Well turn please with me to Hebrews
chapter 4 as we come back to this study in the epistle to
the Hebrews. And I've entitled this message
what it says basically in verse 11. Labor to enter rest. Labor to strive, struggle, try,
determine to enter into rest. Rest being the very opposite
of labor. Labor to enter rest. This epistle
was written to Jewish believers, hence its title, Hebrews. And
they had Jewish traditions. They believed the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, but they still had, you know, we carry through
life an awful lot of baggage in terms of the traditions that
we have. We carry that through life with
us. You know, you look back, why do we think certain ways
and behave certain ways. It's very much because of the
traditions that we've been brought up with and that we've inculcated
from the culture in which we live and the education we had
and all of those things. And sometimes those things can
become so powerful in the flesh that there's a danger of us as
believers losing sight of Christ and his salvation. The object
of our faith is Christ and his salvation. And think again, let's
remind ourselves, what does salvation mean? It means to be saved, to
be rescued from the consequences of sin, for the consequences
of sin are dreadful, absolutely dreadful. The book of God says
it. You know there are false preachers who stand up every
day and they say these words, God loves you and has a wonderful
plan for your life. Where does it say that in this
book? I'll tell you what it says to mankind in general in this
book. It says God is angry with the wicked every day. That's
what the God of the universe says. God is angry with the wicked
every day. His wrath against sin. He must
be God. And being God, he's holy, and
cannot abide sin, and must punish sin, and must banish it from
his presence. And the banishment is a dreadful,
dreadful thing. It's hell. It's awful, it's dreadful. If only God would give us a knowledge
of what we are as sinners, compared with his judgement, compared
with his justice, compared with his holiness. If he would give
us that gnawing, aching void within, that we're lost and without
hope, because His justice will surely, truly condemn us. Oh,
that He would give us that burden of repenting of sin, of wanting
to be done with it, of saying, what must I do to be saved? Of
crying out, how can I be just with God? Because if I'm not
just with God, I'll never stand in the day of judgment. Of saying,
how can I be righteous with God? How can I be justified before
the law of God? This is what it is to be a sinner
before a holy God. The consequences of sin are dreadful. The judgment of the holy God
is just and right and pure altogether. And salvation is salvation from
that. Salvation from that. Rescue from
that situation. That's what salvation is. This
is what God talks about throughout this book. It's a book of salvation. It's the book in which God says
to his people, here is peace in place of wrath. Where there
was wrath, children of wrath even as others, here is peace.
Where he says, here is justification in place of condemnation, for
there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
What blessed words. Do you know anything of your
heart rejoicing when you hear those words? There is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Do you
know anything of the rejoicing of your heart at that promise
in the word of God? No longer children of wrath,
even as others, but there is therefore now no condemnation. No condemnation in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Instead of being the enemies
of God, and children of wrath even as others, to be adopted
into the family. you might visit somebody else's
house as children you visit the house and it's nice to be welcomed
into a party or whatever it is but you're never really a child
of that house but you know your own house you know what it's
like to be in your own house it's your house it's your family's
house you're adopted into the family you're a member of that
family you're a child of the family this is what it is God
exchanges alienation for the adoption of his children, whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. He gives us hope where there
was despair. Think of it. Why is nothing other
than comedy made out of death? It's because the prospect is
just too dreadful. People have to make comedy of
it. They have to make light of it. They have to make silly,
silly statements. The truth is that through all
their lifetime, through fear of death, they're subject to
bondage. That's what we read in chapter two. No, God gives
hope for despair in the gospel of his grace. He gives rejoicing
where there was anguish. He gives liberty. Oh, the liberty,
the glorious liberty of the children of God, where there was bondage,
bondage of sin, bondage of Satan, the fear of death. He holds all
these people, all the world in bondage through the fear of death.
And how is it achieved? by the substitutionary work of
God the Son, by him doing what we read in chapter 2, him partaking
of the flesh of his children, that he might be a perfect substitute
in all things that behoved him. It became him to be like his
children in flesh, that he might establish righteousness, that
he might establish salvation, that he might go to the cross
in human flesh, in true human flesh, and shed true human blood,
the precious blood as of the Son of God for his people. The
substitutionary work of God the Son, his resurrection, whereby
that sacrifice was vindicated, was proven to be of infinite
value for his people. No, it's not by angels. That
was the message of chapter one. It's not by angels that God saves
his people. It's not by Moses, as we saw
in chapter three. It's not by Moses, not by law
works. that God saves his people but
in Christ alone and the message of this epistle is that he is
better than all. He is better than the angels.
