Sword at the entrance

[shazeep]

ok, and if one accepts the summation of Hebrews 4 as "A Sabbath Rest for God's People," a cessation of our good works in the hope of getting closer to God in that way--like say, voting Jesus or some imagined proxy of Him into office or whatever--then how does that line up with "to the extent we do something about it?" How can one both rest and do something?

[shazeep]

Originally Posted by mfblume

That being said, satan has not the faith that moves him to do something about it.

well, as has been pointed out, faith really doesn't apply to satan, nor repentance, i don't think. And frankly, i'm not sure how faith might be applied to the Wanderers, who saw the amazing manifestations of God--but how could one in that position not believe?--but those are other subjects i guess.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by shazeep

ok, and if one accepts the summation of Hebrews 4 as "A Sabbath Rest for God's People," a cessation of our good works in the hope of getting closer to God in that way--like say, voting Jesus or some imagined proxy of Him into office or whatever--then how does that line up with "to the extent we do something about it?" How can one both rest and do something?

First of all, we have to identify what the rest actually is.

The rest here is a spiritual rest. It is some kind of destination God ordained for us just as He ordained Israel enter the Promised land. IN Chapter 3, where he begins this comparison of the US and THEM, we find it is Israel not entering Canaan's REST because of unbelief.

Heb 3:17-19 KJV But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? (18) And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? (19) So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

And if you go back further, the entrance into Canaan, to partake of the promised land, is compared to us partaking of Christ.

Heb 3:14 KJV For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Holding onto our confidence is maintaining our faith and not letting it go. So, when we read "partakers of Christ" we get a better understanding of what the rest is talking about.

Go back even further in chapter 3 to the first verse and realize what Partaking is referring to.

Heb 3:1 KJV Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

It's a heavenly calling. So, the REST is the calling God ordained for us to enter.

And the overall point of the Book of Hebrews must be considered to understand even more clearly what the REST is all about. The book contrasts the Old Covenant from the New. It shows how much BETTER this new one is. And when you read of the REST we must enter, along with the overall concept of the superiority of the New Covenant compared to the Old, we find the SABBATH REST concept is relating the idea of no mo works toward salvation, with all the old covenant's rituals that could never perfect the those involved. Hebrews 10 highlights that part of it.

Those sacrifices offered annually could never perfect the offerers.

So, the rest is a cessation from our labours to make ourselves holy, and realize the work was finished on the cross, after which Christ SAT DOWN.

The LABOUR we must exert to enter a rest, according to 4:11, is not a contradiction but a reference to the first two verses of the chapter that refer to mixing the word with faith. In other words, take the sword, which is the word, believe what the word says when it says the work is finished and we must enter the REST now, and see that word like a sword cut out our unbelief.

The comparison is between the Exodus and our entrance into the REST. It is also noting the sabbath day, like you mentioned.

Heb 4:4-5 KJV For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. (5) And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

He is not telling us to keep the sabbath day as some people think. They're missing the overall use of comparisons the writer is making. Sabbath day is in the same category as entrance into Canaan in his use of types and shadows.

So look at the FOUR INSTANCES OF a command TO ENTER REST, the last of which is OUR DAY when Hebrews 4 is telling us to enter the REST. The first TWO are types and shadows of the REST Hebrews 4 and Psalm 95 wants us to enter.

1) ENTERING CANAAN'S "REST". (TYPE)

Heb 3:8-11 KJV Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (9) When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. (11) So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Heb 3:19 KJV So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

This CANAAN rest is mentioned again Hebrews 4.

Heb 4:5 KJV And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

Psa 95:11 KJV Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

That was talking about entering Canaan.

And it is mentioned AGAIN in Hberews 4:

Heb 4:7 KJV Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

That is a quote from Psalm 95:7. he keeps referring to entrance into Canaan and mentions sabbath day ONCE. But both Sabbath day and entrance into Canaan refer to the REST Hebrews says we must enter today.

