Hebrews 4:1-11
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 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.
True Rest Is Found Only in Christ
I. Don’t Fight It
II. Fall Into It
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ, in desperate need of rest,
How does an all-expenses paid vacation sound to you? A chance to just get away from all of the hustle and bustle and cares and worries of this life. And take as long as you want. I think that would sound pretty good to most, if not all, of us. We like our times of complete rest, whether it’s a weekend, holiday, or vacation. And yet our times of rest and relaxation are not perfect. I was able to go to Israel at the end of this past May, but I got a little sick at the end, maybe you’ve had similar experiences… Or sometimes the car breaks down, that’s usually what happened to my family growing up… and even if it’s the most perfect vacation, with no bumps along the way, it eventually comes to an end. We have to go back to work, our worries and concerns are still there when we get back, and we end up just anxious for our next vacation. Well in our text today, the author speaks of the rest that we find in Christ our Lord. All too often we fight it off, but if we’ll just let ourselves rest in His arms, this is the most perfect rest we could ever want, and it lasts forever. This true rest is found only in Christ.
I. [Don’t Fight It] The problem is, and always has been, that we have a tendency to fight off God’s rest. We do this by our disobedience. And when we do this, we create our own problems and, essentially, our own hell. The author C.S. Lewis wrote an interesting book about this called The Great Divorce. The book does not have the best theology. For example, it seems to teach purgatory. But he makes an interesting point in saying that we create our own hell when we fail to obey God’s law.
This dates back all the way to the Garden of Eden. God created a perfect world and we had perfect, harmonious rest with Him. Adam and Eve obeyed Him in everything and life was great. And how did we lose that perfection? Adam and Eve decided they were going to do things their own way and disobey the one command He gave them. And our perfect, harmonious rest with God and each other was broken and now we see the world we live in.
This situation repeated itself when the Israelites went up to take possession of Canaan. Now their possession of the Promised Land Canaan, was not the same as the perfect harmonious rest of heaven, but their possession of it was to be a relief from their time in bondage under the Egyptians, and relief from their time wandering the desert. And yet they rejected it, too, initially. They didn’t trust that God would give it to them and so He said, “They shall never enter My rest” and all who were 20 years older or more (except for Joshua and Caleb who had believed) died before they entered the promised land. And more important than the fact that they failed to believe God’s promise of Canaan, was their failure to believe in the promise of a Savior. This promise of a Savior was the most important promise given to their forefather Abraham. God rejected them from the promised land at this time for their failure to believe that promise. But more importantly, He rejected those who didn’t believe in His promised Savior for eternity, and that continues today.
I’ve done quite a bit of research over the last few years on eating disorders. And one of the major aspects of the eating disorder is the need for control. The girl or guy (usually a girl but not always) feels like she’s not in control and she wants something that she can control, like her weight. And I say this in regard to eating disorders, but it could really be for most addictions and sins for that matter. We want to be in control of things. Forget what God says, I know what’s best for my life. I want to feel better so I’m going to turn to this vice, turn to that vice, do this, do that, and make myself feel better. I know God says not to, but I think I have a better idea of how my life should work.
And so we do what we want and create our own problems. For those who are addicted to something, they become dependent on something that isn’t even good for them. Those who aren’t loving discover that others aren’t loving towards them. Those who care too much about money, about making it and spending it only on themselves, find that their families and friends suffer. We create our own problems; we create our own hell.
God isn’t some cruel overseer who just tortures people He doesn’t like. He loved us from the start. We are responsible for the problems of the world and for our complete lack of rest. And those who are punished after death have earned that for themselves through a life of completely disregarding God’s guidelines, laws, and love. What applied to the Israelites, applies to us as well. The writer to the Hebrews writes, “Those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.” And this disobedience is a symptom of an even greater problem, a lack of faith. As we read, “the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” Yes, Christ died for our disobedience. But continuing to disobey God’s laws and rejecting His love is a sign of unbelief, just as it was for the Israelites when they were kept out of Canaan.
C.S. Lewis puts it this way: “There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “Fine, have it your way.” And when we “have it our way,” we disrupt and give up the beautiful, peaceful rest God wants to enjoy with us. This is why Pharaoh’s heart was hardened when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This is why we fail to have rest and peace in our hearts or lives today. And this is why people end up missing out on God’s love and His rest. It is because they want to do things their own way, and they’ve given up God’s rest.
