Scripture Reference: Hebrews 4:1-13
Dreams of Utopia have haunted human minds for millennia. When Sir Thomas More, in 1516, wrote the book Utopia, he chose the name because in Greek it means “no place.” Many attempts have been made in history to find or create such a place where life approaches perfection, but none have succeeded. Yet the dream has not faded, probably because it represents a vestigial human memory of something we once had and still yearn for, a greater Sabbath, as it were. On the seventh day of creation (Sabbath means “seven”) God was said to have “rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2). However, this was not total inactivity, for God has been active throughout all history. It is probably best described as a rest of a perfectly functioning creation, as a mechanic rests from his work when his machine runs perfectly. That is what men have dreamed Utopia would be: a perfectly proper functioning society.
A Promise Requires a Response (verses 1–2). In Hebrews 4:1 we are given the first hint that the promise of rest given to Israel envisioned more than entering the Promised Land. It is, the writer says, a promise which still “remains,” that is, it was not fully satisfied by entering Canaan, but still exists at the time of the author’s writing. Furthermore, his readers stand in danger of missing it unless they are careful. The Greek construction of the phrase “lest any of you seem to have come short of it” indicates that wrong behavior, such as disobedience or long-continued grumbling, suggests the heart is unchanged and unbelieving. Being fearful of coming short refers to God’s knowledge of the heart and His actions based on that knowledge.
Many find it difficult to believe that the same gospel which is preached today (that is, the gospel of Christ) was also proclaimed to Israel in the wilderness. But note the two phrases the gospel was preached to us (verse 2) and those to whom it was first preached (verse 6). No distinction is made in these uses of the word gospel. Also Paul states in 1 Corinthians 10:3-4, “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” This implies an understanding on the part of at least some of them that the events they experienced, the sacrifices they offered, the ritual they fulfilled, were all designed to teach them truth about a Redeemer who was, to the eyes of faith, their ground of atonement with God, though He had not yet appeared in history. Of course these same elements could be experienced mechanically, without faith, and were thus meaningless as far as personal salvation was concerned.
In verse 2, we are given the reason for the Israelites’ unbelief in the wilderness. Even though the gospel of God’s deliverance from an evil heart was proclaimed clearly through the sacrifices, the tabernacle ritual and the preaching of Moses, it met with a lack of faith among those who perished. The writer will declare later in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please Him [God].” Without a personal response to the promise of salvation, no one can be saved. Declared many times in Scripture, this fact invalidates completely the teaching of universalism that everyone is already saved by virtue of Christ’s death and that God will reveal that to them at the end, no matter how they lived. This teaching ignores the need for repentance: turning from ungrateful rebellion to a thankful acceptance of God’s provision. Romans 10:17 indicates that the gospel (“the word of Christ”) has power to awaken belief in its hearers; if that belief is acted upon by a willing response (faith), it results in salvation (divine, eternal life imparted).
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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