Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 salvation teachings

            Here are the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews which bring home the message that Jesus is to exalted and was over Moses and is to be over all, and makes the example of the Children of Israel who failed to enter into God’s rest because of their unbelief. The warning is for us today to not harden our hearts, either but to believe or we ourselves will not enter into God’s rest either. We indeed are to strive to enter into God’s rest and also Jesus cannot be touched by our weaknesses and was tempted just as we were. These two chapters are presented without comment between them.

(Hebrews 3:1)  Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,

(Hebrews 3:2)  who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.

(Hebrews 3:3)  For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.

(Hebrews 3:4)  (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

(Hebrews 3:5)  Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later,

(Hebrews 3:6)  but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

(Hebrews 3:7)  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,

(Hebrews 3:8)  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

(Hebrews 3:9)  where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

(Hebrews 3:10)  Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.'

(Hebrews 3:11)  As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"

(Hebrews 3:12)  Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

(Hebrews 3:13)  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

(Hebrews 3:14)  For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

(Hebrews 3:15)  As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

(Hebrews 3:16)  For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?

(Hebrews 3:17)  And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

(Hebrews 3:18)  And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?

(Hebrews 3:19)  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

(Hebrews 4:1)  Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

(Hebrews 4:2)  For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

(Hebrews 4:3)  For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

(Hebrews 4:4)  For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."

(Hebrews 4:5)  And again in this passage he said, "They shall not enter my rest."

(Hebrews 4:6)  Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

(Hebrews 4:7)  again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

(Hebrews 4:8)  For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

(Hebrews 4:9)  So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,

(Hebrews 4:10)  for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

(Hebrews 4:11)  Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

(Hebrews 4:12)  For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

(Hebrews 4:13)  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

(Hebrews 4:14)  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

(Hebrews 4:15)  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

(Hebrews 4:16)  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Here are a couple of warnings by Jesus Himself on how to enter God’s rest, Heaven- the first is in Matthew chapter 7 and says that we need to enter in to the narrow gate, also do the Father’s will and heed Jesus words, for we can only produce good or bad fruit

(Matthew 7:13)  "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

(Matthew 7:14)  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

(Matthew 7:15)  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

(Matthew 7:16)  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

(Matthew 7:17)  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

(Matthew 7:18)  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

(Matthew 7:19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

(Matthew 7:20)  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

(Matthew 7:21)  "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

(Matthew 7:22)  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

(Matthew 7:23)  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

(Matthew 7:24)  "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

(Matthew 7:25)  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

(Matthew 7:26)  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

(Matthew 7:27)  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

The other is in Matthew 16 and warns that we most carry our cross and follow Jesus for He will judge our works at the end

(Matthew 16:24)  Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

(Matthew 16:25)  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(Matthew 16:26)  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

(Matthew 16:27)  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

And now to further these points made above, Jesus in John chapter 10 says He is the door of the sheep and the shepherd of the sheep which they enter in and out into the sheepfold, and that He will lay down His life for His sheep, having been given the authority by the Father in Heaven.

(John 10:7)  So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

(John 10:8)  All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

(John 10:9)  I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

(John 10:10)  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

(John 10:11)  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

(John 10:12)  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

(John 10:13)  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

(John 10:14)  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

(John 10:15)  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

(John 10:16)  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

(John 10:17)  For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

(John 10:18)  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."

In the second passage Jesus promises His sheep eternal life, that none shall pluck them out of the Father’s and that Jesus and the Father are one and the same.

(John 10:24)  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

(John 10:25)  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,

(John 10:26)  but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.

(John 10:27)  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

(Joh 10:28)  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

(John 10:29)  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

(John 10:30)  I and the Father are one."

The following verses in Romans chapters 3 and 6  state how mankind is fallen and all of mankind indeed does wrong but that is why out of love God sent Jesus into the world to be the offering for sin so we can believe and be saved, getting eternal life

(Romans 3:10)  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;

(Romans 3:11)  no one understands; no one seeks for God.

