Now, as I mentioned, we have
to go back to chapter 3, but for the sake of time, let's begin
in chapter 4, verse 1. Let us therefore fear, lest the
promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached,
as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard. For we which
have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in
my wrath, if ye shall enter into my rest, although the works were
finished from the foundation of the world." And he spoke in a certain place
of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh
day from all of his works, and in this place again, if they
shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth
that some must enter therein. and they to whom it was first
preached entered not in because of unbelief. And again, he limited
a certain day, saying to David, Today, after so long a time,
as it is said, Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts. For if Jesus," and the word literally
is Joshua, If Joshua had given them rest, then would he not
afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore
a rest to the people of God, for he that is entered into his
rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest. lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief." Now, whichever part of the Hebrew epistle one
might take for a sermon or a study, one thing must be steadily borne
and kept in our mind, and that is that the epistle to Hebrew
is written principally and foremost from the Jewish perspective. They were the main and first
recipients of this great letter. And not just as Jews, but as
Jews who had had an encounter with Christianity. Jews who had
had an encounter with the gospel. Many of them had made some level
of profession toward the gospel and in the Christian way. And
the epistle is setting forth the great excellency of the gospel
over the law, and of Christ over the angel, and Moses, and the
high priest, and such like. And so, a sound reasoning why
they were abandoning the gospel needed to be brought forth. For
the apostasy way from Christ and the gospel and back to the
law and the sacrifices would have been indeed a forsaking
of the living God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So
now let us seek to get our subject and our text firmly fixed in
our minds. And our subject today is gospel
rest. The rest that one finds in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the text is very clear. It
comes not at death, but it comes with faith in Christ. Actually,
it is not easy to break in upon the apostles' line of reasoning
in the place that we have done, because it actually began prior
to this, back in chapter 3. And there are two things to notice
there that will get us ready for our study of chapter 4. And that is, number one, having
declared up through chapter 3 and verse 6 that Christ is greater
than the angels and has more honor than Moses had, then he
exhorts the Jews to, quote, hold fast the confidence of your rejoicing
firm unto the end. Chapter 3 and verse 6. Which
is evidence that they were of Christ's house. that if they
held fast unto the end, it was evidence that they were indeed
of the house that Christ is building. They were to take heed, lest
there be in any of them an evil heart of unbelief in departing
from the living God, as so many of them had done back in the
wilderness. Look at chapter 3. And verse
12, they depart from the living God. Chapter 3 and verse 14,
we are partakers of Christ, which is evidenced by holding the beginning
of our confidence firm unto the end. Holding that Christian profession,
cleaving to Christ and the gospel unto the end. Secondly, there
is another thing there. The Apostle does a second thing
in order that he might prepare them for the rest of the gospel. That is, the rest of the soul
that rests as promised by Christ in Matthew 11, 28, and 29 that
we heard Brother Kyle speak on a couple of Sundays ago. Now,
the Apostle puts his Jewish readers in mind of God's dealings with
their rebellious and unbelieving ancestors in the wilderness. Which he calls in chapter 3 and
verse 8, in the day of provocation in the wilderness. And again
in verse 9, when your fathers tempted me. And in verse 10 of
chapter 3, I was grieved with that generation. And He brings
that generation as an example unto them of what happens when
one starts in the things of God, draws back out of unbelief, and
departs from the living God. So now let's sharpen our focus
just a bit, looking at the word provocation that we see there
in chapter 3. Literally, the provoking. They provoked God, or they did
to provoke Him. And note when and where this
occurred. In chapter 3 and verse 8, it
was in the wilderness. They provoked Me in the wilderness. Now the question is this, does
the Hebrew author refer to one provocation or to a series of
provocation from which they provoked him in the wilderness. John Brown,
commenting on this, I think rightly said this, quote, The history
of the Israelites is a history replete with continued provocation,
unquote. In fact, in Numbers 14 and 22,
we read this, Because all those men which have seen my glory
and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the land of the
wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have
not hearkened unto my voice." Provoke me now these ten times. Now, I know that not all ten
times are referred to, but in Exodus chapter 16, One was they
murmured from hunger. In Exodus chapter 17, they came
to Rephidim and they murmured from thirst and God gave them
water. In Exodus chapter 32, they made
a golden calf and they danced about it and praised it. But
I suspect that the Hebrew author has here in his mind the incident
that is recorded in Numbers chapter 14, and it occurred at Kadesh
Barnea, when they were in the wilderness, or near unto the
border of the promised land. You remember the story. They
sent out the spies into the land to spy out the land and bring
back a report of the land of Canaan. Well, the spies came
back, twelve in number, ten fearful and two saying, we can. And they
said the land contained giants. They said we're like grasshoppers
in the sight of these giants in the land. And they said the
cities are great, and they are walled with great walls as if
impenetrable. And they said something else.
The Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites,
all of those heights, are dwelling there in the land. The heart
of the people of Israel melted when they heard that report.
Yes, it's a land flowing with milk and honey, but there are
giants there. The Amorites are there. The cities
are strong and they are walled, fearing that they would be slaughtered
by the dwellers in the land of Canaan, and the people's heart
melted, and they drew back, and they started a movement to oust
Moses and Aaron from the leadership, and elect them a captain, and
return again to the land of Egypt. Numbers 14 and verse 4. Now, for this provocation, God
sware in His wrath that none of the spies who had entered
into the land, save Caleb and Joshua, should ever enter into
the land. And he swore that no one above
the age, I believe it was 20, would ever enter into the land
of promise. They would all wander in the
wilderness until they were dead. The land of Canaan they would
not see, but their carcasses would bleach in the wilderness.
So back in Hebrews 3, 7-11, the author quotes a passage from
Psalm 95, verses 7-11, and the gist of the matter being this. Psalms 95 and 11, and Hebrews
3, 11 and verse 18, certain ones would not enter into his rest. And that's stated in Numbers
14.23, "...surely shall they not see the land which I swear
unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoke me see
it, because I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my
rest." And twice, In Hebrews 3, the author speaks of God's
rest. You will see it in verse 11. My rest. You will see it again
in verse 18. His rest, meaning of course,
God's rest. The rest that He promised. And
what was the rest of God? Not the rest from which God rested
after creation in Genesis 2 and verse 2. And he rested on the
Sabbath day from all of his work which the Lord had made. Not
that the Lord was tired, but that the Lord had finished His
work of creation. Neither was it the rest observed
in the Old Testament Jewish Sabbath day as in Exodus 16 and verse
33. He shall rest and do no labor. And neither was it the eternal
rest that we shall have when we pass out of this life in Revelation
14 and 3, which says, Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord, that they may rest from their labors. Nor was it, strictly
speaking, the rest of soul which Jesus promised in Matthew 11,
28, and 29, though it was a type of the latter and a close type.
John Brown said that the rest intended and from which they
were excluded was the rest of the land of Canaan. It was both
a rest and a typical rest under the people of God. In Deuteronomy
12, verse 9 and 10 says, it was to come when they went over Jordan. Here those verses are. For ye
are not as yet come to the rest and to your inheritance, which
the Lord your God gives you. But when you go over Jordan,
and dwell in the land which the Lord God giveth you to inherit,
and when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about,
so that you dwell in safety." That's the rest that Joshua led
them into. But back to Hebrews 3 and 4,
that was the rest which God swore that they would not enter into
who did not believe. Here we begin to make the transition
from the typical rest of Canaan to the rest of the soul which
came in connection with believing on and coming to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And there are some parallels
for us to notice between the two rest. In each case we see
there is hearing. Each one is said to hear. Hebrews 3 and 7. The Holy Spirit
says today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart as they
did in the day of provocation. So, it's the same in chapter
3 and 16. When they heard, they did provoke. Some heard hearing. Hearing the
promise of God and the glory of God, they did provoke. Now the apostle concedes in Hebrews
3.16, the last part, not all that came out of Egypt by Moses
did provoke God. Most many, but not all. Not everyone
that came out did provoke God. That is in verse 16. Some did,
but not all, when they heard the promise of the land of Canaan
and the blessing and the rest. Now, there are two questions
in the end of chapter 3 that we want to look at before we
get full blown into our text. One is in verse 17. And the question
that the author raises is, with whom Was he grieved 40 years? With whom was God grieved over
a period of 40 years? The answer? It was with them
that sinned. And what was the penalty imposed
upon them for that? It was that their carcasses fell
in the wilderness. That is, they died, they perished
short of Canaan. Not all that left Egypt reached
Canaan. Some, because of their provocation
of God, died in the wilderness. So that's who he was provoked
with. Secondly, the question in chapter 3 and verse 18. To whom did he swear that they
would not enter into his rest? And the answer is, it was to
them who believed not. Whom did He swear unto that they
would not enter into His rest? It was them who drew back and
believed not. And the conclusion in 3.19 is,
we see then that they entered not in, that they fell short,
they did not enter in because of their unbelief, and all that
is charged upon them thus far for provocation, tempting God,
They erred in their heart, they sinned. All of this he sums up
under the one heading of unbelief. And John Owen called verse 19
of chapter 3 a summary conclusion, which is laid down as the foundation
of the exhortation which he intends to pursue and apply in the verses
just ahead in chapter 4. Now, he emphasizes the point.
Chapter 4, verse 1 and following. And notice something else. If
you look real close, you will see that the author changes the
personal pronouns here as he moves along, which is a word
used in reference to persons who are not mentioned or identified
by name. They, or we, or us. And he changes from they and
them in chapter 3, and begins to use us and we more frequently
in chapter 4. So that change of pronoun, I
believe, is important. There is that digressive, cautionary
exhortation in chapter 3, verse 11 through verse 15, where he
uses you and we, calling them brethren, Exhorting them to take
heed by means of God's dealing with those in the wilderness.
