God’s rest is available to us. It is resting from our works to rely upon Christ’s work alone. But we must fear coming short of it, and be diligent to enter it! If we don’t enter that rest, God’s Word will be a weapon of judgment against us in the last day.
Entering God’s Rest
Hebrews 4:1-11
The Bible uses many different words to help us understand the totality of our salvation.
- Adoption. This is the Family Picture. Salvation is God bringing us into His own family as sons and daughters to share in His inheritance.
- Redemption. This is the Marketplace Picture. The meaning of redemption is to buy back someone’s freedom by paying a price that they could never afford themselves. We were slaves who could never purchase our freedom. Our salvation is God setting us free from slavery by paying the ultimate price of the death of Christ.
- Justification. This is the Courtroom Picture. We all stand guilty before a holy Judge. Salvation means that God declares us righteous. God treats us as having lived the perfect life that Jesus lived.
- Reconciliation. This is the Relationship Picture. We were estranged from God and regarded as His enemies. Salvation is God bringing peace where there was once only animosity and hatred.
Well, in addition to all of those pictures of salvation, Hebrews 4 gives us another. It is the picture of rest. Salvation occurs when you stop trying to do enough to earn God’s acceptance, and instead simply trust in the perfect finished work of Jesus Christ.
This is what Hebrews 4 is talking about – salvation as seen through the lens of rest. The word “rest” occurs twice in Hebrews 2, and eight times in Hebrews 4.
This is his way of talking about God’s salvation. We know that because of verse 10, “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” Well, who is the one who has rested from his works? It is the person who knows that “by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Instead of working to earn salvation, this person believes God, and trusts Him to grant him the gift of salvation. Jesus taught us in Mt. 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
So, in Hebrews 4, the author pictures God offering salvation by giving them rest in four different periods of time. He is showing us that God has been offering salvation to His people since the beginning. The problem is that many never enter God’s rest. The psalmist is anxious that his readers will not miss God’s rest, God’s salvation and God’s heaven.
1. How The Bible Presents God’s Rest
Creation Rest. 4:3 “His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” 4:4 “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”. In other words, when God had finished His work of creation, He rested on the seventh day, and invites man to enter His rest. The tragedy is that so few people enter and enjoy God’s rest of salvation.
Canaan Rest. In Numbers 13-14, the Lord told Moses to send out 12 spies, to spy out the land of Canaan that He was going to give them. These spies entered the land to find out if the land was fertile and green with trees, whether the cities were fortified or not, and bring back some of the fruit of the land. After 40 days the spies returned and told the congregation of Israel that the land flowed with milk and honey, and it produces much fruit. However, the people are strong and the cities are fortified, and the people are big and strong. 10 spies said that they could not take possession of the land because the people were too strong for them. They gave the congregation of Israel a bad report. But Joshua and Caleb, were filled with faith in God’s power and resources, and they urged the Israelites to go up and take possession of the land.
So, these Jews had been given good news by Joshua and Caleb. The land was fertile and fruitful, and God had given them the land! So how would they respond? Would they believe this good news, trust God to give them the victory, and enter into their rest in the Promised Land? Tragically, they did not believe, and came up with a plan to appoint a leader to take them back to Egypt!
In Numbers 14:11, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will the people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?”
Heb. 4:2 says “the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” The application is obvious. The Hebrew Christians had also heard the good news of Christ. But if that message of the gospel was not united by faith in them, it would not profit them at all! If they were to enter God’s rest of salvation, they must believe the gospel.
Continuing Rest. 4:6-9 “Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.”
This is speaking of a time almost 500 years after the spies were sent out. It is referring to Psalm 95 which King David penned. The rest for the Israelites when they took possession of the Promised Land did not exhaust God’s promise. There was still a rest for God’s people. Joshua wasn’t able to give them God’s rest. Their entrance into the Promised Land was just a picture of the true rest God was inviting people into.
Now it is true that there is a sense in which Joshua gave them a type of rest. Josh. 22:4 says “Now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them…” However, the rest Joshua gave them was not the true and final rest. It was not resting from their works as they rested in God’s works and enjoyed God’s eternal salvation. It was only a faint picture of the true rest of God.
The Christian’s Rest. 4:9-10, “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
The “Sabbath rest” is not talking about Christians resting on one day of the week. It is entering into God’s rest. We know that from verse 10. The verse begins with “For”, which tells us that verse 10 is an explanation of verse 9. This Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God, is them resting from their works, as God did from His works.
In fact, Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Sabbath. Col. 2:16-17 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”
The Sabbath was only given to the Jews under the Old Covenant. It never reappears as a law for Christians under the New Covenant. Jesus becomes our Sabbath. When we are in Christ, He becomes our true and spiritual rest from all our works, because we can rest in His finished work.
God’s rest is presented in Scripture as Creation Rest, Canaan Rest, Continuing Rest, and the Christian’s Rest. And all of those kinds of rest, really point to the true and ultimate rest of our eternal salvation.
