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Entering God’s Rest - Hebrews 4
Entering God’s Rest - Hebrews 4
God has provided an eternal rest for His people. HERE, we labor, THERE we rest. So in Hebrews 4 vs. speaks of believers as those who ‘are entering’ (present tense) this rest (4:3). Then, in vs. 10 we read of the one who ‘has entered’ and rested from their labor. Thus, we are admonished to “be diligent TO ENTER that rest.” (4:11)
Israel set an example for us. Yes, they DID believe.
“So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped.” Exodus 4:31
“When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.” Exodus 14:31
BUT these same people failed to enter God’s rest ‘because of disobedience’ (vs. 6). Thus, we are admonished: “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience”. How are we to be diligent?
Just using the admonitions in this letter itself, and limiting ourselves to those things that are prefaced with ‘let us’, we see ‘striving to enter’ (KJV) or ‘being diligent to enter’ (NASB) includes:
Being fearful of failing (4:1), holding fast our confession (4:14), drawing near to the throne of grace (4:16), pressing on to maturity (6:1), laying aside every weight and sin which clings so closely (12:10), and ‘continually offering up a sacrifice of praise’ (13:15). There are others, but you get the idea of what such ‘labor’ and ‘diligence’ are made of. ARE you actively, thoughtfully, and carefully entering God’s rest?
Hugh DeLong
