Hebrews 4A (2014) When she looked up from her reading the socialite noticed Robinson was crying.

Transcription

1 Hebrews 4A (2014) Rbert Rbinsn was an English clergyman wh lived in the 18th century. Nt nly was he a gifted pastr and preacher he was als a highly gifted pet and hymn writer. Hwever, after many years in the pastrate his faith began t drift. He left the ministry and finished up in France, indulging himself in sin. One night he was riding in a carriage with a Parisian scialite wh had recently been cnverted t Christ. She was interested in his pinin n sme petry she was reading: Cme thu Funt f every blessing, Tune my heart t sing thy grace, Streams f mercy never failing, Call fr hymns f ludest praise. When she lked up frm her reading the scialite nticed Rbinsn was crying. What d I think f it? he asked in a brken vice. I wrte it. But nw I ve drifted away frm him and can t find my way back. But dn t yu see the wman said gently, The way back is written right here in the third line f yur pem: Streams f mercy never ceasing. Thse streams are flwing even here in Paris tnight. That night Rbinsn recmmitted his life t Christ. Rbinsn s experience is a gd example f hw a Christian falls away If we cncede t disappintment r discuragement, r if submit t the desires f ur flesh, we can slip back int a life ruled by ur flesh Our faith is still intact, in that ur knwledge f Christ as Lrd and Savir never leaves But in ur behavir, we depart frm the cmmands f Christ We are departing frm the life f bedience t Christ, thugh we can never be separated frm the lve f Christ This was Rbinsn s experience But it is the kindness f Gd that brings us t repentance, and Gd was certainly gd t give Rbinsn the pprtunity t repent and return 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Hebrews 4A (2014) 2 f 12 The Lrd never left Rbinsn, even thugh Rbinsn tried t run frm Gd That s the security we have in Christ, that even when we are faithless, yet He remains faithful Fr the unbeliever, hwever, there is n such rescue prmised When an unbeliever is expsed t the truth, cnsiders it fr a time and then falls away during a time f testing, there is n tether hlding them t the Lrd They have n relatinship with the Lrd Perhaps they will eventually cme t embrace the truth, as the Lrd permits But unless and until they cme t understand the truth f the Gspel, their temprary interest in Christ r Christianity buys them nthing This is why the writer says in v.14 that becming a partaker (metchs - cmpanin) f Christ will lead t a hlding fast ur cnfidence until the end This is the central cncern fr this writer in his secnd warning That amng us in the Church may be thse wh have nt truly embraced Christ as Lrd And yet they cntinue t cngregate with us Fr their sake, the writer asks us t encurage ne anther, seeking t build everyne up, and ultimately t lead everyne t a saving knwledge f Christ But the sin f unbelief has a hardening effect n a heart Time is running ut And that s why the writer cntinues t emphasize hearing the Lrd s vice tday And if smene fails t hear the Lrd s vice, there is a certain utcme awaiting them fr their unbelief And that leads us t the cnsequence f the warning at the end f chapter 3 and int chapter Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Hebrews 4A (2014) 3 f 12 Heb. 3:14 Fr we have becme partakers f Christ, if we hld fast the beginning f ur assurance firm until the end, Heb. 3:15 while it is said, TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME. Heb. 3:16 Fr wh prvked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did nt all thse wh came ut f Egypt led by Mses? Heb. 3:17 And with whm was He angry fr frty years? Was it nt with thse wh sinned, whse bdies fell in the wilderness? Heb. 3:18 And t whm did He swear that they wuld nt enter His rest, but t thse wh were disbedient? Heb. 3:19 S we see that they were nt able t enter because f unbelief. The writer wanted t ffer the church an example f their natin s past t illustrate bth the pssibility and the seriusness f sme within the grup failing t believe S he returns t the experiences f the Israelites in the desert He asks a series f questins t cause his audience t cnsider the cnsequences f unbelief His questins are all fcused n the wh f that time in the desert First, he asks wh prvked Gd when they had heard? Thse wh heard are the Israelites, wh heard the Lrd s call thrugh Mses t leave Egypt They saw Gd s miraculus pwers in the desert They received the cvenant, and heard the wrd f the Lrd But wh was Gd angry with 40 years? Again, with thse same peple They angered Gd in their sin, disbeying the wrd f the Lrd time and again and demnstrating a lack f faith And s they Lrd declared they wuld all die in the desert Finally, the writer asks wh was denied entrance int the prmised land? 