Hebrews 4:1, commentary and pictures

The promise of entering God's rest is still left open and has not been withdrawn, yet any hearer may come short of it and miss it through unbelief. The fear commanded is a holy, godly reverence joined with peace and joy, a wholesome distrust of self and dread of displeasing Christ, not slavish terror or distrust that God will fail to keep His word. As Israel heard the gospel in the wilderness but could not enter Canaan because the word was not mixed with faith, but was met with hardening, rebellion and disobedience until their carcasses fell in the wilderness, so present hearers are in the same danger. Entering that rest, which is the heavenly Canaan and eternal life and includes God's seventh-day Sabbath, requires living faith that receives the word into heart and conscience, believes and obeys it, and holds confidence steadfast to the end. It is gained only by meeting its conditions through watchful, prayerful, obedient life, with daily grace, self-denial, and entire surrender to do the Father's will, for profession alone avails nothing.

Meaning of Godly Fear

Peace and joy in serving God are always joined with a proper, sanctified, godly fear of seeming to come short of entering His rest, and this fear is entirely proper and regulates Christian experience. It leads those who have it to sanctify the Lord in their hearts, to regard God with reverence and love that brings self-abasement, to rely firmly upon God, and to dread doing anything Christ would not approve. It is not servile, cowardly terror like the terror of a slave expecting the lash, nor panic, nor distrust that God will fail to keep His promise. It is a wholesome distrust of self and concern lest self with its sinful inclinations gain supremacy, because the promise is made on certain conditions, and the fear is lest by failing to meet them any should seem to come short of it. That distrust leads to sobriety and balance of character and to circumspect action, careful conduct, faithful fulfilling of responsibilities to God instead of superficial work, and earnest labor to meet the conditions and secure everlasting life.

No one in this life should claim to be eternally saved, for eternal salvation is given only on entering through the gates into the city of God, and rejoicing as eternally saved belongs to that time. Until then believers remain in fear of failing to reach the promised rest. That fear rejects an imaginary religion of stately worship and outward forms for entire surrender of the will to God, doing the heavenly Father's will, living by every word from God, and trusting God in trial and darkness by faith and not by sight.

Promise Still Remains

The promise of entering into His rest is still left open and has not been withdrawn, yet any hearer may seem to come short of it, fail to receive it, and miss it through unbelief. The gospel was preached to Israel in the wilderness just as to present hearers, but the word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it, and hearing alone does not benefit unless received with belief and practice. The danger is an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God by hardening the heart as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when Israel tempted and proved God, saw His works forty years, always erred in heart, and did not know His ways, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness because they could not enter in through unbelief. Being made partakers of Christ depends on hearing His voice today without hardening the heart, holding the beginning of confidence steadfast unto the end, and exhorting one another daily while it is called today lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, with a living, growing, working faith that takes God at His word and trusts His word will be verified even when faith looks like presumption. The warning forbids lifting up the soul in self-sufficiency and staying behind sluggish through the leaven of unbelief, and calls those with great light and truth and evidence to advance further rather than remain as those who came short by not walking in the light as Christ is in the light. In a perilous time marked by self-esteem, lack of genuine fellowship and love, and plans to carry out human ideas by setting down one and lifting up another, ministers and people need entire change of spirit and thorough conversion, lest by heeding Satan's suggestions they lose the promised rest when the day of God comes as a thief in the night, and for workers this means heeding God's rebuke, cooperating with Him, having character molded after the divine similitude, and putting away personal feelings and false blame.

A promise does not remove the need to meet its conditions, so coming short means failing to comply with them, and the fear is lest by failing to meet them anyone misses what is promised. The promise of entering God's rest is made on certain conditions, and believers must be watchful lest they come short of meeting them, with humility and distrust of self rather than boastful claims of holiness. This fear is not panic but a wholesome distrust of self that leads to sobriety, balance, circumspect action and careful conduct, with earnest labor to meet the conditions and secure everlasting life. True sanctification is a daily work of overcoming sin and seeking conformity to God's will, avoiding superficial work and faithfully fulfilling responsibilities to God.

The promised rest includes God's seventh-day Sabbath rest, which is to be reverenced and hallowed as the sign that His people know Him as the Lord their God. As the world and professedly Protestant churches take sides with the man of sin, the great coming issue will be over the seventh-day Sabbath, so fearing to come short is holding faithfully to that day and entering the rest.

