Hebrews 2 "Drifting Away...from so great a salvation"

This SOAP Journal is based on the text of Sunday’s sermon by guest speaker, Pastor Keith Jenkins.

S = Hebrews 2:1-4 “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.

O = Two messages are being compared here: the Mosaic law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This comparison takes place within a larger treatise showing the superiority of Jesus Christ over angels, which is now extended to our responsibility to keep/obey/believe the messages that they delivered. It is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If the lesser message delivered through angels was reliable and binding, the message now delivered by God incarnate in the Son is even more so. The author exclaims, “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” In other words, what could be worse than rejecting Jesus’ death for our sins with the indifference of a “Whatever.” What had they heard to which they needed to pay closer attention? The words of the Lord (Jesus Christ) and the testimony of the apostles and disciples who had listened to Jesus in person, the miraculous signs, wonders, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

A = This idea of drifting comes when I no longer think there is any need to paddle when I no longer feel the need to get somewhere, or perhaps when I think I have “arrived” and there is nothing left for me to learn. I know that this is an attitude that pops up in me more than I am comfortable admitting and of which I repent again today. The other phrase I need to apply in my life is “We must pay much closer attention to…” I know that over the years I have paid close attention to the gospel message found in the Bible, but am I paying closer attention now than I did then? If I am not then I have started to drift. I shouldn’t think I can spiritually coast across the finish line of life. In the next chapter in Hebrews we twice read the command, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion…” (Heb. 3:7-8, & 15). And in between these two reminders to not harden our hearts is this central warning,

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” (3:12-14)

P = O Lord, deliver me from the deceitfulness of sin that would make me think that I am immune to sinning. Keep my heart that is prone to wander, from departing from your presence. May I encourage others to press in and keep paddling and may my Christian brothers and sisters love me enough to do the same for me. Lord Jesus, in your strong love draw me to pay closer attention to you than ever and less attention to worldly distractions day by day. Amen.

In his sermon, Pastor Jenkins shared these thoughts about “Drifting” (v.1)

1.    Drifting requires no effort—it just happens.

2.    Drifting is an unconscious process.

3.    We never drift upstream (1 Kings 11:1-4)

4.    The speed increases as we drift farther and farther downstream.

5.    There is always collateral damage as we drift.

6.    Drifting results in shipwreck.