Hebrews 4:11-16 Three Essentials for the Christian Life

Bible Study Series: Jesus in Hebrews - Better by Far!

Bible Study Lesson: Hebrews 4:11-16 Three Essentials for the Christian Life

by I Gordon

Hello! We are in the second half of Hebrews chapter 4 today and will be focusing on verses 11-16 which are quite 'chunky' verses with a lot in them. I'm going to focus on what I've called the 'Three essentials for the Christian life' from these verses. The writer of Hebrews focuses on each of these in this passage as we'll see. So... what are those essentials you ask? Well, we'll be focusing on...

• The rest of God - why is it essential and why is effort required to enter the rest?
• The power of God's word - how does it strengthen our faith? And how is it like a sword that needs to be used?
• The throne of God's grace - what is the basis of coming with boldness to this throne to find help in the nick of time?

We'll focus more on the later two as my the previous message was on the rest, but let's begin there as it adds another important point about God's rest...  

Essential No 1: Make every effort... to enter the rest!

Heb 4:11  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

So we begin where we ended last time about the rest of God. We saw last time that the rest is 'Today' when we hear God's voice and apply faith to what we hear. The rest includes a rest from the guilt of sin, a rest from the power of sin, and a rest in the everyday trials of this life when we can trust God and see that He is bigger than any so-called 'giants' coming our way!  

Now we see something interesting in this verse concerning the rest... It says that it actually requires effort to enter the rest! That initially sounds a little odd, a bit of an oxymoron, but yes, entering the rest takes effort! The reason for this is that the rest doesn't come automatically. Our fallen nature doesn't lend itself to dependance upon God and instead likes to take charge. So we need to be clear that our effort is not in trying to work things out for and by ourselves. There is certainly no rest there! Do that all day and you'll be heading for an early night's sleep... if you can sleep! No, our 'effort' in entering the rest is in renewing our mind with the truth, abiding in the vine as Jesus said, taking all things back to the Father and thanking Him in all things. In short, it is a true walk of faith depending on the presence and power of God. As we saw last time, in the language of the Old Testament, it is seeing that yes, there are giants in the land but saying 'no, I'm not going to walk in unbelief and fear, and I thank you Lord that you are with me and are enough.' And that is why this is the first essential for it is beginning to live by the tree of life again. The key to it all is recognizing that just as you couldn't save yourself, so also you don't have what it takes to keep yourself. In the language of our Lord Jesus, 'without Me you can do nothing'. But learning that you don't have what it takes to live the Christian life comes through failure! The opposite of course is to carry on living by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and simply walk by sight and your own abilities. That is what the Israelites tried in the wilderness, struggling in unbelief each time they 'saw' something concerning. And we know how that ended! No... we are not to follow their example for they never entered God's rest. Instead, in whatever difficulty we face, we are to be like Joshua and Caleb who brought back a good report of the Promised Land saying 'don't be afraid... the Lord is with us!' (Num 14:9) That is where rest comes from!  

Essential No 2: Using the power of God's word

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  

Here we have essential number 2. Now this is a well known and well quoted verse and on the surface it is easy to miss the progression in thought here. Part of the reason for this is that we nearly always hear this well-loved verse by itself, in isolation, and not in the context of Hebrews 4. So is there a jump in thought here? No. We can see that it begins with 'For...' which links it to what the writer has just said. These verses follow on from the importance of entering the rest so that no one will fall following the example of disobedience we saw in the Israelites in the wilderness. So these verses speak of the accountability of those that have heard God's word, and the power of God's word when we do allow it to take root in our heart. God's word goes deep into our soul. Israel heard the word, they heard God's voice, yet they refused to believe it and remained in unbelief. But if would allow the word of God to go deep into our hearts and lives, then faith comes. You no doubt remember the words given in the book of Romans: 

Rom 10:17  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So let's explore this key verse from Hebrews, this essential number 2 for the Christian life. We read that the word of God is like a sword. Have we heard that analogy before? When John saw the glorified Lord Jesus as recorded in the book of Revelation, he wrote “Out of his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword.” (Rev 1:16) There is also a wonderful prophecy in Isaiah about the coming 'servant' and what His words would be like.

