A Step Of Faith

A Step of Faith

God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. . . . Let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

Hebrews 4:1-3, 11

Imagine you are invited to live in a big, beautiful mansion, but you are too afraid to go inside so you just live in a tent on the front lawn. There’s a cozy, comfortable room waiting for you in the house, but you refuse to go in.

That’s what it’s like when a person finds out about the gospel—hears the invitation and understands it, sees other people entering in and enjoying it—but circles around it refusing to walk through the door of belief and trust. The person isn’t willing to grab hold of it or commit to entering in.

This was what it was like for the children of Israel. They had heard the good news from Caleb and Joshua that the land God had promised them was theirs for the taking. But their response to that good news was lacking. They had seen the Red Sea part and the pillars of cloud and fire; they had eaten manna supplied by God every day. But now as they were faced with a new challenge, they simply didn’t trust God. They wouldn’t take the step of faith to enter the Promised Land God was inviting them into.

When we combine active trust with simple belief, we can find real rest. It does no good to hear the gospel if we don’t believe it, if we don’t respond to it in faith, if we don’t go to Christ for salvation. Faith that pleases God is belief that’s more than just a mental acceptance that something is true. It is a belief that blossoms into trust and plays out in the way we live our lives.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

How is a refusal to trust God like sitting in front of a banquet and not eating or being offered a treasure and not taking it?

Why do you think people sometimes choose not to trust God?

What is the evidence that a person wholeheartedly trusts God?