Dr. Jack L. Arnold Equipping Pastors International Hebrews
Lesson 12
Mixing the Promises with Faith
Hebrews 4:1-3a
One of the most frequently used words in evangelical circles
is Òfaith.Ó What is faith? Faith has been defined as Òto trust, to
believe, to lean uponÓ but no definition really seems to get at the heart of
faith.
Faith is better illustrated than defined, and it is nowhere
better illustrated than in the wanderings of the children of Israel who failed
to exercise faith in God, and they stayed in the wilderness for forty
years. The wanderings of the children
of Israel give us a negative illustration of what faith is not, but in Hebrews 4:1-3 we are told what faith is. Faith, according to the author of
Hebrews, is believing and acting upon the promises of
God. Faith is trusting in GodÕs
faithfulness.
FALLING SHORT OF SAVING FAITH
- Hebrews 4:1
ÒTherefore,, let us fearÉÓ -- The Hebrew-Christians to whom the
author was writing are exhorted to fear God. They are to stand in awe of GodÕs holiness, justice and
wrath because He deals sternly and fairly with sin and sinners. This exhortation is addressed to all
the Hebrew-Christians but it is zeroed in on one particular group among these
Hebrew-Christians. There were some in that particular assembly who did not give
evidence with their actions that they were true believers in Christ. They were seriously considering leaving
Christ for Moses; that is, they wanted to turn from Christianity and go back
into Judaism. This attitude caused
the author to think that perhaps they were only professors of Christ and not
possessors of Him.
The ÒthereforeÓ connects back up with Hebrews 3:19. The Israelites who came out of Egypt
wandered in the wilderness for forty years and could not enter the Promised
Land because of their unbelief.
This unbelief kept many Israelites out of the Promised Land because they
never really laid hold of God by faith in the first place. They were never genuinely saved because
they hardened their hearts against God and God swore in His wrath that they
would never enter into GodÕs temporal rest or His spiritual rest.
I have been greatly concerned that perhaps some new
believers, some young believers and some unstable believers who are earnest in
their faith might misunderstand these warnings and think that they are not
saved because they are not doing all they could be doing for the Lord. We must remember that these warnings
are primarily to unbelievers who are professing Christians. These have never been born again. These warnings are designed to cause
the professing Christian to wake up out of his slumber and lay hold of Christ
in genuine saving faith. I fear
lest Satan should use these warnings to unbelievers and cause true believers to
get discouraged and depressed.
Satan delights to get GodÕs people operating on fear and law rather than
love and grace. God is gracious,
loving, long-suffering and good to all true believers in Christ. God will keep His own people and grant
them grace to persevere in the Faith.
Remember, little faith brings the soul to heaven while great faith
brings heaven to the soul. These warnings are for
unbelievers. True believers are to
allow these warnings to move their consciences and to examine themselves in
light of GodÕs revelation. Once
you have determined you are a true believer, you must push on and God will
grant you the grace to persevere.
These warnings should only cause a true believer to want to push on for
Christ even more.
ÒÉlest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any
one of you should seem to have come short of it.Ó -- God made a promise to Israel that He
would take them into the Promised Land.
ÒSay, therefore, to the sons of Israel,
ÔI am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with
great judgments. Then I will take
you for My people, and I will be your God; and you
shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the
burdens of the Egyptians. And I
will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORDÕÉÓ (Exo. 6:6-8).
GodÕs promise was sure but He would not take the people into
the land who did not believe GodÕs promise. Unbelief kept them from experiencing GodÕs blessing.
ÒSurely all the men who have seen My
glory and My signs, which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have
put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by
no means see the land which I swore do their fathers, nor shall any of these
who spurned Me see itÓ (Num.
14:22-23).
They fell short because of their unbelief.
A failure to believe God kept the Israelites out of Canaan
and GodÕs temporal rest, and a failure to believe in Christ may keep some of
these professing Hebrew-Christians out of heaven, GodÕs spiritual rest. To fail to lay hold of Christ for
salvation should cause a man to fear because it means he is lost and will meet
a wrathful God in eternity!
Unbelievers, harden not your hearts, lest you become totally indifferent
to eternal issues. If you die
without Christ, you shall die in your sins and you will face GodÕs judgment.
What kept Israel out of the land? Unbelief! What
keeps people out of heaven?
Unbelief! Remember, however, if unbelief counts a man out of GodÕs rest,
then belief counts a man in. Men
may fall short of true saving faith but they do not have to fall short. Men can exercise saving faith and enter
into spiritual rest.