To be aware of what God did to those who drew back and who provoke
God and who believe not in the wilderness. So, if I might, let
me read Hebrews 4, 1 and 2 again. Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise being left of entering into His rest any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it." Now the apostle comes to speak now particularly of that
rest in and through Jesus Christ and the gospel and the great
salvation thereby." And there are some similarities again that
we might notice here, such as, notice, they heard in chapter
3 and verse 16, some having heard, or after having heard. Note it is not that only some
heard, but they all heard. They heard the same thing, but
that after hearing, Some of those who heard provoked God. That is, they believed not. There
was a promise from God that Abraham and his seed would dwell in the
land of Canaan safely. But not each and every one of
Abraham's seed would know that blessing, that Abraham's seed
would possess the land, enter into it, it be a land flowing
with milk and honey, and dwell there safely. But hearing the
word containing the promise did not profit those in whom faith
was not mixed with hearing. Hearing was not mixed with faith
in their case. They heard, but not in faith. They heard the sound, they heard
the words, but they did not hear in faith. Now look in the midst
of verse 1, if you might, and the words, a promise, being left
of entering into His rest. And he brackets the mention of
the promises being left before or with, let us therefore fear
less. And then after less, any of you
seem to come short of this promised rest. Come short of entering
into His rest. A promise remaining of another
rest that the children of God or the people of God might enter
into. But let us know what is said
in verse 1, that there is a promise being left of entering into His
rest. And down in verse 9, let's look
there. The apostle concludes, there
remains a rest therefore to the people of God. Now this shows
the Hebrew author and us that that particular rest mentioned
by the psalmist, which they are exhorted to enter into and heed
to, and which he warns them of falling short of, that rest is,
A, not the rest of God following creation, B, not the Old Testament
Jewish Sabbath day rest, And see, neither is it the rest of
Canaan into which Joshua led the people. You see in verse
8, if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then the psalmist
would not have spoken of another day, or of another time, or of
another rest, and that long after they entered into the land of
Canaan. We should notice again that the
name Jesus here in verse 8 in the King James Version is a reference
to Joshua, the same name of one and the other. Here in verse
8, also Acts 7 and verse 45, the name is the Greek name for
the Old Testament name of Joshua. Now Joshua did give them rest. Joshua 21-44. And the Lord gave
them rest round about." But that's not the rest that the psalmist
is talking about. All their enemies were put away.
The land was possessed and inhabited. The Lord gave them rest. But we notice something else.
First of all, the psalmist spoke of a rest after all three of
these rests. Creation, the Sabbath, and the
land of Canaan. Secondly, this rest is a spiritual
rest of the soul rather than just the body. It comes by Christ
and the Gospel. It is experienced by the children
of God. And then we notice again, it
was not the eternal rest, though it is the forerunner of that
great eternal rest which is yet to come. This is mentioned, as
I said, in Revelation 14 and verse 13. Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors. Now, there is this difference
between these two Christian rests that we might note. In that the
first one, the rest of soul, is entered into by faith. Hebrews 4 and verse 3. and which
we have believed do enter into rest. Of those who fail as such
are swallowed up in unbelief, and even hearing they do not
believe. And hearers are exhorted to enter
in, not by dying, but by believing and by cleaving to the Lord Jesus
Christ. The second is entered into at
death. as said the Revelator, from henceforth
they die in the Lord and they enter into their rest. Now, coming to Hebrews 4, let's
focus on verse 9 through verse 11. In verse 9 we read, There
remains therefore a rest for the people of God. There remains,
there is a rest besides those others that are mentioned. a
rest which the land of Canaan was but a type and a shadow. And both it and the seventh-day
Sabbath were for the benefit of living people who in some
way enjoyed a rest thereby." Now the words, notice, there
remains, taken in the overall context, means there remains,
there is, in addition to the others, another rest that is
promised by God. And he is clear in the end of
verse 9, who shall enter into this rest? It is the people of
God. And he refers not to death, but
to believing. They enter in by faith and believing
in Christ. Now, at this juncture in our
study, let's again consider the gracious promise of Christ in
Matthew 11 and verse 28 and 29. The words are these, Come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. Now the point to notice This
neither refers to the Sabbath day, nor to the eternal state,
but to the sole rest in this world who walk in fellowship
with Christ. Let's notice something else back
in verse 9 of Hebrews chapter 4, and that is with the word
rest. Here is a unique use of this
word. You have an alternate reading
in the margin, perhaps, if you have a Bible with study hefs
that are in it. You might see there that remains
the keeping of a Sabbath. John Brown points out the author
uses a different word here than in the preceding verses and places. And unless I miss some, then
this is the only place that this particular word is used anywhere
in the New Testament. It is the word Sabbatismos, and
it is the one that means A rest of God. A rest of God. A sabbatism or a sacred rest
is how John Gill would describe it. The spiritual rest that believers
have under the gospel dispensation through and by and in Christ,
as Gill said. Sure, there remains for every
one of the people of God an eternal rest. Oh yes, it is true. Yet this is not the aspect of
the rest of God's people that is in mind by the author in our
text this morning. Notice in verse 10, Hebrews 4,
he continues, the word for helps explain verse 9, the rest remaining
over and beyond that of Canaan for the people of God. There
are two questions therefore in connection with verse 10, over
which some very Good interpreters have disagreed, still disagree,
probably always will. The first question concerns who
is meant by He that is entered into rest. Is it the believing
child of God? Or is it the Lord Jesus Christ
who has finished His work and has sat down on the right hand
of God? Some note that a single person
seems to be meant in this place. He that has finished his rest
has entered into it. He who has entered into his rest.
