R.I.P. - Hebrews 4:1-11

The second of five exhortations employs a series of rhetorical questions that refer to the calling and apostasy of Israel during the Exodus. These questions show that salvation is realized only by the remnant, who not only begin the journey of God’s call but live it out until completion. This passage declares Hebrew’s primary message that calls readers to remain faithful to Jesus and avoid the peril of apostasy. This is as necessary us in the present time as it was in the past, since we, like those in the faith community of that time, are prone to drift, particularly when persecuted by the secular world or wooed by fleshly trappings. Readers are called to cast off any weight or entangling sin by fixing their eyes upon Jesus, the initiator and perfecter of their faith (cf. Hebrews 12:1-3).