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Be
Faithful: Obey!
INTRODUCTION
Our lesson today tells us
about the ‘rest’ of God, and how we are to be diligent to enter into
that rest. It seems clear
that they are many things, including our own natural inclination, which
either cause us to run from that rest, or to neglect that rest.
Our lesson will pose several questions and issues warnings that are
critical to professing believers. Several
of these questions are here listed and all of us should carefully
considered them. Why aren’t professed
believers nowadays obedient to everything the Scriptures tell us about and
require of us? Why is this important? Why is it possible for us
to be religious and very involved in doing things for God, but underneath
all this, we refuse to believe all the Holy Spirit and Jesus say, instead
creating our own concoctions and deviations which satisfy our
nationalistic, ethnic, cultural, and sensual self and our image of
ourselves? Why was it necessary for
the Holy Spirit to inspire the Book of Hebrews and show us plainly how and
why the chosen instrument of God, the nation of Israel failed, and warn us
bluntly that an even more horrible fate await us today, if we repeat the
same pattern of unbelief and disobedience? Will we ever learn, or will we
hide behind our own (identical to Israel’s) self deceit? The book of Hebrews is
all about the supremacy of Christ, and our response to his heavenly
ministry. The writer goes
into great detail to explain this (review the last two lessons – they
are foundational). We had been told to
consider Jesus, and several things about him had been highlighted for us. First, we were told that he was greater than all the prophets that had gone before him. Second, he was the last great spokesman for God. He was in fact the ultimate, definitive ambassador for the Father. Third, he is greater than the angels, who, though powerful, were simply servants. Fourth, he is the Son, the express image of the Father's person, the brightness of the Father's glory. Fifth, Jesus is the heir to all things. Sixth, he has unlimited power, and it is he who upholds all things, and allows them to continue. Seventh, he is our High
Priest, the one who voluntarily and graciously offered himself as our
substitute, and was sacrificed on the Cross, atoning for our sins, purging
them, and being the Faithful Son, now represents us before the Father. Jesus was Son of God, the builder of the House of God, and heir to this very house of God. The people or the House
of God, namely Israel had been faithfully led by Moses, a faithful servant
of God. But they responded to this powerful leader with rebellion,
consistently murmuring and grumbling.
They suffered awful consequences for this rebellion, dying in the
wilderness. We are then asked as to
how we will respond to the leadership of Jesus Christ, the infinitely
greater than Moses. It is made abundantly
clear that if we do not respond in obedience, if we rebel, we will suffer
even greater disasters than those which befell Israel in the wilderness. We are warned that our
God is a testing God, and He allows us to face certain tests. We are warned plainly and clearly that we should never underestimate the terrible nature of unbelief, for this comes from an evil heart, and departing from the living God. Chapters 1:1-9, 2:1-4
detail our reason to be faithful. Hebrews
2:5-18 shows Jesus’ fulfillment of the plan of salvation, this is what
we learned in the previous two lessons.
Today we turn our attention to the need to be faithful and obey. Obedience to Christ is our positive declaration and acceptance of his message of salvation. If we genuinely love Christ and what he accomplished for us on the cross, a heart of loving obedience will lead us to obey all his commandments. Disobedience
proceeds from an evil heart of rebellion. The rejection of the message
that Christ brings constitutes the blatant rejection of Christ and the
salvation he offers. The need to be faithful and obedient is paramount to any true allegiance to God. The example in today’s lesson is of the rebellious Israelites, whom after being delivered from bondage in Egypt, which pictures our bondage to sin; and after experiencing first hand the mighty miracles of God’s deliverance, that prefigures the Cross, did reject the message and messenger of God. The result was the exclusion of these disobedient and rebellious people, from entering the Promised Land, the rest, which prefigures the eternal rest that, we now seek. THE
IMMEDIATE CONTEXT
The immediate context of
our text is the position stated, that we are the House of God, that is,
the dwelling place of God. Jesus had confirmed this in John 14:20 where he
stated that just as He was in the Father, his followers would be in Him,
and He would be in them. We are told that courage or boldness, a continuing demonstration that we look for that Blessed Hope of his Coming, and consistent behaviour as his faithful servants in word and deed, is the mark of those who belong to Christ. This does not mean that there will not be times when believers are weak and undergo difficult struggles. But as one writer puts it: “
Nowhere in the New Testament more than here do we find such repeated
insistence on the fact that continuance in the Christian life is the test
of reality.” The readers were warned
first of the danger of drifting, paying no serious attention to the word
of God, preoccupied with other things, or their minds dwelling on the
words of someone, other than the living God. Here they are being
warned of the danger in being in the next inevitable stage of sin, that of
the hardening of the heart. Note that the warning is
not simply against the attempts to deliberately pass ourselves off as
Christian, when we know that we are not.
