Strive to Enter His Rest | Hebrews 4:1–13 | The Word That Cuts Through Unbelief

Watch This Sermon: “Stive to Enter His Rest”

In Strive to Enter His Rest, Pastor Mark Groen preaches from Hebrews 4:1–13, urging us to examine whether we are truly trusting in the promises of God or merely going through the motions. The sermon draws a sharp line between disobedience and belief, between a hollow religious life and the living hope offered in Christ. With pastoral clarity and biblical depth, we are reminded that Scripture is not just to be read—it is to be lived, as it exposes our hearts and equips us to persevere in faith. This is a timely and urgent call to let the Word of God shape your thoughts, loves, and actions as you await the final rest only Jesus can provide.

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We all have a desire for something greater. We do. I'm guessing as an example of this, we've all received a gift and it wasn't exactly what we were hoping for or what we asked for. I'm guessing every one of us has been sitting in a restaurant and something gets delivered to the table next to us and we see that food and we lament the fact that it's too late to change our order. It is in our nature to desire something else, to desire something nicer. But this is a problem for us, right? It can become a constant need for change.

It can become a healthy lack of satisfaction. I believe this has become amplified in our time. because we can perpetually window shop, can't we? We can pull up a shopping app or we can go to a website and peruse a host of options. Nearly anything that we're looking for, there's always something that's maybe a little bit better for not that much more money. We can always upgrade. We can get a little more or even a lot more for not too much more money. so we can easily obsess over the option or we can obsess over finding better deals there's always something for us to chase after and so we can easily find ourselves dissatisfied with where we're at or what we have now when this comes to spiritual things I believe this is true also in fact I'd like to Put up a quote here from the great 20th century author and thinker C.S.

Lewis. He said, if we find ourselves with the desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. And you can see this in Lewis. He loved stories. He loved fantasy. You can tell that from the Chronicles of Narnia, this idea that there's this longing within us for another world. And for Lewis, for Lewis, that meant that we were made for another world. We were made to long for something greater. Well, last week, we saw that there is a coming rest for the people of God.

and we saw a warning that we need to stand firm in the faith. And there was an urgency to it. Remember that word, today. Today is the day we stand firm. That was the idea. Today is the day we stand strong in the faith. Today is the day we believe the promises of God. Now, this week we continue with this idea of a promised rest for God's people. We're to strive to enter that rest, and we are to see that it is greater than an earthly promise. It's a heavenly promise. So once again, we're going to break this down into three main ideas to help us digest this passage and help us understand it.

So our first point this week is that we need to consider whether we have faith in God's promises. The idea expressed in this passage is that we need to have a healthy fear that causes us to ask important questions about how we live our lives. We need to think about whether our lives reflect what we say we believe. because how we live will exhibit whether we really believe what we say we adhere to. Second, disobedience and unbelief is the reason that people do not enter the rest of God. And we're gonna see in our passage that God has promised rest for his people, but yet there were many people who did not enter it.

And why was that? They heard the promises of God, They believed the promises of God, or they did not believe the promises of God, sorry. They were Israelites. They were part of the covenant family of God. But, they didn't trust in the covenant promise. And so they did not enter His rest. It was because they were disobedient. It was because they did not believe. And then lastly, we will see that there is something greater for the people of God than simply a tract of land. Yes, the people of God were striving for a rest in a actual physical promised land, but that was not the ultimate goal.

That wasn't the reason that God had a people for himself. The goal was eternal rest. The goal was a defeat of sin, death, and hell. The goal is an eternal rest, a defeat of all these things. That was what the Old Testament was pointing to. Not an earthly kingdom in a particular tract of land, but an eternal rest for the people of God. And so we come to Hebrews 4 to continue this idea that we've seen about this rest for the people of God. And this part of the passage should cause us to ask ourselves a very important question.

Do we have, do we have a healthy fear Do we have a healthy fear that we have actually come to faith, that we have penitent faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins? Now, I'm not talking here about living without any confidence, constantly wondering if I'm saved and being afraid that maybe if I do one more thing wrong, I'll be banished from God forever because I'm, say, struggling with a particular sin. That's not what I'm asking. The author of the book of Hebrews is writing to people who are thinking about abandoning their faith in Christ.

They aren't tempted to run to paganism. They're being tempted to return to their Jewish rituals and their feasts and return to the law. And the book of Hebrews is saying here, wait, why? Why would you do this? You have the perfect fulfillment of what those things that you want to go back to were pointing to in the person and work of Jesus. So why? Why would you go back to rituals and sacrifices when you have a once and for all sacrifice in God the Son taking on human flesh for you and bearing the wrath of God for you?

