Obedience is Key (Hebrews 4:1-13)
If we want to enter the rest of God, which is another way of talking about the Kingdom of Heaven and the salvation that we have, we need to endure. But simply holding on is a hard way to look at the task we have. Is there something tangible we can do to help us hold on?
The writer of Hebrews helps us out here. It turns out that the opposite of steadfastness is not “lack of endurance” but rather, disobedience. We can help make sure that we endure in the faith by actively living it out. Saying that you believe in God and trust in Jesus for your salvation is one thing. Living as if you believe it is another. When we see that God expects something of us, we need to do our best to obey. This is not done out of a need to earn our salvation—the entire work of salvation has been accomplished by the sacrificial work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ—but we obey BECAUSE we have been saved. Our obedience is the outward manifestation of our saving faith.
The Children of Israel failed to enter God’s Sabbath rest due to disobedience. When we ignore or disobey what we know God wants from us, we risk having our own hearts hardened to His word. A key aspect of obedience to God is that we remain in His word. God’s revelation is vital to our faith. It reveals God’s will for us.
So, you could look at the idea of “striving to enter the rest” or enduring as:
-encourage each other towards steadfastness, daily
-remain united in faith, and in the word of God
-obey what we know God wants us to do
The writer of Hebrews helps us out here. It turns out that the opposite of steadfastness is not “lack of endurance” but rather, disobedience. We can help make sure that we endure in the faith by actively living it out. Saying that you believe in God and trust in Jesus for your salvation is one thing. Living as if you believe it is another. When we see that God expects something of us, we need to do our best to obey. This is not done out of a need to earn our salvation—the entire work of salvation has been accomplished by the sacrificial work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ—but we obey BECAUSE we have been saved. Our obedience is the outward manifestation of our saving faith.
The Children of Israel failed to enter God’s Sabbath rest due to disobedience. When we ignore or disobey what we know God wants from us, we risk having our own hearts hardened to His word. A key aspect of obedience to God is that we remain in His word. God’s revelation is vital to our faith. It reveals God’s will for us.
So, you could look at the idea of “striving to enter the rest” or enduring as:
-encourage each other towards steadfastness, daily
-remain united in faith, and in the word of God
-obey what we know God wants us to do
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