Some for example, calculatedly join the church because it's good
for business, or to do networking, or to get prestige, but they know that
they do not really have any deep interest in what is being said and do not
really believe. This warning is aimed at
people who have diluted themselves and are confident that they are
believers. They might even
believe the right things, are very orthodox, proclaim the truth to varying
extents, but do not live a life that shows that they have truly been
changed. There might be
momentary and sometimes enthusiastic responses to the things of God but
their character remains the same, under sin, and under the control of the
flesh. The example of Israel is
brought up to shake us professing believers nowadays to the depth of our
very bones, putting our teeth on edge. There is a thing called
the wrath of God. God can be
grieved to the point where he takes an oath to destroy His people. He does not do this lightly. He does it only after his long-suffering had run its course and it is clear that the professors, though skillful in their disguise, are false. So God analyzes the situation, sums them up, and says: “
They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” One writer, commenting on this passage and the behaviour of Israel, puts it this way, so that we can examine ourselves and turn away from our foolishness, which is similar to Israel's. “
The writer points out this people comprised almost to the whole number of
those who left Egypt under Moses. They
had fulfilled every prescribed symbol of deliverance, but they were not
delivered. While they were in
Egypt they had killed the Passover lamb, and had sprinkled the blood of it
over the doorposts. On the
terrible night when the angel of death passed through the land and took
the life of every first- born son in every household, they were safe.
They had followed Moses as they left Egypt and had come to the
borders of the Red Sea. As the waters flowed before them and the armies of
the Egyptians were fast approaching from the rear, Moses lifted up his rod
and the waters parted and they all passed through the sea as well.
As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, they were “ baptized unto Moses in
the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2), they were united unto him. Many of us, perhaps, have likewise looked to the Cross of Christ and in some degree counted his death as valid for us, as the blood of our Passover lamb. We have gone through the waters of baptism, testifying by that we believe we have been baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ, made to be part of him. These people, as they
wandered through the wilderness on the way from Egypt to Canaan, had
enjoyed the protection and guidance of the pillar of fire by night and the
cloud by day, speaking of the protection, guidance, and fatherly care of
God. They had even been fed
every day by the manna as it came from the skies, fresh every morning. Centuries later, when
the Jews of our Lord Jesus’ day heard him refer to them as children of
the devil they said to him, “We are not children of the devil, we are
children of Abraham. Don’t you know what happened to our fathers? Talk
about people of God! We are the true people of God. Our fathers ate bread
in the wilderness for forty years; if that is not a sign that we are the
people of God, I don't know what could be!” (John 6:30-66).
But the writer says, “With whom was he provoked forty years?
Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the
wilderness?” Clearly it is not enough
to make a good beginning. It
is pointed out over and over again, that the sin of unbelief has it’s
roots in deceit, and that unbelief, the root of all sin, hardens us. It is also said that
unbelief is not really the inability to understand but the unwillingness
to trust. Nobody is really an
unbeliever. The problem is that they choose to believe a lie instead of
the truth. It is not the intelligence that is involved in unbelief, it is
really a problem of the will. THE TEXT Hebrews 3 Verse 12.
The writer of Hebrews addresses those he calls holy brethren
(Heb 3:1), which implies that they are of the community of faith.
However it is possible that unbelieving Jews were present and to
whom the term brethren (not holy brethren) may be applied. As previously
mentioned, (Lessons 1 &2), this warning, was directed to Jewish
believers, though the lesson applies equally to all believers of every
age. This was an extremely
stern warning, designed to show that it was not only possible but likely,
for many who had experienced the supreme goodness of God, to turn and
depart form the living God. The historical facts presented are undeniable
and remain true; the scripture says that ‘many are called but few are
chosen’ (Matt 22:14). What was true then is
true today; all who left Egypt in the exodus did so by the mighty power of
God, yet it seems that many of them did not reach the intended
destination. So it is with
us, God has delivered many of us from a multiplicity of things that so
easily enslaved us; but many never make it through the “wilderness”. The passage to the
Promised Land should have been a few short days, but instead a lifetime
was wasted in the wilderness and for most eternity lost.
