So
Great Salvation
It is said scripture contains waters
so shallow a young believer can comfortably wade and waters so deep as
to challenge the most mature believer. Perhaps no Bible book better
makes the case for that assertion than the book of Hebrews.
Its target audience is multifaceted.
It is clearly intended to evangelize uncoverted Jews by showing how
Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled every OT Messsianic prophecy, especially
those related to the priesthood and sacrifices. If we accept an
authorship date circa 64 A.D., thirty years after Jesus' earthly
ministry, there may have been Jews still alive who were eyewitnesses of
that minstry who had “tasted” of its supernatural powers. For Jews who
had not actually seen Jesus but experienced apostolic, post-Pentecostal
preaching, teaching and healing, this epistle is for them as well. Jews
who professed faith in Jesus Christ, either by hearing him directly or
by hearing the words of salvation from those who heard him, are
admonished to hold fast to their profession. Gentiles, whether saved or
lost, stand to benefit from its content, whether by the exploration of
Christ's riches or by gospel exposition.
Our text is found in Hebrews 2:1-4:
“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 stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them
that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost,
according to his own will?”
The theme of Hebrews is encapsulated
in three words: SO GREAT SALVATION (2:3). The content of the entire
epistle revolves around this proclamation and explains why the
salvation God offers is so great. In Chapter 1, for example, it's so
great because of its PERSON, the Son of God, who is “so much better
than the angels” (1:4, 8). In Chapter 2, it's so great because of its
PASSION, exhibited in Christ's sufferings (2:9-10, 18) and its
PREEMINENCE inasmuch as all things are in subjection to Jesus
(2:7-8). In
Chapter 4, it's so great because of its POWER unleashed by the Word of
God (4:12). In Chapter 5, it's so great because of the PRIESTHOOD of
Christ (5:1-6). In Chapter 6, it's so great because of its PROMISES to
them who believe (6:13-18). In Chapter 7, it's so great because of its
PERFECTION (7:17). In Chapter 8, it's so great because of its PITY
toward sinners. (8:12). In Chapter 9, it's so great because of its
PROPITIATION in Christ's blood (9:14). In Chapter 10, it's so great
because of the PRIVILEGE it affords the believer to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus (10:19-22) and its PUNISHMENT of those
who trample it under foot. (10:28-31). In Chapter 11, it's so great
because of its POTENTIAL for believers (11:6ff). In Chapter
12, it's so
great because of the PATIENCE it inspires in those who look to its
Author-Finisher (12:1-3). In Chapter 13, it's so great because of the
PERMANENCE, the eternal sameness, of Jesus Christ, upon whom our
salvation rests (13:8).
The words so great
are τηλικοῦτος
(tēlikoutos), “of
such proportions, size or magnitude.” It is only used four times in the
NT. In addition to its usage here, scripture uses it to
describe
our deliverance from “so great a death” (2 Corinthians 1:10), a ship
that's “so great” but controlled by a very small rudder (James 3:4) and
an earthquake during the Tribulation that's “so mighty an earthquake”
(Revelation 16:18). Perhaps no fact calls attention to “so great
salvation” than its contrast with “so great a death” from which Jesus
saves the believer.
In addition, the reader will notice
the chain of custody that was
established by (1) the words of salvation spoken by the Lord himself,
(2) the same words passed on by those that heard him, and (3) the same
words passed on to others who heard them as a third link in the chain.
These words–the message of the gospel—were inspired and preserved in
the pages of scripture. The chain of custodity is now in our hands.
Generations of the faithful with scripture as their infallible
guide have passed on these words of salvation concerning the
Lord
Jesus Christ, the one in whom so great salvation is found.
Our text admonishes hearers (1) to
give the more earnest heed to these
words, (2) to avoid neglect of them, and (3) to expect judgment from
God, from which there is no escape, if we chose the path of neglect.
This passage does have its interpretive challenges. We'll endeavor to
arrive at a proper understanding by comparing scripture with scripture
and considering the target audience. What does it mean to neglect so
great salvation? Is it possible for a born again believer to be guilty
of neglect? We'll seek to answer these questions.
I. The Matter of Giving Heed
The word ought
is δεῖ
(dei), a necessity in the nature of the case. In this case, the
nature of the case is the salvation of the soul. The verb give heed is
προσέχω
(prosecho), a combination of pros
(toward in terms of
direction) and echo
(to have, hold or possess). It was used of bringing
a ship to land for the purpose of mooring it. It includes the idea of
addiction. The picture is that of a hearer of the gospel literally
mooring his life to the words of salvation, addicting himself to them.
The present tense signifies continuous activity as a pattern of life.
The writer further intensifies his admonition by adding the adverb more
earnest. It is περισσοτέρως
(perissoterōs), “to a greater degree, in
superabundance.” How many ropes does it take to moor a ship securely to
a docking platform? The words more
earnest suggest we simply cannot
have too many ropes mooring us to Jesus! The hearer of the words of
salavation should super-addict bimself to them by every means
available!
The writer juxtaposes the ideas of
heeding and slipping as if failure
in the first makes the second inevitable. The word slip is παραρρέω
(pararreō), a combination of para
(to the side of) and rheō
(to flow).
It means “to flow to side of, to drift or glide by.” One can picture a
life preserver drifting by a drowning swimmer just beyond his reach.
This is the only usage of παραρρέω
in the NT. In the OT, however, the
English slip
is used four times. In every occurrence, it's used in
relation to the feet as a spiritual metaphor. There's a causative
relationship between the words of salvation to which one moors his mind
and the steps one takes in life. Slippage in the former causes slippage
in the latter. Contrariwise, heeding the former will prevent the feet
from slipping.
