The Danger of Drifting

INTRODUCTION

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When was the last time you were in danger? When was the last time you were in real danger? I doubt any of us have been living on the edge of real danger like people who run with the bulls in Spain—that’s danger! I guess it depends on what we mean by danger? There are all kinds of dangers in life. Some have recently faced the “danger” of dying? Some of you have been in “danger” of being pulled over by law enforcement because you were speeding? (Some of you) Some of you have been in “danger” of losing privileges (car, cell phone, or freedom) because you weren’t going to make it home in time for your curfew. We live in a dangerous world. Danger is all around us. Danger is so much of a reality that we have “warning” messages or labels.

· Coffee cups – “Warning: contents are extremely hot”

· Mattress Tags – “Do not remove” (Why?)

· Other Crazy Warnings (Examples)

Warnings are an important part of life. We need to be warned of danger in our lives. Sometimes we need to be warned in our walk with God.

Need

What if I told you that you’re in spiritual danger this morning? Would you believe me? I’m not trying to scare you, I don’t want to be accused of fear-mongering, and yet I don’t want you to live by the old cliché “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That looks really as good on a bumper sticker but perhaps there is something more to fear than fear itself. Part of fearing God is being responsive to the places in His Word that warn us about the “real and present danger” we are in each and every day. Some of the His most pressing warnings are found in the book of Hebrews.

Preview

Today is week three of our trek through the book of HEBREWS. In this series were Encountering the Greatness of Jesus. The book of Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish Christians. These people had left behind a life of Judaism for Christianity—embracing the good news of Jesus Christ—and their profession of faith and pursuit of Jesus was not well-received by their fellow Jews or the Roman empire that was ruling their lands and as a result they were persecuted. Many of them were rejected by their families, lost their possessions and homes, and were faced with physical suffering as well for their stand. As a result, they were tempted to return to their old way of life to escape persecution and suffering so this letter was written to reveal the greatness (superiority) of Jesus Christ so they would persevere in their faith.

In the opening chapter we’ve discovered that Jesus is greater than the prophets and greater than the angels. We have dug deep into “who” Jesus is and “why” He is greater than the prophets and the angels as the Son of God. Up to this point there has only been truth statements, no commands, but today as we pick up in Hebrews Chapter 2 we find the first exhortation that is a warning about “The Danger of Drifting” from the gospel. If you have your bible (and I hope you do), turn (scroll) to the book of Hebrews. If you don’t have a Bible we have extras in the pews so feel free to get up and grab one right now so you can follow along. We find this “Warning” in . . . (Read 2:1-4)

I) THE DANGER OF DRIFTING

In we find the first of five warning passages in the book. In Chapter 1 the penman laid the theological foundation of this his exhortation—Jesus’ superiority—by highlighting that Jesus is far greater than the OT prophets and the angels. In we find the first major “exhortation” in response to the truth in order to challenge the Christians to persevere in the faith. Now the warning passages in Hebrews are one of the most difficult passages to interpret and apply in the NT. We have a variety of opinions/interpretations about these passages among good Christians. A lot of ink has been spilled over these passages in Hebrews. If you want to dig deeper you can read the book “Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews.” (Book pic) One of the differences of opinion/interpretation is “who” these warning passages address in the letter.

· Mere Professors (Unbelievers) – warn Jews who made a mere public profession of faith about missing justification by renouncing their interest in Christianity and going back to Judaism – merely “professing Christians” who have never really been converted and therefore the warning passages are a call for them to respond in faith to the gospel.

· Believers: warning of the loss of salvation. The “loss of salvation” that doesn’t align with the OT image and the whole teaching of the NT. First, even though the OT people of God were punished for disobeying the Law they never lost their status as God’s people, disobeying the Law didn’t cause them to no longer be His people. Secondly, the NT repeated highlights the “security” and “assurance” of believers based on God’s promise of salvation and finished work. (; ; ; ).

· Believers – warns of losing rewards or other benefits because of their drifting, spiritual laziness, and disobedience.

· Believers & unbelievers – the presence of a mixed multitude who were being warned so they would persevere in their faith.

