Hebrews 4:1

‘Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.’

Although they had received God’s conditional promise Israel did not enter into their rest because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19), and we are to take note of the lesson. Professing Christians are also therefore to be afraid lest they too fail to enter into God’s promised rest, by coming short of God’s promise, by failing to benefit from it. It is sadly something that can happen even to those who seem genuine. Note that he is not talking of them all, but of the possibility of individuals coming short, and even that as doubtful. It may happen but he hopes that it will not. The promise that each can enter into God’s rest is there. He hopes that none will come short of it.

‘Seem to come short of it.’ That is, appear in God’s eyes to have come short of it.

We must bring to mind here that Jesus spoke of a twofold rest in Matthew 11:28-29. The first was a rest of soul given by Him to those who came to Him. This would arise from a consciousness within them that they need no longer be concerned about their ‘labours’ and ‘burdens’ as they followed Him. They would be able to cast them off. In mind in those labours and burdens was the yoke of the restless conscience, and the yoke of the Law as interpreted by the Pharisees (in contrast with the yoke of Christ). It demanded from them much that had to be done that was very burdensome and required much toil, and which with failure brought heavy guilt. But He had come to deliver men from such things. Through following Him they could find forgiveness and acceptability with God. They could learn to rest in Him. And they would no longer be under the yoke of the demanding and unceasing requirements of an expanded Law.

The second was the rest that they could obtain when they took His yoke on them and learned of Him to walk in trust and humility before God, at which they would find rest to their souls. The Pharisee’s yoke was very heavy. His yoke and burden were in contrast easy and light. Thus there was a once-for-all entering into rest by coming to Christ in faith and trust, followed by a continuing entering into rest by walking with God. And this became theirs by ‘partaking in Christ’ (Hebrews 3:14).

Note also that this is not something new. ‘Rest’ in God was an Old Testament theme. See, for example, Psalms 116:7, where it resulted from His saving activity; Psalms 132:14 where the psalmist desired to rest in God’s presence; Isaiah 28:12, where it was offered to God’s professing people, and they rejected it; Isaiah 30:15, where it spoke of an attitude of heart required of God’s people, which they again rejected; Isaiah 32:17-18, where it was to be a part of a life of confidence, quietness and peace, the result of the pouring out of the Spirit from above; and Ezekiel 38:11, where it spoke of the assured confidence and blessing of God’s people who rest securely in Him and under His protection so that no other is needed.

‘A promise being left of entering into his rest.’ Now the writer speaks of ‘His’ rest. So the question is, what is this rest as far as believers are concerned? The following information is provided.

1) It is entered by believing. For those who do not believe do not enter it (Hebrews 4:3). The present tense would suggest a present experience for him and his readers. However, some see it as a futuristic present and refer the ‘rest’ to the afterlife. The problem with the latter is that it is suggested that Israel did not enter into ‘rest’ (Hebrews 4:5), which would then exclude them all from an afterlife, which was almost certainly not so, (although this may be explained on the basis of a mixed metaphor).

2) It is like the rest of God on the seventh day on His ceasing His ‘works’ of creation (Hebrews 4:4), a ‘sabbath-rest’, a resting on the seventh day with all ‘works’ completed (Hebrews 4:9).

3) It is what Israel failed to enter into (Hebrews 4:5).

4) It is entered by those who respond to the Good News (Hebrews 4:6).

5) He who is entered into His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:10). The past tense (second aorist) means that he is speaking of an experience which occurred in the past and is relevant in the present. The question is, does this refer to a Christian’s experience when he becomes a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) with the resultant freedom from dead works in the rest of faith, and thus available now to believers, or does it have in mind those who ‘have died and entered into rest’? Thus we may see it as meaning either a present experience of believers (Matthew 11:28-29), or a future experience still awaited, but now enjoyed by the dead (see Revelation 6:11; Revelation 14:13).

But the early church did not as a whole think in terms of death but of the second coming. Would the writer then have laid such emphasis on the dead? This would suggest that it refers to a rest available to the living. On the other hand it could be argued that the writer had possible death through persecution very much in mind as in Revelation (but see Hebrews 12:4 where it is tribulation rather than death that is seemingly in his mind).

