Pay Attention

Rev. Leonard Reiss

Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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As believers, we cannot afford to become neglectful in our Christian walk.

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Transcript

The cost of not paying attention is very expensive. The check engine light comes on and it gets ignored for some time. Suddenly, there’s a sound coming from under the hood of the car that sounds like metal being twisted and contorted in ways that put a pit in your stomach.

Or there’s the class syllabus that comes out with the final project due date. Several check point dates are given along the way to help plan and plot your work so as to get done on time. You’ve written major project papers before; you’ve got this. Somehow, along the way, all kinds of activities come up that are much more enjoyable than the drudgery of that paper. But you tell yourself, you’ve got this. Suddenly, the due date is later this week and you’ve somehow not even begun. How did this happen?

Or maybe you’re in a relationship in which you’ve poured your life into and you’ve finally gotten comfortable with each other. Then a job comes along and you suddenly pour yourself into that job. You no longer take time for that special person who used to mean everything to you. You just have to work harder at that job so that you will have the success you want. Suddenly, you come home to an empty house with a note on the table explaining that you have not been paying attention to that which is most important, so they’ve decided to leave and go someplace else, leaving you without their companionship.

There are so many examples we could think of that show the pain of not paying attention to what is truly important. The writer of Hebrews takes some time in these four verses to remind Christians of the need to pay attention and not get sidetracked.

As believers, we cannot afford to become neglectful in our Christian walk.

Don’t Neglect What We Have Heard. - 2.1

Hebrews 2:1 NASB95

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

For this reason, is a phrase which carries great importance. The reason, that we should pay much closer attention, is because of what was written in chapter 1 about Jesus being God and greater than the angels and all that there is. If we don’t pay attention based on Who Jesus is, we are not paying attention to God.

Notice, that it seems the writer is including himself in the admonition in verse 1. Because of this, it is not necessarily a plea to unbelievers, but to believers. Unbelievers would not have access to this sermon; only those who were believers. Yet, at the same time, I believe the Spirit of God uses His Word to impact whomever He chooses. It is entirely possible, like in any church today, that there were those who were all too familiar with the things of Jesus, but were only participants and not genuine partakers. We definitely get this impression throughout the book of Hebrews.

There are two very important words (or phrases in the English) that we need to understand. Pay much closer attention, along with do not drift away. The first phrase is emphatic in that the believer must give all diligence in our attention to everything we have heard and know about Jesus. It does no good to simply know the facts and not allow that information to become a part of who we are and how we live. The second phrase is a bit like an explanation of what happens if we don’t pay attention; it slips away due to carelessness.

Remember my opening illustrations? I don’t believe there was intentionality in any of those scenarios. Instead, it was a gradual process that led to a costly ending. In the language that was used, which often referred to ships and harbors and docks, the writer seems to be cautioning about the danger of not paying attention and just floating right on by the harbor or into the dock, carried along by the waves, the current, and the wind. The writer seems to focus on the individual who might be a bit careless; he’s not paying attention.

At this time, most Jewish people had heard the gospel message. They were familiar with hearing about Jesus and what He had done. We can imagine that some of the Jewish people were intrigued by the message. Yet, for the readers of this message, the concern seemed that they had forgotten about the freedom that was theirs and were about to go back to the ways of the Law.

Sadly, it seems that the majority of the Jews had chosen to ignore or neglect the message. They were unwilling to pay attention so that the Word of God got ahold of them and changed their lives. That is why our hearts ache when we share the love of Christ and the need to receive Him as Lord and Savior, yet people choose to drift right by the safe harbor of salvation. It has been stated by many that all a person needs to do to go to hell is to do nothing.

However, for the Christian, we need to recognize that our testimony and our experience of the joy of our salvation is greatly hindered when we don’t pay attention to what we’ve heard through God’s Word. It is so easy to become carnal, as we find ourselves looking more and more like the world. It’s easy to be caught up in the moment’s world or local events and not pay attention to what we’ve heard. When that happens, nobody seems to be keeping their eyes on Jesus.

Don’t Neglect What We Have Been Given. - 2.2-4

Hebrews 2:2–4 NASB95

For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

The beginning of verse 2 is nothing less than a recognition that this Word spoken through angels is indeed unalterable. It is unchanging and absolute. Such was the law that if any part of it were to be broken, it seemed that the death penalty was inevitable. In other words, any infractions against the Law were punishable by death.

What exactly is being discussed about the breaking of the law? The writer uses two different words: transgression and disobedience. We might compare it to the idea of the sin of commission and the sin of omission. The first involves intentionality and an act of the will. The second involves neglect or passive laziness.

Whether one likes it or not, or even considers it fair, the punishment for breaking God’s Law was and is death. The reason is that when a person breaks God’s law, it shows that one is willing to do whatever they want to do, regardless of what God says. However, Jesus Christ provided a greater way with His substitutionary death on the cross. This death penalty is what we’ve been set free from; the penalty for sin. If we’re paying attention to what has been shared with us by God, then why would we want to go back to an old way that was not perfect? Why would we want to behave any way which denies that we have been set free?

