So Great A Salvation
SO GREAT A SALVATION
HEBREWS 2:1-4
If the gospel really is so great, then we should carefully guard against drifting away from it.
The stature of the Savior shows the quality of the salvation. Since Christians have a Savior who is so infinitely superior to the highest created beings, they must regard the salvation he brought for them as no ordinary thing. It is a salvation to be highly valued and sought out diligently. However, it is easy to miss it, for this requires not a deliberate rejection but simply a drifting away from it (2:1). “We are all continuously exposed to the action of currents of opinion, habit, action, which tend to carry us away insensibly from the position which we ought to maintain” (Westcott). It is the case that we may fail to secure salvation simply by neglecting it (2:3). God has made ample provision for the needs of everyone. But if we neglect the means he has provided for our deliverance, then indeed “how shall we escape?”
The greatness of the salvation is brought out by a comparison of the Christ, who secured it, with the angels. Elsewhere in the New Testament we read that angels played a part in the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19). This is not mentioned in the Old Testament but the writer sees it as a way of stressing the dignity and importance of the old Law. This Law (here called “the message”) was fully established and every failure to keep it brought retribution. This opens up the way for the “how much more?” type of argument of 2:3.
The Christian salvation is thoroughly affirmed. Appeal is made to three different witnesses to establish this. It was in the first instance “declared” by Christ himself. This will refer to his preaching, but also to his actions. He set it out by what he said and was and did. Secondly, it was “confirmed to us by those who heard him” (2:3, NIV)). That is to say, the recipients of this letter had good grounds for accepting it. The gospel had been preached to them by people who had heard Christ. And finally, God bore witness by unusual happenings which accompanied the preaching. The Holy Spirit had done wonderful things. The final “according to his own will” (2:4) is a reminder that these miraculous happenings are not under human control. God acts as it pleases him, not as people may demand, a truth which is still up to date.
Thought You need not do anything to drift!