JOHN MAXWELL, “In Hebrews, chapter 2, the writer does a better job than any other New Testament writer in helping us to understand why God became flesh. He does a better job than anyone else helping us to understand the humanity of Christ. And in chapter 2, he talks about the fact that you and I, fallen mankind, needed a bridge or a mediator between ourselves and a holy, righteous God. And so, therefore, to help them to understand, help the Jewish people to understand what was needed, he refers to Christ continually as the high priest. ow, they immediately knew when he talked about high priest, every Jewish mind quickly grasped what that meant. Because they knew what a high priest was. They had them.

1. HEBREWS 2 COMME TARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
I quote many authors both old and new, and if any I quote do not want their wisdom shared in
this way they can let me know and I will remove it. My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com
I TRODUCTIO
1. JOH MAXWELL, “In Hebrews, chapter 2, the writer does a better job than any other ew
Testament writer in helping us to understand why God became flesh. He does a better job than
anyone else helping us to understand the humanity of Christ. And in chapter 2, he talks about the
fact that you and I, fallen mankind, needed a bridge or a mediator between ourselves and a holy,
righteous God. And so, therefore, to help them to understand, help the Jewish people to
understand what was needed, he refers to Christ continually as the high priest. ow, they
immediately knew when he talked about high priest, every Jewish mind quickly grasped what
that meant. Because they knew what a high priest was. They had them.
ow, there are four qualifications of a high priest of which the Hebrew writer, basically, tells the
people that Jesus Christ met these four qualifications, and He is the eternal, supreme high priest.
Let me give you the four qualifications.
1. Must be one of the people.
The high priest must be one of the people. In other words, he had to be one of them. He had to be
a Jew. He had to be living with them. He had to know them well. The high priest was identified.
He became one of them. Just as Jesus Christ became one of us.
2. Must be faithful in ministry.
The high priest was to be very faithful in his ministry. ot only to God but also to mankind.
3. Must be appointed by God.
The high priest, not something randomly or democratically chosen. The high priest was
appointed by God to be the high priest.
4. Must be cleansed from all sin.
The high priest must be cleansed from all sin because one of his chief functions was to offer up a
sacrifice for the sins of the people.

2. ow, what the Hebrew writer is saying is, that Jesus Christ became man to be the high priest for
all of us and he fulfills all four of those qualifications. He became one of us. He became flesh so
that He would live with us and identify with us and know us. Secondly, He was faithful to the
Father in his ministry. As you know He looked to his Father, speaking of His obedience on several
occasions. And, thirdly He was appointed by God, the Father to come into this world. And, finally
He was cleansed from all sin because He knew no sin at all. He was without sin.”
Warning to Pay Attention
1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to
what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
1. Barnes, “Therefore - Greek “On account of this” - ∆ια τοῦτο Dia touto - that is, on account of
the exalted dignity and rank of the Messiah as stated in the previous chapter. The sense is: “Since
Christ, the author of the new dispensation, is so far exalted above the prophets, and even the
angels, we ought to give the more earnest attention to all that has been spoken.”
We ought - It is suitable or proper (Greek δεὶ dei) that we should attend to those things. When
the Son of God speaks to people, every consideration makes it appropriate that we should attend
to what is spoken.
To give the more earnest heed. - To give the more strict attention.
To the things which we have heard. - Whether directly from the Lord Jesus, or from his
apostles. It is possible that some of those to whom the apostle was writing had heard the Lord
Jesus himself preach the gospel: others had heard the same truths declared by the apostles.
Lest at any time. - We ought to attend to those things at all times. We ought never to forget
them; never to be indifferent to them. We are sometimes interested in them, and then we feel
indifferent to them; sometimes at leisure to attend to them, and then the cares of the world, or a
heaviness and dullness of mind, or a cold and languid state of the affections, renders us
indifferent to them, and they are suffered to pass out of the mind without concern. Paul says, that
this ought never to be done. At no time should we be indifferent to those things. They are always
important to us, and we should never be in a state of mind when they would be uninteresting. At
all times; in all places; and in every situation of life, we should feel that the truths of religion are
of more importance to us than all other truths, and nothing should be suffered to efface their
image from the heart.
We should let them slip. - Margin, “Run out as leaking vessels.” Tyndale renders this, “lest we be
spilt.” The expression here has given rise to much discussion as to its meaning; and has been very
differently translated. Doddridge renders it, “lest we let them flow out of our minds.” Prof.
Stuart, “lest at any time we should slight them.” Whitby: “that they may not entirely slip out of
our memories.” The word used here - παραῤῥυέω pararrueō - occurs nowhere else in the ew
Testament. The Septuagint translators have used the word only once. Pro_3:21. “Son, do not pass

3. by (µὴ παραῤῥυῇς mē pararruēs but keep my counsel;” that is, do not pass by my advice by
neglect, or suffer it to be disregarded. The word means, according to Passow, to flow by, to flow
over; and then to go by, to fall, to go away. It is used to mean to flow near, to flow by - as of a
river; to glide away, to escape - as from the mind, that is, to forget; and to glide along - as a thief
does by stealth. See Robinson’s Lexicon. The Syriac and Arabic translators have rendered it:
“that we may not fall.” After all that has been said on the meaning of the word here (compare
Stuart in loc.), it seems to me that the true sense of the expression is that of flowing, or gliding by
- as a river; and that the meaning here is, that we should be very cautious that the important
truths spoken by the Redeemer and his apostles should not be suffered to “glide by” us without
attention, or without profit. We should not allow them to be like a stream that glides on by us
without benefiting us; that is, we should endeavor to secure and retain them as our own. The
truth taught, is that there is great danger, now that the true system of religion has been revealed,
that it will not profit us, but that we shall lose all the benefit of it. This danger may arise from
many sources - some of which are the following:
(1) We may not feel that the truths revealed are important - and before their importance is felt,
they may be beyond our reach. So we are often deceived in regard to the importance of objects -
and before we perceive their value they are irrecoverably gone. So it is often with time, and with
the opportunities of obtaining an education, or of accomplishing any object which is of value. The
opportunity is gone before we perceive its importance. So the young suffer the most important
period of life to glide away before they perceive its value, and the opportunity of making much of
their talents is lost because they did not embrace the suitable opportunities.
(2) By being engrossed in business. We feel that that is now the most important thing. That
claims all our attention. We have no time to pray, to read the Bible, to think of religion, for the
cares of the world engross all the time - and the opportunities of salvation glide insensibly away,
until it is too late.
(3) By being attracted by the pleasures of life. We attend to them now, and are drawn along
from one to another, until religion is suffered to glide away with all its hopes and consolations,
and we perceive, too late, that we have let the opportunity of salvation slip forever. Allured by
those pleasures, the young neglect it; and new pleasures starting up in future life carry on the
delusion, until every favorable opportunity for salvation has passed away.
(4) We suffer favorable opportunities to pass by without improving them. Youth is by far the
best time, as it is the most appropriate time, to become a Christian - and yet how easy is it to
allow that period to slip away without becoming interested in the Saviour! One day glides on
after another, and one week, and one month, one year passes away after another - like a gently-
flowing stream - until all the precious time of youth has gone, and we are still not Christians. So a
revival of religion is a favorable time - and yet many suffer this to pass by without becoming
interested in it. Others are converted, and the heavenly influences descend all around us, but we
are unaffected, and the season so full of happy and heavenly influences is gone - to return no
more.
(5) We let the favorable season slip, because we design to attend to it at some future period of
life. So youth defers it to manhood - manhood to old age - old age to a death-bed - and then
neglects it - until the whole of life has glided away, and the soul is not saved. Paul knew man. He
knew how prone he was to let the things of religion slip out of the mind - and hence, the
earnestness of his caution that we should give heed to the subject now - lest the opportunity of
salvation should soon glide away. When once passed, it can never be recalled. Hence, learn:
(1) The truths of religion will not benefit us unless we give heed to them. It will not save us that
the Lord Jesus has come and spoken to people, unless we are disposed to listen. It will not benefit

