සභාව යනු කුමක්ද? එය පටන්ගත්තේ කවදාද? කිතුණුවන් අතර බොහෝ නිකායන් තිබෙන්නේ ඇයි? මෙම කණ්ඩායම බයිබල් සභාවක නමස්කාර කරන්නේ ඇයි?

ekklesia. යනු සභාවට ග්‍රීක් වචනයයි. එයින් කියන්නේ විශේෂ අරමුණකට කැඳවා ඇති රැස්වීමක් යන්නය.

අපට ඉගෙනීමට ඇති පළමු දෙය නම් බයිබලය සභාව තුල වෙනස් ආකාර දෙකකට කථා කරයි: ජීවමාන කොටස් වලින් සමන්විතවු විශ්ව සභාව, සහ සංවිධානයක් ලෙස පවතින, ස්ථානික නැතහොත් ප්‍රදේශබදව ඇති සභාව.

විශ්ව සභාව- කොටස් වලින් සමන්විත

අර්ථදැක්වීම: විශ්ව සභාව ඇදහිලිවතුන් ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරමින්, ඉශ්‍රායෙල් ජාතියෙන් වෙනස්ව පවතින්නාවු, ප්‍රාද්ශීය නිකායන් වලට හෝ අනුබද්ධ නිකායන් වලට සීමාවී නැති, පළමුවෙනි පෙන්තකොස්ත දවසේදී පිහිටුවන ලද, ශුද්ධාත්මයාණන්වහන්සේගේ බෞතීස්මය තුලින්, ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරය ගොඩනගමින්,සිටින්නේය. එය පෙන්තකොස්ත දවසේ සිට අද දක්වා, ජීවත්ව සිටින හෝ මියගිය, ඔවුන්ගේ ඇදහිල්ල යේසුස් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ තුල, තිබෙන අය විශ්ව සභාවේ සාමාජිකයින්ය. ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ හිසව සිටින ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයයි.( එපීස1:22)

යේසුස්වහන්සේ සභාව ගැන කීවේ මොනවාද?

කියවන්න මතෙව් 16:18-19.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ සභාව ගැන කථා කළේ අනාගතය ලෙසය.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ මෙම වචන කථා කරන විට සභාව තවමත් අනාගතයේය. එනම් උන්වහන්සේ මෙම පොළොවේ සිටින විට සභාව පැවතුනේ නැත. සභාව ගොඩනගා ඇති අත්තිවාරම කාගේ මත හෝ කුමක් මතද? ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ කියන පර්වතය කුමක්ද?

පේත්‍රැස් ඔහු විසින්ම කියන්නේ පර්වතය ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ කියාය. (1පේත්‍රස්2:4-8); 1 කොරින්ති3:11, වෙනත් අත්තිවාරමක් නැත(එපීස2:20).

නැතහොත් එය කියන්නේ පේත්‍රැස්ගේ පාපොච්චාරණයයි “ඔබ ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේය, ජීවමාන දෙවියන්වහන්සේගේ පුත්‍රයාය. පර්වතයය. විශ්ව සභාවේ සාමාජිකයින් බවට පත්වන සෑම කෙනෙක්ම මෙය පිළිගත යුතු බැවින් එය යේසුස්වහන්සේ ගැන සත්‍යයයි.

සභාව උපත ලැබුවේ කවදාද?

ක්‍රියා1:5 සහ 2:1-4

යේසුස්වහන්සේ ආපසු ස්වර්ගයට නැගී දවස් දහයකට පමණ පසු පෙන්තකොස්ත දිනයේදී සභාව උපත ලැබීය.

ශුද්ධාත්මයාණන්වහන්සේ සෑම ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙකුම තුල පුද්ගලිකව හා ස්ථිරව වැඩසිටීම පිණිස ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරය තුලට පැමිණි සේක. යේසුස්වහන්සේට නත්තල මෙන් කිතුණු සභාවට පෙන්තකොස්ත දවසයි. උන්වහන්සේ පැමිණියේ වෙනස් ආකාර වලින් සියලු ඇදහිලිවතුන්ට සම්බන්ධවීමටය.

පාවුල් සභාව ගැන කථා කරන්නේ එය අභිරහසක් ලෙසය.

කියවන්න එපීස 3:6

මෙම අභිරහස නම් යුදෙව්වරු සහ අන්‍යජාතිකයින් ශුද්ධාත්මයාණන්වහන්සේගේ බෞතීස්මය තුලින් එකට එකතුවී නව භාවයක් ඇතිවීමය. මෙහි සාමාජිකත්වය සඳහා අවශ්‍ය එකම සුදුසුකම වන්නේ නැවත නැගිටුන ගැළවුම්කරු තුල අදහාගැනීමය. විශ්ව සභාව යනු මුළුමනින්ම අදහාගන්නාවු යුදෙව්වරු හා අන්‍ය ජාතිකයින්ගෙන් සැදුම්ලත් අළුත් දෙයක්ය. මේ අනුව පෙන්තකොස්තයේ පටන්, ජීවත්ව සිටින හා මියගිය සෑම ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙක්ම ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයේ, විශ්ව සභාවේ සාමාජිකයෙක් වන බව පැහැදිලිය. මියගිය ඇදහිලිවතුන් අප එක්වීමට බලා සිටින ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ දවසේදී ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේ සමග ජීවමාන වන්නෝය.

ස්ථානික සභාව- සංවිධානයක්

අර්ථ දැක්වීම: ස්ථානික සභාව යනු ප්‍රකාශ වෙමින් සිටින, නියෝගයන් පවත්වන, ඇදහිලිවතුන්ගේ එකට රැස්වීමක්ය. එය කිසියම් පාලන ව්‍යුහයක් යටතේ සංවිධානගතව, ඔවුන්ගේ ජන සමුහයට ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ පිණිස බලපෑමක් වෙමින් දෙවියන්වහන්සේට කරන ප්‍රසිද්ධ නමස්කාරය තුලින් සාමාජිකයින්ගේ ශික්ෂණය, නැතිවු අය වෙත ශුභාරංචිය පතුරවමින් කටයුතු කරයි.

විශ්ව සභාව තුල හා ස්ථානීක සභාව තුල සමාජිකයින් අතර වෙනසක් ඇත. විශ්ව සභාව සමන්විත වනුයේ ඇදහිලිවතුන්ගෙන් පමණය, නමුත් ස්ථානික සභාවෙහි ඇදහිලිවතුන් යයි කියාගන්නා නමුත් සැබවින්ම එසේ නොවන සාමාජිකයින්ද සිටිය හැක. ස්ථානික සභාවේ සාමාජිකයෙක් වුවත් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයේ සාමාජිකයෙක් නොවෙන්නට පුළුවන.

එසේ වියහැක්කේ නොසැලකිලිමත් කමෙන් හෝ රැවටිල්ල තුලින්ය. සමහර සභාවන් ඔවුන්ගේ චාරිත්‍ර තුලින් යායුතු බව ඉල්ලා සිටියත් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ තුල ඇදහිල්ල සැබවින්ම ගළවන්නේ කුමක්දැයි කියා පැහැදිලි කරන්නේවත්, පුද්ගලයා එම තීරණය ගෙන තිබෙනවාද කියා නිෂ්චය කරන්නේවත් නැත. සමහර මිනිසුන්, ඔවුන් විශ්වාස කරනවා යයි කියන්නට පුළුවන, නමුත් බොරුකාරයින් හා කුහකයින්ය. අපේ සභාවෙහි සෑම පුද්ගලයෙකුටම ඔවුන් තම ගැළවුම්කරු හැටියට ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ අදහාගන්නා විට ඔවුන්ගේ සාක්ෂිය ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට එක්වීමට කැමති අය දිරිමත් කරවනවා. නමුත් තවමත් අප මෝඩයින් වෙන්න පුළුවන්. හදවත දන්නේ දෙවියන්වහන්සේ පමණයි!

කිතුණු නිකායන් බෙහොමයක් තිබෙන්නේ ඇයි?

බොහෝ නිකායන් පටන්ගන්නේ කිතුණු ඇදහිල්ලේ මුලික න්‍යායන් වලට එකග වෙමින්ය. නමුත් ඔවුන් අනෙක් දේවල් වලට එකග නොවෙයි. එනම් - බෞතීස්ම විධිය, ගැළවීම නැතිවෙන්නට හැකිද කියා, ශාරීරික සුව කිරීම්, ආශිර්වාදාත්මක දීමනා,

සභා පාලනය, නමස්කාර මාදිලිය. මම විශ්වාස කරන්නේ විවිධත්වය වෙනස් පුද්ගලයින්ගේ අවශ්‍යතා සපුරන බවයි. සමහරු චාරිත්‍රානුකූල දේවමෙහෙයේ ක්‍රමයට කැමතියි. සමහරු ශක්තිමත් බයිබල් ඉගැන්වීම් වලට කැමතියි. සමහරු අක්‍රමවත් මෙහෙයන් වලට කැමතියි. සමහරු බොහෝ උද්වේගකාරීද තවත් සමහරු බොහෝ අඩු උද්වේගකාරී මෙහෙයන්ටද කැමතියි.

සභා පාලනය

සභා පාලනයේ මුලික ආකාර තුනකි.

Episcopalian (Episkopos): සභාවේ අධිකාරිත්වය පවතින්නේ බිෂොප්වරයා මතය. (මෙතඩිස්ට් සරලය; මෙම ගණයේ ඇන්ග්ලිකන් වඩා සංකීර්ණය; රෝමනු කතෝලික, රෝමයේ බිෂොප් පාප්තුමාගේ නායකත්වය යටතේ ධුරානුක්‍රම පාලනයක් ඇත.)

