Don’t Get Off Course 12-8-24 AM

I.                    The danger (Hebrews 2:1).

A.                 You have heard that if you see the word “therefore”, you need to stop and see what it is therefore.

1.                  This directs us back to what the inspired writer mentioned about the Lord being better than angels in the first chapter.

2.                  Since Jesus is better He deserves more attention paid to what He has to say than anything angels may have said.

B.                  There are two sailing terms in this verse.

1.                  The first is the word translated “give the more earnest heed”.

a.                  It carries the meaning of pay attention.

b.                  A ship’s captain had to pay attention to where he was in order to hold course.

2.                  The second is the word translated “let them slip”.

a.                  It literally means “to flow by”.

b.                  A ship’s captain could drift past where he needed to be without careful attention being paid.

3.                  One writer said the verse carries the idea of “the picture of a ship "slipping" past its haven because the pilot has not paid "attention" to the course”.

C.                  Our haven is the Lord and His will.

1.                  John tells us numerous times to abide, or take up residence, in Christ.

2.                  If we aren’t careful, we can slip right past the Lord and out of our safe haven.

D.                 The writer lets us know it can happen at any time.

1.                  Leaving the Lord rarely takes place over night.

2.                  It generally takes a little time to go from faithfulness to forsaking the Lord.

3.                  It happens in little increments.

4.                  Just a little here and a little there and then, the next thing you know you are out in the stormy seas of life away from the safe haven of Jesus.

E.                  What Jesus has said to us is, by far, too important to treat lightly.

1.                  Attention and earnestness should be given to the gospel message.

2.                  This is not some message from man, but from the Lord as the writer will later describe.

II.                  The declaration (Hebrews 2:2-3a).

A.                 The writer, by inspiration, begins the process of making a declaration.

1.                  He will do it in the form of a rhetorical question.

2.                  His point is to get his readers to see how dangerous it is to let one’s faith slip.

B.                  He uses an “if” statement to compare the Old Testament to the New Testament.

1.                  He refers to the Old Testament as the “word spoken by angels”.

2.                  We are nowhere told directly that angels had a hand in bringing the message to Moses, but there are passages that refer to it as fact.

a.                  Deuteronomy 33:2.

b.                  Galatians 3:19.

c.                   Acts 7:53.

C.                  The Old Testament, though delivered in some part by angels, who are lesser than our Lord, was reliable and trustworthy.

1.                  Those that put their faith and practice in it did so because of its source, God.

2.                  When they did so, it was completely capable of doing that which it said it would do.

D.                 When it was disobeyed or gone beyond, punishment was meted out under it.

1.                  Numerous are the instances in the Old Testament where a person or group of people disobeyed some aspect of Mosaic Law and were punished for it.

2.                  Nadab and Abihu, Achan, the Israelites in the wilderness, and later the Israelites in the promised land all are examples.

E.                  The writer is saying that even this law that was given by lesser beings than our Lord had punishments given out when it was disobeyed.

F.                  If such is the case, how would one escape punishment if they disobeyed or left one given by the Lord?

1.                  Notice that the writer calls it a “great salvation”.

a.                  The greatness is because of the price paid for it as well as the completeness of the salvation.

b.                  One writer pointed out the greatness of it this way: “ the true greatness of it is apparent because of: (1) the greatness of the Saviour who achieved it; (2) the greatness of the disaster from which it rescues the sinner; (3) the greatness of the eternal reward in heaven provided by it; (4) the greatness of the Saviour's love that underlies it; (5) the greatness of the adversary who opposes it; (6) the greatness of that multitude who shall receive it; and (7) the greatness of those certainties upon which it is grounded”.

2.                  This salvation can simply be neglected.

a.                  It is hard to imagine that one would simply fail to regard something so wonderful and great.

b.                  Yet, we know people who neglect it all the time.

G.                 We need to understand that if we allow ourselves to drift from the gospel message for any reason, neglect or outright rebellion, we are going to receive a great punishment.

1.                  If a lesser law dispensed punishment, would not a greater law also do that?

2.                  This law was extremely expensive to bring into effect, so there must be consequences for breaking it.

III.                The deliverance of the message (Hebrews 2:3-4).

A.                 This new message is far greater because it was spoken of first, by the Lord.

1.                  Our Lord, on numerous occasions, spoke of His dying for the sins of the world.

2.                  He often spoke about how people must come to Him in order to be saved.

B.                  It was not brought in by mere angels, but by the Son of God Himself.

C.                  This also lets us know that only what the Lord spoke and had others speak is what is to be followed.

1.                  We can’t find salvation in that which man teaches.

2.                  It has to come from the Lord in order to be followed and to lead to salvation.

D.                 It was then confirmed by the apostles.

1.                  They did so by backing up that which they spoke with miracles, signs, and wonders.

2.                  They were able to do this by the power of God.

3.                  Their ability to perform these miraculous deeds was given them by God.

4.                  God bore witness to the truthfulness of what was being taught by allowing them to perform those deeds to confirm what was being taught.