Hebrews 4:3-11

Hebrews 4:3-11 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

When God accomplished his creation and declared it "very good," He then entered into rest. But because of disobedience and the serpent's deceitfulness, mankind failed to enter into this rest with God. Discontented with God's finished work, Adam and Eve heeded the devil's words, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” THEY QUESTIONED WHETHER GOD REALLY SAID THEY MUST REST IN HIS SUFFICIENCY. WASN'T THERE MORE WORK TO DO SUCH AS EATING FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE? THEY REASONED THE WORK WAS NOT REALLY COMPLETE UNTIL THEY KNEW WHAT GOD KNOWS. So man continued in attempts to be as God, more powerful, more authoritative. From that day on, man has worked to exalt himself, to make himself as God, wiser and better. He has not rested from his labor, and strives to know the essence of all things, even creation. Rather than resting in God's work, mankind strives TO KNOW. As a result people have taken God's good creation and made it very bad. Since Cain slew Abel, man has murdered a million times over. Man's failure to rest in God and his desire to create outside of God's plan has caused continuous calamity on the earth. Our current desire for infinite growth, constant betterment, will eventually denude the Earth of its natural resources. We don't need others to destroy us; we are destroying ourselves, our "Blue Earth," the only viable, living planet we can detect anywhere in the universe. We are like an autoimmune disease, cannibalizing ourselves. Our sinful dissatisfaction with God and his creation has brought on our own demise.

Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today. Today is the day of rest if you will enter in by faith. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts (with unbelief). There is a Sabbath-rest for the people of God, a place where we reside in his finished work, a place where we cease from our own works of making things better. This place of rest comes through Jesus Christ. In him we are new creations, "Born again" children of God. Because God has prepared a place of rest for us in his presence, we can enter in by faith. In and through Jesus Christ, we proclaim God's good works and not ours; we accept his finished work and not our works. When Jesus said it is finished on the cross, He accomplished our salvation, once and for all. As Christians, we don't add anything to Christ's finished work. As we accept his new creation in us, we know He has designed us to be sons and daughters of the Most High and through the Holy Spirit will continually perfect the work He has begun in us. Yes, we are imperfect in the flesh, but we hide ourselves in his work, in his perfection. This is a perfect salvation: in him we become new creatures, born of the blood of Christ and not of our works.

By not accepting God's plan as He designed it, Adam and Eve said creation was incomplete. They desired to go another step by eating of the tree of knowledge. The devil knew this action would cast them outside of God's finished work into their own work, their own way. Since that horrible fall, Earth and its inhabitants have been under the burden of sin and death. Therefore, God made all things new to provide an eternal day of rest. Christ' death and resurrection began the new creation, THE NEW DAY OF REST. The old creation passed away when Jesus paid for sin at the cross, and new life arose at his resurrection. Jesus, the creator of all things, gave life to the new creation, his life. We who are found in him are now alive evermore, under the pleasing eyes of the Almighty God. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Disobedient children create their own reality by doing their own thing, following their own authority. The writer of Hebrews implores us not to continue in our own creation, but to fall under God's authority. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” (Matthew 11:28-30) My friend, come to Jesus, take his life as yours, and let your eternal soul rest in him.