This morning we’re continuing in our study of the Book of Hebrews…what is unique about Hebrews is the theological arguments in this book are more complex than many of those found in the rest of the New Testament.
The universal theme in Hebrews is the doctrine of the person of Christ and his role as mediator between God and humanity…the writer sets out to show the supremacy of Christ…that His once-and-for all sacrifice of taking away the sins of the world is superior to any Old Testament ritual…as a result of His superiority He is:
better than the prophets (Heb. 1:1–2),
better than the angels (1:5–14),
better than Moses (3:1–19),
better than the priests (4:14–5:10; 7:23–28),
better than Melchizedek (6:19–7:19),
better than all previous sacrifices (9:11–14; 10:19).
The author of the book of Hebrews was writing primarily to a group of Jewish converts who were suffering hardship and persecution because of their faith… they were under intense pressure to turn away from Christ and return to Judaism to avoid further persecution not only from the Jews…the government…and from family as well …take the easy way.
The writer of Hebrews was encouraging those early Christians to stand firm in their faith because the old sacrificial system…those things I mentioned…were out of date…they served no purpose…don’t go back.
Because of the pressure to return to Judaism, the book of Hebrews compares and contrasts the superiority of Christianity over Judaism…the writer to the Hebrews constantly compares the inadequacies of the Old Testament sacrificial system to the perfection and completion in Christ.
The writer starts off by establishing Jesus’ superiority over the angels [1:5].
To which of the angels did He ever say “You are My Son”?
It was imperative to show that Jesus has been exalted above angels both in power and authority…Jewish writings often exalted angels as powerful, glorious creatures who brought divine revelations to man…this honor given to angels raised a serious challenge for those who followed Christ.
Nowhere in the Bible are angels shown as authority figures, nor are they called to rule, and especially not given the privilege of sitting on the throne of God…he quotes from the O. T. to give evidence to support this.
Let all the angels of God worship Him (6)
To which of the angels has He ever said sit at My right hand (13)
Verse 14 offers up some very interesting facts regarding angels:
they are ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation. [14].
In addition to praising…serving…and worshipping God…they are busy in the spiritual battle that is going on in the heavens everyday…there is a cosmic war happening, and we are the battlefield.
All day, every day, an invisible war rages around you—unseen and unheard yet it impacts every aspect of your life…God’s angels are committed to helping us overcome the devil…working to protect, encourage, and strengthen believers.
Hebrews gives us a clue how we can help ourselves in this spiritual battle…God gives us the necessary information to fight against Satan…it’s to be knowledgeable of God’s Word…hence…the importance of church attendance and Bible study…we are like Jesus in the desert…rebuking Satan involves knowing God’s Word… that is why:
1We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? [2:1-3]
The most basic means of holding to the truth of the Gospel is to pay close attention to it…the writer of Hebrews is saying there will be consequences when we drift away from the truth…when we do…we are guaranteed trouble [2:2].
Every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty.
Scripture is dispelling the common myth today that God’s love overrides all sin…that is not true…the word ‘received’ is an aorist participle…meaning it is going to happen…we will receive a just penalty when we violate God’s Word.
This is the first of three warnings given to those who drift away from the truth …who fail to pay attention to the message, and “I didn’t know” is not an excuse.
Therefore, to avoid the consequences of God’s judgement in our lives…and the resulting consequences that accompany drifting from truth into error [2:1]
we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it
In Hebrews the author is pointing out the consistency of God’s judgements… those who broke God’s commandments in the past were given exactly what they deserved…God is fair…in [3] the author points out that those who ignore the message of Christ have no real hope of avoiding the same fate.
How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
This is a sobering word for the world and for the church…because most people do neglect the greatness of salvation…even for Christians…how many Christians do you know give serious, sustained attention to the salvation accomplished by what Jesus did?
It’s astonishing how neglectful Christians are regarding the greatness of salvation…the worse sin a Christians can commit is ingratitude.
I want to talk a little more about the statement: neglecting so great a salvation’ …and the eternal implications of what that means…it means certain eternal separation from Jesus and all those who you loved [Jn 3:36].
For the saved…salvation is secure…it cannot be lost [John 10:28 / Jude 1:24] BUT…when we neglect the truths and disregard the guidance of the Scripture, we have the potential of falling into sin…when we do, the consequences result in earthly problems…and to the loss of eternal rewards.
BUT…for the unsaved person the devastating results of neglecting salvation are eternal.
I want to talk about that…specifically…ONE…about the resurrection of the dead and TWO…what happens after death.
This all comes back to the statement…How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? —YOU WON’T.
There are those who claim that when you’re dead that’s it…that’s the end…but what does Jesus say about those who have died [Matthew 33:31]?
have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
He is not the God of the dead but of the living.
God would not have said, “I am the God of Abraham…Isaac….and Jacob if He thought Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead…He would have said, “I was their God” …thus, from God’s perspective, they are alive.
God’s use of the present tense in speaking of His relationship to the patriarchs who had been long dead by the time God spoke these words to Moses shows God had a continuing relationship even though they were physically dead.
