Hebrews 4:1-11 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. 2For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

3Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world. 4For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.” 5And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.”

6Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience, 7God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

Faith in Jesus Christ

The faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God, it is gifted to us of God, and it is persuaded of God. It is not of our own doing. It is not of our flesh. And it is not something that we can earn by our own fleshly good works. So it is possible for someone to “receive the good news” of the gospel of our salvation but for it to have no impact on their lives since they did not receive the message of the gospel with God-persuaded faith in Christ. For God persuades us as to His holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of God’s requirement that we deny self, die to sin, and obey God.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Hebrews 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24]

For Good Works

So, if someone is presenting to you a “gospel of Christ” which makes no requirements for you to repent of (die to) your sins and to obey God and His commands, in life practice, then what they are teaching you is a lie. We are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven if all we did was give lip service to the Lord but we did not surrender our lives to Him in obedience to His commands. Yes, we are not saved by our own fleshly works, but we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (see Ephesians 2:8-10).

[John 15:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Galatians 5:6,22-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:20-24; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:21; Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:8; James 2:14-26]

Hardened Hearts

Sadly, many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who are claiming for themselves salvation of all sin and heaven as their eternal destiny, are people with hard hearts who will not bow the knee to God in surrender of their lives to Him, but who continue in their deliberate and habitual sin against God, lying to themselves that God will not judge them. They convince themselves and others that they are saved because they “prayed the prayer” to receive Christ, but while their actions and their lifestyles deny Him and His commands that we live holy lives, pleasing to God.

And so much of what is called “church” today is coddling them in their sins rather than calling them to genuine repentance and to obedience to the commands of God. So those who are faithfully calling out sin for what it is, and who are calling people to genuine biblical repentance and to forsake their sinful lifestyles, they often end up being the “bad guys” while the true “bad guys” are often being catered to and sympathized with. I have seen this firsthand, more than once! But God’s word teaches us that if sin is our practice, and not obeying God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

To the Faithful

The faithful in Christ Jesus are those whose lives are surrendered to God, to obeying His commands in holy living, and to no longer living according to the sinful flesh. This does not mean we are absolutely perfect in everything that we do and are and say, but that our lives are committed to serving the Lord in walks of obedience to His commands and to no longer giving our lives over to sin. And this can only be accomplished in the power of God by His saving grace as being led by the Holy Spirit. So all glory belongs to God! Our lives now belong to God to serving Him with our lives and to doing His will.

But, as the faithful in Christ Jesus, we should be calling out sin in sinful humans, and calling them to repentance and to obedience to God. We should be sharing the biblical gospel message which Jesus taught when he said that if anyone would come after Him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self and suffer for the sake of righteousness), and follow Jesus in obedience to His commands. But when we do that, we should expect to be persecuted, not just by the world, but by the worldly “church” which is teaching a false gospel and which is leading people into sin.

But don’t allow how others treat you or what they say about you to dishearten and to discourage you. Keep the faith! Keep speaking the truth!

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

Rest for The Weary
An Original Work / September 22, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

What a Day That Will Be

By Jim Hill

There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

There’ll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be

Caution: This link may contain ads