Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matt 11:28-29)
When Jesus calls those who labour and are heavy laden, He is not speaking of physical burden, but of spiritual anguish in our struggle with sin; offering freedom from its bondage. He did not say get ye to church or confessional, He said “Come to Me.” It is therefore understood, rest for our souls is found only in the LORD Jesus Christ; He is the only one to make such an offer, the only one who can.
So, how can Jesus offer rest to sinners? By removing sin’s debt; but more than that, He put our sin aside and remembers it no more. He went further than mere oratory and bought our redemption by an act of perfect compensation; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us (the Law) and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross: (Col 2:14)
Nothing is owed there are no arrears; we have been released by an act of pure love, now free to enter the LORD’S Rest by faith alone. It is not about religion, reason or whimsy, rather a state of being. It cannot be argued or challenged; lessened, withdrawn or altered.
For by one offering He has perfected forever… (Hebrews 10:14)
Knowing we cannot add to the work of Christ, all that remains is unabridged trust and honest surrender, under a new Law of Liberty purchased with His Blood.
By the ministering of the Spirit we are made whole in Christ; it’s not what we do, but what we believe, it requires no work other than decision. As flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom, (1Co 15:50) His Rest is for our spirit when we believe and learn of Him. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Col 2:9) So, knowledge breeds confidence, and faith, our salvation.
But there are words in Scripture not so comforting: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name. (Rev 14:11) These are they who have fallen into ‘another gospel’ and another ‘life’ not preached by Christ or Apostle. Paul warned us of such delusion, and John of the antichrist spirit. When we look into the condition of Christianity today, and what passes for dutiful religion, messages clearly ignored by church doctrine and creed.
Paul’s discussion on the subject of rest is an important one. He first explains the LORD’S anger set against those who built and worshipped idols, rejecting the Commandments given to Moses; and of those not destroyed by Levi, who would perish in the wilderness never to enter the Land of Promise. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, they do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest. (Hebrews 3: 10-11) So, why could they not enter? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:19) The Word of God did not profit them not being mixed with Faith..!
But having heard by faith, and through believing, now able to enter the LORD’S Rest, something quite wonderful happens. For he that is entered into His rest, he has also ceased from his own works, as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:10) They have now entered the Promised Land. It was never about works, but faith in Jesus and pure belief: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved… (John 10:9) This is His work, not ours, finished at Calvary. He is our LORD and our Sabbath in whom we now dwell.
When Jesus was asked what is the first of all commandments He said:the Lord our God is one Lord. (Mark 12:29) The second is we love our neighbour as ourselves. And in Revelation 14:12 we find:
….. here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus.
Thus, here is wisdom: it is the Commands and Faith of Jesus we keep. And in the Faith of Jesus, we find true rest for our souls.
In love and peace as always,
James