From our Sunday service on February 15, 2026, Hebrews 3 and 4. This is part 3 of our Hebrews series. Watch the full message: The Believer’s Rest – Hebrews Series #3 on YouTube.
Last week, we talked about how Jesus humbled himself by becoming human, set an example for us as both our Savior and Brother, and then died for our sins. Today, we are going to talk about one of the benefits of salvation, the divine rest that Christ offers us.
God wants you to know that you deny yourself of God’s rest through unbelief.
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Hebrews 3:1–3
The author of Hebrews is going to use this passage to draw out some comparisons between Moses and Jesus.
He is going to say, “I want you to know that the law of Moses that you’re being drawn back to is not better than Jesus.” He wants to show from Scripture that Jesus is so much better than the law of Moses, and that Moses, his law and the Scriptures of the Old Testament were all pointing toward Jesus. And he wants his readers to realize that where they want to go to find rest from all this persecution, there’s no rest for them there. Outside of Jesus, you will not find rest.
Better Than Moses
So he compares Jesus with Moses. Moses may have been a prophet, and he may have been the giver of the law. The angels gave it to him, and he gave it to the people. But Jesus is a prophet, a priest and a king, a topic Hebrews will talk about in detail as we continue our study.
Jesus “was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.” You respect so much what Moses did. Well, Jesus was like Moses. Remember, in Deuteronomy it says that one day God would raise up a prophet like unto Moses. That prophecy is talking about Jesus Christ. If you want to go back to the old Moses, you’re going to miss out on Jesus, the fulfillment, the new Moses.
“For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.” The Jews were being tempted to abandon Jesus and return to the law, so the author of Hebrews reminds them that Jesus is better. How much better? As much better as the craftsman or architect who designs a building is better than the building he builds.
If you visit someone’s house and see that it’s beautiful, you don’t look at the wall and say, “House, you are so beautiful. Walls, how opulent is your decor! I praise you, house.” Your friend would think you’re crazy. No, you say, “Friend, this house is beautiful. Did you decide on this color, or was it the architect? Who built this fine engraved woodwork? Who’s the craftsman you hired? I’d like to hire him.” You don’t say, “This cabinet is beautiful. It must have just been that way.” You know there was a designer behind it.
He says, “Jews, you love Moses so much. You see the beauty of the law, but to deny Christ is to deny the one who gave the law.” Remember, Jesus is the Word of God. He is the one who gave the law. So why would you praise Moses, who just repeated the words to you? Why would you honor Moses and ignore the God who gave it?
For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Hebrews 3:4–6
He extends the illustration. If you think a house is beautiful, you compliment the architect and the craftsman, not the house. Every house is built by a man, but what we’re talking about isn’t man-made. It was built by God. God created everything, and Christ, the Word of God, spoke everything into existence at the beginning of creation.
Moses was faithful over his house, but that was just a portion of God’s plan. Moses had only a portion of the truth. When he wrote in Deuteronomy that God would raise up a prophet like unto Moses, he was pointing ahead to things that were coming after him, things more important than him. All those things in the Old Testament point forward to Christ. Moses was just a servant in the house, but Jesus is the Son who owns the house. Jesus created it, and Jesus is the fulfillment of what Moses foreshadowed. He will be faithful over all his house, which is all of us, the church.
How many points of illustration are there in the Old Testament that point to the truth of the New Testament? There was a foreshadowing of Christ not only in Moses giving the law and saying there would be a new prophet like unto Moses, but also in the fact that Joshua was Jesus’s Hebrew name. Joshua represented the Messiah. The angel said, “Thou shalt call his name Jesus,” to draw out this picture of the Old Testament. And since the Old Testament uses the story of the Israelites as an illustration of the coming salvation, the author of Hebrews draws that out to bring these doubting Israelites home.
The Day of Provocation
With that in mind, let’s see some of the foreshadowing of Jesus in the wilderness.
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Hebrews 3:7–11
Here the author of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 95. He’s saying that the wilderness wanderings were there to teach us a truth about God, a truth about the rest of God.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Hebrews 3:12–13
Verses 7-10 quote Psalm 95: “harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” The day of provocation was the day Joshua and Caleb went in with the spies into the promised land. Remember, ten were bad and two were good. The spies saw that the people in the promised land were tall, strong and powerful. When they came back, ten of the spies said, “These people are too big. We can’t go into the promised land and defeat them. The armies are just too powerful, too mighty.” Only Joshua and Caleb said, “No, God is bigger than the height and strength of these people. God called us to go into the promised land. He’ll give us victory.”
That was the day of provocation. Israel provoked the Lord because as a nation they decided to side with the ten bad reports rather than the two good ones. Because they didn’t have faith to go do what God said, God said, “You’re going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.”
