Pay Attention-Hebrews 2:1-4

Introduction

Story about drifting away. . . connect it to drifting away from our faith.

School starts back this week, but hopefully you got to enjoy summer with your family and maybe go on vacation.

Raise your hand if you went to the beach this summer for vacation.

Growing up, my family went to Destin every year to enjoy the white sandy beaches. . . of the panhandle.

I remember one time when I was about 10, my Dad and I were playing out in the ocean. He decided to go back to shore and I stayed to play more in the water.

We had set up at umbrella with chairs and a cooler that marked our place in the sand, and he told me, “Son, make sure you keep an eye on our umbrella and chairs so that the undertow does not carry you out.”

Now at my age, I did not know what an “undertow” was at that point, but my Dad seemed pretty serious when he warned me to keep my eyes on him and my Mom from shore.

So, for a few minutes, that is what I did. However, as time went on, and I got caught up in playing in the water, my eyes started to drift away from our place in the shore, and very slowly, the undertow began to pull me further across the ocean.

The next thing I knew, I looked up and my parents spot on the beach was nowhere to be found.

Because I did not keep my eyes on my parents, and I did not pay attention to the message from my dad, I had drifted away through the pull of the undertow.

In a similar way, if we do not pay attention to the message of the gospel of Christ, we can begin to drift away from the Lord.

I think we can all relate to times where we begin to neglect the Scriptures, and become apathetic to the gospel. We decide to “take a break” from reading our Bible or consistently spending time in prayer. . . but we then look up a couple of months later and our relationship with Jesus has grown cold and stale and the idols of this world have stolen our affections that should only be for Christ.

Like the famous hymn, come thou fount of every blessing, says, our hearts are prone to wander. . . prone to leave the God we love, and if left to ourselves, that will be what happens.

However, this morning, in Hebrews 2:1-4, God has provided grace for our apathetic hearts to keep us from wandering. . . and it is through a warning and the confirmation of his promise that will help us pay attention to the great salvation he has given us in Christ so that we will not drift away.

Therefore, the key point we must know this morning is:

To keep us from drifting away from the gospel, we must hold fast to Christ, the anchor of our faith.

Hebrews 2:1–4 ESV

1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 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, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Lets Pray. . .

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were being tempted to go back to the Old Covenant practices of Judaism.

They were facing persecution for following Jesus, but if they rejected Christ as the Messiah and reverted back to Judaism, they would no longer be persecuted.

To prevent this from happening, the author of Hebrews, wrote a letter to remind them of the superiority of Jesus over the angels, prophets, priests, and sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

By showing that Jesus was greater than all the religious practices of the old covenant, the author demonstrated the foolishness of reverting back to Judaism and the need to stand firm and persevere in their faith in Jesus.

It is important for us to know this morning, that this letter was written to Christians. At times, to help these believers persevere in their faith, the author gave the Hebrews strong warnings to not fall away from the faith.

So, this morning, let us not see this warning from the Lord as something that robs us of hope, but let us rather see it as a blessing to steer us away from danger in order to preserve us so we can persevere in our faith and inherit what has been promised to us in Christ.

Warning (v. 1)

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

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

•     “Therefore”. . . which communicates the truths the author just stated in chapter 1. . . that Jesus is superior to the angels. . . because he is the eternal Son and King, and He is our perfect Mediator and High Priest.

•     So, since Jesus is greater than the angels, we must pay attention to his message.

•       Hebrews 1:1-2. . . in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son.

•     Jesus is the final and complete revelation of God, thus, we must pay attention to his gospel.

•     The author begins by giving a warning and admonition through an “if. . . then” statement.

•     Just as the key point says, we must pay close attention to the message of the gospel. . . for if we don’t, we will drift away from it.

To understand this warning, we need to understand the meaning of two phrases: “Drift away” and “Pay Attention.”

Drift Away

•     This phrase communicates to disbelieve gradually or slowly overtime. 

•     “Drifting away” provides the image of a ship that has been loosed of its anchor and is at the mercy of the current of the sea.

•     We could also understand it as a “ring slipping off our finger.”

•     Drift away is another way to describe a denial and rejection of the Gospel.

•     The Hebrews were tempted to drift away due to the tides of suffering. . .

•     rejection from family (Heb. 13:12-13).

•     Public shame (Heb. 10:32-33).

•     Loss of property and freedom (Heb. 10:34; 13:3).

•     Death (Heb. 12:3-4).

•     This morning, we must see the danger of drifting. . . for the reason why it is so dangerous is because it is subtle. . .

•     The drifting did not happen all at once but slowly. . .

•     C. S. Lewis wisely remarked about the subtleness of drifting when he said:

“And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?”

•     Three Tides that can cause us to drift. . .

Tide of Years

•     Over time, we forget what we believe and what is important. We are often hardened by the difficulties of life.

•     Parable of the soils. . . Matthew 13.

•     The seed sown on rocky soil shot up immediately with joy. . . but soon withered away.

•     The seed sown among the thorns began to steadily grow. . . but over time, the difficulties and worries of the world choke out the plant and it bears no fruit.

•     Time is a great corroder of rubbish. . . Time will reveal if our faith is genuine. . . for true faith perseveres and stands the test of time.

Tide of Familiarity

•     Raise your hand if you’ve been to Paris. . .

•     Arc de Triomphe

•     When we see and experience something over and over again, we are tempted to see it as less important and magnificent as it truly is. . . leads to becoming apathetic.

•     The same can be said of how we view the gospel after hearing it over and over again.

Tide of Busyness

•     When we load up our plate with numerous things each day, week, month, and year and do not make time to spend with God. . . we can slowly drift away from the truth.