I come to these texts with great humility. I haven’ mastered these passages. I’m not dogmatic about my understanding of these important sections up to this point of my study. I’m a man of “faith seeking understanding” (Anselm). The meaning of these warning passages has been a subject of much debate by gifted & seasoned biblical scholars. As we walk through these passages I’m going to do my best to explain what I know and where I stand based on my study, knowing very well that some of you might disagree with me. I’ll try to highlight other views as we go along. And while I’m open to robust theological dialogue—discussion these weighty issues at the right time and place is a good thing—and yet I don’t make much time for debate so there will be times we will have to agree to disagree in Christian love and unity.

I believe that the letter was a pastoral exhortation to believers. I believe these warnings were written to genuine believers as opposed to mere professors of faith. I do believe there was likely a mixed multitude—some believers and some unbelievers—but predominately genuine Jewish Christians because of the penman’s use of “us” and “we” throughout the letter. The letter argues that the temptation for the Jewish Christians to forsake their allegiance to Christianity and return to Judaism. I believe these warning passages are hypothetical arguments that inspire the Jewish Christians to persevere in the faith and not return to Judaism because Jesus is greater than the Old Covenant. Therefore I’m going to try to have us consider them as genuine warnings for us as well. The first warning is about “The Danger of Drifting.” I want us to consider three things from : (1) “A Warning about Drifting from the Gospel (2:1, 3b-4), (2) “The Serious Consequences of Drifting from the Gospel (2:2-3a), (3) The Safeguard against Drifting from the Gospel (2:1). Let’s take a closer look at this passage together and allow God to speak to us and change our lives.

A) A Warning about Drifting from the Gospel (2:1, 2:3b-4)

We begin with “A Warning about Drifting from the gospel (good news of salvation in Jesus) – “A Warning about Drifting from the Gospel.” The word “Therefore” highlights the connection of this exhortation to what has already been said in Chapter 1. (“What’s the therefore therefore?”). The presentation of Jesus’ greatness (superiority) in Chapter 1 leads to a practical exhortation in Chapter 2. Since Jesus is greater than the prophets and the angels “we must pay the most careful attention to what we’ve heard, so that we will not drift away” (2:1).

Notice the penman included himself in the call to action—“we must pay much closer attention to what “we” have heard—which reinforces the idea that this warning was addressed to genuine believers although some of the address likely included others who had not yet put their faith in Jesus. The exhortation reveals a necessity for the Christian community—“we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard” (2:1)—this was a call to “hold firmly to and continuing to believe” the good news of salvation they had heard proclaimed to them by the apostles. The Jewish Christians were being challenged “hold fast” and “persevere” in the gospel they had heard, the good news of salvation in Jesus who is greater than the prophets and the angels, and what they had heard and believed was the message of “so great a salvation.” The penman describes the indescribably “great salvation” (2:3b) that they must cling to and not neglect. We have three statements that reveal “why” this is “so great salvation” (2:3b).

1) The message of salvation was announced by Jesus (2:3b)

First, the message of God’s salvation was announced by Jesus— This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord (2:3b)—the message of salvation was first proclaimed by Jesus who is greater than the prophets and the angels. Jesus announced the message of salvation during His earthly ministry ( & ). Jesus is given the title “Lord” highlighting His divine authority to reveal God’s message of salvation.

2) The message of salvation was confirmed by the apostles (2:4a)

Secondly, the message of God’s great salvation was confirmed by the apostles— this salvation “was confirmed to us by those who heard him” (2:3c)—“those who heard him” refer to the apostle’s who were eyewitnesses of Jesus ministry. The apostle’s heard Jesus announce the message of salvation and they passed it on to others. Here we find the strongest argument against Paul as the penman of Hebrews, he puts himself outside of the group of apostles, declaring that they had received the message of salvation from those who heard him (apostles). The penman highlights that himself and his readers were second generation Christians who had heard this message from the eyewitnesses of Jesus—the apostles had “confirmed” the gospel to them—they proclaimed the truth and reliability of the message for they had heard it from Jesus. the gospel message had been proclaimed to them from the apostles.