Isa 49:1-7  Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me.  (2)  He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.  (3)  He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory."  (4)  But I said, "I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God."  (5)  And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength),  (6)  He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth."  (7)  Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, "Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You." 

Jesus' words were like a sword.¹ They cut to the quick! His pronouncement of “woes” to the Pharisees in Matt 23 cut through all religious pretense and exposed their true spiritual state. Or what about the Samaritan woman at the well? When she said she had 'no husband' Jesus replied "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." It exposed her true state... but the purpose was not to just leave her bare, but to bring healing and salvation. Thus he also said to her "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." And we read that after this encounter:

Joh 4:28-30  Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,  (29)  Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?  (30)  They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

So how is the word of God, this sword, described in Hebrews?

• It is living and active - God's word is alive! It is not dead. Or as other versions say, it is powerful. So if you hear a message that sounds dead and boring, don't blame the word of God... blame the minister! More than likely their 'sermon' is 95% filler and 5% God's word!   
• It is sharper than any double-edged sword - It doesn't play around for it cuts like a sword. And it cuts both ways. It needs to have cut the one giving the message for it to have any impact on those hearing it. It does also brings division because not everyone like this cutting action!
• It divides soul and spirit - that is it can even separate that which is 'soulish' or from the flesh, from that which is of the spirit. This leads on to the last point... 
• It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart - We can do things that outwardly seem 'good' like giving, praying and fasting, yet have wrong motives like Jesus warned about. (Matt 6:1-5, 16-18). The word of God discerns our soulish attempts at being 'religious'! We are not to sit in judgment of the word of God... it is the word of God that judges us!

So again, why did the writer of Hebrews introduce this thought about the word of God right here? Well it comes back to one of the main thoughts of this chapter which is responding when we hear God's voice and not hardening our hearts like the Israelites did. God's word is powerful but it must be united with faith. That is the essential. It convicts, empowers, gives hope and encouragement... but we must be listening to it and receiving it. Do not harden your hearts as Hebrews repeatedly says! 

While the Word of God is comforting and nourishing to those who believe, it is a tool of judgment and execution for those who have not committed themselves to Jesus Christ. Some of the Hebrews were merely going through the motions of belonging to Christ. Intellectually, they were at least partly persuaded, but inside they were not committed to Him. God's Word would expose their shallow beliefs and even their false intentions (cf. 1Sa_16:7; 1Pe_4:5)."
John MacArthur

Running to or from God?

Heb 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God's word is like a mirror (James 1:23-25) and one that is very accurate in showing us what we really are... warts and all! The late conservative British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, said that the Bible is the only book 'that reads me'. I like that! So true! Even that which we like to keep hidden and not allow anyone to see... well that is open and bare before God as well. So what is our normal response when exposed? Well, it is the same as it was for Adam and Eve when their eyes were opened to their inherent nakedness. What did they do? Yep... they tried to hide from God!

Gen 3:7-12  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.  (8)  And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  (9)  Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"  (10)  So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."  (11)  And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"  (12)  Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."

So what do we see from their reaction to being exposed?

1. They create our own coverings... Sewed fig leaves - they tried to hide their nakedness with their own feeble attempts to cover themselves. Mankind has done this ever since! 
2. They hide and run from God... I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself - When they heard God's voice instead of running to Him they ran and hid from Him! Again, what mankind does when they don't understand grace!
3. They blame shift... The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. You can see the blame shifting and it involves everyone... apart from himself!  The man blames both God (the woman YOU gave me!) and also Eve (the WOMAN you gave me). In Adam's mind, he is the only innocent party here! Oh boy! What a picture of the fall!

And ultimately, like the writer of Hebrews says, we all will stand uncovered before God and give an account. And what is that account of? In context it is our faith in Jesus' work. It is that we trusted in what He did and didn't slip from it. So instead of hiding, blaming, or trying to create our own works to cover ourselves, what are we to do when we the word of God shows us our need of Him? That is where the next few verses, and next essential, come to our aid!

