“For
we who have believed do enter that rest.”
(Heb 4: 3)
I
want to direct your attention this evening to the following course of thought:
I.
I will try to show what the rest mentioned here is not.
II.
I will show what it is.
III.
I will show when we enter into this rest.
IV.
I will show how to possess this rest.
V.
I will show that all sin consists in or is caused by unbelief.
I.
What the rest spoken of in tonight’s passage is not.
1.
This rest is clearly not a state of religious inactivity.
The
apostle who wrote this was very active in religion, and he encouraged others to
be active in religion. Those he spoke
about, including himself, where he says, “we who have believed, do enter
into rest,” would immediately know that this rest was not inactive.
2.
This rest is not the perfect rest of heaven.
He
speaks of it in the present tense. “We do
enter.” This is inconsistent with the
idea that heaven is the rest described here.
The perfect rest of heaven includes complete freedom form all the pain,
trials, sufferings, and temptations of this life. The rest of the believer on earth has the same basic nature as
the rest in heaven. The perfect rest of
heaven begins on earth, but it is not made perfect here on earth. It differs in some respects, because it does
not imply a deliverance from all trials, pain, sickness, and death. The apostles and early Christians did not
escape these trials, but they still suffered their full share of them.
II.
What does the rest mentioned here mean.
1.
This rest is rest from controversy with God.
The
word rest is often used in the Bible, in the sense that it is a ceasing from
controversy. In context, it is said the
children of Israel rested when they were delivered from their enemies. It is an end of strife or war. Those who enter into this rest cease from
their warfare with God, from their struggle against the truth, and from their
war with their own conscience. The
reproaches of conscience that kept them agitated, the slavish fears of the
wrath of God under which men struggle like slaves to build up their own works,
are all done away. They rest.
2.
This rest implies ceasing from our own works.
(1.)
Ceasing from works performed for ourselves.
Much
of the religion we witness in the world today is made up of works done by
people, which are their own in the following sense: they are working for their
own lives; that is, they have their own goal in view, and are working for
themselves like someone who is working for a paycheck. If the goal of what you do in religion is so
you may be saved, it does not matter whether it is from physical or eternal
ruin, it is for yourself. You have not
ceased from your own works, but you are still multiplying works of your
own. Now, the rest spoken of in this
evening’s passage is completely ceasing from all these kinds of works. The apostle in verse 10 affirms this: “For
he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did
from His.” And in our passage, he says,
“We who have believed do enter,” or have entered, “into rest”. This rest is ceasing from our own works. It is not ceasing from all kind of works,
for that is not true of the saints on earth or of the saints in heaven. We have no reason to believe that any saint
or angel, or that God Himself, or any holy being is ever inactive. However, we stop performing works for the
purpose of saving our own souls. It is
not working for ourselves, so that we may work for God. We are performing our own works, just as
long as the supreme goal of everything we do is to be saved. But, if the question of our own salvation is
thrown entirely on Jesus Christ, and our works are performed out of love for
God, they are not our own works.
(2.)
In entering into this rest, we cease from all works performed from us, as well
as works performed for us.
Works
are from us when they result from the simple natural principles of human
nature, such things as conscience, hope, or fear, without the influences of the
Holy Spirit. Such works are
sinful. They are the efforts of
selfishness under the direction of mere natural principles. A person’s conscience convicts him, hope and
fear join in to help, and under this influence, the carnal, selfish mind
acts. Such acts are sinful. They are selfish. Multiply all the selfish works by selfishness forever, and it
will never come to love. Where there is
nothing but our natural conscience pointing out our guilt and danger, and hope
and fear leading us to do something about it, the result is the natural
workings of an unsanctified mind. Such
works are always the works of the flesh, and not the works of the Spirit.