2) ENTERING SABBATH DAY "REST" (TYPE)

Heb 4:3-4 KJV For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (4) For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

This one is interesting, because the works FOR OUR REST were finished from the foundation of the world. Then he speaks of the sabbath day, that is mentioned in the "foundation of the world" account of Genesis. God RESTED after he finished the work of creation.

3) Another REST IN THE DAYS OF DAVID MENTIONED IN PSALMS.

Heb 4:7-8 KJV Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (8) For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Psalm 95 not only used the Exodus journey where Israel was intended to enter Canaan's REST, but it used that to speak of a REST David's day had available, that God wanted people to enter into LONG AFTER the sabbath day in Genesis 2 and LONG AFTER the entrance into Canaan in Joshua's day.

4) THE REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD TODAY (ANTITYPE)

After writing about the two TYPES of rest, entrance into Canaan and sabbath day rest, Psalm 95 was written long after Israel entered Canaan and after Sabbath day was instituted. But sabbath day and entrance to Canaan were only TYPES of the rest the Book of Hebrews is talking about.

Hebrews says that Psalm 95 mentioned that God STILL WANTED His people to enter a rest LONG AFTER the Exodus and LONG AFTER Genesis 2 took place. And Hebrews says that even now, LONG AFTER Psalm 95 was written, GOD STILL wants people to enter His rest!

He called Joshua by the Greek name JESUS in verse 8.

Heb 4:8 KJV For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

This is speaking of JOSHUA, because Joshua was the one leading them into Canaan in Exodus. So, the writer is saying, "Long after the sabbath day commanded man to enter rest, and long after Joshua took Israel into the REST of Canaan, there was still a rest in the days of David that we find when he we read Psalm 95. David wrote when God was STILL calling people to enter the REST, long after Joshua's day, telling the people of David's day to not harden their hearts like the Exodus Israelites hardened their hearts so they can enter a rest."

Then the writer of Hebrews says,"Not only was God wanting the people of David's day to enter the REST years after Joshua's day, but today, years after David's day, God still wants people to enter this rest that the Exodus and Sabbath day typified."

And the conclusion is:

Heb 4:9 KJV There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

And Hebrews 4: 1 says this rest IS THE GOSPEL rest! Not a sabbath day, and not entrance into a land.

Heb 4:1-3 KJV Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. (2) For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (3) For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The REST of the gospel is partaking of Christ to some specific extent. We have to keep reading Hebrews to learn what that extent is. But it has something to do with ceasing from the works of the old covenant, for that is what the remainder of Hebrews focuses on.

And Hebrews 4 points to that with these words.

Heb 4:16 KJV Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

GOING INTO THE HOLIEST! The Book of Hebrews is unique! It defines the goal of the Christian IN THIS LIFE as reaching our position IN THE HOLIEST. This is the REST and it is a spiritual sort.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by shazeep

well, as has been pointed out, faith really doesn't apply to satan, nor repentance, i don't think. And frankly, i'm not sure how faith might be applied to the Wanderers, who saw the amazing manifestations of God--but how could one in that position not believe?--but those are other subjects i guess.

The issue of Hebrews and their inability to believe is highlighted in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4.

We read:

Heb 3:7-11 KJV Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, (8) Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (9) When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. (11) So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Heb 3:16-19 KJV For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. (17) But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? (18) And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? (19) So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

When was it when they did not believe, so we can know what it was they were supposed to believe?

It is when Israel was banished into the wilderness to wander 40 years. That is what Hebrews 3:17 points to. So here is their unbelief specified by Hebrews.

Num 13:26-29 KJV And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. (27) And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. (28) Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. (29) The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.


Num 13:31 KJV But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

And this is when God demanded they not enter. (In fact, GOD mentions the miracles they saw, that should have inspired faith, that you refer to).

Num 14:22-23 KJV Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; (23) Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

Num 14:29-34 KJV Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, (30) Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (31) But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. (32) But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. (33) And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. (34) After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

That was when God swore in his wrath they could not enter in.

They did not believe they could enter and that God was with them to handle the giants and walls.

Joshua and Caleb believed.