He is better than Moses. He is the one who is God the
Son, God our Saviour. And in chapter 3 we were encouraged
to learn the lessons of history and not follow the example of
the Israelites who disbelieved God in the wilderness wanderings
and perished. They missed the rest that is
promised to the people of God. And in chapter 3 and verse 12
we are warned the ones to whom Paul is writing, take heed brethren
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing
from the living God, take heed don't sit passively back Be aware. Take heed. Take heed. We're warned about an evil heart
of unbelief, and we're encouraged to exhort one another, to encourage
one another. This is the thing about fellowship.
This is the thing about getting together. If there's anybody,
I would say to anybody, don't get together with religious folks
thinking that I just must go to some sort of a church I don't
care what it calls itself if the gospel of God's grace isn't
preached there you won't have any fellowship in the gospel
of God's grace but if there's just one or two of you who can
get together and mutually encourage one another you know it says
in the proverbs that the cord of three strands is not easily
broken You know, one on his own, yes, God will keep his people,
but he promises to put them in families. One on his own can
be encouraged by the gospel, but, oh, two encourage one another.
Perhaps we can't have direct face-to-face contact, but we
can through the means of communication we've got these days. We can
communicate with each other, we can encourage one another,
we can speak to one another. we can encourage one another
in belief, this is what chapter 3 was telling us, exhorting one
another. Those Israelites missed out on
the typical rest of God, that which was a type of the rest
of God, and that was Canaan. The land of Canaan was a type
of the rest of God, it was a type, they were to go in there, they
were to clear out everything that was unholy. The fact is
that they didn't. they fell short. They didn't
do what God said. And they lived all the days through
the judges, and all those terrible days absolutely intermingled
with Canaanite idolatry, and Moabite idolatry, and Edomite
idolatry, all around them, afflicting them. But if they'd done what
God had said, they would have cleared it out, and it was a
picture of that eternal rest that is for the people of God.
They missed out on it. Why did they miss out? Look at
verse 19 of chapter 3. They could not enter in to that
typical, that picture rest, the land of Canaan. They didn't go
in because of unbelief. What happened to them? They wandered
around the wilderness for 40 years till every one of them
that disbelieved God died. What does that say to us? Oh,
beware of disbelieving God. Beware, they wandered in the
wilderness till they died in the wilderness because of unbelief.
Do you believe the gospel? Well, beware is the message here,
beware. We're still in the flesh. Yes,
you have the spirit of God, if you're a true believer, he's
given you his spirit, he's given you a new man within, but we're
still in the flesh. And Galatians tells us that the
flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,
and the two are contrary to one another. And you know what? The
flesh tends to. Unbelief. The flesh always tends
to unbelief. We're in a spiritual minefield
is what we're being warned about here. So we're warned to proceed
with cautious fear. Now what I want to do is just
look at these 11 verses at the start of chapter 4 and see what
they're saying to us about this rest of God and about the need
to labor to enter that rest. Look at verse 1 of chapter 4.
Just follow this down with me. Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it." It's odd language to believers, isn't
it? Doesn't John say in his epistle that perfect love drives out
fear? And that, you know, the children
of God It's not a situation of fear that we're in. So what is
it that we're to fear here? Let us therefore fear, says the
Apostle. Let us therefore fear, lest any
of you should seem to come short of the promise that is given
of this rest, of this salvation of God, because his rest is his
salvation. What is it that we're to fear?
What we're to fear is the unbelief of the flesh. Believers, look
back at verse 14 of chapter 3, believers are made partakers
of Christ. He holds us, he's promised to
hold his people. So this isn't bondage fear that
we're talking about, but you know sometimes it's good to make
your children afraid. Do you know that? It really is.
I tell you, I bet Peter you've tried to make Timothy afraid
of running in the road. You want him to be scared stiff
of running in the road. You want him as a little boy
to know that safety is holding his mum or dad's hand, and not
running into that busy road. You want him to be frightened
of stepping outside of that boundary. That's right. This is the sort
of thing that we're to fear. Not a bondage fear, but a fear
of being outside. of the care and protection of
Christ and his gospel. Children, don't run in the road.
This is the sort of thing that we're talking about. The road
of fleshly unbelief. The road of passive fatalism.
That I just sit back and let God's sovereignty fatalistically
take care of everything. There's a promise of rest. And
salvation is God's rest. It's eternal safety secured.