To
enter into rest is to stop doing all these things, and stop doing works from us
as well as for us. Who does not know
the agony of those people who practice religion from themselves; painfully grinding
out about so much religion a month, constrained by hope and fear, and lashed up
to the work by conscience, but without the least impulse from that divine principle
of the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit? All such works are just as much from them,
as any work of any devil is. No matter
what kind of works are performed, if the love of God is not the mainspring and
life and heart of them, they are our own works, and there is no such thing as
rest in them. We must cease from such
works, because those works set aside the gospel. The individual, who is motivated by these principles, sets aside
all or part of the gospel. If he is
motivated only by these considerations, he sets aside the gospel entirely. And just as far as these selfish principles
influence him, he refuses to receive Christ as his Savior in that
relationship. Christ is offered as a
complete Savior, as our Wisdom, our Righteousness, our Sanctification, and
Redemption. Anyone who tries to do away
with a Savior in any of these particulars sets aside the gospel.
(3.)
To enter into rest implies that we cease from doing anything for ourselves.
We
are not even to eat or drink for ourselves.
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the
glory of God.” (I Cor 10:31) The man who has entered into this rest has
ceased from doing things for himself.
God requires it, and anyone who has entered into rest has ceased to have
any interest of his own. He has completely
merged his own interest in the interest of Christ. He has given himself so perfectly to Christ, that he has no work
of his own to do. There is no reason
why he should go about any work of his own.
He knows he might as well sit still until he is in hell, as to try
anything on his own that has any possibility of saving himself by his own
efforts. When a man fully understands
this, he stops trying this way. Look at
the convicted sinner, how he will strain himself, and try everything to help
himself, until he learns that he is nothing.
Then he ceases from all his own efforts, and throws himself, helpless
and lost, into the hands of Christ.
Until he feels that he has no strength in himself, or help, or hope for
salvation or anything that tends to it, he will never think about the
simplicity of the gospel.
No
one comes to Christ for righteousness and strength until he has used up his own
strength, and feels that he is helpless and undone. Then, he can understand the simplicity of the gospel plan, which
consists in receiving salvation by faith, as a free gift. When he has done all that he can do on his
own and he finds that he hasn’t gotten any better, when he sees that he is no
closer to salvation but rather, he has grown worse, when sin is multiplied upon
sin, and darkness is heaped upon darkness, until he is crushed down with utter
helplessness, then he ceases, and gives everything up into the hands of
Christ.
Look
at that sinner trying to work himself into the agony of conviction, or trying
to understand religion, and finding everything as dark as night; and he cannot
see what it is that he must do. “Oh”,
he cries, “what must I do? I am willing to do anything. I don’t know why I don’t submit, I don’t
know what else to do. What should I
do? How shall I find out what’s wrong?” When he’s fully convinced, then he turns his
eyes to the Savior, and there he finds all he needs, Wisdom, Righteousness,
Sanctification, and Redemption. Christ
is the Life of the world, the Light of the world, and the Bread of life. Everything he needs is found in Christ. Everything he lacks, and all he can ask, is
in Christ, and is to be received by faith; then he ceases from his own works,
and he immediately throws himself entirely on Christ for salvation.
(4.)
To cease from our own works is to cease trying to do anything in our own
strength.
If
you have entered into rest, you know that whatever you do in your own strength
will be an abomination to God. Unless
Christ lives in you, unless God works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure,
nothing you do is acceptable to God. To
determine to do anything on your own strength, independent of the Spirit of
God, is forever an utter abomination to God.
If you have not learned this, you have not ceased from your own works,
and you have not accepted the Savior.
The depth of degradation to which sin has reduced us is not understood
until this is known and felt.
3.
Entering into rest also includes the idea of throwing our burdens on the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Christ
invites us to throw all our burdens and cares on Him. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.” (Matt 11:28) “Casting all your care upon Him, for He
cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7) These words mean exactly what they say. Whether your burden is earthly or spiritual,
whether your care is for the soul or body, throw it all on the Lord. See that little child, walking along with her
father. Her father is carrying
something that is heavy, and the child takes hold with her little hand to help,
but what can she do towards carrying such a load? Many Christians get into a lot of trouble by trying to help the
Lord Jesus Christ in His work. We weary
and worry ourselves with one thing after another, as if everything hung on our
shoulders. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ
is as much pledged to us for all that concerns us, as He is for our
justification; and He is just as totally bound for our earthly as for our
eternal interests. There is nothing
that concerns the Christian that cannot be cast on the Lord Jesus Christ! I am not saying that the Christian has no
part in the matter. Here is a man who
has placed his family in the hands of Jesus Christ; but that does not mean that
he should not do anything for his family.
