Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 258

September 15;     Hebrews 4:2;      208/260(IV);      ‘Not Mixed With Faith’

Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

The Lord has given us the Word of God to build our faith (Romans 10:17).  The verse is written in the continuous tense, meaning faith comes by reading and reading on an ongoing basis.  We need to hear the Word preached in a good local church.  The Lord has ordained Pastors to teach the Word at the weekly services and bring in traveling ministers to augment his teaching.  Our role is to supplement what we hear with our own reading and study of the Word.  Reading the Word in an orderly, chapter by chapter fashion, helps you to get the most out of your reading.  As Christians, the New Testament is where we should spend the most of your reading time and in the New Testament, the Epistles, Romans to Jude is where we should especially focus.  The Epistles teach what legally belongs to us because we are Christians.  This verse is a continuation of Paul’s teaching on the Jews who did not go into Canaan land because of their unbelief.  God said Canaan land was theirs, but they refused to believe Him, seeing the fortified cities and believing more in what they saw than what God said.  Canaan land was likened to rest.  The Jews could have gone into the land the Lord gave them, driven out those who inhabited the land and settled in Canaan to rest.  Their unbelief caused them to die in the wilderness and not go into the blessings God had for them.  Not building your faith on what the Bible says on a continuing basis, prevents us from the rest the Lord has for us.  Building your faith on the Word is vital, rest results.