Umberto

Q3. (Hebrews 4:8-11) What do you think the writer of Hebrews means by this promise of "rest" for the believer? First, I think it mean the same thing that many of my fellow posters have already mentioned, that the rest is the eternal rest of all who die in belief of Christ. I also believe that the rest of God is a rest for today. The more I walk the more I realize that as I try to do anything in my own strength I am apt to fail, be weary and miserable. Jesus said in in Matt 11:30 "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I believe this rest is also a rest for today. Why does the writer urge us: "Make every effort to enter that rest"? Given the consequences of not making any effort... yet I have a problem with the fine line between my effort and God's work. It is a source of needed prayer. What is the difference between apostasy from Christ and the kind of falling into sin that all Christians experience from time to time? Apostasy is a turning of one's back on Christ. Falling into temporary sin like we all apt to is more like closing your eyes to what is still right in front of you. You can pretend it is not there, but you know it is still there.

Q2. (Hebrews 3:12-14) What is the importance of faith in our relationship to Christ? Faith is all. There are so many examples of faith mentioned in the Bible that tell us how important it is in our walk. Romans 1:17 says, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." That is how we are to live, because that is what was shown to us. That Jesus was and is faithful, even unto death. How does sin trick us? Sin is any rebellion against God, either in thinking or in deed. The Hebrews in the desert believed that they could do something about their situation. We believe that we can do something about our situation. The reality for them and for us is that we can do nothing apart from Christ. It is scary to me that the Hebrews in the desert followed Moses, who by example was pointing to Christ, as He leads us out of sin and bondage, stepped out in faith and then turned their backs. Those people were not given the privilege of entering into God's rest, because they turned away from their faith. I pray that I never again turn from the faith that God has given me in Jesus. I am no different from those in the desert. I am weak. I am sinful. Yet I know that I have been given grace. How does it harden us? Sin in this case, maybe in all cases, gives us the incorrect belief that we have some power and control over our situation. We as humans have a tendency to want that. What is the value of Christian fellowship to keep our faith strong? In Romans 1:11,12, Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome that, "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong

In what way has the truth of salvation been confirmed to you? Daily. His grace is renewed upon me every morning in that while I am yet a sinner, He gently guides me and corrects me. I have felt the miraculous awareness of my place in life and the place Christ is supposed to be. Still, as many places in the Bible show, miraculous signs and wonders do not make an unfaithful person more faithful. Looking ahead to Hebrews 3:16-19, the Hebrews in Egypt were shown great signs and wonders. They saw plagues, locusts and frogs; the Nile turned to blood, the striking down of so many of the Egyptians animals and first born sons. They even saw the water of the Red Sea parted and then reclosed on their pursuers. They saw manna from heaven and birds of the air for their food when they cried out to God in their unbelief. Yet, with all of this, so many of them did not believe, though they saw the signs and wonders. Please understand, I do not judge them, for on far too many occasions I have also acted unfaithfully towards He who has saved me.

lamountain, As long as the Holy Spirit is in you, have no fear! Moses was afraid to be God's mouthpiece because he feared he could not speak well, and look what he did through God's power! Moses was raised Pharaoh's son (I assume with little Hebrew training), yet again look what he said and did. God bless!

The author of Hebrews in 2:1 writes that "we must pay much closer attention." Given our tendency to be drawn in a thousand directions, given our tendency to have a lot of "stuff" on our plates at once, paying much closer attention is paramount, and extremely difficult, in today's world. I think that Hebrews 2:3a fits very well..."how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" I see the wisdom in so many on this topic reflecting on the seed in the rocky soil as being an illustration of drift, but I also see the see that fell among thorns as a kind of drift. The cares of this world and the long list of stuff on my to do list is a very subtle way that the evil one pulls me away. Drift can be and usually is very subtle and small, until we look up and realize that we are very far off course. So to successfully resist the tendency to drift, I myself must stay in the word, around other believers and watch my tendency to overload with stuff that that may or may not have eternal bearing.

lamountain, As long as the Holy Spirit is in you, have no fear! Moses was afraid to be God's mouthpiece because he feared he could not speak well, and look what he did through God's power! Moses was raised Pharaoh's son (I assume with little Hebrew training), yet again look what he said and did. God bless!

In Genesis 1:26 God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness..." This indicates that God is the genetic blueprint for us. Our physical nature is based upon God. We are His creation. Those who believe are his children, because of Christ. If we are His children, in a literal sense, since He made us, then how much more Jesus, as He is patterned physically after God, as we are, and patterned spiritually after God, through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Therefore, thank you Jesus, He can be both literal Son of God and brother to us, thereby bridging the chasm between me and God.