Num 13:30 KJV And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

Num 14:6-9 KJV And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: (7) And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. (8) If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. (9) Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

THAT is the example of unbelief and belief we are warned about.

So faith is applied to the wanderers by noting they had to believe God would be with them DESPITE WHAT THEY SAW in giants and walls. God SAID - gave the WORD -- that he would bring them in. They doubted that would happen! They looked to their own abilities and their OWN WORKS and what they could do, and compared it to the task at hand, RATHER THAN look to God's works and what He could do with giants and walls.

[mfblume]

This lets us know the SPIRITUAL REST we enter is what God has finished the works for us to enter, not that we must commit works of righteousness in order to enter. It is GOD and what HE DOES that affords us entrance, not what WE can do.

Look at the error of the Israelites:

Num 13:31 KJV But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

It is not about WE.

It is about GOD. They're not stronger than God. We forget God is with us.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Let's look at that a bit more closely. What does a 'failure to mix the word with faith' actually encompass?

Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
(Hebrews 3:7-12)

Here we see that the warning to Christians is to 'take heed... lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.'

Failure to mix the word with faith is the result of 'an evil heart of unbelief'. It is evil, it is a heart of unbelief. This indicates that this failure is not passive. It does not consist in merely 'failing to do something'. Rather, it is active. It is a heart 'of unbelief', a heart that has decided to not believe, to disbelieve. And thus it is 'evil'.

It is also a 'departing from the living God'. It is in effect an apostasy, a backsliding from God. There is no 'oopsie' involved, it is a deliberate act of abandoning God due to having an evil heart of unbelief. It is amazing how so many things WE think of as being minor, are by the Word of God condemned in the strongest terms. The Word truly is a 'discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart'. The Word discerns and reveals the TRUE intents of the heart. In the case here under discussion, it reveals the characteristics of 'an evil heart of unbelief' that 'departs from the living God'. Too often we, in our human ingenuity, attempt to minimize the seriousness of spiritual matters. The heart of man is desperately wicked, who can know it? God can know it, and God can reveal it by His Word.

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
(Hebrews 3:13-14)

We need to be exhorting one another continually. Why? Because failure to do so will allow hearts to become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. It is sin to disbelieve the Word of God. It is sin to have an evil heart of unbelief. It is sin to depart from the living God. And if we fail to encourage one another daily, that sin of unbelief will find opportunity to spring up.

We see here also that we are partakers of Christ IF... IF we hold the beginning of our confidence STEADFAST to the end. It is not enough to have once believed in Christ. It is not enough to have 'gotten saved' at some point in your life. You MUST hold fast that original hope and confidence in Christ as your Atonement, Saviour, Propitiation, Mediator, Intercessor, Lord, Passover sacrifice, in short - everything that Christ is presented to you in the Gospel. You must hold fast to that confidence 'to the end'. That is, to the end of your life here in this world. Salvation is a DAILY, ongoing, continual thing, not a one time event in the past. Christ is the living Bread, and just as Israel under Moses received their manna DAILY, and had to gather it daily, so too we must feed on Christ DAILY.

Did you gather your daily bread TODAY? Or are you trying to save it up' from yesterday, last month, last year, fifteen years ago? 'Bless the Lord, I got saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost back in...' And? WHERE ARE YOU TODAY? Yesterday's bread won't feed you TODAY.

You know, when a person stops eating food, their body begins to digest itself. It starts digesting the fat cells. Soon, once that has run out, it begins to digest muscle tissue. Eventually, the body, digesting itself, wastes away and shuts down due to lack of nutrients. When we quit feeding DAILY on Christ, the heavenly manna, we will begin to 'feed' on the FLESH. And eventually, we will die from lack of spiritual nutrition.

I need to stand before God TODAY. You stand before God TODAY. And so we need to be covered by the blood of Jesus TODAY. Otherwise, we stand naked and exposed to the wrath of God. I'm so glad Jesus is my Saviour TODAY!

