Hebrews 4:3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
The way to experience the “rest” of God is through faith. God’s promise of rest has been available since the first Sabbath in the garden of Eden. The Sabbath is a rest from work and opportunity to fellowship with God. The new rest we can experience in Jesus is a return to the type of relationship Adam and Eve had with God in the garden. There was no sin that kept them from perfect communion with God. There was no shame or guilt that caused them to hide but they were naked and unashamed because that is how God created them. Those who believe can experience a similar rest as this. Sin, shame, guilt, struggle, slavery, uncertainty, and many other things keep us struggling and fighting. We are like the people of Israel in the desert who had to fight for their existence. But God came in mercy and grace and provided all they needed through water, quail, and manna. Yet, this was not God’s perfect plan for them. His plan was for them to trust in his promise of new life in the promised land of Canaan. In the same way, God’s plan for us is not to struggle on in slavery to sin but to find that perfect peace that comes only through faith. The key idea in this verse that “we who believe enter that rest.” If we refuse to take this step of faith, there are serious consequences. A clear result is that we harden our hearts and no longer hear God’s voice. God’s response to this is closing the boarder and disciplining us (see Hebrews 12). The choice and consequences is clearly stated in this verse and chapter. This is a serious matter, according to the author, and we must consider it carefully lest be fall short also.
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