3) The message of salvation was authenticated by God’s testimony (2:4b)

Third, the message of salvation was authenticated by God’s testimony. The message of salvation was announced by Jesus, confirmed by the eyewitness of the apostles, and authenticated by God’s testimony— God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (2:4)—God joined with the witness of the apostles to confirm the message of salvation. God bore witness to the truth of the gospel through His supernatural acts. The language depicts God entering a courtroom as a key witness to confirm the testimony of those who had proclaimed the message of salvation. God bore witness along with the apostles or confirmed the apostle’s witness (NET). God confirmed the witness of the apostles with signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (2:4). Over and over in the NT we find supernatural events that took place during the apostle’s ministry to confirm or validate the truth of the gospel (, , , , and ). And yet this phrase “with signs and wonders” was used in the OT to describe God’s saving work in Exodus of delivering God’s people out of the bondage in Egypt. The penman is making this connection of the OT deliverance and NT deliverance. Just as God’s deliverance of His people in the Old Covenant was accompanied by “signs and wonders” His deliverance of His people in the New Covenant was accompanied by “signs and wonders.” The great message of salvation was announced by Jesus, confirmed as trustworthy through the eyewitness testimony of the apostles, and authenticated by God testimony of supernatural works.

The three-fold declaration highlights the greatness of God’s salvation in Jesus. The penman calls Himself and His reader’s to “pay much more careful attention” to this message of great salvation in Jesus “so that we do not drift away” (2:1) Failing to pay attention to the gospel would result in drifting from it. The exhortation reveals the clear and present danger of the Christian community “drifting away” from the gospel (message of so great a salvation). Notice, they are not in danger of “rejecting” what they have heard—it appears they have heard it and received it by faith—but if they fail “to pay the most careful attention to what they had heard” (2:1) they will “drift away” (2:1). The word “drift” (παραρρέω) means “flowing past.” The image of “drifting” can denote “drifting past a harbor,” describing an “object going in the wrong direction,” (drift wood), or “letting something slip away” (based on the Septuagint’s use in ).

· Raymond Brown (Bible Speaks Today) - to drift away aimlessly, so missing the landing point. It is also used of a ring which slips off a finger, or of water which leaks away from a faulty jar.[1]

Regardless of the exact image, it’s a clear warning against “drifting” away from the gospel. The penman’s exhortation is given so they would not drift away from the message of salvation, a salvation announced by Jesus, confirmed by the apostles, and authenticated by God’s testimony.

APPLICATION

We must heed the “warning” about drifting from the message of salvation revealed to us in Jesus. We must be aware that our lack of attention to the gospel can cause us to “drift” away. Spiritual decline and spiritual demise rarely happens with one big act of rebellion, it’s usually a slow drift we don’t know is happening, it’s subtle and slow.

· Ocean – If you’ve ever gone swimming in the ocean you know about the subtle drift. When I’m swimming, I like to go out to the deeper waters, and when I fail to pay attention to the shore/anchor point it’s only a matter of seconds and I’ve drifted far from the location.

You don’t wake up one morning and say I’m going to grow apart from God today. No. It’s a slow drift caused by various currents. The Jewish Christians were in danger of drifting away due to the pressures of persecution and pain. We can easily drift from the gospel by the believing subtle lies, misplaced priories, unmet expectations, small compromises, and being consumed by other things that keep us from paying attention to the message of salvation we have in Jesus. Consider the ways that you might begin to drift away from the gospel! We must be aware of the temptation to drift away from life-giving message of the gospel. We must be on guard against the spiritual drift in our lives.

B) The Serious Consequences of Drifting from the Gospel (2:2-3a)

We move from “The Warning about Drifting from the Gospel” to “The Danger/Consequences of Drifting from the Gospel” (2:2-3a). The penman’s caution about drifting turns to “The Serious Consequences of/for Drifting from the Gospel. (Read ). The penman pulls no punches and highlights the “Serious Consequences for Drifting from the Gospel.”

The penman introduces the serious consequence for drifting from the gospel through a teaching tool used by Jewish rabbis known as an argument from “lesser to greater” (Ah–fohr-tee–oh-ree)—"For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?—let’s break down this argument into the “lesser” to “greater” parts.

