2. NEGLECTING OUR SALVATION

CHAPTER 2

 

NEGLECTING OUR SALVATION

 

THE Book of Hebrews was written to born-again believers who are admonished not to stop short of God's best in a life of holiness, service and fruit bearing. He has provided everything for our growth in grace and expects us to develop into spiritual maturity. He Himself has made adequate provision whereby this may be attained, for Christ is at the right hand of God as our pleading High Priest, ever living to intercede for us. There is no excuse for any Christian remaining a spiritual babe, or living a defeated life, or being unfruitful because of His provision and also because:

 

“. . . we have a great high priest, that is

passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son

of God, let us hold fast our profession.

For we have not an high priest which

cannot be touched with the feeling

of our infirmities; but was in all

points tempted like as we

are, yet without sin.”

(Hebrews 4:14-15)

 

This is God's provision for our weakness and failure. Jesus Christ our High Priest understands all our struggles, temptations and trials, and is waiting only for the discouraged and defeated child of God to come to Him and draw upon His mercy and grace for victory, and so chapter four of Hebrews closes with:

 

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the

throne of grace, that we may obtain

mercy, [forgiveness for past failures]

and find grace to help in time of

need.” [provision for future victory]

(Hebrews 4:16)

 

With this adequate provision there is no excuse for the child of God to continue in defeat, or disobedience to His command, "Let us go on to perfection" [maturity] (Hebrews 6:1). To continue in unrepentance and to condone evil in our lives constitutes willful sinning, the sin unto death, and will be judged of the Lord either here in chastening, or at the Judgment Seat of Christ to suffer loss. This we believe to be the message of the Book of Hebrews.

 

 

THE PERSON OF THE BOOK

 

The Book of Hebrews opens with a portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God and Saviour of men. Jesus is not only a New Testament character, but is also the God of the Old Testament. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is th Jesus Christ of the New. This is settled for us in the opening verses:

 

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners

spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son,

whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom

also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness

of His glory, and the express image of His person,

and upholding all things by the word of His power,

when He had by Himself purged our sins,

sat down on the right hand of the

Majesty on high;”

(Hebrews 1:1-3)

 

That this Son is very God, and one with the Father is then immediately asserted by a number of divine characteristics.

 

1. He is the Heir of all things. (v. 2)

2. He is the Creator of the universe. (v. 2)

3. He is the brightness of the glory of God. (v. 3)

4. He is of the same substance. (v. 3)

5. He is the Sustainer of the universe. (v. 3)

6. He is the sinless Purger of others' sins. (v. 3)

7. He is sitting upon the throne of Deity. (v. 3)

 

Here are seven things said of the Son in the first three verses of chapter one, which cannot be said of any created being, but only of Deity. If there were no other passage in the Bible setting forth the Deity of Jesus Christ, these first three verses of Hebrews would be all-sufficient. Thus the subject of Hebrews is introduced as Jesus, the Son of God.

 

 

IN HIS HUMANITY

 

This eternal God, however, became a man, took on Him a human nature, “being made in fashion as a man.” John says, “The Word became flesh.” Did He then cease to be God when He became a man? Did He lay aside His Deity at his humiliation? If He did, how then could He ever become God again? Is Jesus Christ, the man in the glory, still one with God the Father and the Holy Spirit? This is the issue the writer next takes up. Even in His humanity He is still above all other created beings. He is better than the angels.

 

“Being made so much better than the angels,

as He hath by inheritance obtained a more

excellent name than they. For unto which

of the angels said He at any time, Thou art

My Son, this day have I begotten thee?

And again, I will be to Him a Father,

and He shall be to Me a Son?”

(Hebrews 1:4-5)

 

The elect angels of God are the highest order of all created beings. They never fell by sin, they have access to the very presence of God, they are entrusted with the most weighty and responsible tasks, they are God's messengers and executors of His will. There are no created beings above them, and they take orders from no one but God. And Christ is said to be better than the angels — therefore, He is God, for there is none better than the angels except God. To further emphasize the superlative excellency of Jesus as the Son of God even while in human form and in the body of His humiliation, the book continues:

 

“And again, when He bringeth in the first-begotten

into the world, He saith, And let all the

angels of God worship Him.”

