Believers are Obligated to Hear & Heed

Transcript

GR 1675
01/20/2013
Believers Are Obligated to Hear, then Heed
Hebrews 2:1-4
Gil Rugh

We're going to the book of Hebrews, a letter written to Jews who had come to profess Christ as their Savior. That has major impact as it does on everyone who comes to believe in Christ. But for Jews that was a total change in life. At this point in time to have come to place your faith in Christ, declare that faith, would cut you off from family and friends and associations and so on. These are Jews as believers who have suffered for their faith, they have been persecuted. We jumped ahead and just looked a little bit in Hebrews 10 and noted that experience during this time of their walk with the Lord, loss of possessions because of being believers. Some have been in prison, so they knew what it was to pay a price. They have been believers for a little while, we're not told how long but the indication of the letter is they have been believers for some time because they have been through some of those experiences and they were probably facing more difficult days.

We said this letter was written sometime in the mid-60s A.D. And what is looming before believers, we don't know where these believers are. One of the suggestions is a congregation of Jewish believers in Rome. We just don't know. But the persecutions of Nero will be breaking out in this decade. And there are probably things looming on the horizon that they anticipate things getting worse. You add that to the fact that under pressure and over time sometimes we begin to think maybe it would be nice to go back to the more comfortable days, the more comfortable circumstances and situation. For Jews we can go back to Judaism and while there are problems for Jews with the Gentiles, Judaism is a family and we're comfortable there. And we don't have to abandon God because God gave His revelation to the Jews. And we'll go back to the Old Testament system and the law and the sacrifices and the priestly system there.

The letter to the Hebrews is written to make clear you can't go back. And it's going to become clearer as we go through the book of Hebrews this emphasis that I will be reminding you of. And that is saving faith is not a dot in time. Saving faith begins at a point in time but it continues on unendingly. So that we understand what is going on here, the writer to the Hebrews is going to say, if you don't endure, you never had saving faith. Some of what is written in Hebrews is misunderstood because of lack of clarity on this point. Those who are truly believers in Jesus Christ persist and endure by the grace of God.

So saving faith is the beginning of a life lived by faith. And the writer to the Hebrews is concerned that for those considering turning back from Christ to Judaism, they are in a serious position because they may be manifesting that they have never entered into the salvation there is in Christ. It is amazing how much a person can know about Jesus Christ, how much he can understand about the gospel and the Christian life and have never had a true regenerating experience through faith in Christ.

I've shared with you, I was reading a seminary professor from an evangelical seminary who was remarking that he is convinced we have a number of professors in evangelical seminaries teaching the Bible who have never really entered into salvation in Christ. And we have that in our evangelical churches. We have it in this fellowship of believers. That's the concern. We emphasize this because Hebrews 2 brings us to a very strong exhortation. This is the first of five of what are called the warning passages in the book of Hebrews. They don't really break into the argument as we might say, but they are the focal point of what he has been explaining in the doctrinal section. For example in Hebrews 1 he unfolded something of the superiority of Christ to Old Testament prophets, to the revelation given through them, to angels who were instruments in bringing that revelation from God to the prophets. Jesus Christ is greater and superior to them. He has unfolded something of that. But it's not just primarily so we have more knowledge about Christ as this exhortation will make clear. It's so we understand the seriousness of a commitment to Christ and a maintaining of faithfulness to Him. And a warning of the danger of hearing these things, of knowing about these things, but of failing to submit ourselves to the salvation that comes only by faith in Jesus Christ.

We're not going to look at the different warning passages, we'll take them as they come because if I mention them now, you'll probably just forget them. Not that you don't have a great mind, but we'll get to them.

You'll note Hebrews 2 begins, “for this reason, on account of this.” It builds on what he has said in Hebrews 1. There is a personal responsibility in light of this truth. This truth is to be life impacting. On account of this we must pay closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it. There are only two sentences in the first four verses, the first sentence is in verse 1. It challenges them with what they must do. And then the second sentence, it is one sentence, verses 2-4 all comprise one sentence in Greek and I believe in our English Bible. It gives you the reason why you must do what he has said. And it is all based upon the fact we understand who Christ is, the superiority of Christ. You understand God's purpose in giving the fullness of revelation in the One who is His Son. The consequences of not faithfully following Him are overwhelming. There is no escaping eternal condemnation if you neglect the truths in Christ. Doesn't say if you don't know them, these people knew them. He is reminding them of them and what this means for their lives as believers.