So the author of Hebrews is challenging these people. And last week, we saw the word today used multiple times to convey this urgency. And so here, that urgency is being built upon. That's what's happening here. In verse 1 here, the idea being conveyed is that because you have today, you need to decide. Today's the day. Judgment has not come upon you. There still is a promise extended to you. As long as there is today, you can receive the promises of God. There is a rest for the people of God, and as long as you have breath, the Word of God can come to you, and you can believe that Word by faith.

and you can be saved, not because of anything that you do, but because of the finished work of Christ for you. That is the idea being expressed here in Hebrews. You can go back to the things that you used to know. You can go back to trying to be saved by the law and the rituals. But we have the work of Jesus right here in front of us now. So why would you abandon that? So don't. If you're questioning today, the author of Hebrews is saying, Don't. Today is the day. You still have an opportunity to put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so the author of Hebrews suggests that they should have fear. Again, not a fear that because they're struggling with a sin or two that they might not get into heaven if they died today. That's not what he's saying. He's not saying that we should live cowering in fear and wondering whether or not we're really saved. The issue is whether or not they have faith, whether or not they're putting their trust in the work of Jesus for them. And the author of Hebrews brings up a really good point in the second verse here. Hey, we got good news.

We have heard about Jesus. We've heard about the salvation of the rest of God, but so did the people in the wilderness. They were told that they had a promise that God would deliver them to the promised land. But they died in the wilderness. Clearly, even though they heard, they didn't have faith like the ones who heard and believed. And this is serious. The word of the Lord came to them, but they did not believe, and so they did not enter the rest of God in the promised land. And we see in verse 3 that those who believe are the ones who will enter the rest of God, but there are those that because of the wrath of God will not enter.

They're punished. There's a rest for the people of God, but there are those who are excluded because of unbelief. there are those who will not enter the rest of God. Now, there's a little confusing part here as we come to verse 3. It says, And what the writer of Hebrews is saying here is that the idea of the Sabbath is right away seen in the creation week. We know that. We get to the end of the first chapter of Genesis, and there it is. There's been a day of rest that pointed to this ultimate rest of God all through Scripture.

And the point being made is that God is saying that they will not enter my rest, but those people They had a Sabbath every day of their existence, or every week of their existence. Every week of their lives, there was a Sabbath. And so what the author of Hebrews is saying, the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, is not the ultimate rest. God is pointing to something greater. This little section here from verse three to verse five is making that point. The Sabbath, that seventh day of the week, was not the ultimate rest. It was pointing to something more awesome, something greater.

And we see that it is saying that we need to strive for that greater rest. And we do that by having a humble and God-fearing attitude on whether or not we actually put our trust in the finished work of Jesus for us. And as we continue through the passage, we see this idea of the disobedience of the people, keeping them from the rest of God, fleshed out further. And so this is our second point. This wasn't just an arbitrary or capricious act on God's part. There was a problem. There was unbelief. The people of God were kept from the promised land because of their disobedience.

And this, in my opinion, can be hard for us to hear, right? Each and every one of us has been disobedient to God. We believe this truth to the point that we actually come here each week and confess our sins in worship because we acknowledge that He's holy and we're not. We acknowledge each week and hopefully each day that we're disobedient and we need God. Even though we've been saved by His grace, even though we love God for what He has done for us in Christ, we're still prone to disobey His law. But that's exactly the point.

That's the urgency that we're meant to feel. We're prone to be disobedient. And so we need to understand the consequences of that. And we need to evaluate our life. As we see here, the author of Hebrews is saying there is still a rest coming, and so we still have the opportunity to enter. So let's move away from our rebellion, let's move away from our disobedience, and let's trust God. Let's trust the promises of God. And so he goes back to the truth that there were those who heard the good news who didn't enter the rest of God.

This, for me, is a very humbling truth that this book of Hebrews keeps coming back to over and over. It drives it home hard. Because the people of God were there when so many amazing events of scripture unfolded. These aren't just random folks we're talking about today in random places that didn't get to enter the rest of God. These are the children of Israel who were rescued from slavery. They were spared because there was blood on the doorposts on the night of the Passover. And they were rescued from Pharaoh's army through the waters of the Red Sea.

Yet they still did not enter God's rest because they were disobedient. These were people who heard the wailing of the Egyptians because they woke up to find their firstborn sons dead. and they were able to reach out and embrace their children because they knew that God had saved their children by the blood of the lamb. Yet they were disobedient. These were people who walked through the Red Sea and turned around, and that army that was coming at them that would have killed them or brought them back into slavery, and they saw God destroy that army.