(Hebrews 1:6)

 

God had said, “You shall worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve.” By accepting worship, Jesus is declared to be God. All these things are true of Jesus as a man, dwelling in human flesh and with a human nature. This is evident, for it says he was made better than the angels. The angels are told to worship Him when the First begotten was brought into the world. Now the force of all this is that the one who hung upon the Cross of Calvary covered with blood and spittle, meekly suffering the very acme of insult and humiliation was none other than Almighty God, the Creator, being crucified by His creatures. only as we bear in mind who He was can we understand the demand of the Book of Hebrews that the redeemed go on to perfection, and not stop short of complete dedication to Him. This, we repeat, is the message of Hebrews, a plea to believers to yield their all to Him who is so graphically described as the Son of God and the Son of Man.

 

The balance of chapter one is an ever-mounting cumulative argument for the superiority of Christ over the angelic host. Remembering that those to whom the epistle was addressed were Hebrew Christians who had the greatest and deepest reverence for the angels of God, the argument would be most convincing. The contrast with the angels is striking. Of the Son of God it is said:

 

1. He is a King in His Kingdom. (v. 8)

2. He is the sinless one. (v. 9)

3. He is the Designer of the universe. (v. 10)

4. He is the eternal Creator. (v. 11)

5. He is unchangeable. (v. 12)

6. He is the final Conqueror. (v. 13)

7. He is the Lord of angels. (v. 14)

 

None — not one of these can be said of the highest angels.

 

 

THEREFORE! WHEREFORE?

 

No great wonder that the next chapter opens with the admonition:

 

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed

to the things which we have heard, lest at any

time we should let them slip. For if the word

spoken by angels was steadfast, and every

transgression and disobedience received a

just recompence of reward; How shall we

escape, if we neglect so great salvation...”

(Hebrews 2:1-3)

 

 

THEREFORE! WHEREFORE?

 

Two things in these verses are to be noted. They are the first word, “therefore,” and then the repeated use of the pronoun, “we.” He is addressing believers and classes himself with them, saying, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” And then he warns, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” The meaning becomes clear when we remember the teaching of chapter one. The Lord Jesus is presented in His superlative excellency as Creator, Sustainer, Saviour and Intercessor. In view of all that He is, and all He has done for us, He has a right to claim our absolute devotion and obedience, the maximum of service and fruit bearing. That is the force of the word, “therefore.” It demands a “wherefore?” It is because of what He has done for us by His grace that He has a right to expect unquestioning obedience to His claims. Therefore, because of this, “we ought to give the more earnest heed . . . lest . . . we should let them slip.” The writer is not talking about losing salvation. Neither is he speaking to unconverted professing Hebrews, for he would not admonish them to hold fast and not let slip a false profession. He is speaking of our service and rewards. This is made clear by the warning:

 

“How shall we escape, if we

neglect so great salvation”

(Hebrews 2:3)

 

 

NEGLECT — NOT REJECT

 

This text is almost universally applied to the sinner and used for an evangelistic sermon. As an application this may be justified, but the interpretation applies to the saint — not the sinner. Two words hold the key, the words “we” and “neglect.” The “we” implies that he is addressing believers. The word “neglect” assumes that we already possess something which may be neglected. The text does not say, “How shall we escape if we reject so great salvation?” These Hebrew Christians had not rejected the Gospel, but had received this great salvation. They were saved, justified and secure by free grace, but now works must follow. We must do something with our salvation, and because we are saved, it must not be neglected. Conversion is not the end of our salvation, but the beginning. We must go on to perfection. This is the goal and theme of the entire epistle. Israel was out of Egypt, redeemed by the blood, but the goal was Canaan, the land of victory. Yet only a few reached this fruitful land. The great host, though delivered by the blood, and never to return to Egypt, died in the wilderness and failed to reach the land of victory. Canaan is not heaven, but stands for victory here and now, the very thing the Book of Hebrews sets forth.

 

 

WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION

 

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians says:

 

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always

obeyed, not as in my presence only, but

now much more in my absence, work

out your own salvation with

fear and trembling.”