The people had made it to the border of the promised land. Rest from the persecution of Egypt was right there in front of them. But because of their fear and doubting, they weren’t strong enough to enter in. Because they did not believe God was able to save them from the enemy, they missed out on God’s promises. Instead of entering the promised land, where God would give them the rest they so deeply needed from the oppression of Egypt, they were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until everyone except Joshua and Caleb died off. What a sad truth. Had they marched through the Jordan River into the promised land, they would have found rest. But because of their unbelief, they spent 40 years in the wilderness, just barely making it by.
Our Excuses
Verses 12 and 13 tell us we need to make sure we don’t make the same mistake. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” We don’t want to make the same mistake as the Israelites and make excuses for not entering into salvation because of our lack of belief in God.
It’s easy for us to make excuses for why we don’t want to be saved. Many of you have talked to people about salvation and heard many excuses. Here are some of them.
One, we may believe that sin is more pleasurable than salvation, and that it’s not worth giving up sin in pursuit of Christ. Maybe someone has told you that. Maybe you thought that at one time in your life.
Two, we may believe that we’re good enough to make it to heaven. Maybe we think we’re good people, God’s a merciful God, and our good will outweigh our bad, so we’ll get into heaven. We don’t believe in God, because we believe in ourselves. God’s Word tells us that none of us are good enough to make it to heaven. But in our pride we say, “I don’t know if I believe that,” and we can’t enter into salvation because of that unbelief.
Three, we may believe that a god who imposes rules on others is not a god worth following. This is becoming more and more common. You fall into moral relativism: “Can you really say something’s bad or good? Can you really draw a line in the sand?” And because they can’t accept that, they say, “No, I’m not going to accept Christ as my Savior.”
Four, we may believe that God is not big enough to save us from our past mistakes. This is the opposite. Where one person thinks he’s good enough to make it to heaven, another thinks, “I’m just too bad. I’m a lost cause. There’s no God who would want to forgive me.” They miss out on the promises. They miss out on the rest because they don’t think God is strong enough to save them.
Five, we may believe that faith is foolish and we need more tangible evidence to believe in Jesus. Somebody says, “If I could go back in time and see Jesus walk and teach, and go to the empty tomb and watch him rise out of it, I’d believe. But all I have is some testimony and some books that are thousands of years old, and we don’t know exactly when they were written. I just can’t enter into that promise and find the rest.”
All these are false beliefs that harden our hearts. They make us more stubborn and unable to accept saving faith. That’s what the author of Hebrews is telling these Jewish believers: “You have all these arguments for why it’s not beneficial to have faith in Jesus.”
These examples are different from what people in the author’s day would have faced. Their main issues would have been, “My family will shun me if I’m a Christian.” That one might be around today. “My business won’t be as successful if the Jews don’t come and buy from me.” “Maybe the Roman Empire will one day outlaw Christianity entirely, and I’ll be a fugitive. I just don’t know if I have enough faith to believe all this will be worth it on the other side.” So they were stubborn and unable to believe that Christ was better. If they could not abandon these, they were doomed and unable to enter into Christ’s rest. They were sacrificing divine rest for temporary rest in the world.
They Could Not Enter In Because of Unbelief
But the author tells them, “Don’t give up.”
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:14–19
The author of Hebrews demonstrates that it’s a lack of faith that separates a person from salvation. If Israel entering the promised land was a picture of salvation, foreshadowing what Christ was going to do, and the unbelief of the Israelites is what kept them from entering the promised land, then the Old Testament is teaching us that unbelief is what will stop us from entering saving faith and finding rest in Christ. The Jordan River represented judgment, and there was no way across judgment with the law. It was pointing out that you have to have belief to enter into salvation.
He says Moses’s life foreshadowed this as proof to the Jews. “You’ve been learning this since you were four or five years old, sitting in the synagogues, hearing the law of Moses taught to you. Don’t miss out on the truth it teaches.”
Everyone who was part of Israel left Egypt for the promised land. They all liked the idea of salvation. Every one of them had been a slave in Egypt, forced into hard physical labor, suffering every day of their lives. And they all left for the same promise: “We will find rest from these labors. We’ll enter the promised land instead of being worked until we pass out, and then beaten until we work some more. We’ll have rest and peace.”
All of them wanted the same promise, but only two entered the promised land: Joshua and Caleb. They were the two who had the belief to enter into that salvation, the only ones whose belief in salvation changed how they acted. The others pretended to want that salvation. They followed Moses, who believed God could get them there. They believed in Moses, but they didn’t believe in the God behind Moses. When it came time to put their own lives on the line and ask, “Do I believe God can save me?” they all said, “Whoa! These enemies are too big. The challenges are too large. God can’t get me through a difficulty like this.” And they backed up and walked away.
