Hebrews 4 - Resting is Hard Work

Chad Werkhoven
Mar 24, 2022
2 min read

The awesome promises in this chapter come alongside aggressive commands for your life.

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Hebrews 4 Summary

If the Old Testament stood by itself, it would be hugely disappointing. It catalogs one failing after the other of God's people to uphold His covenant, the promised Savior would be unfulfilled, and Israel, though they did make it to the Promised Land, never found the true rest that Adam lost.

But of course the Old Testament does not stand alone! Chapter 4:9 summarizes the entire chapter:

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God...

This will be the theme for the rest of Hebrews: showing how, because of what v14 refers to as our great High Priest, you and I can attain the blessing of true rest and peace.

Dig Deeper

Chapter 4 contains several key imperatives for those seeking this prize:

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it (v1).

We seek rest, but we must be wary of resting now. Instead, in the same way that fear heightens our senses when we're in danger, we must be constantly vigilant to that which can derail us from attaining our goal.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience (v11).

The tension in this command is awesome. Although we are fully saved by grace alone, we must strive / make every effort / be diligent / do our best to stay true and not be swayed.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (v16).

Last week we read Leviticus 16, which detailed the intricate steps that a priest needed to follow when he entered into the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for sin. Now that Christ has tore down the veil, make sure you respond to God's invitation to come before Him often so that you may find the grace you need so you can continue to fearfully strive to enter the Sabbath rest God has for you.

AAA Prayer:

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father sees everything and will bring all to give an account (v13)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for continued strength for you to make every effort to enter God's Sabbath rest (v11).
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: