The Second Warning: Lest You Fall Away (3:7-4:13)

The Context and Superiority of Christ.  Chapter 3 opens with a comparison of Christ and Moses as leaders.  Moses is praised for his role as a servant (Heb. 5:5), but Christ is praised because He is the Son (Heb. 5:6).  Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the future inheritance rest that Christ will bring to those who persevere.

The Sin and Possible Problem.  The author warns the Hebrews of the hardness of heart that comes from the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:12-13) and of not listening the Christ (Heb. 3:7-8), their leader.

The Warning and Consequences.  The consequences of hardness is being denied the opportunity to be a partaker of Christ (Heb. 2:14) and of not entering the inheritance rest (Heb. 4:6, 11).

The Exhortation and Encouragement.  The Hebrews are encouraged to "hold fast" (Heb. 2:14) and to "be diligent" (Heb. 4:11) so that they will not fall and forfeit their inheritance.

Old Testament Examples.  In Numbers 13-14, the Israelites did not trust that God would allow them to enter Canaan (Num. 13:31).  Because of their hardness of heart and unbelief, God did not allow them to enter their inheritance, the land of Israel (Num. 14:22-23.  Only Caleb and Joshua, because of their belief were allowed in (Num. 14:24).

New Testament Cross References.  In I Cor. 9:24-27, Paul likens the Christian life to race that he trains for so he would not be "disqualified" for the prize.  In II Tim. 2:11-13, Paul tells Timothy that Christ will deny rewards (which Paul discusses in 2:1-10) to anyone that denies Christ in this life.  They are justified and "God will remain faithful," but they will lose reward because of their life.  The term "fall away" in Gal. 5:4 is translated from a different Greek verb (Hebrews: aposteenia, Galatians: exepesate) and represents a different concept.  In Galations, Paul is warning against turning to legalism, which results in a believer placing himself under the law. This causes him to fall from a state of grace to living under the Law.