“For this reason,” verse 1, “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard.” It's an absolute necessity that we must pay much closer attention, that we give the closest attention to what we have heard. He doesn't say give close attention to the gospel, although that would be the substance of what we have heard, the truth concerning Jesus Christ. But he puts it this way for a purpose. It's what we have heard. And you'll note he includes himself because we are all under this obligation and warning. We must give much closer attention to what we have heard. What we have heard, the gospel. But it's the truth concerning Christ. Remember he started out in Hebrews 1:1-2, “God after He spoke long ago.” Verse 2, “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” We must give very close attention to what we have heard. He is writing to those who have heard the truth concerning Jesus Christ. This is not just the person out there who never heard the gospel, doesn't know anything about Christ. He is writing to those who have heard this truth. He's writing to those who have been brought together as a congregation of believers, Jewish believers. They have professed to have believed in Christ. Now he says we must give much closer attention to what we have heard. God has spoken, we better pay very close attention to what we have heard Him say in His Son. To talk about going back to Judaism, you haven't paid attention to what God has said in His Son. That is not an option is the point.

We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard. Why? So that we will not drift away from it. So that we will not drift away from it. So you see these are people that have had the truth, that have been part of the fellowship of believers and have heard the truth. They said they've responded to the truth, but over time there is a danger. The picture here seems to be, because of some of the terminology used, of a ship. In those days there were sailing ships. If they came to a safe harbor they would put the anchor down. Great danger if the anchor doesn't hold or they begin to drift because you drift away from the safe harbor, you drift out to open sea, and there is no way to get back. You don't start the motor and come back. Remember the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts as he is being transported as a prisoner to Rome and the captain of the ship thought that they could take the chance to go further on the journey to make safe harbor before the weather changed. And it was a disastrous mistake because they couldn't make safe harbor. Do you know what that meant? The ship was just driven by the storm, ultimately is destroyed with all the cargo. The crew is saved by the grace of God. That's a picture of what happens.

So here we must pay much closer attention. That word pay closer attention was sometimes used in secular Greek of an anchor of a ship because that's what you paid attention to, that's what gave you your safety. The danger is drifting away from it. Here people have the gospel, know it, but they might be drifting away from it, drifting away from the Son. Later he'll talk about holding fast to the truth concerning Christ. Same idea. So it doesn't slip from your grasp, so you don't drift away. The danger of time, then you add pressure to time and it's easy for us to become lax, to lose that sharpness of focus, that concern to be faithful and true in every area of our life to Christ. I know He's a Savior, I've trusted Him, but there are other things that come in and I think for me at this time it's better . . . The Jews have no alternative. So that's the point, so that we do not drift away from it.

So that's the exhortation—you don't want to drift away from Christ. Why? You'll note verse 2 begins with for. This second sentence will tell you why this is so serious. You must pay the closest attention to what we have heard, as God has spoken to us through His Son. For, he's going to move from the lesser to the greater. If this is true, how much more is this true? So verse 2, “for if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty.” We're back to Hebrews 1:1-2. Verse 1, “God after He spoke long ago through to the father in the prophets.” And he showed how the revelation now is superior because it comes in a Son. Then beginning with verse 4, “He is much better than the angels.” We had that section showing Christ's superiority to the angels because they were associated with God speaking in the Old Testament as he makes clear here. The word spoken through angels proved unalterable. He's talking about the Mosaic Law in particular here. The Jews understood as reflected here that God had used angels to communicate His law to the children of Israel in the Old Testament.

Come back to Psalm 68, we talked about this when we began Hebrews, a verse in Psalm 68. Look at verse 17, “the chariots of God are myriads,” twice ten thousand as your margin has it. “Thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them as at Sinai in holiness.” What happened at Sinai? That's where God gave His law to Moses and the children of Israel. Now we find out that angels were also used by God as intermediaries to communicate that law to Moses. That was where, on occasion, Moses was privileged to speak with God face to face. There are other occasions then when God used angels. He gave them His word, the angels took it to Moses and gave it to Moses, then Moses gave it to the people. Now here we are told that there were thousands upon thousands upon thousands of angels in attendance. What an awesome scene!

Think of the crucifixion of Christ and the events leading up to that and climaxing with the crucifixion. What did He say? “I could ask My Father and He would send thousands of angels, thousands of thousands of angels.” It's not like He couldn't be rescued, His servants didn't have a powerful enough army. He is carrying out the will of God to provide redemption. So here the angels are present. It doesn't say what their role was, but further revelation clarifies that.