It's eternal safety accomplished by Christ for his people. It's
righteousness established. Righteousness. He's made unto
us righteousness. He who has made sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. His very nature
is righteous and that's made over to his people. Salvation
is accomplished and secured. Justification is secured. Why? Because why are there no more
sins? Why can't God see any more sins
in his people? Why is it as even the false prophet
Balaam prophesied in Numbers, Does it say that he looks for
iniquity in Israel and he doesn't find any? There isn't any there.
Why? Because Christ has taken it, was made sin, and has taken
it away. Justification secured. But what's
the only mark that there is for you and me today, living and
breathing today, what's the only mark that we have that we possess? that salvation. It's this, it's
belief of the truth. Let me remind you of that verse
in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 13 to 15. You know it
well. We are bound to give thanks all
the way to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. He's saying
you're the elect of God. You Thessalonians, you're the
elect of God. He's chosen you to salvation.
How? Through sanctification of the
Spirit, That's a setting apart, that's a making holy, and imparting
a holy nature by the Spirit of God, and, very important, belief
of the truth. This is how he knows you believe
the truth of the gospel. You don't believe a man-made
gospel, you believe this gospel. You believe this gospel of sovereign
grace, in particular redemption. He goes on to say, whereunto
he called you by our gospel. The preaching of the gospel called
you. God called you. How? By the preaching
of the gospel. For it's by the preaching of
the gospel, the foolishness of preaching, that it pleased God
to save those who believe. He called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel
called you. Come on, possess it. Possess
it. You know, it's like the children
of Israel. Come on, possess the land. Possess the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, sit back and do absolutely
nothing. He doesn't say that. He says,
therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions. Cling
on to the traditions. Don't let them go, which you
have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. We're to
fear missing out through fleshly unbelief. Missing out. Think what you're missing out
on if fleshly unbelief takes hold. Are you really deluded
about your standing in Christ? If you're truly his, he'd keep
you to the end. But have you deluded yourself? No. Keep on. Hold on. Keep on. trusting him,
fear missing out on that which he's promised through fleshly
unbelief. This is what the message of these
two passages, chapter 3 and chapter 4 is. Beware of missing out through
fleshly unbelief. You know, sometimes you you want
to go to an event, I remember a couple of years ago there was
a particular promenade concert I wanted to hear, I thought it
would be a marvellous thing to go to the Albert Hall and hear
that magnificent work in that situation, I think it was the
first night of the proms and they were putting tickets online
on a certain day in April or May, whenever it was and it said
the ticket line opens at eight o'clock So at quarter to eight
in the morning I logged on to the website because I so much
wanted to be at that concert. I so much wanted to be at that
event. and nothing happened till about
nine thirty and finally finally when my place, because people
had logged on at five o'clock in the morning I subsequently
found out and finally when my place in the queue came up, guess
what? Guess how many tickets there were left? How many seats
there were left in the Albert Hall not filled? Zero. None. None whatsoever. I missed out.
I missed out. I feared missing out and I missed
out. Now that's a trivial example.
Do you know what Paul is talking about here? He's missing out
on eternity. He's missing out on heaven. He's
missing out on the rest. that God has procured for his
people in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through what? Through, how are
you going to miss out? Not through being last on a ticket
queue online, no, through unbelief. That's what he's saying, it's
through unbelief. Christ has promised rest to his
people. He's promised rest from works. No, how am I going to get the
righteousness? I must work, I must work. Rest
from works. He's promised rest from fear. Oh, I fear that I'm not going
to make it. Rest from fear. Rest. From condemnation. Condemnation. Rest from it. Oh,
there's condemnation. No, rest from that. No condemnation. But what if through unbelief
I prove never to have truly tasted his salvation? Doesn't Christ
keep his people? Of course he does. He's promised
that. He's promised he won't lose one
of them. But do you know something? There's a danger in the flesh.
Let us not just passively presume. The scripture's always balanced. So that we don't despair, there
are such great encouragements, but at the same time there are
warnings so that in the flesh we don't presume. And verse 11
says this, let us labor therefore, Let us work at this. Not working
to work our own salvation, but as it says in another one of
the epistles, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Be active at it. Be active at it, at this thing
of belief. Let's labour therefore to enter
that rest. Christ does keep his people,
but there's an encouragement here. Do what you can, labour,
to cling on, stand fast, hold on to the traditions that you've
been taught through the scriptures. The same gospel, look at verse
2, look at verse 2. Can it really happen that those
who look like the people of God can lose it? Look at verse 2.
