Hebrews 2:1
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
Sadly, we have all seen Christians fall by the wayside. People who at one time were walking with the Lord, but have fallen back into the life from which they were once delivered. We see this happen to new believers and old. We may have even been victims ourselves. How does that happen? I can think of at least four things that result in a person finding themselves away from the Lord.
First, we are warned against falling away. This is caused by giving into temptation instead of resisting it. One of the necessary elements of success in your Christian life is to deny the flesh’s desire for sin. When we let our guard down, or think we are mature enough to handle a little sin, we will fall captive to its snare.
Second, we are warned against walking away. Sometimes, the difficulties of life can cause us to accuse God of wrong doing. Soon, we become embittered toward Him and deliberately turn away, going back into our old life. This was a constant problem for Moses in the wilderness. As the people faced the struggles of wilderness living, they attempted, on numerous occasions, to turn back to Egypt.
Third, we are warned against being led astray. Jesus told us to be on the lookout for wolves, false prophets, false teachers and false christs. The Christian walk has no shortage of people claiming to know more than the Bible, and leading unlearned Christians away from the Lord.
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
Our text warns of a fourth danger; drifting away. We are told drifting is caused by neglect. Drifting is the danger faced by those who travel by sea. Since the surface the ship sits upon is constantly moving, and often not moving in the direction the pilot wants the vessel to go, constant attention must be given to avoid drifting into pitfalls like rocks, reef or even other ships. Anchors play an important role in keeping a ship from drifting, but another key is moving. A moving vessel will be less likely to drift into danger than a stationary one. If we want to avoid ending up on the rocks, one key is to keep moving forward with the Lord. This is possible only by keeping the first things first. If you are like me, when you first received Christ, you were told to read the Bible, pray, fellowship with others, and tell someone about your decision for Christ. Now that I have been a Christian for almost 30 years, I still need to read the Bible, pray, fellowship and tell others. The faster you are moving forward, the less likely you will be to drift away.
Pastor Jim
Questions for Hebrews 2
1. Notice verse 1. There is danger of us drifting away from Jesus. What must we do to avoid this?
2. Read verses 2-4. Here the author is pointing out the superiority of God speaking to us through His Son and through the working of His Spirit versus speaking to us through any other way. If God’s judgment was severe on those who ignored these other revelations, how do you think God will handle those who ultimately refuse the witness of His Spirit regarding His Son?
3. In verses 5-8 the author quotes Psalm 8:4-6, where a promise is given concerning the Messiah, Jesus, that He will rule all creation. Yet the end of verse 8 says that we don’t yet see the fulfillment of that promise. Truly this world is broken and in need of the One True King to make things right. What things do you most look forward to seeing Jesus fix when He returns?
4. In verse 9 who do we read that Jesus died for?
5. In verse 10 the word “perfect” is a word that means “fully ripened”, “complete”, or “finished”. The idea is that Jesus was not imperfect, but as a man, He had to walk out fully the calling that God had for His life. If God the Father used suffering in His life fulfill Jesus’ ministry, then how much more so us?
6. In verse 11-13 we read some wonderful verses about how Jesus is not ashamed to call us His family! Paul exhorted Timothy to not be ashamed of Jesus; it is easy for us to feel this way when we are made fun of or persecuted for our faith in Jesus. Yet when Jesus was persecuted for us, He was not ashamed of us. Take time to thank Jesus for His love for you, and for His bravery in enduring all He did for you.
7. In verses 14 and 15, what do we see that Jesus’ death accomplished?
8. Look at verses 17-18. Jesus became human, went through difficulty and suffering, and tasted death for us. What was the result of that according to these verses?
Old Testament:
Jeremiah 3- Time For A New Path
Jeremiah 3- Backsliding
Jim Gallagher 