While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
(Hebrews 3:15-19)

Now what exactly happened here? The spies went in and saw the land. Ten of them said 'there be giants over thar!' Two said 'we can take 'em, cuz God is on our side!' And the people hearkened to the ten spies, and plotted rebellion against Moses, and schemed to go back to Egypt. And God swore that generation would not enter in. Now, notice:

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
(Numbers 14:21-23)

These people had seen God's glory. They had also provoked God ten times, and had refused to listen to His Voice. And this was simply the final act of rebellion. (There's a sermon in here somewhere, probably a good one, too...)

The rebellion in attempting to depart from God ('let us go make a captain and go back to Egypt') was the FINAL STRAW, it was the final stage of their evil heart of unbelief. When a person literally apostasizes from Christ, finally goes atheist or just completely goes back to the world (total backsliding), it is usually not something that happened overnight. It built up over time. There was something wrong way back in the beginning. Now I am not talking about someone who was horribly abused by someone in the church, and so they go off the deep end. That's not what is being discussed. What is being discussed is that evil heart of unbelief, that evil heart that constantly, here a little there a little, provokes God with unbelief, doubting, lack of faith, and breaks out in open rebellion against God.

Remember, the apostle says we need to encourage one another daily, OTHERWISE this is what is likely to happen - somebody somewhere is going to fester in unbelief. That little seed of doubt, that little thought of 'Well, I don;t know about THAT. Hath God said...? will grow and fester like a cancer, like a noxious weed, and will ultimately bear fruit in an apostasy and backsliding straight into the lake of fire.

Yes, indeed we should 'fear' lest the same thing happen among us.

One final thought... this was being addressed to a community of believers. The community (the church) is responsible for looking out for its members. We are responsible for one another. If the community fails to encourage one another daily, somebody somewhere may indeed fall away. I wonder how many people have fallen away, and we blame them instead of shouldering some of that blame ourselves? Sure, they are to blame. After all, it was THEIR evil heart of unbelief that led them to depart from God. But, we can do much to prevent such things from happening. We can limit the casualties, if not prevent them altogether! So, how many of those who have fallen aside, who have drifted too far from the shore, who drowned in the sea of worldliness and unbelief, could have been saved if we had simply thrown out the lifeline? If we had exhorted one another daily? If we took DILIGENCE to see that EVERYBODY makes it to glory? We are, after all, a FELLOWSHIP. That means we are fellows on the same ship, going to the same destination. So if someone is leaning too far overboard, or walking on the rails while the storm surges, LOVE constrains us to reach out and pull them back to safety, to warn them 'GET BACK FROM THERE, there's only DEATH out there!' How many fell overboard off the good ole ship of Zion, because we were too busy playing shuffleboard on the poop deck?

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Amen. One preacher said we think it a small thing when we cannot believe God for this or for that. But that adds up after time, and we provoke God to anger. It's serious to Him!

[shazeep]

Originally Posted by mfblume

This lets us know the SPIRITUAL REST we enter is what God has finished the works for us to enter, not that we must commit works of righteousness in order to enter. It is GOD and what HE DOES that affords us entrance, not what WE can do.

ok, but that doesn't mean "just believe and do nothing," it means "go slay some giants."
6Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,

[shazeep]

and in case i don't get back to it, it is fine with me if you still hold belief and faith to be synonymous, but you then need to come up with a word to differentiate those who believe from those who demonstrate faith.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by shazeep

ok, but that doesn't mean "just believe and do nothing," it means "go slay some giants."
6Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience,

Yes, but trusting that God would be with them and actually be the means of taking giants down, not their abilities.

I never said believe and do nothing. Active faith does indeed work. But it works in elements that the flesh cannot personally handle, and trusts in God's power to bring the victory.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by shazeep

and in case i don't get back to it, it is fine with me if you still hold belief and faith to be synonymous, but you then need to come up with a word to differentiate those who believe from those who demonstrate faith.

Again, it is not me holding to anything, really. Just reiterating what Hebrews 4 said. I just used the terms Hebrews 4 used.