What we must realize is that there are relatively few who truly
follow God, and that many merely follow men, in whom they may find a
smidgen of admirable traits, but they have no real or lasting allegiance
to God. In effect, over a period of time, the ‘wilderness’ has a way of revealing those who really have an evil heart of unbelief. Thus the writer says ‘take heed’, that is to lookout, to see, to watch diligently and to learn, lest you make the same mistake as those unbelieving Israelites in the wilderness. The Apostle Paul tell us: “And
all these things happened to them as examples; and it is written for our
warning on whom the ends of the world have come.” 1 Cor10:11 Note also that all of us are born with an evil heart of unbelief (Jer. 17:9), thus this
absolutely necessitates a new heart, which is given us only when we are
born again (Jn. 3:3). Unbelief is here
described as a ‘ falling away’ from the living God.
There seems to be a kind of spiritual gravity, a natural tendency
to drift, which pulls us downwards and away from God, whenever we stopped
paying attention to the spiritual matters revealed by God.
We must therefore constantly pay attention to the things of God, so
that the awful effects of hardening of the heart would not occur, for by
that time, we would have lost the ability to believe and therefore be
unable to act. Clarke lists a number of things that lead to a hardening of the heart in the life of those who profess to be believers. 1. Consenting to sin, being deceived by its solicitations. 2. Hardness of heart, through giving way to sin.
3.
Unbelief in consequence of this hardness which leads them
to call even the truth of the
Gospel in question. 4. This unbelief causing them to speak evil of the Gospel,
and the provision God has made for the salvation of their souls. 5.
Apostasy itself, or falling off from the living God; and thus
extinguishing all the light that was in them, and finally
grieving the Spirit of God, so that he takes his flight, and
leaves them to a seared
conscience and reprobate mind Verse 13.
With every temptation, every obstacle, every distressful situation,
problem or trial in our life, God has given us instruction that will
enable us to avoid those pitfalls and the snare of the enemy. “All Scripture is
God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness” 2 Tim. 3:16). The scripture also says: “No
temptation has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the
temptation also will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear
it.” 1 Cor 10:13 We are now told why this
hardening it so dangerous. Sin
is deceitful. Writers of Scripture
often point out that there is a trickiness and cleverness about the way
that we learn to stifle our conscience and start believing the lie.
Men always assume that they can get away with even a small lie,
because deceit enters and sets up everything slowly over time, until sin
hardens eventually and we are trapped. Let's look at David and Bathsheba’s experience briefly. One writer comments: “
If David had been told on that first day when he decided to give way to
self indulgence and not to go to war that he would end up an adulterer and
a murderer of his friend, he would not have believed it.
But he made compromising choices along the way.
Gradually the hardening process so overtook him he cold-bloodedly
ordered the execution of his good friend.
His life became one completely filled with hypocrisy.” No wonder then that we
have to constantly listen to Christ, always take care and be alert at all
times. One writer warns that
there is no such thing as Christian cruise control. Thus to avoid the
possibility of hardening of the heart, God gives us beautiful human
instruments of assistance, and therefore the writer says we must exhort
each other daily. Some like to tell us that
coming to Church and interacting with the brethren is not too important.
Some say they do not need this interaction with the brethren and
the benefit of corporate worship, and they can exist on their own. But this clearly is a lie
straight from the Pit of Hell. We desperately NEED each other. This activity is not
restricted to pastors, teachers and evangelists, but is an activity that
every believer, being a minister of the gospel by virtue of his being a
part of the priesthood of all believers, should practice. We must therefore seek
everyday to admonish and encourage those who are of the household of
faith; both individual accountability and corporate responsibility is
demanded. Exhortation must be
heard in the pews as well as the pulpit.
Heb. 10:25; 1Th. 4:18; 1Th. 5:11; Rom.