However, he has so thrown himself on God for direction, light, strength
and success, that he has yielded himself up completely to God to guide and to
sustain him; and Christ is pledged to see to it that everything that is done is
done right.
4.
To enter into rest is to make the Lord Jesus Christ our Wisdom, our
Righteousness, our Sanctification, and our Redemption; and to receive Him in
all His offices, as a full and perfect substitute for all our own deficiencies.
We
totally lack all these things, and need to receive Him as a full and perfect
substitute, to fill the vacancy, and supply all our needs. It is to stop expecting, hoping, or
attempting anything by ourselves to fill that vacancy; and to receive Christ as
everything.
5.
Entering into this rest implies yielding up our powers so perfectly to His
control that from this time forward, all our works shall be His works.
I
hope you will not understand anything from this statement that is not in the Bible. It is a fundamental principle of Common Law,
that what a man does by another he does by himself. Suppose I hire someone to commit murder; the deed is as
absolutely my own as if I had done it with my own hand. The crime is not in the hand that struck the
blow any more than it is in the sword that stabs the victim. The crime is in my mind. If I use another’s hand, if my mind, as the
moving cause, influenced him, it is still my act. Suppose that I had taken his hand by force, and used it to shoot
my neighbor, wouldn’t that be my act?
Certainly! It was in my mind,
and it is just as much my act if I influence his mind to do it. Now apply this principle to the doctrine
that the individual who has entered into rest has so yielded himself up to
Christ’s control, that all his works are the works of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says, “I labored more abundantly than any of them,
yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me”. (I Cor 15:10) Paul frequently
insists that it was not himself that did the works, but Christ in him. Please pay very close attention to this
right now. It does not say, and don’t
think that the believer acts on impulse, or that Christ acts in him without his
own will; but Christ by His spirit dwelling in him, influences and leads
his mind so that he acts voluntarily in such a way that he pleases God. When one ceases from his own works, he so
perfectly gives up his own selfish interests and desires, and places himself so
perfectly under the dominion and guidance of the Holy Spirit, that whatever he
does is done by the impulse of the Spirit of Christ. The Apostle describes it exactly, when he says, “work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to
will and to do for His good pleasure”.
(Phil 2:12-13) God influences
our will, not by force but by love, to do just what will please Him. If God forced us to do it, we would no
longer be free agents. But it is love
that so sweetly influences our will, and brings it entirely under the control
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It
is not that our agency is suspended, but the Lord Jesus Christ employs it. Our hands, our feet, our powers of body and
mind, are all employed to work for Him.
He does not suspend the laws of our constitution, but so directs us, and
constrains us with His love that we will and do of His good pleasure.
Thus,
you see, works that are truly good in us are, in an important sense, Christ’s
works. It is repeatedly stated in the
Bible that our good works are not from ourselves, nor in any way, by our own
agency without God, but God directs us and influences our wills to do His will,
and we do it. They are in one sense our
works, because we do them willfully.
Yet, in another sense they are His works, because He is the moving cause
of everything.
6.
Entering into this rest implies, to the degree we yield ourselves to Christ, to
that degree we cease from sin.
If
the Lord Jesus Christ directs us, He will not direct us to sin. Just as far as we give ourselves up to God,
we cease from sin. If He controls us so
that He works in us, it is to will and to do of His good pleasure. And the more we do this, the more we cease
from sin. I should not have to spend
time proving this.
III.
When do those who believe enter into rest?
It
is in this life!
I.
