“For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard it did not combine it with faith” (Hb 4.2)

I’ve never been one for holding onto things I rarely use or feel I don’t need.  Recently I cleared a few boxes out of the attic and was surprised at some of the things I found.  Stored away in boxes were a few valuable gifts we had received from some extremely generous friends.  As I looked through the rediscovered treasures, I recalled having stored them for safe-keeping during our house move a number of years ago – I had then forgotten all about them after the move.  I felt bad when I found them.  I felt as though I hadn’t valued the gifts.  Even worse, I felt that by forgetting the gift I was, in some way, not honouring the person who gave them to us.

In circumstances like moving house I can understand how some things can be put away and forgotten over the years, even high-value items.  But, what about the really important things we come across on a daily basis?  How is it that we can, seemingly, not place value on these things?

The writer of Hebrews gives a stark warning to those of us who have chosen to disregard or not pay attention to the message we have heard.  But in giving the warning he also provides a key to help us learn how to not find ourselves in that situation.

The author warns the readers not to harden their hearts when they hear the voice of Jesus (Hb 3.15).  He then explains a process of how someone’s heart becomes hard (3.16-19).  If we take the sequence in reverse, the deterioration toward a hard heart looks like this:

Unbelief  —  Disobedience —  Sin  —  Rebellion  —  Hard Heart

So, unbelief is the start of the downward spiral that, if not interrupted, can lead to a hardened heart.  Notice the initial question in v.16; “Who were they who heard and rebelled?”.  This means the people he’s talking about had heard from God.  They had heard God’s words but chose not to pay careful attention to what they heard.  This lack of attention, added to unbelief, put them on the slippery slope toward a hard heart.

But, this trajectory wasn’t automatic.  The people could have chosen to believe the message and enter the path that leads to life.  If they had considered the message important, that it had intrinsic value and was worthy of their attention, they could have avoided the spiritual disaster of hard hearted rebellion.  But the author says that the message was “of no value to them because they did not combine it with faith” (4.2).

Wow!  They considered the message – the words of God – of no value.  I find myself asking, ‘how could anyone decide that the words of God have no value?’  But, before I begin the self-righteous parade, I must consider my own history.  How often have I disregarded the words of God?  How many times have I not placed appropriate value on the instructions of Jesus?  If the words of Jesus could be boxed and stored away, how many valuable teachings would I find in the attic of my heart?

Faith is an intrinsic component of belief.  When we believe a message, we apply faith to it. When we don’t believe a message, we have no faith to apply.  If we say we believe a message, but don’t apply faith to it, I wonder if we truly believe it – or do we just like the sound of what we’ve heard?

Attributing value is a key God provides to help us avoid the trap of unbelief.   Let us learn to recognise the value of what we hear from God, choose to believe him and apply faith to what we hear.