Essential No 3: The throne of grace

Heb 4:14-16  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  (15)  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.  (16)  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

We'll start with some quick points here and then break it down. So what are we to do?

1. Realize that we have a great High Priest! Jesus is our representative. So we don't ignore His love or grace but hold fast in our faith in Him!
2. Realize that He is able to sympathize with us - He became like us and knows what living in this world is like! 
3. Realize that He was tempted in every way but was without sin. So our job is not to try and be like Him primarily but to allow Him to live in us! 
4. Take all this in account when struggling and instead of running and hiding, approach the throne of grace! Run to Him, not from Him! This is essential number 3. 

Jesus is our High Priest, in heaven, representing us before the Father. While we'll unpack the role of the High Priest in subsequent chapters, their role in the Old Testament was to mediate between God and man, offering sacrifices and interceding on behalf of the nation. Thus they would enter the Holy of Holies, once a year on the day of Atonement, to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is now our eternal High Priest. Jesus knows us. He understands us. He sympathies with our weaknesses and struggles. The word sympathize (sympathēsai) literally means “to feel or suffer with”. That is, He understands what it is like to be tempted down here as He was tempted in every way, so we can come to Him in all honesty and openness.² The word says:

'Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.'

• Let us then approach - We shouldn't take this blessing lightly. In the Old Testament the people couldn't approach God. The message was pretty clear - stay away... you are not holy. Only the High Priest could and then just once a year. But because of the cross, the command is now to approach the throne!
• The throne of grace - The throne believers come before is one of grace... that is, unmerited favor... because another has taken our sin! This is an incredible blessing. When I did my study on the book of Revelation, one of the many things that stood out is the constant mention of God's throne. In fact in chapter 6 it seems that the unbelievers get some type of vision of Him who sits on that throne and there reaction is this: "They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev 6:16) That throne, at that time, and for those people, is certainly not a throne of grace. It is a throne of judgment leading to incredible fear in those that don't know Him! But in contrast, the throne for believers is one of grace. Remember that... especially when you are next in need of grace!
• With confidence - Those that know the Lord are to approach with confidence. Again, tremendous blessing! But where does this confidence come from? It is because of His death, His shed blood as Hebrews will tell us in chapter 10: 'Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  (20)  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  (21)  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  (22)  let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...' (Heb 10:19-22)
• So that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us - You may have heard people say that the says ‘God helps those who help themselves’. People think this is biblical... It's not! Jesus came to help those that can't help themselves and He still does. Humanities problem, and this includes Christians to some degree, is that we don't see our great need of help. But when we do, God's grace is there is respond and help.  
• In our time of need - Robertson's word pictures states that 'time of need' here is 'Eukairos... “For well-timed help, for help in the nick of time, before too late."³ Thus, when we go to the throne of grace His help comes right in the nick of time! Let me add a story here about this which I have written before... but it is worth repeating.

Conclusion 

So we have looked at Hebrews 4:11-16 and seen three essentials for the Christian life. OK... you've forgotten them already haven't you? : ) Here they are again:

• Essential no 1: The rest of God - we are to see our need of Jesus for living the Christian life, and then rest in who He is for us in our everyday lives. But this rest is not passive as we saw for our fleshly nature opposes the ways of God. We are to 'make every effort' to enter that rest. That is, we are to abide in the Lord, renew our minds we the truth, and in dependance upon Him expose every unsettling situation to His all-powerful care. 
• Essential no 2: The power of God's word - we have seen that God's word is like a sword. We are to allow God's word to go deep into our personal lives first, and then we can use God's word, like a sword, to speak to others. 
• Essential no 3: The throne of God's grace - we are told to come before the throne of grace with boldness, to find help in the nick of time! We are to recognize that Jesus, our High Priest, understands and sympathizes with us in our weakness, and that grace (both for forgiveness and empowering) is available at His throne.

So I trust that has been helpful for you. May we enter His rest, know and use the power of His word, and come before Him to find grace in our time of need. Even if that is just in the nick of time!

We'll be in Hebrews 5 next time learning more any the High Priestly role of our Savior Jesus Christ.

God Bless!

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FOOTNOTES