Presbyterian (Presbuteros): අධිකාරිත්වය පවතින්නේ සභාවෙන්,වැඩිහිටියන් විසින් පත් කරනු ලබන නියෝජිත කණ්ඩායමක් මතය.(ප්‍රෙස්බෙටීරියන්, ප්‍රතිසංස්කෘත, හා සමහර බයිබල් සභා)

Congregational: මෙම ආකාරයේ සභා වල, කාරණ වලදී අවසන් අධිකාරිත්වය සභාව සතු කරන පුද්ගලික කිතුණුවාගේ භූමිකාව අවධාරණය කරයි. සෑම සාමාජිකයෙකුටම ජන්දයක් ඇත. (බැප්ටිස්ට්, නිදහස්, ධර්මදුත, බයිබල් හා ස්වාධීන සභාවන්). අපේ සභාව, මෙහි අවසන් දෙවර්ගයෙහි සංයුක්තයකි: වැඩිහිටියන් විසින් පාලනය කරනු ලබන, මණ්ඩලයක් මගින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන, සභා පාලක, සහකාර සභා පාලක, හා අයවැය වාර්ථා සභාවේ ජන්ද මගින් තීරණය වන සභාවකි. (මෙහි මුල් ලිපිය රචනය කරන තැනැත්තා)

වැඩිහිටියන්

වැඩිහිටියන්ගේ වගකීම ආත්මික නායකත්වයයි. මෙම කාර්ය මණ්ඩල වලට නියමවන මිනිසුන් හා ඔවුන්ගේ සුදුසුකම් හමුවන බයිබල් පද නම්: 1තිමොති3:1-7 සහ මිනිසුන්ට මෙම කාර්ය තහනම් කරන පද නම් තීතස්1:6-9 සභාව දර්ශනාත්මක වැරදි වලින් ආරක්ෂා කර සභාවට දෙවියන්වහන්සේගේ බැටළු රැල බලාගන්නා එඩේරුන් මෙන් සේවය කිරීම ඔවුන්ගේ වගකීමයි. (ක්‍රියා20:17,28)

ඩීකන්වරු

ඩීකන්වරුන් වැඩිහිටියන්ගේ ආත්මික අධිකාරිත්වය යටතේ නායකත්වයේ ප්‍රායෝගික වැඩ කරනු ලබති. සභා සාමාජිකත්වය තුල අවශ්‍යතාවයන් ඇති අය ගැන සොයා බලා ඔවුන් ඒ ගැන කටයුතු කරති. කාන්තාවන්ටද ඩීකන් කෙනෙකු වීමට පුළුවන. (රෝම16:1; 1තිමොති3:8-11).

ස්ථානික සභාවේ අණ පනත්

ආඥා: “සභාව විසින් ක්‍රියාවේ යෙදිය යුතු ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ නියම කළ පිටාතර ආගමික වතාවත්. සමහරු මේවාට සක්‍රම්න්තු යයිද කියනු ලබනවා.

සක්‍රෙම්න්තුව: “සක්‍රෙම්න්තුවක් යනු දිව්‍යමය ආයතනයකින් බලය ඇති හැඟීම් වලට ප්‍රදානය කරනු ලබන යම් දෙයක්ය. එය සංකේතවත් කිරීමක් පමණක් නොව, කාර්යක්ෂමව අනුග්‍රහය අවගමනය කිරීමකුත්ය.- RC Council of Trent.

ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ රාත්‍රී භොජනය හෝ බෞතීස්මය අනුග්‍රහය අවගමනය කිරීමේ විධි යයි අප විශ්වාස කරන්නේ නැහැ. අප විශ්වාස කරන්නේ ඒවා කරනු ලබන්නේ ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ නියෝග වලට කීකරුවීම දැනටමත් ඇතුලාන්තයේ, අපේ හදවත් තුල සිදුවී ඇති දේ බාහිර වශයෙන් සිතුවම් කිරීමටය. මෙම අණ පනත් දෙකම, ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ මරණය, භූමදානය, හා නැවත නැගිටීම සිහිපත් කරවන්නේය.

බෞතීස්මය

කියවන්න මතෙව්28:19

මාදිලිය:

baptizo. යන ග්‍රීක් වචනයේ ප්‍රාථමික අර්ථය ගිල්වීමය.

බෞතීස්මය සංකේතවත් කරන, පරණ ජීවිතයට මියයාමත් නව ජීවිතයට නැගිටීමත් සංකේතවත් කරන හොඳම සිතුවම ගිල්වීමයි. නමුත් බෞතීස්මය ගැන වාද විවාද කිරීමත් නිෂ්ඵලය. සෑම ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙක්ම ඔහු හෝ ඇය එය ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ නියෝග කර ඇති බව දැනගත් වහාම බෞතීස්ම වියයුතුය. එය ඔබගේ අනන්‍යතාවයට හා ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ සමග එක්සත් වු බවට ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ සාක්ෂි දැරීමයි. ඔබ ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙක් වීමට පෙර බෞතීස්මවී ඇත්නම්,

ඔබ ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙක් ලෙස බෞතීස්මය ලැබීමට පසුබට නොවන්න. බෞතීස්මය යනු ඔබේ ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේට අවනතවීමය.

ස්වාමීන්ගේ රාත්‍රී භෝජනය, සහභාගිකම, සත් ප්‍රසාදය

කියවන්න 1කොරින්ති11:23-32

ස්වාමීන්ගේ රාත්‍රී භෝජනය පැවැත්වීමේ අරමුණු කීපයක්ම තිබෙනවා:

1. එය අපේ ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ ජීවිතය, සහ මරණය සිහි කිරීමකි. මුහුන් නැති රොටී පව් උදෙසා පුජාවක් වීමට සුදුසුකම් ලත් අපේ ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ ජීවිතයෙහි සම්පුර්ණත්වය නියෝජනය කරයි. මිදියුෂ නියෝජනය කරන්නේ අපේ පාප කමා කරන උන්වහන්සේගේ ලේ වැගිරීමයි.

2. 1කොරින්ති11:26 කියන්නේ මෙම සිහි කිරීමේ රාත්‍රී භෝජනය සුභාරංචියේ මුලික කරුණු ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන බවයි. එය ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ මරණය ප්‍රකාශ කරයි.

3. එය යේසුස් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ නැවත පැමිණෙන බව අපට සිහිපත් කරයි. උන්වහන්සේ පැමිණෙන තුරු අප එය පැවැත්වීමට නියමිතය.

4. එය ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරය තුල අප එකිනෙකා සමග ඒකත්වයක සිටින බවද එම ශරීරයේ සහෝදර සාමජිකත්වය සමග සහභාගිත්වයෙන් සිටින බවද සිහිපත් කරයි. (1කොරින්ති10:17).

කොටස් කාර විය හැක්කේ කාටද?

යේසුස් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ මරණය හා නැවත නැගිටීම තම පාප උදෙසා සිදු කර ඇතැයි විශ්වාස නොකරන අය විසින් එය නොකළ යුතුය.

නිකායක සාමාජිකත්වය ගැන නොසලකා ඕනෑම ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙකුට සහභාගි විය හැකිද? ඔව්, මෙය ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේගේ මේසයයි, එයට විශ්ව සභාවේ සියලු සාමාජිකයින් ආරාධිතය. එය බැප්ටිස්ට් හෝ කතෝලික හෝ බයිබල් සභාවක නොවේ. බාධාවීම නිකායික සම්බන්ධයක් පදනම්ව සිදුවේ නම් එය විශ්ව සභාවේ එක්සත්කම සඳහාවන කැඳවීමට එරෙහි වීමකි. (Communion at Lausanne)

අවවාදයය! 1කොරින්ති11:27-32: සහභාගිවීමට පෙර අපේ ආත්ම විමසීම හා පසුතැවිලිවීම අප විසින් කිරීමට ඇත. එසේ නොවුවොත් එය රෝගීවීම හා මරණයට පත්වීම පවා වියහැකි විනය කඩ කිරීමක් වනවා ඇත.

ස්ථානීය සභාවක් සඳහා අරමුණ

1. නමස්කාරය හා ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේ කෙරෙහිවු ප්‍රේමය පෙන්වීම( එළිදරව්2:4).

2. එහි සාමාජිකයින්ට එකිනෙකාට ප්‍රේම කිරීම හා යහපත් වැඩ කළ හැකිවන පරිදි මෙහෙවර කිරීම (හෙබ්‍රෙව්10:24).

3. මහා නියෝගය ඉටු කිරීම කරගෙන යන නියෝජිතයෙකු වීම, ඇදහිලිවතුන්ට ප්‍රතිචාර දැක්විය හැකි වන පරිදි දේව මෙහෙයන් වලදී ශුභාරංචිය දේශනා කිරීම.

4. සභාවේ අවශ්‍යතා ඇති අය ගැන සැලකිලි දැක්වීම උදා: වැන්දඹුවන්, අනාථ දරුවන්, හා දිළින්දන් ( යාකොබ්1:27;1තිමොති5:1-6).

5. ලෝකය තුල යහපත්කම් කිරීම (ගලාති6:10)

6. පරිනත ස්ථාවර හා ශුද්ධ කිතුණුවන් බිහිකිරීම ( කොලොස්සි1:28;හෙබ්‍රෙව්6:1; එපීස4:14-16). සදාචාරමය විනයක් ඇතිව මෙය න්‍යය තුල පවිත්‍රව, පැවතීම අරමුණු කරයි. (1කොරින්ති5,2තිමොති:16-18).

විශ්වීය සභාවේ නිරූපණ

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ එඬේරාය, අපි බැටළුවෝය. (යොහාන්10) රැකබලාගැනීම හා ආරක්ෂාව.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ මිදි වැලය, අපි අතුය. (යොහාන්15)- ඵලදැරීම හා ශක්තිය.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ කොනේ ගලය, අපි ගොඩනැගිල්ලේ ගල්ය. (එපීස2:19-21) කොනේ ගල දිශාවන් දෙනු ලබන අතර එය තබන්නේ එක වරක් පමණය.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ උත්තම පුජකයාය, අපි පුජක රාජ්‍යයක්ය.(1පේත්‍රැස්2) - අපි අපම පුජා වන්නෙමු, අපේ භාවාර්ථය සහ අපේ සේවය.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ හිසය, අපි උන්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයේ අවයවයෝය.(1කොරින්ති12)- හිස හැටියට උන්වහන්සේ මගපෙන්වන සේක; සාමාජිකයින් හැටියට උන්වහන්සේ අපට දී ඇති ආත්මික දීමනාවල අභ්‍යාස තුලින් අපි එකිනෙකාට සේවය කරන්නෙමු.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ මනමාලයාය, අපි උන්වහන්සේගේ මනමාලියයි.(එපීස5:25-33), එළිදරව්19:7-8) සදාකාලික ප්‍රේමය සහ සමීපත්වය.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ උරුමක්කාරයාය, අපි සබැඳි උරුමක්කාරයෝය.(හෙබ්‍රෙව්1:2, රෝම1:17)- අපි උන්වහන්සේගේ මහිමය බෙදාගන්නෙමුව.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ ප්‍රථම ඵලයයි, අපි අස්වැන්නයි.(1කොරින්ති15:23)- උන්වහන්සේගේ නැවත නැගිටීම අපගේ නැගිටීමද සහතික කරයි.

ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ ස්වාමියාය, අපි උන්වහන්සේගේ දාසයෝය (කොලොස්සි4:1, 1කොරින්ති7:22)- දාසයා කරන්නේ ස්වාමියාගේ කැමැත්තයි. ස්වාමියා දාසයා ගැන සලකන්නේය.

අප මෙම කරුණු භාවිතා කරන්නේ කෙසේද?

අපි සෑම නෙනෙක්ම විශ්ව සභාවේ සාමාජිකයින් බව සහතික කරගත යුතුය. අප නමස්කාර කරන්නේ කුමන සභාවේද යන්න ප්‍රශ්නයක් නොවේ.

විශ්වීය සභාවේ සාමාජිකත්වය ස්වාමීවු යේසුස් ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ ඔබේ ගැළවුම්කරු යයි විශ්වාසය තැබීමෙන් සුරක්ෂිතවේ. ඔබ විශ්ව සභාවේ, ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයේ සාමාජිකයෙක්, යයි දැනගැනීම මහත්වු සුරක්ෂිත කමකි. මෙම සහතිකවීම ඔබට වර්ධනයවීමට හා සේවය කිරීමට හැකි ස්ථානීය සභාව හඳුනාගැනීමට උනන්දුව ඇති කළ යුතුයි. අපේ සභාව වැනි සභාවන් බොහෝ කාරණ තුල සේවය කිරීමට සාමාජිකත්වයක් ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ නැත. නමුත් ඔබ ආශිර්වාද ලබන, ආත්මිකව වර්ධනය වන සභාවට සහය දැක්වීම ඔබ පෙන්නුම් කරන හොඳ අදහසක් නොවනවා නොවේද?

සමිබන්ධ වනවා යනු මෙහි සිටින මිනිසුන් ඔබ විසින්ම හඳුනාගැනීමයි. ඔවුන් ඔබේ පවුලයි. ඔබ මුදල් දෙනවා, ඔබ අවශ්‍යතා ඇති අයටඋදව් කරනවා, ඔබ සහභාගිකම් පවත්වනවා, ඔබ සේවය කරනවා. සම්බන්ධවීම යනු කැපවීමයි! ඔබ මෙම සභාවට නිතිපතා පැමිණ එය ඔබේ සභාව යයි සලකනවා නම්,තමා සාමාජිකයෙක් වියයුතු යයි ඔබ සිතන්නේ නැද්ද? නව සාමාජිකත්ව පංති අඩු තරමින් වසරකට හතර වතාවක් පවත්වනවා. ඒවා පවත්වන්නේ අනුගාමී ඉරුදිනවල උදෑසනය. ඔබ සම්බන්ධවීමට ඉල්ලුම් කළොත් ඔබට ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ තුල ඔබේ පුද්ගලික සාක්ෂිය දිය හැකි වැඩිහිටියෙකු සමග සම්මුඛ පරීක්ෂණයක් තිබෙනවා. ඉන්පසු ඔබ සභාවට ඉදිරිපත් කරනවා ඇත.

අපේ න්‍යායික ප්‍රකාශනය ඔබට දැනුම්දී ඇතැයි මා බලාපොරොත්තු වෙනවා. දිරිමත් වන්න, ඔබේ සභාව විශ්වාස කරන්නේ මොනවාදැයි ඔබෙන් අසන ඕනෑම කෙනෙකුට උත්තර දීමට අවශ්‍ය සම්පත් වලින් ස්ථාවර වන්න.

අධ්‍යයන ප්‍රශ්න

කියවන්න මතෙව්16:13-18; ක්‍රියා2;1-4, 41-47

1. යේසුස්වහන්සේ මේ පොළොවේ සිටියදී සභාව ගැන කථා කළේ මොන කාලයෙන්ද? සභාව උපත ලැබුවේ කවදාද? සභාවේ ඇදහිලිවතුන්ගේ චරිත හැඩ ගැසෙන ක්‍රියාකාරකම් මොනවාද?

කියවන්න 1කොරින්ති3:9-10; එපීස19:22

2. සභාවේ එකම අත්තිවාරම කවුද?

කියවන්න 1තිමොති3:15; 1කොරින්ති12:13,27; එපීස2:19-22; එපීස5:30-32

3. මේ එක් එක් ජේද සභාව ගැන කියන්නේ මොනවාද? සෑම ලාංජනයකම ඇති වැදගත්කම කුමක්ද? ඔබ සිතන්නේ මෙය යොමු කරන්නේ ස්ථානික සභාවටද විශ්වීය සභාවටද? විශ්වීය සභාවේ සාමාජිකයින් කවුද? ඔවුන් ස්ථානික සභාවෙන් වෙනස් විය හැක්කේ කෙසේද?

කියවන්න 1කොරින්ති12

4. ක්‍රිස්තුස්තුස්වහන්සේගේ ශරීරයේ සාමාජිකයින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වියයුතු විධිය ගැන මෙම ජේදය කියන්නේ මොනවාද? අප කවුරුන් වාගේද? වෙනස්ද? එකිනෙකා කෙරෙහි අපට තිබිය යුතු ආකල්ප මොනවාද? අපම කෙරෙහි තිබිය යුතු ආකල්ප මොනවාද?

කියවන්න මතෙව්26:26-29; ලුක්22:19-20; 1කොරින්ති11:23-31

5. යේසුස්වහන්සේ නැවත ලැමිණෙන තුරු පැවැත්වීමට උන්වහන්සේ නියෝග කළ වතාවත් මොනවාද? එය සිහිපත්කරන්නේ කුමක්ද? සහභාගිවීමට පෙර අපි සෑම කෙනෙක්ම කළයුත්තේ කුමක්ද? එය “නුසුදුසු ආකාරයෙන්” ගැනීම කෙරෙහි ඇති දඬුවම දඩුවම කුමක්ද?

කියවන්න මතෙව්228:18-20;ක්‍රියා2:36-47; රෝම6:1-5

6. යේසුස්වහන්සේ උන්වහන්සේගේ සභාවට පැවැත්වීමට නියෝග කළ අනෙක් වතාවත් මොනවාද? මුල් සභාවේ ඒවා කළේ කවදාද? එය සංකේතවත් කළේ කුමක්ද? එය අන්

කියවන්න යොහාන් 15:9-10

7. ඇදහිලිවතුන් බෞතීස්ම කළයුතුවීම හා රාත්‍රී භෝජනයට සහභාගිවීමේ ප්‍රධාන හේතුව කුමක්ද? අපේ කීකරුකම ඔප්පු කරන්නේ කුමක්ද? ඔබ ක්‍රිස්තුස්වහන්සේ අදහාගත්තාට පසු බෞතීස්ම වී තිබෙනවාද?

8. ස්ථානීය සභාවට කැපවීමට හා සම්බන්ධ වීමට අපට අත්මික පරිනත භාවයකට වර්ධනය වීම අවශ්‍යය වන්නේ ඇයි? ඇදිහිලිවතුන්ගේ ප්‍රාදේශීය සංවිධානයක පමණක් සිටීමෙන් අපට මගහැරීමට ඉඩ ඇත්තේ කුමක්ද? “මට සභාවකට යන්නට වුවමනා නැහැ, මමම දෙවියන්වහන්සේ නමස්කාර කරනවා යයි කියන ඇදහිලිවන්තයෙකුට ඔබ දෙන පිළිතුර කුමක්ද?

August 29, 2005 saw one of the most deadly storms of recent U.S. history hit the shores of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina unleashed 100+ mph winds and torrential rains across the city. The storm, over 400 miles in diameter, didn’t just leave wind and rain in its wake, it also led to the failure of the city’s aging levee system which caused massive destruction and even death across the city. For anyone who remembers seeing those images, you also saw the chaos and helplessness that followed as people were being rescued off rooftops by boat. Many took shelter in the Superdome which was also a scene of chaos and violence itself. It was a shocking and horrific scene, one which we are not accustomed to seeing in the U.S., and the recovery is still ongoing.