For unto us was the gospel preached, the good news of rest. That's
the gospel. The good news of rest in the
Lord Jesus Christ, of rest that salvation brings. Unto us was
the gospel preached as well as unto them, those Israelites. How was the gospel preached to
those Israelites? in types, in pictures, in Passover
lambs, in the tabernacle, in the altar, in the Ark of the
Covenant, in the showbread, in Aaron's rod that budded, in the
priest's garments, in the ornaments of the temple, in all of those
things the gospel was preached to them, in type and picture. It was preached to them, but
look, but the word preached, you see I'm sure that in actual
fact as far as they were given the ability to do so. When Moses
spoke to the people he expounded what the words meant. We read
of it in Ezra that the pulpit was built and they stood upon
a pulpit and they gave the sense and they gave the meaning. The
word was preached to them but it didn't profit them. Why didn't
it profit them? Do you know you can sit and listen
to the best preaching, the clearest preaching of the gospel of God's
grace, and it not profit you. Why? Look at verse 2. Not being
mixed with faith in them that heard it. There must be faith.
It must be mixed with faith. The same gospel was preached
to them as is to us, but without faith it is impossible to please
God. That's what it says in chapter
11 and verse 6 of this same epistle. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. The just shall live by faith. What does that mean? Those who
are good folks live by faith? No, it means the justified ones.
Those who have been justified by the Lord Jesus Christ in his
salvation, The justified ones shall live by their faith. It's
the way they live and breathe. They live and breathe this knowledge
of gospel salvation. It's quoted, it's given four
times in scripture. Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4 is
where it first appears. The just shall live by faith.
Again in Romans, again in Galatians, again later on in Hebrews chapter
10 verse 38. The just shall live by faith. Not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it. Faith is essential. Without faith,
it is impossible to please God. Faith is not a work that we do.
Faith is the gift of God. It's the gift of God, but beware
of presumption. Beware of presumption. You know,
choose you this day whom you will serve. Joshua said, as for
me and my house, God helping me is the implicit thing. I can't
do it in my own strength. Without him, we can do nothing.
But if it's any way up to me, I'm going to follow Him. Look
at verse 3. Verse three, for we which have
believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in
my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. Now the language
gets complicated here and difficult to untangle. Believers enter
God's rest. Who enters the rest of God? Believers
enter God's rest. Isn't that what the gospel says?
The Gospel says that. Unbelievers fall under the condemnation
of God. That's what the Gospel says.
Jesus himself said it to Nicodemus. John 3 verse 18. He that believeth
on him, that is the Son of God, is not condemned. But he that
believeth not is condemned already. Why is he condemned? Because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. No, believers enter God's rest. We which have believed do enter
that rest. But which is the rest that he's
talking about? What's the rest he's talking about? Look at the
rest of this verse. As I have sworn in my wrath,
if they shall enter into my rest. The swearing in my wrath is speaking
of punishment. It's speaking of God's punishment
against those who will not enter into his rest. And then he goes
on to say, Although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world, for he spake in a certain place of the seventh
day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day of all his
works. Which rest is he talking about?
Is he talking about the Genesis 2 verse 2 rest, where it says
God rested at the end of creation, at the end of the six days of
creation, on the seventh day he rested from his works of creation? Is that what he's talking about?
And the implication here is no, he isn't. We're not talking about
a seventh-day Sabbath rest. That seventh-day Sabbath, the
Saturday, Those who keep a Sabbath day ought to beware of this fact.
You know, the Sabbath never has been a Sunday. I know there have
been some great men in the past who have thought that Sunday
was the Sabbath in Christian form. I'm not going to fall out
with them because so much else of what they wrote was good.
And, you know, you must be careful of judging people from the past,
not realizing the situation that they were in and the light that
they had at the time. But Sunday was never a Sabbath
day. The Sabbath day only ever was
the seventh day. It only ever was Saturday. And
it was only ever a legal picture of salvation, a law picture of
salvation, in exactly the same way as circumcision and the other
items of the ceremonial law were pictures of aspects of salvation.
No, not the seventh day rest, verse 5. And in this place, again,
what place is he talking about? He's talking about what he quoted
in chapter 3, verses 7 to 11, and that is Psalm 95. No, the
rest referred to is not the creation day's rest, the Sabbath, the
seventh day, the Sabbath day rest, he's not talking about
that, he's talking about this rest, the one that's quoted in
Hebrews 3, 7 to 11. which is Psalm 95, quotation
from Psalm 95. In this place, in Psalm 95, in
this Psalm of David, verse 7, he limiteth a certain day, saying
in David, in David's Psalm, Psalm 95, he's talking about a day
that symbolizes, that points to the true rest of God. This
is the rest that he's talking about, not that creation rest,
but this day of salvation rest. Look back at Psalm 95 with me
briefly. It begins in the first few verses
by extolling God for all the wonderful things he's done, his
creation. verse seven, for he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his
hand. Today, if you will hear his voice,
harden not your heart as in the provocation, as in the day of
temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me,
proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved
with this generation, and said it is a people that do err in
their heart, and they who have not known my ways, and to whom
I swear in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest."