12:8 1Ti. 6:2; 2Ti. 4:2; Tit 2:6, Tit 2:15 The scriptures declare many practical ways to make this a reality: First, we must realize
that this aught to be the constant activity of every believer. (1)
Intimate friends in the church should exhort and counsel one another;
should admonish each other of their faults; and should aid one another in
the divine life. (2) parents should do
the same thing to their children. They are placed particularly under their
watch and care. A pastor cannot often see the members of his flock in
private; and a parent may greatly aid him in his work by watching over the
members of their families who are connected with the church. (3)
Sabbath School and Sunday School teachers may aid much in this duty. They
are to be assistants to parents and to pastors. They often have under
their care youthful members of the churches. They have an opportunity of
knowing their state of mind, their temptations, and their dangers better
than the pastor can have. It should be theirs, therefore, to exhort them
to a holy life. (4) the aged should
exhort the young. Every aged Christian may thus do much for the promotion
of religion. His experience is the property of the church; and he is bound
so to employ it as to be useful in aiding the feeble, reclaiming the
wandering, recovering the backslider, and directing the inquiring. There
is a vast amount of “spiritual capital” of this kind in the church
that is unemployed, and that might be made eminently useful in helping
others to heaven. (5) church members
should exhort one another. There may not be the intimacy of personal
friendship among all the members of a large church, but still the
connection between them should be regarded as sufficiently tender and
confidential to make it proper for anyone to admonish a brother who goes
astray. They belong to the same communion. They sit down at the same
supper of the Lord. They express their assent to the same articles of
faith. They are regarded by the community as united. Each member sustains
a portion of the honor and the responsibility of the whole; and each
member should feel that he has a right, and that it is his duty to
admonish a brother if he goes astray. Jewish believers were in
danger of being temped to neglecting the truth and drifting, suffering
then from a hardening of the heart. The
mixing of their old beliefs with the new truths would actually constitute
a rejection of the gospel and the completed work of Christ on the cross.
Continual neglect of the Word of God would accelerate the hardening
of the heart, until God finally would find them with a reprobate mind. Gentile believers are
under the same type of temptation, for history shows that Gentiles who
have professed faith in Christ, have found and created many ways in which
to deny, modify or even reject the gospel. Many of these actions are
evident in the plethora of deviant doctrines and damnable heresies that
have been taught in the last nineteen hundred years and are being taught
even in the church today. Thus the warning to these believers applies equally to us today. “For
it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to
come, and who have fallen away; it is impossible, I say, to renew
them again to repentance, since they crucify the Son of God afresh to
themselves and put Him to an open shame.” Heb.
6:4-6. “For
if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking
for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
He who despised Moses' Law died without mercy on the word of two or
three witnesses. Of how much
worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy of punishment,
the one who has trampled the Son of God, and who has counted the blood of
the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has
insulted the Spirit of grace?”, Heb.
10:26-29. No
wonder that the writer tells us that we should be afraid and treat these
issues with the importance that they deserve. Verse 14.
We have seen historically how people are turned away from
following the living God, and we have explored the means to prevent us
from falling into the same trap. But now we turn our attention to another
important theme, and that is perseverance of the saints. The construction of this verse shows us that those who persevere, who hold the beginning of their confidence to the end, are those who have already become a partaker of Christ; and thus currently enjoy the blessings that come with this realization. Believers share in Christ (become partakers of)
through a dual relationship. What it actually shows is
that our eternal salvation is not dependant upon our endurance, for all
who have been made partakers of Christ possess eternal salvation. But
rather our endurance is ensured by our eternal salvation. (Eph. 1:4-6,
9,11; Mat. 25:34; Jn. 17:24;
Act15:18; 1Pet. 1:20) To
be a partaker of Christ is to be spiritually united with Him, we are one
with him, and thus share in his victory – having received the blessing
of the cross we also benefit from his heavenly ministry as high priest. “And
if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is
glorified, all the members rejoice with it.
And you are the body of Christ, and members in part.” 1 Cor
12:26,27 “For
we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Eph 5:30 “that
they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they
also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent
Me.” Jn 17:21 “I
have been crucified with Christ, and I live; yet no longer I, but Christ
lives in me. And that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf.” Gal 2:20 Since
Christ dwells in us as a Son dwells in his own house, and since believers
dwell in Christ, believers will show this relationship by persevering as
Christians until death. The
“ifs” Therefore cannot be conditional, but are simply descriptive,
thus stressing the deliberate and consistent efforts that must be made to
renew faith and trust on a daily basis. “If
we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast…” The beginning of our
confidence is that unshakable joy and faith that accompanies true
conversion. It is that unbridled zeal that drives the heart of the new
Christian, relying completely on God, their faith not yet mature, they
know only one thing – ‘I can do all things through Christ…’. Yet
there can be no reliance on mere religion; zeal for your denomination or
sect cannot furnish sufficient evidence of true piety, for even the
Pharisees could claim that. You can even find such honesty in the most
irreligious man. But
we should persevere: (1) in the love of God
and of Christ - in conscious, ardent, steady attachment to Him to whom our
lives are professedly devoted. (2) in the secret
duties of religion. In that watchfulness over the heart; that communion
with God; that careful study of the Bible; that guardianship over the
temper; and in that habitual contact with God in secret prayer which is
appropriate to a Christian, and which marks the Christian character. (3) in the performance
of the public duties of religion; in leading a “Christian” life - as
distinguished from a life of worldliness and vanity; a life of mere
morality, and honesty; a life such as thousands lead who are out of the
church. What
needs to be added is perseverance. When
the test of time comes and you become the focus of the enemy whose sole
purpose is to orchestrate your destruction; will you hold fast to the beginning
of your confidence? It
is at the times of deep distress and our ‘wilderness’ journey seems to
be dragging on, that our faith often wanes and our heart begins to grow
cold – it is then that perseverance makes the difference.