In the days that followed, many of those evacuated from New Orleans came to cities in Texas who rose to the challenge in an honorable and compassionate way by providing shelter, food and other necessary services. One of those places of refuge was the (now dismantled) Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. It is in that setting this story takes place.

I had been called as part of a team of volunteer chaplains to go in to Reunion and provide pastoral care to one of the first groups that arrived. I don’t mind confessing my anxiety as I entered the arena. I had no idea what to expect and I was fearful considering all I had seen at the Superdome. It was full of people of all ages, some milling about the concourse and some sitting on the rows and rows of green army cots that had been set up on the floor. However, it was quiet and orderly and I was encouraged to see so much help available to the evacuees.

I stood for a moment at the chaplains’ table where we were headquartered and prayed for “holy radar” – that God would lead me to the people who needed my help. As I walked along the rows of cots, mostly empty with a few adults and children scattered about, I noticed in particular one frail woman sitting very properly, knees together and hands folded resting on her lap. I sat down on the cot next to hers, our knees facing, and asked if she would like to talk. She readily accepted my offer.

And then, in a very quiet, measured voice, she began to tell me her story. She and her husband lived in one of the many homes that had flooded and had to be rescued from their rooftop. Not only that, but they were also caretakers to her disabled mother who had been a stroke patient. The mother was totally bed-ridden. As they were deposited from the boat onto dry land, they somehow made their way, with the mother, to the Superdome. Soon after they got there her husband realized it was not a good place to be and insisted they leave. He didn’t know how, but he knew they couldn’t stay in a place so volatile and desperate. So again, all three of them made their way down the highway. They walked for miles, each carrying the disabled mother, until the mother couldn’t take the stress any longer. She died along the way. Another victim of Hurricane Katrina.

The couple had no choice but to continue to walk, in spite of their grief and shock and with the body in tow. Soon after, a truck came along the road, miraculously driven by an acquaintance of the husband. The bed of the truck was already full of people trying to leave the city. The lady went on to tell me how her husband begged the man to please give them a ride as he was their only hope. The driver finally agreed, under one condition, “You can’t bring that body,” he said.

So, with tears streaming down her face but still perfectly composed, the lady looked at me and said, “So I had to leave my mother on the side of the road. That’s the hardest thing I ever did.” And then she said one thing I will never forget as long as I live, “Thank you for letting me tell you my story.”

Thank me? Thank me? I sat in stunned silence as the magnitude of what I had just heard set in. I couldn’t have spoken if I had wanted to. Even today the story overwhelms me. But it taught me a valuable lesson – which is many times the most beneficial thing we can do for each other is to listen to one another’s stories. I am reminded of a quote, “Over and over again, I am struck by the transforming significance and profound simplicity of the ministry of listening.”

James 1:19 gives us a Scriptural example, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” (NKJV). Scripture itself encourages us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Two perfect guidelines for practicing pastoral care skills to those in need of comfort or just affirmation. Be ready to listen, and slow to speak.

However, this skill does not come naturally to most of us, and to become a good listener requires focus and practice as does the acquisition of any worthwhile skill. Our minds are busy; we’re thinking of what we have to do that day, we’re distracted by our cell-phones, our iPads, our own thoughts, we’re thinking about what we’re going to say next, we glance at our watch, we fidget. In other words, we want our friend to hurry up and talk so we can get on with our lives. But is this helpful? Is it healing? Does this show respect? And most of all, is this how Jesus encountered others?

No. Jesus stopped. He listened. Jesus was fully present with all He encountered – He gave them His full attention. He called people by their name. He let them tell their story. He was never in a hurry. He mourned with them and was present in their pain.

As members of the body of Christ, and particularly women who have sought out this article to read, you WILL have the opportunity to do this. When people are in crisis, grief or pain, they need someone to share it with. Always remember, at times like this your presence and keen listening may be your greatest gift. Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “Christians so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others – that is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.”

And here’s another Bonheoffer quote of encouragement, “The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship is listening to them. Just as the love of God begins with listening to His word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is listening to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives us His word, but also lends us His ear.”

So how do we do this? What are the skills necessary to become a good listener? Below I will list 10 Tools for Effective Listening. Prayerfully and patiently begin to incorporate these into the next time you are in the position someone needs a sympathetic ear.

• Face the speaker – maintain eye contact
• Be attentive, yet relaxed
• Keep an open mind – do not judge
• Listen to the words and try to picture in your mind the event or thought being described
• Do not interrupt!
• Do not impose your solutions or try to fix
• Wait for the speaker to pause to ask limited clarifying questions. Ask questions for clarification only, not to probe for further details or to be intrusive.
• Try to feel what the speaker is feeling
• Give the speaker regular feedback; restate, summarize, reflect, validate, encourage
• Pay attention to what isn’t said – feelings, facial expressions, gestures, posture or other non-verbal cues

Please note that you should always hold everything your friend has said in the strictest of confidence, even if that has not been stated. People are sometimes unusually open and vulnerable in times of crisis and nothing they say needs to be repeated outside of the confidence in which they have spoken to you.

Perhaps another way to look at being a good listener is to look at the other side of the coin. How do you know when someone is NOT listening? My husband and I were at a Family Life conference once and the speaker shared the following. After the session, I quickly went to the front and asked if he would share this with me, which I copied from his notes (written by Dave Rober):

I’m Not Listening

When I’m thinking about an answer while others are talking, I’m not listening.

When I give unsolicited advice, I’m not listening.

When I suggest they shouldn’t feel the way they do, I’m not listening.

When I apply a quick fix, I’m not listening.

When I fail to acknowledge their feelings, I’m not listening.

When I fail to maintain eye contact, I’m not listening.

When I don’t ask follow-up questions, I’m not listening.

When I top their story with a bigger, better story of my own, I’m not listening.

When they share a difficult experience and I counter with one of my own, I’m not listening.

Really, all I have to do is listen. I don’t have to talk, just listen.

We are all guilty of some of these, and most of the time we mean well – we really do want to help and be a good friend, we just don’t have the tools. It has been the goal of this article to give you the ability and some concrete methods of being the good listener and friend we desire to be. Be patient with yourself. As stated earlier, proficiency requires practice, but you can do this. Not only will you succeed, with the power of the Holy Spirit, you can be an outstanding representative of Him.

You have sought this website and this article because you are in ministry or you are looking for Bible-based tools to help you in your journey. Hopefully, you see now the tool of being a good listener doesn’t just have value within the body of Christ – it has value in every area of your life. These skills transfer. You will be a better spouse, parent, employee, professional, staff member, or whatever. Ask God to help you do this – He will. And the more you employ the practice of being a good listener, the better you will become, showing His love to all through your compassion and presence.

“The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.”

Proverbs 16:21

February 23, 2014

Our text is a difficult portion of John, not because it is hard to understand, but because it is hard to know whether this incident should be included in John’s Gospel as an authentic part of inspired Scripture. Many versions put these verses in brackets, with a note explaining that it is not included in the earliest manuscripts of John. So I must give you a mini-lecture on textual criticism.

As you probably know, we do not possess any of the original copies of the New Testament books. Our New Testament is based on the translation of thousands of Greek manuscripts that are, for the most part, remarkably close in their readings. When there are variations between the manuscripts, they are usually only of minor significance. For example, in our text last week in 7:40, some manuscripts read, “when they heard these words.” Others read, “these words of His” or “His word,” or, “the word,” or, “this word.” Obviously, it doesn’t make much difference which reading is adopted.

Textual criticism is the discipline where scholars evaluate both external and internal evidence to try to determine which reading is most likely the original. External evidence refers to weighing the various manuscripts in light of their age, how widespread is their distribution, and what text type they represent. Internal evidence refers to evaluating the probabilities of what a scribe might have done, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to result in the various readings. Both internal and external evidence have to be compared and evaluated.

There are two longer texts where the manuscript evidence is so varied and late that many scholars question their authenticity: Mark 16:9-20 and here, in John 7:53-8:11. Let me add that there are no major doctrines at stake in these or in any other textual variants. With rare exceptions, we can be sure that what we read is what the original authors wrote.

The problem is that John 7:53-8:11 is not found in any of the earliest manuscripts or versions (translations into other languages). The earliest manuscript to contain it is from the fifth century A.D. All the early church Fathers omit this narrative in their commentaries on John, moving from 7:52 to 8:12. No Eastern Father before the tenth century cites the text. Many later manuscripts that include the passage mark it off to show that it’s of doubtful authority. Among those that include it, there are many textual variants. And some manuscripts put it at other places in John (after 7:44; 7:36; 21:25) or after Luke 21:38. Also, although it should not be regarded with as much weight as the external evidence, most scholars argue that the style, Greek constructions, and vocabulary of the story differ significantly from the rest of the Gospel of John. And, they assert that the story interrupts the flow of the narrative from John 7:52 to 8:12. (This paragraph taken from D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John [Apollos/Eerdmans], p. 333; and Andreas Kostenberger, John [Baker], pp. 245-247.)

These reasons cause many reputable evangelical scholars to conclude that this story is not a part of John’s original Gospel. Among these are: Leon Morris, Merrill Tenney, D. A. Carson, Ed Blum, Andreas Kostenberger, Colin Kruse, John Piper, R. C. Lenski, R. V. G. Tasker, B. F. Westcott, Alfred Edersheim, Frederic Godet, G. Campbell Morgan, and A. T. Robertson. However, these scholars generally hold that it reports an authentic historical event that is true to the character of Jesus.