God was speaking of dead men as though they were still alive; thus, Jesus reasoned, the men were not dead but living…God would not have a relationship with dead beings.
Secondly…what happens after death…for the unbeliever…How will they escape if they neglect so great a salvation?
I want to talk about what happens after death…and especially this thing called hell…in his seven-week study on Satan Larry talked extensively about where Satan and his band of angels are destined…but what about people…what about when people die …what happens…a lot of misinformation about that…first… what happens when we die.
Scripture reveals three kinds of death in relation to our body and spirit.
1. SPIRITUAL DEATH (Isa.59:2; Eph. 2:1)
This death is the SEPARATION of man from God because of sin…sin separates us from fellowship with God…it’s possible to be alive physically but dead spiritually (Matt. 8:22; I Tim. 5:6).
Before we became Christians, we were dead spiritually…a lost person may have a live body…a live soul…but is dead in spirit!
2. PHYSICAL DEATH (Jas. 2:26; Gen. 35:18)
This death is the separation of the body—the OUTWARD man…our flesh—from the INWARD man, our spirit (Eph. 3:16; II Cor. 4:16).
At death our fleshly body—the outward man—dies and returns to dust (Job 34:15) …the SPIRIT–the inward man—is immortal and continues to live.
At death the spirit goes one of two places…for believers it goes to Paradise to be with Jesus until we go to Heaven…for unbelievers to a place separated from God where they wait…the BODY may be physically dead but that’s not the end of everything [Heb. 9:27]
3. SECOND DEATH (Rev. 20:15; 21:8 Luke 16:19-21; Ezek. 18:4)
There is a third type of death in Scripture that is different from spiritual death and physical death…this is known as eternal death, or the second death.
The second death is only for unbelievers…after the Millennium every person who has ever lived will be physically resurrected and re-united with their spirits to face God in one of two judgments…the Judgment Seat of Christ for believers and the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers.
At the judgment Seat of Christ, believers will be given rewards for their service on earth…then ushered into Heaven for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
For unbelievers they will stand before the Great White Throne of God where they will be sentenced to be eternally separated from God and from everyone they have known or loved while on earth…this is the second death.
Those not found written in the Book of Life are cast into Hell…they have no second chance for salvation…with respect to Hell…again…a lot of misinformation…the thought that everyone goes to the same place as Satan and his demons goes…is not true.
The casting into the Lake of Fire (Matt. 10:28) was originally prepared for the devil and His angels (Matt. 25:41) as a place of punishment…it was never intended for people.
There are different levels of punishment in hell…not talking about Dante’s nine circles of hell…Scripture seems to indicate that Hell will be experienced differently for different people.
—There are those who will be judged ‘according to what they had done as recorded in the books’ [Rev. 20:11-15] possibly indicating how severe their punishment will be.
—Then there’s Scripture that speaks of comparative punishment…comparing the punishment of Sodom against the punishment that will be given to the Galilean town of Bethsaida…seems the level of punishment is tied to the amount of knowledge a person rejects.
— Then lastly in Luke 12 Jesus indicates punishment will be based on how much knowledge a person has…different than above which is based on how much knowledge a person rejects…the one who does not know much will receive a light sentence…the one who knew much will be dealt with more severely.
Let me say again…there are different levels of punishment in hell…Scripture seems to indicate that Hell will be experienced differently for different people
BUT…it is a place that no one should ever want to be.
See the complexity involved in the statement: How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
One more thing…for those of you who may remember the name Rob Bell…and his controversial book…Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived…a book thatcast doubt about the idea of hell and where he suggests the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal… meaning …that “every person who ever lived” could have a place in heaven”…HE’S WRONG.
For those early Christians the challenge for them was the persecution and suffering associated with being a Christian…as twenty-first-century Christians in America persecution and suffering is not an issue…it’s coming.
BUT What is occurring in America today is having the same devastating effects…the endless distractions that compete for our loyalty to Jesus…that result in Christians having and doing more fulfilling things than going to Church.
Our world is increasingly becoming focused on materialism and on having the next best thing or shiny product.
According to the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, more than 80% of Americans who say they go to church weekly…don’t…as it turns out less than 20% are actually in church…here’s the tragedy…of those 80% who claim to be Christian…how many in the end will find out that their claim was false?
Satan gives false hope regarding Christianity by using so-called Christian preachers to tell you what the Christian life is supposed to be…easy … prosperous… and healthy.
They preach that the Christian path is easy…promising as little suffering as possible…being accepted by many…immediate gratification…the promotion of self…these are distractions that are more focused on your pocketbook than your spiritual maturity.
So how do we coexist as a godly person in a world where distractions leave us drained…tired…and stressed…how exactly does Scripture depict the life of a Christ-follower where the easy way is not the right way and the path is not easy?
How difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” (Mat.7:14)
Your preaching is too hard…it makes too many demands on me…the problem is…it’s dangerously easy to be considered “Christian” by popular standards…as your Pastor…as a Church…if we are to be faithful as Christians…we need to be honest in our preaching and teaching of God’s Word…and about the life we’ve signed up for…we need to heed the words of [2:1]:
For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it.