Come into the New Testament, the book of Acts, verses we looked at in a previous study, Acts 7. Stephen is presenting his case in proclaiming Jesus Christ before the Jewish Sanhedrin, and it will result in his stoning. And in Acts 7:38, it talks about Moses. Verse 37, this is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, verse 38, “this is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him.” There we are told the angel is speaking to Moses. Down in verse 53, “you who received the law as ordained by angels and did not keep it.” Now similar issue in the letter to the Hebrews with God's revelation. You see they received the law ordained by angels. Angels are glorious beings as we have talked about. They serve in the very presence of the God of glory. Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God.” I mean, awesome. If we were transported to heaven today, we would see angels who for their entire existence have served before the throne of God in heaven. These are glorious beings. God used them to convey His Word.

Come over to Galatians 3:19. Paul, “why the law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator until the seed, Christ, would come.” So you see the role angels played and the giving of the law. It would be true in other Old Testament revelation, but it particularly focused on the law as given to Moses. That will be a key issue in Hebrews and the tabernacle system, the priestly system and all that is tied to that.

Come back to Hebrews 2. You could jot down Deuteronomy 33:2, let me just read it to you. “The Lord came from Sinai, dawned on them for Seir. He has shone forth from Mt Paran. He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones. At his right hand there was flashing lightning for them, at his right hand the angels were with Him.” That last statement, at his right hand the angels were with Him is only found in the Greek translation, the Septuagint, of the Old Testament which the writer to the Hebrews uses consistently.

Now what about that revelation given from God? Not talking about the source as we talked about in Hebrews 1. God is speaking. It's the medium He is using to convey that revelation; that tells you something of it. He spoke through angels, giving the law. What did that mean? Hebrews 2:2, the end of the verse, “every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty.” Why? It was unalterable. That word translated unalterable, we're going to see a form of it again before we are done. It is settled, it is unchangeable. The term could be used in a legal context. This is something that is fixed. In other words God spoke. When He spoke through angels there is no changing it. Every transgression, every disobedience received a just, a righteous penalty. There was no escaping the consequences.

One example, a man went out on the Sabbath and gathered sticks. Do you know what happened to the man? He was stoned to death because he violated the Sabbath. Not all the judgments of God were that immediate. Israel failed to keep the Sabbath year, every seven years that year was to be set apart for God. For 490 years they didn't do it. Well, you know what God said—you owe me 70 Sabbaths, I'll take them all at once. So the Babylonian captivity came. A point, and the Jews would acknowledge this, God brought punishment.

“Received a just penalty.” That word translated penalty, interesting word, a penalty reward, the idea. You use it for a reward but the reward here, it's like the wages of sin is death. Wages are usually a good thing but in this context you're being paid for your sin, that's not good. Here the reward you are getting is a penalty.

Every transgression, every violation. That word transgression, disobedience. That word disobedience keeps bringing us back. Verse 2, if the word spoken. “Pay attention,” verse 1, “to what we heard.” Taking us back to the beginning of the letter, “God spoke long ago,” He has spoken in these last days. That word translated disobedience, has as its basis the word to hear. Those who refused to respond to what they hear. That's the disobedience. They won't do what God's Word tells them to do. The emphasis. So he is continuing this, we're tying it to God's Word, God speaking. This is crucial because many people . . .

I received a letter from a person who attended Indian Hills years ago. Now they live in another state and they wrote me a multi-page letter. Talking about what they are involved in now with all the miracles, and we're going to get to this, and miraculous things and all this. And we've lost the focus on the Word. You understand God's revelation focuses on a word, on what He spoke. That's why we believe in the verbal inspiration of Scripture, the plenary verbal inspiration, the full verbal inspiration. God's Word is crucial here. They would not listen to God's Word, they were disobedient.

Come over to Romans 5, an example of the use of this word translated disobedience. Look at verse 19, “for as through the one man's,” and here is our word, “disobedience,” refusal to hear, refusal to obey. He's talking about Adam. What happened? God spoke to Adam. What did Adam do? He wouldn't hear. He heard the words, he knew what God said but he was disobedient to what he heard. That's the point. These are people who have heard the truth but they don't obey it. Jot down 2 Corinthians 10:16, if you want another reference to that word disobedient.