II. The Matter of Neglect
Now we'll examine the
neglect of so great salvation and whether
a genuine child of God is capable of it. The word is ἀμελέω (ameleō), a
combination of a
(without) and meleō
(to care about, to have regard
for). It means “to have no regard for, no concern.” For one to neglect
so great salvation, one must exhibit no concern or regard for it. Does
this sound like a genuine believer could be capable of
neglect?
The text of Matthew 22:1-14 lends
light to this question. Jesus told a
parable regarding the kingdom of heaven. A certain king (the Father)
made a marriage for his son (the Lord Jesus). He sent his servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding; but they would not come
(22:2-3). Two verbs are instructive. Bidden (invited) is
a perfect
tense. Those whom God called had a standing invitation to attend the
wedding. Would not come
is an imperfect tense. The imperfect signifies
continuous action in time past. The invitees continued in a state of
unwillingness to attend. Their lack of responsiveness prompted the king
to send other servants to reissue the call and provide additional
detail—animals are killed, dinner is prepared, everything is ready
(22:4).
Notice the shift in their
attitude. The scripture says: “But they
made light of it” (22:5). Made
light of is the verb ἀμελέω,
the same verb translated neglect
in Hebrews 2:3. Their indifference to
the first call (“Thanks, but no thanks”) turned into outright disregard
for the second (“Get a clue, we've got better things to do!”).
They
went THEIR ways, spurned the invitation of the KING. Those better
things included a farm and merchandise (Eng., “emporium”). But in some,
disregard erupted in rage (22:6). The remnant (i.e., the
ones who had
nothing better to do than rain retribution on the servants)
entreated them spitefully, killed them. We get our English word
“hubris” from the same root. They were bothered enough by the second
invite to treat the servants with rudeness, violence and
death.
When the king got word the invitees
had so treated his servants, his
wrath was kindled (22:7). This time he sent forth his armies to destroy
the murderers and burn their city. But the story doesn't end there. The
wedding was still on, and the king wanted the wedding full of guests in
honor of his son. So again he sent servants into the highways to invite
whosoever to come (22:9). In the end, the wedding was furnished with
guests (22:10). The parable was clealy intended to teach that the
wedding invitation rejected by the Jews would be accepted by the
Gentiles. But the use of neglect with regard to both so great salvation
and the king's wedding invitation makes it difficult to believe a
genuine believer could make light of the gospel. In our Lord's parable,
believers would be those who say “Yes!” to the king's invitation, would
they not? In
other words, when they hear the message of so great salvation, they
decide they have NOTHING better to do than give earnest heed to it. It
seems a genuine believer would be incapable of the neglect Hebrews 2:3
warns against. But an unconverted Jew certainly would, as Matthew
22:1-10 affirms.
But that doesn't deliver the believer
altogether from neglect. Hear
Paul's words to Timothy: “Neglect not the gift that is in thee” (1
Timothy 4:14). Neglect
is the same word, ἀμελέω.
Timothy, whom I
believe was incapable of neglecting so great salvation, was indeed
capable of neglecting the spiritual gift vouchsafed to him by grace. A
distinction must be made between the GIFT of the Spirit and the GIFTS
the Spirit distributes at will within the body of Christ for the
purpose of ministry. Paul admonished Timothy concerning the latter. In
2 Timothy 1:6, he gives the young pastor the antidote for neglect:
“Stir up [fan the flames of] the gift of God, which is in thee.”
The sad fact is some believers live
an entire life without ever
discovering the spiritual gift the Spirit of God gave them. Others
discover their gift and spend a lifetime of service in the church using
it for God's glory and serving others. The rest lie somewhere between
those two bookends. Most believers at some time(s) in their lives allow
the flame of passion for Christ to wane for whatever reason. Fires
turns to flickers, flickers to embers, embers to ashes. Revival is the
business of the Spirit of God, the Giver of gifts, to rekindle the
flame. If we fail to stir up the gift within us, we essentially neglect
it. It is unseemly for one who has embraced so great salvation to
neglect the gift that salvation gave him. But, alas, it happens all too
often.
III. The Matter of Escape
“How shall we escape...?”
begins a rhetorical question. The context provides a point of
reference, as follows: “The word spoken by angels was stedfast, and
every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of
reward” (2:2). The mentions of trangression
and disobedience,
in my
mind, are clear references to the Law of Moses. Scripture says the Law
was “ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (Galatians 3:19).
When God at Mount Sinai wrote the Law on tablets of stone, a host of
angels were in attendance, probably as witnessess and future enforcers.
The writer's point: If there was no escape for violating the Law given
through the auspices of angels, how can there be an escape for
neglecting so great salvation God provided through his Son, whom he
made so much better than the angels?!
The word escape is ἐκφεύγω (ekpheugō),
a combination of ek
(out of) and
pheugo
(to flee). The prefix makes it intensive. It
signifies fleeing out of harm's
way, escaping to a safe place.
Paul used this word to describe the inability of hypocrites to escape
the judgment of God (Romans 2:3), his own escape at Damascus from a
wicked governor as friends lowered him through a window in a basket (2
Corinthians 11:33) and the inability of sinners to escape the day of
the
Lord's wrath after the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 5:3). These usages
paint vivid pictures concerning an escape out of harm's way or an
inability to escape.
It's clear what no escape means for
the neglect of so great salvation.
It's so great a death, eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire.
The believer, however, whom God has delivered from so great a death and
predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, should know that
he or she will not escape the discipline of the Father if they neglect
the gift that's in them. If Timothy was capable of such neglect, we are
as well. And if it was possible for a believer to neglect
(make light of) so great salvation, perhaps no one got closer to
crossing that line than the prophet Jonah. He not only refused to use
(neglected) his prophetic gift to preach repentance, but later lamented
the fact God brought so great salvation to Nineveh.
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