Let
us not forget though that it is God who perseveres with us.
Even when we are not faithful he remains faithful. But he still
demands certain things from us. Believers
should however be mindful, that they may suffer fits of fainting and
experience many hills and valleys, we may hold fast our confidence, for it
is not in ourselves but in Jesus, whose heavenly ministry is in full
motion for our benefit. So
like Peter, though the devil may wish to sift you like wheat – remember
that Jesus has prayed for us that our faith not fail. Verse 15. The writer quotes Psalm 95:7-11, he does so twice in this chapter. “For He is our
God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.
Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart, as in the day of
strife, as in the day of testing in the wilderness;
when your fathers tempted Me, tested Me, and saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with this generation, and said, It is
a people who go astray in their hearts, and they have not known ways; to whom I swore in My wrath that they should not enter into
My rest.” Ps 95:7-11 The
first quotation is found in Heb. 3:7-11; here his exposition focuses on
the urgency of the admonition and that ‘today’ (now) is the time to
heed these words. Emphasizing
‘Today’ he reveals that delay simply aids the hardening of the
heart. There is no other
reason for delay than ones love of sin, the deceitfulness of which blinds
us to the fact that we have a serious heart problem.
Thus we continue blindly in our sinful ways until it is too late,
and the heart finally gives out. The
second quotation begins here in verse 15-16, however his exposition this
time focuses on their rebellion and introduces the theme of obedience by
way of the antithesis to disobedience.
He drives the point home by repeating four times indifferent terms
that they ‘rebelled’ v.16, they sinned v.17, they ‘did
not obey’ v.18, and ‘unbelief’ v.19.
This is what denied them entry into His rest. Verse
16. Barnes comments in part: “Were they not all
who came out of Egypt?” Or “did not all who came out of Egypt?” The
word “all” here is not to be taken in the strict sense, It is often
used to denote the great body; a large proportion; or vast multitudes.
Thus, it is used in Mat.3:5, “Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all
Judea, and all the region round about Jordan.” So in John 3:26, “The
same baptizeth, and all people came to him.” So Phi_2:21, “For all
seek their own;” 2Co_3:2, “Ye are our epistle, known and read of all
men.” “In fact” there were two exceptions - and but two - of the
adults who came out of Egypt - Caleb and Joshua; Num_14:30. All the others
complained against the Lord, and were prohibited from entering the
Promised Land. Of the great multitudes who came out of Egypt, and who
murmured, the exception was so small that the apostle had no scruple in
saying in general that they were all rebellious. Verse 17 – 19.
These
rhetorical questions emphasize that there was an outward appearance or
facade of belief, while at the same time there was an unrepentant,
unredeemed, rebellious heart. They had seen the greatness of the works of
God, but yet their heart was unchanged. Their will was simply a
disobedient will.
With whom was God grieved?
It was with those who sinned, that is, those who continually
committed all manner of sins, those that rebellion characterized their
behaviour. And it was these
who died in the wilderness, almost an entire generation.
Their habitual rebellion led God to swear that they would not enter into
his rest. Here lies a
fundamental lesson about the nature sin, in that it always leads to
rebellion. Even in the case
of these people who had experienced the salvation and continually
witnessed the mighty power of God, yet they still rebelled.
The nature of sin is so
heinous and the punishment for rebellion so severe, we aught to heed the
words of the epistle ‘today’, clean up our lives, repent and throw
ourselves at the mercy of God, lest an evil heart of rebellion be found in
us and lead us away from the living God. It
is abundantly clear by this point, that the Israelites that died in the
wilderness were victims of the own unbelief, as one writer puts it: “The
generation that of Israelites whose rebellion reached a climax at
Kadesh-barnea was barred from entering the Promised Land because of a
fundamental and fatal defect, not by an arbitrary act on the part of God
or because Moses had failed to provide strong and able leadership.
