The church members gathered for Wednesday service on September 20, continuing in the study of the book of Hebrews. Chapter 4, verses 1-11 tell us to fear (verse 2 imprecisely translated in NIV) unbelief which was the cause of the Israel not being able to enter the promised land and make every effort to enter the rest (verse 11). This is not for us to live fearing for our salvation which has been secured through Jesus Christ, since faith is the opposite of fear. Rather, it is the fear of the Lord and the realization that we enter the rest only by grace and nothing we did in the past. Jesus teaches us to fear God in Luke 12:5, apostle Paul tells us to work out our salvation with fear in Philippians 2:13 and Romans 11:20.

The passage emphasizes the rest which we can enter today. And so just as Jesus promised us in Matthew 11:28, bringing the good news to all weary and burdened, we make every effort to trust in Him every day. It is not only the Kingdom of God that is to come, but the rest that enters our lives when we fully trust in God with everything that we need to be diligent in seeking daily. This rest can only be entered by faith, not by being a member of church, not based on the works we have done for God, not based on how many people we evangelized. We are in a fearful place because we only enter by God’s grace, undeservingly, as sinners. And so at times our faith weakens, it is this fear of the Lord that brings us back into trusting him. Our trust in God is not automatic because we believe in Jesus, but we need to make every effort to trust him in all situations of our lives.