Listen up! You Can't Miss This

Have you ever seen a dumb warning sign? Like, there are some warning signs that are well placed and appropriate, and they look the part. And then there are other ones that just are too funny to be taken seriously.

I’ve found a couple I want to share with you:

But think about your typical warning sign, like this one.

We’ve got warning, and then the reason for the warning, and then a disclosure clause. Like “Swim at your own risk” or something like that. Warning signs are built to deliver an important message - one that can make the difference between life and death. If we refuse to read and heed a clearly marked and appropriately placed warning sign, whose fault is it when we get hurt?

The passage we are examining today is Hebrews 2:1-4. It is a short passage, but it carries for us a stern warning. Remember that Hebrews teaches us about Jesus, as our High Priest, Prophet, and King. But we also mentioned the practical application side of things. These point in Hebrews where the writer specifically applies his teaching to our lives. Here is one such occasion. We talked last week about how Jesus is God, and greater than all. Now, this warning comes on the heels, and as a result, of that teaching. It will also help us heed what is to come in Hebrews as we progress.

Hebrews 2:1–4 ESV

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

As Christians, we cannot ignore, or drift away from Jesus.

Warning!

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

With one little word, “we” this verse signals a section of text that calls us to listen up. Even, to pay closer attention than we ever have before.

Think of that pool sign for a moment. What is the first word they usually will stick on that sign? WARNING! Right! But they don’t generally make it out in the fine print. You know, in the top corner so that they have room for whatever else they want to say. Instead, it’s big, it’s bold, it’s red, and it catches your eye right away. It’s an attention grabber. Why? Because the rest of the message on that sign - if listened to - can save your life.

This little verse is functioning in the same way. It says “listen up! you’ve heard that Jesus is the final revelation, so that means you need to pay attention!”

Here’s the thing friends, if Jesus is really the one who is supposed to come, save us from sin, restore us to God, and is God… we have to pay attention. As the verse says, we MUST NOT drift away! This isn’t trivial information! If the law that was given in the OT was important enough to be delivered by angels, how much more should we pay attention to the message that was brought by God Himself in Jesus Christ? This isn’t stuff we can ignore, but rather matters of life and death that must be given careful attention.

I want to focus for a moment on two words that we find in the latter half of verse 1: “Drift away”

How many of you go kayaking or canoeing in the summer? So probably all of you are aware of how, if you don’t tie your boat down or do something to secure it to the dock, it will start to drift. It’s not an all at once thing. The boat doesn’t generally just jump 6 feet out of your reach in an instant. But give it 10 minutes and a decent tide and you’re stuck swimming for all your worth to get the thing back.

These two words - to drift away - paint a similar picture for us. This is a passive rejection of the faith. This verb in Greek can mean to be washed away, or drift away. The idea is a gradual disbelieving over time. In the same way an unanchored boat slowly drifts away from the dock, so without careful attention to Jesus Christ and our walk with Him we slowly drift away from Jesus as well.

John 15:5–6 ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Friends, we must stay connected to the vine. This is what the author of Hebrews says. Whether someone rejects Jesus immediately, or slowly over time drifts away from Him, both have deadly consequences. For those of us who have heard, believed, and confess that Jesus is Lord, and accepted Him as Lord and Saviour, we are given a warning. Do not let yourself be carried to a place of unbelief.

Satan wants nothing more than to see you out of the race, without faith and on your own. He hates you. He will tempt you to give up Jesus and go do your own thing. Think about the lies we encounter everyday. Evolution, this theory that we all came from primordial soup, or that our existence was born on the backs of turtles. With those lies Satan begins to tempt you: “Did God really say...”

We come up on something in the Bible we don’t understand. It trips us up. But instead of studying it, understanding it, and letting God’s Word teach us, we begin to allow the lie that maybe the Bible isn’t always correct, or isn’t really God’s infallible Word into our hearts. From there, we spiral to a place of forsaking God because He seems not totally just, or because the Bible apparently has holes in its logic. Do you see how we can slowly alienate ourselves from God? It doesn’t happen all at once, but slowly over time. That’s why we need to pay very close attention to our faith, to the message about Jesus. We must tend our faith, and not allow ourselves to drift from Christ, lest we lose our faith altogether. Don’t let the temptation to drift away and abandon your faith seep in. The message we have received, that Jesus Christ - God the Son, the Messiah - has come and has paid for our sins, is vitally important. We have real, tangible, lasting hope. Not just that eternity is with Jesus, that here we receive God’s own Spirit, so that we walk in joy, and face hard and good stuff alike with God. We are no longer dead, but alive. This message we cannot forsake.