Moses had been faithful in all his house v.2,5, and therefore could
not be charged with responsibility of their failure.
Their lack of faith, demonstrated by their disobedience, made it
impossible for them to enter.” Likewise,
Christ is also faithful, and cannot be held responsible for the failure of
those who claim to be Christian and yet not enter in to the promised rest
for the soul. It
is truly amazing how people can for so very long maintain the appearance
of believing in God and yet not believe. Chapter 4The
unmistakable supremacy of Christ, that Jesus is greater in every respect
to all others and therefore worthy of glory (Heb 3:3) is held up before
us, to emphasize that just as those who rejected the message and the
messenger (Moses) were not permitted to enter the Promised Land (rest),
how much more would one forfeit if they reject Christ and his message of
salvation? There
is no doubt, those who rebel and disobey and reject the message that
Christ brings, will most certainly forfeit (not enter) ‘the eternal
rest for the soul’. The
warning is now repeated not to miss the rest of God. Clearly,
the land of Canaan was a rest, but the Scriptures teach that there is more
to the rest of God than this, for God has much more in store for those
that are in Christ. Note that Salvation or entrance into His rest comes only to those who have faith and put their trust in Christ. “We are saved by grace through faith…” Eph. 2:8. Verse
1. Having demonstrated historically the downfall of a whole generation of
the children of Israel because of unbelief; the writer admonishes his
readers to fear. That is they
are to watch and be diligent in the matters of obedience to Christ. We
must be apprehensive in such a manner that it leads us to exercise much
caution. The promise to enter ‘his rest’ is still available to
us, but it can be lost if we fall short, if we do not persevere in the way
of righteousness, if we reject the gospel message. The
idea of “seem to come short” means disobedience and grumbling
which shows that the heart is unbelieving. Verse 2.
The reason for the unbelief in Israel is now made clear. This
has great relevance for us. The gospel or the message
of salvation was preached to us, as it was to them.
It of course, in both cases was only effective if accompanied by
faith. The ‘rest’ into
which the Israelites entered, prefigures that of the eternal state of
every true believer. The
Israelites failed to attain this rest, because they did not receive the
gospel message in faith, believing and trusting God for their salvation. When we think of the
gospel we tend to link it exclusively to the New Testament message of
salvation, where we have far greater detail concerning the atonement, and
of course this is only logical, as it is here that the type or the shadow
of things revealed in the Old Covenant find their fulfillment. Let us note however, that
‘God’s Rest’ into which we enter, has been available to man since
the last day of creation. God calls this “ my rest”, indicating
that he gives it, and He Himself also enjoys it. We should not mistake
this “rest” with cessation from work or entering a state of
idleness, for God still works, maintaining his creation, and of course He
has continued to work in redemption. This rest of God is
something that the people of Israel could have entered into and which we
can enter into, if there is belief. We must understand however that this idea of belief has a specific meaning. The Israelites were marching near to the land, they knew it was there and that it was fertile, a land of milk and honey, with great abundance waiting for them there. They believed the message
of God. They even had a strong desire to enter into the land. But this kind of belief
and strong desire did not include faith.
God always wants faith. His people must have faith to be accepted
by him as truly His people. Faith is more than
belief. They in the
wilderness had no faith, because if they had, they would have acted on the
belief. We must here point out
that without a shadow of doubt and based on Scripture, that true belief
when it exists will lead to people obeying the words of Scripture and not
creating their own commandments, changing times and seasons to salute the
exigencies of paganism and compromise. God rested, and we must
rest as He commanded, in the time, and in the way that He commanded.
Anything else is disobedience.
Israel frequently disobeyed, and tried to void, modify, ignore
commandments and bring in the “traditions of men”, even
observing the holy Sabbath Day as they wanted, and so brought on
themselves the denunciations of the prophets, the wrath of God and
eventually exile. We Gentiles have not
learned their lesson, and are following the same path of disobedience. The Scriptures are full
of discussions about what God intended for man, and we know that the Old
Testament saints knew that God had tremendous glory in store for man. They
knew that God wanted to and had taken men to be with him in blessedness.
We have been blessed at this point in history, for we know more details
about what God intends. It is a mistake to
believe that the gospel message that they received, before the cross, was
substantially different in any way than what we have after the cross.