Come back to Hebrews 2. These words carry the same idea. They involve a deliberate rejection of God's will. You'll note what the writer here does, he allows no excuses. Well, we've been believers a long time, we've been through a lot, things have been hard, it's been costly. And now we are facing perhaps worse things. A little bit of sympathy would go a long way. This is too serious for some kind of sentimental empathy. And the writer includes himself here. This is serious business. God has spoken, there will be no excuses for not doing what you're told. You know, how clear can God make it. Sometimes with our children, they get a little older, we tell them to do something and we want to make clear, you understand what I am saying and there won't be any excuses for not obeying. Then they go and do it anyway. Then they come with their excuses. You say, wait a minute, I told you there would be no excuses, I told you what to do.

That's basically what God is telling us. Under the law what God had said was unalterable, nobody could change it. That was settled. And any disobedience was punished. Everybody agrees to that. No problem, these with a Jewish background know that's right. The application of it, “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” That's the point. If the word spoken through angels was unalterable, firmly settled and any disobedience received a just punishment. That word just, righteous, it was fitting. God had spoken, if you don't do what God says you deserve to be punished. How much more severe can we expect the punishment to be when God sent the message through His Son and we neglect it. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? And the emphasis on this rhetorical questions is, there is no escape if we neglect this salvation. Serious, serious statement.

So great a salvation, what God has revealed in and through His Son. That's the fullness of revelation. Not that the prior revelation was wrong, but it didn't give the clarity. Later we'll be told the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins. Don't know how this will work, but now the fullness of revelation has been given. God's Son is the sacrifice, God's Son who is God and man. He's going to go on to emphasize the humanity of Christ when he is done with this, showing His superiority in what He accomplished to angels. That's the great salvation, it is a salvation incomparable.

If we neglect it. The word means to pay no attention to it. Doesn't say you fight against it, you just neglect it; you don't pay any attention to it. These people have heard it, heard it enough that they thought that's what they wanted and claimed that they trusted Him. And what the consequences of that were for a Jew. They've sat under the teaching of the Word as a congregation of believers, we can be sure. If they were in Rome, perhaps they shared the letter to the Romans, we don't know. But they had been believers for a while. The truths unfolded here show that they have had exposure. But they might not pay enough attention, they might neglect it. How will they escape?

Come back to Matthew's gospel, Jesus used these same words with a similar emphasis. Matthew 22, we're going to be here for a few verses. The account here is the parable of the wedding feast. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king,” verse 2, “who gave a wedding feast for his son.” So he sends out his messengers to invite people to come to the wedding feast. But you know what happens? Look at verse 5, but “they paid no attention.” That's our same word we have in Hebrews, if we neglect. They paid no attention, they neglected him for a variety of reasons—one had this, one had that. But the point is they didn't pay attention, they neglected it.

Turn over to Matthew 23. Here Jesus is pronouncing condemnation on the religious leaders of His day. Verse 29, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Then note what you see in verse 33. “You servants, you brood of vipers, how will you escape?” There is our word we have in Hebrews, how shall we escape if we neglect, if we pay no attention to so great salvation. Jesus said to those that He was addressing who refused to believe in Him, how will you escape the sentence of hell? There is no escape if you neglect so great salvation. There is no other alternative.

These people need to understand faith in Christ is a life. You come to understand and believe the gospel and your life is changed. And by the grace of God now you faithfully follow Him. And it doesn't matter, I've made a profession and I trusted Christ a number of years ago. But wandering off, drifting by. You know what the warning to the Hebrews is—you're neglecting a salvation. How will you escape the condemnation? You claim to belong to God but you disobey Him. Jesus said, “if you love Me you will keep My commandments,” that's not the Mosaic commandments in that context, it's the commandments He gives—His Word. We obey it, we respond. That's a pattern of life, that's a mark of a true believer. People can claim, I trusted Christ, I trusted Christ when I was young and I wandered off. People used to come to this church, haven't been in church anywhere for years. Or they are going to a church their family had that wouldn't believe or preach the gospel or proclaim the Word. What are you doing? Well, my kids wanted to go there. I have to think of Hebrews. How shall we escape?

That doesn't mean being here guarantees salvation. This writer is writing to this congregation of believers and warning them that some within the congregation are in this situation. How shall we escape?

Back up to Matthew 11, the principle that the writer here is operating with. Look at verse 20. Again Jesus, then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done because they did not repent. “Woe to you Chorazin, woe to you Bethsaida. For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you Capernaum will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades. For if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” See the principle? Greater light brings greater responsibility; greater revelation brings greater accountability.