First, the “lesser” part of the arguments takes us back to the Old Covenant and the Law. The penman reminded his readers of “the message spoken through the angels was binding”—this is a reference to the giving of the Law which was mediated by the angels (, , , and )—the Law mediated by angels was binding. The OT Law was “reliable,” “true,” “valid,” and “firm” (NET). The Law mediated through angels was to be obeyed by God’s people. And every “violation” (transgression or breaking) of the Law and “disobedience” (refusing to listen to or obey) to the Law “received just punishment.” Whenever God’s people (nation of Israel) broke the Law or refused to obey there were serious consequences, God punished, judged, and disciplined His people when they disobeyed the Law. We have countless examples in the OT of the punishment God’s people encured for violating the Law. This is the lesser part of the argument – when God’s people violated the Law mediated through angels it resulted in divine punishment.

The penman asks an important question which sets forth the “greater” part of the argument— “how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? (2:3a)—the question completes the argument from lesser to greater. If God punished His people when they disobeyed the Law mediated by angels, how shall we escape His punishment if we ignore so great a salvation revealed through Jesus (who is greater than the angels). The implied answer: “There will be no escape from punishment” for ignoring the great message of salvation revealed in Jesus.” The word “ignore” is also translated as “neglect”—it’s can speak of being “indifferent” to a message you heard () or “disregarding” something you have (). If there was punishment for God’s people when they disobeyed His message (the Law) spoken through angels under the Old Covenant (Lesser), wouldn’t there be punishment for neglecting God’s message spoken through the Son (Greater)? Again, the implied answer is a resounding yes. If God punished His people for disobeying the Law mediated by angels, there will certainly be punishment for ignoring the great salvation revealed by Jesus.

· Paul Ellingworth – “Jesus is superior to the angels; so if the Israelites were severely punished whenever they disobeyed the law which they had received from God through angels, the punishment for disregarding what God has spoken in his Son (1:1f.) will be even more severe.”[2]

Just like in the OT, the NT has stories that highlight God’s sever punishment of His children. We can’t forget the story of “Ananias and Saphira” in the book of Acts—God took the life of two believers who “lied” about money they had made from selling their property. This extreme case of punishment cause “great fear” to come upon the church. In the book of Corinth we read that some people were sick and had even died because of their selfish celebration of the Lord’s Supper. We tend to think of the God as more fierce in the OT than in the NT—the God of the OT is the same God of the NT—and the penman of Hebrews will call us “to be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and aw, for our God is a consuming fire” (12:28-29).

The penman of Hebrews highlights the “serious consequences” for drifting away from the gospel through neglect. And while some view this as a warning to unbelievers (mere professors of faith) of the “eternal” punishment for rejecting the gospel, it’s addressed to those who are “neglecting” the gospel which will cause them to drift away. Clearly, punishment is in view but there is no mention of what the punishment will be, eternal or otherwise. Any attempt to declare what punishment they will occur is an argument from silence. Certainly, Jesus took on our sin upon Himself and was punished for our iniquities so that we won’t bear eternal punishment for our sin. And yet, God disciplines His children (). Drifting from the gospel opens the door to divine discipline. In light of the context and theme of this book, the penman presents this warning from a heart of love and concern – it’s given as motivation to persevere in the gospel.

APPLICATION

I have the same pastoral concern for you that we see in the penman’s heart for the Hebrew Christians. I’m concerned for your soul if you reject the gospel and if you neglect the gospel. I’m not here to “scare” you with threats of divine punishment for ignoring so great a salvation you have in Jesus. I’m hear to warn you about the danger of drifting away- a drifting away that is caused by neglect – you might not be rejecting the message of salvation but you know in your heart you’re neglecting so great a salvation you have in Jesus.

It’s easy to neglect what we have isn’t it? We can take people and things for granted? We can be tempted to neglect our spouse, neglect our kids, neglect a friend, or neglect certain chores around the house we don’t want to do. Are you neglecting so great a salvation in Jesus? Are you disregarding the gospel because you’re consumed by other things? Consider the way you might be neglecting so great of a salvation in your life.

Putting other things ahead of your walk with God Accountability in a local church Listen to the Holy SpiritLack of prayerful dependence

How it grieves the heart of God when we neglect the great salvation that restores us to new life. Today’s a day to examine and confess the ways you’re neglecting the gospel in your life.

