilty of disbelieving!

2. DEPARTING – v. 12b

The word means “to stand off from,” or “to step aside from.” It is used in the New Testament in the sense of a divorcement from marriage (Matthew 19:7). This does not say, or mean, merely to fall into sin; but to fall away from a Person, “the Living God.” Have you ever had any one whom you valued and loved fall into utter neglect of you? Nothing wounds so deeply!

3. DECEITFULNESS – v.13

Note that a person can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We can actually come to the place where we feel our lives are satisfactory to God although we are leading a wilderness life. For example, a believer can be dishonest and yet say that his conscience does not condemn him. The problem is, his conscience has become hardened through continuance in sin! He can go to church, pray pious prayers, and do all manner of Christian work, and his conscience does not condemn him because it has been hardened due to the sin he is permitting in his life.

Dear friend, sin hardens a person! The more a person sins, the harder and more sinful he becomes. Sin begets sin; sin nourishes more sin. The problem? Sin is deceitful. It looks good, tastes good, and feels good. But it enslaves human life and leaves the human heart empty, lonely, insecure, hurting, and oftentimes broken. It devastates families, friends, churches, and oneself. Sin is always deceitful; it does not deliver what it promised!

That is why we are told to “exhort [encourage] one another daily.” Here is a duty which is neglected by most of us. We judge, and criticize others, but do not faithfully exhort and rebuke. Instead, we should have our fellow Christians upon our hearts constantly, in brotherly love, so that we would have tender boldness to “exhort” them if we saw them going astray or tempted to turn aside (see Galatians 6:1-2).

Oh, beloved, let us heed the warning of Hebrews 3:12-13. It is possible to have in us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from God because we have been hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. It could happen to you and it could happen to me. That’s why we must be exhorted “daily.” Each and every day presents fresh challenges and temptations. Perhaps this poem says it best:

They came to the gates of Canaan, but they never entered in.
They came to the land of promise, but they perished in their sin.
And so we are ever coming, to the place where two ways part;
One leads to the land of promise, and one to a hardened heart.