This appears from our scripture and the context it is in. The apostle, in connection with our passage,
was reasoning with the Jews. He warns
them to beware, lest they fail to enter into the true rest, which was typified
by their fathers’ entering into the land of Canaan. The Jews believed that entering into Canaan was the true
rest. But the apostle argues with them
to show that there was a higher rest, of which the rest of temporal Canaan was
only a type, and into which the Jews might have entered into if it wasn’t for
their unbelief. If Joshua had given
them true rest, he would not have spoken of another day. Yet, another day is mentioned. Even as late as David’s day, it is mentioned
in the Psalms as yet to come: “again He designates a certain day, saying in
David, ‘Today,’ after such a long time, as it has been said: ‘Today, if you
will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward
have spoken of another day. There remains
therefore a rest for the people of God.”
(Heb 4:7-9) He therefore argues,
that the rest in Canaan was not the real rest that was promised, but speaks of
the true rest. What then is this true
rest? It is the rest of freedom of
worry, of piece of mind, of faith in Christ or the gospel state, a ceasing from
our own works. And believers enter into
that rest by faith.
I
know professing Christians today generally believe that the rest mentioned here
is the heavenly rest, beyond this life.
But it is clearly a rest that begins here. “We who believe do enter into rest.” It begins here, but extends into
eternity. It is the same in kind, but
perfected in eternity, embracing freedom from all the sorrows and trials that
believers are subject to in this life.
But it is the same in kind when it ceases from its own works and casts
itself completely on the Savior. It is
the rest of faith, the Sabbath-keeping of the soul.
2.
It is clear that this rest must begin in this world, if faith puts us in
possession of it. This is the very
point that the apostle was arguing, that faith is essential to taking
possession of it. They “could not enter
in because of unbelief.” (Heb
3:19) “Let us therefore be diligent to
enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.” (Heb 4:11)
He warns them not to indulge in unbelief, because by faith they may take
immediate possession of the rest. (Heb
4:1) If this rest by faith ever begins
at all, it must begin in this world.
3.
The nature of the case proves this.
Nothing short of taking possession of this rest is fully embracing Jesus
Christ. It is a spiritual rest from our
conflict with God, from the stings of our conscience, and from efforts to help
ourselves by any workings of our own mind.
Nothing short of this is being set free from the law, or entering fully
into the gospel.
IV.
How are we to enter into this rest?
From
what I have already said, you should understand that we take possession of it
by faith.
In
context, our passage shows this. You
will also remember what the Lord Jesus Christ says, “Come to Me, all you who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29) This is the same rest that we are talking about, and we are told
that if we will only come to Christ, we may find it. If we will take His easy yoke, which is love, and trust Him to
bear all our burdens, we shall find rest.
The Psalmist speaks of the same rest, “Return to your rest, O my
soul”. (Psalms 116:7) What Christian does not know what it is like
to have his soul rest in Christ, to hang onto His arm, and find rest from all
the cares and perplexities and sorrows of life?
It
is clear that faith in Christ, from its own nature, brings the soul into the
very state of rest that I have described.
Faith in Christ instantly breaks up slavish fear, and brings the soul
into the liberty of the gospel! Faith
in Christ sets us free from selfishness, and all those things that used to
influence us! By faith, we trust
ourselves to Christ, to lead us, sanctify us, and justify us. And we can be just as certain to be led and
to be sanctified, as we are to be justified, if we only exercise faith and
leave ourselves in the hands of Christ for everything. As a simple matter of fact, such faith
brings our soul into a state of rest.
Our soul sees that there is no need for its own selfish efforts, and
there is no hope from our selfish efforts even if they were needed. In itself, our soul has so far wandered in
sin that it is as hopeless as if it had been in hell a thousand years. Take the best Christian on earth, and let
the Lord Jesus Christ leave his soul, and where would he be? Would he pray, do anything good, or do
anything acceptable to God without Christ?
Never! The greatest saint on
earth would go right off into sin in a moment if Jesus Christ abandons
him. But faith throws everything on
Christ, and that is rest.
Faith
makes us cease from all our selfish works.