But today? Which day? Today! Which day are
we talking about? We're talking about the salvation
day, the gospel day in which we live. That's what we're talking
about. In this place, in this psalm,
he's not speaking about Sabbath day rest, but the salvation,
the gospel rest of which Psalm 95 speaks. Today, if you will
hear his voice. Verse 6, seeing therefore it
remaineth that some must enter therein. And they to whom it
was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. It remaineth
that some must enter in. God has a people who must enter
his rest. He has some who must. They didn't
all perish in the wilderness. Verse 16, For some, when they
had heard, did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt.
Not all. Caleb and Joshua, they didn't
provoke. and they led the people into
the promised land later on. They didn't provoke, they didn't
die in the wilderness, they fully followed the Lord when everybody
else through an evil heart of unbelief walked out on him. No,
some must enter God's rest, there is a remnant according to the
election of grace, says Romans 11 verse 5. But many to whom
it was first preached, verse 6 of Hebrews 4, many to whom
it was first preached didn't believe, and missed it, through
unbelief. How did they not enter in? Through
unbelief. Verse 19, the end of the last
chapter. They missed out. Look at verse 7, again. He limiteth
a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time,
as it is said, Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts. he limiteth a certain day, or
he has fixed, or he has appointed a certain day. Saying in David,
saying in that Psalm 95 written by David, today, after so long
a time, you know, there'd been so many of those seventh day
rests at the time when Moses came along and then several hundred
years later when David wrote that psalm, but the day he's
talking about is the gospel day. Today, after so long a time,
as it is said, today, if you will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts. God has fixed and appointed a
certain day. That day is the gospel day. Today
is the day of salvation. Today is the gospel day. This
day. This day that has been ever since
Christ returned to glory. and will be until he comes again.
This day, God has fixed a certain day, a gospel day, saying today
is the day to believe the gospel. Do you hear the gospel today?
Today is the day to believe it. Those Israelites disbelieved
the gospel. It was preached in type and picture,
and they disbelieved, and they perished in the wilderness. How
is the gospel preached today? Not in type and picture. Not
at all. Yes, we have elements of bread
and wine, but these are just reminders. These are just reminders
of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which secures
our salvation, which has secured our justification. No, today
the gospel is preached in substance. redemption is spelled out clearly
in the Lord Jesus Christ propitiation, the turning away of the wrath
of God, the mercy seat is not just a picture of a gold mercy
seat but we know in Christ that the mercy of God is shown there
that he is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God
by him we know that in his blood redemption's price has been paid
in full whereas they might have looked at the blood of bulls
and goats and lambs and thought, how can that possibly save? It
was only ever a picture. But now we see the reality of
it in the Lord Jesus Christ. The substance is preached clearly
in this gospel day. In this gospel day it's set forth. The rest that he has secured
for his people is clear. The atonement is preached clearly.