At Your Own Risk 2-3a

Hebrews 2:2–3a (ESV)

For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Ok, now we get down to the part of the warning sign that lists the warnings. In this case, what do we read?

There was an old message that was important enough to be delivered by angels. God gave us His, and dwelt with His people through the tabernacle. Angels delivered revelations to the people in the OT.

Now there is a new message, delivered not by angels, but by God Himself. How much more should we listen? Jesus Christ has closed the gap once and for all. Paid the price once and for all. This is huge!

The author of Hebrews makes an important point: The old message mediated by angels was reliable. Those who did not follow God’s law were punished. We have stories in the OT of how God disciplined His people when they strayed from Him. Israel chose to reject God to the point that He allowed His people to go into exile in a foreign land. Did He hate Israel? No, but He did allow them to experience the consequence of their actions. They chose to reject God, and so God turned them over to the false gods they continued to entertain.

The point is that under the old covenant, there were strict rules, and punishment for those who disobeyed. F.F. Bruce said this:

Every Commandment had the appropriate penalty prescribed for its infringement… for such behaviour the death sentence was fixed in advance. (F.F. Bruce, NICNT Hebrews, 28)

You broke the law, you paid the price. There were punishments in place to prevent the breaking of God’s sacred law.

Yet how much more so now! If we have received an even greater message, how much greater the cost? If Jesus Christ really is who He says He was. If He’s really God, and if He really did die for your sins and mine, we have the choice either to listen and obey, or disregard and pay an eternal price.

This is the first of many such warnings in the book of Hebrews. Remember we talked last week about the practical application of Hebrews. Most likely the author is concerned that those hearing this sermon might start to backslide even to the point that their faith no longer had any influence over their lives. Here we have a built-in application that is as strong today as it way 2000 years ago: For those who choose to reject the gospel, either right away or subtly over time, there are dire consequences.

Ok confession: I read warning signs like the ones at a pool and I think “Yeah Yeah, sure whatever.” They give you the rules, but really the choice is up to you. You don’t have to follow them, but if you don’t what happens? You slip, you hit your head, or break a leg, or you get hurt. Or of course the worst one… that pesky lifeguard comes over and tells you off in their passive aggressively nice way. (Sorry if anyone in here has been or is a lifeguard.)

I like how the beginning of verse 3 is translated in the LEB:

Hebrews 2:3 (LEB)

how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation...

We cannot ignore Jesus. This is what the writer of Hebrews tells us again. This is our warning: We have an even greater testimony - salvation has come! But for us to neglect or ignore it causes us to be in danger of receiving just punishment for our sins. We do so at our own risk.

The Message 3b-4

So why can we not ignore Jesus? The writer answers this in the second half of verse 3 and verse 4:

Hebrews 2:3b–4 (ESV)

It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

This great salvation, this awesome message came first straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ. Then through apostles - those who had eye-witness encounters with Christ, and then down through the years it has been passed on. But this is not just some story. God Himself continues to attest to the fact the the living Christ is Lord, and that salvation has come. Verse 4 tells us that God bore witness through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This verb translated as bore witness from the Greek literally means “to bear witness together.” So God, at the same time as human witnesses, is confirming their testimony through the power of the Holy Spirit. Speaking to us now through signs, wonders, miracles and gifts. And here’s the really cool part: This is still happening today.

This verb here is written in the present tense. This means it is written as an action that is currently happening, with no view in mind as to its completion. It is also active, meaning that is God who does this work. Not human beings, but God.

This has major application for us. Lest we think God is somehow absentee after the first century or two of Christianity, or that His miraculous working in the lives of His people ceased 100 years after Christ, Hebrews sees no completion at least here on this earth to the work of God in testifying about His Son. The writer of Hebrews doesn’t put a timeframe on what God is doing, but rather says that He bore witness. This still occurs today. God uses signs, gifts of the Spirit, and miracles! It is happening! But this leave us without excuse, because we have heard about the great news of Jesus Christ from both others’ testimony, and the work of God Himself.

Romans 1:20 ESV

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

This is speaking more to the idea of a general revelation - that even the created world points to God. But nonetheless, if both the natural world and the testimony of God and believers does not stir our hearts to pay attention to the gospel message and the Lordship of Jesus, we are without excuse, and in trouble.