C) The Safeguard against Drifting from the Gospel (2:1)

With “The Warning about Drifting” and “The Serious Consequences for Drifting from the Gospel” before us, I want to return to the opening exhortation where we find “the Safeguard against Drifting from the Gospel.” “The Safeguard Against Drifting from the Gospel”

We must heed the “warning” we find in God’s Word. And while I want the warning to have it’s full effect on all of us, I don’t want us to miss the opening exhortation that reveals “The Safeguard against Drifting from the Gospel.” Certainly, there is a “danger” of drifting from the gospel—we are often tempted to drift from the gospel (Jesus) through neglect—and our hearts can relate to the hymn of the faith that declares “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love” (“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – 18th century pastor and hymodist Robert Robinson). And yet, there is a Safeguard Against Drifting from the Gospel.

The safeguard to drifting from the gospel is paying attention to the gospel--“we must pay the most careful attention to what we’ve heard, so that we will not drift away” (2:1)—we won’t drift if we pay the most careful attention to the gospel (what we’ve heard). Sounds so simple, right? This is a call for us to “cling” to the truth of the gospel (message of salvation). This is a call for us to “pay closer attention” to what we’ve heard, to hold fast to the gospel we’ve been taught, to keep believing the gospel. Paying closer attention to the message of the gospel will be our safeguard from drifting away. We must pay closer to attention to the message salvation revealed to us in Jesus so that we will not drift away.

The Jewish Christians were being exhorted to “pay the most careful attention” to the gospel they had heard so they would not drift away from it. The Jewish Christians were being challenged to cling to the gospel they had heard so they would not gradually drift away from their belief in the gospel. The act of paying close attention would protect them from “drifting” (moving away) from the truth and the spiritual vantage point of the gospel.

APPLICATION

We have a safeguard against drifting from the gospel in our lives. What was true for the Jewish Christians in the first century is true for us as a church today. We too must “pay the most careful attention” to the gospel in our lives. We must pay closer attention to what we have heard. We too must “hold fast” to the message of salvation. We must give more careful of our attention to the message of salvation revealed in Jesus who is greater than the prophets and greater than the angels!

And yet we live in a world filled with many things that distract us from paying more careful attention to the message of salvation revealed in Jesus. We have good things that steal our attention away.

· Sports

· Family

· Work

· Internet (Social media)

· Money

· Sex

· Entertainment

What keeps you from paying more careful attention to the gospel in your life? You know your own heart. God knows your heart. If we give more careful attention to the gospel than ever before we will be safeguarded from drifting away.

Let’s consider the call to pay more careful attention to the message of salvation revealed in Jesus. What might that look like in our lives? (Share – application ideas) Paying more careful attention to the gospel will require time and effort empowered by the Holy Spirt. What intentional effort are you giving to paying more careful attention to the gospel in your life so that you won’t drift away?

· Pay more careful attention to the preaching of the Word on Sunday

· Talk about the sermon (friends and family) – Beyond it was good (I’m not looking for a pat on the back) but rather “why” it was good because of what you learned about God and how you’re going to apply it to your life.

· Do you read the Scriptures outside of Sunday morning? – The call for “personal devotions” is often seem as a boring and a guilt trip. Take time to read/feed on the word as a priority & privilege as well as a discipline as delight. Meditate on what you read. Spend time soaking it in - memorizing and praying it.

· Get connected to a class or small group to “pay more careful attention” to the gospel.

· Read good Christian books; theology

· Listen to podcasts

We have a safeguard from drifting – it’s paying more careful attention to the gospel/God’s Word in our lives. What’s your “next step” – what can you do in the coming week to “pay more careful attention” to what God has revealed in Jesus?

CONCLUSION

Refresh

Life is filled with Warnings – messages that warn about clear and present danger. Our coffee cups warn us that the contents are extremely hot – medicine bottles that warn us from operating heavy machinery – and the messages are intended to keep us out of danger.

Renew

Today we’ve been warned about “The Danger of Drifting” from the gospel through neglect – and the serious consequences that come from such neglectful drifting – we must heed this warning about the danger of drifting from the gospel. The danger of drifting was real for the Jewish Christians in the first century and it’s real for every single one of us in this century.

Restate

The warning has been issued. And now it’s your responsibility to respond by the power of the Holy Spirit. You are in danger of drifting—there is a real temptation to neglect so great a salvation—and today God desires that you heed this vital warning. You can safeguard against drifting by “paying more careful attention” to the message of salvation revealed by Jesus.

Pray

[1] Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews: Christ above All, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 47.

[2] Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1993), 137.