The writer of Hebrews spends an extensive amount of effort focusing on his ancestors and how God dealt with them during their 40 years in the wilderness …a reminder that God will deal with them and us in the same way today because He hasn’t changed.
Many Jewish believers who stepped out of Judaism into Christianity were wanting to revert back to Judaism…see this same thing in the Church today… I’ve talked about it before…apostasy.
Apostasyis the rejection of Christianity by someone who was a Christian and has voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in God.
There are the warning passages that describe at least three dangers which could lead a Christian to apostatize:
Temptations: to return to the vices that were a part of their lives before they became Christians (idolatry, sexual immorality, covetousness, etc.).
Deceptions: by false teachings that threat to seduce them away from their devotion to Christ.
Persecutions: for their allegiance to Christ. Many Christians are threatened with death if they do not deny Christ.
The writer of Hebrews is exhorting them and us to “press on” to maturity in Christ (Heb. 6:1).
What does that look like…to be mature in Christ…isn’t going to church…being baptized…taking communion…it’s possessing and reflecting in our lives those qualities that reveal our inner being: Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control. [Galatians 5:22-23]
Jesus says you will know them by their fruits [Matt. 7:20] …we call this … ‘fruit inspecting’ meaning making an assessment of people’s commitment as a Christian by how they live their lives.
When you see someone who doesn’t exhibit those qualities in their life…who possess little or no spiritual fruit, then we conclude that the person is 1) an immature Christian…2) lacking in their Christian commitment…2) not saved …3) or living in apostasy.
I don’t believe it’s ever acceptable to conclude that someone is not saved…I can however…look at their lifestyle and assess that their living is less than Christlike.
I can even exclude them from Christian service in the church…but I cannot make an assessment regarding their salvation.
People tell me ‘oh, I’m a Christian…I pray every day…but does your lifestyle reflect the qualities that describe a Christian…living a life that is well-developed in:
Obedient faith – One that doesn’t question or argue.
Working faith – One that is active and dynamic.
Stable faith – One that is not easily shaken by trial or opposition.
Perfected faith – One where actions are consistent with what is professed.
The author is encouraging them to press on to maturity in order to enter into rest.
The writer of Hebrews is emphatic on the idea of God’s ‘rest’ …Hebrews 4 speaks about the various forms of rest and how it applies in each instance.
Rest, in this scripture, means many different things depending on the reference and the translation.…here we see the problem with chapter divisions…3:18 ought to run as a continuation into chapter four…that division break causes a loss of continuity in what the writer is attempting to share.
3:18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Note that in 3:18 disobedience is equated with unbelief in 3:19.
4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest
When you look at what the writer is referring to there is the primary meaning of what is written then there is the application:
The application is found in the example of the Israelites who were not trusting in God’s promises…God said He would go before them and remove all opposition allowing them to live securely in the land free from hostilities…whereby they would live in rest.
All they needed to do was have faith that God would do as He promised…BUT instead…they relied on their own ability rather than having faith that God would do what He promised…hence they were denied God’s rest.
The application for us requires the same degree of faith God expected of the Jews…for us enter into God’s rest requires a faith that demands we stop relying on our own abilities and trust in God’s promises…biblical faith involves our submissiveness to God.
The application is closely associated with the primary meaning…the rest that was available to the Hebrews was denied them…and is denied to people today because they professed Jesus…but did not truly possess Jesus.
It’s one thing to be present in Christ’s church this morning – it’s quite another thing to have Christ present in you…. it’s one thing to have information in your mind about Christ, it’s quite another thing to have the mind of Christ in you.
This morning’s verses are emphasizing us to hear the good news and then unite our hearing with belief…whereby we are then allowed to enter into spiritual rest.
There can be three types of ‘rest’ symbolized here:
ONE…The rest that Adam and Eve experienced before they were expelled from the Garden.
TWO…The rest that awaited the Israelites in the Promised Land but was denied them because of their lack of faith.
THREE…The eternal rest of the new heaven and the new earth (Rev.2:6; 22:1).
BUT…in each one of these cases it was the people’s own unbelief which rendered them unable to enjoy God’s rest…they disqualified themselves…it was self-induced.
There’s a timeless theological principal in these verses…it’s a warning that can be applied to us today…because like Israel we too have dumbed down the Bible.
…by not preaching on what God says about living a Christian lifestyle.
…by accepting what is popular rather than what is Scriptural.
…by preaching and accepting what is preferred rather than what is truthful.
…by preaching to fill churches rather than preaching God’s Word.
…by replacing the true God with false religions.
…by accepting what I believe to be true.
…by what the media says is right.
…by what is politically correct.
…by what society says over ‘thus says the Lord’.
This has really been the problem since the Fall…that’s really the meaning of the Hebrew word Sabbath…most people identify the Sabbath as just a time to cease from work…but to the observant Jew…God’s Sabbath is for two reasons:
1) A day of rest to cease from work but also
2) A time of refreshing in the Lord…a time to concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life.
How many people realize that work is a blessing from God…work is man’s original vocation…those who consider it a punishment are sadly mistaken…God placed the first man in Paradise so that he would work.
People have the misplaced idea that the reason we work is because it’s a curse from the Fall…that God ran Adam and Eve out of the Garden and told them to get to work…working has nothing to do with the Fall.
Now…things certainly did change drastically as a result of the Fall:
Physical Death
Through the sin of one man, sin spread to all men, and all men died [Rom. 5:12].
