Hebrews 4:11-13

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Since the goal is to enter the eternal rest that God has promised, we must pay close attention to the teaching of this passage.  We are warned again that it is possible to fall short of entering that rest.  God has provided His Word to show us how to make proper preparations by studying His Word.  Because, one day we will stand before Christ and give an account.

WORK TO ENTER REST BY OBEDIENCE: Salvation is by grace through faith alone and not by any works that we can do to earn salvation.  However, it is at the very fiber of our being to try to earn our own way.  It takes a tremendous amount of intentional work or striving within ourselves to trust the Lord; His sacrifice and sovereignty instead of depending on ourselves.  When the circumstances of our lives are not to our liking and the passions of our flesh cry out for satisfaction; we must work to trust and obey the Lord.  We enter the Lord’s rest by obeying the Gospel; not by obeying a list of commandments or keeping certain standards.  The promise of the Gospel is to transform our hearts by the sacrifice of the Son, through the power of the Spirit, for the glory of the Father.

WATCH TO SEE SIN REVEALED BY THE WORD:  God’s primary instrument of Salvation is the Word of God.  The Bible reveals to us the holy character and standard of God that we could never achieve.  The Bible teaches us the truths of God’s love, the incarnation of Jesus, His sacrifice to satisfy God’s just wrath against Sin.  The Bible reveals our sinful nature to us as we see ourselves represented in word, deed, thought, and motive throughout the Scriptures.  The Bible tells us how we can be fully, freely, and forever forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Only as we study the Word of God will we perceive the depth of our sin and the love of Christ.  God’s Word is the GPS that leads us into the rest the God has promised us.  We would do well to pay close attention.

WAIT TO BE JUDGED BY JESUS: God sees the things that we so easily hide from one another and even tend to ignore about ourselves.  Sin is far more than just doing bad things.  Even when we do good things with wrong motives, we sin.  God sees our thoughts and knows the intentions of our hearts which is why His is the only just Judge.  Criminals go to great lengths to hide their illegal behavior from law enforcement officers, cameras, or even from witnesses that could testify against them in court.  This is an exercise in futility.  God sees and knows everything we do.  There is nothing that is hidden from Him.  His knowledge goes to the very depth of our souls as it includes our every thought and the deepest motivations of our hearts.  One day every creature on earth with stand exposed before God and give an account.  Nobody will be justified before Him apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Trusting our works is futility so we must work to trust Christ instead of ourselves.  He is our only hope of rest.

APPLICATION: Strive to trust the Lord instead of our own efforts as the only means of salvation.  Study the Word of God as a means of understanding the Gospel and being able to live in a way that pleases the Lord.  Proclaim God’s Word to others so they might also enter His rest.  Be sensitive to the work of the Spirit as He applies God’s Word to our hearts, minds, and bodies.  Don’t try to justify ourselves to others or even our self.  Know that God is the only judge that is truly just and our only hope is having the justice of Christ through faith.