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Good News of Hebrews 4…
Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective
One thing I failed to mention in my previous article has to do with Hebrews 4:2 and the fact that the writer to the Hebrews states quite clearly, “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard,” (emphasis added).
What does the writer mean when he says “good news”? He can’t be talking about the gospel message since he clearly identifies his readers as believers. If he was actually talking about the gospel message, then he would not be so firm in his conviction that his readers are “saved.” He assumes they are “saved,” that they are believers who have salvation.
Since this is the case, what is he talking about? The fact that he says he and his readers had the same “good news” preached to them as those of the Old Testament tells us that he cannot mean the gospel message. Can anyone show me in Scripture where the people of Israel in the Old Testament, under Moses had the gospel message preached to them as the people did during and after Christ’s physical sojourn on earth?
We need to remember, that the revealing or unfolding plan of redemption has been revealed incrementally down through the ages to humanity since the Creation. God played many things close to His proverbial chest. He did not reveal His entire plan all at once and that is abundantly clear from Scripture. The more God revealed, the more Satan knew. The more Satan knew, the more he would try to impede. God never gave Satan that opportunity.
The people of the Old Testament and specifically under Moses were given the opportunity to enter into God’s “rest” that He had created for Israel. It involved crossing the Jordan and entering into the Promised Land. At the same time, once they arrived in the Land, their rest did not begin. It would not actually start until every enemy was vanquished. This never happened. Even if the first generation entering the Land had been thoroughly successful in conquering all foes, each successive generation would have had to do the same thing because invariably new foes would have arisen. Satan would not allow things to be peaceful for Israel.
It seems then that the writer of Hebrews repeatedly refers to this “rest” that those in the Old Testament heard about but never gained. The truth of God’s “rest” did not profit them because they did not combine it with faith. Instead, they chose – deliberately or otherwise – to disbelieve God. There it is, the reason for their failure. Unbelief.
Had the Israelites believed God every step of the way (which is seen in the actions that flow from that belief, just as unbelief also has actions associated with it), they would have entered the Land (the first time), conquered every foe, obeyed God at every turn and then eventually rested from everything. They would then have enjoyed the full benefits of the Land with no enemies. This was the plan but the people chose not to believe God. They chose unbelief instead and because of it, we see the cycle that became part of Israel’s history, especially during the time of the judges (400 years). They were in unbelief where God was concerned, so God chastised them, and the Israelites eventually were forced out of their Land. The next generation would cry out to God, He would hear, raise up a leader who would obey Him and lead the Israelites back to the Land and/or vanquish their foes. They would have some measure of rest but not fully, not entirely. Eventually, this cycle would repeat itself.
The writer to the Hebrews is referring to this “rest” as it applies to believers of all ages, those who lived before, during, and after Jesus’ physical life on earth. It all comes down to faith in God, believing in Him and His truth…or not.
Today’s Christian has the opportunity to live in such a way that our full rest is guaranteed. While we are alive now, we work. That is our job. Daily, we should take up a position of believing God, which will result in obeying Him in all ways. Oh, we could simply do things that appear to be good, but God knows our hearts, doesn’t He? He knows if we are doing something based on a firm belief in Him or simply because we want to look good to others. God wants our heartfelt obedience. It must stem from a full belief in Him, nothing wavering.
A person who is a true Christian must learn how to do this, just as a toddler learns how to walk, then run. We have the ability to believe God within us if we are authentic Christians. We also have the ability to choose unbelief in God as well. This is the constant struggle that every Christian faces every day of our lives.
I believe this is why Paul speaks so much about running the race to the end. I also believe that this is the underlying concept in what Paul calls working out our salvation.
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12).
We are called to “work out” our salvation in daily live. We do so with “fear and trembling” because we are never far from departing from God through unbelief and it is something we must always guard against. It will be with us until we die and Jesus removes our sin nature.
So then, let’s look at a few ways in which, as Christians, we actually work out our salvation, not by obeying rules and dos and don’ts, but by working to ensure that we believe God moment by moment. Once we are perfectly aligned with Him through our active belief in Him, we will walk in His truth as He is the Truth. In other words, Christianity is no longer a list of dos that I need to do and a list of don’ts that I need to avoid. The focus is on our believing in God’s faithfulness, all the time, every day. From such a vantage point, the things that we should do as well as the things we should not do take care of themselves.
Had Moses believed God at the second instance of water from the rock (Numbers 20), the correct actions would have flowed from his belief in God. Because he failed to believe God, his unbelief gave rise to sin and sin resulted in death.
Christians can spend their entire lives doing, thinking, acting, and speaking in such a way that they think they are doing things correctly. Others may look at them and also believe they are “deeply” righteous individuals. The problem? We cannot see their hearts or motivation. They may have simply trained themselves to follow a list of dos and don’ts that others interpret as commitment to God and obedience to Him. The reality is that when these Christians are alone, by themselves, they may all too clearly realize that they are miserable and they are so because they are still caught up in following a list of dos and don’ts.
Our one job as Christians is to exercise ongoing, continual, consistent belief in God, not just for salvation, but for our daily lives after we receive salvation. The line seems fine, doesn’t it? Yet, God says without faith, it is impossible to please God. So for the Christian who has patterned his/her life after a list of dos and don’ts, they aren’t necessarily pleasing God even though they are doing the things they believe bring Him glory. It’s not from the heart though. It’s all from the head.
Yet, if we strongly believe God that He will provide, that He will make our paths straight, that He will strengthen us to fulfill the Great Commission, then we will find ourselves living the life He wants in spite of the fact that our focus is not on a list of dos and don’ts.
Living a life based on constant belief in God means going from strength to strength (Psalm 85:7). Understanding this can create a very stark comprehension of how Christians are to live. The focus, instead of being on what we are to do or not do, is on believing God. Since this is the starting point, I firmly believe that we will live a life that stems from that believing. This is not to say that we do not need to learn what God’s Word says. Clearly, we do need to study to know whether or not we are believing God at every turn and whether or not our life measures up to His standard.
If we do not know what His Word actually teaches (about how we are to live as Christians), we cannot very well believe Him, can we?
For instance, I have noticed more and more people “forsaking the gathering together” with other believers (cf. Hebrews 10:25) these days. We are to continue to gather with other believers for encouragement in many things, through teaching, through singing, and through fellowship. Yet, it seems as though a growing number of believers are not doing this. I’m not talking about those who cannot find a Bible-believing church and would desperately love to be part of one. I’m talking about believers who simply come to a point of almost bragging that they are not “part of organized religion” and don’t attend any church. These people have essentially come to believe that their way is better than God’s. Through the writer to the Hebrews, we are told to not forsake gathering together with other believers. Yet, too many believe this doesn’t apply to them. They have, in effect, an evil, unbelieving heart and because of that, they have departed from God’s specifically chosen path.
Would you agree that these folks are deliberately sinning through unbelief, therefore they are not walking with God? It’s more than simply backsliding (and we’ll talk about that next). It’s a deliberate departure from the clear teaching of Scripture. Again, I am not talking about those Christians who cannot find a Bible-believing church near them. I’m talking about those who have deliberately decided to believe that they do not have to meet with other believers, in spite of the fact that God’s Word tells us differently.
Christian, we need to believe God at every turn, whether it is convenient or not. To do otherwise is what God calls unbelieving. There are only those two options.
Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective
Source: http://studygrowknowblog.com/2015/06/04/good-news-of-hebrews-4/
