Heb. 4:11 ¶ Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
The wording of this verse seems to be contradictory. The writer recognizes that accepting God’s free gift of salvation in faith is not an easy thing for us to do. It involves humbling ourselves before God and repenting of our sin. It means that we have to admit that God has provided everything for us in the person of His Son Jesus and that we can do nothing whatsoever to add to what He has done. We have to accept that God’s way is the only way, that His provision is sufficient. We give evidence to the truth of our profession through obedience. I repeat—obedience gives proof to our possession of true faith. The Greek for “unbelief” specifically states “disobedience.”
To labour is a reference to being earnest and diligent. In this body of flesh, we will continue to be subject to the temptation of sin in the flesh and the attack of the enemy—and it takes earnest effort and diligence to obey God in faith. When we receive our glorified bodies, we will finally experience the fullness of the promised rest for the people of God. We will no longer struggle in our walk of obedience. We will have no sin nature to contend with nor will we ever have to confront the attack of the enemy again. That is a rest worth every bit of effort we put forth in resisting the flesh and the enemy and making choices that declare our faith in God through His Son.
No comments:
Post a Comment