Highlights From HebrewsSample

The Power of the Word

On Day 4, we saw that if it was dangerous to despise God’s revelation through angels in the old covenant, it is more dangerous to despise God’s revelation through His Son in the new covenant. On Day 5, we saw that if rebellion against Moses’ house brought the wrath of God upon the people, how much more will rebellion against the Messiah’s house.

The author of Hebrews continues this theme in Hebrews 4. Because of their rebellion, none of the men who left Egypt under Moses entered into the Sabbath rest of the promised land except Joshua and Caleb. The next generation under Joshua did enter that promised rest—several generations later. In Psalm 95:7–8, David prophesied a greater Sabbath rest for which the godly still looked (Heb. 4:6–8). Thus, the rest Joshua gave the people was only a foretaste of the greater Sabbath rest to come.

God Himself had worked six days and rested on the seventh. God invites men to enter into His rest (Heb. 4:4–5). There is an initial entrance into rest by faith (4:3), but the fullness of that rest comes after perseverance in faith (4:11). The danger is that having begun in the kingdom and having received the initial rest, we fail to persevere and come to the final rest. In light of all of Scripture, we know that failure to persevere means one did not have true faith in Christ to begin with (1 John 2:19), but the warning remains for all who have professed faith in Christ. We know that we actually have saving trust in Christ only as we persevere, continuing to believe in Him and seek to serve Him.

In this context, the author tells us that God’s Word is alive and powerful. The Scriptures must not only be heard and obeyed but also forcefully affect the minds of those who read and hear them. The Scriptures bring judgment and death, “dividing soul and spirit.” Like the sacrificial knife, they divide “joints and marrow.” The Scriptures expose the thoughts of the heart and bring everything under the eye of God, who judges all things (4:12–13). Those who truly believe continue to believe and repent as the Scriptures do their work. Those who have not really trusted in Christ will turn away from the Word of God.

Thus, the primary thrust of these verses is that God’s Word will judge those who apostatize—reject their profession of trust in Christ—fully and finally. The great threat of judgment hangs over all sinners; the only salvation from it is in Christ, our Great High Priest. Only by holding firmly to the faith will we move from rest to rest; only in the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus will we be spared from the sacrificial knife of the judging Word (4:14).

CORAM DEO Living before the face of God

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love,” wrote the hymnist. The warnings in Hebrews are designed to shake us up. We can be assured of salvation, and we should have assurance, but such is only for those who hold fast to the Bible and faith in Jesus. If you’ve been wandering, flee back to Him today.