By faith, we see that we have no more need to do works for ourselves,
than the child needs to work for his daily bread, whose father is worth millions. He may work because he loves his father, or
because he loves the work, but not because he needs to work for his daily
bread. The soul that truly understands
the gospel sees perfectly well that there is no need to mix his own
righteousness with the righteousness of Christ, or his own wisdom with the wisdom
of Christ, or his own sufferings with the sufferings of Christ. If there were any need for this, there would
be just that much more temptation to act selfishly, and to work from legal motives. But there is none.
By
faith our soul ceases from all self-centered works. Faith brings a new principle into action, entirely above all
considerations addressed to the natural principles of hope, fear, and
conscience. Faith brings our mind under
the influence of love. It takes our
soul out from the influences of a conscience that whips us to do our duty, and
brings our soul under the influence of the same holy, heavenly principles that
influenced Christ Himself.
Faith
brings our mind into rest, inasmuch as our mind ceases from all efforts merely
for its own salvation, and puts us completely into the hands of Christ.
Faith
is confidence. It is yielding up all
our powers and interests to Christ, in confidence, to be led, and sanctified,
and saved by Him.
Faith
annihilates selfishness, and thus faith leaves us without one good reason to
perform our own works.
In
short: Faith is resting our soul in Christ for all that it needs, or can
need. It trusts Him for everything. For example: Here is a little child. She completely depends on her father. Now, if she did not trust her father, she
would be miserable. She completely
depends on her father for house and home, food and clothing, and everything
under the sun. Yet, that little child
is content because she trusts in her father.
She rests in him, and she has peace because he will provide for all her
needs. She is just as cheerful and
happy all day long as if she already had everything, because
she has such confidence. Now the soul
of the believer rests in Christ, just as the infant rests in the arms of its
mother. The penitent sinner, like a
condemned wretch, hangs everything on Christ, without the least help or hope except
the help and hope that comes from Christ alone, and as Christ does all that is
needed.
If
faith consists in trusting absolutely in Christ, then it is clear that we receive
this rest when we believe; and that it must be in this life, if faith is to be
exercised in this life.
V.
Unbelief is the cause of all the sin there is in the world.
I
do not mean to imply by this, that unbelief is not itself a sin. Unbelief is the fountain from which flows
all other sin. Unbelief is a distrust
of God, or a lack of confidence in God.
It is clear that this lack of confidence resulted in Adam’s sin. It was not simply the eating of the fruit,
but the distrust that led to Adam eating the fruit that constituted his real
crime, for which he was cast out of Paradise.
The fact that unbelief is the cause of all sin, is clear from the
following considerations:
The
moment we lack faith, we are left to the simple influence of natural principles
and appetites, we are left just like a beast, and only those things that
address our mind through our senses influence us. The motives that influence our mind when we make the right
decisions are discerned by faith. Where
there is no faith, the only motives that come before our mind are motives that
are confined to this world. Our soul is
then left to follow its mere constitutional tendencies, and we give ourselves
up to minding our flesh. This is the
natural and inevitable result of unbelief.
Our eye becomes blind to eternal things, and there is nothing before our
mind to produce anything other than selfish acts. Therefore, our mind is left to grovel in the dust, and we can
never rise above our own selfish interests and appetites. It is naturally impossible that what I am
telling you should not be true; because how can our mind respond without
motives? Eternal motives are only seen
by faith! The mere mental and bodily appetites
that terminate on this world can never raise the mind above the things of this
world, and the result is only sin, sin, and more sin; the minding of our flesh
forever. The very moment Adam
distrusted God he was given up to follow his appetites. And the same happens with us.
Suppose
a child loses all confidence in his father.
He can no longer obey his father with all his heart. It is naturally impossible. If he pretends to obey, it is only for
selfish reasons, and not from his heart; for the mainspring and essence of all
real hearty obedience is gone. The same
is true in heaven as well as in hell.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. It is naturally impossible to obey God in such a way that you
will be accepted by Him without faith.
Thus, we see that unbelief is the fountain of all the sin on earth and
in hell, and the soul that has no faith is left to work out its own damnation.
REMARKS.
I.
The rest that believers enter into here on earth is of the same nature as the
heavenly rest.