“A snowflake is a tiny thing, but when the air is full of them, they can bury us. Just so, the thousand cares of each day can keep us from the wonderful excellencies of Christ, causing us to begin a deadly drift.” -R. Kent Hughes

•     So, to drift away means to disbelieve and reject the gospel gradually overtime. 

Pay Attention

•     “Pay attention” communicates giving undivided attention to something very important.

•     The phrase urges us to “hold fast” to our faith (Heb. 3:6, 14; 10:23).

•     In calling the Hebrew Christians to “pay attention” the author urges his hearers to be firm and secure at their dock (of faith in Christ) so that it will be impossible for the water to cause them to drift away.

•     They must remember the message that was given by the Son, who is the radiance of God’s glory, upholds the universe with his power, and has made purification for their sins through his death and resurrection.

•     If our faith is firm in Jesus, it will not matter how strong the waves of the sea of this world are (lies, attacks, trials) because the anchor of our faith in Jesus will keep us safe at the dock.

Reasoning (v. 2-3a)

After giving us a warning to not drift away, the author gives us the reason for his warning in verses 2-3. . . for if we neglect this great salvation. . . we will not escape judgment.

Hebrews 2:2–3 ESV

2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 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,

•     To explain his reasoning, the author uses an argument from the lesser to the greater.

•     In logic, this is known as an “a fortiori” argument (Latin for: from the stronger argument).

•     If the law given by angels, which was lesser in importance than the gospel due to its incompleteness, proved to be true and those who disobeyed it received a just punishment (Deut. 27:26) . . . how much more will we not escape retribution if we neglect the greater message of salvation that we have in Jesus?

•     The word “neglect” connects back to “drifting away” in verse 1 and communicates apathy or not caring about something.

•     For the Hebrews, this would mean that they disregard and do not care about the great salvation that has been declared to them in Jesus. They demonstrate their apathy by leaving the teachings of Jesus for the teachings and practices of Judaism.

•     An example of “neglect” is seen when those invited to the wedding feast in Matthew 22:5, did not care they were invited and went off to continue their work.

•     Have you become apathetic to the message of the gospel?

•     The author makes clear that those who “neglect” this great salvation will have no way of escape from the judgment of God.

Al Mohler says, “The danger of spiritual drift is not only that we might miss out on a spiritually flourishing life; the true danger of spiritual drift is that we abandon the gospel itself and find ourselves under the judgment of God.”

  To prevent this neglect from occuring, as verse 1 said, we must pay attention to the gospel and see how truly great our salvation is in Christ.

Confirmation (v. 3b-4)

•     To help us see why we should pay attention and trust in this great salvation, the author provides three reasons how it has been confirmed to be true throughout the ages by our triune God.

•     This is what the author accomplishes in second half of verse three and four. . .

•     First, in verse 3, he says It was first declared by Jesus .

•     Second. . . It was verified and written down by the apostles . . . who were eyewitnesses.

•     “attested” is the same word used in verse 2 that describes the reliability of the message of the Old Covenant that was delivered by the angels.

•     And Third. . .  the apostle’s witness has been further confirmed by God the Father through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts that were brought about by the Holy Spirit.

•     The Triune God, along with his people, have testified throughout the ages of the greatness of this salvation. . . therefore, this morning, the message is clear, we MUST hold fast to Christ and pay attention to his gospel. . . we must not neglect it. . . for if we do, we will drift away and not escape the judgment of God.

Application 

So this morning, how must we respond to God’s word? How can we hold fast to Christ and pay attention to his gospel??

I believe there is one petition we must make, and three postures we must place ourselves in to keep us from drifting away. . .

One Petition:

Repent and turn away from anything that is stealing the affections of your heart away from Christ and beginning to cause you to drift away from the gospel.

What are some of the tides that are beginning to move you to drift away from the gospel?

•     We have already mentioned busyness and familiarity. . . but what about other allurements?

•     Popularity. . . Success. . . Pleasure. . . Wealth. . . Sports. . . Relationships

We must ask God to forgive us and plead for his grace to awaken our heart to see how great his salvation. . . for it is only by his Spirit transforming our hearts that we will not become numb and neglect the gospel.

Three Postures:

1.   Personal Study

•     Read, memorize, meditate, and remind yourself of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

•     Daily time with God in his word.

•     Have a Plan.

•     Create a Place.

•     Guard a Time.

•     Teach and share what you are learning with others.

•     What did you learn and to whom are you teaching it?

2.   Public Worship

•     Weekly gathered worship on Wednesdays and Sundays.

•     Joshua 4. . . memorial stones, stones of remembrance.

•     Corporate worship, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper can serve as “memorial stones” to remind us weekly of the abundant grace God has lavished on us in Christ.

3.   Prioritizing Biblical Fellowship

•     Friends you can pray with and hold you accountable.

•     LifeGroups.

•     Sunday Morning Bible Study.

For some here this morning, you are not drifting away from gospel. . . You are faithfully making this petition and practicing these postures, and your anchor is secure in the waters of the Word of God. . . but you know friends and family members who are beginning to drift away.

The call for you this morning is wake them up! Help them to see how they are drifting and encourage them to attach their boat back to the anchor of Christ so they will not shipwreck their faith.

But for others here this morning, you are not drifting away from the gospel. . . because you have never believed in the gospel. . .

You cannot put your anchor at bay because you have never trusted in Christ for your salvation.

This morning, the call for you is to repent of your sins and trust Christ so that you can experience the riches and glorious inheritance of this great salvation.

At the end of the day, no matter who we are, we all need the grace of God in Christ to awaken our hearts and draw us back to him.

We need to say with the old hymn. . .

Let thy grace like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above.

Pray