Hebrews

Faith and Obedience

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Conversations, Panels, and Sermons

Lesson: 7-33

Genre: Lecture

Track: 07

Dictation Name: RR198D7

Location/Venue:

Year:

Let us worship God. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. With my whole heart have I sought Thee, oh let me not wander from They commandment, Oh Lord. Let us pray.

Our Lord and our God, we thank Thee that Thou art our Lord. That by Thy sovereign grace Thou hast made us Thy people, that morning after morning Thy mercies are ever new. Teach us so to walk, that in all things our thankful hearts may prevail and may be in evidence. That we cease from complaining, and rejoice in Thy goodness. That we ever recognize that Thou art our Lord, our redeemer; that nothing is too great or too small for Thee. Oh Lord our God, how great Thou art, and we thank Thee, in Christ’s name, amen.

Our Scripture is Hebrews 4:6-16, our subject, faith and obedience. Hebrews 4:6-16.

“6Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

 7Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 8For if Jesus” (Or, Joshua, the names are the same and it means here Joshua) “had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

 9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

 10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

 11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Or, literally, disobedience)

“ 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

 14Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

 15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

In verse 9 we have a pivotal statement concerning rest. The reading of verse 9: “There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God.” Can be better read with rest meaning: “A keeping of a Sabbath.” The word is literally Sabbatismos. Vincent said of this and I quote: “Remaineth, since in the days of neither Moses, Joshua or David was the rest appropriated. He passes over the fact that the rest had not been entered into at any later period of Israel’s history. Man’s portion in the divine rest inaugurated at creation had never been really appropriated, but it still remaineth. This statement is justified by the new word for rest, which enters at this point: Sabbatismos. Sabbatismos signifies a keeping Sabbath. The Sabbath rest points back to Gods original rest, and marks the ideal rest, the rest of perfect adjustment of all things to God, such as ensued upon the completion of his created work, when he pronounced all things good.

This falls in with the ground thought of the epistle, the restoration of all things to Gods archetype. The sin and unbelief of Israel were incompatible with that rest, it must remain unappropriated, until harmony with God is restored. The Sabbath rest is the consummation of the new creation in Christ, through whose priestly mediation reconciliation with God will come to pass.” Unquote.

Now that is a very compact statement. What it means is, that we are to work for the Sabbath rest! Now that may seem a contradiction, to work for it, but the rest is the triumph of Christ, when all things are brought into captivity to him, so that only the destruction of the last enemy, death, will remain. It means therefore that Christians in order to usher in that rest, must bring every thought, every area of life, every activity, every sphere, into captivity to Christ, so that he is King over all nations, king over all things, lord over all. The Sabbath rest means the fullness of victory.

Life is good, but in a fallen world we do not experience the full richness of it, and we are pointed to the future in Christ. I once heard an unbeliever comment within earshot of me, about his dissatisfaction with his life, and he said: “Someday I hope to live, really to live!” You’ve probably heard sentiments like that. This is a longing common to many. We do not really live, until we are in Christ, and then in the fullness of that victory, which is to come. Our Lord in Mark 2:27 says, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. He does not make the Sabbath man centered when he said that, Gods rest, Genesis 2:2, refers not only to the completion of His glorious work of creation, but to the fact of his eternal perfection in all His being and works. There is in Him the perfect coincidence of work and rest, because in Him the curse is removed from work, and work becomes a rest, and a joy.

The Sabbath each week, and Gods eternal Sabbath were made for man to find therein his completion in working God’s will, and finding his perfect peace and rest in Him. Verse 10 tells us that whoever has entered in to Gods rest has ceased from his own work, as God did from his. Rest, in verse 17-19 of chapter 3, is compared to a land like Canaan, to be occupied, a place for us the world. Joshua’s conquest gave no rest to the people because Canaan was no more than the starting point of what should have been their conquest. They had the duty of bringing themselves and every area of life and thought into submission to God by His Law word. This was not a matter of works, but of this application of faith. We are summoned in verse 10 to cease from our own works, to do Gods work in terms of Gods law Word, as our Lord said in John 5:17.

God rested from his work, we are to rest from our work and his work, to find rest in him, whereby we can in peace and strength, do His work. Gods Sabbath rest is the condition of Faith. The phrase: “Lest any man fall after the example of unbelief.” Should read: “The example of disobedience.” The word in the Greek can be translated both as unbelief and disobedience, and has the same meaning. We are unbelieving where God is concerned when we do not obey him. We are believers when we obey, the two are not to be separated. We have seen that separation in our time in easy believism, and the result has been the weakness of the church.

The separation of faith and obedience has had deadly consequences for the church, and has led to anti nomianism and impotence. Joshua could not lead Israel into Gods rest, although he led them into Canaan. Because they were more interested in their advantages, then in Gods rest , according to verse 8.

