Second Warning from Hebrews: The Believer’s Active Rest

by | Jul 15, 2024 | Articles, Mentors Corner |

Warning #2 in Hebrews encompasses 3:7-4:13 and is multi-faceted. The passage examines three perspectives of “rest”:

  1. The rest of God on the seventh day after the six days of Creation
  2. The rest promised to the nation of Israel after their Exodus from Egyptian captivity
  3. The Sabbath rest for the believer.

The first “rest” was not because God was tired or needed a break but merely denoted a cessation from His creative activity (4:3).

The second rest was found in the land of Canaan, a secure, fertile, and productive land.  Except for two, Joshua and Caleb, this promise was not enjoyed by the Israelites who left captivity in Egypt and were older than age 20.  This exclusion was due to unbelief, leading to disobedience: the nation’s refusal to engage the inhabitants of Canaan despite the urging and confidence of Joshua and Caleb and, more significantly, the promise of God that the land was theirs to take.

The third rest contains the modifier “Sabbath”. The kernel of the second warning is to avoid the example of disobedience of the Israelites in order to enter the Sabbath rest (4:1-3,6,9-11).

What are the characteristics of this third (believer’s) rest?

  1. It is eternal but available to all, to enjoy today. The Sabbath rest is likened to God’s Creation rest in that His rest started on the seventh day and has not ended; so it is with the Sabbath rest for the possessing* believer.
  2. There remains an opportunity for the individual to enter, but the window is limited, its time of closing known only to God.
  3. It requires acts of faith in effort and diligence (but not “work”). The rest is a cessation of work to gain salvation, but it is full of activity, a result of belief.
  4. Entrance is blocked by unbelief (or gained by belief, or faith).
  5. Belief is marked by obedience. The seventh day of the week was known as the Sabbath, in which no work was to be performed.
  6. However, another Sabbath Day occurred during the period of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ last words, “It is finished” are indicative of 1) His finished work on the cross and 2) the tearing of the veil in the Holy of Holies signifying direct access to the presence of God and therefore, 3) Rendering unnecessary the priestly temple sacrificial “work” for addressing sins.

For those professing Hebrew believers who had or were considering defection from faith in Jesus to hide from persecution behind the Mosaic Law, the Old Testament references would have been evident and, hopefully, the author’s admonition producing conviction to stay the course. For us contemporary believers, perseverance (diligence) demonstrated through obedience (evidence of belief) is the order of the day.

Questions for application:

  1. Where are your areas of unbelief? Have you asked the Holy Spirit to search your heart to expose area(s) of unbelief?
  2. What are you tempted to hide behind in order to delay obedience?
  3. Where are you calling into question God’s promises?
  4. Does your activity reflect work (trying to gain God’s favor) or rest (trusting in the finished work of Christ)?

*Eternal security (“once saved, always saved”) is the teaching of Scripture. There are, however, “professing” Christians who may not be “possessing” Christians. Professors are those who claim belief in the tenets of the gospel as outlined in I Corinthians 15:3-4, that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected.

Possessors voice the same belief as professors but also possess the gift of eternal life. The difficulty arises when professors assume they are possessors. 

All possessors are professors, but not all professors are possessors (Matthew 7:21-23).

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