4. us that the sun shines, unless we open our eyes. Books will not benefit us, unless we read them;
medicine, unless we take it; nor will the fruits of the earth sustain our lives, however rich and
abundant they may be, if we disregard and neglect them. So with the truths of religion. There is
truth enough to save the world - but the world disregards and despises it.
(2) It needs not great sins to destroy the soul. Simple “neglect” will do it as certainly as
atrocious crimes. Every person has a sinful heart that will destroy him unless he makes an effort
to be saved; and it is not merely the great sinner, therefore, who is in danger. It is the man who
“neglects” his soul - whether a moral or an immoral man - a daughter of amiableness, or a
daughter of vanity and vice.
1B. Author unknown, “In turning away from Christ and the Gospel they were in danger of:
Drifting from the Word -- 2:1-4
Doubting the Word -- 3:7 - 4:13
Dullness toward the Word -- 5:11 - 6:20
Despising the Word -- 10:26-39
Defying the Word -- 12:14-29
2. Clarke, “Therefore - Because God has spoken to us by his Son; and because that Son is so great
and glorious a personage; and because the subject which is addressed to us is of such infinite
importance to our welfare.
We ought to give the more earnest heed - We should hear the doctrine of Christ with care,
candour, and deep concern.
Lest at any time we should let them slip - Μη ποτε παραρῥυωµεν· “Lest at any time we should
leak out.” This is a metaphor taken from unstanch vessels; the staves not being close together, the
fluid put into them leaks through the chinks and crevices. Superficial hearers lose the benefit of
the word preached, as the unseasoned vessel does its fluid; nor can any one hear to the saving of
his soul, unless he give most earnest heed, which he will not do unless he consider the dignity of
the speaker, the importance of the subject, and the absolute necessity of the salvation of his soul.
St. Chrysostom renders it µη ποτε απολωµεθα, εκπεσωµεν, lest we perish, lest we fall away.
3. Gill, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed,.... This is an inference from the
apostle's discourse in the preceding chapter; since he, by whom God has spoke in these last days,
is his Son, who is infinitely above the angels, they being his creatures, and worshippers of him,
and ministers to him, and his; therefore the greater regard should be had to the Gospel spoken by
him: even to the things which we have heard; which are no other than the truths of the Gospel,
which had been preached unto them, and which were heard by the apostles, who had preached
them to them; and they had heard them from them, or from Christ himself, and were what their
forefathers had desired to hear, and which the carnal ear has not heard; for there is an internal
and an external hearing of the Gospel. ow it becomes the hearers of it to give heed, or attend
unto it, to beware of that which is pernicious and hurtful, and to regard that which is good and
profitable; and this giving heed takes in a close consideration of Gospel truths, a diligent inquiry
into them, a valuable esteem of them, a strict adherence to them, and a watchfulness to retain
what is heard, and to conform unto it: and this was to be done "more earnestly" than their
forefathers had, or than they themselves had; or this may be put for the superlative degree, and

5. signify, that they should give the most earnest heed; for they had the most abundant reason to
give heed, since what they heard was not from Moses, and the prophets, to whom they did well to
take heed, but from Christ the Son of God, who was greater than they: "lest at any time we
should let them slip": and this either respects persons; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders
it, "lest we should run out"; and the Syriac version, "lest we should fall"; and the Arabic version,
"lest we should fall from honesty": which may intend partial slips and falls, to which the people
of God are subject; and which are oftentimes owing to inadvertency to the word; for the Gospel,
duly attended to, is a preservative from falling: or it may respect things, even the doctrines of the
Gospel, lest we should let them slip out of us, through us, or besides us: the metaphor seems to be
taken either from leaking vessels, which let out what is put into them; or to strainers, which let
the liquor through, and it falls on the ground, and cannot be gathered up, and so becomes useless;
and which is expressive of unprofitable hearing of the word, through inattention, negligence, and
forgetfulness, and the irrecoverableness of it, when it is gone: the Gospel may be lost to some that
hear it, as to any real benefit and advantage by it; and some who hear the Gospel may be lost and
perish; but the grace of the Gospel can never be lost.
4. Henry, “The apostle proceeds in the plain profitable method of doctrine, reason, and use,
through this epistle. Here we have the application of the truths before asserted and proved; this is
brought in by the illative particle therefore, with which this chapter begins, and which shows its
connection with the former, where the apostle having proved Christ to be superior to the angels
by whose ministry the law was given, and therefore that the gospel dispensation must be more
excellent than the legal, he now comes to apply this doctrine both by way of exhortation and
argument.
I. By way of exhortation: Therefore we ought to give the more diligent heed to the things which
we have heard, Heb_2:1. This is the first way by which we are to show our esteem of Christ and of
the gospel. It is the great concern of every one under the gospel to give the most earnest heed to
all gospel discoveries and directions, to prize them highly in his judgment as matters of the
greatest importance, to hearken to them diligently in all the opportunities he has for that
purpose, to read them frequently, to meditate on them closely, and to mix faith with them. We
must embrace them in our hearts and affections, retain them in our memories, and finally
regulate our words and actions according to them.
II. By way of argument, he adds strong motives to enforce the exhortation.
1. From the great loss we shall sustain if we do not take this earnest heed to the things which we
have heard: We shall let them slip. They will leak, and run out of our heads, lips, and lives, and we
shall be great losers by our neglect. Learn, (1.) When we have received gospel truths into our
minds, we are in danger of letting them slip. Our minds and memories are like a leaky vessel,
they do not without much care retain what is poured into them; this proceeds from the
corruption of our natures, the enmity and subtlety of Satan (he steals away the word), from the
entanglements and snares of the world, the thorns that choke the good seed. (2.) Those meet with
an inconceivable loss who let gospel truths, which they had received, slip out of their minds; they
have lost a treasure far better than thousands of gold and silver; the seed is lost, their time and
pains in hearing lost, and their hopes of a good harvest lost; all is lost, if the gospel be lost. (3.)
This consideration should be a strong motive both to our attention to the gospel and our retention
of it; and indeed, if we do not well attend, we shall not long retain the word of God; inattentive
hearers will soon be forgetful hearers.
5. Jamison, “Heb_2:1-18. Danger of neglecting so great salvation, first spoken by Christ; to Whom,
not to angels, the new dispensation was subjected; though He was for a time humbled below the

6. angels: This humiliation took place by divine necessity for our salvation.
Therefore — Because Christ the Mediator of the new covenant is so far (Heb_1:5-14) above all
angels, the mediators of the old covenant.
the more earnest — Greek, “the more abundantly.”
heard — spoken by God (Heb_1:1); and by the Lord (Heb_2:3).
let them slip — literally “flow past them” (Heb_4:1).
6. William Barclay 1-4, “The writer is arguing from the less to the greater. He has in his mind two
revelations. One was the revelation of the law which came by the medium o the angels, that is to
say, the Ten Commandments. ow any breach of that law was followed by strict and just
punishment. The other was the revelation which came through the medium of Jesus Christ, the
Son. Because it came in and through the Son it was infinitely greater than the revelation of God's
truth brought by the angels; and therefore any transgression of it must be followed by a far more
terrible punishment. If men cannot neglect the revelation which came through the angels, how
much less can they neglect the revelation which came through the Son?
In the first verse there may be an even more vivid picture than there is in the translation which
we have used. The two key words are prosechein (GS 4337) and pararruein (GS 3901). We have
taken prosechein (GS 4337) to mean to pay attention to, which is one of its commonest
meanings. Pararrein (GS 3901) is a word of many meanings. It is used of something flowing or
slipping past; it can be used of a ring that has slipped off the finger; of a particle of food that has
slipped down the wrong way; of a topic that has slipped into the conversation; of a point which
has escaped someone in the course of an argument; of some fact that has slipped out of the mind;
of something that has ebbed or leaked away. It is regularly used of something which has
carelessly or thoughtlessly been allowed to become lost.
But both these words have also a nautical sense. Prosechein (GS 4337) can mean to moor a ship;
and pararrein (GS 3901) can be used of a ship which has been carelessly allowed to slip past a
harbour or a haven because the mariner has forgotten to allow for the wind or the current or the
tide. So, then, this first verse could be very vividly translated: "Therefore, we must the more
eagerly anchor our lives to the things that we have been taught lest the ship of life drift past the
harbour and be wrecked." It is a vivid picture of a ship drifting to destruction because the pilot
sleeps.
For most of us the threat of life is not so much that we should plunge into disaster, but that we
should drift into sin. There are few people who deliberately and in a moment turn their backs on
God; there are many who day by day drift farther and farther away from him. There are not
many who in one moment of time commit some disastrous sin; there are many who almost
imperceptibly involve themselves in some situation and suddenly awake to find that they have
ruined life for themselves and broken someone else's heart. We must be continually on the alert
against the peril of the drifting life.
The writer to the Hebrews characterizes under two headings the sins for which the law brings its
punishment: he calls them transgression and disobedience. The first of these words is parabasis
(GS 3847), which literally means the stepping across a line. There is a line drawn both by
knowledge and by conscience, and to step across it is sin. The second is parakoe (GS 3876).
Parakoe begins by meaning imperfect hearing, as, for instance, of a deaf man. Then it goes on to
mean careless hearing, the kind which through inattention either misunderstands or fails to catch
what has been said. It ends by meaning unwillingness to hear, and therefore disobedience to the
voice of God. It is the deliberate shutting of the ears to the commands and warnings and

7. invitations of God.
The writer to the Hebrews ends this paragraph by stating three ways in which the Christian
revelation is unique. (i) It is unique in its origin. It came direct from Jesus himself. It does not
consist of guessings and gropings after God; it is the very voice of God himself which comes to us
in Jesus Christ.
(ii) It is unique in its transmission. It came to the people to whom Hebrews was written from men
who had themselves heard it direct from the lips of Jesus. The one man who can pass on the
Christian truth to others is he who knows Christ "other than at second hand." We can never
teach what we do not know; and we can teach others of Christ only when we know him ourselves.
(iii) It is unique in its effectiveness. It issued in signs and wonders and manifold deeds of power.
Someone once congratulated Thomas Chalmers after one of his great speeches. "Yes," he said,
"but what did it do?" As Denney used to say, the ultimate object of Christianity is to make bad
men good; and the proof of real Christianity is the fact that it can change the lives of men. The
moral miracles of Christianity are still plain for all to see.
7. Coffman, “It is possible to drift away from the teachings of Christ because: (1) some, being in
him, are still not anchored in him; (2) subtle and powerful tides and currents surge and tug
against the soul's safety; (3) the believer fails to exercise due care and diligence in the defense and
development of his faith; and (4) some allow preoccupation with unimportant and secondary
things to preempt too much of their time and attention. The description of apostasy given in this
verse is true to life for people seldom turn boldly and dramatically away from the Lord; but their
defection, imperceptible at first, is marked by such a gradual departure that the unwary soul is
blind to it until the haven is lost and the storms of the great gulf herald the approach of eternal
ruin.”
8. FUDGE, “The word translated slip was used by Greek writers of an arrow slipping out of the
quiver, of snow sliding, of foul language slipping into a conversation or, in medical contexts, of
food slipping down the windpipe instead of the esophagus. The writer urges extreme care lest his
readers slip from steadfast obedience and trust in the Son.
Their danger, and that of many other ew Testament readers then and now, was that of slipping
from trust in the Son's finished work of salvation by His own perfect-life obedience and sacrifice
to a reliance on their own performance based on a meritorious view of salvation. The same
caution applies equally well to slipping from active obedience to careless disobedience or
disregard.
ow comes a second reason for paying close attention to what we have heard of God's
word through his Son: if we don't do this, we will drift into destruction. Consider this
word "drifting." It means float by. It's what a piece of bark or a leaf or a dead fish does in
the river -- it floats by the boat that is being rowed up stream. It takes no life and no
motion to float by. One need only do nothing, and you will float by.
How many are there of whom God complains: "What iniquity have ye found in me that ye are
gone far from me" Jeremiah 2:5). How many of whom Jesus complains, "I have this against thee,
that thou hast left thy first love" (Revelation 2:4). The spring of all these sad declensions is to be
found in "letting slip the things which we have heard". "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved

8. this present world" (2 Timothy 4: 10). O my soul, "love not the world, neither the things that are
in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him".
A time of persecution. "For every ten bodies which persecution has killed, it has slain a thousand
souls." We are told of the seed that sprung up so quickly in stony places, that "when the sun was
up it withered away", and Jesus explains this of those who, "when tribulation or persecution
ariseth because of the word, by and by they are offended" (Matthew 13:2 1).
But in chapter two the first thing is a command or a duty -- something we must do. And
the connection with chapter one is very important. Chapter two begins, "For this reason . .
." (Or: some versions have, "therefore"). In other words chapter two begins by telling us
that chapter one is the reason for this duty. Because God has spoken by his Son in these
last days, and because he is the Creator and Sustainer and Owner and Ruler and
Redeemer of the world -- above all angels -- therefore ("for this reason . . .") "we must pay
much closer attention to what we have heard."
So the first command in this book -- the first duty mentioned -- is that we give heed to the
Word of God in his Son. We could boil down the two chapters so far to this: "In these last
days God has spoken to us by a Son . . . for this reason we must pay closer attention to this
word that he has spoken." In other words, God has spoken by his Son, so listen, listen very
carefully.
ow here is a command that we need desperately to hear in our day. What do you listen
to? Whom do you listen to? God has spoken through his Son, do you listen to him? How
does your listening to him compare to your listening to other things? When we want to
listen to someone, we make provisions for listening. If we want to listen to a musical group
we make sure that we have a tape player in the car and that we have the tapes. If we want
to listen to the news, we make sure there is a radio in the kitchen or that we have a TV and
that we have it turned on at the right time. If we want to listen to a missionary who is in a
critical situation overseas we make arrangements to have Email and pick up our mail
often during the day. If we want to listen to John Grisham tell his latest tale we buy a
paperback in the airport and have it with us on the airplane.
On and on it goes. We all want to listen to something. And we make plans for our listening and we
buy things and go places and make sure we are not distracted. So how does all this compare to
our listening to God's Word to us in his Son? Are you listening to that? Are you making
provisions for that? Are your kitchen and your car and your den and your reading devoted to
that?
9. “Salvation is a gift from God, but it carries responsibilities. We can make it produce godly
fruit, or it can be neglected. Let me illustrate: Suppose I gave you a farm as a gift. It is free. It
costs you nothing. You own it; it’s yours. ow you can choose to work the farm diligently and
make it productive, or you can neglect it. Your neglect will not forfeit your title to the farm, but it
will deprive you of the blessing and reward of your labor. It is the same way with salvation.
Salvation is a free gift by the grace of God, but your reward or loss at the harvest time depends
on the choices you make in cultivating your Christian life. There will be a day of accounting, and
God will reward or rebuke every believer on the basis of what he has done with the opportunities
and responsibilities of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to
what he has done, whether good or bad.” There will be an accounting for every believer. Our

9. good deeds will evoke one response, and the bad deeds will evoke another.
Salvation is not the issue here. The issue of whether we go to heaven or hell is not determined at
the Judgment Seat of Christ. Salvation is by faith alone; it is a free gift from God, and it is ours
to keep. But our works as Christians-the deeds that issue from our faith-will be evaluated and
rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. One consequence of neglecting our salvation is loss of
eternal rewards.
There are two possibilities of Christian experience. One is to have salvation, period; and the
other is to have salvation, plus. One is to be merely saved by grace; the other is to know a life of
power, of joy, of service, and of fruitfulness, with an abundant reward at the end of the way. It all
depends on what we do with God’s gift of salvation. We can develop it or neglect it.” author
unknown
10. Louis B. Evans, Jr., “Some messages we intuitively know we don’t have to listen to. “ o
Standing” signs for instance. Is there anyone here who has not left his car at in a no standing zone
- just for a minute? There are definitely some places where you know if you leave your car you
will get a ticket, but there are others where you know you won’t.
How about the warnings on a bottle of Tylenol. “Take only as directed.” I had a buddy in college.
“You got any Tylenol?” “Yeah, how many do you need?” “Six” “Six, what do you have somebody
in your pocket.” Some messages we always obey. “Lather, rinse, repeat.” I always repeat. Always.
It’s my hair. Some messages we have found out we better listen to. Baking instructions. “It only
calls for a little bit of baking powder, I can leave it out.” o, you can’t.
Some messages we listen to more carefully than others. Why is that? It may be because of the
consequences. Sometimes we know the consequences are sure. Other times we may think we can
get by without paying the consequences.
Who the messenger is also makes a difference. If the messenger is someone I respect, I am not
likely to disobey the message simply because I respect the messenger. The consequences in that
case are secondary. I may not even be concerned about the consequences. Chapter 2 of Hebrews
begins with these words, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have
heard. . .” We find out in that chapter that we must listen to the message for two reasons. First
the consequences of disobeying the message are sure. Second, the messenger is worthy of our
respect. His argument is brilliant, and to understand it we will need to review what we learned in
chapter one.
“Because Jesus is God’s final answer, we must listen carefully to His message.” The rest of
chapter two is a warning not to disobey this final word. It speaks to the credibility of the message
and the credibility of the messenger. ot credibility based on characteristics like in chapter one,
but credibility based on action.
To establish credibility of the message, our author appeals to historical precedence. We can
assume that previous action/reaction to situations will clue us into future action/reaction. Since
Jesus is a word from God, first we need to see if God has a history of being serious about what he
commands of his people. To know if Jesus’s message is a message we need to listen to, we are
going to look back at some of the messages God has given in the past. Some of them were
disobeyed. What was the result? Let’s go to the beginning. The first time God was disobeyed was
when Adam & Eve ate the forbidden fruit. What happened? Their Garden of Eden was over.
They were kicked out. They had to work for a living. They experienced pain and sickness. They
grew old and died. They were cut off from that intimate fellowship with God. Theses things were

10. punishment for disobeying God.
Skip ahead. The Israelites had just escaped Egypt. They were standing on the brink of the
Promised Land. Moses sent in spies to see how they would capture the Promised Land. Ten of the
12 spies said they were not strong enough to defeat the people there. The other two said the land
was beautiful and fertile, God had given it to them, they should go and take what belongs to
them. The Israelites listened to the ten instead of to the two. God punished them for not believing
what he promised them. They spent another 40 years wandering in the desert. one of Moses’
generation made it into the promised land. one but Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who trusted
God. The people disobeyed. God punished them.
The word that our author uses comes from the language of sailing. The ship must be firmly
anchored or it will drift in the breeze, lose its mooring, and eventually be destroyed on some
rocky shore far from the harbor.
"The process is not dramatic, nor sudden; rather, it is insidious and quiet. The shock comes when
one returns to use the faith in a time of need and finds it has evaporated with neglect." - Louis H.
Evens, Jr.: Hebrews ( Volume 10, The Communicator's Commentary
The phrase was sometimes understood to mean "leaking." The implication here is that the
powerfully effective truth of the gospel of Christ is contained in a faulty container. This notion
can be applied with equal impact to both individual believers and local churches.
"Truth leaks out of a mind that is sloppy in its lack of discipline, or unclear because of
insufficient mental activity toward understanding. Good ideas fail to mature and so leak out and
are lost forever."
"The image of leaking can be likened to our soft-minded relativism of the twentieth century.
Yielding to the popularity of new moral fads and philosophies of convenience causes
imperceptible cracks in our vessels of spiritual clarity....leaving flaccid Christians who are
incapable of standing tall in a high wind. I am appalled at the soft doctrine of many church
members and leaders that has winked at human sin, de-emphasized the atoning death of Christ,
and diminished the importance of the experience of redemption and salvation. The magnificent
truth of Christ's atoning priesthood so dramatically portrayed by the Epistle to the Hebrews has
leaked out of the life of the church, leaving it empty and sterile in contrast to vastly reproductive
secular ideologies." - Louis H. Evans, Jr.: Ibid.
"Too often we are tempted in our impatience to tie quick and easy knots so that we may hurry on
impulsively to something else. As the restless tides nudge and urge our craft against its moorings,
its ties loosen and it slips away. Later, in the midst of critical need, we seek out the boat of faith
but find it is gone. Only a lonely desolation haunts us as we gaze with searching eyes for some
sign of spiritual assistance. We paid the cheap price of carelessness. ow we have nothing."
11. MacArthur, ““Are You Paying Attention?” Hebrews 2:1-4
“Moms and dads are accustomed to dishing out advice. To try and guide a son or daughter
through the narrow straights of life is part of the responsibility of a parent. Some guidance, if not
heeded, will cost, but the price is not too severe. “Brush your teeth before you go to bed,” mom
says. If you don’t take her advice then you might have to suffer the sounds of a dentist’s drill. Oh,
it won’t be a walk in the park, but you will get over it. “Be sure and write down all of your

11. homework assignments,” dad chimes in. If you fail to heed the advice then you will probably
make a bad grade. o big deal, right? I mean you can make it up on the next test or maybe the
teacher will let you do some work for extra credit.
Some advice is far more costly if not taken seriously and applied to life. “Save yourself for
marriage. Don’t allow yourself to get in a situation where your passions control you,” mom tells
her daughter, dad tells his son. If you fail to listen and heed the advice you won’t need mom or
dad to say, “I told you so.” You will be reminded day-in and day-out of the decision you have
made by the cries of a baby. “Don’t do drugs and get drunk,” dad tells you as you leave the house
on Friday night. If you think he is just an old man who doesn’t want you to have any fun you
may end up in jail, find yourself addicted to what will destroy you, or worse, in a body bag
because of your failure to heed dad’s advice. “Don’t hang out with kids who lack character,”
mom and dad tell you over and over again. If you think your wisdom exceeds that of your father
and you go ahead and make friends with the wrong crowd you could pay with the loss of your
reputation.
Therefore, we must the more eagerly secure our lives to the things which we have been taught,
lest the ship of life drift past the harbor of salvation and be lost forever.’ The illustration is both
graphic and appropriate. Most people do not deliberately, in a moment, turn their backs on God
or curse Him. Most people just slowly, almost imperceptibly slip past the harbor of salvation out
to eternal destruction.”
12. Dr. Gouge wrote, “The duty here intended is a serious, firm, and fixed settling of the mind
upon that which we hear, a bowing and bending of the will to yield unto it; and applying of the
heart to it, a placing of the affections upon it, and bringing the whole man into conformity
thereunto.” The hear and not heed is to cook and not eat. The ew Testament is to be given the
greatest respect and become a major part of the study life of the believer. The tendency to drift is
always there for those who are not moving forward, and these Christians were in danger of being
carried away from the fresh sea of Christianity to the dead sea of Judaism.”
13. Philip Mauro, “The plain meaning of this is that if the Israelites of old were bound to give
earnest heed to the Word of the Lord sent to them, in order to secure their own welfare, we are
bound to give the more earnest heed to the Word spoken to us, because that Word was spoken by
the Lord Himself, and moreover, it puts before us a reward far greater than that offered to the
Israelites. The heed which an Israelite was required to pay to the words spoken to him by the
prophets is stated in such passages as Deut. 11:18, 19; 28:1, 2; and 32:46, 47.”
14. “I remember a few years ago, that the Disney Channel presented a movie called “Flight of the
avigator”. It was a Sci-Fi movie where a young boy is abducted by an alien spacecraft. It seems
that this spacecraft was piloted by a computer generated being that consisted only of one long
mechanical arm with a large eye at the end of it. This spacecraft had somehow been damaged and
needed some place to store its memory banks before it lost all of its star maps. The alien had
attempted to fill the mind of the captive boy with all of the information contained in its computer
systems but found out that the information was “leaking” from the boys mind as fast as they
could put it in.
I believe that this is the same problem that we have in our own minds this very morning! We
come to church, sit before the preacher, or even study the Word of God in our own study time
and then we find that we can’t remember most of what we read or heard because our mind had a

12. pinhole in it that let all the information leak out!
The meaning of "For this reason" is that since Jesus Christ is greater than the angels we should
take the revelation that has come through Him seriously. If the Israelites received severe
punishment whenever they disobeyed the Law that God gave them through angels, the
punishment for disregarding what God has give us through His Son will be even more severe.
Later in this epistle we learn that the original readers were slow to respond to Scriptural
imperatives. They had not grown as Christians as they should have (5:11-12). The writer took this
opportunity to exhort them to "pay much closer attention" (Gr. prosechein) to what their
teachers had taught them and to what they had read in the Scriptures. This Greek word means
not only to turn the mind to something but also to act upon what one perceives (cf. Acts 8:6;
16:14). The readers were apparently regarding these things too lightly. "God's speaking is the
basis for the writer's own 'word of exhortation' (13:22)."
The writer illustrated their position. It is as though they were in a boat on a river or at sea. He
pictured them moored at a dock or anchored. If they continued to neglect their attachment to the
truth that does not change, the currents of their age might carry them away from it. They might
drift away from the truth they had heard (not their eternal salvation, cf. 6:19). "What we have
heard" is the antecedent of "it." This is a warning against apostatizing, departing from truth
once held. All the warnings in the Bible against following false teachers are similar to this one in
their intent. If we do not diligently remain in the truth-and to do so we must know it and
remember it-we will depart from it. We live in a world that is striving to separate us from it.
Satan also wants us to abandon it. ". . . the [five warning] passages in question are concerned
with the danger of apostasy."65 ". . . apostasy . . . [is] the central concern of the entire
epistle."66 "That church's experience 2,000 years ago intersects our lives in this way: drifting is
the besetting sin of our day. And as the metaphor suggests, it is not so much intentional as from
unconcern. Christians neglect their anchor- Christ-and begin to quietly drift away. There is no
friction, no dramatic sense of departure. But when the winds of trouble come, the things of Christ
are left far behind, even out of sight." ". . . 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?"
Cable television mogul Ted Turner criticized fundamentalist Christianity and said Jesus probably
would “be sick at his stomach” over the way his ideas have been “twisted,” the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution reported. Turner made his remarks Friday evening at a banquet in Orlando, Fla.,
where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of
the environment and world peace. Turner said he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one
time considered becoming a missionary. “I was saved seven or eight times,” the newspaper
quoted him as saying. But he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died,
despite his prayers. Turner said the more he strayed from his faith, “the better I felt.”
Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990
15. Drift away comments, “The phrase that was used here would be an appropriate reference to a
ship that has come untied from the dock and is drifting away from its moorings.
It would be a graceful, probably silent, slow movement ~ but the ship would be in no less danger
of being dashed against the rocks at the shoreline, or hopelessly lost out to sea. “Drifting is the
quietest, easiest, most delightful way of dying” - ewell

13. So when are we most likely to ‘drift away’ from what we have heard?- Times of prosperity, when
we’re comfortable, and worldly things have lured our minds and hearts away from thoughts of
the world to come and focused us on the temporal.
A.W. Tozer wrote: “Christians are so comfortable in this world, that they have no desire to leave
it. History reveals that times of suffering for the church have also been times of looking upward.
Tribulation has always sobered God’s people, and encouraged them to look for and yearn after
the return of their Lord. Our present preoccupation with this world may be a warning of bitter
days to come. God will wean us away from the earth some way; the easy way if possible, the hard
way if necessary. It’s up to us.”
- On occasion, during times of persecution or trial of circumstances, when we become so focused
on the problem that we forget Who is able to keep that which we’ve committed to Him.
“...when the pressure of trial is upon us, the thought of relief is sweet, and we are in danger of
seeking relief in our own way. The enemy always has a by-road open to the man of faith. He had
an Egypt for Abraham, and a Ziklag for David; and now he has the world, in all its varied forms
for us.”-C.H.M.
16. PI K, "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" (verse 1). In this verse, and in those which
immediately follow, the apostle specifies a duty to be performed in regard of that most excellent
Teacher which God sent to reveal His Gospel unto them. This duty is to give more than ordinary
heed unto that Gospel. Such is the force of the opening, "Therefore," which signifies, for this
cause: because God has vouchsafed so excellent a Teacher, He must be the more carefully
attended unto. The "therefore" looks back to all the varied glories which set forth Christ’s
excellency named in the previous chapter. Because He is God’s "Son," therefore give heed.
Because He is "the Heir of all things," therefore give heed. Because He "made the worlds,"
therefore give heed; and so on. These are so many grounds on which our present exhortation is
based.
"Therefore is equivalent to, ‘Since Jesus Christ is as much better than the angels, as He hath
received by inheritance a more excellent name than they-since He is both essentially and officially
inconceivably superior to these heavenly messengers, His message has paramount claims on our
attention, belief, and obedience’," (Dr. J. Brown).
The eminency of an author’s dignity and authority, and the excellency of his knowledge and
wisdom, do much commend that which is spoken or written by him. If a king, prudent and
learned, takes upon himself to instruct others, due attention and diligent heed should be given
thereunto. "The Queen of the South came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon" (Matt. 12:42), and counted those of his servants who stood continually
before him and heard his wisdom, to be happy (1 Kings 10:8). But a greater than Solomon is here
referred to by the apostle: therefore, we ought "to give the more earnest heed." It was usual with
the prophets to preface their utterances with a "Thus saith the Lord," and thereby arrest the
attention and awe the hearts of their hearers. Here the apostle refers to the person of the Lord
Himself as the argument for hearing what He said.
"Therefore we ought." "It is striking to see how the apostle takes the place of such as simply
had the message, like other Jews, from those who personally heard Him; so completely was he
writing, not as the apostle magnifying his office, but as one of Israel, who were addressed by

14. those who companied with Messiah on earth. It was confirmed ‘unto us,’ says he, again putting
himself along with his nation, instead of conveying his heavenly revelations as one taken out from
the people and the Gentiles to which he was sent. He looks at what was their proper testimony,
not at that to which he had been separated extraordinarily. He is dealing with them as much as
possible on their own ground, though, of course, without compromise of his own" (William
Kelly).
"We ought to give the more earnest heed." Here the apostle addresses himself to the
responsibility of his readers. Here is an exhortation to the performing of a specific duty. The
Greek verb is very strong and emphatic; several times it is translated "must." Thus, in 1 Timothy
3:2, "A bishop must be blameless"; that is, it is his duty so to be. That to which the apostle here
pointed was a necessity lying upon his readers. It is not an arbitrary matter, left to our own
caprice to do or not to do. "Give the more earnest heed," is something more than a piece of good
advice; it is a Divine precept, and God has commanded us "to keep His precepts diligently" (Ps.
119:4). Thus, in view of His sovereignty, and His power and rights over us, we "ought to give the
more earnest heed" to what He has bidden us do. Descending to a lower level, it is the part of
wisdom so to do, and that for our own good; we "ought to earnestly heed the things which we
hear" in order to our own happiness.
"To ‘give heed’ is to apply the mind to a particular subject, to attend to it, to consider it. It is
here opposed to ‘neglecting the great salvation.’ o person can read the Scriptures without
observing the stress that is laid on consideration, and the criminality and hazards which are
represented as connected with inconsideration. or is this at all wonderful when we reflect that
the Gospel is a moral remedy for a moral disease. It is by being believed it becomes efficacious. It
cannot be believed unless it is understood: it cannot be understood unless it is attended to. Truth
must be kept before the mind in order to its producing an appropriate effect; and how can it be
kept before the mind, but by our giving heed to it" (Dr. J. Brown).
"The duty here intended is a serious, firm, and fixed settling of the mind upon that which we
hear; a bowing and bending of the will to yield unto it; an applying of the heart to it, a placing of
the affections upon it, and bringing the whole man into conformity thereunto. Thus it comprises
knowledge of the Word, faith therein, obedience thereto, and all other due respects that may any
way concern it" (Dr. Gouge).
"To the things which we have heard." To "hear" is not sufficient, there must be prayerful
meditation, personal appropriation. o doubt the wider reference was to the Gospel, which these
Hebrews had heard; though the more direct appeal was concerning that which the apostle had
brought before them, in the previous chapter concerning the person and work of God’s Son. To
us, today, it would include all that God has said in His Word.
"Lest at any time we should let slip." There is a difficulty here in making quite sure of the
Spirit’s precise meaning. The expression "we should let slip" is one word in the Greek, and it
occurs nowhere else in the ew Testament. The absence of the pronoun seems to be designed for
the allowing of a double thought: lest we "let slip" the things we have heard, and, or, lest we
ourselves slip away-apostatize.
"Lest at any time we let them slip." The danger is real. The effects of sin are stamped on our
members; it is easy to recall the things of no value, but the things of God slip out of our mind.
The fault is our own, through failing to give "the more earnest heed." Unless we "keep in
memory" (1 Cor. 15:2), and unless we are duly informed by them, they slip away like water out of
a leaky utensil.

15. "Lest haply we drift away." Understood thus, these words sound the first warning-note of this
Epistle against apostasy, and this verse is parallel with 3:14; 4:1; 12:25. Perseverance in the faith,
continuance in the Word, is a prime pre-requisite of discipleship, see John 8:31; Colossians 1:23,
etc. Many who heard, and once seemed really interested in spiritual things, "concerning the faith
have made shipwreck" (1 Tim. 1:19).
Thus, in the light of the whole context four reasons may be mentioned why we should give the
more earnest heed to the things which God has spoken unto us: First, because of the glory and
majesty of the One by whom He has communicated His mind and will, the Son. Second, because
the message of Christianity is final. Third, because of the infinite preciousness of the Gospel.
Fourth, because of the hopeless perdition and terrible tortures awaiting those who reject or let
slip the testimony of God’s wondrous grace.
17. A. D. McIntosh, “The subject is to heed what we hear, with reference to our all-important
eternal future. The three thoughts in these verses are: our unquestionable duty, our inexcusable
neglect, and our inescapable condemnation, as set out by the apostle. "Therefore" is the word
linking verse 1 with all that the apostle has said already. Therefore...why? Since all this is so -
that the truth has been brought to us, as in ch. 1:1-3, by Him by whom God spoke in these last
days, His only begotten Son, who is the divine and eternal King and the Almighty Creator. The
Lord Christ, exalted in His almighty power is the one who has brought to us the word of the
truth of the gospel. God has spoken to us by Him. The truth which we have is proclaimed by none
other than Christ Himself who is so much more excellent than the angels or any other messenger
that ever brought to us the truth - so glorious is He.
Well then, the apostle says, we ought to give the more earnest heed. The weight of the inference
that he draws is based upon the explanation and exposition of the whole first chapter. o
wonder he says that there is an U QUESTIO ABLE DUTY. "Therefore we ought", and the
literal construction lends still more weight to it: "It is necessary to us to give the heed." Why?
Because Christ speaks, and He commands obedience. He commands and demands that we
receive the gospel as He has proclaimed it. We are not rejecting and neglecting man's word. We
are not refusing some offer that we may take up later on. We are refusing Him who has spoken
from heaven, who has come from heaven to speak - God Himself. It is also necessary for our
own sake. We ought to give heed immediately, lest we perish. "We ought to give the more
earnest heed" because of Him who has spoken, because of the danger of letting the thing slip if
we do not give heed, and the consequences will be eternal destruction.
Therefore, I say, we ought to give earnest heed - everyone of us who hears this gospel.
Brethren, we hear for eternity. Fail to hear now, and we may miss our last opportunity to hear
anything. Fail to heed this and we may never heed again. Do not let us think that we will
necessarily have many opportunities. It is true that we will probably hear until we die unless
God removes us from the means of grace. But we may hear often, but never heed. Such is the
importance of this "ought", fraught with divine command, with temporal and eternal danger.
If we ought, then do we? Have we done so? If not, what excuse can we offer?
What does the apostle mean by saying that we ought to heed "more earnestly"? Does he
mean: more earnestly than we have done? o, rather we ought to heed most earnestly; to give
all the obedience that is required in hearing the word of God. We ought - we could go further
and say we must. It is a divine necessity; there is a divine obligation on us to give the most
earnest heed that we can. It is for our welfare. Can there be greater obligation pressed upon
us, brethren, in the light of what the apostle has revealed of such a gospel, by such a preacher,

16. none other than Christ Himself, the Lord of glory, the most excellent Redeemer? This is why we
ought to be believers indeed.
We ought to heed it, "lest at any time we should let it slip." The emphasis is on the necessity of
attention, with a view to retention. If there is no attention, there will certainly be no retention.
And that is why we must not be "stony ground hearers" whom the word never penetrates -
sleepy hearers, drowsy hearers, indifferent hearers. We must attend to the preaching of the word
with "diligence, preparation and prayer".
How have we come here this Sabbath morning? With diligent waiting, expectant looking for
instruction from His ordinances - word, prayer, praise, exposition? With preparation of heart,
so that we come not with a mind distracted by a multitude of other things, but concentrated
upon the spiritual exercise which is our duty during the whole day, but especially in the public
means of grace? Have we come in the attitude of the psalmist, who was able to say, "I will hear
what God the Lord will speak?" Is our soul waiting upon Him, saying as Samuel was taught by
Eli: "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth?" Do we come with such anxiety, that we must hear
Him today? Have we come pleading with Him that He Himself will be in our midst? With a
prayerful dependence upon Him, submitting ourselves to Him? "Lord, if thou dost bless me, I
shall be blessed indeed. If thou doth speak, then my deaf ear will hear; my hard heart will feel;
my sightless eyes will be opened to behold thy glory."
o wonder there is little blessing on congregations if this is not done. For God is not unfaithful.
If you and I have been diligent and have come prepared, we will not go away without a blessing,
will we? It is not entirely the minister's fault that the Spirit of God has not come as a mighty
rushing wind. Your obligations are as great as mine. All of us are here spoken to. We ought to
give the more earnest heed lest the word should slip away.
The apostle shows in verse 2, the word spoken by angels was stedfast. It was fulfilled. "Every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward. How shall we escape if
we neglect so great salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to
us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, with signs and wonders?" ow
then, we must give diligent attention to the things that we have heard, so that the power of
God goes with them, and we have that operation within our souls. When we hear this word, we
should be exercised - we want to know our duties, our privileges, and our possessions. We seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. For us, spiritual things are the most important
things in our life. Material things are secondary. Are we seeking the righteousness of Christ?
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness - the natural man does not do so. We
are to love the things that are holy, just and lovely; to love God's house, God's people; God's
day. We love the word of God as it is the nourishment of our souls. We love Christ, as the man
who sold all to possess the one pearl of great price. We will like Paul count all things loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.
If the word is to us the power of God unto salvation, that is the outcome. As new men in
Christ Jesus, we are begotten again by this word. The Spirit of God has written it upon our
hearts. That is how we feel, if we are giving earnest heed to the things which we have heard.
But alas, we have heard far more than we have heeded, have we not? evertheless our
unquestionable duty is to hear the gospel. It is described as "so great salvation". "How shall
we escape", he says, "if we neglect that which at first began to be spoken." It is the gospel that
brings saving knowledge by the Spirit. We have heard it from Christ Himself who preaches the

17. gospel. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." It is Christ Himself who speaks His word. This
Christ, whom the apostle has already compared with the angels, showing somewhat of His
glorious excellence. He is the one to whom we listen, when we hear the gospel preached, as well
as the apostles - ("which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard Him.") The apostles had heard and seen Him, God also bearing them witness.
It was attested by God who put His own imprimatur on their witness with mighty signs and
wonders.
Why is it so great salvation? It is salvation from so great sin, from so great condemnation and
punishment. It is salvation to so great a height, to righteousness, to glory; salvation so great
through such a Saviour, Christ, who redeems us from all iniquity, who bore our sins in His own
body on the tree. So great a power to apply such a salvation to poor, sinful souls as we are. If the
Spirit is given to us, we will heed. Christ has bestowed upon us the benefits of redemption that
He died to purchase, if we are the heirs of salvation. We will only know it by coming into
possession of it. Our calling is the evidence of our election. Seek therefore to have the calling.
Call upon Him that He will not leave us lifeless or indifferent lest at any time we should let
these things slip.
ext is the I EXCUSABLE EGLECT. If we do not heed what we hear, then the word is
"leaking out", (so the word means literally). It flows out of our minds after we have heard it, as
out of a leaking vessel. Therefore, if we are not moulded by that word, and it has not taken
possession of us, if it is neglected, here is the danger. ow, we cannot have the word of God
applied without effort. There must be thought; there must be diligent attention to the means by
which that word is retained. There must be a daily meditation upon His word. We come back to
Psalm 1: "That man has perfect blessedness...who meditates on His law day and night." There
cannot be one day go by without reading and meditation. If one diet of public worship is missed
there will be some leakage and damage and danger to our souls. In Christ's name I warn you
who neglect the means of grace, you are letting the word leak away. Will you dare to run as
close to the precipice as you possibly can without falling over? Will you dare to get into heaven
by the skin of your teeth? Will you dare to make as little use as you possibly can of the means of
salvation? Is that rational, is it reasonable, is it scriptural, when the apostle says we ought to
give the more earnest heed? God help you to do so.
You young men and young women, will you put off till later on, what you may not have an
opportunity of doing then? Do not forget that even if God give you threescore years and ten,
you will not have all that time to give earnest heed. You say, I will be earnest later on.
Remember Saul, remember Felix and Festus, remember all those who delayed. "...lest AT A Y
TIME", he says, "we should let them slip." The inexcusableness comes from the examples with
which we are surrounded, who have made shipwreck by doing precisely the same thing. ow
is your best time, now is the necessary time to apply yourself to this injunction which Christ
has left us here. There is no time like the present time.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, and give good heed to your salvation.
Think about it. Pray God to bless it, and use all the means that He has given you. Oh, may
spiritual things appear as they ought to be. Remember Demas - the love of this world was too
much for him and he forsook Christ. The scriptures contain many examples of those who have
done exactly that. So there is inexcusable neglect in that we may find flowing away from us,
leaking out, what we have heard. The power of the gospel which has been brought to us, as a
river flows away; we find it being wafted from us and we are no longer capable of possessing it.

18. ot only is neglect inexcusable, but it leads to I ESCAPABLE CO DEM ATIO .
First, there is the justice under the law, which God has left us as an example, and presses on us
as a reason why we should give the more earnest heed. "For if the word spoken by angels was
stedfast..." The law which was given by the disposition of angels, was fulfilled as an established
truth, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward.
Remember those who violated it in the Old Testament. Remember how Korah, Dathan and
Abiram violated the law of God, and the earth swallowed them and they were immediately
consigned to eternal destruction. Remember Ananias and Sapphira who perished under the
same law.
People are inclined to think that under the gospel God is much more lenient, much more
merciful - but no, Christ says through the mouth of the apostle, "If they escaped not, who
refused the law, (given, as they boasted, by the hands of angels) how shall we escape if we
neglect or reject it from the mouth of the Lord Himself?" If it was inescapable under the
Old Testament, it is much more impossible to escape it under the ew. If they perished, we
will certainly much more perish. Our condemnation will be greater than theirs, and we who
sit under the ew Testament dispensation will be judged much more severely than were they. If
we trifle with these things, fail to give heed to what is a far higher privilege, we will find as
truly, though not necessarily in the same way, our souls ruined just as inescapably as theirs
were. Reject this gospel and we will find a hardening process; we will be less concerned; more
taken up with sin or the material things of this life. We will be gradually less impressed with the
truth.
Oh, God forbid that we should find ourselves being gradually hardened, and less and less
concerned with the one thing needful! We are left inexcusable when we know that there is
power in this gospel which at first began to be spoken by the Lord Himself. The apostles who
heard Him confirmed it. We have competent witnesses. The word of God is true, and if any
man seek the truth, he will be convinced that it is the word of God. It has in itself the power
by the Spirit of God to convince us of that. Its own testimony is absolutely sufficient. It is
said, "God also bearing them witness by signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts
of the Holy Ghost according to His own will." The exercise of that power was so evident in the
days of the apostles and has been in the church ever since. All the more inexcusable are we if we
have not that same power operating in our souls.
If we have been neglecting this, there is more reason for us to give more diligence to have it
applied to our souls. Here is the message to us from Hebrews chapter 1. If this is the Saviour,
the Almighty Creator who controls everything, He can with a word of His mouth say, "Live" -
and we shall live; "Be born again" - and we shall be begotten from above. "Thy sins which are
many are forgiven thee; go in peace." He who creates in a word, creates anew. He who sits upon
the throne of the majesty on high until His enemies are made His footstool, is the eternal King.
Is He bringing us to Himself, a willing people in the day of His power? Is He bringing us under
submission to the will of God? He it is who is the eternal Son of God. Is He our Lord and our
God? Then I say, we ought to give the more earnest heed, for it is none other than Christ Himself
who speaks to us. This same word has been proven to be the power of God unto salvation to
everyone who believeth. If we cannot hear anything, cannot see anything, cannot feel anything,
then we are dead in sin. Oh, God have mercy upon us and leave us not!”
18. Drew Worthen, “In the original Greek the emphasis is put on what has preceded in chapter
one as it would be literally translated, "For this reason we ought to give the more earnest heed to

19. the things heard, that we should not slip away."
"For this reason". For what reason? For the reasons mentioned before. The fact that God has
revealed Himself in these last days in His Son and not angels. As important as these angels are in
God's economy they are infinitely inferior to their Creator who is Jesus Christ. And though they
played a role in delivering messages about the Redeemer to God's people, the Redeemer Himself
has now come into our midst to speak for Himself.
Because of this, or for this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest
we drift away from it."
When God the Holy Spirit says, "we must", then what we are seeing is not a request but a
command which deals with something of grave importance. We must what? Pay closer attention
to what we have heard. What have we heard? We have heard that God the Son has spoken in
these last days and has given us an eternal message of hope that we are to personally embrace by
faith and which we are to give to the rest of the world as it was delivered to us according to His
word.
Andrew Murray in his commentary on Hebrews puts it this way. "It is the lack of this taking
more earnest heed, the lack of intense earnestness, giving God ..... the first place and the best
powers of our life, which is at the root of the feebleness and sickliness of the Christian life. God is
speaking to us in His Son, therefore we ought to take more abundant heed."
And by the way, let me add, what that includes is that there is no room for changing the message,
adding to the message, sugar-coating the message or altering the nature of the One who has given
us the message, and that is Jesus Himself, by making Him something less than who He is, God
Almighty.
Do you see the importance of paying close attention to what God has clearly laid out in His word
and why we must be vigilant to not only play close attention to it, but to pay close attention to
following it. Any divergence from the truth has eternal ramifications. This is life and death and
the writer of Hebrews wants us to understand that we can't tamper with what God Himself has
given us in His Son. The wrong message kills.
The problem is that when we take liberties with the truth of God's word and compromise in
certain areas of the Gospel, there is the possibility of "drifting away from the truth". ow this is
an interesting term in the Greek. It denotes something which flows by or glides by, as if being
swept along by a river.
This is what is happening in the popular culture where someone does it because everyone else is
doing it. Their swept along by their peers. This is also what is happening in the church. Popular
movements in the church which compromise the truth of God's word and His gospel are being
slowly introduced and accepted by more and more Christians.
And the picture is the lazy days of summer as we all float down the stream in our rafts enjoying
each other and creating an environment where our Christianity is convenient, when all the while
the rapids and the falls are just around the corner. There are those on the bank warning these
merry travelers of the truth that the dangers are there, but it isn't heeded because it would break
into their fun.
The writer of Hebrews say's, 'wake up and listen to your God' who tells us what our attitude
should be concerning His truth. It's the same attitude Jesus gave us when He was in the

20. wilderness being tempted by Satan. MAT 4:3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the
Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not
live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' (Deut. 8:3)
19. This message preached by David B. Curtis on March 26, 2000. “We come this morning to the
first of five warning passages in the book of Hebrews. The author's style is to follow expository
sections with exhortation and warnings. All five of these warning passages have the same basic
purpose, though they increase in solemnity and weight. (Editor's note: I do not agree with all that
is written here, but he does an excellent job of defending his position, and so I include this as an
example of well thought out exposition of the text.”
Hebrews 2:1-4 ( KJV) Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things
we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved
steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also
bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of
the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
We must begin our exposition by asking a very important question: "To whom and for what
reason is this warning being made?" This text is almost universally applied to the sinner and
used for an evangelistic sermon. How shall we escape? Escape what? Hell?
The single most serious failure in the interpretation of Hebrews has been the eviscerating of its
warning passages. The word "eviscerate" comes from "e", meaning: "out", and
"viscera"meaning: "bowels" thus: "to rip the guts out, to deprive of an essential part."
If you interpret these warnings as applying to unbelievers, you miss their force and salutary
effect. There are many theological positions on these warning passages, let me give you the main
ones.
1. Arminian view: This view teaches that these warning passages are directed to believers,
warning them that they could lose their salvation and be damned to hell forever.
2. Lordship view: This view teaches that these warning passages are directed to professing
Christians. They confess faith in Christ and many even become active church members, but they
are not really saved. The trials and temptations of life cause them to reveal their true identity and
fall away.
3. Free Grace view: This view teaches that these warnings are directed to believers, not warning
of the loss of eternal life, but warning of the temporal physical chastening that comes to believers
who continue in sin.
Do you know what view I hold? You should. But the important question is: "Which of these views
(if any) does the Bible teach? Which of these theological positions is Biblical Theology?" We, as
believers, need to hold a theological position, we need a frame or grid work to filter things
through. And this grid work must be formed from a diligent study of the Bible. All theology must
come from exegesis - out of the text of the Bible. When we take our theology and force it on a text,
that is called eisogesis. We must allow the Bible to speak, and then shape our theology from the
Scripture. If you find that the Scriptures go against your theology, change your theology.
Let's examine these three views in light of Scripture.
1. The Arminian view:

21. The Arminian wing of the church has consistently confronted the warning sections in their
obvious application to Christians. But they have missed the boat on a very important theological
point. The "Arminian Manifesto" published in the seventeenth century states this as its fifth
point: "It rests with believers to keep themselves in a state of grace by keeping up their faith;
those who fail here fall away and are lost."
Does the Bible teach that believers can loose their salvation? o! And since it doesn't, it is obvious
that Arminian theology is bad theology.
John 3:16 ( KJV) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Greek word for "everlasting" is aionios, it means: "forever, everlasting, without end." How
long do you imagine that everlasting life would last?
John 3:36 ( KJV) "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who
does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
John 6:37-40 ( KJV) "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one
who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 "For I have come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will
of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day. 40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that
everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will
raise him up at the last day."
The only kind of life that Christ gives is everlasting!
Romans 3:21-22 ( KJV) But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is
revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness
of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no
difference;
The "righteousness of God" is God's righteousness which he gives to those who believe. God
demands righteousness and he provides righteousness to all who believe. This is eternal security!
Romans 3:23-24 ( KJV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
The word "justified" is the Greek word dikaioo, which means: "to declare righteous." It is a legal
term. God, the judge of all the earth, has declared us righteous. Are we? Yes, we have received the
righteousness of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 ( KJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus Christ paid our sin debt and gave us his perfect righteousness.
Romans 3:25-26 ( KJV) whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God
had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the
present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one
who has faith in Jesus.
God is just in forgiving believers, because he has punished their sin in the death of Jesus Christ.
The argument that we find in Romans 5:8-10 is the most powerful argument with respect to
assurance of our salvation that can be found anywhere in the whole of Scripture.

22. Romans 5:8-10 ( KJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when
we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much
more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Verse 9 says, "much more than" this is an a fortiori argument, which is an argument from the
lesser to the greater. If God has done the greater (verse 8), surely he will do the lesser (verse 9).
Verse 10 also says, "much more" - now that we are reconciled, we shall be saved through sharing
in his life. We are in Christ. We are accounted perfectly righteous, having paid the debt of sin and
having fulfilled the law by our union with Jesus Christ.
If God sent his son to die for us while we were enemies, ungodly, sinners, how much more will he
do for us now that we are his children and righteous? Because we share his life, we are eternally
saved, eternally secure.
Romans 8:30 ( KJV) Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom
He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
The chain of salvation is unbroken from predestination to glorification.
The Arminian view can't be right then, there is no possibility of a believer losing their salvation.
So, the warnings we find in Hebrews can't be threatening the loss of eternal life.
2. The Lordship view:
This is probably the most widely accepted of the views among reformed thinkers. This view
teaches that the warnings are directed to professing Christians. They are not believers, but they
say they are.
John MacArthur writes, "Hell is undoubtedly full of people who did not actively oppose Jesus
Christ but simply drifted into damnation by neglecting to respond to the gospel. Such people are
in view in Hebrews 2:1-4. They are aware of the good news of salvation provided by Jesus Christ
but aren't willing to commit their lives to him." The Superiority Of Christ, p. 80.
Why does he say these people aren't believers? What do they lack? Commitment! John
MacArthur gives this story to illustrate his point:
I will never forget a particular lady who came into my office and informed me that
she was a prostitute. She said, 'I need help; I'm desperate.' So I presented the
claims of Christ to her. Then I said, 'Would you like to invite Jesus Christ into your
life?' She said, 'Yes, and she prayed.' I said, ' ow, I want you to do something. Do
you have your book with all your contacts?' she said she did. I said, 'Let's light a
match to it and burn it.' she looked at me and said, 'What do you mean?' I said, 'If
you want to live for Jesus Christ, and you've truly accepted His forgiveness and
met Him as your Savior, then you need to prove it.' She said to me, 'That book is
worth a lot of money. I don't want to burn it.' she put it back in her purse and
looked me right in the eye and said, 'I guess I don't really want Jesus, do I?' Then
she left.
When it came down to counting the cost, she wasn't ready. I don't know what the
outcome of that poor woman has been. I do know that she knew the facts and
believed them, but she was not willing to make the sacrifice. The Superiority Of
Christ p. 84.
Does a person need to commit his life, count the cost and sacrifice to be saved?
Revelation 22:17 ( KJV) And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him

23. who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him
take the water of life freely.
Does that sound like a call to commitment, or sacrifice to you? If commitment or sacrifice is
involved, how much is needed? How committed do we have to be? How much do we have to
sacrifice?
The Lordship view has become very wide spread in the church today, but is it biblical? At issue
here are three things; A. The ature of faith; B. The relationship between faith and assurance; C.
The effect of salvation. In other words, the debate centers around three critical questions: What
must a person do to be saved? What must a person do to know he is saved?; How will salvation
show itself in one's life?
A. The ature of Faith.
What exactly is saving faith? Saving faith is: Understanding and assent to the propositions of the
gospel. It is not some special kind of faith in the sense that its quality or essence is different than
other kinds of faith. There are not different kinds of faith, there are just different objects of faith.
We all know what faith is, for example: If I said, "He told me the check is in the mail, and I
believed him." Are you going to ask me if I believed with my head or my heart? Of course not!
You understand what I mean when I say that I believed him. But when it comes to Christianity,
we look for some other understanding of faith. Faith is faith whether if be in Christianity or
mathematics. Saving faith is taking God at His Word. It is believing what God has said.
Romans 4:20-21 ( KJV) He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced
that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
God made Abraham a promise, and Abraham believed Him - that is faith. He believed that God
would do what he said he would.
1 John 5:9-13 ( KJV) If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who
believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God
has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given
of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you
may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Verse 9 is saying that we accept human testimony, how much more can we accept God's
testimony. It's not that the faith that receives it is greater, but the testimony is greater, it's more
reliable.
If I believe God's testimony about His son, I receive God's righteousness and have everlasting
life. The Lordship view has redefined saving faith, so it's more than just taking God at His word.
To them, saving faith involves surrender, commitment, submission, repentance, and sacrifice.
These additions are both linguistically invalid and biblically invalid. Faith is simply believing.
Augustine, who lived from 354-430 wrote, "Faith is nothing else than to think with assent." John
Calvin wrote, "For as regards justification, faith is something merely passive, bringing nothing of
ours to the recovering of God's favor but receiving from Christ what we lack."
John 20:30-31 ( KJV) And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may

24. believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have
life in His name.
"Jesus is the Christ" - it is not the mere verbalization of this phrase that saves you. We must
believe that Jesus is the Christ, and before we can believe it, we must understand what it means.
1 John 5:1 ( KJV) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and
everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
We must believe that Jesus is the Christ in the Johanian sense of the term. We must understand
Christ as John does. How does John understand Christ?
John 11:25-27 ( KJV) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He
who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and
believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes,
Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the
world."
In verse 27 Mary says, "I believe the very thing that the gospel of John was written to bring me
to believe." In verse 26 Jesus asks, "Do you believe this?" What is this? It is the statement about
Jesus himself that he gives in verse 25. He tells her that He is the resurrection and life. But that's
not all he asks her to believe, Jesus is saying, "I guarantee resurrection and life to everyone who
believes in me." To believe that Jesus is the Christ is in essence to believe that he is the guarantor
of eternal life to everyone who believes. So if I can make people understand what it means to
believe that Jesus is the Christ, they'll either believe it or they won't. The Lordship view presents
faith as if it were: "I have all the facts, and I believe them, but now I must do something with
them, as though there's an extra step, an act of the will, surrender, commitment or sacrifice. That
is not biblical!
Romans 4:5 ( KJV) But to him who does not work but believes on Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
Saving faith is accepting the testimony of God. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? If you do,
then on the testimony of scripture, you are saved, you possess everlasting life.
Let me give you a test to see if you understand this.
John 12:42-43 ( KJV) evertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him,
but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out
of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Were these individuals saved? Were they Christians? The Lordship view would say no, because
they did not confess Him. But the Scripture says, "They believed in Him."
John 5:24 ( KJV) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment,
but has passed from death into life.
Lordship theology causes people to doubt the testimony of Scripture. Faith is believing, and
believing alone makes you a Christian.
Acts 8:12-13 ( KJV) But when they believed Philip as he preached the things
concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and
women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was
baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs
which were done.
The Word of God says that Simon believed, to say that he didn't is to question inspiration. otice

25. what the text in Acts goes on to say:
Acts 8:18-23 ( KJV) And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the
apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, "Give
me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that
the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 "You have neither part nor
portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 "Repent
therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your
heart may be forgiven you. 23 "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and
bound by iniquity."
Because of Simon's actions, many say that he was not a Christian, but the Bible says, "He
believed." The Lordship view says: He can't be saved because there's no commitment, no
sacrifice, no good works. But the Scripture says, "He believed." ow, who are you going to
believe - The Bible or men?
B. The relationship between faith and assurance.
The Lordship view teaches that assurance comes from obedience, and holy living - from your
works. Martin Luther said, "For certainty does not come to me from any kind of reflection on
myself and on my state. On the contrary it comes solely through hearing the word, solely because
I cling to the word and it's promises."
John Calvin wrote, "From one's work conscience feels more fear and consternation than
assurance." Institutes of the Christian Religion, book 3, 14,20. John Calvin taught that assurance
was of the essence of faith.
If good works are the basis of assurance, then the believer's eyes are distracted from the
sufficiency of Christ and His work to meet his eternal need. His eyes are focused on himself. If I
seek assurance through examining my good works, one of two things must necessarily result: 1. I
will minimize the depth of my sinfulness; 2. I will see my deep sinfulness as hopelessly contrary to
any conviction that I am saved.
Our assurance is to be based upon God's Word, His promise that he would give eternal life to all
who believe on His Son. Assurance does not come from our works.
C. The effect of salvation.
The Lordship view teaches that Christians can't apostatize (fall away from God), they must and
will produce fruit. If heaven can't be obtained apart from obedience to God, then, logically, that
obedience is a condition for getting there.
One writer who holds the Lordship view says, "The life of God in man will always produce a
righteous pattern, and if you have an unrighteous pattern in your life, you are fighting against
the very nature God has created in you. It's like holding your breath, it's a lot harder than
breathing."
Is unrighteousness like holding your breath? Or is it more like breathing? Living a holy life is not
easy, it takes constant diligence. We must live in constant dependence on God. Is it impossible for
a true believer to turn away for God?
Hebrews 3:12 ( KJV) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God;
Who is to beware? Brethren!!!! How could you depart from God if you were not a Christian?

26. Hebrews 10:26-27 ( KJV) For if we sin willfully after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain
fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the
adversaries.
Who are the "we"? The same ones who, in verse 23, are admonished to hold fast their profession.
Hebrews 10:23 ( KJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Does God urge an unconverted or false professor to hold fast his false profession? The Lordship
view is not biblical. Faith is believing God's Word, it's not commitment or sacrifice. And believers
can commit apostasy, they can turn away from God. That is why this book was written, to keep
the Hebrew believers from turning away from God. This turning away from God that Hebrews
warns about does not result in the loss of salvation, but in temporal physical judgment. Believer,
if you choose to live in sin, you will be judged in this life.
The Lordship view teaches that in order to be a Christian, you must do more than believe the
gospel.
3. Free Grace view:
This view teaches that these warnings are directed to believers who are in danger of coming
under the temporal judgment of God. Eternal life in not in view, physical life is.
A person becomes a Christian when they understand and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. At
that moment they are placed into the body of Christ, given Christ's righteousness, indwelt by
God, and are as sure of heaven as if they were already there. They are "in Christ".
The believer always has the potential for internal, spiritual struggle because he has a new nature
dwelling in an unredeemed body. The flesh, because of its disposition of enmity against God, tries
to control the believer in opposition to God's rule. The new nature prompts the believer to concur
with and will to obey God's rule. It does not, however, give the believer the power necessary to
overcome the power of the flesh. This must come from God. Because God permanently indwells,
His power is constantly available to the believer. That power will not operate in the Christian's
life, however, unless he personally appropriates it by faith. Moment by moment the believer must
trust God rather than himself to give him power for victory in daily life.
The believer can fail, he can turn from God; he'll still be a Christian, but he'll lose his joy and
peace and come under the discipline of God.
God calls all believers to be disciples but many will not pay the price. Salvation is a free gift of
God's grace, but Discipleship is costly. Salvation is our birth in the Christian life, and discipleship
is our education and maturity in the Christian life. Compare these two texts.
John 3:16 ( KJV) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Eternal life is a gift of grace to all who believe - do you see any cost involved here? But now
notice:
Luke 14:33 ( KJV) "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has
cannot be My disciple.
Discipleship is a call to forsake all and follow Christ. Can this be talking about the same thing as
John in John 3:16?
Just because we are saved this does not mean we can live as we please and do as we wish. Grace
does not give us a license to sin or constitute an excuse for carelessness. Remember, who the Lord
loves, he chastens. To live in sin will cost us temporally. Sin, any sin, all sin will cost us in this life.

27. Matthew 18:32-35 ( KJV) "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him,
'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 'Should
you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on
you?' 34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he
should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you
if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Here we see one who has been forgiven (a believer) being turned over to the torturers because of
sin in his life. Verse 35 tells us that God will do the same to us if we live in sin.
If your theological persuasion is that of Lordship, and you believe that Christians cannot
apostatize, you will completely miss the theme of the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:23 ( KJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
The book of Hebrews faces the tragic capacity of believers to turn away from the Christian faith.
And if the time ever comes when we turn our backs on the grace of God and turn away from
obedience to God's word, God will judge us.
Hebrews 10:30-31 ( KJV) For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." 31 It is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Let me show you an amazing and very key element in our faithful endurance in the Christian
faith.
Hebrews 10:23-25 ( KJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in
order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the
more as you see the Day approaching.
otice what verse 24 says, "Let us consider one another." otice also:
Hebrews 3:12-13 ( KJV) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while
it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Again, we see the need of "one another". We need each other! We need fellowship,
encouragement and exhortation. I am very dependent upon other believers for my spiritual
health. Let's seek to exhort each other in godly, Christ-like living.
The author of Hebrews writes to the children of God, and this must be kept steadfastly in mind
how ever severe and solemn some things he says may be. The child of God deals deceitfully with
the word of his Father and with his own soul when he refuses medicine because it is bitter.
May the study of Hebrews draw us all to hold fast the profession of our faith, without wavering.
20. From Practical Christianity by A.W. Pink CHAPTER 5 SLEEPY SAI TS
What an anomaly! Drowsing on the verge of eternity! A Christian is one who, in contrast
to the unregenerate, has been awakened from the sleep of death in trespasses and sins,
made to realize the unspeakable awfulness of endless misery in hell and the ineffable joy
of everlasting bliss in heaven, and thereby brought to recognize the seriousness and