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Hebrews 2:1-4
I grew up in a Christian household. I went to church since infancy. I was baptized and grew up learning the Bible. I heard the gospel from young and I believed. When I went to university, I joined a campus ministry. People were friendly but I struggled to go initially. Wednesday evening meetings clashed with Star Trek: the Next Generation and Saturday meetings clashed with volleyball. But when I forsook Star Trek, I became more involved in Bible study. I deepened in my walk with God. My friends and I loved fellowship - meeting daily to study the Word and sometimes to play volleyball. We reached out to unbelievers and prayed for each other. When I graduated and left school, I heard that some started to relax spiritually. They no longer had deep desires for service and no longer fostered fellowship. Some even married non-Christians. And others rejected the faith completely - they didn’t want anything to do with Christ anymore. Where was their former enthusiasm? Why did some turn their backs on Christ? And how does something like that happen? But we’ve all seen this - we all know someone who followed Christ once, but no longer. How does something like this happen?
But this was happening among the Hebrew Christians long time ago. Why? Because of persecution, some had quit Christ. Others quit to get ahead in life. It was tough enough being Christian - it was hard to buy and sell. Life was so tied to the pagan worldview. Perhaps they said - “Christ prevents me from pursuing life!” But people don’t just wake up one day and decide to quit Christ. They don’t come to that conclusion overnight. It happens unnoticeably. People slip into it. They drift away from Christ. And they don’t realize the consequences of drifting are severe. We shall see this from the passage in 2 points. Firstly, apostasy is unnoticeable but real, and secondly, the result of apostasy is severe and sure.
Firstly, apostasy is unnoticeable but real. In verse 1, the author says, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” Therefore, pay close attention to what you’ve heard, to avoid the risk of drifting away. It’s a warning not to apostatize. And it starts with “therefore,” meaning this follows what we saw in chapter 1. There, we saw that Christ is the final Word. He’s greater than the prophets who went before him. That’s why at the Mount of Transfiguration, before Moses and Elijah, God told the disciples that this was his beloved son - listen to him. Yes, the prophets are good; but Christ is better. If you reject his Word, you reject God’s final Word. And we also saw he was better than the angels. They’re servants, he’s the Son - the heir of all things. He’s the creator of all things, and as the conquering king, he’ll destroy all things one day. Because of who he is, the angels all worship him. Therefore, listen all the more carefully to what you’ve heard - lest you drift away. It’s a dangerous thing to reject God’s final Word and the judge and destroyer of all things.
You see, no one wakes up and decides to apostatize. It’s unnoticeable. The word “slip” at the end of the verse literally means to drift away. It’s a nautical word - a word associated ships and the sea. It describes a ship whose anchor has broken away from the sea floor and is drifting away from the harbor. It’s in danger of crashing into the rocks. It’s in danger of suffering shipwreck. It’s in danger of being lost and capsizing. That’s why drifting away can be very dangerous because it’s so unnoticeable. It’s like you’re at the beach. You’re floating on the waves, relaxing and enjoying the sun, listening to the surf crashing on the shore. So you close your eyes to rest, with your ears are under the water. But before you know it, you’re far from shore. Your feet can’t touch the sand anymore. Your desire to relax has caused you to drift away. But it wasn’t noticeable. It may have been a few minutes or less; but you’ve drifted away without you even noticing it. In 1827, Admiral William Parry attempted to reach the North Pole. It was a race between nations. But he and his crew were stranded because the sea froze over. So they got out to walk, on the ice, using the stars for navigation. But after 10 hours, they hadn’t progressed. It’s because they were walking on drift ice. It was flowing south faster than they were walking north. The drift was unnoticeable, but it happened. When our anchor dislodges from Christ, when we’re influenced by the world, by the paganism around us, we’ll drift away. And sometimes the influences seem very harmless. Dating an unbeliever. Giving into your sin - but everyone sins! Chasing the dream of being comfortable. And while these influences may seem so harmless, so innocent, the drift that it causes is very dangerous. And it’s sure.