Entering that rest is entering the kingdom of heaven, the heavenly Canaan, the heaven of bliss and eternal life, and the great reward, and those who believe enter it. God's people stand on its very borders in danger of seeming to come short of it, and the warning calls for taking salvation seriously with more prayer, watchfulness, and earnest effort to overcome, while God's power works to will and do what pleases Him, rather than carelessness, indifference, or departing from God's counsel. Coming short means hearing with a stony, unimpressible heart that does not receive the engrafted word, so that hereditary tendencies, prejudices, and held impressions remain as hindrances, causing walking contrary to righteousness and truth while the enemy makes objectionable traits prominent and spoils Christian experience, whereas entering requires a heart softened by grace. It means failing to advance in proportion to increasing light and falling into deadness and formality instead of going onward and upward to purity and holiness despite abundant privileges and opportunities, for where much is given much is required and faithful improvement of entrusted talents would greatly increase them, and only those who accept the light with self-denial and self-sacrifice become channels of light, while those who do not advance will retrograde on the borders and lose the rest.

The rest becomes real only by occupation and possession, not by merely knowing, singing, and rejoicing about Canaan, for knowing about Canaan and rejoicing at the prospect did not bring Israel into the land of vineyards and olive groves. It means complying with the conditions, exercising living faith, appropriating the promises personally, and drawing near to Christ until He is apprehended by the believing soul. It means hearing the word of God and keeping it and being perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect, as God's purchased possession by creation and redemption. It is fulfilled to those who submit to God's leading and obey Him, for Israel's long wandering and exclusion show that grieving God and refusing His leading keeps people from the rest, while only Caleb and Joshua who wholly followed God were spared. This requires disentangling from everything that exposes to temptation and tarnishes the soul, keeping the senses sharp, being in right relation to God, choosing helpful company, refusing risks where evil angels surround with snares, resisting Satan who comes with great power and deceivableness of unrighteousness appearing as an angel of light, making the Bible the rule of life instead of hereditary habits, tastes and ambition, and choosing with whole mind, heart and soul the service of Him who gave His life.

Here the promised rest is applied to victory through Christ, available to those who serve God aright and to be earnestly and perseveringly sought from God.

Israel's Wilderness Warning

The warning is that as the Israelites failed to enter Canaan through unbelief, rebellion, backsliding and disobedience, so those who now hear may fail to enter God's rest. Their persistent refusal of warnings brought destruction on nearly all the adults who left Egypt, their carcasses falling in the wilderness, and their children were warned not to repeat their course. The word they heard did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it, and the example calls for persevering in faith and laboring to enter that rest.

The danger is an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God by hardening the heart as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. There Israel tempted and proved God, saw His works forty years, always erred in heart, and did not know His ways, and could not enter in because of unbelief. Holding the beginning of confidence steadfast to the end and exhorting one another daily while it is called today, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, is the safeguard against that departure.

Israel's failure when the spies reported on Canaan is an admonition to God's people standing near the heavenly Canaan not to magnify difficulties, spread doubt, or turn from doing God's word, lest the promised inheritance be missed. God would have led them into the promised land at once if they had submitted to Him and gladly followed His leading, but their repeated grieving of Him brought His oath that they would not enter. Only Caleb and Joshua, the two who wholly followed God, were spared from that exclusion, showing that grieving God and refusing His leading keeps people from the rest, while the promise is fulfilled to those who submit to His leading and obey Him. They knew God's ways because truth had been repeatedly placed before them, but they did not follow it, turning from God to follow human wisdom not directed by Him.

Faith Required to Enter

The same good news preached now was preached to Israel in the wilderness, but the word heard did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it, and hearing alone never benefits unless the Word is received with faith, believed and practiced. The promise of entering His rest still stands open, yet anyone may fail to receive it and come short of it through unbelief. Those who do not walk in the light as Christ is in the light stand in the same place as those who came short.

Profitable hearing demands a living, growing, working faith that takes God at His word and trusts His word will be verified even when such faith looks like presumption. It requires hearts cleansed from rubbish and earthliness, diligent searching of truth with a penetrating spirit, impressions made upon mind and heart by the Spirit, and reception of truth into heart and conscience instead of dull, divided, surface hearing. Coming short is hearing the preached gospel with a stony, unimpressible heart so that the engrafted word is not received and does not profit. Entering that rest, which is entering the kingdom of heaven, requires a heart softened by grace.

Without a softened heart, hereditary tendencies, prejudices, and held impressions of men and things remain as hindrances, causing a person to walk contrary to righteousness and truth while the enemy makes objectionable traits of character prominent and spoils the Christian experience. Being made partakers of Christ depends on hearing His voice today without hardening the heart, not departing from the living God through an evil heart of unbelief, holding the beginning of confidence steadfast to the end, and exhorting one another daily while it is called today lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. The warning forbids lifting up the soul in self-sufficiency and forbids staying behind sluggish through the leaven of unbelief in the heart.

It calls God's people who have great light and truth and evidence to advance further by living faith, mixing the preached word with faith so that it profits. It calls all who name Christ to leave sin behind and through faith in Jesus to rise from their low state and become fit for God's service. Israel's failure to enter because of unbelief is set as an example to avoid, and believers must persevere in faith and labor to enter that rest.