The point there, if the word of God given through angels was unalterable and any disobedience brought a just punishment, “how much more will be the punishment for those who neglect so great salvation?” How could we hope to escape the wrath of Almighty God if we neglect, fail to pay attention. The danger is, people who have been exposed to this who have been part of a congregation of believers as these Jews have been and think I'm all right, I'm a believer. Maybe I'm drifting a little, but that doesn't . . . It means something major. You can't go back, you can't leave. I'm not saying you can't leave this church and go to another Bible-believing church, I'm saying you can't leave Christ. Going back to Judaism is not an alternative. The law was the Word of God, but it has been superseded by the later revelation. It served it's purpose. It's like when you tell your four-year-old, it's right for that time But when he is 24, he can't go back. God has revealed more, fuller, complete. To reject the full and complete is to reject everything because you can't reject the Word of God here and say, I'll be obedient back here. You don't take charge, God is in charge. It's God speaking and the response to what He is saying.

Come back to Hebrews. How shall we escape? And again rhetorical question, the way it is emphasized is there is no escape, the escaping the just penalty. After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard. First it was spoken by the Lord, we saw this in Hebrews 1:2, “God in these last days has spoken to us in Son,” the One who is the Son. So that's where we have the beginning of the fullness of revelation with the coming of the Son to earth. We looked at John 1, the Word was God, referring to Christ. And the Word became flesh. So now we have the fullness of God's revelation in the person of His Son who is both God and man. And everything about Him, His life, His teaching, His works all reveal the Father. Began to be spoken by the Son because that's the fullness of the revelation which all prior revelation anticipated.

Come back to Luke 24, we'll just take one passage, another gospel. Here Jesus Christ has been crucified, buried, raised from the dead and we are coming here to the end of Luke's account and then Luke will write volume 2, the book of Acts, picking up where he leaves off at the end of Luke 24. But note what Christ does with His disciples. Verse 45. “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and He said to them, thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And note this next statement because that's where we are going in Hebrews, “you are witnesses of these things.” And I'm going to send the Holy Spirit who will enable and empower you to convey this message, to summarize that or paraphrase it. Christ began it, there He gives the gospel, His death, burial and resurrection, showing the fulfillment of Scripture. But His life, He revealed the Father with a fullness and clarity that had never been done before. And the salvation that God would provide.

What good would it be to go back to Judaism? Judaism was just a shadow of what was to come. The animals could never take away sin; going through the ritual of the Mosaic activities could never take away sin. Salvation has always been by grace through faith. This was just a manifestation that I am trusting God to do what He promised to do, cleanse and forgive me.

Now the fullness of what God would do to bring about that cleansing has been revealed, it's in Christ. “It was at the first spoken through the Lord,” back in Hebrews 2:3. “It was confirmed to us by those who heard.” That's what Jesus said, you will be My witnesses. “It was confirmed to us by those who heard.” You'll note the writer is including himself here, which would seem to indicate that he wasn't part of that initial group who heard. God also “testifying with them by signs, wonders and various works of the Holy Spirit.” Testifying with them, confirmed to us by those who heard. This is one of the indications that Paul probably did not write the letter to the Hebrews. Paul always claims firsthand reception. Galatians 1, “I didn't receive this gospel from men, I received it by a direct appearance of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15, “last of all Christ appeared to me,” I'm a unique case, “one untimely born.”

So here the writer is saying there were select witnesses appointed by God to substantiate and give further clarification, not new. Because what do we have? The book of Hebrews is further revelation from God. But it's not new in the sense it is different from Christ, it is elaborating on Christ, His person and work; testifying to the reality of what God has revealed and done in Christ.

All of us are in this situation. None of us have ever seen Christ, none of us have ever had a personal visitation of Christ. We haven't seen the miracles that were done by some of those firsthand witnesses. What do we have to believe? The Word as it is recorded. It was confirmed to us by those who heard. I mentioned that word confirm back in verse 2, “the word spoken through angels proved unalterable,” that we would see it again. There is another form of that same word, unalterable. It was confirmed, it was settled, established. Same idea. Settled by those who heard. Shows it is unalterable. It has been settled, unchangeable. To us by those who heard. The firsthand witnesses bring the message to these people. God testifying with them both by signs, wonders, various miracles, by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will.

So here is a writer, we're dealing with what we call second generation believers, perhaps. They weren't part of the original group that had seen Christ, experienced His ministry. The writer of Hebrews hadn't, but he had heard the message from those who had been with Christ. And it is a binding, authoritative message.