The word “slip” away speaks about moving away from your original position. The New Testament has another word - falling away or apostasy. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 predicts that before Christ comes, many who profess Christ will fall away - “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” In the time of Hebrews, there was about to be great persecution under Nero. And as a result, many professing Christians rejected Christ. They slipped and then fell away. The word is apostasy - to leave your original position; in this case, to abandon your position as a believer. Now, we all know that no true Christian can be lost. The Bible teaches us that God will keep his children - he both saves and keeps them. Jesus said that no man is able to pluck us from our father’s hands - no man - that includes ourselves. But the Bible also tells us that we as Christians need to persevere. Matthew 24:13 says, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” God keeps his people, but God’s people must persevere to the end.
The author of Hebrews knows that Christ will preserve authentic Christians. And he knows that authentic Christians will persevere. And that’s how we know who’s an authentic Christian - the one who perseveres. So here, his preoccupation is on the perseverance of believers. Hypocrites - meaning those who say they’re Christian, but aren’t true Christians; they won’t persevere. But he doesn’t know who they are. He’s just pleading with the church not to slip. If they press on in belief, their belief is authentic. Pressing on in faith shows genuine faith. But apostasy is a real thing. We see it from the Bible’s beginning. Not everyone who says they’re a believer is one. Cain never repented. He lived the rest of his life outside of God’s kingdom. Esau was raised in the covenant, but loved pagan women. Many kings of Judah worshiped idols - not all repented like Manasseh. In fact, most of those who came out of Egypt wanted to return. For what? Garlic and leeks. So yes, apostasy is a real thing. And so he warned them not to drift away from Jesus Christ. Not even to compromise. Because a little slip leads to more slips. Now, to be clear, falling into sin and then repenting is not apostasy. But falling into sin and not repenting, or stirring our hearts for God, or being supported by God’s people, and continuing to live in sin, is a slipping away that may lead to apostasy. Christians repent. Hypocrites don’t. But no one sets out to be a hypocrite. But we drift when we don’t pay attention to our relationship with Christ. And apostasy comes. It’s unintentional and unnoticeable, but it’s real. There’s no friction, no dramatic departure. But when the winds of trouble and the cares of the world come, the things of Christ are left far behind.
This is the parable of the sower. The seed received into rocky soil produced a sapling which grew. The hearer received the Word with gladness. But when persecution and scorching sun came, he withered because there was no root. The seed received into thorny ground also produced a sapling. For a time, it also grew. But the cares of the world came and choked it. It withered and died. Herod Antipas enjoyed listening to John the Baptizer. But he never responded to the Word. In the end, he had John executed. Demas even served for a time with Paul, but returned to the world. Christ has to tell the Ephesian Church in Revelation 2 that they’d lost their first love. And he’d remove their lamp stand if they didn’t repent. Did they ever stop drifting? We don’t know. So, slipping away is real. Are you drifting? How do you know? You’re not really praying, or trying to be more Christ-like; you don’t enjoy Christian fellowship; you won’t have Christian conversation; Star Trek and volleyball are more important to you. Immoral movies and internet are a regular diet, you compromise when it comes to money. And you say - I’ll get right with Christ, someday. And it’s unnoticeable right? We all do this. But it’ll come to a time when all it takes is a wind, hot sun, or some thorns and getting right never happens. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” Slipping into apostasy is unnoticeable but real. But it’s not unnoticeable to those who have eyes to see. The problem is that we don’t have eyes to see until it’s too late.
Secondly, the result of apostasy is severe and sure. In verses 2-4, the author explains why it’s foolish to ignore what he just said. And he makes a comparison. It’s bad enough to go against the law of Moses given by angels; but it’s worse to go against the gospel of Jesus given by God. Let’s examine the comparison. Verse 2 says, “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward…” What’s the word spoken by angels? It’s the law of Moses. In Acts 7:38, when Stephen was preaching to the Jews, he said this - “This is he (Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” So the angels were involved in giving the law. These words were steadfast - meaning, legally binding and authoritative. This is legal language. That’s why every breaking of the law, and every act of disobedience and rebellion received just punishment. The law of Moses was very simple - if you obey the law, you live; if you disobey the law, you die. Yes, if you disobey unintentionally or accidentally, you had a recourse - you could bring a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:7 describes the work of the High Priest who went into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people - “But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance.” Meaning atonement was only for sins committed in ignorance.
Numbers 15 makes this clearer. Verses 27-28 say, “And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.” But what about deliberate sins? Verses 30-31 - “But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously (or defiantly, or high handedly), whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.” He must be cut off. In the same chapter, in verses 32 onward, a man gathered sticks on the Sabbath day. What happened to him? In verse 35, God told Moses - that the man shall be surely put to death by stoning. Why? It was a purposeful transgression when God just gave the law. This is why God wanted to destroy Israel when they made the golden calf right and start over with Moses. Why? He just gave them the 10 commandments. So for accidental sin, there was sacrifice. For presumptuous sin, there was death. So when the author said in verse 2 about every transgression and disobedience, he’s referring to defiant violations of God’s law and rebellion and the refusal to hear. These weren’t accidental but deliberate, and the punishment was just and right. It wasn’t excessive. Ezekiel 18 says that the soul that sins, it shall die.
And this was the law given by angels. What about the gospel of Christ? If the word spoken by angels was severe and binding and resulted in death if rejected, what about rejecting Christ and the gospel? If Christ is better than the angels, then his Word is better than their word. He gave the gospel - the message of love and salvation to those who sin presumptuously but come to him in repentance. The soul that sins, it shall die. Only by God’s mercy can we escape death. That’s why Christ died so God could show mercy.
So for accidental sin, there was sacrifice. For presumptuous sin, there was death. That’s why Christ died so God could show mercy.
Therefore, to sin against the gospel is more severe. Apostatizing from Christ brings severe and certain punishment. Verse 3 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” Sinning against the Law of Moses is one thing; sinning against the Love of Jesus is another. Can such a person escape? There’s no escape from God’s judgment. If you are slipping, unnoticeably, there will be judgment if there’s no repentance. Therefore, take notice of that drift, because if a person ignores God’s Son, he can expect a judgment far worse than any other judgment. There’s greater judgment on those who know. James 4:1 - “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” In Matthew 11, Jesus condemned Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. They’d seen his miracles but rejected him. And he warned them their judgment would be worse than Sodom’s - “But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”
You see, this message was preached to the Hebrews and authenticated by miraculous signs and wonders. Verses 3-4 - it was “confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?”Meaning, the Christians here didn’t live long after the first-gen Christians who heard Christ. The Lord spoke this gospel of salvation, the apostles heard it, and confirmed it to the Hebrew Christians. And God authenticated the message. How? By 2 things according to his will. He did it by signs and wonders - like miracles. Their parents saw the miracles. Perhaps a few were old enough to witness them too. And those miracles supported the message. But also he did it by the gifts of the Spirit. These were the preaching, prophesying, and speaking in various languages. The church had pastors and teachers. So how did these Hebrew Christians know the gospel? They heard it preached, recounted from parents; they saw changed lives, saw the miracles or heard about it; but here, they were in danger of slipping away.
Folks, we don’t assume that every child in covenant with God is a true believer. We don’t assume every professing believer in church is a true Christian either. Demas was in the ministry. Being in church, having a Christian heritage, being a many generations Christian, doesn’t make you a true believer. Brothers and sisters - you’ve heard the gospel again and again - through preachers. But if you don’t respond to Christ, if there’s no life, it’s better for you on judgment day if you’d never heard, than to hear and walk away.
So how can we apply this? There are some who are drifting. You’re not close to God, you’re living in sin, you’re not denying self, you’re not loving Jesus, nor his Word, nor the fellowship of the people. You may say - next year I’ll draw close. Will you? Your drift is unnoticeable to you, but that’s why we need the church - and others must be bold enough to pull back those who are slipping away. If not, it’ll be no surprise if one day there’ll be someone who falls away. For communicant members here - you have given your word at your confession of faith to follow after Christ. You can’t slip. What is the solution if you find yourself drifting? Verse 1 - “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” You must give yourself to Christ and the gospel more seriously than before. Christ at the garden
Outline:
1. Apostasy is unnoticeable but real (v 1).
2. The result of apostasy is severe and sure (v 2-4).
Conversation for Change:
1. Do you know any who have apostatized? What were the signs you should have noticed?
2. If knowing about the gospel and rejecting Christ is worse than not knowing the gospel at all, what then is the benefit of growing up in church? Isn’t it better to grow up an unbeliever and then hear the gospel?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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