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Messages for Calebs III
What
does it mean to “enter the Promised Land” for
a New Testament believer?
Entering and possessing the Promised Land of Canaan
is a prominent event in the history of the Israelites in the Old
Testament. It also
has great significance for New Testament believers. The writer of Hebrews
warns us as he recounts the initial failure of the Israelites to take
Canaan: “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still
stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen
short of it” (Hebrews 4:1). His final words on this subject in
verse 11 are similarly ominous. “Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their
example of disobedience.”
It is clear that a New Testament believer can fall
short of entering God’s rest. This is the New Testament equivalent of entering
the Promised Land. We are taught to “be careful” of falling
short and to “make every effort to enter that rest.” Therefore
a believer does not simply slide into God’s rest automatically
just because he once repeated a sinner’s prayer. What does it
actually mean for us to enter God’s rest, and what are the conditions
for doing so? Let’s study the Scriptures.
Numbers 13:25 At the end of forty days they returned
from exploring the land. …27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into
the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!
Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and
the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of
Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites
and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near
the sea and along the Jordan. 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before
Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land,
for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with
him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger
than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report
about the land they had explored. …All the people we saw there
are of great size.
Numbers 14:6 Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes 7
and said, “The
land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.
9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people
of the land, because we will swallow them up. 10 But the whole assembly
talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the
Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How
long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse
to believe in me…? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and
destroy them…
Treating God with contempt
God’s holy anger was kindled against the Israelites
when they treated Him with contempt by refusing to obey His command
to invade
Canaan. The righteous God was about to destroy His own people. But
Moses interceded for them before the Lord:
19 “In accordance with your great love, forgive
the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the
time they left Egypt
until now.”
20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21
Nevertheless, …22 not one of the men who … disobeyed me
and tested me ten times— 23 …No one who has treated me
with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has
a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him
into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
God imposed severe judgment on every one of the adult men over twenty
years of age who treated God with contempt by disobeying His command
to invade Canaan. Every one of them except for Joshua and Caleb would
die in the desert and never enjoy the fruit of the land flowing with
milk and honey. Serious New Testament believers must understand how
this applies to us. What is the Promised Land, and what does it take
for us to enter and possess it?
Scripture is not clear---perhaps deliberately so---regarding
the precise meaning of "entering the Promised Land" or "entering
God's rest" for a New Testament believer. Does it mean entering
the kingdom of God---getting into heaven---or does it refer to something
beyond salvation?
Whatever it may actually mean, it is clear that every
God-fearing believer should want to enter God's rest and not to "die in the
desert." That much is clear. To understand what it might mean,
let’s go back to the first Passover.
Entering God’s rest
The blood of the Lamb which was shed that Passover evening enabled
the Israelites to escape from slavery in Egypt. This was entirely God's
work; they did not do anything to merit this. Similarly, by faith in
the blood of Jesus, our sins are freely forgiven and we are set free
from slavery to our sin nature---it is put to death on the cross. But
that is just the beginning. For believers who remain on earth after
they are saved, they must now grow up in their salvation:
1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that
by it you may grow up in your salvation,
Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not
only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue
to work out your salvation with fear and trembling...
Perhaps this is where "entering the Promised Land" enters
the picture. Because we are saved by grace through faith, we will grow
and bear fruit for the Lord as a result of our abiding relationship
with Him. We are heading for Canaan, the Promised Land.
If like Caleb we follow the Lord wholeheartedly and obediently---without
fear and doubt---we can enter the Promised Land. Laboring for the Lord
and good works will be an outgrowth our faith. Look what the apostle
Paul wrote for us.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works,
so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for
us to do.
The role of good works
Most believers are very familiar with verses 8 and 9, but verse 10
is almost always missing in any discussion of grace. It teaches that
God creates us in Christ Jesus to do good works which He prepared in
advance for us to do. These are works of obedience which are the outward
evidence or fruit of our salvation. If there is no obedience or fruit
as an outworking of our abiding in Christ the true vine, then the person
is likely not saved.
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can
do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned.
Whatever "thrown
into the fire and burned" may
mean, no God-fearing person should take any chances with this. Those
who are
looking to do the minimum just to get by into heaven are suspect. It
is doubtful that Jesus endured unimaginable suffering on the cross
for such people. God knows our hearts and cannot be deceived. Continuing
on from where we left off in Hebrews earlier, the writer assures
us:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit,
joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything
is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give
account.
Rewards in additional to salvation
A person
can be genuinely saved by grace through faith. The outward evidence
of being saved and abiding with Christ is the bearing of visible
fruit as Jesus taught in John 15. This requires work. But God will
test
the
quality
of this
work. Have we produced good fruit or bad fruit? If the quality is poor,
we will lose our reward although we are still saved. In addition to
eternal life, therefore, we will receive a reward based
on the quality of our work.