Come back to Acts 10, Peter speaking at the house of Cornelius. The gospel is being brought by a Jew to Gentiles for the first time. We break in, Peter presents the gospel here. Beginning in verse 34, “Peter begins to speak” and talks about Jesus and His earthly ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit through Him. Verse 39, “we are witnesses of all the things He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross, God raised Him the third day, granted that He become visible.” Now note this, not to all the people but “to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly testify this is the One who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. And of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

You see God has selected, we just read in Hebrews 2:4, “according to the will of God.” This is done according to God's plan, God's appointment. That's why Paul says “I received it directly from Christ, but I'm one untimely born.” I am the unique case, I am the last case. “Last of all He appeared to me,” and that was a unique situation.

So these were the witnesses, those who had experienced Christ's earthly ministry. God would validate their ministry. Back up to John 14:26, Jesus anticipated this. This last night before His crucifixion He said to His followers, but “the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” How do we know that they remembered it and got it right with the passing of time? The Holy Spirit was bringing supernatural ability to them so they would recall what Christ had said and done and record it accurately, so there would be an ongoing record for you and me to hear and believe down to this day.

Over in John 16:12, “I have many more things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, that's the Holy Spirit who unfolds God's truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears He will speak. He will disclose to you what is to come, He will glorify Me for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” You see now the pattern God is going to do, Christ says. With His departure they who have experienced His earthly ministry and will be privileged to have seen Him after His resurrection will proclaim this truth and the explanation of it under the direction of the Spirit. And how will people know this is a true revelation from God? That's what He is saying in Hebrews 2:4, “God testifying with them by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” So we see in the book of Acts the gospel is preached and miracles are done. The Apostle Paul had that same opportunity.

What was the purpose of those miracles? Confirming, testifying with them of the truth of what they were proclaiming. This writer to the Hebrews doesn't say, I do these miracles, too, and you are experiencing these miracles. No, he is saying we have the Word. I want the miracles. No, God gave the miracles to appointed witnesses according to His will to confirm the Word so that we would have a firm, fixed proven Word to believe. God doesn't always do the miraculous. People think we're going to do miracles. Wait a minute, it's the Word of God that matters. There is no new revelation coming. Now Old Testament signs, wonders and miracles were used to talk about what God did in delivering Israel from Egypt, the plagues He brought on Egypt. God didn't keep doing that all the time. That established the truth of what He was saying. We have the Word.

Peter says in 2 Peter 1 that he was one of those eyewitnesses. Let me tell you something, I was an eyewitness of His resurrection, I saw Him when He was transfigured on the mountain, Matthew 17. This is a sure, settled word. He said in 1 Peter 1, “this is the word which was preached to you.” You see the danger is we begin to get weak, we begin to lose focus. This is what is most precious. We get to Hebrews 4 he's going to say “the Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, pierces into our innermost being.” It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our heart. This is the word of salvation. You are “born again by the living and abiding Word of God.” This is the message we have concerning Christ.

Do you know the most dangerous thing to face in an evangelical church like this? Young people, older people, all of us, we hear it, we know about it, we can talk about it. But it never becomes reality in our heart. Having vast knowledge of the Word doesn't make you saved. Attending a wonderful, perfect church like this doesn't guarantee you are saved. Being baptized here doesn't guarantee your salvation. There is danger to be exposed to the truth. An awful situation to be in, to have heard the truth of God and to neglect it, to disobey it, not to bow before it and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. And I am a wretched and undeserving sinner, and there is no hope of my salvation but the work that He has done. But that's the only hope we need because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” “ He that has the Son has life. He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.” A warning given to the church in a fellowship of believers. So we understand the seriousness of what is before us and the necessity of remaining faithful and true. Not because remaining faithful and true is the way we're saved, but if we're truly saved we will understand the importance and magnitude of what God has done in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your truth. Thank You, Lord, that we have been entrusted with this truth, we have been privileged to hear it. Lord, an awesome responsibility has been placed upon us to hear it with obedience, to not neglect it. Lord, it's not enough to say, we have been saved a long time, I've been a believer a long time, I know about these things. Lord, maybe the coldness, the coolness is revealing the serious condition of our heart. May we be open and honest before You. Have we ever experienced the power of Your saving grace through faith in Your Son? Thank You for so great salvation. We praise You in Christ's name, amen.