Some scholars, however, argue that in spite of the weak textual support, this story should be included in John’s Gospel and treated as inspired Scripture, based largely on internal evidence: R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, James Boice, William Hendriksen, A. W. Pink, J. C. Ryle, David Brown (in Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown) and John Calvin. They argue that the story fits the flow of John’s Gospel at this point and the pattern that John follows of a story setting the stage for the theme to follow. They also point out that both Augustine and Ambrose in the late fourth and early fifth centuries believed that the story may have been omitted because it seems to suggest that Jesus condoned adultery. So, there are solid men on both sides of this issue.

So, how should we view this story? I can’t dodge the weight of the textual evidence. Bruce Metzger, who edited A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament ([United Bible Societies], 2nd ed., p. 187), wrote, “The evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming.” Leon Morris agrees (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans, 1971], p. 882): “The textual evidence makes it impossible to hold that this section is an authentic part of the Gospel.” But Morris adds (p. 883),

But if we cannot feel that this is part of John’s Gospel we can feel that the story is true to the character of Jesus. Throughout the history of the church it has been held that, whoever wrote it, this little story is authentic. It rings true. It speaks to our condition. It is thus worth our while to study it, though not as an authentic part of John’s writing.

So while I cannot agree with John MacArthur that the story is original to John’s Gospel, I appreciate some questions that he asks of this story (on gty.org):

Question number one, do these verses teach truth that violates other Scripture? The answer is no, they do not. Question two, do they in fact corroborate other Scripture and substantiate it? The answer is yes they do.

So I will proceed by showing some lessons that this text gives us, which can be supported by other undisputed texts, on how God deals with sinners who have been caught in the very act of sin. In case you’re half-asleep by now, that means all of us, because God knows every sin of thought, word, and deed that we have ever done! The overall lesson is:

God deals with guilty sinners on the basis of the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, this story beautifully illustrates John 1:17, “The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” The scribes and Pharisees judged this woman according to the Law, which clearly condemned her. Jesus showed her both grace and truth.

1. All of us, like this woman, have been caught in the act of sin and stand condemned by God’s holy law.

To catch someone in the act of adultery so that it would hold up in a Jewish trial for execution was no small feat. The witnesses actually had to have seen the couple going through physical movements that could be capable of no other explanation (Morris, p. 885, note 12). Compromising circumstances, such as seeing a couple coming from a room where they had been alone, or even seeing them lying on the same bed, were not sufficient. The witnesses had to have seen the same acts at the same time in the presence of each other for their testimony to hold up in a Jewish court.

So it’s very likely that the scribes and Pharisees had set a trap to catch this woman so they could trap Jesus on the horns of a dilemma and accuse Him. Either He would agree that the woman must be stoned, thereby undermining His reputation as the Savior of sinners and probably getting Him into trouble with the Roman authorities, who didn’t give the Jews the right of capital punishment; or, He would show her mercy, thus proving that He did not uphold the Law of Moses and was soft on sin. That this was a deliberate trap is also seen by the fact that they only brought one sinner to Jesus. You don’t commit adultery all alone! So where was the man? Probably he was on their side in the trap and thus was allowed to escape. But, note that, like this woman…

A. We’ve all been caught in the act of sin.

We’ve all had the humiliating experience of getting caught doing something that we knew was wrong. Maybe you were checking out the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue on your phone or I-pad when another believer looked over your shoulder to say hello. Or perhaps on a summer day with the windows and doors open you and your spouse were in a loud argument when the doorbell rang and it was someone from church. No matter what the sin, it’s always embarrassing.

In this story, the woman had not only been caught in the act of adultery, but then she was dragged (probably barely clothed) by the religious authorities into the temple where there were always crowds of people, many of whom would have known her. To make matters worse, they accused her before the godly religious teacher, Jesus of Nazareth. And her accusers were pushing for the ultimate penalty of execution. It was both humiliating and frightening!

But even if we manage to keep our sin hidden from fellow Christians or from public view, every single sin that we have ever committed is open and laid bare to the eyes of the living God (Heb. 4:13). He knows every sinful thought that we secretly entertain. He knows every swear word that we mutter under our breath. He knows the hatred that simmers in our hearts towards those who have wronged us. He knows every deceptive word that we have ever spoken to try to cover our tracks. He knows the sins that we commit when we’re alone or when we’re away in another city where we don’t know a soul. Like this woman, we’ve all been caught in the act of sin.

B. Religious people are just as guilty of sin as openly immoral people are.

We tend to look on the woman in this story as the great sinner, while overlooking the fact that the scribes and Pharisees were just as evil, if not more so, in God’s sight. They were callously sinning against this woman. We can’t say for certain, but probably she was a young girl. In the Law of Moses, the penalty for adultery was death for both partners, without stipulating the means of death. But if the girl was engaged to be married, the penalty was specifically stoning to death (Deut. 22:22-24). Since Jewish girls were often engaged as young as 13 or 14, this girl may have been a frightened teenager. Clearly, they didn’t care about her at all. If they had cared about her, they could have held her in private custody until they brought formal charges against her. But they didn’t care about her feelings or about humiliating her in public. She was just a pawn for them to use and discard in their attempt to trap Jesus.

But, even more seriously than sinning against this woman, these religious leaders were also sinning against the sinless Son of God. Their aim was to destroy Jesus and they were using both this woman and the Scriptures to do it! They weren’t concerned about God’s honor or about holiness among God’s people. It just so happened that the Law gave them ammunition to use against this woman and against Jesus. They were using Scripture to judge others, but not to judge themselves.

That’s very common in Christian circles. People use the Bible for their own selfish ends, to judge others or to bring down their enemies. But they never apply it to themselves. And so it is often religious people—those professing to know Christ—who are just as guilty of sin as openly immoral people are.

C. God’s holy law condemns us all because of our sin.

Paul builds this case in Romans 1-3, where he shows that both pagan Gentiles and religious Jews are guilty of sin. His conclusion is (Rom. 3:23), “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So whether we fit more with the immoral woman or with the self-righteous, unloving Pharisees, who used the Bible for their own sinful purposes, we need to see ourselves in this story. It convicts us all of our sin and guilt before God.

This story sets up an important question: If God is full of love and grace, how can He show mercy to sinners and yet uphold His holiness and justice?

2. God’s grace and love do not negate His truth or justice.

Nowhere in this story does Jesus excuse this woman’s sin or condone what she had done. And yet He showed her grace.

A. Jesus deals with sinners first by applying God’s Law and truth to them.

The scribes and Pharisees came armed with the Law as a weapon to use against this woman, but as the text says, mostly to use against Jesus (8:5): “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” But they were saying this to test Him. Jesus responded by stooping down and writing on the ground with His finger. This is the only instance in the Gospels where Jesus wrote anything, but the big question that you’re all wondering is, “What did He write?” Here’s the answer: Nobody knows! Some have said that He was stalling for time so that He could think of what to say, but that demeans our all-wise Lord. Some say that He was writing the Pharisees’ sins in the dust, like people today write, “Wash me” in the dust of a dirty car. Others say that He was writing the Ten Commandments, which God wrote with His finger on the tablets of stone. Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], pp. 319-320) suggested that He was shaming His enemies by ignoring them, showing that they were unworthy to be heard. But, the bottom line is, the text doesn’t tell us and so everyone is just guessing.

Jesus may have been giving these hypocritical accusers enough rope to hang themselves, because the next verse (8:7) says that when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus wasn’t saying that human judges in a court of law have to be sinlessly perfect before they can judge others, because then no law could ever be upheld. Rather, Jesus was applying what He taught in Matthew 7:1-5 to them:

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

In other words, these hypocrites had a huge log in their own eyes: They were sinfully using this woman and using Scripture to try to trap Jesus. They came to condemn her and accuse Jesus; but they ended up being accused and condemned. The Law is like a boomerang: You aim it at others and it comes back and conks you on the head. The starting place for receiving God’s mercy is to be convicted by God’s holy law that you are the chief of sinners.

But, rather than falling at Jesus’ feet and asking for mercy, they left Him and went out. Perhaps the oldest left first because they had the most sins of which to feel guilty. But none of them repented, because as a group they kept pressing for Jesus’ death until they finally succeeded. But, maybe you’re wondering, “Why didn’t Jesus apply the Law to this guilty woman?”

B. Jesus gives the Law to the self-righteous, but offers grace to broken sinners who repent.

The Law can reveal your sin (Rom. 3:20), but it can’t offer grace and forgiveness. But Jesus came to reveal both grace and truth (John 1:14, 17). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus confronted the self-righteous with their own sins, but He showed mercy to those who were convicted of their sins and were repentant. Granted, in this story there is no direct statement that the woman was repentant, but I think we can infer that by Jesus’ gracious words to her. He knew what was in every heart and He was always quick to offer grace to the broken. By not stating that she was repentant, the story illustrates the truth that God first revealed to Moses (Exod. 33:19b, cited in Rom. 9:15), “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” It is God’s privilege and His delight to show grace to undeserving sinners.

But it isn’t cheap grace. God’s justice must be upheld. He can be both gracious to sinners and yet uphold His justice because Jesus came to this earth to offer Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice for sin that God’s justice demanded. As Romans 3:26 states, God’s righteousness is displayed in that He is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus,” whose death satisfied God’s wrath against our sin. Or (2 Cor. 5:21), “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The only sinless person in the temple that day who legitimately could have thrown a stone at the adulteress showed her mercy. And if you are heavy with your load of sin and guilt, come to Jesus and cry out for mercy and He will not condemn you. Like the publican in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:14), you will go to your house justified, declared righteous before God!