The
heavenly rest will be more complete because it will be a rest from all the
sorrows and trials that even a perfect human soul is subject to, here on
earth. Even Christ himself experienced
these trials, sorrows, and temptations.
However, the soul that believes rests as absolutely in Christ here, as
in heaven.
II.
We can see why the Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped
for. (Heb 11:1)
Faith
is the very thing that makes heaven; and therefore it is the substance of
heaven, and this will be true throughout all eternity.
III.
We now know what it means to be led by the Spirit of God.
It
means that we yield up all our powers and faculties to His control, so that the
Spirit influences us in everything that we do.
IV.
We now see that perfect faith will produce perfect love, or perfect
sanctification.
A
perfect yielding up of ourselves, and continuing to trust all that we have and
are to Christ, would make us perfectly holy.
V.
We can see that the amount that an individual is not sanctified is proportional
to the weakness of his faith.
When
the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth, if His disciples fell into sin, He always
reproached them with a lack of faith: “O you of little faith.” (Matt 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke
12:28) A man that believes in Christ
has no more right to expect to sin, than he has a right to expect to be
damned. You may be surprised at this
statement, but it is true.
You
must receive Christ as your sanctification, just like you receive Him as your
justification. Unless you receive
Christ as your justification, you can expect to be damned. But if you receive Him as your justification,
you have no reason or right to expect to be damned. Now, He is just as certainly your sanctification as your
justification. If you depend on Him for
sanctification, He will no more let you sin, than He will let you go to
hell. And it is as unreasonable,
unscriptural, and wicked to expect one and not the other. In any case, nothing but unbelief is the
cause of your sin. Some of you have
read the life of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, and remember how habitual it was with
her, when any temptation assailed her, she instantly threw herself on
Christ. And she testifies, that in
every instance He sustained her.
Take
the case of Peter. Remember when the
disciples saw Christ walking on the water?
After their fear subsided, Peter asked Christ to allow him to come to
Him on the water, and Christ told him to come.
This was a promise on the part of Christ, that if he attempted it, he
would be sustained. If it wasn’t for
this promise, his attempt would have been tempting God. But with this promise, he had no reason and
no right to doubt. He attempted it, and
as long as he believed, the energy of Christ bore him up, as if he had been walking
on solid ground. But as soon as he
began to doubt, he began to sink. The
same is true with our soul; as soon as it begins to doubt the willingness and
the power of Christ to sustain it in a state of perfect love, it begins to
sink. Take Christ at His word, make Him
responsible, and rely on Him, and heaven and earth will sooner fail then He
will allow you to fall into sin. Say, with Mrs. Rogers, when Satan comes with a
temptation, “Lord Jesus, here is a temptation to sin, please take care of it.”
VI.
Can you see why the self-denying labors of the saints are consistent with being
in a state of rest?
These
self-denying labors are all constrained by love, and have nothing in them that
is compulsory or hard. Inward love
draws them to their duty. The idea,
that the self-denying labors of Christians are hard work, is false. In fact, it would be much more painful for
them not to do it. Their love for souls
is such that if they were forbidden to do anything for souls, they would be in
agony. In fact, a state of inaction
would be inconsistent with this rest.
How could it be rest, for one whose heart was burning and bursting with
love for God and for souls, to sit still and do nothing for them. However, it is perfect rest for the soul to
go out in prayer and effort for their salvation. Such a soul cannot rest while God is dishonored and souls
destroyed, and nothing done for their rescue.
But when all his powers are used for the Lord Jesus Christ, this is true
rest. Such is the rest enjoyed by angels, who cease neither day nor night, and
who are all ministering spirits, to minister to the heirs of salvation.
The
apostle says, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone
fall after the same example of disobedience”.
(Heb 4:11) Do any of you know
what it is like to come to Christ and rest in Him? Have you found rest from all your own efforts to save yourselves,
from the thunders of Sinai, and the stings of your conscience? Can you rest sweetly in Jesus, and find in
Him everything essential to sanctification and eternal salvation? Have you found true salvation in Him? If you have, then you have entered into
rest. If you have not found this, it is
because you are still struggling to perform your own works.