“but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘TODAY,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).
It may be tempting to view the great men and women of the Bible as spiritual celebrities who hurdled every obstacle they encountered with a minimum of pain, effort, or discomfort. But a closer look at some of those Biblical “all-stars” tells a far different story.
For instance, John the Baptist seemingly expressed his doubts concerning Jesus when he sent his disciples to ask, “Are you really the Messiah? Or shall we keep on looking for him?” (Luke 7:19 TLB). We also have Moses as an example. When God called Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, the Scriptures tell us that he responded by saying, “Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13 CEV).
The New Testament book of James also informs us that the great prophet Elijah was “…a person just like us” (James 5:17 CEB). The wording of that passage indicates that Elijah had the same faults and weaknesses as anyone else. This is a significant admission given Elijah’s prominence as man of God and Biblical prophet.
Nevertheless, there is one important difference between these individuals and those who stubbornly tested God as mentioned earlier in Hebrews 3:8. Unlike the vast majority of ancient Israelites who departed from the land of Egypt, Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist were faithful men who did not reject God in unbelief. We’ll find other such examples of God-honoring faith when we reach Hebrews chapter eleven.
This helps explain why this portion of Scripture reminds us to “…encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (NIV). Today is the right time to do great things for God, for we cannot change anything that happened yesterday and there is no guarantee of tomorrow.
As Jesus reminds us in John 9:4-5…
“All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end” (TLB).
So today is the day to do the things that God calls us to do. That might include reading the Scriptures, praying, and using our God-given talents, skills, abilities, and opportunities to minister to others. In this way, we can “Help each other to stand firm in the faith every day, while it is still called ‘today’, and beware that none of you becomes deaf and blind to God through the delusive glamour of sin” (Phillips).