We should note further that there is a great emphasis in the passage on ceasing from works. In Hebrews 3:9 (quoting Psalms 95:0) God’s works were those He carried out when He punished unbelieving Israel in the wilderness. God had to work again there because man had sinned. To those who have entered into rest those are no more. For God, and potentially for those who are His, their ‘works’ ceased from the foundation of the world. God’s intention for both Himself and for His own after creation was ‘no more works’. But if his readers returned to Judaism they would be returning to works, to ‘heavy burdens grievous to be born’ (Matthew 23:4), to ‘works done to be seen of men’ (Matthew 23:5). That was why Israel failed to attain righteousness because they sought it by ‘works’ (Romans 9:32; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:2; Galatians 3:5; Galatians 3:10), which the writer in Hebrews calls ‘dead works’ (Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 9:14). In contrast for God’s people there is rest, and was intended to be from the beginning. They were not to be bound up in meritorious works.

6) ‘We’ are to give diligence to enter into that rest. This probably refers again to entering a present experience of assurance and rest of soul, although some see it as to aim to enter into it on death. But the former seems more likely in view of the fact that the entry is in order prevent a fall into disobedience, hardly to be seen as a likelihood after death. Although those who support the latter idea stress that the diligence to enter is the antidote to disobedience, not the entering itself.

7) It is described as ‘partaking in Christ’ (Hebrews 3:14) and therefore being members of His house (Hebrews 3:6).

Summing up these seven points might suggest that the rest is that of the one who truly puts his trust in Christ and His saving work, becoming one with Him and partaking of Him and His sacrifice on his behalf; who ceases from all attempts at his own ‘saving’ but ‘dead’ works because all is completed; who is believing and obedient and rests in God’s faithfulness; who responds to the Good News that that rest is available; and who ceases from his own works because nothing remains to be done, all having been done by His great High Priest.

This would point to it signifying the situation of the truly believing person, whose full faith is in what Jesus Christ has accomplished, so that he recognises that there is nothing left for him himself to do but partake in Christ, because Jesus Christ has done all. He trusts fully in Christ’s sacrifice for him and knows that he cannot and need not add anything to it. He rests in Christ.

The point is not that they cease doing anything, but that they are able to rest from the particular labour in view, that of striving to build up righteousness in order to be saved (they cease from dead works which produce death - Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 9:14), entering rather, as those who are saved by Him, into joyful service which is no labour. Here ‘works’ would seem to indicate the ‘labour’ that a man puts in, in order to attempt to secure his own salvation, his ‘dead works’.

So a person who enjoys this rest of faith rests in the security of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, and as a partaker of Christ, will have peace, and joy, and rest, and confidence, and certainty (e.g. Psalms 16:9; Psalms 37:7; Psalms 116:7; Psalms 132:14; Isaiah 28:12; Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 32:17-18; Ezekiel 38:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:7). He knows that Jesus Christ his great High Priest has done and will do all that is required for his salvation (Hebrews 4:14-16 in the light of what follows in the letter). And all such have boldness and access with confidence into the presence of God through faith in Him (Ephesians 3:12).

It is the rest described in Matthew 11:28-29, a rest of heart, soul and spirit, which results in finding deeper rest as they take Christ’s yoke on them, and will of course result in their final rest with Him beyond the grave (John 14:1-3; Revelation 14:13).

If his readers had this certainty and this confidence there would be no thought in their hearts of turning back. Thus they must ask themselves wherein their confidence lies, and whether they enjoy this certainty. Are they resting in Christ, and what He has done for them, or restless because they are still in the wilderness of sin?

Others refer it to the afterlife and see this rest as something to be enjoyed on death (compare Revelation 14:13, but note that the verb is slightly different). However, while we emphasise death as the Christian’s end it was not so in the early church. To them the rapture was the expected end for the Christian and death an unfortunate and temporary requirement for some (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), and there is much in the atmosphere of the passage (admittedly a subjective judgment, but nevertheless to be considered) to suggest that an immediate entry into rest is in mind in this Hebrews passage.