What differs is that the messenger, Jesus(incarnate) has himself
revealed and delivered it to us. He being infinitely greater than Moses,
delivered the message in an infinitely superior manner, thus the rejection
of this messenger carries a far greater penalty than what the Israelites
suffered in the wilderness. Another serious
misconception, is that the Old Testament saints were ignorant of the
gospel and therefore relied on the observance of the ceremonial law, in
particular the sacrificial system, to bring them salvation.
It is true that over time an immense amount of legalism crept in
and corrupted the religion – as the Pharisees are a clear example of.
But it is not true to say that they did not know that Salvation was
by grace alone, through faith alone, in God(Jesus) alone. Thus the patriarchs and prophets could affirm – Job
19:25 For I know that my
Redeemer lives, and He shall rise on the earth at the last; Job
19:26 and even after they
corrupt my skin, yet this: in my flesh I shall see God (See also Job
19:27; Psa. 51:9, Psa. 51:11,
Psa.
51:12 ) Isa.
1:11 To what purpose is
the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? says Jehovah; I am full of the
burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I do not delight
in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. Psa.
51:16 For You do not
desire sacrifice; or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt
offering. Psa.
51:17 The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will
not despise. Psa.
51:10 Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Verse
9. The rest offered the children of Israel was not the
final rest, for it was temporal in nature, not spiritual. Thus this was a mere symbol of a more superior rest, an
unending, eternal rest for the soul.
It is this rest that the writer implores them to steadfastly hold
to the beginning of their faith, that they may enter this heavenly rest.
This certainly means that they could not please God while retaining a evil
heart of unbelief, doing their own thing in their own way, mentally
rejecting the way of God, but still continuing to perform the rituals,
deceiving themselves, that the performance of rituals was all that God
really wanted. The writer continues to
show that the weekly Sabbath day is then a symbol of redemption as well as
a celebration of creation. For
He spoke in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And
God rested the seventh day from all His works."
This is a quote from Genesis 2:2 Now
we too must rest as God did from his work.
Rest in this context does not imply inactivity, but as we enter
into God’s rest we cease from our futile attempts to placate God by our
own works of righteousness, for then as now, this will not procure
salvation for us. We must acknowledge that Christ has already established this
place of rest and we enter it by faith in Him. There
remains a Sabbath rest, for those to whom it was first preached did not
enter because of unbelief, a lack of faith.
Five hundred years later David says that the people still have not
entered God’s rest; it therefore shows that the main force of this
passage is focused on the eternal rest for the soul. This
passage does not teach the abolition of the 7th day Sabbath nor
anything about its observance. The
Scriptures have never taught that Salvation can be obtained by Sabbath
keeping, and no person who believes in Scripture would ever teach that.
But at the same time Scripture does not give any support to those
who want to change the seventh day Sabbath to any pagan feast day or to
the “Venerable Day of the Sun God”. The
Sabbath is a type of the true rest, and a celebration of salvation. Thus we are not saved because we keep the Sabbath, but we
keep the 7th Day Sabbath as God commanded, and as a continual
celebration of the great acts of Creation by our unique Creator and
Redeemer God, Jesus Christ. It
is He who made the worlds, made us, and died to redeem us. We obey his
commandment given in Genesis 2, and confirmed in Isaiah 66.
We have no right to change this commandment and we never will. There
are two Greek words used for ‘rest’ in Hebrews 4:9-10.
“There remains… a Sabbath rest [sabbatismos] for the
people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest [katapausin] also
rests from his own work. William Lane
translates Hebrews 4:9 as: "There remains a Sabbath celebration for
the people of God." He points out that the use of sabbatismos
is meant to "define more precisely the character of the future rest
promised to the people of God" (Word Biblical Commentary,
volume 47, "Hebrews," page 101). It conveyed something about the
promised spiritual rest that katapausin would not have done --
"the special aspect of festivity and joy, expressed in the adoration
and praise of God" for his wonderful grace . One traditional commentary, the Critical, Experimental and Practical Commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, states: It is Jesus, the
antitype of Joshua, who leads us into the heavenly rest. This verse [4:9]
indirectly establishes the obligation of the Sabbath; for the type
continues until the antitype supersedes it: so legal sacrifices continued
till the great antitypical sacrifice superseded it. As then the
antitypical Sabbath rest will not be till Christ comes to usher us into
it, the typical earthly Sabbath must continue till then (page 537). Verse 10.