3. God’s grace is the basis for a holy life.

Jesus said to this guilty woman (John 8:11), “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” He did not say, “Go your way and sin no more and then I will not condemn you.” Her pardon was not dependent on her behavior. Rather, her pardon was the motivation to change her behavior. If forgiveness depends on having a perfect track record, no one could obtain it, because we all sin. So God grants forgiveness as a free gift to all who put their trust in what Christ did in dying on the cross for their sins. His free grace then becomes the motive to live in holiness to please the one who gave Himself for us.

As Paul says (Rom. 6:1-2), “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Or (Titus 2:11-12), “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age ….” God’s amazing grace is the motivation to life a holy life.

Conclusion

I’ve shared this with you before, but it has stuck with me all of my life and God has used it to help me walk in holiness before Him. When I was in high school, like any high school student, I was tempted by many sins. I knew many guys who were involved sexually with girls, which tempted me to do the same. Also, many of my friends would get drunk at parties and I had many opportunities to join them. I think that I was a Christian at that time, but I wasn’t walking closely with the Lord. But, in spite of my weak spiritual life, I never got involved in those sins.

Why not? I distinctly remember thinking on many occasions when those temptations came along, “I can’t do that because it would hurt Dad and Mom if I did it.” I knew that my parents loved me and trusted me. I didn’t want to violate their love and trust. Their love motivated me to want to please them.

That’s how God’s grace should work in our hearts. Like this adulterous woman, I was guilty and condemned before Him. But rather than condemning me, because of His sovereign grace He loved me enough to die in my place and offer me a full pardon. And since it cost Him so much, I can’t take His grace cheaply. I can’t sin and shrug it off by saying, “I’m under grace.” I want to please the one who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20). That same grace is available to every sinner who has been caught in the act! Receive it and then go and sin no more.

Application Questions

1. Why does the evangelical church tend to overlook the sins of hypocrisy, legalism, gossip, and pride, but judge sins like drunkenness, immorality, homosexuality, etc.?
2. What can we learn about witnessing from Jesus’ pattern of giving the Law to the self-righteous, but offering grace to sinners?
3. An unbeliever asks you, “Why can’t God just forgive sins? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?” Your answer?
4. Why does a true understanding of God’s grace never lead to licentious living? Can we emphasize His grace too much?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2014, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

When we think of the word “rest,” many different ideas come to mind such as: peace, quietness, relaxation, ease, or a good night’s rest (i.e., sleep). Many consider the thought of death as an everlasting rest from the pressures of this life. For example, Poe writes:

Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city, lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.¹

Many of these are reflected in the Bible as well. Although several Hebrew words convey the idea of rest, “rest” is most commonly associated with words from the Hebrew root nwḥ. Even here “rest” is used in many varied contexts. Although the commonly held view of death as the true place of rest is attested (e.g., Job 3:17), of distinct interest are those that are used in connection with God’s promises concerning “rest” for his people, which include: “a place to land on, a place of serenity, and cessation from effort” as well as “safety and security.” ²

Scriptural Examples of Rest

David’s rehearsal of the God’s instructions to him concerning Solomon is told in 1 Chronicles 22. Here we learn that although David had a strong desire to build a temple for the Lord, the Lord did not permit him to do so (I Chron. 22: 5-8). Rather, the Lord said, “Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man. I will give him rest from his enemies on every side. Indeed, Solomon will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He will build a temple to honor me” (1 Chron. 22:9-10).³ Not David, the man of many wars, but his son Solomon, whose very name conveys the thought of peace (see NET text note), would have this privilege. As Selman remarks,

David’s disqualification was not because of sin, for he had fought ‘before me’ (v. 8). It was God who had promised him military victory (14:10, 14; 17:11) and enabled him to achieve it (18:6, 13; 19:13)… the main thrust is probably to underline the contrast with Solomon’s reign as one of peace and rest.⁴

Here, then, we see one use of the thought of “rest”—that of peace and security.

Indeed, Solomon’s long reign of 40 years was largely characterized as one of peace, security, and prosperity (cf. 1 Kings 8:56). Nevertheless, his many alliances with foreign nations sealed by marriage arrangements caused Solomon’s a great spiritual decline. As a man endowed with God’s wisdom he should have remembered and followed the Lord’s specific instruction for kings: “He must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside” (Deut. 17:17). Moreover, Solomon’s multiple marriages contributed not only to internal strife engendered by political rivals in his later years but after his death to the actual division of his kingdom.⁵ As Kaiser points out,

At the root of his problems was his multiple marriage alliances with other nations, alliances that required him to provide for their foreign pantheons right in the heart of the land to pacify his wives….The seeds of defection from the union had been well established in               his own day. Though he would die before the fruit of some of his own disastrous policies would come to fruition, the division of the kingdom was now beyond repair or remediation. ⁶

Peaceful conditions and prosperity can deteriorate rapidly when one abandons the priority of God to live a self-centered life.

This was a lesson that God’s people Israel learned during the days of their wilderness experience after their exodus from Egypt. As the psalmist records citing God’s feelings toward his all-too-often disobedient people,

For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation,
and I said, “These people desire to go astray;
they do not obey my commands.”
So I made a vow in my anger,
“They will never enter into my resting place I had set aside for them.” (Ps. 95:10-11)

Rather than entering into the land, which the Lord had promised to the heirs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and experiencing that “rest,” that generation had forfeited God’s blessings. In this regard it is tragic that this should be the case, for God had assured Moses that the Lord’s presence would be with him and an assumedly faithful Israel to guide them into the land of promise and rest: “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest” (Exod. 33:14). As Stuart explains, this was “a full restoration of the original idea of God’s promise to bring the people out of Egypt and into the promised land personally as stated in 3:8, 12, 17).”⁷ Nevertheless, despite God’s assurances and all that he had done for them, their hearts and lives had become self-centered and callous toward him. As Leupold remarks, “There is no parallel on record when God decreed the death of a whole generation as He did in connection with the stubborn sin of Israel.”⁸ Citing this incident, the author of the book of Hebrews appropriately admonishes his readers, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God” (Heb. 3:12).

The events in Israel’s journey in the wilderness should have served as a spiritual lesson for subsequent generations of Israelites. Moreover, God renewed the assurance of his presence to his people as they were about to cross the Jordan River to enter the land of promise and rest. “When you do go across the Jordan River and settle in the land he is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief (Heb., He gives you rest) from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety” (Deut. 12:10). Yet as time went on and generation followed generation, God’s people were often far from being faithful to the Lord and his standards. Thus it is not totally surprising that even the God-blessed Solomon would become spiritually unfaithful and his kingdom divided or that the people of the people of divided Israel would eventually prove so spiritually corrupt that God would judge them. They would be defeated by enemies and taken into captivity:

In the past he said to them,
“This is where security can be found.
…
This is where rest can be found.”
But they refused to listen.
So the Lord’s word to them will sound like
meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling,
a syllable here, a syllable there.
As a result they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk,
and be injured, ensnared, and captured. (Isa. 28:12-13).

As Oswalt observes, “Something within the human heart wants to find its security in its own devices over which it has control. So they would not listen. … Since they would not listen to the gentle words of God, but mocked them, the people of Samaria were doomed to learn the effects of sin at the hands of a much harder teacher—experience.”⁹ Not only would the northern kingdom of Israel fall to Assyria in 722 B.C. but later the southern kingdom of Judah would be defeated and taken into exile by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

The record of the people of Israel’s preoccupation with their own way instead of being faithful to the Lord should stand as a spiritual lesson for believers of all times and nations. As George Herbert wrote, rather than living for self,

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in anything
To do it as for Thee.¹⁰

So it is that when believers and nations live in faithfulness to the Lord, not self, they may ask the Lord for forgiveness, relief, and rest. So it would prove even for all of the judged, exiled people of the divided kingdom, Judah and Israel. There was yet hope for a repentant, faithful people. The Lord could and would have compassion on them, judge their captors, arrogant Babylon and other wicked nations, and restore them to their land (Isa. 14:1-2). He would thereby give “relief (Heb., rest) from your suffering and anxiety, and from the hard labor which you were made to perform” (Isa. 14:3).

Relief from earth’s toils, trials, and tribulation did not cease with the experience of God’s people Israel. As we shall see below, true rest remained and is still to be found in the Lord. Therefore, as John Haynes Holmes expresses it, believers may seek true relief and rest:

O God, whose smile is in the sky,
Once more from earth’s tumultuous strife,
We gladly turn to Thee.
…
We come as those with toil far spent
Who crave Thy rest and peace,
And from the care and fret of life
Would find in Thee release.¹¹

Indeed, the Lord is ever available for faithful believers who call upon him in sincerity for the relief that only he can provide. As David declares in the thirty-seventh Psalm, a consistent, total, whole-soul commitment to the Lord (intellect emotions, and will) can enable a person to “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (v.7; NASB, NKJV). Psalm 37 is one of several alphabetic acrostic psalms in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet successively introduces a section of the psalm. In this psalm two couplets are devoted to each letter. In verses 3-7, which is the focus of our attention, the second (vv.3-4), third (vv. 5-6), and fourth (v. 7) Hebrew letters are used. Alphabetic acrostics thus display literary artistry. Yet that artistry is devoted to emphasizing solid biblical teaching, while making memorization all the more easy.