I Corinthians 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I
laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building
on it. But each
one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation
other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man
builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood,
hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the
Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the
fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he
has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned
up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one
escaping through the flames.
Therefore
obedience leading to the producing of fruit should be evident---and
required---in the lives of those who are genuinely saved by grace through
faith. As Paul teaches above, they should be "building." The quality of
the fruit and work determines our reward which is separate and in addition
to
our
salvation.
Could
it
be that
when
we receive our eternal reward, we have entered God's rest---the Promised
Land? Such a reward could consist of authority to rule with Christ
in his
Kingdom (Luke 19:11-19). If the quality of our work does not pass the
test, we will receive no reward in heaven.
The determination of
heavenly rewards
God’s standard for giving rewards
Does God hold each believer to the same standard with
regard to rewards? No, He does not. God is fair. He knows that we
have been given varying
abilities in different measures---some more of this, some less of that.
Our reward is not determined simply by the absolute quantity and quality
of our work. Factored in to this is the ability which the Lord has
given to us. He entrusts to each one of us “talents” according
to our ability. Our reward is therefore also based in part on how many
talents we have been given (Matthew 25). If we have received more talents
from the Lord, He will expect more fruit from us. Conversely if we
have received fewer talents from Him, He will expect less from us.
And so we can receive the same reward as someone else who has accomplished
much more than we have.
Luke 12:48 From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;
and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be
asked.
The
determination of heavenly rewards
What does it mean for us to refuse to invade Canaan?
The Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt
by the blood of the Passover Lamb. This was purely by God’s
grace and election. In the same way, we can be delivered from slavery
to sin simply by
faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
However, because of their fear that generation of Israelites
refused to obey the Lord’s command to cross the Jordan and
invade the Promised Land. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb,
all of the men
over twenty years of age died in the desert. What might this signify
in the New Testament?
Those who died in the desert might represent people who come to Christ,
but who do not grow up in their salvation. They do not work out their
salvation with fear and trembling. They do not endure; they fall away.
Jesus taught that there are four kinds of people.
The four types of “soil”
Matthew 13:18 “Listen then to what the parable
of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom
and does
not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown
in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who
received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root,
he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because
of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed
that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries
of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it
unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the
man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding
a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
The first type
of person rejects the gospel outright. The second kind receives
Christ with joy but falls away quickly during
difficult times.
The Israelites who refused to invade Canaan and died in the desert
are a shadow of this kind of “Christian.” The third kind
accepts Christ but proves unfruitful or produces bad fruit because
of the distractions of this world. This might be the believer who attends
church faithfully and even serves in some capacity. He or she might
(or might not, John 15:5-6) be saved, but the quality of his works
proves to be poor and they fail to pass the quality test. He might
be saved
but
he receives no
reward
from
the Lord for all his hard work. Finally,
it is the fourth type of person who obediently and with wisdom
bears quality fruit for the Lord and
receives
his
reward. This is the Caleb with the "different spirit" who
boldly invades Canaan and receives his inheritance in the land.
Being faithful means being fruitful
Caleb
not only was obedient in invading Canaan, he actually succeeded in
possessing the Promised Land. Our heavenly reward will
not be based simply on trying hard and “doing our best.” It
will be based on actual success in getting the job done: our active
role, whether direct or indirect, in the fulfillment of the Great Commission
and the discipling of the nations. In the end, it is not enough simply
to be “faithful.” We must bear good fruit as well (Matthew
25; Luke 19). If we are truly faithful, we will produce the fruit of
the Holy Spirit in
our personal lives as well as produce visible fruit for the extension
of God’s Kingdom on earth. It is necessary therefore to apply
wisdom in what we do for the Lord. Much of what passes for “ministry” today
in Christianity is not bearing fruit that lasts. It is essential
that we seek the Lord and carefully examine Scripture to find out what
the
Lord desires of us and how to execute it fruitfully and successfully.
Finally…
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still
stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen
short of it.
2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just
as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them,
because those who
heard did not combine it with faith. …6 It still
remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had
the gospel preached
to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.
…11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter
that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of
disobedience.
The Israelites heard the gospel in their time, but
they did not combine it with saving faith. Their lack of genuine
faith was revealed when
they disobeyed God’s command to invade Canaan. We also have had
the gospel preached to us. If we are going to enter the Kingdom of
God and receive our reward---if we are going to enter God’s rest---our
faith must ultimately result in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
“All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
More
Messages for Calebs
" God
is Love"
(or
How to have confidence on Judgment Day)
Obedience
is not a dirty word
To
the Church in America: what should we now do?
Other
articles | Featured
essays
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