LEARNING DAILY

Hebrews 2:1, Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

The writer of Hebrews is writing to first century Christians who were in danger of giving up their walk because of fierce persecution and great adversity in their lives. The writer was writing for them to be careful in their study of the faith; “they were not to turn their backs on Christ but to press on in full confidence” (David Jeremiah Study Bible). The author wrote they “must pay much closer attention to what we have heard.” They were to do that by being more committed to learning about the Word of God. The danger of not doing that was to “drift away.”

The writer is warning the readers about neglecting the Word of God and the salvation Jesus offers; he is not writing about rejecting it. The book of Hebrews is not written to sinners with the invitation to be saved. He writing to Christians, urging them to pay closer attention to walking the narrow way because of their salvation. Don’t neglect it! Some were doing that and were drifting away. Remember the Parable of the Sower?  The admonition in the parable is to Be in the Word of God and not allowing the cares of the world come before doing so (A brief and rough summary).

In Hebrews 6:12 he writes another reason Believers are to be diligent with the Word of God, “so that you won’t become lazy but will be imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.” When Believers become too comfortable and self-satisfied, they grow careless and complacent, spiritually dull and indifferent with the study of the Word of God and prayer time. Warren Wiersbe has written, “More spiritual problems are caused by neglect than perhaps by any other failure on our part. We neglect God’s Word, prayer, worship with God’s people, and other opportunities for spiritual growth, and as a result, we start to drift. The anchor does not move; we do.”

It is important to understand that when one “drifts away” the suggestion is gradual and almost unnoticed movement. What does a Believer do to drift away? Nothing! That should do it! By being involved in the cares of living life and not taking time for devotions, time in the Word, prayer, do Christian work, and doing little else to support your Christian life, you will slowly drift away.

I am going to tell you how important it is for the Believer today to understand this. The Word tells us about people falling away in the last days. 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.”

As Believers, we have three enemies that continually compete for our attention – the world, Satan, and our fleshly nature. Each wants to make us believe it is more important than spending time with the Lord and His Word. Remember the two wolves Good and Evil? Which wolf are you feeding?

What do we do about this? It may be obvious – we will discuss this in the next page of the blog.