Romans 4:4a
"Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt."
He’s speaking of a religious person one who practices the works of the required demands under the Law. See, that is what we are dealing with in Hebrews. They were tied to their religion. What did their religion demand? Temple worship, the Sacrifices, keeping of the Feast Days. and yes, their tithes and offerings. All those things were part and parcel of their religion. But now, to him that worked the reward isn’t reckoned of Grace, but of debt. So anytime a religious person says, "I’m doing the best I can. I’m putting God in debt to me!" He owes me. Now, if somebody owes you, he’s in debt to you. We don’t care how you cut it. If he owes you, he’s in debt to you. Alright, that’s what the religionist (a bigoted person) is doing. He’s going to work, and work, and work and then point the finger at God and say, "Now, you owe me. You’ve got to pay off. You’ve got to let me into your heaven." But it isn’t going to work that way because the next verse says:
Romans 4:5a
"But to him that works not,…"
See now, Israel again back to Kadesh, and we can’t help but to go back there. Israel at Kadesh, how much were they going to have to do to enjoy the Promised Land? Nothing! Just walk in and enjoy it. Isn’t that something? And they rejected it because of unbelief. Alright now, here we come again.
Romans 4:5a
"But to him that works not, but believes…" That’s the other word for trust and faith. That when we believe what God has said and we believe Him who justifies the ungodly, not the person who is worthy of it.
Romans 4:5
"But to him that works not, but believes, on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Let’s go back once again to Hebrews chapter 3 and we think that maybe we will slip into chapter 4. Alright, chapter 3 again verse 19. Boy, we want to hear it in our sleep.
Hebrews 3:19
"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
So then, they entered not because of unbelief. Nothing else. Unbelief. Now see, had they been able to believe God and if they would have gone in as a nation of believers, do you see what God could have done? Oh, He could have blessed them. they would have entered His rest. They could have been a fabulous nation of people. But instead they had to go back out and die and their carcasses rotted in the wilderness, for forty years. Now,let’s look at the Nation of Israel with a better opportunity and that was when Christ came in His first advent. It’s almost a repeat. The Nation could have had everything. They could have had the Kingdom, and they could have had the King. He offered Himself. But what did they do? They crucified Him and God in His love and mercy came back and again, just like the forty years of wilderness, what did God do with the Nation of Israel through that forty years of the Book of Acts from His crucifixion until finally the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. We have almost a repeat performance. They rejected the offer of everything that only asked for their trust. And, as a result they went through the forty years of the Book of Acts which culminated then with the destruction of the Temple, the city and the nation.
He was God the Son. He was the Creator. He was the Sustainer. And He was also, of course, the Redeemer. Not just of the Hebrews but of all mankind. And consequently Paul uses the verse that He tasted death for every man, not just the Hebrew. But for the whole world.
As we’ve come through these first three chapters, this has been the emphasis, of Who God the Son really is and what He has done and how even we, as non-Jews, must understand. Now, as in chapter 3, the Apostle is using the horrible dilemma of Israel’s refusing to go into the Land of Promise at Kadesh-Barnea, in particular, when as we all now know the account, in unbelief. What God said they could do, Israel said, no we can’t. We guess if there was any one act of disobedience in all of Israel’s history that perturbed God the most, that was it. They could have fallen as they did at Mount Sinai into idol worship around that golden calf. They went into various other times of rank disobedience, but nothing pops up over and over in Scripture as an example of abject disobedience brought about by unbelief as Kadesh-Barnea.
We have to remind ourself and others that Paul is the master builder and as such he has built upon the foundation of Christ the cornerstone now crucified and resurrected as Lord and our redeemer bringing us to Newness of Life (spiritually a live in Christ) and through this life to our salvation and hope of glory. Paul as the master builder set the plumb line to the structure of which we have been placed by God into this structure or framework, of God's temple or the spiritual Body of Christ. Which had been held as a secret hid in God and which Jesus could only allude to during His earthly ministry to Israel. As He was bound under the covenants to stay within there framework and the Law (the law of commandment as given to Adam and the Levitical Law as given to Moses for the Hebrew only) and prophets.
So this is constantly brought up in Scripture, as an example not only to Israel, but to everyone of us, that there is nothing that God detests like unbelief. He can forgive a lot of things. He can, you might say, in His Grace, put up with a lot of the wickedness and the unbelief in other areas, but when it comes to abject unbelief of something that is so easily understood as our Gospel of His Grace and the New Covenant of Grace is, then the wrath of God is kindled. And so when we stop and realize that the vast majority of the human race is headed for the lake of fire, don’t blame God. A lot of people do. They say, "How can a Holy God send people to a place like that?" Listen, God didn’t send them. They chose to go. And how did they choose to go? By refusing to believe something so simple as Paul’s beautiful Gospel, that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and all we have to do is believe it for salvation.
And so this has been the whole emphasis now, especially in chapter 3 and even as we come in to chapter 4. Don’t forget what Israel did at Kadesh-barnea, as they failed to believe what God told them. Alright, verse 1. So it starts out with one of Paul’s favorite words, "therefore." Because of what we’ve already covered in these first three chapters.
Hebrews 4:1a
"Let us therefore fear,…"
Now that’s not the kind of a fear that just simply sends us out of our common sense. It rather, is a fear that makes us stop and take notice. This is a fear that makes us stop and really listen to what God has said. And so he said:
Hebrews 4:1a
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise…"
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