Changed our relationship with God
After the Fall neither Adam or Eve took responsibility for their action…Adam blamed Eve and God for his sin…Eve was a little smarter…she blamed Satan (Gen. 3:8). No one ever blames Satan.
At that instant man’s relationship with God was shattered…we were declared enemies of God…man would not only die physically but would also be spiritually separated from God…the only way to reconcile was for something to be sacrificed …God’s Son was the only acceptable sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath.
Changed relationships
It changed man’s relationship with himself…with other people…and even with nature.
With respect to ourselves…all of us struggle to some degree with self-worth because of our sin…one of our greatest needs as individuals is to regain a sense of our value and worth…Christianity gives that sense of value and worth back to us…because we are no longer just occupying space and time…we belong to God.
Sin also damaged man’s other people…immediately after the Fall, Adam and Eve’s relationship with each other was affected…how they dealt with each other…one that took a turn for the worse.
The Fall ruined the mutual understanding of submission between a woman and her husband…it was literally the birth of feminism and male chauvinism.
When God told Eve that she would desire her husband [Gen 3:16] He was not referring to sex…that’s not what that means…God was saying two things are going to happen as a result of your sin.
FIRST…the woman would seek a role reversal by not being submissive to Adam…she would covet his control…his position of authority…and dominance
…she would desire to have the authority in their relationship…that’s what ‘she would desire her husband’ means.
SECOND…man’s rule over women would no longer be one of benevolence … men would no longer see women as an equal and as a help mate…but would begin to be suppressive in their relationship to women and seek a more dominant role.
Here’s some Christian counselling regarding this…for Christians marriage is the union of a man and women…OK…I have obviously crossed a line…when you make a statement like that you represent everything that’s bad.
You’re politically incorrect…a sexist…narrow minded…a bigot…a Christian pinhead…homophobic…and probably a Nazi…obviously I’m not being progressive enough…being too Southern Baptist.
…I will not compromise the Bible for the sake of political correctness.
…I will not compromise the Bible for the sake of a larger congregation.
…I will not compromise the Bible to smooth over any conviction of sin brought about by a disobedient lifestyle.
I don’t preach to ‘bash’ …condemn…or criticize anyone’s lifestyle…that’s the job of the Holy Spirit…as a pastor it’s been said…I’m not called to give my opinion…I don’t get to say what I think…I get to say what the Bible says.
Going back to the marriage issues that were caused by the Fall…here’s what Scripture says regarding marriage…women serve God by willingly being submissive to their husbands…men ‘be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them’ [1 Peter 3:7] and willingly submit to God.
BUT…because the Fall changed all of what God expects in marriage… Scripture has to remind us of what a marriage relationship should be.
Changed our relationship with nature
The world itself was altered…originally the earth produced all kinds of fruit but the Fall changed all that…God cursed the ground and caused thorns and thistles to grow to crowd out the crops.
This is where the work thing comes in…after man was expelled from the Garden he would have to work to survive in this new world [Gen. 3:17-19].
SO, …having to work is not a result of the Fall…work is not a penalty…or a curse…or a punishment…those who speak of it that way have a mis-understanding of Scripture…the ‘rest’ referred to here has nothing do with work.
Work is a blessing in that as participants we find a purpose in the creative work of God by joining in and subduing the earth and exercising dominion over it… exactly what God told Adam and Eve to do.
The LORD…took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [Gen 2:15]
To rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth [Gen 1:26].
People mistakenly believe that when I get to heaven, I’m just gonna sit around and eat from the tree of life while I dangle my feet in the river of life and relax …others say that in eternity we will do nothing except worship God forever.
Here’s a spoiler alert…neither one is totally correct…nowhere in Scripture does it refer to us sitting around doing nothing…and while worship will be a primary activity in heaven, it will not be our only activity…the Bible says in heaven we will not only worship but we will also work.
A perfect illustration of that is in the Garden of Eden…God didn’t tell Adam and Eve to just hang out in the Garden and do nothing…He put them as caretakers over His creation…nothing’s changed.
Worship manifests itself in work…serving God is worship, and Scripture is clear that we will serve God in heaven.
This is where the importance is of understanding the phrase ‘promise remains of entering His rest’.
We believe that heaven will be very much like the Garden of Eden…but in reality, not even a comparison…because Heaven will be so much more enjoyable…but just as God instructed Adam to work…we will also work.
Here’s the difference…In Heaven we’ll serve God doing enjoyable work… doing what we want to do but doing it in a manner that will always bring joy to God and to us…is that not the perfect job?
We will not be under the curse of sin any longer, so everything we do will be worship in heaven. (Revelation 22:3).
We will never be motivated by anything other than our love for God… everything we do will be out of love for God.
The close connection between worship and service will continue in heaven in ways we will not fully understand until that time.
The importance of God’s ‘rest’ is seen in the author using most of chapter 3 and 4 to expound on it…the significance of Israel’s rest in Canaan has nothing to do with salvation…here’s the salient point…God’s rest is available right now.
Hebrews 4 is an interesting chapter which speaks in length about rest…the ‘rest’ scripture is referring to is the peace that comes with being assured of our salvation.
The ‘rest’ that comes is by giving believers confidence in their relationship with Christ…it’s knowing that God is in control of all things and all times…it’s the ‘rest’ that is the assurance that God gives us an inheritance…and rewards to those who ‘hold fast’ to their faith.
Here’s the importance in that… knowing that as Christians we have a fellowship with God whereby we can approach the throne of grace confidently…because we are assured of our victory over sin and death…having the promise of eternal security in Christ…and the promise of rewards.