In
two separate New Testament passages, the example of Israel's failure to enter
God's promised rest is used to teach a lesson to Christians. These two passages are 1Corinthians 10:1-13
and Hebrews 4:1-13. The lessons of these
passages are very similar. In
1Corinthians 10, the example of Israel's failure leads to this conclusion in
verse 12:
Therefore let him who
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
In
Hebrews 4, the same example leads to this conclusion in verse 11:
Therefore let us be
diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same
example of disobedience.
Let us consider these two passages of
Scripture together so that we may fully gain the meaning of these lessons.
In
1Corinthians 10:1-13, the Scripture shows that one's presence within the body
of God's people does not guarantee his salvation. The emphasis of the first four verses is that
every person in Israel at the time of the exodus from Egypt shared the same
experience. This experience is directly
related to Christians' experience, for all of the Israelites "were baptized
into Moses," "ate the same spiritual food," and "drank the same spiritual
drink," which was from the "spiritual rock" of Christ. Likewise, all Christians are baptized into Christ
(Gal. 3:27) and partake of the many spiritual blessings that are in Him (Eph.
1:3). However, simply being counted as
part of Israel was not enough to please God when they chose to sin, and simply
being counted as part of the church will not be enough to please Him if Christians
choose to sin now. In the case of
Israel, most of them arrogantly challenged God even though they had just
witnessed His great power against Egypt and grace toward them. They craved evil things, practiced idolatry,
committed immorality, tested God, and complained against Him. Therefore, "they were laid low in the
wilderness" (v. 5), "twenty-three thousand fell in one day" (v. 8), they "were
destroyed by serpents" (v. 9), and they "were destroyed by the destroyer" (v.
10). They did not believe that they
could fall in this way, but they were mistaken.
Likewise, if we believe that we can sin with impunity just because we
are Christians, then we are utterly mistaken.
Thus, we have the lesson of verse 12 -- "Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall."
Furthermore, if anyone attempts to excuse his sin by claiming that he
cannot help himself, there is another lesson in verse 13:
No temptation
has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will
not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation
will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
In
Hebrews 4:1-13, the Scripture teaches that merely hearing the word of God does
not assure one of entering God's rest, but rather it is faith and obedience to
the word that leads to salvation. Again,
Christians are related to Israel in that both have had the good news of God
preached to them. However, in the case
of Israel, "the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united
by faith in those who heard" (v. 2).
Therefore, those unfaithful persons in Israel were not allowed to enter
God's rest. This passage makes clear
that "God's rest" in this context does not refer to the land of Canaan, for "if
Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that"
(v. 8). This means that the unfaithful
and disobedient persons in Israel both before and after the conquest of Canaan
forfeited the eternal rest of God, i.e., that "Sabbath rest" that He began
after He created the world. If
unfaithfulness and disobedience to the word caused the children of God in
Israel to fall, then these failures will also cause the children of God in
Christ to fall. Thus, we have the lesson
of verse 11 -- "Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone
fall through following the same example of disobedience." Notice that any notion of being saved without
heeding this warning is erased by verses 12-13:
For the word of
God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as
far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to
judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open
and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
These two passages were written
initially to two very different sets of people, but both sets needed the same
message. In Corinth, the church was
comprised mainly of Gentiles who had come out of idolatry, and some were still
troubled by their former worldly habits.
As for the Hebrew Christians, they had come from adherence to the Law of
Moses, and some of them were tempted to turn back to their old ways and abandon
their faith in Christ. In both cases,
they needed to see that sin, unfaithfulness, and disobedience to the word of
Christ would cause them to fall. If they
pursued these courses, then they would forfeit salvation.
We still need this message today. Sin, unfaithfulness, and disobedience to the
word of Christ will still cause Christians to fall. The Calvinistic tenet of
"once-saved-always-saved" is a false teaching and a damnable doctrine. Let us not be drawn away into this false
confidence, but instead let our confidence be in Christ according to His
glorious word, lest we fall.
