Hebrews 4

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray


BEST REST AVAILABLE (Hebrews 4:1-11)


When God rested on the seventh day, there was no distinction between day and night (Genesis 2:2). That is, this rest continues forever. This is the ultimate rest we should hope to enter, His sabbath rest.


Hebrews 4:1-2
The author warns us to be careful that we would enter His rest. What does that mean, "be careful?" Our heart needs to be vigilantly guarded. It is not enough to just know God. We must also trust God, place our faith in God. Why?


James 2:19
"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."


In addition to knowing God, we must also trust that knowledge of God! And when we place our full trust in God, we enter God's rest.


Hebrews 4:10
Once we enter God's rest, we can stop being religious. We don't need to get to God based on our hard work! Even if we wanted to, we would never be able to, because we are not perfect, and we make mistakes.


James 2:10
"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."


Lucky for us, with Jesus fulfilling the Law, we are no longer under the Law today but under the Grace of God. When we place our faith in God, we can enter God's rest, because we no longer carry the burden to meet His standards. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law for all of us, and when we are cleansed by Jesus, God sees the righteousness of Jesus when He looks at us.


THE WORD OF GOD IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD (Hebrews 4:12-13)
The Word of God is alive, because the Word was made flesh, and the Word is Jesus (John 1:1).


God wrote the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16) through human authors. These authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit to document events dictated by God (2 Peter 1:21).


The Word of God is alive also because it remains relevant even today. Comparatively, say, science fiction written 10 years ago is no longer novel. The Word of God is alive because it gives life. It is our spiritual food.


The Word of God is powerful. The Word saves. It speaks of salvation. It accomplishes God's tasks.


The Word of God is a double-edged sword. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, what does Jesus do? Jesus deterred Satan's tactics by quoting the Scripture.


The Word of God is a double-edged sword because it speaks of both God's judgment and grace. God gave us His Word as a weapon against Satan and demons. To effectively protect ourselves, we therefore need to know how to hack with both sides of the blade, as opposed to picking one or the other based on personal preferences. (For example, "I'll just read about the love of God, because I don't like to think about Satan and demons." Or, "I am armed and ready to defend the Bible. There is no room for love because we live in a hard, hard world.") There is a time for tender love, and there is time for tough love. We need to learn how to love and support Christians and non-Christians under any circumstance.


The Word of God pierces. It gets to the innermost core of a human being. It convicts like no other material. Importantly, the Word of God reveals the heart of a person--not to others but to him/herself. The Word of God sifts through our thoughts, intents, and purposes.


The heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). By reading the Bible often, we can keep our heart in check and remain close to God. The Word will shine deep into our heart and guide us. The Word of God is the great revealer. It shows us what we need to change in our lives.


The Bible is alive. It is powerful. It penetrates. And it discerns.


JESUS IS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 4:14-16)
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."


Jesus has been through what we have been through--and worse. Yet, He suffered through it all WITHOUT sin.


Therefore...


1) He knows about our sufferings and exactly how we suffer. He isn't a ruler who sits in an ivory tower and knows nothing of the joys and struggles of His people. He's been where we have been, and He has suffered what we are suffering, and He has conquered it all. We can therefore look to Him for guidance and support, because He knows what He's talking about.


2) Because Jesus has conquered all without sin, He is the only one who can redeem us. He is our High Priest, ready to defend us in front of the Father. We just have to ask Jesus to be our Great Counselor.