A right understanding of the types that foreshadow this
‘rest’ including the proper observance of the Sabbath, as opposed to
an incorrect understanding, that simply leads to legalism and a doctrine
of works should be evident in the life of the believer who has truly
accepted the completed work of Christ on the cross.
This believer carries no burden, for he knows that Christ has paid
it all. An overflowing joy is
expressed in continuous praise and glory to God. At the culmination of this age at the return of Christ, the Lord will usher in a perpetual Sabbath, thus it appears that we will spend much of eternity praising God for the victory of the cross. Verse 11. Having received this word – we must labor to enter ‘his rest’; that is, we must diligently and actively avoid sin and shun the very appearance of evil. Avoid sin like the plague and dig up every root of unbelief, that tries to take root in our lives. Sin has a way of hardening the heart, that unbelieving heart soon leads one away from the living God. Verse 12 – 13.
The design of these verses is very clear.
It shows that absolutely every detail of our life, both tangible
and intangible, is seen by God. Not
one deed, not one thought or one motive can escape the eyes of God.
He sees and knows absolutely everything. It is possible to conceal
many of our deeds from human eyes, and no human can know the secrets
thoughts of another unless they reveal them.
But which one of us would even for a single day, allow every
solitary thought that passed through our mind, to be made known to anyone
else. Can you image if your
friends or family, work colleges or your pastor could read your thoughts
like a book. Seeing every evil intention, corrupt motive, every lustful
desire, every bout of hypocrisy, every loose word that didn’t make it to
your lips, and every pornographic fantasy.
Could you image that? How
would you feel finding out that someone knew your deepest, darkest
thoughts? God sees it all!
The word of God is powerful, it framed the entire universe, and it
is this same power, that reveals the truth about you.
In the scripture the word is used as a metaphor for many things.
It is to the believer a light that guides their foot steps, it
expels darkness and reveal that which we could not see, being in the dark. Likewise the word is also
pictured as the sharpest, two edged sword, that with surgical precision
cuts right to the heart of the matter; and can remove every cancerous cell
without harming the good cells. It
divides soul and spirit, that is it can reveal what part of us is of God
and what is not. It is a
living active word that correctly assesses every single thought we ever
have. Thus we are completely
naked before God. “Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight – “ This
is a warning to us as well as to the first readers of this epistle.
Since we cannot conceal anything from God, any attempt to do so is
really an act of self-deception. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he
also will reap. For he sowing
to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the
Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit” (Gal. 6:7-8) Thus the word, to the ungodly, is an instrument of destruction. Barnes states: All
things are naked - Exposed; uncovered. There is nothing that can be
concealed from God; Psa._139:11-12. “The
veil of night is no disguise, No
screen from thy all-searching eyes; Thy
hands can seize thy foes as soon. Thro’
midnight shades as blazing noon.” And
opened - The Greek word
used here properly means: (1) to lay bare the
neck, or to bend it back, so as to expose the throat to being cut; (2)
to expose; to lay open in any way. When we find ourselves in such a position we should fear the awesome power of God, and offer a broken spirit and a contrite heart. CONCLUSION
This lesson profoundly lays out the consequence of a disobedience that is rooted in rebellion and results in a neglecting this great salvation. It demonstrates that the gospel of grace has always been avail able to man and that we can only enter ‘his rest’ by faith. Don't believe that you can save yourself or keep yourself saved on the basis of your human activity. First receive Christ, and then live in dependence on him. This is what rest means. You had better be aware that the stress is on “Today”. God wants you to concentrate on living in him, following him, Today! The warning is clear, that if we follow their (Israelites) pattern of unbelief, we too will be barred from entering ‘his (eternal) rest’. We can be in the company of God’s elect for years and still be lost. We can experience first hand the mighty power of God to deliver us from our temporal enemies, and still be lost. We can attend church religiously and keep the Sabbath, and still be lost. There is only one way to enter ‘his rest’, and that is by faith. Your works wont’ cut it, insincerity and hypocrisy will be exposed and pretentious faith will go un-rewarded. We must apply the word of God to our lives for it is the only means by which we can be certain that we are walking in the truth. We cannot fool God or pull the wool over his eyes – self-deception will lead only to our destruction. One writer quotes this little poem in warning: There
is a line, by us unseen, That
crosses every path, The
hidden boundary between God's patience and his wrath. So brethren let us seek earnestly to hold to the beginning of our faith and enter ‘His rest’.
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