(Philippians 2:12)

 

This is addressed to believers who are saved. He calls them “beloved.” It deals with obedience. They were not to work for salvation, but to work out their salvation. God works it in; we work it out. Salvation is a gift, but it carries responsibilities. We can make it produce fruit, or it can be neglected. To illustrate: Suppose I give you a farm as a gift. It cost you not a cent. It is delivered to you free and clear. You are given a warranty deed. It is yours. Now you can work that farm diligently and make it productive, or you can neglect it. Your neglect will not forfeit your title to the farm, but it will deprive you of the blessing and reward of your labor. So too with salvation. It is a free gift by grace, but your reward or loss at the harvest time depends on what you work out of your salvation. There is an accounting coming, and God will judge every believer on the basis of what he has done with the opportunities, time and responsibilities of salvation. This will occur at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The word is clear

 

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;

that every one may receive the things done in

his body, according to that he hath done,

whether it be good or bad.”

(2 Corinthians 5:10)

 

 

GOOD OR BAD

 

The reward at the Judgment Seat will be for those whose record is good, and those who have neglected their great salvation “will suffer loss.” This we believe to be the meaning of Hebrews 2:3,

 

“How shall we escape, if we

neglect so great salvation.”

 

Escape what? Not hell, for escaping hell is by grace — not works. It is escaping God's disapproval at the time of reckoning. Listen again to Paul:

 

“Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day

shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;

and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort

it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built

thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any

man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer

loss: but he himself shall be saved;

yet so as by fire.”

(1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

 

These indeed are solemn words. Just because we are saved this does not mean we can live as we please and do as we wish. Grace does not give a license to sin or constitute an excuse for carelessness. We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to answer for the things done after we are saved. In view of this clear revelation of God, we can appreciate the solemn warning of Hebrews:

 

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed

to the things which we have heard . . . .

How shall we escape, if we neglect

so great salvation . . .”

(Hebrews 2:1-3)

 

This is the message of Hebrews so sadly overlooked. Thousands of Christians need to learn the lesson that conversion is only the first step in a process which will only be completed when we are perfectly and completely conformed to the image of Jesus. God will not cease to deal with us until we are brought to the maturity of our growth in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

 

 

THE DEMANDS OF GRACE

 

Until we realize that God expects us to bring forth the maximum of fruit, by complete obedience to His will, practical separation from the world and a full surrender of our whole being, we will remain infants in the faith, defeated and fruitless. Have you neglected your great salvation? How long have you been saved? How much progress have you made? Is your Christian service a joy and a challenge? Do you bear the burdens of life without murmuring? Do you have the full assurance of salvation? If Jesus should call you home today, could you meet Him with confidence? Why not take a step forward today? Stop and take careful inventory of your progress, and honestly confess the things you know are hindering you in your testimony, service and assurance. Then come in repentance, ask His forgiveness, claim the promises, and yield your life to Him. Listen to the admonition of John:

 

“And now, little children, abide in Him;

that, when He shall appear, we may

have confidence, and not be ashamed

before Him at His coming.”

(1 John 2:28)

 

I can imagine someone saying, Yes, that is my desire. I am tired of this life of defeat. How may I become victorious and go on to perfection? Hebrews twelve gives the answer:

 

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with

so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every

weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,

and let us run with patience the race that is set

before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and

finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was

set before Him endured the cross, despising

the shame, and is set down at the right

hand of the throne of God.”

(Hebrews 12:1-2)

 

There is the pattern. First, judge every known and doubtful sin in your life, the “weights” that hold you down, the sins which beset you. Confess them and accept His forgiveness. Next, fix your eyes only on Jesus. Get your eyes off self and others. Interpret every experience of life, not in terms of the present sacrifice of suffering, but in terms of future glory. Jesus is our Example, who for the joy ahead, endured the Cross without murmuring, and despised the shame (we only endure the shame) and is today exalted on high as the High Priest, waiting to help you to follow in His footsteps.

 

Don't look back and cry over spilt milk. Don't interpret any experience in terms of today, but translate all of them into terms of eternity. Remember,

 

“. . . no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,

but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the

peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which

are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands

which hang down, [put your idle hands to work],

and the feeble knees [quit stumbling]; And

make straight paths for your feet,”

[begin walking—don't just stand there]

(Hebrews 12:11-13)

 

Go on, go on, start walking. And keep your eyes on Jesus. Don't look to the right or the left, nor behind you, but keep your eye on the goal, and your feet will grow wings beneath you. (Isaiah 40:31b)