Work and RestSample

The work of salvation is done; now it’s time to rest

When God had finished the creation of the world, He rested. His work was ‘done’. Jesus Christ has also finished his salvation work. We read about that in John 19:30, where Jesus is crucified: ‘he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit’. We know that Jesus is still ‘working’ as our ultimate Priest, who is at the right hand of God interceding for us (Romans 8:34). But his commission to provide salvation for humanity has been completed.

If we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we can also rest. The work of our salvation has been finished — by Jesus. We can’t add anything to that. The work is done already, and now it is time to celebrate “the Sabbath rest for the people of God”.

Hebrews 4 also contains a severe warning, by referring to the people of Israel who were not allowed to enter God’s rest (in that case the rest of the promised land of Canaan) because they were disobedient. They stood at the border of the land that God had prepared for them, ready to enter it, but they rebelled against the Lord and despised Him. Evidently, it is possible to miss out on God’s rest if we don’t believe and obey God! “Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11, ESV).