(Romans 3:12)  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one

(Romans 3:23)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(Romans 3:24)  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

(Romans 3:25)  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

(Romans 3:26)  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus

The last four verses in Romans 6 further add to the point of our need of a savior to avoid the wages of sin and how Jesus did that for us

(Romans 6:20)  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

(Romans 6:21)  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

(Romans 6:22)  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

(Romans 6:23)  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These verses in John 3 also state those who believe in Jesus by faith will have eternal life

(John 3:16)  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

(John 3:17)  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

(John 3:18)  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John the Baptist repeats the message here to believe in Jesus for eternal life

(John 3:35)  The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

(John 3:36)  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

This verse in John  chapter 5 continues to stress that matter

(John 5:24)  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

(John 5:25)  "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

As some of the above verses do remind us, this verse really drives home the point that eternal life from heaven is really a gift from God and cannot be earned in any way by our own works  so God Himself has provided the means to escape hell and to have eternal life with Him.

(Ephesians 2:8)  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

(Ephesians 2:9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(2 Corinthians 9:15)  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

This message is reinforced by the scriptures in 1 Timothy which also encourage prayer and supplication for God wants all to be saved as stated in these verses

(1 Timothy 2:1)  First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

(1 Timothy 2:2)  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

(1 Timothy 2:3)  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,

(1 Timothy 2:4)  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

(1 Timothy 2:5)  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

(1 Timothy 2:6)  who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

These five verses in Titus reinforce this message of salvation, too above is for all

(Titus 2:11)  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

(Titus 2:12)  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

(Titus 2:13)  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

(Titus 2:14)  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

(Titus 2:15)  Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

These two verses in 1 Peter shed more light on this purpose of Jesus

(1 Peter 2:24)  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

(1 Peter 2:25)  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls

That message also is here in this 1 Peter 3 verse

(1 Peter 3:18)  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit

And so does these two verses in 2 Peter 3 for time is nothing to the Lord and He wants all to come to repentance and is patient

(2 Peter 3:8)  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

(2 Peter 3:9)  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

These two verses in 1 John 2 also state how Jesus was the propitiation for our sins and all mankind’s

(1 John 2:1)  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

(1 John 2:2)  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Also a very similar message is given in these two verses in 1 John chapter 4 how God loved us and sent Jesus to be a propitiation for our sins

(1 John 4:9)  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

(1 John 4:10)  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

And here is this passage in 1 John 5 which reinforces the 1 Timothy passage well, stating the power of prayer but also the gospel message of how it is necessary to have the Son of God to have eternal life.

(1 John 5:5)  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

(1 John 5:6)  This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

(1 John 5:7)  For there are three that testify:

(1 John 5:8)  the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.

(1 John 5:9)  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

(1 John 5:10)  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

(1 John 5:11)  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

(1 John 5:12)  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

(1 John 5:13)  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

In John 14 Jesus then makes it very clear that nobody can come to God but by Him

(John 14:6)  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

But Jesus also makes it clear in Revelation that He indeed is seeking people always

(Revelation 3:20)  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

And here are some key verses in Romans 10 about Salvation:

(Romans 10:9)  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

(Romans 10:10)  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

(Romans 10:13)  For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Now those people are now a new creation in Christ

(2 Corinthians 5:17)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come

And also at peace with God being justified by faith

(Romans 5:1)  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Romans 5:2)  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

I am sure you have now seen enough now to be ready to pray to be saved. I am now including a short prayer that you can say to ensure that you are saved and have eternal life when you die, going to heaven to be with Jesus forever and not end up going to hell.

Heavenly Father I come to You in the Name of Jesus. I confess to You that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I confess and repent of all of my sins and unrighteousness. Right now I confess with my mouth Jesus as the Lord of my life and believe in my heart that You, God did indeed raise Him from the dead. I thank You for cleansing and forgiving me of all of my  sins and unrighteousness and for saving me. I thank You for sending Your Son to die in my place for my sins, and for the inexpressible gift of eternal life that I now claim through the death of Jesus on the cross. Thank You, Lord, again for saving me. In the Name of Jesus I pray Amen