Based on Hebrews 4 (New King James Version)
“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: ‘So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’’ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’; and again in this place: ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today,’ after such a long time, as it has been said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Today, and for some time now, people preach in many places a gospel or a doctrine that takes way too lightly the things of God, and they turn God’s grace into something that is abused, or rather misunderstood. Even more so, something is preached that takes away all responsibility, whether it involves continued change and being transformed, and also, takes away the importance of doing good works. You can’t quite put an exact title on this erroneous gospel because it is taught in different ways, and it is either taught subtly or directly. Basically, many teach that when you have come to Christ, or when you are saved, that there is nothing else that has to be done because works don’t count, and/or also, they teach that when you have come to the Lord, that it doesn’t matter how much you sin, that there is no way for you to be lost. If we are lead by the Word, and we put it all together (because in order for something to be right and taken as sound doctrine, it must agree with all of the Word of God, not just some parts), there are many parts in the Word, and in particular, in the New Testament (because many commit the mistake of ignoring the Old Testament, as something that has no value) that clears things up in a different way, just like the passage that we read today. In the end, it is an error to think that works do not count after being saved, and also, it is an error to think that we should not take care of our salvation.
To deal with these issues, we would need to see Paul’s example. I think we can all agree that Paul was the Apostle that came closest to being like the Lord, and by virtue of that, he was the one that worked most for the Gospel of Christ, that he even came to give his life for his faith in the Lord. Despite all of that, and with an irrefutable conversion and with all of his sacrifices, he never thought that he had gotten to the goal while he still thought he had time. As he said this about himself: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:13-15. Let’s see a little bit more of Paul’s life and all he went through for the Gospel: “I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little. What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:16-28. So then, if Paul never thought that it was all done with just being saved at the beginning, and with everything he suffered for the Lord, how could we even venture to say something else, and that we don’t have to continue moving forward and do good works for the glory of God?
And now, with respect to the issue of sin. We are all sinners, and we will continue sinning until the Lord returns for us. That is a reality, and one that God understands, and that’s why He established Jesus Christ as our High Priest. Or else, why institute Someone like Him? What matters does not mean that you will be perfect, but rather, that you have a soft heart before God, and that when He confronts you with His Word (not with man’s rules, or commands, or religious things), that you can at least come to accept that something is wrong, and that you allow Him to work in your life. The Lord gave testimony of David as it is written: “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’” Acts 13:22. David was not perfect (morally speaking), and he committed great atrocities, but what made David so special before God was that when he would be confronted with the truth, he would not make excuses or justify his sin, but he would accept it and repent. This is the same expectation God has for each of us, that we be soft and docile in His hands so that the work that started with our salvation does not stop, but rather, continue until the end. And so, let us not pretend like there is nothing else that has to be done, nor that we don’t have to take care of our salvation. So, do you have a soft heart before God, enough to continue changing and also willing to work for Him? Lord bless! John