Therefore, make every effort
Today's reading Hebrews 4:6-11
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Today’s blog
“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11)
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God’s rest is a gift to his people (4:9) i.e. to those who become part of his family through faith in Jesus Christ. True faith in Jesus results in obedient service (Jn.14:21,23; Rom.15:17). But our good works and our service of God are not done because we are striving to be acceptable to him, for we rely on what Jesus has done for us (4:10). But out of that comes the discovery that God has prepared “good works for us to do” (Eph.2:8-10).
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Which is why this whole section about God’s promised rest now comes to its conclusion with the exhortation to “make every effort to enter that rest”. Rest is not just an interesting concept drawn from an Old Testament story – it’s an incentive to action. Because of the rest which is now available to us through Christ, we are called to make “every effort” to enter into the benefits of it, through whole-hearted Christian living.
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We find the same word in “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph.4:3) and “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Pet.3:14). Sometimes it’s translated “be eager” (Gal.2:10; 2 Pet.1:10). So it takes a lot of effort to rest! For though our works can never be the basis of entering into God’s salvation, if we are to live in the reality of God’s promised rest we need to be vigilant and diligent in avoiding the unbelief of the Israelites in the wilderness.
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(To dig a bit deeper into Hebrews 4:6-11 click here for some commentary notes.)