City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ² For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, ³ how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, ⁴ while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Hebrews 2:1-4 (ESV)

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

Deuteronomy 30:11-19 (ESV)

Reflection

I once heard a story of a German prison guard, during World War II, tell a prisoner that God was not watching.  In the moment those words must have hit like a sledgehammer on the heart of the prisoner.  But when you read the story of the 101 year old prison guard arrested and sentenced to 5 years for crimes committed during the war, you are forced to think a bit deeper.  Five years of prison for about 8 years of bad behavior does not quite balance the scale. The pursuits of human justice are certainly imperfect, but perhaps sometimes they are a shadow of what should be.

Some scholars believe the book of Hebrews was written to the next generation, that is the first generation after the disciples of Jesus. Also, given that it is written with such sophisticated Greek prose, the intended audience was most likely mainly educated Greek Jews who faced many temptations to walk away from Christianity and blend back into Greek society.  The pressure to go along with their former society to avoid the difficulties of the day must have been extreme.  So, encouragement from an elder statesman would seem to be just the thing for the day.

Chapter 2 starts with just such an encouragement.  “Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” But this encouragement is not your typical, “hey, you’re a great guy and you can do it,” type of encouragement.  In fact, it almost sounds like a threat.  “…how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3). The author is not offering what Detrick Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” He was calling out to the souls of these young Christians to be brave and trust in the Lord.  He points out that we have good reason to trust in this call, given that it was brought by angels and proved by Christ’s miracles. We are spiritual beings who live in a physical world.  So, anything that did not call to the spirit of man would be a counterfeit, fleshly, and empty of God’s purpose.  But even though our call is spiritual, God says that it is not beyond us.  What God askes from us is well within what we can do.  We must obey Him. 

Application

With respect to resisting the world and following Christ, I have always been taught that there is a very simple formula; pray and then obey.  But when we pray, we must pray with biblical wisdom, which you get from reading and meditating on God’s word, spending time in fellowship with His people, the church, and using your God given talent for common sense.  God is not asking you to go to the desert to turn a stone into bread or jump from the top of the church building.  He is saying that you should not bow your knee to temptation, and He gives you the strength to resist, so resist.

Yes, some of it is hard, but it is not impossible.

Prayer

Lord, thank You that You do not leave us as orphans, without parenting, protection or guidance. I pray You give me the patience I need this day to hear Your voice, the strength I need this day to obey Your call, and the humbleness I need this day to praise Your work in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.