Lesson 5

Hebrews 4 – New King James Version

4 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, ^[a]not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”

although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

⁶ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if ^[b]Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

First Impression?

• “Rest in believing and obedience” or “some don’t” were the two responses I received. I was overwhelmed with the amount of content in this chapter. I was happy with how this lesson pulled together, but oh so much happier when I created another one to pick up on what I skipped in this one.

Lest any of you seem to have come short of it – When we fear for others who might be short, how is this different from the fear they should have?

• Once again, I feel a distance from where I was when I created this question set. The goal was to show that as believers who know what they are missing, our intensity in wanted to help others know Christ should match the intensity others have about not dying.

Gospel mixed with Faith – What path does anyone have to faith?

• Their own. Probably a trick question, but the point is that everyone has their own path, and we can no more create a plan that works for everyone than save someone else just by our own efforts. 

The works were finished from the foundation of the world – How does this phrase impact your spiritual life? Your worldly life?

• I look at this as a comparison of what is important and what is really important. While my physical health is important, my spiritual heath is infinity more so. 

God rested on the seventh day from all His works. – Do you differentiate between a day of rest, an everlasting rest, some other variation of rest?

• The goal was to question whether God has been resting in an eternal Sabbath after the world was created or He just rested one day and then went back at it again. I cannot expect to fully understand God, but I know His Word has many things in it that my mind is fully capable of understanding, and I wonder which of the two this is. I know the six days were for creating everything physical, but I do not understand if the ongoing works are something “equal” or something in rest.

Because of disobedience and harden your hearts – Is sin synonymous for disobedience? In all circumstances?

• I asked this to get a charge out of the crowd so to speak. It worked. I took a logic class in college, and I enjoyed it, but I rarely come across an aspect of life where the details of logic really matter. If A = B, Then B= A, Where A is sin and B is disobedience. This is what I was asking without spelling it out. I am not sure I understand the question enough to give an answer, but maybe I should look for a job as a philosopher and find out.

If we cease from works, what is the difference between that and rest?

• This is kind of like what is going on a trip for the weekend compared to going on a weekend vacation. They are not the same even if them seem to be on the surface. Resting is about wallowing in the joy of completion and not working is wallowing in slothfulness.

How can our entering rest help others not fall?

• We could go on with this one for days, but the simple answer is that relying on God is the type of resting that helps us help others. 

Must give account – How does this factor in?

• I think about getting a degree to be a stay at home mom. Yes, one could get an MBA and go conquer the world. But you could also get an MBA and have a career of caring for your family. We have options and our choice matters, but it really only matters to God that you follow Him. He might give you a million dollars, but it was not so you could blow it all on yourself.

Mercy and grace in time of need – Do you ever think that mercy and grace are only available in time of trial?

• I liken this question to the theory that you only get stronger by working out. If you never do anything that counts as a trial, why do you need mercy or grace? It is only when you are out doing that you mess up and need mercy. It is only when you try to do something you cannot that you need grace. I want to need them all the time. Not so that my life is miserable, but so that my life is molding me to be more like Christ.