RPG Adults
RESPONSIBILITY IN ENTERING GOD’S REST
LORD’S DAY, JULY 28
Hebrews 4:9-16
Psalm 33:1-9
“For he spake, and it was done;
he commanded, and it stood fast.”
RESPONSIBILITY IN ENTERING GOD’S REST
God’s rest is His gracious gift of eternal life. It is called rest because the redeemed are freed from earthly cares and sin as a new chapter is opened to them. Everything necessary for entry into that rest has been provided by God. The Word of God stands out as an instrument in preparing the way for that rest. Jesus Christ serves as the Mediator (High Priest) in their undertaking. There is therefore assurance as one approaches the Throne of Grace. None should fail to enter that rest through Christ.
When the text said that rest remained for God’s people, it has the idea of it being reserved for God’s people. It is waiting for them to occupy. God has put everything in place, giving assurance of its certainty. He that enters into this rest ceases from his own works even as God also ceased from His. If the work of creation were to use manpower, it would have been an impossible undertaking. It is imagined here (from the human point of view) that God used some energy and after six days He rested. That is, He ceased from His activities. In those six days great things had taken shape and on the seventh day everything was calm. The writer pointed to the need of responsibility in verse 11, where he said, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” The command here shows that God requires some responsibility from those who are to enter into His rest. However, this does not infer that there can be any merit on the part of man that contributes to the requirements to enter into that rest. Those who will be admitted are those who are born again and have repented of their sins. Their inclusion in God’s rest is the gift of God to them. There is that assurance when one believes in Christ.
THOUGHT: Jesus Christ is the emblem of eternal rest.
PRAYER: Father, give me grace to stand in my faith to the end.