But yet they left God in disobedience. They didn't trust his promises. They were disobedient. They doubted whether God would bring them to the promised land after they had been delivered. They rebelled against God in the wilderness. And it's so, so easy for us to look down on them and say, what were you thinking? Why would you do that? You saw things that we can only imagine to see. If I saw them, there's no way I'd be disobedient. Well, the truth of the matter is, we have that same rebellion. We have that same disobedience in our hearts.

We've been given the gift of faith, and we know the love of God. God destroyed sin, death, and hell for us. We've seen it in our lives, and yet we rebel against God every day. We do not love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength. We do not love our neighbor as ourselves. Yet, God in Christ reconciled us to himself, So we're called to repent. And that's the point that's being driven home to us. Disobedience is punished by God. But there is time to return to Him. Last week we, as I've said before, last week we saw that word today from Psalm 95 repeated over and over.

Don't harden your hearts today. Today is the day to remember the faithfulness of God. Today is the day to repent and return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. And this point, being made here in disobedience, is so important for us because I think we often think of our disobedience, of our sin, as no big deal. We know God will forgive our sins, and so we don't really get too worked up about our sin, about our disobedience, about our rebellion. And in turn, we also don't get too worked up about the sin of other people either.

And this is an important reminder for us that sin is sin. and it's the reason for the evil and depravity that we see in the world. And we're called to turn away from our disobedience today. Today, when we're tempted to disobey God, do not harden your hearts. Today, when we're tempted to question the faithfulness of God, do not harden your heart. There is forgiveness for our disobedience and we're called to return to God and to trust in His mercy. And when we turn to God, we have full assurance because of what Jesus has done, we have full assurance that there is a greater rest coming for us because we are the people of God.

And as we go to our final point in the last part of our passage, we see this truth. The writer of Hebrews is making a point with the audience that's reading it. If the promised land was the final destination, If a physical tract of land was the goal for God, then why, why would God have spoken of a day later on? If earthly rest and reward was the goal, then why would God talk about something that was coming later? Joshua brought him into the promised land, but then he talked about a greater rest that was coming.

And if the promised land was it, if the promised land If that physical land was our hope, there would be no hope. If that was our goal, there would be no hope. Why would there be anything to hope in? Because it's just an earthly thing. It wouldn't last beyond our lives. But there is something far greater than any of us can imagine waiting for the people of God. There's something far greater waiting for us. And that is what is being driven home here. Joshua brought the people into the promised land, but that was but a pale reflection of the rest that is truly coming for the people of God.

And we see that whoever finally enters that rest receives a reward, a final rest. Just as God rested on the seventh day, the people of God receive a rest from all their labor. Think about that. Think about that. As sure as God rested on the seventh day, so surely will you have eternal rest. And so what are we to do? We're to strive to enter that rest. It is so good and it is so sure. It is greater than we can imagine, so we should long for it. We should strive after it. and we strive for that rest by making sure that we do not fall into the same disobedience, that disobedience of doubting the provision and sufficiency of the salvation that God offers to us in Christ Jesus.

And so we're called to obey, we're called to hold fast to the faith, no matter what happens around us, no matter what the world has to say, in all things we hold fast to the salvation that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. So where does the author of Hebrews send us? How are we going to do this? What's the solution for those who desire to be obedient? What do we do to help us strive to enter the rest of God? Well, we come to a very well-known verse here. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

If we want to hold fast, we go to Scripture. And we do this for more than just information. We're not just going to the Word of God to get smarter. You see, it has an effect on us. The Word of God is living. The Word of God is active. The Word of God is not a dead book. This is not a dead book. It is alive. And so it can work in us to drive us to repentance. and to build us up in our faith. The illustration that's given to us here is a two-edged sword.

It's a weapon. It helps us to fight the attacks that come against us. It tears down the enemy. And notice the focus that this passage has. It helps us, it says, to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This is something that we need to see clearly. We need to understand this. Scripture is not something that we impose our thoughts and our intentions on. We must subject our thoughts and our intentions to the Word of God. My friends, we have to get this right. It's too easy for us to put our ideas, to put our feelings onto the Word of God.

Instead, we need to let it do its work in us. We need to let ourselves be a little bit uncomfortable, or a lot of bit uncomfortable, Because the Bible is uncomfortable. It tells us that we're sinners. It tells us that we've rebelled against a holy and righteous God. These are the very words of God and it needs to shape and form how we think. But it also needs to shape and form our loves. And why do we need to get this right? Because no matter how we feel, no matter how We come to this, no matter how emotional we are, our feelings don't change the truth of the last sentence in our passage for today.

