Hebrews 4:1-11 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Hebrews 4:1-11. Let’s go!
Hebrews 4:1-3a (NIV)
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
2 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 did not combine it with faith.
3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'” …
On verses 1-3a: What “rest” is the writer of Hebrews talking about here? What “rest” is he not wanting his readers to miss? To be clear, the writer of Hebrews is not referring to resting once a week from your normal work as per the 10 commandments. The rest he is referring to here is a spiritual rest in God, a rest that comes from being forgiven of our sins, a rest where we are no longer separated from God but reconciled to Him. Another way to describe this “rest” is having peace with God, such that instead of being slaves to sin and doomed to hell, we are now children of God and citizens of heaven. This is the ultimate rest, a rest that brings benefit to us not just today but for eternity. This rest comes only from trusting in Jesus Christ, and God offers this rest to all of us today. As verse 1 says, “since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.”
How do we enter the rest that God offers to us? By accepting and believing the message that Jesus’ finished work on the cross has fully paid for our sins. As verse 3 says, “Now we who have believed enter that rest” (v3).
Hebrews 4:3b-4 (NIV)
3 …And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.
4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”
On verses 3b-4: On the seventh day God rested after completing His work of creation (Genesis 2:2-3). There was nothing more He needed to do, so God rested. Similarly, God wants us to rest from the work of relying on ourselves and our own effort, a kind of work that will never earn us the rest we are looking for. Instead of trusting in ourselves, God wants us to trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross, believing that Jesus has completed all the work necessary for our forgiveness. As verse 10 says, “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”
Hebrews 4:5-6 (NIV)
5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.
On verses 5-6: How do we miss the rest that God has for us? Through unbelief. When I refuse to accept the message that Christ has paid for my sins on the cross, when I consciously deny any need for Jesus and disobey God’s command to believe in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, that’s when we miss the rest that God has us.
Hebrews 4:7 (NIV)
7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
On verses 6-7: At the beginning of each week a devout Jew following the Ten Commandments would think, “Six more days and then I can finally rest.” But how long must we wait before we can enter the rest that comes from trusting in Jesus? No wait necessary. We can enter that rest today and every day! Don’t wait and delay entering into the rest that God makes available. Today and every day, trust that Christ’s finished work on the cross is enough for you to enter God’s rest.
Hebrews 4:8-9 (NIV)
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
On verses 8-10: When Joshua famously led the Israelites to take possession of the Promised Land, many Jews thought that physical possession of the Promised Land was the greatest rest God could give the Israelites. But the writer of Hebrews clarifies here that there is a far greater, future rest that God wants His people to enter into — “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (v9). This greater rest is not based on the physical possession of real estate on earth, but based on spiritually possessing a relationship with God in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:11 (NIV)
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
On verse 11: Work to rest? It sounds paradoxical but it’s true: we need to make every effort to enter the rest that God gives us. In other words, we need to be vigilant and intentional about not slipping into our old tendencies to trust in ourselves, or try to earn God’s love by our own merit, and in so doing disobey God’s Word. We must consciously remind ourselves to place our hope not in what we do but in what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Father, thank You that Jesus Christ did everything needed so that my sins could be forgiven and that my soul could find rest in a relationship with You. Today I trust that Christ’s finished work on the cross has won salvation and forgiveness for me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