David begins his psalm (vv1-2) with a statement that provides a rather good summation of what is to be emphasized and learned from what will be presented in the psalm as a whole. Believers are encouraged not to be discouraged by or envious of the wicked regardless of their success or prosperity. For their coming adversity is certain. Rather, believers should first of all,

Trust in the Lord and do what is right!
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! (v.3)

The phrase “trust in” carries with it the thought of having full confidence in the Lord. It indicates that a person may know for certain that he can rely on God completely. Other notable examples include (but are not limited to) Psalms 32:10; 112:7; and Jeremiah 17:7 where there is “a strong interest in Wisdom.… The recurring admonition, Trust in the Lord!” can be understood in the light of this. It is especially impressive in antithetical statement in Prov. 3:5: “Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.”¹² Although a synonym is used to express Abraham’s faith (Heb. ’mn, “believe, put trust in”), it likewise expresses the thought of full, knowledgeable faith accompanied by a favorable spiritual evaluation: “Abraham believed the LORD, and the LORD considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty (Gen. 15:6). Thus one’s faith in the Lord should be so deeply embedded in his heart and mind that whatever he does bears witness to his integrity and right standing before the Lord.

Moreover, when a person lives in this way, he experiences true joy of living:

Take delight in the LORD
and He will give you your heart’s desires. (Psalm 37:4, HCSB).

One who takes his delight in the Lord, rather than self, will realize his desires because that which he now desires is in accordance with the Lord’s desires for him. As Delitzsch remarks, “He who, entirely severed from the creature, finds his highest delight in God, cannot desire anything that is at enmity with God, but he can also desire nothing that God, with whose will his own is thoroughly blended in love, would refuse him.”¹³ The believer’s trust is also underscored in a total commitment of his will to the Lord:

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in Him and he will act,
making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday. (vv. 5-6, HCSB)

In context, this call for commitment is more literally expressed as to “’roll away’ or ‘cast’ on the Lord one’s feelings of anger, resentment, and jealousy (cf. 55:22; Pr 16:3; 1 Pe 5:7). “The ‘way’ pertains to one’s whole life, including negative feelings, nagging questions, and concerns of justice. God expects His children to be children and to put themselves entirely under His fatherly love.”¹⁴ Such a commitment of the will to the God of righteousness and justice (cf. Deut. 32:4) will be rewarded by the Lord’s vindicating the integrity of the believer’s life.

What has been presented in these verses is a charge to exercise genuine faith. Faith may be defined as a whole-soul commitment to God, intellect, emotions, and will, resting in the sufficiency of the evidence. True faith involves firm belief and trust in the Lord (intellect), distinctly genuine delight and joy in him above all (emotions), and a total commitment to him and adherence to the revealed standards in the Word of God (will). Rather than an “easy believism,” true faith involves an exercise of the total person.

When real faith resides in an individual, it enables the believer to “rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him” (v. 7; NASB; NKJV). Where such strong faith and trust exist there is a proper perspective on the issues of life. Rather than envying the seeming successes and state of the wicked or worrying needlessly concerning various matters, the believer can be assured that the Lord’s way is the best way. God’s plans will ultimately succeed and the believer’s faith will be fully rewarded.

Rest in the Midst of Trials and Troubles

As we have noted above, it is crucial for a believer to be faithful to the Lord and to his standards so as to live for the Lord, not self. When he does so, rest is available even in the most difficult circumstances. The need for absolute trust and for resting in the sufficiency of God is exemplified in Psalm 77 in which the psalmist points to a crisis in his life:

I will cry (or I cried out, NIV) out to God and call for help!
I will cry out (or I cried out, NIV) to God and he will pay attention to me.
In my time of trouble I sought the Lord
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.
I refused to be comforted. (Ps. 77:1-2)

Despite his normal practice of calling on God in times of trouble (I cry aloud, HCSB), the psalmist felt that the Lord was not responding to his plea. It was as though God was not responding to his plea. He wondered whether God had abandoned him to his weakness and misery. He felt quite alone in his struggle. One is reminded of the old spiritual, which said,

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.
Nobody knows my sorrow.

But then the psalmist said to himself:

I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.

The Hebrew word translated, “groan” in most versions gives some indication of his troubled condition. ¹⁵ The Hebrew root underlying this verb is a deeply descriptive one. It‘s understanding is to be sought in the inner groaning of the soul that often gives rise to excited, perhaps indistinct, sounds of the lips. A sense of confused sound or movement appears to be present wherever the root occurs. Interestingly enough, it can be used to depict the noise made by a bear (Isa. 59:11) or a dog (Ps. 59:6, 14) or the plaintiff mourning of a flitting dove (Ezek. 7:16). It also appears in connection with the roar of the sea (Isa. 51:15) and the din of the city (Isa. 22:2).

This Hebrew root was also used to describe the soliloquy of the soul (Ps.. 42 :5,11; 43:5). Here David speaks of the severe fret of soul that he was experiencing (see NET text note) and the sense of loneliness and despair he was feeling. Even here in his inner questionings, musings, and thoughts he finds hope for his condition:

Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks to my God
for his saving intervention. (Ps. 43:5)

This latter idea is in view in Psalm 77. The desperate plight of the psalmist had given rise to an inner anguish that prevented his speaking (v. 4). Overwhelmed by adverse circumstances, he could only groan inaudibly (v. 3) and complain (cf. KJV; lit. “meditate):

I said, I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me. (NET)

As he thought further about the good life he had once enjoyed with the Lord, he struggled to reconcile that with what he was going through now (vv.5-6). Comfortless, his heart was wacked by restlessness and haunting doubt. Could God have cast him off forever? (v.7). Even worse, could it be that God has now retracted or nullified his covenantal favor toward his people? Is God so angry with his people that he has ceased being the merciful and forgiving father of old? (vv.8-9). The psalmist was so upset at this that he said to himself, “I am sickened by the thought that the sovereign one might become inactive” (v.10). At this prospect he was thoroughly perplexed in his soul and in desperate need of divine consolation. As Leupold suggests it appeared to him that,

God is not what he used to be. What was true in regard to Him in the past certainly does not seem to be so now. More particularly, it appears that God either has not the strength that is able to help, or else He does not care to use it if He has it. To be in such a situation brings with it a most anguishing dilemma. The very ground is gone from under a man’s feet.¹⁶             

Bearing these truths in mind, it is not surprising to read of the psalmist’s change of direction in his thinking. Indeed, his notion that the Sovereign One (Heb. “Most High”) could become inactive (v.10) moves the psalmist to consider the wondrous and marvelous things that God has done. His description is painted in four-fold fashion in reflecting in his mind who the Lord is and what he has done (vv.11-14). God’s work is described as: “amazing things, deeds, extraordinary deeds, and amazing things.” In the Hebrew text this is expressed in two pairs of synonyms, one pair for “amazing things” and one pair for “deeds.” In each set of synonyms there are different words but words that sound very much alike. The effect is both so vivid and stimulating that the palmist can only exclaim, “What god can compare to our great God?” (cf. Isa. 40:25). The answer to the implied question is of course, “None at all!” Indeed, there is no other God than Yahweh (V.11, Heb., “Yah”).

Moreover, he is a God of essential holiness (v.13) who acts in ways that are essentially pure. This is especially true with regard to Israel. For in revealing his omnipotence in his mighty works among the nations (v. 14), he accomplished the redemption the redemption of his chosen people, “the children of Jacob and Joseph” (v.15). As the Lord displayed his superintending purpose in the affairs of things here on earth, he also displayed his essential holiness. What is done is done through his holy power. As another psalmist expresses it,

The LORD is just in all his actions.
and exhibits love in all he does. (Ps. 145:17)¹⁷

Therefore, his redeemed people are likewise to reflect the Lord’s holiness in their conduct and acts. How grievous it must have been for Jeremiah to inform the people of his day of the Lord’s condemnation of them for their moral and spiritual failure, for enemy forces would soon:

“Surround Jerusalem like men guarding a field
because they have rebelled against me,”
says the LORD.
“The way you have lived
and the things you have done
will bring this on you.
This is the punishment you deserve,
and it will be painful indeed.” (Jer. 4: 17-18b)

The psalmist brings his thoughts to a close by focusing on God’s great power as seen in his mighty acts on behalf of his people Israel (vv. 16-20). The most memorable of these is, perhaps, the exodus, which details events from Israel’s departure from Egypt until its entrance into the land of promise. Psalm 77 takes its place the many Old Testament texts recounting this redemptive experience (cf. v.15). This includes two longer poetic accounts (Exod. 15:1-18; Hab. 3: 3-15) as well as many shorter notices. God’s power over the natural world is often portrayed in the Scriptures (cf. Pss. Judges 5:4-5; 18:8-18; 68:8-9; Hab. 3:10-11). Although God’s power in the natural world can be witnessed in the total exodus event, such as in the final crossing of the Jordan River (Ps. 114), here the passing through the Red Sea is particularly in view:

You walked through the sea;
you passed through the surging waters,
but left no footprints. (v. 19; cf. Exod. 14: 18-29)

God was (and ever is) Israel’s deliverer and redeemer, but he is more that that—he was Israel’s protector and provider. The Lord is Israel’s shepherd:

You led your people like a flock of sheep
By the hand of Moses and Aaron. (v.20)

The Lord was to prove to be Israel’s shepherd all along their earthly journey (cf. Ps. 80:1), seeing to the needs of each (cf. 23:1-2) and guiding them (cf. Ezek. 34:12-16; Zech 9:15-16). Too often, however, Israel showed itself to be sheep that strayed (cf. Ezek. 34:17-23).¹⁸ The psalmist’s concluding tribute to the Lord as the ultimate Shepherd served both as a corrective to his earlier doubts and fears, and as a reminder that the Lord is the Good Shepherd who is available and eager to assist his sheep in all situations.

Similarly, the psalmist of Psalm 116 tells of a time when he faced such terrible and terrifying trouble and sorrow that he feared for his very life (v. 3). During that time, he turned to the Lord as his only hope and deliverance:

The LORD protects the untrained;
I was in serious trouble and he delivered me.
Yes, Lord, you rescued my life from death,
and kept my feet from stumbling. (vv. 6, 8)

He learned quite readily what the Scriptures plainly teach, that the Lord longs to give relief and rest to his own. When the believer calls upon him in faith believing, he finds full deliverance from his troubles. So it was with the psalmist. Therefore, he could say,

Rest once more, my soul,
For the LORD has vindicated you (v. 7).