And so, ever since the Garden of Eden, because we have spent our time fighting off God, fighting off each other… We bruise, we bleed, we hurt, and we see as our bodies gradually get weaker to the point of death, which is the wages of sin. And on the way to death, we feel lonely, sad, frustrated, bitter, and our bodies and souls just cry out, asking for some relief! And we yearn for just a little rest from this life.
II. [Fall into It.] The author of Hebrews here tell us not to let that be our fear. Rather, he writes, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” We’re weary, we’re tired. The people of this world spend so much time fighting each other and fighting God that we’re just worn out. And so the author here tells us to not follow Israel’s example of disobedience, but rather live a life of faith, following our Father’s will. He created us, He’s given us instructions on how to live our lives, and He knows what He’s talking about. If we’re loving towards others, they’ll often show love in return. If we offer our time and talents to others, we’ll find that they often offer theirs to us. That doesn’t mean that this is our main motivation. Our motivation is our love for God and for our fellow man. But they’ll often return it. They won’t always. We live in a sinful world. But God sees it and when it seems like no one cares, we take comfort in the knowledge that we are glorifying our Father in heaven and that our reward is guaranteed in heaven. And so we are to follow our Father’s will and sleep and then also to rest in his arms.
In the same way that we need to sleep and rest at the end of a long day, just to recharge, we need to rest in our Father’s arms. He is always there for us to fall back on. Yes, He rested on the seventh day of creation after all of His works were completed. But it wasn’t because He had was on vacation or had nothing left in the tank. When we read that on the seventh day, God rested, we are to understand that he took great satisfaction in His works. Moses writes that He saw all that He had made and it was very good. As I mentioned before, we lived in perfect harmony with each other and God and, as I mentioned before, we were the ones who broke this perfect rest. But already on that first day that we broke that harmony, God set in motion a plan to restore that perfect rest and harmony for us. He designed to send His very own Son, many years later, to die as the sacrifice for our sins. And Jesus fulfilled His part perfectly. He lived a perfect life and died a completely innocent death. He did this so that we might once again have the sure hope of perfect harmony with God and so that we might have true rest with God.
The writer of Hebrews here describes this rest as a “Sabbath-rest.” That’s how God pictured it for His people in Old Testament times. That’s the Third Commandment, isn’t it? “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.”[1] The Israelites were to work for six days, but on the seventh, on the Sabbath, they were to rest from their labors, and just enjoy God’s labors and their relationship with Him. This was a picture of the perfect rest that we, through faith, would have with our Father in heaven. This would be made possible by that perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ which I mentioned just a moment ago. We heard about it in the Gospel reading when Matthew wrote that Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”[2]
And so we have great rest here on earth. We can rest from all of our struggles to earn our way to heaven by our own good works. That won’t get us rest. And we can rest from our worries that we haven’t done enough to enjoy that rest. Christ has completely taken care of it for us. We’ve been given a new man so that, with God’s help, we can now live a God-pleasing life. And we can trust and rely upon God in every problem in this life. We know that Jesus has experienced them all during His life on earth, and we can see that He has always kept his promises, and even given His life for us.
Now as long as we live in a sinful world, we can’t have perfect rest. But we can cast all our anxieties upon God because He hears us[3], as St. Peter says. And what’s the way to keep the Third Commandment regarding our Sabbath rest? What is Luther’s explanation of this commandment? “We should fear and love God, so that we not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” The best way to fall into our Savior’s arms and find rest is to read and study God’s Word, and come to the Lord’s Supper, and constantly be reminded of God’s love and rest which He offers to us completely free of charge. And with God’s help we can give up the control that we so desperately try to have in our own lives. Realize that God has the control anyway, and that’s best for us because He knows and wants what’s best for us. And all that we accomplish by fighting for our own control is to wear ourselves out.
And when is the proper to time to stop fighting God? To fall into His love? The author says it twice in these verses: Today. Today is the day to let Yourself rest in Your Savior’s love.
IV. Conclusion: Much more than the fact that we all need a vacation, we all need a Savior. And thank God, we have a perfect one. When we go through life, fighting for control, we never find rest. Let go. Fall into your Savior’s arms, into His love, and into His rest. Take the nourishment He gives you, allow yourself to be fed by His Word, and rest secure in the knowledge that you are loved and saved. Peace and rest be with you. Amen.
[1] Exodus 20:8
[2] Matthew 11:28
[3] 1 Peter 5:7
