The Great Danger Facing Christians – Week 23 / June 3rd

by admin

“therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away.”
Hebrews 2:1

The Book of Hebrews is a letter written to believers in Jesus who were falling away from or in danger of falling away from their faith in Jesus. The first few chapters open with a description of the excellence of Jesus in that He is greater than Angels and Moses and is in fact the very visible expression of all that God is. Jesus is the image of the unseen God and the Creator of all the universe. He constitutes God’s last word to humankind and therefore, given His amazing credentials, He should be listened to. God has nothing more to say to this world as He has said it all in the death of this all glorious Son of God. We would do well to listen!

However, the great danger facing Christians is drifting away! We can become discouraged, lazy and disinterested to the degree that we slowly grow immune to spiritual things and just slowly but surely drift away. Drifting is not a conscious action; it is very often something that sets in when we neglect the “anchors of our lives” and get preoccupied with other less important things. So many Christians have just drifted away over the years having allowed their moorings to come loose. Very often this dangerous phenomenon starts in the Church, not outside of it! The signs are all too clear to see in that the drifter no longer serves, rejoices or stays long after a meeting to fellowship. He or she attends as few weekly meetings as possible and definitely the prayer meeting will be missed. Spiritual drifters do the minimum though hoping one day to receive the maximum! They may well be very surprised as the writer goes on to warn us that we shall not escape if we neglect so great a salvation.

The hallmark of the Book of Hebrews is the “Let us” passages and thus the writer, also in the first few chapters, exhorts us to avoid the trap of drifting by diligently pressing into the “rest” of salvation that Jesus has purchased for us; by coming boldly into the presence of God, by keeping our confession of faith and by giving space in our lives for the Word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, to work in our lives. We must remember that our Christian walk demands commitment, patience and faith. Jesus, we are told, learned obedience through the things that He suffered and, during His days on earth, prayed with great cryings and tears to His Father in heaven who heard and answered Him because He was no drifter and held tightly to the moorings of His spiritual life. We must follow Him!

We live in a world that in so many ways constantly cries for our attention. We must learn to discern which “cries” are really important. The writer of this book tells us that spiritual maturity has to do with discerning those things that will enhance our relationship with God and then embracing them. Too often Christians go the other way and thereby demonstrate that they are immature and in need, once again, of learning the first principles of their faith. Drifters are people who have no appreciation of that which Jesus has done for them and this is why they live dangerously.

Malcolm Hedding.

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