Ray Stedman pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto,
California says:
ÒBut this second warning is against the
danger of hardening. Of hearing
the words and believing them, understanding what they mean, but of taking no
action upon them. The peril of holding truth in the head but never letting it get
into the heart. But truth known
never does anything; it is truth done which sets us free. Truth known simply puffs us up in pride
of knowledge. We can quote the
Scriptures by the yard, can memorize it, can know the message of every book and
know the whole book from cover to cover, but truth known will never do anything
for us. It is truth done, truth
acted upon, that moves and delivers and changes.Ó
FAILING TO CLAIM THE PROMISE OF GOD - Hebrews 4:2
ÒFor indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as
they also --
The Israelites in the wilderness heard the good news of the gospel as well as
the Hebrew-Christians. The
Israelites who were Canaan bound heard the gospel. What was that gospel?
The gospel is that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. The Israelites knew in elementary form
this message but did not know its full revelation as we know it today. God has spoken to us today Òin His SonÓ
who is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament. The Jew in the wilderness knew that salvation was by grace
through faith on the basis of a blood atonement. They knew something of Christ through
types and shadows. ÒÉand all
drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock
which followed them; and the rock was ChristÓ (1 Cor. 10:4).
The blood of calves and goats poured out on the altar in the wilderness
was received in divine grace as a covering for sin and this pointed forward as
a type or shadow to Messiah who would come and die for sin. The Israelites knew that salvation was
by grace through faith, on the basis of blood, in God who would send the
Messiah. They knew about GodÕs
promise of redemption and rest but failed to enter in because of unbelief. They had an understanding of salvation
but they failed to lay hold of it because of unbelief.
ÒÉbut the word they heard did not profit them, because it
was not united by faith in those who heard.Ó -- GodÕs promise of rest preached to the
wandering Israelites did not profit them because they did not mix, commingle or
unite it with faith. They had the
promise but they refused to believe it; therefore, they never entered into
GodÕs rest. They failed to make
GodÕs promise their own. A whole
generation perished because they did not believe God. Only Joshua and Caleb entered in (Num. 13:25-33) because they claimed GodÕs promise
by faith.
The Israelites had some kind of belief but it was not belief
in the promise of God. When the
Israelites stood at the borders of the land, they had no doubts that the land
was there. Nor was it that they
did not believe that the land was flowing with milk and honey. There was faith but not true faith. They did not believe that God could
carry out His promise. Real faith
acts on truth. There was belief,
there was even a strong desire to enter the land, but they did not because they
had no real faith. They would not
act upon that which had been given.
What then is faith?
Faith is believing GodÕs promise of salvation
in Christ Jesus. Just hearing or
knowing the promise has no power in itself but power comes when the Word is
mixed with faith. The Book of
Hebrews says that GodÕs formula for salvation is: promises plus faith equals
salvation.
Again we quote Ray Stedman:
ÒThe writer says the same gospel was given to us as to them; we have the same good news, the same possibility of entering into a life of rest. These words must be taken seriously. The Word of God knows nothing of the Òeasy believismÓ that is so widely manifest in our own day. We think we can receive Jesus as Savior, raise our hand to accept Christ, and that settles the matter. We will go to heaven and there can never be any doubt about it from then on, though there is no change in our life. But the promise of Christ is that when He comes into the human heart there is a radical change of government, which must inevitably, in the course of its working, result in a revolutionary change in behavior. Unless that takes place there has been no reality to our conversion.Ó
FINAL REST FOR GODÕS PEOPLE -
Hebrews 4:3a
ÒFor we who have believed enter (are entering) that rest;
just as He has said, ÔAS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY RESTÕÉÓ -- Every true believer in Christ enters
into GodÕs rest of salvation. If
we have not entered into GodÕs rest, then we are not saved. Remember, GodÕs
rest in this context is salvation, not sanctification.
However, there is also a moment-by-moment experiential rest
for the people of God who have entered into the rest of salvation. ÒThere remains (is remaining) therefore
a Sabbath rest for the people of GodÓ (Heb. 4:9). The Israelites
who were saved entered the land by faith (salvation) but they also had to
conquer the land by faith (sanctification). Every true Christian has entered into GodÕs rest of
salvation but to experience a deeper reality of this salvation a Christian must
by faith continue to enter this moment-by-moment rest. The Bible says, ÒAs you,
therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in HimÓ
(Col. 2:6). We received Christ by grace through faith and we must walk
in Him by grace through faith.
Repeated acts of faith allow us to experience the rest of God.