Watchful Obedient Life

The fear commanded is to guard against self-confidence and presumption, calling for watchfulness, prayer and faithfulness rather than boastful claims of holiness, with humility and distrust of self and a daily work of overcoming sin and seeking conformity to God's will. Blessings and privileges bring solemn duty to use them for God's glory and to obey His requirements, and the warning belongs to those with greater light and privilege as well as to ancient Israel. Those who vow to serve God can forget their vows and turn toward worldly gain or pleasure, so the danger of failing to enter the promised rest must be taken seriously and should lead to more prayer and watchfulness.

Outward profession is not enough, for anyone may come short of God's glory and fall short of the promise of rest through lack of love for Him. Entering requires the vital principles of truth and a life not ruled by the flesh but changed by grace. It calls for examining faith and hope, examining the whole conduct of life, the spirit brought into work, the witness given to others of bringing Christ's life into the individual life, and whether preparation is being made for eternal life that measures with the life of God.

God's promises and the divine help received through earnest, persevering faith make obedience and assurance possible. Concern over the promise should lead to more prayer and watchfulness and to earnest effort to overcome rather than carelessness or indifference or departing from God's counsel, while God's power works in people to will and to do what pleases Him. Coming short here means losing the heaven of bliss and eternal life.

The promise of entering God's rest still remains, yet it can be missed by those whose attention is diverted from their calling and who do not make the preparation needed to meet Christ in peace. The fear means living in the day of preparation by obtaining a full daily supply of grace from the divine storehouse that provides for every day's demand. Preparation for the home above must be wrought out in this life by weaving the grace of Christ into every phase of character, especially by ministers and physicians bearing weighty responsibilities, whose thoughts must not become cheap or common or selfish for want of that grace. All who claim conversion must have truly changed hearts, watching unto prayer with thoughtful consistent action, possessing not a semblance of religion but the genuine article, having felt deep spiritual need, accepting light and love and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, yielding whole affections to Christ and surrendering life to Him, constrained by His love to unselfish service until it becomes life practice, with daily growth into Christ creating a haven of peace and continual fruit-bearing.

God's people stand on the very borders of the heavenly Canaan in danger of seeming to come short of the rest still left open, and the fear is against failing to advance in proportion to increasing light and falling into deadness and formality instead of going onward and upward to purity and holiness despite abundant privileges and opportunities. Where much is given much is required, and faithful improvement of entrusted talents would greatly increase them. Only those who faithfully accept and appreciate the light and take a high, noble stand in self-denial and self-sacrifice will enter and become channels of light to the world, while those who do not advance will retrograde on the borders and lose the rest. Entry into heaven requires the narrow path of daily bearing the cross, with a life of reverence, self-denial, and continued effort to follow the right standard while seeking grace.

Professed Christians must develop manliness and firmness in Christian character, because a cheap Christian character works more harm than worldliness by misleading others while professing to represent Christ, and at the present time great good may be done or thoughtlessly a large amount of evil committed. Indulged natural defects of character can mislead others and lead to missing the final reward, so watchfulness and faithful character are required, including kindness, courtesy, compassion, and recognizing the good in others. The wholesome fear is not panic but distrust of self that leads to sobriety, balance, and careful conduct, avoiding superficial work and faithfully fulfilling responsibilities to God rather than being careless or indifferent or departing from His counsel.

In a perilous time marked by self-esteem, lack of genuine fellowship and love, and laying plans to carry out human ideas by setting down one and lifting up another, ministers and people need an entire change of spirit and thorough conversion and must walk in the light as Christ is in the light. Giving heed to Satan's suggestions brings danger of losing the promised rest when the day of God comes as a thief in the night, just as the word preached did not profit those who heard without mixing it with faith. Holding the beginning of confidence steadfast to the end and exhorting one another daily while it is called today guards against being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin and against an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God. For workers this means heeding God's rebuke, cooperating with Him, having character molded after the divine similitude, and putting away personal feelings and charging fault where it does not belong.

Entering that rest means hearing the word of God and keeping it, and being perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect. It requires trust in God alone rather than reliance on help from those who do not serve Him, for Israel would have been led at once into the promised land if they had submitted and gladly followed His leading, but repeated grieving of Him brought exclusion except for the two who wholly followed Him. As God's purchased possession by creation and redemption, entering requires disentangling from everything that exposes to temptation and tarnishes the soul, keeping all the senses sharp and keen, being placed in right relation to God, choosing company that helps rather than hinders, and refusing risks where evil angels surround with temptations and snares. Satan has come with great power and deceivableness of unrighteousness and appears as an angel of light clothing temptation with apparent goodness, so the Bible must be made the rule of life instead of hereditary and cultivated habits and tastes and all-absorbing ambition that cannot harmonize with truth, choosing with whole mind, heart, and soul the service of Him who loves and gave His life rather than the service of the deceiver and following own inclinations, appetites, and tastes at the risk of the consequences.