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Hebrews 4A (2014) 4 f 12 That very same generatin f Israel never entered the Lrd s rest, that is the land f Canaan His pint is that thse wh began the jurney with Mses didn t make it t the destinatin A start desn t guarantee a finish, if that start begins in the wrng way In the case f the Israelites, frm the beginning they prvked the Lrd And in the end they were denied entry int the land that the Lrd prmised t Abraham s descendants But hw culd the Lrd deny smething He prmised? Paul explains hw in Rmans Rm. 9:6 But it is nt as thugh the wrd f Gd has failed. Fr they are nt all Israel wh are descended frm Israel; Rm. 9:7 nr are they all children because they are Abraham s descendants, but: THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED. Rm. 9:8 That is, it is nt the children f the flesh wh are children f Gd, but the children f the prmise are regarded as descendants. The prmises f Gd are btained thrugh faith We must believe in thse prmises befre Gd assigns them t us In the case f that generatin f Israel, their unbelief in Gd s prmise f a gd and prsperus land disqualified them frm receiving that prmise The writer says they natin was nt able t enter the land because f unbelief Just attaching themselves t Mses wasn t enugh Just hearing the wrd prclaimed wasn t enugh Being witness t wndrus displays f Gd wasn t enugh t grant entrance int Gd s prmises The test f entrance was belief in thse prmises 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Hebrews 4A (2014) 5 f 12 Things haven t changed fr the church, as the writer pints ut in chapter 4:1 Heb. 4:1 Therefre, let us fear if, while a prmise remains f entering His rest, any ne f yu may seem t have cme shrt f it. Heb. 4:2 Fr indeed we have had gd news preached t us, just as they als; but the wrd they heard did nt prfit them, because it was nt united by faith in thse wh heard. We shuld tremble at the thught that there might sme amng us wh pssess the same kind f evil, unbelieving heart We aren t merely trembling fr their sake, thugh certainly we have cncern fr their eternal future But remember the cnsequences impacted all Israel When the unbelieving element in the grup disbeyed Gd, the Lrd placed the entire natin under judgment S we shuld be cncerned if ur cngregatins are lng-term refuges fr unbelievers We certainly want them t visit, t inquire, t listen t the wrd and t cnsider what they hear But if ur gathering can be a cmfrtable place fr the unbeliever t hang ut indefinitely, then we shuld fear the Bible says The wrd f Gd is intended t create a respnse in the hearts f thse wh hear it preached prperly And that respnse will either be t fall upn ur knees in repentance seeking His frgiveness and mercy Or it will lead us t run away in disbedience, stubbrnness and pride But the ne thing we cannt permit is fr unbelievers t remain unchanged in ur midst T d s is t risk angering the Lrd It means departed frm the missin f the church, ur very purpse fr being And it als suggests we re nt presenting the wrd f Gd in a true and frthright manner 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Hebrews 4A (2014) 6 f 12 We ve created an envirnment where the wrld can feel cmfrtable in the church Sme churches have made this mistake tday, labeling their apprach t the gathering as seeker-friendly And thugh they d what they d with the best f intentins, nevertheless they are paving a rad t destructin They have designed an experience that appeals t unbelievers in the hpe that bringing them int the gathering will have a psitive impact But rubbing elbws with believers des nt by itself bring abut saving faith If hanging arund the peple f Gd r even Gd Himself was a means t saving faith, then hw d we explain Israel in the desert? Christianity desn t rub ff It desn t enter a heart like air entering lungs Yu dn t absrb it r learn it thrugh a scializing prcess Perhaps in the early stages f smene s interest in the faith, a scializing perid can be useful t building bridges But sner than later, if we hpe t see smene cme t faith in Christ, we must present the message f the Gspel frm the testimny f the Bible That s been this writer s pint thrughut this example f Israel in the desert In v.2 the writer says thse wh prvked Gd experienced all the