Accordingly, the psalmist would therefore, “call on the name of the LORD” (vv.13, 17), “not to ask for deliverance but to thank the Lord and his holy name for his fidelity to his promises.”¹⁹

He could as well proclaim to all:

I love the LORD
because he heard my plea for mercy.
and listened to me.
As long as I live,
I will call to him when I need help. (vv. 1-2)²⁰

The faithful believer will find that God longs both to relieve the believer’s burden and to rescue him in time of trouble (Ps. 81: 6-8). With the finished work of Christ full access to the Lord is assured. As Jesus declared, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). To be sure, in context Jesus is rebuking the Jewish people of his day and especially the scribes and Pharisees who weary themselves by their own wisdom instead of placing their faith in their messiah, Jesus Christ (cf. vv. 25-27). But Jesus’ words have a fuller application. Indeed, if one is to find rest, he must welcome Jesus’ invitation and come to him. Here there is both spiritual rest and rest in the midst of life’s challenges. If one desires to be free of the weariness caused by anxieties and worries of mind and body, he should heed Jesus’ added admonition.

Take my yoke on you and learn of me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry. (vv. 29-30)

As those taken into union with Christ believers are “yoked together” with him. It is interesting to note that a yoke bound two animals together to share a load. As “yoked” to Christ, believers readily find that he provides strength and help to bear the burdens of this life. This may not mean a life of ease but, “It is easy and light because it involves union with the gentle, lowly King and produces a new dimension of ‘rest’ in him.”²¹ Moreover, the believer also learns to partake of Jesus’ character and so become, like Christ, more “gentle and humble in heart.” As did Jesus, the believer is to live not for self, but in full surrender to God so as to enjoy true “rest.”

Although the believer may thus enjoy rest here and now, even in the midst of troublesome times, there is more. An even greater, fuller rest awaits him in the future. This is brought out clearly and forcefully in Hebrews 3:7-4:11. Here the author begins his discussion and teaching by citing the words of the psalmist (Ps. 95:7b-11). As we noted in our earlier discussion, the psalmist was alluding to the people that were disobedient during their wilderness, even after God had so graciously liberated them out of Egypt. Therefore, that generation had forfeited God’s promised blessing of entering into the land and there enjoying God’s promised “rest.” Building upon and expanding on the psalmist words, the author of the book of Hebrews intends for Israel’s experience to serve as a lesson for the people of his day (cf. Ps 95: 6-7a with Heb. 3:12-19; 4:7). That generation failed to be faithful to the Lord, the Good Shepherd (Ps. 95:6-7a); the author of Hebrews (Heb.4:11) wishes for his readers to avoid the same mistake.

But there is more: “If those people ‘because of their unbelief …were not able to enter to enter his rest’ back there in the distant past (3:19), it must follow that ‘God’s promise of entering his rest’ still stands (4:1).²² Indeed, God desired that his people enjoy the same “rest” that he enjoyed after his creative work (Heb. 4:4). Despite the exodus’ generation’s failure to achieve their intended rest, a “rest” remained even after Joshua’s days (Heb. 4:8): “Consequently, a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God” (4:9). Thus the author of Hebrews “wants his readers to be in no doubt that the matter of ‘entering rest’ must be their single most important concern.”²³ The Greek word underlying the term “Sabbath rest” occurs only here in the New Testament. As a verbal noun it emphasizes continuing enjoyment of the “Sabbath rest”.

The Christian’s rest is thus not limited to the acknowledgement of God’s promise of spiritual rest in the salvation experience, but demands a genuine, obedient faith that continues. The result is that, like the forerunner (Heb. 6:20) who after his earthly work was accomplished entered into heaven and took his place of “rest beside the Father,” as united to Christ believers enjoy the assured hope of a “Sabbath rest”: “For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10). Therefore, people, “Must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one fail by following the same pattern of disobedience” (v.11). The believer’s “Sabbath rest” has its destination in an eternal heavenly “rest” with the Lord.²⁴ Such is also declared by John in the book of Revelation:

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this; ‘Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’” Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, because their deeds will follow them there.” (Rev 14:13)

Thus Hughes observes, ‘The labors from which the people of God rest in the heavenly sabbath are the toilings, trials, and tribulations of their present pilgrimage; otherwise the sabbath rest will be for them an eternity of joyful service and unclouded worship performed to the glory of him who is their Creator and their Redeemer.”²⁵

Application

Spiritual restlessness characterized us all until we put our faith and trust in Christ (Eph. 2:1-3). Yet even now how often the Tempter comes to make God’s children question his love and purpose for them (cf. Gen 3:4-5), especially in the troublesome times of life (I Pet. 5:8; Rev. 2:10). During such occasions the believer is in faith humbly to cast himself and his cares upon the Lord (1 Pet. 5:6-7). He must choose to resist the Tempter, and remember that,

Your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kind of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you To him belongs the power forever (I Pet.5: 9-10).

Doubting nothing (James 1:2-7), the believer should consider the prior claim of God upon his life so as to live in genuine faith in God and in full dedicated surrender to the Lord’s will and standards .As he does so, he may well often recall God’s amazing displays of power, and his love and his availability to help and strengthen even the most feeble of his people (Isa. 40: 25-31). Accordingly, believers should “wait for the LORD’s help,” for herein they will “find renewed strength” (Isa. 40: 31).

As united to Christ the troubled believers can with confidence (Ps. 138:8a) call out to God in distress (Ps.102: 1-2) and expect deliverance (Ps. 20). As Futato declares,

Everything we experience in life produces a benefit. That benefit is not always evident in the midst of the battle, but by faith we know that God is at work in it all for our good and his glory (Rom 8:28).… With hindsight we will see the good and the glory of the past. So with the foresight of faith, we live out the present and fearlessly face the future.²⁶

And as believers do, they may confidently put their hope (Ps. 42:5, 11) and trust in God (Ps. 46:5. Isa. 26:3) who hears both the silent and audible prayers of his own (Pss. 65:5-11; 116:1-2).There is thus strength for the faithful Christian in his spiritual journey and service to the Lord, for he has the assured hope of “rest” in an eternal life of joy in the awesome presence of God. Meanwhile, the believer may echo the sentiment of the hymn writer:

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
….
Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.²⁷

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¹ Edgar Allan Poe, “The City in the Sea.”

² John N. Oswalt, “nwḥ,” in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren 5 Vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997) 3:58. 

³ Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptural citations are taken from the NET.

⁴ Martin J. Selman, 1 Chronicles, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, ed. D.J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 215.

⁵ See further Richard D. Patterson, “Wiser than Solomon,” Biblical Studies Press, 2013.

⁶ Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., A History of Israel (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1998), 284, 85.

⁷ Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus , The New American Commentary, ed. E. Ray Clendenen (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006), 701.

⁸ H. C. Leupold, The Psalms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1969), 679.

⁹ John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah:Chapters 1-39, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 513.

¹⁰ George Herbert as quoted in Alistair Begg, The Hand of God (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 56.

¹¹ John Haynes Holmes, “O God Whose Smile is in the Sky.”

¹² Alfred Jepsen, “bāţach,” in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren 5 vols. (Grand rapids; Eerdmans, 1975) 2: 92.

¹³ Franz Delitzsch , Biblical Commentary on the Psalms, trans. Francis Bolton 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955) 2: 12.

¹⁴ Willem A. Van Gemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland 13 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, rev. ed., 2008) 5: 342.

¹⁵ N.B., KJV, “I remembered God and was troubled.”

¹⁶ Leupold, The Psalms, 557.

¹⁷ It is of interest to note that, taken together, the two psalmists have pointed out key elements in the infinite Lord’s perfection: holiness (including justice) and love (including grace and mercy). (Note also Pss. 77: 8-9; 145:7-9).

¹⁸ For further details covering the imagery of the shepherd and the sheep, see “Sheep, Shepherd,” in Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, eds. Leland Ryken, James. C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998), 782-85.

¹⁹ VanGemeren, “Psalms, 848.

²⁰ See further, Richard D. Patterson, “The Call-Answer Motif,” Biblical Studies Press, 2008.

²¹ Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 444.

²² J. Ramsey Michaels, “Hebrews,” Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, ed. Philip W. Comfort, 18 vols. (Carol Stream, Il, 2009) 17: 359.

²³ R. T. France, “Hebrews, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, eds., Temper Longman III and David E. Garland, 13 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 13:67.

²⁴ In an applied sense the Christian Sunday could well serve as an additional reminder of that assured hope of “Sabbath rest.” As John Newton (“Safely Through Another Week”) wrote,

“Day of all the week the best, emblem of eternal rest…
May the fruits of grace abound, bring relief for all complaints;
Thus may all our Sabbaths prove till we join the Church above.”

²⁵ Philip Edgecombe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 161-62. A bit different and still more distant perspective is given by Kaiser, who suggests that for the author of Psalm 95 the offer of rest was ultimately tied up with the events of the second advent of the return of Messiah to this earth. Every other rest, apparently, was only an ‘earnest,’ a down payment, on the final Sabbath rest yet to come in the second advent.” Walter C. Kaiser Jr. The Promise-Plan of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 97.

²⁶ Mark D. Futato, “Psalms,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, ed. Philip W. Comfort, 18 vols. (Carol Stream, Il: Tyndale House, 2009) 7:253.

²⁷ Jean S. Pigott, “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting.”