In other words, they never truly had faith. They had just words, just following a man, but not following the God who spoke the words that man spoke. And as the author says, we can conclude that salvation is lost only because of unbelief in God’s Word.
The Offer of Rest Still Stands
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Hebrews 4:1–2
We now have a full picture. Jesus fulfilled what Moses’s law and life represented. Now we can enter into God’s rest. The opportunity stands. Christ has died on the cross. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Christ was lifted up on the cross for our salvation. The picture is fulfilled. The opportunity is here.
So, believer, follower of Christ, so-called follower of Christ, don’t miss out on the call to salvation. The promise is there if you just believe it. Both the Israelites and we have an opportunity to enter God’s rest. Don’t miss the opportunity by being stubborn and hard-hearted like the Israelites were. Have faith in what God has done and accept the rest he is offering.
In verses 3-10 the author continues, talking about how the offer of rest still lingers for us today.
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Hebrews 4:3–10
Once again the author of Hebrews ties his narrative to Psalm 95. Psalm 95 was written by David, and it reminded the Israelites of David’s day and those coming after not to make the same mistake as those in the wilderness who didn’t believe God and didn’t enter the promised land. David says, “You have an opportunity today, in my generation, hundreds and hundreds of years later, to enter into God’s rest.”
He also connects it with Genesis. In Genesis it says that on the seventh day God rested from his works. So the author of Hebrews says that if the rest offered to the Israelites when they entered the promised land was still available hundreds of years later in the time of David, then the rest God was talking about must not have been about being in the promised land. The people in David’s time were already in the promised land. If David was talking about their still needing to enter into rest, then the rest Moses was talking about was not the promised land, but something else.
Verse 10 tells us that the Sabbath rest was foreshadowed in creation. As God stopped his works on the seventh day of the creation week, we too must stop our own works. By this he means we must stop trying to work our way to heaven and rest in Jesus’s ability to get us there.
The Israelites in the wilderness thought the promised rest was rest from their hard labor in Egypt. David tells us it’s not about rest from physical labor. It’s a spiritual rest, a divine rest. The example was set all the way back in Genesis, when God rested from his work on the seventh day, when everything was completed and perfect. By that he invites us to enter into divine rest. We don’t try through our own effort and our own work to be good enough to make it into heaven. We enter into the promise of God and say, “I have faith that what Jesus Christ did is enough. I can put down my work of trying to get to heaven and believe that Jesus is the only way to get there.”
Labor to Enter That Rest
Then he tells us to strive for that rest. Don’t work for salvation, but, verse 11, “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest.” In other words, don’t work for salvation. Work to surrender yourself to salvation. Jesus has done the work. Jesus has fulfilled the law and the prophets. Don’t try to do things to get yourself into heaven. You need to work to humble yourself, because the natural instinct is not to say, “I need help to get into heaven.” The natural instinct is to say, “I can do it myself.” Instead of working your way into heaven, work to make yourself humble enough to receive the gift.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Hebrews 4:11–13
That phrase “with whom we have to do” can also be translated “to whom we must give an account.” Verse 11 tells us that the work we need to do is not to work for salvation, but to work to enter into rest through salvation. Our struggle is not to be good enough, but to be humble enough to surrender in faith to the Word of God, Jesus Christ.
These Jews were persecuted every day for their beliefs. It would have been easy for them to give up their faith, saying that compliance with the society around them was easier. They truly needed to put in effort to convert to Christianity, because it meant a tough road ahead. So he gives some encouragement.
The Word of God Is a Person
Notice that the word of God spoken of in verse 12 is not talking about the Bible. We call the Bible the Word of God, but that’s not what this passage is talking about. It says, “The word of God is quick, and powerful,” and in verse 13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight.” The Word of God here is a person, not a book. It’s talking about Jesus.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1–3
Jesus is the Word of God. So when it says the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, it’s saying that Jesus is all of those things. In other words, we can trust Jesus because he is powerful.
They were worried about the Roman Empire. They were worried about their neighbors. Let me tell you, Jesus is bigger than the situations you find yourself in. Why? Because he’s quick. He’s powerful. As God, he has the ability to do what he wants. He’s able to pierce and divide asunder soul and spirit.
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28
That’s talking about God. You’re worried about people in this world. You don’t think Jesus is big enough to get you through the difficulties. Jesus can separate the soul from the body, and not only that, he has the power to destroy the soul. What man can do that to you? None. So why do you fear man over God?
