1 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united with those who listened with faith. 

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The author now gives the next of a number of warnings (2:1 – “so that we do not drift away”) that are considered by some to be proof that we can lose our salvation but by others to just be purely hypothetical. I will try not to push one direction or the other so that the study of God’s Word can have it’s full effect in developing our knowledge of God and His ways. This is also where the writer starts to more fully discuss the idea of “His rest”. Rest for the Israelites of the promised land; rest for Christians of … let’s see.

The NASB phrases V1 in a way with the position of “if” that makes it seem impossible for believers to “come short” of His rest since this letter is written to believers (3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling,”). 

But what I want to focus on for these two verses is, hearing the gospel (good news) needs to be tied to faith, listening with faith. Referring back to the Israelites in the wilderness who heard the good news about the promised land, a land where they could rest from their journey, did not enter the rest because of a lack of faith and trust in the Lord. They were overcome by fear. In this warning, however, fear is used to motivate the readers to listen in faith.