A Study of the Book of Hebrews
Jesus is Better
Sermon # 3
“Dangerous Drifting!”
Hebrews 2:-1-4
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the
things we have heard, lest we drift away. (2) For if the word spoken through
angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just reward, (3) How shall we escape if we neglect so great a
salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by
those who heard Him, (4) God also bearing witness both
with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to
His own will”
In chapter two the writer
pauses in his presentation of Jesus as superior to every thing and everyone to give one of
the five great warnings (danger signals) in Hebrews).
These
six danger signals can be likened to highway markers to warn the reader. These danger
signals are as follows:
Peril of drifting, (2:1–4)
Peril of doubting, (3:7–4:2)
Peril of dullness, (5:11–6:20)
Peril of despising, (10:26–39)
Peril of (defying) denying, (12:15–29)
[J. Vernon McGee. Thru The Bible
Commentary. (electronic ed. -1997). (Nashville: Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 1981)]
If (lit. since) the message of Angels is not to be ignored, how much more so, that
which is received from the Son! Having established the clear superiority of Jesus over the
Angels he urges his readers to pay more careful attention to what they have heard What
have they heard
We have learned that God’s final revelation has been given by his Son Jesus
Christ. If we could boil down all of chapter one and the first four verses of chapter two
into a single statement it would be, “In
these last days God has spoken to us by his Son… for this reason we must pay close
attention to the word He has spoken.”
The writer begins Chapter two with the word “therefore”
or “for this reason.” He is tying the subject of the last verse of chapter one
to that which is to follow. The last verse of Chapter one stated, that the angels are
There are two points of application. There are two groups to whom this has a
special application.
First, to those who have never taken the time
to accept the gift of salvation or The Danger
of Rejecting Salvation.
Having established that Jesus is superior to everything and everyone, that He is
the exalted one, that it was He that purged our sins, that He is the Creator
and that He is worthy of worship, it as if the writer could go no further without
an invitation to respond. It is as if he is saying, “Jesus
is all of this and more, now what are you going to do about it”
The writer is
appealing to the ones who have heard the truth about Jesus and who know it is true, and
they know they need Him but who have not yet made a commitment.
Jesus once told a parable speaking to this
very problem in (Luke 4:16-24) “A certain man gave a great supper
and invited many, (17) and sent his servant at supper time
to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now
ready.’ (18) But they all with one accord began
to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground,
and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’(19) And another said, ‘I have
bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’
(20) Still another said, ‘I have
married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ (21) So that servant came and reported these things to his
master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out
quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the
blind.’ (22) And the servant said,
‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ (23) Then the master said to the
servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my
house may be filled. (24) For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my
supper.’ ”
Just imagine, too busy to accept the
invitation of the king. They all offered excuses. “When
I get passed this hurdle, when I get over this struggle, I would love to but, I have other
more pressing things right now! Someday! When the time is right! When I get older,
but right now I am looking forward to enjoying my life. I will some day. But not
today.”
I don’t suppose that anyone ever really intends to miss out of God’s
invitation to heaven. Surely no one willful walks away from God’s free offer of
forgiveness. But drifting along through life is so quiet, so easy and so damning. All that
one must do to go to hell is continue to do nothing.
We can in our sanctified imagination see such a man or woman standing before God
upon their death saying, “But God, I always
have believed you existed. I have tried to live as good life as I could! I never hurt
anyone intentionally, at least not very often.” To which the Lord will reply, “Depart from me for I never knew you” (Matt 7:23). Unfortunately it will be just another case of too little, too
late.
Secondly, it has application to those are in danger of neglecting the salvation
they have received or…. The Danger of
Neglecting Their Faith. This passage not only has application for the man who has
not accepted the gift of salvation but for the one
who is neglecting their faith. In fact this passage is primarily addressed to
believers. (v. 1) “Therefore
we must give the
more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
Verse three states, “How shall we escape if we
neglect so great a salvation…”
Therefore we take the remainder of our time to look at the question, “When am I guilty of neglecting my Faith”
First, I Am Guilty Of Neglecting My Faith When I
Continue Hearing Spiritual Truth Without Allowing It to Impact My Life. (v. 1)
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the
things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
This vivid warning is written in the
The
problem is not lack of knowledge, it
A good example of careless inattention to
truth is seen everyday on board any commercial airliner. Before the plane leaves the
runway the flight crew goes over the safety instructions; how to fasten the safety belts,
how to don the oxygen mask, how to use you seat cushion as floatation device, etc. I
already see some of your eyes glazing over. Why is that Two Reasons. Well if you have
traveled by airliner very much, you have heard it all before, many times.
And secondly, the need for that information seems too remote to merit our interest.