The warning here is serious. Just like the implied message of any good warning sign, here we are told: you do not have any excuse. You have heard the testimony, you even have believed what you have heard. If you choose to forsake this you are in trouble. If the old covenant was reliable, and therefore this new message in Jesus Christ is as well, we also know that the punishment for rejecting Jesus is sure: eternal judgement and death.

Conclusion

We cannot ignore Jesus. That is the main idea this morning. The writer of Hebrews gives us a warning.

Hey! You need to pay very close attention to this, because drifting away is not an option!

He then tells us what we are paying attention to: The message about Jesus, about Salvation, and about God’s plan to restore. This means everything to us. And clearly, it is important. The old message, the message that Christ was coming, that God had a plan, and that He had provided a means in the meantime for His people to still have relationship with Him, was important enough for angels to deliver it. But this new message is delivered right from God the Son, the second person of the Trinity and the ruler of all the universe. I think that’s an important message. We cannot let temptation to forsake Christ or walk away from what we have heard gain a foothold. Good times or bad, God will not leave us and so we must not leave Him.

Finally, the writer adds a disclosure. You’ve heard it, not just from Christ, but reliable witness. God Himself testifies in many miraculous ways alongside these witnesses. If you choose to ignore and reject the message of salvation, you are without excuse.

Ok, so how does this rubber hit the road for you today? I think this is a warning for all of us. Whether or not you know Jesus, this is a call for you to listen to what God is saying! Maybe you’ve been a Christian 40, 50, 60+ years, and walked with God faithfully. What an amazing testimony. This warning is for you, so that you will continue to hold the flame of our faith up, even as you pass it on to the next generation of faithful witnesses to the love and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Maybe you’re walking the parenting journey right now, and you’ve got enough toys all over your floor that it’s more toy store than kitchen floor. Haha if that’s you this warning reminds you to hold fast to the One who sees you through sleepless nights, and screaming, and diapers, and all that other fun stuff. But more importantly, one days those kids are going to grow up. The world will try to eat them up and spit them out. This is why we must train our children up in the fear of God. If we are truly convinced that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from sin and made right with God. If we believe that only through the power of God can we live in an evil world and not be swallowed up by it, the greatest gift we can give our children is the knowledge and hope of Jesus Christ.

Maybe you’re pretty young - like not even out of school yet. Cool, you’ve got so much life ahead of you! Oh man, it’s exciting to think of where you will go, what you’re going to do. What will you be? What are your dreams? This warning reminds you that wherever you go, whatever you do, you need to walk with Jesus everyday through it. No matter if you’re working at burger king, or flying a jet, or being a pastor like me, you need Jesus. God has great plans for you, because He loves you. He wants to save you too, and He has good plans, and exciting ones. Stay close to Jesus, and don’t allow what this world will tell you - that your faith is stupid, or useless, or sad - to derail you from the most important relationship you can have: the one between you and God.

Maybe you don’t know Jesus. You might fit into any one of these categories. Maybe you’re a kid, or a teenager. School is still you’re thing, and you’re figuring life out. Maybe you’re a young adult, making your way in the world and charting your course. Maybe you are a new parent, or a parent of younger kids. Much of your thought time and what you do revolves around your kids and raising them. Maybe you’re in your 40s or 50s, with teenagers or grown kids. Life is changing for you. Goodbyes to parents and grandparents, hellos to grandkids, new friends, etc. Maybe you’re moving towards retirement. Looking to see what this supposedly slower season of life will bring. Perhaps you are in your twilight years, with a lifetime of experiences and wisdom behind you, and the unknown of life after death beginning to stare you down. Whoever you are, wherever you’re at, you need Jesus. This warning is telling you that what you are hearing about Jesus Christ, who came to save you from your sins and make you right with God is true. You can ignore it, but at what cost? The cost of your soul. Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life as well. It changes everything.

As we move into this week, I pray the warning we have heard today has made you a little uncomfortable. I pray it has touched your heart in a way that pushes you to check your commitment, and make sure Jesus is first for you. My challenge for you this week is to join me in asking God to reveal to us how we need to stay connected to Him. If you have started drifting, repent and ask God to convict your heart of the need to stay close to Jesus. My challenge for you this week as we continue to encounter Jesus is to check your commitment level, and allow God to show you how you can continue to stay close to the One person in your life who matters most: Jesus Christ.