Warren Wiersbe has often told the story of the pastor who preached a series of sermons on “the sins of the saints.” He was reprimanded by a member of the church. “After all,” said the member, “sin in the life of a Christian is different from sin in the lives of other people.” “Yes,” replied the pastor, “it’s worse!”

The individual who has had the light presented to them has the greater accountability. We remember that Christians cannot be rejecting salvation, since they’re already saved. However, a Christian can neglect what it means to be saved, namely, growing in Christ. The individual who understands the Gospel message, yet chooses to go their own way, will experience a severe punishment. The individual who hears and knows the gospel message, but ignores it will still experience death, eternal separation from God.

We’ve met or even used to be that type of person; the one who understands and believes what Jesus says, yet is unwilling to take the final step of surrendering their life to Jesus Christ for their own salvation. This is one of the saddest situations I can think of in that the person has all the information to make that most important of all decisions, yet be unwilling to accept Christ as Savior, thus choosing an eternity of hell.

John MacArthur shares the following store: I will never forget the lady who came into my office one day, informed me she was a prostitute, and said, “I need help; I’m desperate.”

After presenting the claims of Christ to her, I said, “Would you like to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord?”

“Yes,” she replied, “I’ve had it.” She was at the bottom and knew it. So she prayed a prayer and seemingly invited Christ into her life.

I said, “Now, I want you to do something. Do you have your little book with you that has the names of all your contacts?” When she replied that she did, I suggested, “Let’s take a match and burn it right now.”

Looking surprised, she responded, “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said,” I explained. “If you really met Jesus Christ as your Lord, if you really accepted His forgiveness and are going to live for Him, let’s burn that book and celebrate your new birth right now and just praise the Lord.”

“But it’s worth a lot of money, a lot of money,” she objected.

I said, “I am sure it is.”

Putting the book back in her purse and looking me in the eye, she said, “I don’t want to burn my book. I guess I really don’t want Jesus, do I?” And she left.

My friends, the evidence is all there and has been proven multiple times and in multiple ways. Jesus Christ made the gospel clear and the need for salvation obvious. Jesus did it by His very words and by the works which He did. The apostles continued preaching what they had seen and heard. But even more powerfully, is how God further confirmed Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah. He did it through miracles, signs and wonders through the apostles. They were able to do what Jesus did. We are armed with all of that certainty, so we ought to want to pay attention and not neglect what we know we need to be doing. For the individual who has the information, but had not yet experienced salvation, they need to understand, that to debate as to whether Jesus is the real deal, with all of the evidence, is like refusing to believe what God stated.

I appreciate how the Holy Spirit caused the writer of Hebrews to add at the end of verse 4, according to His own will. In other words, miraculous events to confirm that Jesus is God, was from God and could not be called up at will by any human. Dr. Earl Radmacher, president of Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, once told of his receiving a pamphlet in the mail that gave the steps necessary to get the Holy Spirit. First you were to say two phrases, “Praise the Lord” and “Hallelujah,” three times faster than normal for a period of ten minutes. If you did that long enough you would lapse into a strange language and then get the Holy Spirit. That is as ridiculous as it is blasphemous. Gifts of the Spirit are according to His own will, not our efforts.

The apostle Paul, further explains in

2 Corinthians 12:12 NASB95

The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.

Simply put, these miraculous signs and wonders were for that particular period of time and are unnecessary today, since we have the completed Word of God.

1 Corinthians 14:22 NASB95

So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.

And they were for unbelievers, not believers. Today, God confirms by His Holy Spirit, using the Word of God. The Holy Spirit has also enabled people to carry on ministry in the local church through spiritual gifts which He chooses.

Conclusion

My friends, God alone knows our hearts. My desire is that everyone in this sanctuary and listening online know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. However, I know only too well, there may be some who know all about Jesus, and even believe all the facts and information about Jesus, yet are still unwilling to surrender their lives to Jesus.

Whether you’re a man, woman, or a child; young or old, if you don’t know that Jesus is your Savior, please do not neglect so great a salvation. You never know when you drift so far away that there may never be another opportunity. As the Bible says, Today is the day of salvation.

For the believer, we must be careful to pay close attention to what the Word says. Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the affairs of this world, so as to drift away. If a believer drifts away, then our testimony is greatly harmed. All that is done will be like chaff and ashes. The joy of your salvation will be simply being saved, without an effective witness.

With all of the evidence and all that we know, it only makes sense to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and do what His Spirit requires of us. We must pay attention and not drift away from where God wants us to be.

Let me close with a story found in a history of hymns. The next time you sing “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” recall that the composer, Robert Robinson, was converted under the mighty preaching of George Whitefield, but that later he drifted from the Lord. He had been greatly used as a pastor, but neglect of spiritual things led him astray. In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who was evidently very spiritually minded.

“What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?” she asked Robinson, handing him the book. It was his own hymn! He tried to avoid her question but it was hopeless, for the Lord was speaking to him. Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the Lord.

“But these ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing,” the woman assured him, and through her encouragement, Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord.