Hebrews 2:1-4

New Living Translation

Today God led me to continue my study on Hebrews.  I am studying chapter 2, verses 1-4.  –  A Warning against Drifting Away

2 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. ² For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. ³ So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? ⁴ And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

In chapter 1 God showed us that his son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of the world and that he is much more glorious and powerful than all the angels.  Now we are warned not to fall away from this truth we have heard.

God delivered his message through angels in the Old Testament days, and we are told that message still stands, and God punished those who violated the law and were disobedient. We see that all through the Old Testament.

We are then warned that we have no reason to expect to escape punishment if we are disobedient and refuse to accept this great salvation.  After all, this same message was given to people by Jesus himself and then passed on by those who heard it directly from him.  

Then we are reminded that God confirmed the message of salvation with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit when he chose.  Folks, that’s powerful. 

Teaching Points from https://studyhebrews.com/hebrews2.html

1. For this reason – We need to realize that Christ is pre-eminent over everything else. Because of this, the salvation He offers is of utmost importance that requires all of our attention. Last week we discussed the fact that God has given us divine revelation about Himself. This is information about His character and plan that we could not possibly deduce or comprehend on our own. Because the Supreme Creator has given us a message, we should pay attention to it and study it closely as well as obey it. This here is the same idea. Because Christ is supreme, everything He has done for us and teaches us is of maximum importance that we should pay attention to and not deviate from in the slightest.

2. Drift away from it – Notice the word “drift.” Why use this word? Drift has the meaning of a slow change in direction. This change in direction is not even on purpose. Boats will slowly drift off course if the captain is not paying careful attention to maintain his heading. A married couple will slowly drift apart in their relationship. A student may slowly drift off to sleep in class. None of these things are intentional. They happen subtly without warning. They are hard to notice unless one is observing very closely. This is often the same things that happens with churches drifting away from sound doctrine and individuals drifting away from God in their relationship with Him. Do solid believers who are following God one day just wake up the next day and decide to leave church and never come back? No! It is incremental. First it is a decision to sleep a bit later and have a quiet time at night which doesn’t end up happening. Then it is a sin that is not quickly confessed. Then he perhaps lets some resentment build up in his heart about something that God allowed to happen in his life. Next it is a decision to skip church one time for a concert. This happens more and more often until he is not going anymore, not reading the Bible anymore, and not even praying anymore. Does a believer in a strong and loving marriage one day wake up the next day and suddenly decide he wants a divorce? No! First it is an unresolved conflict. Then it is a wandering eye. Then he allows his mind to dwell on unhealthy fantasies. Then it is a lapse in judgment (half intentional) by which he allows himself into a tempting situation with a female co-worker. This one time mistake is repeated until his entire marriage is wrecked. The point is that sin creeps in on us gradually. This is Satan’s method. He wins little battle at a time until he has won the war. How can we prevent this gradual drift away from God and His truth?

3. I believe this “word” in verse 2 is referring to Scripture. This is the greater/less than argument. If the lesser is true (the words from angels are true and do not change and can’t be altered) then certainly Jesus’ words are true (verse 3) and the consequences of rejecting His words are serious. Angels were instrumental in bringing the Scripture to God’s people. Many times they came with messages for prophets or individuals like Abraham, Daniel, Mary and Joseph and the wise men. It is likely that God used angels as His messengers in some visions and dreams as well. Their words to God’s people are unalterable. Those who disobey (or doubt like in the case of Zachariah) would receive the appropriate punishment.

4. Verse 2 implies the spiritual law that “sin must be punished.” If this was not true, Christ would not have to die for us. But because sin must be punished it is either we face the punishment or Christ face it for us.

5. Verse 3 – If even disobeying the angels comes with a very costly punishment, how about if we reject the great salvation that Christ has made possible for us?

6. This great salvation was offered by Christ. For that reason alone we should not ignore it, take it for granted, reject it, or drift away from it. After Christ preached it to us, his apostles and disciples passed it on to the next generation who then kept passing it on.

7. God used a variety of signs and wonders and miracles to verify this gospel. When the early church was just growing this was a new belief. Many greeted it with doubt. How could people know if this was true or if it was just a passing fad? How could people know if it was true? God confirmed the truth of what the disciples were preaching by using them to perform miracles. People weren’t sure if the words they spoke were true, but when they saw the miracles the elect knew this was only possible by the power of God and believed.