Living Faith

Hold fast our confession…Hebrews 4:14

Our confession is of our faith in God through Jesus Christ. Those who do not confess Jesus are forbidden entry into God’s rest—Jesus, our Sabbath. It has been and will always be that unbelief closes the door to glory. It has always been that our reaction to the preaching of the gospel grants us entry into the real Sabbath rest—Jesus. For we who have believed do enter that rest, Hebrews 4:3

The Apostle continues his teaching: Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience, verse 11. Those in the wilderness who fell, fell because of their unbelief, verse 2. They heard the promise of God regarding the Sabbath, but they would not obey His command. They rejected God’s word and suffered because of their choice.

Therefore, we are to NOT follow their example of disobedience.

We can make one of two bad decisions regarding the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. We can lean on the notion that faithfully obeying the commandment makes us holy. Or, we can ignore the command and miss the point. 

The point is two-fold: in the course of a seven day week, we are to work and we are to rest. God did, and we are to follow His example. In this regard, we should neither totally ignore the command nor should we exalt it to some kind of word-based holiness. Secondly, we are to see Christ in the Sabbath. Hebrews 4, verse 10: for he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 

Salvation is a gift. If it were not a gift, then it would be work. And if of our works, then not of grace. God invites us to lay aside the notion we can earn or keep our salvation through works. We are to instead: be diligent to enter His rest. For this reason, those who are in Christ join in regular fellowship with God and His people. Not only on Sunday, but every day. In doing so, we provide an example to our children of what a true confession of faith looks like.