Hebrews 4:1

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. LET US THEREFORE FEAR - not with slavish terror, but godly "fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Since so many have fallen, we have cause to fear (Hebrews 3:17). BEING LEFT US - still remaining to us after the others have, by neglect, lost it. Or, though the earthly rest has been entered, the promise of the heavenly still remains. HIS REST - God's heavenly rest, of which Canaan is the type. "Today" continues, during which is the danger of failing to reach the rest. "Today," rightly used, terminates in the rest which, when once obtained, is never lost ...

1._Let us therefore fear, etc. _He concludes that there was reason to fear lest the Jews to whom he was writing should be deprived of the blessing offered to them; and then he says, _lest anyone, _intimating that it was his anxious desire to lead them, one and all, to God; for it is the duty of a good shepherd, in watching over the whole flock so to care for every sheep that no one may be lost; nay, we ought also so to feel for one another that every one should fear for his neighbors as well as for himself But the fear which is here recommended is not that which shakes the confidence of faith but such as fills us with such concern that we grow not torpid with indifference. Let us then fear, not that we ought to tremble or to entertain distrust as though uncertain as to the issue, but lest we be unfaithful to God’s grace. By saying _Lest we be disappointed of the promise left us, _he int...

1-10 The privileges we have under the gospel, are greater than any had under the law of Moses, though the same gospel for substance was preached under both Testaments. There have been in all ages many unprofitable hearers; and unbelief is at the root of all unfruitfulness under the word. Faith in the hearer is the life of the word. But it is a painful consequence of partial neglect, and of a loose and wavering profession, that they often cause men to seem to come short. Let us then give diligence, that we may have a clear entrance into the kingdom of God. As God finished his work, and then rested from it, so he will cause those who believe, to finish their work, and then to enjoy their rest. It is evident, that there is a more spiritual and excellent sabbath remaining for the people of God, than that of the seventh day, or that into which Joshua led the Jews. This rest is, a rest of gra...

CHAPTER IV. _As the Christian rest is to be obtained by faith, we should_ _beware of unbelief lest we lose it, as the Hebrews did theirs_, 1. _The reason why they were not brought into the rest promised to_ _them_, 2. _The rest promised to the Hebrews was a type of that promised to_ _Christians_, 3-10. _Into this rest we should earnestly labour to enter_, 11. _A description of the word of God_, 12, 13. _Jesus is our sympathetic High Priest_, 15. Through him we have confidence to come to God

LET US THEREFORE FEAR - Let us be apprehensive that we may possibly fall of that rest. The kind of “fear” which is recommended here is what leads to caution and care. A man who is in danger of losing his life or health should be watchful; a seaman that is in danger of running on a lee-shore should be on his guard. So we who have the offer of heaven, and who yet are in danger of losing it, should take all possible precautions lest we fail of it. LEST A PROMISE BEING LEFT US - Paul assumes here that there is such a promise. In the subsequent part of the chapter, he goes more into the subject, and proves from the Old Testament that there is such a promise made to us. It is to be remembered that Paul had not the New Testament then to appeal to, as we have, which is perfectly clear on the subject, but that he was obliged to appeal to the Old Testament. This he did not only because the New Tes...

EXPOSITION A REST STILL OFFERED TO CHRISTIANS. HEBREWS 4:1 LET US FEAR, THEREFORE, LEST, A PROMISE BEING STILL LEFT OF ENTERING INTO HIS REST, ANY ONE OF YOU SHOULD SEEM TO HAVE COME SHORT. This verse is a renewed warning against remissness, based (as is shown by the connecting οὖν) on the preceding argument, but introducing also, by means of the clause, καταλειπομένης, etc., a new thought, the elucidation of which is the subject of what follows. The new thought is that the true "rest of God," typified only by the rest of Canaan, remains still for the attainment of Christians. That this is the ease has not yet been shown; and hence the clause, "a promise being still left." etc., does not point to a conclusion already arrived at, but to what is com

LET US THEREFORE FEAR,.... Not with a fear of wrath and damnation; nor with a fear of diffidence and distrust of the power, grace, and goodness of God; but with a cautious fear, a godly jealousy, a careful circumspection, and watchfulness: LEST A PROMISE BEING LEFT [US] OF ENTERING INTO HIS REST; not the land of Canaan, the type of heaven, but rather heaven itself, the ultimate glory: there is a rest of the body in the grave, from work, service, and labour, and from distempers and diseases, where it rests under the guardianship of the Spirit, until the resurrection morn; and there is a rest of the soul before the resurrection, in the arms of Christ, with whom it immediately is, upon its departure from the body; and there is a rest both of soul and body after the resurrection, from sin, from afflictions, from Satan's temptations, from unbelief, doubts, and fears, and from all enemies: an...

Hebrews 4:1. _Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it._ If you avoid the very seeming of it, you will avoid the thing itself. Oh! that we were careful about this that there was nothing that should give any reasonable fear to those who observed us, or to ourselves when we search our hearts, lest we should not enter into this rest. Hebrews 4:2. _For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it._ It must be mixed with faith. There are many drugs that are of no value till they are mixed with something else; and the Word preached becomes of no value to a soul until it is mixed with faith in them t

CHAPTER 4 _ 1. What the rest of God is (Hebrews 4:1)_ 2. The power of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) Hebrews 4:1 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left of entering into His rest, any one of you might seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” These words of exhortation belong properly to the preceding chapter. What is the rest of which these verses speak? It is generally explained as the rest which the true believer finds and has in the Lord Jesus Christ in believing; that his conscience has rest. It is frequently identified with...

HEBREWS 4:1 continues the exposition of Psalms 95. The writer has already dealt with the warning contained therein; now he shows that this very warning implies a promise. In declaring that His rest is withheld from those who had proved unworthy of it, God would have us know that it is still in store. The fulfilment of that promise which had been offered in vain to ancient Israel is reserved for the people of Christ. HEBREWS 4:1 F. Transition from warning to promise. The warning of the psalm is one that directly concerns ourselves, for, since the Israelites under Moses were forbidden to enter into the promised rest, it is still waiting, and we Christians may possess it, if we do not fail as they did. The message which came to them has come also to us. They heard it, but missed the blessing which it