And the second question is, is this rest entered into, is it
the gospel rest, evangelical rest, or is it the eternal rest
that comes when the saints pass out of this life? Is it eternal? Is it by faith and believing,
or is it by dying in the Lord? Now, we grant two things. That
the Lord's Christ has indeed finished His work. He has done
all of that which the Father has given Him to do upon the
earth, and He has ascended and is set down at the right hand
of God. Also, we concur that a blessed
rest awaits the saints at their demise. That when they take leave
of this body, there shall be an eternal rest. These are blessedly
true. The question is, is that the
particular text teaching this or the other? John Brown says
no, it's not teaching eternal rest. As the Lord said, I will
give you rest for your souls, and that not by dying, but by
coming to Him or believing. When they do, when we do, when
we did, the heavy burden of sin's guilt, is lifted off of us in
a wonderful way. The misery and the fear of the
conscience is appeased and is quieted. The shackles of sin
are broken. And Jews bearing the unbearable
yoke of the law and self-righteous persons toiling in their works
to gain acceptance with God can find no rest except in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Likewise, the formal religionists,
seeking to walk in man-made traditions of their church, having been
laboring under a very guilty conscience, seeking peace and
rest, and like that spirit, walking through dry places and finding
none. Now many think that the Lord's
words or invitations, as some call it, like in Matthew 11,
28 and 29, is particular. It is not a general call, a universal
call. It is particular. Not those who
find pleasure in their sin and have no intention of departing
from it. Finding pleasure in sin, as we
read in Hebrews chapter 11, and they seek it like a drunk man
seeks out his liquor. As Job said, they drink iniquity
like water. Job 15 and verse 16. But it is to such as are in great
straits, and not all but some are weary and heavy laden. And this rest of soul is that
happiest state that believers enter into first on earth and
fully consummated in the eternal presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Gill recognized the dual
aspect of the rest of God first here in this world, he said,
with spiritual rest, peace, of conscience, ease of mind, tranquility
of soul, through an application of the pardoning grace and full
atonement of Christ." And then again, the eternal rest hereafter
in Abraham's bosom, in the presence of our Lord, in the presence
of Him who died to secure the salvation of our soul. Gill called this, quote, uninterrupted
communion with the Holy Three." Rest eludes the wicked. They can't find rest. They can't
find peace in this world. Isaiah described them. They're
like the troubled sea casting up mire and dirt, dashing, splashing
about, restless, turmoil, and so forth, casting up the filth. that has settled there. They
cannot rest. Spiritual rest comes not but
by Christ, because only He can put away our sin. You'll never
have the genuine peace and rest of soul except you have it in
Christ. You'll never have lasting peace
in the false formalities of religion. You have heard. You have heard
the Word of God, the Gospel of our Lord, Today, if you hear
His voice, says the Scripture, do not harden your heart as they
did in the wilderness in the day of provocation. And to them,
God swear, they shall not enter into My rest. But in Christ is
rest. Oh, that He would bestow upon
someone here the grace to believe and to cast their soul upon Him. And when that happens, you'll
have rest of soul. Come unto me, ye that labor,
labor trying to keep the law, labor under a load of sin, labor
trying to clear the clutter of the conscience. Come to me, says
Jesus, and I will give you rest of soul. Come and ye shall find
rest of soul by coming to me. What a wonderful rest that is.
All of us can look back upon that wonderful day when we entered
into that rest, and we remember what a blessed peace it was,
what it brought to our soul when Christ said to us, spiritually
as He said to that woman taken in adultery, neither do I condemn
you. You go and sin no more. Your
sins are forgiven. What a wonderful day of rest. that was, but it only comes spiritually. It is a work of God that must
proceed and guide the whole affair to bring us into the rest of
the gospel and of Christ. And I thank you for your kind
attention.