Hebrews 4:11

“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, etc..] Not eternal rest; this is not to be entered into now; nor is an entrance into it to be obtained by labour; salvation is not by works; eternal life is a free gift; good works do not go before to prepare heaven for the saints, but follow after: nor is the saints' entrance into it a precarious thing; God has promised it, and provided it for his people; Christ is in the possession of it, and is preparing it for them; and the Spirit of God is working them up for the self same thing, and Christ will give them an abundant entrance into it: but the Gospel rest is here meant, that rest which believers now enter into, and is at this present time…”

“Let us . . . therefore--Seeing such a promise is before us, which we may, like them, fall short of through unbelief. labour--Greek, "strive diligently." that rest--which is still future and so glorious. Or, in ALFORD'S translation of Heb 4:10, "That rest into which Christ has entered before" (Heb 4:14; Heb 6:20). fall--with the soul, not merely the body, as the rebel Israelites fell (Heb 3:17). after the same example--ALFORD translates, "fall into the same example." The less prominent place of the "fall" in the Greek favors this. The sense is, "lest any fall into such disobedience (so the Greek for 'unbelief' means) as they gave a sample of" [GROTIUS]. The Jews say, "The parents are a sign…”

“Let us therefore labour - Let us earnestly strive. Since there is a rest whose attainment is worth all our efforts; since so many have failed of reaching it by their unbelief, and since there is so much danger that we may fail of it also, let us give all diligence that we may enter into it. Heaven is never obtained but by diligence; and no one enters there who does not earnestly desire it, and who does not make a sincere effort to reach it. Of unbelief - Margin, “disobedience.” The word “unbelief” best expresses the sense, as the apostle was showing that this was the principal thing that prevented people from entering into heaven; see the notes at Hebrews 3:12. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Lest any one should fall - Into perdition. Hebrews 4:12”

“4:11 let us do our best to enter: Failure to respond to the Good News with active obedience to God’s voice (4:1-2) will have an outcome analogous to the outcome for the wilderness wanderers: we will fall. • us . . . we . . . we: Obedience is not simply a personal matter; God’s people have a communal responsibility for obedience and should support each other in that endeavor (cp. 3:13; 10:25; 12:15).”

“Let: Heb 4:1, Heb 6:11; Mat 7:13, Mat 11:12, Mat 11:28-30; Luk 13:24, Luk 16:16; Joh 6:27; Phi 2:12; Pe2 1:10, Pe2 1:11 lest: Heb 3:12, Heb 3:18, Heb 3:19 unbelief: or, disobedience, Act 26:19; Rom 11:30-32; Eph 2:2, Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; Tit 1:16, Tit 3:3 \*Gr. Hebrews 4:12”