LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 4:1, Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to come short of it.

 

Yesterday’s verse from Deuteronomy contains this thought, we who believe have not yet “come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you”. Moses was speaking to the Israelites about entering the Promised Land; I related the thought to not yet entering God’s rest in His kingdom. My thought related our walk on the narrow way to being difficult and our “rest” would come as we entered eternity in His kingdom. The writer of Hebrews writes about this rest. Perhaps by taking the time to read chapters 3 and 4 of the writing in Hebrews will help us have a better understanding of this rest.

 

Hebrews 3 helps us to have a better understanding of “let us fear lest any of you seem to come short of it”. The writer warns those reading this about the danger of falling away from their faith in the living God (v. 12). The writer is warning God’s people about abandoning what one has previously believed and experienced in Christ. “It involves a disowning of Christ and departure from the body of Christ and the Christian faith. Apostacy is the consequence of a deliberate and volitional [willful] choice to “[depart] from the living God” (LSSB). The Israelites failed to enter into the Promised Land after Moses led them out of Egypt after experiencing His redeeming power and experiencing His miraculous power. After experiencing all of this, they became disobedient by not believing God’s promises and did pay attention to His warnings. This generation of Hebrews died in the wilderness.

 

Hebrews 4:1 is not a suggestion or a threat that a Christian can lose his salvation or will suffer God’s judgment. It is meant to be an encouragement for each of us to be diligent to press on as we walk the narrow way. Each of us must persevere, be diligent in faith and obedience to Jesus; failure to do so may result in failure to reach the eternal rest promised of heaven. “Let us fear” is “written in the light of this terrible possibility and of the judgment of God” (LSSB).

 

Verse 3a encourages us as it states, “For we who have believed do enter that rest”. Believing in faith, the saving message of Christ is the only way to enter God’s spiritual rest. He takes our burdens and sins and gives us the “rest of His forgiveness”. But that rest is only partial in this life. Jesus was clear that as we walk the narrow way there would be difficulties because of trials and temptations. It is during these times that we must hold on to and persevere in faith and obedience to Jesus and continue to draw closer to Him.

 

Hebrews 4:9 encourages me, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” “God’s promised rest is both an earthly rest of faith and the eternal rest of heaven” (LSSB). A Believer who knows and walks in this faith will walk into the eternal rest in heaven. That means we no longer labor in the trials and temptation faced in faith on the narrow way on this earth. Entering into the rest in God’s eternal kingdom is to experience unending joy, peace, and fellowship with God. We will do so with the many redeemed “saints” that have already entered into God’s eternal rest. “It will be a seventh day without end” (LSSB).

“The Believer’s rest in Christ’s finished work on the cross is not inactivity but harmonious involvement in God’s program. To enter into God’s rest is to enter into God’s best” (DJSB).

 

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.