Justification is preached. You know the basis on which you
will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. that all of the
debts are cancelled from the books of God as they account
to you, for there is therefore now no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus. It's clear. Do you see how it
was in shadow and type and picture? Now it's clear, it's vivid, it's
obvious in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's set forth clearly in him,
in his coming, in his perfections, in his blood sacrifice. Is your
heart hardened? to these blessed, liberating,
saving truths. This is what this is about. Is
your heart hardened in this gospel day to these blessed, glorious
gospel truths of propitiation, of atonement, of justification,
of sanctification, of righteousness in the one who is the righteousness
of God that's made over to his people? Look at verse eight. For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day? Now, we
know, look at your margin. If you have a marginal reference,
King James Bible, you'll see Jesus there is just the Greek
translation rendition of Joshua. Joshua. If Joshua, talking about
Joshua, Joshua and Caleb, Joshua, who led the people, when Moses
couldn't lead them into the promised land, Joshua was to lead them
into the promised land. It's symbolical. It's all symbolical. Do you know, Moses stands for
the law. We saw that last week with Don,
the body of Moses. Moses stands for the law. If
Moses couldn't lead them in, why? The law couldn't lead them
in. The law can never lead sinful
men and women into the promised rest of God. Never can. By the
works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But Joshua led
them in to that symbolical rest in the land of Canaan. Joshua,
whose name originally was Osher, O'Shea, O'Shea means this, it
means let God save, oh that God would save, that's what O'Shea
means. When he came back and was confirmed
with the spies and he was one of just the two of them that
said no, we can go in and possess it, we can believe God, we can
trust him, his name was changed to Joshua. He was changed from
Oshir to Joshua. It was changed from O that God
would save to God has saved. That's what it means. Why was
his name to be called Jesus? Because he shall save his people
from their sins. If Joshua had given them rest
in the land of Canaan, Then would he not afterward have spoken
of another day? Did Joshua give them rest in taking them into
the land of Canaan? You see, Moses and the law couldn't
bring Israel into the promised land. Could Joshua, whose name
means Savior, bring that new generation in? Could he give
them rest from all their afflictions? Well, no, of course not, not
fully, because they were still in the flesh and they were still
tormented and they still went after idols. And you know the
history of the children of Israel in the land. It was never, I
truly do believe that the land of Canaan was meant to be a picture
of heaven. It was meant to be, but it became
a picture of what it's like living in this flesh as a believer now,
constantly warring against those things that would drag us down
all around us. No, he couldn't fully give them
rest. Joshua couldn't fully give them
rest. If he had, the work would have
been completed, but it wasn't. He couldn't fully give them rest.
There was a need for another day. There was a need for this
day of which David spoke, today, after so long a time. Today if
you will hear his voice, harden not his heart. There was a need
for a gospel day of salvation. God's people, verse 9, there
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. The people
of God? God's people, his elect, his
believing people, who persevere in believing him, have an enduring
rest, a remaining rest. its particular redemption. Isn't
it clear? There remaineth therefore a rest.
Who to? The people of God, the elect
of God. There's a rest for them. Verse
10, For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased
from his own works as God did from his. What's this rest based
upon? What's this rest that remains
for the people of God? What's it based upon? Who is
it that's entered his rest in verse 10? Who is it that's entered
in that rest and ceased from his own works? Surely it's Christ. Christ has entered his rest.
His work is finished. He shall succeed, it says in
Isaiah 42. He shall succeed. Hebrews 1 verse
3, look. Turn back there. Him being the
brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had
by Himself purged our sins, when He'd finished the job, He sat
down in His rest. on the right hand of the Majesty
on High. He sat down when he'd finished salvation's work and
entered his rest. He entered his rest because salvation's
work was finished. He has succeeded. Just as God
rested, the Father rested when creation was finished, on the
seventh day He rested from those works of creation, Christ rests
from salvation works because He's done them all. He's accomplished
them. He's finished them. So verse
11, It's secure. It's secure. What is the mark
of our possession of this great treasure? Is it not belief? Is it not trust? Is it not faith? Is it not clinging on, trusting
this, that he is the one that clings on to us? Let us labor,
therefore, to enter that rest. Lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief. Oh, the danger. of becoming complacent,
of becoming lazy in spiritual things, of becoming presumptuous,
of walking out, of proving that we never really were the true
people of God. Oh, let us labor to enter that
rest. Let us labor, let us strive to
avail ourselves of every grace in determining to find rest in
Christ. Let's not be passive. You know,
Jesus said that to the people, didn't he? What would he tell
those that were labouring and heavy laden to do? Come unto
me and I will give you rest. Come unto me. It's what Paul,
I'll finish with this, it's what Paul wrote to the Philippians
in Philippians 3 verses 8 to 14. He's talking about his religious
credentials, qualifications. He said, I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord. They're rubbish to me, they're dung. I count them loss
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count
them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him. Not
having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. Righteousness through
the faithful work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The righteousness
which is of God by faith, the gift of God. That I may know
him and the power of his resurrection. You know that powerful resurrection
is what secured our assurance of salvation and the fellowship
of his sufferings. being made conformable unto his
death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead not as though I had already attained either were
already perfect I'm not there yet I'm still in this flesh but
I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Can you see what he's saying?
I'm not talking about salvation by works, but I'm saying that
Paul is saying don't sit back fatalistically, passively and
do nothing. He's saying look, I do this,
I forget those things which are behind and I reach forth unto
those things which are before and I press toward the mark for
the prize. of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. Let us labour therefore to enter
into that most blessed, most glorious rest, lest any man fall
after the same example of unbelief. Amen.