<p>3:12 <i>Brothers, take care, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, causing you to depart from the living God</i>- The problem was in their hearts (:10), their unbelief (:18). The appeal to &quot;take care&quot; was not just to the Hebrew believers as individuals, but to them as &quot;brothers&quot; to ensure that not only in themselves personally but amongst none of them there should be this heart of unbelief. The immediate issue was of not believing in the Lord Jesus. This was the reason why they were no longer confident of salvation; because Judaism had eroded their faith in the saviour, their real confidence in salvation was waning, and likewise their joy (:6). It was this heart of unbelief in Messiah as Saviour which would cause them to depart from God, the God who is alive in His risen Son. This was the great tragedy- that Judaism which so prided itself in theism was actually turning people away from real faith in God. Because faith in Him is predicated upon faith in His Son.</p>