In verse 12 we are told that the word of God is like a two edged sword, cutting or piercing to the heart of our being, to expose all falsity. It is a living word, because God is He whose being governs, and finds itself in all His works and words. It penetrates our total being with its cutting and healing power. This means that reading the word of God is unlike any other book, because it has a personal power unlike all others. This is why many people find it difficult to read the Bible, because it has a penetrating power. 5 assertions are made concerning the word of God.

First, it is living. When we read the word of God it is unlike reading the papers, or any book. God’s word penetrates, it can cut or heal.

Second, it is the word of power or creative energy.

Third, it severs, it cuts through all things.

Fourth, it judges our innermost thoughts.

And fifth, God deals directly with us by means of His word.

To say that the word of God lives or is living is alien to man’s thinking, because we separate life from words, from writing, from books. As we know life, it is something different from a printed page. However, in John 6:63, our Lord declares that the Holy Spirit and His words are alike life. So the word of God is identified with the Holy Spirit as a living power. It is a spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words I speak unto you, our Lord says, they are spirits, and they are life. Attempts to reduce the Bible to literature have failed. It has a disturbing element that does not permit such a reduction.

Immediately after this statement about the word of God we are told that all our being has a total visibility to God himself. All things are naked and open unto him who has the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. The written word is thus tied essentially to God. Nothing escapes the eyes of God, for there is nothing too small or too great for him. By closing the Bible however, we do not escape from God.

In verses 14-16, we have an introduction to the next section of Hebrews, from 5:1 to 10:18, which tells us of our great high priest. We have in 5:11 through 6:20 what appears to be a digression, but it is not. According to Beaucannon, one Biblical scholar, in verse 11 as elsewhere, and I quote: “The author took frequent opportunities to exhort his readers to hold fast to this confidence; keep all the laws, and be careful not to go astray.” The same scholar commented that the entire book of Hebrews is based on Psalm 1:10, which means, that it is an exhortation to victory.

In verses 14-16, Jesus Christ is called both our great High priest and the son of God. As the Son of God he is our God given King and Law giver, as High Priest, he is the mediator between God and man. There are many kinds of mediators with differing tasks. A mother mediates the fathers will to the children, a church mediates Gods word and will to the people, and so on and on. Jesus Christ’s mediatorship is unique, because he represents God to us and us to God, and He is totally authoritative in his mediation, and unique. He alone effects remission of sin by atonement, and He alone is our sufficient savior. He is one of us, very man of very man, yet without sin. And He is also God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He is therefore total power, with total understanding.

He is more in communion with us than any other person can be. He knows more about us than we know about ourselves; and he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, according to verse 15, so that we can be more open with Him than any other person. We can make confession and petition unto Him, as to no other person. Previously, we were told that Jesus is greater than the Levitical priesthood, also that He is greater than all the prophets. Again, greater than all the angels, greater than Moses.

As A.T. Robinson summed it up, and I quote: “Let us keep on holding fast. This key-not keeps runs all through the epistle. The exhortation to the Jewish Christians is to hold on to the confession of Christ, already made, before making the five points of Christ’s superior priestly work, that he was a better priest than Aaron, under a better covenant, in a better sanctuary, offering a better sacrifice, based on better promises; the author gives us a double exhortation, to hold fast to the High Priest, and to make use of Him.”

Faith and obedience are one in Jesus Christ. They are the key to rest. To rest in Jesus Christ we must believe and obey. Remember, to obey is to believe, to disobey is to disbelieve. Let us pray.

Our father we give thanks unto Thee for this Thy word. We thank Thee that Jesus Christ is our great High Priest, our mediator, and our intercessor, our brother and our head. Give us grace to hear and to obey, to know that because Thou art our Lord Thou art more mindful of us than we are of ourselves. Give us grace therefore day by day, to take hands off our lives, and to commit them into Thy sovereign care, in Christ’s name, amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson? As you can see, Hebrews has a very strong emphasis on the necessity of a Christian thinking Gods thoughts after Him, and working for Gods victory. And that is why it is not as popular a book as others in the New Testament. But it is a necessary book for us as Christians, we are called upon to believe, which means, to obey. You remember the parable, to remind you of it again, of the two sons. And our Lord said the one was told to do something by his father, and he said he would not, but then he thought better of it, and did. And the other said he would do what his father asked him, but did not. And our lord makes clear, the faithful son is the one who, even though he began by saying no, obeyed. Believe and obey. There used to be, and still is relatively popular although people don’t realize the meaning of it, a hymn based upon that coincidence, to believe and obey, and to disbelieve and disobey. Believe and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus. The hymn is, Trust and Obey.

Any questions or comments? Well, if not, let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father, we thank Thee for Thy word, we thank Thee for the healing power of Thy word, the rebuking power, the blessedness of it. Teach us day by day, to walk in faith, to know that it is not this world that commands history, but our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

And now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, amen.