No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. And we've seen so far in the book of Hebrews that it calls back on imagery from the Old Testament, right? We've seen this, and we're going to see it a whole lot more, but it calls back on imagery from the Old Testament, and you know what they're doing here. You know what the author of Hebrews is doing here. In the garden, what happened when our first parents fell into sin? They knew that they were naked.

They found out that they were exposed before the holiness of God. They knew they needed a covering, and so they got fig leaves and made it a pathetic attempt to cover their sin and their shame. But God knew. God knew. He knew their sin. He knew their disobedience. It could not be hidden from Him. and we need to remember this great truth and turn to the word of God and trust that the Holy Spirit is going to be at work in us to convict us of our sin and to drive us to repentance. That is striving to enter his rest.

That's what we need to do because it shows that we trust that our sin has been covered by Jesus. We come to scripture trusting that the story that we find in it shows that we are forgiven and that our nakedness and our shame before God is covered by the perfect work of Jesus for us. And this is how we need to go out into our lives. The pressure we feel, the pressure we feel to be disobedient, to turn away, is real. The attacks that we have Attacks of doubt can plague us. They're very real. But we have a very real Savior who has rescued us from these things.

And as we stop and think about what this vital passage has to say about how we live our lives, I want us to walk away today with two very important applications for our lives. First, we need to live and serve in this world with our eye on the next. with our eye on the next world. As we have clearly seen in this passage, our greatest goal, our final rest, is not of this world. The people of Israel were promised rest in the promised land, but the ultimate rest never came. If ever, if ever there was going to be an earthly place that God would bring rest, it should have been that tract of land with the law of God enacted by God himself in that place, right?

If ever there was going to be an earthly utopia, an earthly place that was perfect, that would have been it. But the people did not find rest there, the true rest. What their hearts really desired was the rest that you and I have in Jesus Christ. It is an eternal rest in the presence of God, true rest. And we can so easily get distracted by the things around us because they're right in front of our faces. It's so easy, right, to think about only the things of this world. But we do well to have a heart directed towards heaven.

It will move us toward the things of God. because we're called to strive to enter the rest that God gives us. But if we are enamored and infatuated with the things of this life, then are we really, really trusting in God? Are we really believing that there's something greater coming? Are we really having ourselves strive to enter His rest? Secondly, If we want to have a heart toward heaven, if we want to refrain from disobedience, then we need to have an understanding of God's Word. The things of this world run contrary to the Word of God.

We need to know the Word of God, and as I said, not just for information. We need to have the way that we think and the way that we view the world shaped by the Word of God. We need to have our loves shaped by God's Word because it is the Word that convicts us of our sin. It helps us to navigate right and wrong, good and evil. But most importantly, it points us to the saving work of Jesus. If we're going to live confidently in our age, we can't do it without this knowledge. As we will soon confess here in just a minute or two from the Heidelberg Catechism, our only hope in life and in death is that we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

We need that message or we are prone to disobedience. And we need the word of God because that's where that message is found. And so let us dig in. We come here each week and we're immersed in the words of Scripture, whether it's in the elements of the service, in the readings, or in the prayers, it's all rooted in the Word of God. And we need to do the same in our daily lives. We need to know the Word and find it in our comings and goings, in our prayers, in the things that we do.

So the challenge, the challenge I want to put out there for you and for me this week is to add one element of the word to your life that isn't there already. Maybe it's praying through a psalm every day. Maybe it's family worship. Perhaps it is a reminder on your phone to read through this passage we read today and revisit some of the ideas that we've expressed here. Regardless, the challenge is find one new way to inject the Word into your life this week. Why would we do that? Because it's living, it is active, it's sharper than any two-edged sword, and it will help you to discern the thoughts and intentions of your hearts.

It will equip you, it will embolden you to live this life as you strive to enter the coming rest. that God has won for you in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

📖 Looking for Real Rest? Keep Digging into the Word

Striving to enter God's rest means anchoring your life in His promises—and His Word. If this message challenged you to reflect more deeply, we encourage you to keep going:

➡️ Explore more from our Hebrews series at Hebrews: Once for All, where each sermon reveals more of Christ’s supremacy and faithfulness.
➡️ Recenter your Bible reading habits with Reading Scripture with Christ at the Center, and learn how every page points to Him.
➡️ Watch or listen anytime by visiting our Sermon Archive, where you’ll find thoughtful, Christ-centered preaching that nourishes the soul.

God’s rest is promised. Let His Word lead you there—today.