A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “As in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” though his works were finished at the foundation of the world. For in one place it speaks about the seventh day as follows, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place it says, “They shall not enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day—“today”—saying through David much later, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”  Hebrews 4:1-7        

“We who have believed – So you say that you understand His offer of rest and the writer’s urgent call to enter this blessed state, but you might still wonder “How do I enter?”. This verse (among others in this section, e.g., He 4:2) tells us we enter by trusting, and in context, that trust is to be in the Messiah. Joining a church won’t bring you rest (in fact most of us who have been in churches for a while would sadly have to testify to quite the opposite experience!) any more than being a member of the 12 tribes of Israel guaranteed entrance into the Promised Land. It is not enough simply to hear the gospel (which sadly is becoming more and more “watered down” in the American evangelicalism!) or even to understand the gospel. The gospel must be received by grace through faith.” (Commentary on Hebrews 4, Precept Austin, February 17, 2015)

There is an urgency to the words, including “Today” — that today we should enter into the rest of G-d through the words of eternal life that come through the good news of Jesus Christ. So we have two things we should do “today” and not wait for tomorrow. We should open the Bible “today” and remind ourselves why we have this feeling in our lives that something is missing. If you feel something is missing, perhaps it is that you have not worked on your relationship with G-d. The best place to begin to work on that relationship is in reading what G-d has promised to all people. The second thing we should do “today” is count our blessings — because we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. We should be glad G-d gave us today. We should be glad G-d gave us this very minute to be reading and relating to a G-d who loves us so much.

If today is giving you a lot of unrest, open your bible and read 1 Corinthians 10:13 — and realize that G-d does not abandon us — nor forsake. G-d is there to help us through the valleys and the pitfalls.

Pastor Dave