No Fooling Him
But there’s also a warning here. Jesus, the Word of God, can discern the heart and its thoughts, and in his eyes everything is naked and exposed. Because everything is naked and exposed to Jesus, when we give an account to him in the last days, there’s no fooling him. Jesus knows if you truly believe or if you’re just saying it to please those around you. Jesus knows if you truly believe or if you’re just trying to have hell insurance. Jesus knows if you truly believe or if you aren’t fully convinced in your heart.
He tells these Jews, “You can’t be on the fence about whether or not you believe in Christ. You can’t just hope that things will work out while you’re kind of unsure here in the world.” You’ve got to convince yourself to be all-in for Christ.
Some of you are in the church, and you haven’t decided yet if you’re going to follow God. You’ve been sitting in the services, listening to the Word being taught, but you haven’t been fully convinced yet that Jesus is everything he says he is. In your heart there’s still doubt, and you think no one will notice that you don’t fully believe. The author of Hebrews says that’s foolish. You may be able to fool your neighbors, your friends and your family, but when you stand before Jesus, he’s going to know whether you’re convinced or not, and only those who believe will enter in.
Come Boldly to the Throne of Grace
He continues by saying that action is required.
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14–16
Because Jesus is so powerful, because he is the Word of God, sharper than any twoedged sword, we need to hold tightly to what we claim to believe. Some of these people had claimed to believe in Jesus. They had made a profession, but he says, “You need to hold fast that profession.” You say those words, but do you actually hold on to them? Are they just things you say to get people to leave you alone, or something you truly believe? If it’s not something you truly believe, you need to grab that profession and hold on to it, because Jesus knows the truth, and Jesus can take care of us.
He says we have a great high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He says that because he wants the people to know that Jesus relates to us. He’s not distant from us. As I’ve talked about in previous messages, Jesus lived on this earth for over 30 years and experienced the hardships we face. Jesus knows what it’s like to be human. He knows how to deal with temptations like ours, but he didn’t give in to them. So he’s the perfect one to ask for help to overcome them.
Knowing, then, that we have a representative, Jesus Christ, who understands us so well, we should not hesitate to go to him with our needs. He knew how to overcome sin when he was on earth, so he knows exactly how to help us overcome our temptations and hardships.
In the context this was written, the author was talking about dealing with Nero and with the other Jews. He was telling them, “It may seem difficult not to know if one day Nero is going to make Christianity illegal, capture you all and throw you into the Colosseum with the lions and the bears to fight to the death. There’s no way to know that. But I do know this: all the hardships you face, Jesus went through.”
Jesus suffered for his beliefs. He said, “I’m the Son of God,” and because he said it, they put him on a tree and crucified him. Jesus knows what that’s like. He can help you through it, no matter how bad it gets. When you’re shunned by your family, remember that Jesus was shunned by his family. His brothers didn’t believe he was the Messiah. You’d better bet that if you have to go through that difficulty for believing in Christ, Jesus is going to be right there with you, helping you along, because he went through that same difficulty. And he overcame it. He endured it.
So, Christian, don’t lose faith because it’s hard to be a Christian. Don’t lose faith because there are difficult things. Whatever difficulties are stopping you from having faith, Jesus is strong enough to bring you through them.
Conclusion
God’s rest is not something we earn through our own efforts. That was the mistake the Jews had been making, and we still make it today. There’s no effort we can put in to find true peace for our lives. God’s rest, divine rest, is something we receive through faith.
Just as Israel stood on the edge of the promised land and missed out on it because of their unbelief, we too can stand right next to salvation and never enter in if our hearts are still hardened. You can hear the gospel every week and still reject salvation. You can know all the language of faith and know how to explain all the doctrines, and still miss out on salvation. You can spend time around God’s people and serve alongside them, and still miss out on salvation. You can even want salvation, but if it’s not mixed with genuine faith, and the heart remains hardened and unreceptive to God’s call, God’s rest will always remain just out of reach.
Jesus has accomplished all the work needed for salvation. He fulfilled the law, and he opened the way for us to stop working for salvation and start resting in him. God’s invitation to rest has stood for generations, and it still stands today. So don’t harden your hearts through unbelief. Believe in Jesus, the Word of God. Trust him and come confidently to the throne of grace.
We’re not told to crawl to a distant and unrelatable judge. We’re invited to come boldly to a throne of grace, because our High Priest understands us perfectly. Jesus knows our weaknesses. He knows our struggles, our doubts and our failures, and still he invites us to come. The only thing that can keep us from God’s rest is refusing to believe the one who offers it.
So stop trying to carry the things Christ has already offered to carry for you. Stop trying to earn what Christ has already purchased. Stop wandering in a wilderness of self-reliance when the promised land is right next to you. Lay it all down at Jesus’s feet. God wants you to know that you deny yourself of God’s rest through unbelief. So will you believe and embrace God’s rest today?
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