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The Daily Word of Righteousness
I Can Do Nothing of Myself
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. (Hebrews 4:1—NIV)
The Book of Hebrews is addressed to Jewish believers, to "holy brothers."
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. (Hebrews 3:1—NIV)
That the people being addressed were seasoned Christians is shown by some of the passages of the Book of Hebrews.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, Instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, Who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, (Hebrews 6:1-5—NIV)
These Christian Jews had been once enlightened by teachers who had heard from Jesus Himself, they had tasted the heavenly gift of eternal life, they had shared in the Holy Spirit, and they had tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age.
They were not novices.
Also, they had endured persecution.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. (Hebrews 10:32-34—NIV)
There is a great lesson for us here. We would suppose Christians with a background such as these Jewish believers had would be well on their way to Heaven. All they were to do now was to wait until they died and went to their mansion.
This was what they also supposed!
However, the writer of the Book of Hebrews at several points in his epistle warns them of severe consequences if they do not press forward in Christ and enter the rest of God.
We of today have not even heard if there be any such thing as the rest of God.
The truth is, we do not understand the Christian salvation. We are thinking of it as a ticket we get when we make a profession of faith in Christ. The Christian salvation is not a ticket, it is a program that starts when we are in the rest of Satan and ends up when we are in the rest of God.
Do you know what? You can receive Christ, repent of your sins, be baptized in water, receive eternal life, be baptized with the Holy Spirit, be born again, talk in tongues, prophesy, be healed, pray for someone else to be healed, all in one evening. You are not a mature Christian at this point. You have just started through the wilderness. You have just left Egypt. You are not in the land of promise as yet.
To be continued.