When God created this world, the Bible says
He rested on the seventh day. When God rested, it was because He was done; He
completed His work, it was finished, 100%! The Bible doesn’t say anything about
God continuing to create after that seventh day. At this point you may be
thinking, “So!?” The point is, when God does something, He finishes. He
completes what He starts.
How many times have you had an ominous feeling
that you have forgotten something? And of course, that feeling leads you to
wonder if your efforts were good enough. “Did I do my best?” I’ve heard people
say, “I feel guilty when I relax!” Why is it we have a problem with completely
resting? There always seems to be a soul-deep sense that something is
unfinished. This is even true of our spiritual lives. We keep plugging away at
our spiritual task, because if we don’t, we won’t measure up to our idea of
what a Christian looks like.
Under the old covenant the blood of innocent
animals atoned for sin. However, after the sacrifice was made, sin began to
accumulate again. Those sacrifices were only good enough in the moment, but they
did not last. This must have been frustrating for the Jewish people. Their efforts were never good enough.
Since God’s original creation was broken, He
planned for a new creation to emerge from the darkness that had covered the
world. God sent His only begotten Son into the darkness to do a new work. This
work would plant His kingdom in the middle of the darkness – Light invading the
darkness! In His work, Jesus accomplished two amazing feats. First, Jesus had
to become sin on our behalf so we could become the righteousness of God (2 Cor.
5:21). The power of sin had to be destroyed and the penalty for sin had to be
paid. Christ accomplished this task on the cross. Paul says, “…knowing this,
that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is
freed from sin.” (Rom. 6:6-7, NASB)
Second, Jesus had to impart life to us
because we could not gain life on our own. Those under the old covenant could
never find life through keeping the law. God designed the old covenant to lead
man to frustration with his own works. Man’s works or self-effort was never
good enough! Our life is now found in a person, not in a system of works. Paul
again says, “Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into
death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of
the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4, NASB)
Hebrews 4:10 says, “For the one who has entered
His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” (NASB) So
what kind of works is the Bible talking about? It is speaking of the works that
attempts to make oneself good enough to be accepted. You don’t have to do
anything to measure up to God’s standards; Christ did that for you. You and I
can now enjoy the very presence of God through Christ. We can truly rest from
our works to gain approval. We are now free to enjoy the work God has for us;
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10, NASB) Rest
brothers and sisters! Enjoy your relationship with God as He leads you into His
life.