same things as the rest They rubbed elbws with Mses and the rest f the Israelites They walked the same walk, they heard the same wrd But it didn t prfit them because it was nt united with faith The Greek wrd fr united can mean mixed tgether 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Hebrews 4A (2014) 7 f 12 They weren t experiencing what they encuntered thrugh a lens f faith They nly experienced in a fleshly sense, which did them n gd That has t be ur cncern as well, shuld we affrd safe harbr t smene wh lacks true saving faith It might feel gd t us in sme sense, but it s ding n ne any gd N ne is prfiting They dn t prfit because withut faith, it s impssible t please Gd And we dn t prfit, because we haven t served the purpse f the church We haven t pleased ur Lrd The writer has been emphasizing that the stakes fr thse wh prvke the Lrd in disbedience t the Gspel are very, very high He s described the penalty fr unbelief t be nt entering the rest f Gd We knw that fr thse in the desert, the penalty was nt entering the Prmised Land But the writer als indicated that this is a penalty still being experienced by thse wh reject Christ tday Ntice in v.1 the writer says the prmise f entering the Lrd s rest still remains tday Hw can the penalty fr failing t believe be the same tday as it was in the time f Mses? After all, the Israelites eventually did enter the Prmised Land under Jshua S what exactly des the writer mean when he says thse wh remain disbedient in their unbelief are in jepardy f nt entering His rest? The writer ges frward t explain 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Hebrews 4A (2014) 8 f 12 Heb. 4:3 Fr we wh have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST, althugh His wrks were finished frm the fundatin f the wrld. Heb. 4:4 Fr He has said smewhere cncerning the seventh day: AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS ; Heb. 4:5 and again in this passage, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST. Heb. 4:6 Therefre, since it remains fr sme t enter it, and thse wh frmerly had gd news preached t them failed t enter because f disbedience, Heb. 4:7 He again fixes a certain day, Tday, saying thrugh David after s lng a time just as has been said befre, TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS. Heb. 4:8 Fr if Jshua had given them rest, He wuld nt have spken f anther day after that. Heb. 4:9 S there remains a Sabbath rest fr the peple f Gd. Heb. 4:10 Fr the ne wh has entered His rest has himself als rested frm his wrks, as Gd did frm His. In v.3 the writer defines what he means by entering rest Using the Israelites as a negative example, the writer demnstrates that thse wh have believed (in Gd s prmises) enter int His rest Once again, he qutes frm Psalms 95 where the Lrd Himself equated Israel s disbedience with frfeiting entering rest But nw the writer wants us t understand that Gd wasn t speaking abut entering Canaan, at least that wasn t His nly meaning S with a series f cmments frm the Old Testament, the writer explains what it means t be denied Gd s rest First in v.4, the writer refers t the Creatin accunt As we all remember, the Lrd tk a day at the end f Creatin t rest The Lrd rested in the sense that ceased the creatin prcess And in that sense, the Lrd s rest has never ended 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Hebrews 4A (2014) 9 f 12 Even nw the Lrd is at rest frm Creatin, because the creatin prcess ended n Day 6 and has never restarted But thusands f years later, the Lrd declared that disbedient Israel wuldn t enter int His rest The rest f the Lrd has already begun and is everlasting at this pint S the nly way smene can never enter int Gd s rest is if they never enter int His presence And that s exactly the meaning f the Lrd s threat Thse wh were disbedient and unbelieving in the desert were being denied entrance int the Lrd s presence in Heaven, where He is at risk Therefre, the writer says an pprtunity remains fr sme t enter int the Lrd s rest Nt all enter int His rest, His presence By faith, sme will enter int the Lrd s rest Sme are like thse in the desert They had gd news preached t them, but still they failed t enter because they disbeyed what they heard And the Lrd wasn t just talking abut denying them entrance int Canaan, the physical prmised land The writer prves in vs.7-9 that the rest Gd was describing was a euphemism fr entering int His presence, int salvatin First, the writer qutes frm the Psalms again when David called Israel t enter int the Lrd s rest tday But