2. How We Enter God’s Rest
We Must Fear That We May Come Short Of It. 4:1 “Let us fear, if while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.” If you want to make sure you enter God’s rest, the first place to start is to be afraid of missing it. You need to have a healthy concern that you might miss it. There is a promise remaining of entering God’s rest. You don’t want to come short of receiving that promise.
If you are not yet a born again child of God, you need to be awakened! You need to wake up to the fact that, like Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress, you live in the City of Destruction. You are under the wrath of Almighty God. There is the very real danger that you might die in your sins, and might miss the most important thing in the world – eternal life. Is there anyone here who is afraid that you might come short of God’s rest? If so, that’s a good thing. That is exactly what the author of Hebrews was urging them to do!
We Must Believe The Gospel. 4:3, “For we who have believed enter that rest…” Believe what? Verse 2 tells us we believe “the good news preached to us.” That’s talking about the gospel of Christ. In order to enter God’s rest you must believe the gospel. Remember that verse 2 tells us that the good news the Israelites heard in the Old Testament that God had given them the land of Canaan, did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
This true faith in Jesus Christ will result in obedience. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1:5 that God called him as an apostle to bring about “the obedience of faith.” Well, not only is there “the obedience of faith,” but there is also the “disobedience of unbelief.” That’s what we see in the example of the 10 spies who refused to go in and take possession of the land because they did not believe God was giving it to them.
Notice 4:6, “those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience…” That is the disobedience that flows from unbelief. Make sure this does not describe you.
Do you believe the gospel? Do you believe that God became a man? Do you believe He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life? Do you believe He worked miracles, healed the sick, cleansed lepers, calmed the storm, walked on water, and raised the dead? Do you believe He died for sins on the cross? Do you believe that He was Himself resurrected three days after His death? Do you believe He ascended to heaven, and is going to come again to judge the living and the dead? This is essential, if you are to enter God’s rest!
We Must Be Diligent To Enter That Rest. 4:11, “Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” The NIV says, “Let us make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” If we enter God’s rest of salvation by faith, why do we have to “make every effort”? That sounds like an oxymoron. But it is true.
Jesus taught the people in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
What is this striving, diligence, and effort all about, if we receive salvation through faith? We must be diligent to make sure that we possess the kind of faith that saves. In James 2:14, James asks the question, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can THAT faith save him?” Of course, the answer is No! Demons believe and shudder.
Do you have the faith of a nominal Christian or a true child of God? Is your faith genuine or true, or is it a mere profession of faith without any substance? Does your faith bring about repentance and confession of sin, worship of God, surrender to the Lordship of Christ, and a holy life? Are you a nominal Christian, or a true Christian? That’s a real problem for us here in the United States, because we face very little real persecution. In other places of the world, nominal Christianity is not a problem, because no one professes faith in Christ who is not willing to be persecuted and die for their faith. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:6-7 that one of the beautiful things about trials and suffering is that they prove whether your faith is genuine and true. The nominal Christian gives up his faith when it becomes costly, but the genuine believer holds onto Jesus Christ all the more tightly, the more trials he faces.
You must be diligent, strive, and make every effort that you possess true saving faith that endures to the end, rather than quick, flashy, temporary faith that evaporates when it becomes inconvenient to be a Christian.
Conclusion
So, why do we need to fear and be diligent to enter God’s rest? The answer is given in verses 12 and 13. Notice that verse 12 begins with the word “For.” That tells us that verse 12 and 13 is an explanation of verse 11. We must be diligent “FOR the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Probably many of you know this Scripture by heart. But do you know what it actually means in context? We usually think this verse is telling us that the Bible is able to instruct, comfort, and convict us because it is living and active, but it is generally a positive and beneficial work in believer’s lives.
What is the author referring to when he speaks of “the word of God.” Well, in context, he is referring to the word of God he has been quoting over and over in chapter 3 and 4. He’s referring to Psalm 95:7-11. He quotes that passage in full in Hebrews 3:7-11, and then refers to it again four more times.
This Scripture is telling us that God has sworn in His wrath that unbelievers will not enter His rest. The reason you and I must be diligent to enter God’s rest, is because if we are not diligent, but instead harden our hearts, fall away from the living God, become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, and do not hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, the Word of God boldly declares that God will not allow that person to enter His rest.
You see, the Word of God, in this passage is presented as a lethal weapon – a sword. A sword is used to kill enemies. It is also an instrument of judgment – “able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” On Judgment Day, God will use His Word to bring about judgment. His word will judge the thoughts and intentions of every heart.
Notice in verse 13 that the Word is the instrument God uses to judge. Every creature of God is open and laid bare to God to whom we must give an account.
Jesus said in John 12:48, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”
My friends, on Judgment Day, God will use His Word to sentence every person to Heaven or Hell. That Word is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of every soul. It will reveal who possessed true living faith in Christ, and who had the faith of demons, and who had no faith at all.
Therefore, I want to leave you with these 2 exhortations ringing in your ears:
“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”
“Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”
May all of us here, enter God’s rest of salvation, through a true and living faith in Jesus Christ!
Let’s pray.
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