William Barclay’s translation of this
verse is, “Therefore, we must the more eagerly
anchor our lives to the things that we have been taught lest the ship of life drift past
the harbor and be wrecked.” [William Barclay. The Letter to the
Hebrews. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976) p. 21]
When I was in college I had a job with the Corp of Engineers at one of the Lock and
Dam’s on the Arkansas River. Several times a year some fisherman’s boat was
sucked through one of the gates on the dam simply because they either ignored the posted
warnings or they simply drifted too close to the gate to be able to get away from the
undertow. No one in their right mind would allow that to happen to them selves
deliberately. They simply got busy doing something else and drifted too far to be able to
retrieve themselves. The result was almost always complete and utter destruction.
We must keep in mind that there is no such thing as standing still spiritually. Life is not a lake it is a river and it
constantly flowing pulling us away from the things of God. We are either moving
forward spiritually or we are drifting backward, away from God and the things of God.
I Am Guilty Of Neglecting My Faith When I Continue
Hearing Spiritual Truth Without Allowing It to Impact My Life And…
Secondly, I Am Guilty Of Neglecting My Faith When I Begin To Think That My Sin Is No Big Deal! (v. 2) “For if the word spoken through angels proved
steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
reward.”
The argument is that if the law given by
God’s messengers the angels proved reliable and brought judgment on those who
disobeyed. How much greater must the consequences of disobedience be to those who neglect
the message of salvation made through his own son.
Warren Wiersbe tells of hearing the story of “a
pastor who preached a series on “the sins of the saints.” He was severely
reprimanded by one of the members of the church. Who said, ‘After all sin in the life of a Christian is
different from sin in the lives of other people.’ ‘Yes.’ replied the pastor, ‘it is worse.’ ” [Warren Wiersbe. “Be Confident”
(Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1982) p. 26]
How
did we ever get to the point in the Church of today where we think we don’t need to
confess our sin anymore 1 John 1:9 still says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” What does it mean to confess our sins
Literally the word “confess” (homologeo), means “to say the same thing.”
You are to say the same thing that God says. When God in His Word says that the thing you
did is sin, you are to get over on God’s side and look at it. And you are to say,
“You are right, Lord, I say the same thing
that You say. It is sin.” That is
what it means to confess your sins. This is God’s way for a Christian to deal with
sin in his own life.
Go
and tell God about it. He wants you to
come to Him. Tell Him you have failed. Tell Him you have been wrong. Tell Him that you
want to say the same thing about your sin that He says about it. Seek His help. He is your
Father. You are in the family. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive you your sins.”
After
we confess our sins, what does God do He cleanses
us. When you have confessed your sin, it means that you have turned from that sin. It
means that you have said the same thing which God has said. Sin is a terrible thing. God
hates it and now you hate it. But confession restores you to your Father. Tell Him your
problems. Tell Him your sins. Tell Him your weakness. Confess it all to Him. And say to
your Father that you want to have fellowship with Him and you want to serve Him. My, He
has made a marvelous, wonderful way back to Himself!
I
Am Guilty Of Neglecting My Faith When I
Begin To Think That My Sin Is No Big Deal And…
Third, I Am Guilty Of Neglecting My Faith When I Forget Ending Well Is As Important As Beginning Well.
Robert McQuilkin in his poem “Let Me
Get Home Before Dark” states what should be every Christian prayer when he says,
“I fear the Dark Spectre may
come too soon-
or do I mean, too late
That I should end before I finish
Or finish, but not well.
That I should, stain your honor,
shame your
Name, grieve your loving heart.
Few, they tell me, finish
well…
Lord, let me get home before dark.”
[Robert McQuilkin. “Let Me Get Home
Before Dark. 1981]
Let me close today with - The Three R’s
of Response.
1. Repent of any known sin.
So where do we go from here? What if I have already drifted Composer Robert
Robinson was saved under the mighty ministry of George Whitfield and he wrote the song
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” which says in part
”Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander—Lord, I feel it—
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart—O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above”
[Logos Hymnal. 1995 (1st edition.). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA]
In the case of Robinson these words proved very prophetic, because he later drifted
from his relationship with the Lord. “He had been greatly
used as a pastor, but neglect of spiritual things led him astray. In an attempt to find
peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys he met a young woman who was
evidently very spiritually minded.
“What do you think of this hymn I have been reading’ she asked Robinson,
handing him the book. It was his own hymn! He
tried to avoid the question but it was hopeless, for the Lord was speaking to him.
Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the
Lord.
‘But these streams of mercy are still flowing,’ the woman reassured him
and through her encouragement, Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord.” [Wiersbe.
pp. 26-27]
2. Remove those things that hinder our spiritual
growth!
3. Return to our first love. (Rev 2:4)
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (5)Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…”