by the time David wrte that psalm, the natin f Israel had already been living in Canaan fr many generatins S if entering rest merely referred t the physical land, then David wuldn t have still been calling Israel t enter the Lrd s rest The natin had already entered lng befre Ntice the writer makes that cnclusin in v Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Hebrews 4A (2014) 10 f 12 He says that if entering rest merely meant entering Canaan under Jshua, then we wuldn t have had David repeating the call t enter centuries later S the writer cncludes in v.9 that there remains a Sabbath rest fr the peple f Gd The cncept the writer is expressing here is deep and incredibly meaningful fr all believers The writer is explaining that the wrd rest in the Bible is a wrd Gd uses t describe entering int salvatin by faith, which leads t ur glry in Gd s presence That rest is Gd s rest It s a rest He makes available It s nt a rest we earn It s a rest He earned by His wrk, and He invites us t jin Him by faith When we have faith in His prmises, we enter int His rest This is a Sabbath rest And since that rest is the Lrd s rest, it last perpetually Just as the Lrd rest perpetually because He will never return t the wrk f Creatin, likewise we will enjy a perpetual rest by ur faith We d nt wrk ur way t salvatin; we rest in the wrk Gd did n ur behalf thrugh Christ The land in Canaan was merely a picture f that eternal rest When the natin f Israel disbeyed in the desert, they were demnstrating their lack f saving faith in the prmises f Gd S the Lrd denied them entrance int the physical prmised land t demnstrate His displeasure with them But in the prcess, He was als creating a picture f where unbelief leads 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Hebrews 4A (2014) 11 f 12 It prevents us frm entering Gd s rest, His presence, His salvatin We will be left with ur wn wrk, which will never prduce last eternal rest That s why David said s many years after Jshua that Israel shuld still be seeking t enter Gd s rest Everyne shuld be seeking t enter the Lrd s presence Fr as lng as tday is called Tday Fr as lng as the Lrd cntinues t hld back His judgment and allw us the pprtunity t knw Christ and be saved We shuld seize that pprtunity t enter His rest As the writer says in v.10, that the ne wh has entered the Lrd s rest is the ne wh has rested frm his wrks, just as Gd rested frm His wrks The day yu receive Christ as yur savir, yu cease frm yur wrks Yu enter int the Lrd s Sabbath rest The rest that the Lrd cmmemrated by giving Israel a day t rest in each week That weekly rest that Israel enjyed under the Law was a memrial f the Lrd s rest Yu and I enter int the Lrd s rest, the perpetual rest, when we accept Christ as Savir That s why we can say nw that we are nt required t bserve a weekly rest n ne day f the week Because we have btained smething far greater by ur faith in Christ We have entered int Gd s perpetual rest, a rest that lasts every day f every week A rest we enter by faith alne, and nt by ur wn wrks That s the rest the writer wants all his readers t enter 2014 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Hebrews 4A (2014) 12 f 12 As he says in v. 11 Heb. 4:11 Therefre let us be diligent t enter that rest, s that n ne will fall, thrugh fllwing the same example f disbedience. The Greek wrd fr diligent means t make every effrt We shuld make every effrt t bring everyne with us int the rest f the Lrd Or simply put, we shuld be wrking as hard as we can t make sure everyne in ur church truly knws the Lrd As the writer said earlier, let s encurage everyne t remember the Lrd s kindness and mercy in the face f Christ Cntinue speaking the Gspel and expecting a respnse Slicit testimnies, encurage believers t be baptized Dn t let anyne fall thrugh the cracks And at the same time, let s be realistic in ur expectatins Nt everyne may be willing t make the trip with us Sme will remain disbedient, unrepentant and unbelieving What are we t d with thse? The ne thing we can t d is find a way t make them feel cmfrtable in their unbelief We can t sften the Gspel r make excuses fr their lack f repentance We can t make unity a higher pririty than truth We can t make their participatin in the cngregatin a higher gal than their partaking in Christ Let s nt allw anyne t fllw the example f the Israelites in the desert A peple wh saw miraculus things arund them and heard marvelus revelatin f Gd And yet they turn away and fllwed their flesh Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.