Every Christian needs to experience GodÕs rest. The Christian faces all kinds of
pressures that the unsaved knows nothing about; he faces the world, the flesh and the devil. The pressures against a believer in Christ are a thousand
fold greater than that of an unbeliever.
Did you realize that it is harder to be happy in this world as a
believer than it is as an unbeliever?
An unbeliever is externally and temporarily happy in his sin because he
is free from the powerful, insidious pressures that are brought to bear on the
believer in Jesus Christ. The
Christian can only be happy as he enters into the spiritual rest that God has
provided for him in Christ. He
enters into this spiritual realm by a living, dynamic faith in Christ and His
promises. God has left great
numbers of promises for us to claim in the written, inspired Bible. Someone has said there are seven
thousand promises in GodÕs Word to meet every situation.
Guidance: ÒTrust in the LORD with all
your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straightÓ (Prov. 3:5-6).
Finances: ÒAnd my God shall supply all
your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ JesusÓ (Phil. 4:19).
Worry: ÒBe anxious for nothing (stop worrying
about anything), but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension
shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ JesusÓ (Phil. 4:6,7).
Desires: ÒDelight yourself in the LORD;
and He will give you the desires of your heartÓ (Psa. 37:4).
Even as believers we are vulnerable to the wiles of the
devil who delights to destroy, discourage and depress
GodÕs people. Our only defense
against the powers of Satan is Christ and His power to work rest in our
souls. We have GodÕs promises in
Christ. The promises can be
learned by study and memorization but they can only be applied by faith.
Faith in Christ brings rest. Notice it does not say that rest comes by an emotional
experience, by rationalization, by praying through or by working through but by
FAITH! Everything in the Christian
experience such as power, strength, ability and testimony comes from
experiencing GodÕs rest. Without
rest we have absolutely nothing in the spiritual life. Without a moment-by-moment trust in
Christ, we are powerless.
Life for a Christian is filled with pressures, difficulties,
heartaches and problems, and we can have only two reactions to them. We can fail to believe God and His
sovereign will for our life and be miserable, or we can trust God and yield to
His will and experience GodÕs rest.
The life of rest takes place when the outward world is crumbling all
about us but there is peace on the inside.
Difficulties and hardships are allowed to come into our
lives that we might enter into the center of GodÕs will through a life of
resting in God. In the center of a
hurricane, there is a spot where there is no storm, where it is calm and
peaceful. The hurricane is blowing
everything upside down and backwards but the eye of the hurricane is
quiet. In the midst of all our
trials and testings, we can enter into GodÕs hurricane eye, which is the place
of rest. How do we get in this
rest? By faith! We mix the promises of God with faith!
The unbeliever gets his happiness from dependence upon some
person, some thing, some event, some position in life or some kind of success,
but for one who believes in Christ God has provided spiritual rest in Christ,
and as the believer rests in Christ and His will, he finds spiritual
happiness. The only place of rest
for the Christian is when he is dependent on Christ who is the source of joy
and strength.
CONCLUSION
Saved
What then is faith?
Faith is taking God at His Word and expecting God to perform His
promises.
6
I read of an incident concerning Napoleon that illustrates
the true meaning of faith. Faith,
remember, is taking God at His Word.
Napoleon had a beautiful, pure white horse that was very spirited. One day when he was reviewing his
troops as he proudly rode before them, his horse reared up and down and he lost
control of the horse. The horse
reared several times and it looked as though Napoleon would be thrown from his
horse. Just then a private stepped
out from the ranks, and going right underneath the hoofs of that horse, risking
his own life, took that horse by the bridle and by a dexterous move brought it
under control. Napoleon, the
Emperor, was saved from the possibility of death. Napoleon looked at the man and said in a thankful tone,
ÒThank you, Captain.Ó The man was
a private, but Napoleon thinking the man was an officer, said, ÒThank you, Captain.Ó The man took Napoleon, at his word and
believed that he had made him a captain, so the man looked up and said, ÒOf
what regiment, sir?Ó That was
faith because he took Napoleon at his word. Napoleon was so pleased and stunned with this manÕs faith,
he said, ÒOf my bodyguard.Ó After
that he was the nearest one to Napoleon all through the war.
Unsaved
If you are without Christ as your Lord and Savior, I plead
with you not to harden your heart to Christ. Christ alone can deliver you. Christ alone can give you the forgiveness of sins and
eternal life. Turn to Christ and
be saved, and when you do, you shall enter into GodÕs rest of salvation. What will keep you out of heaven? Your UNBELIEF! What must you do to enter into heavenÕs
rest? ÒBelieve in the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be savedÉÓ (Acts 16:31).