Sacred Truths from Believing and Doing from Paul

Unit Two:

Choice 6: Hebrews 3-4. Entering into the Lord's Rest

Read Hebrews 3:8–4:16 and the institute student manual commentary for Hebrews 3:11, “What Does It Mean to Enter into the ‘Rest’ of the Lord?” (p. 383). Write answers to the following questions:

·      What group of people was refused entrance into the Lord’s rest?

The people that followed Moses out of Egypt but did not follow the commandments and wandered in the wilderness for forty years.

·      What sins caused them to forfeit this privilege?

They had evil hearts and unbelief toward God. They were also stuck on the ways of their people more than they were concerned about the doctrine. This made God uncomfortable to let them into His rest. They were sinning and God could not allow for it to continue.

·      How does Doctrine and Covenants 84:23–24 help define what is the Lord’s rest?

Two things stand out here as I went through these verses. First that we need to be worthy of the rest of the lord before we will obtain it and second the rest of the Lord is also referred to as the fullness of his glory, speaking of God’s glory.

·      What sins did Paul repeatedly warn against so as not to incur the same punishment?

He warned that we needed to make sure not to harden our hearts against the things of God as well as be obedient to the things that he has given. These two things summarize the most of what we were told. As well as having a place in our hearts to were God can dwell with us.

·      How do you think the warnings in Hebrews 3:12–15 apply to us?

One of the things that I think stood out to me today as I was reading was that we are not supposed to harden our hearts or we will place ourselves in situations not to believe in. I often think that we feel like we are above the law or that it does not apply to us exactly. We feel like we are safe and sound in the world when in actuality we are in more danger for not following the counsel that Christ taught and God teaches.

·      List the counsel found in Hebrews 4 that will help a person enter into the rest of the Lord.

We need to be believing in what the Lord has promised and do as he asks, such as resting one day like the Lord showed. We also need to make sure that we are not lazy but productive in doing all that the Lord has asked as well as our role in the lives around us, weather father, son, or brother even baker or butcher.

·      How do Matthew 7:21–23; John 7:17; James 1:22 help in understanding how the word needs to be “mixed with faith”? (Hebrews 4:2–3).

 We cannot expect the gospel to be something that we keep to ourselves by only hearing what we are supposed to do. We need to be willing to go out and do the things that the Lord expects. I know that every day that there is something that we can do better for the Lord, but we have to be willing to work for it.