NEGLECTING OUR SALVATION
Hebrews 2:1-4
INTRO: We are all familiar with these verses of scripture just read, and we immediately apply them to a lost person when we hear them, and rightly so, because a lost person will not escape Hell if he neglects his salvation. But there is another meaning and another message contained herein as well.
Since Hebrews is a book written to Christians, the message applies to Christians as well. Let̓s see what the writer of Hebrews means when he is talking about Christians neglecting their salvation.
I. TAKE HEED OF THE THINGS WE HAVE HEARD.
A. KJV doesn’t mean what we think it might mean in the last 3 words of verse 1.
1. The truths don̓t slip away for us, we slip away from them.
2. Example of driving, and passing by the place where you wanted to turn. You passed by because you were day-dreaming and not paying attention to what you were doing.
B. Example of a fisherman standing on the river bank, casting a line into the river. It flows by the man on the bank.
1. God is not the fisherman on the bank, he is the river flowing by. He is in the world moving and working.
2. We have somehow reversed the meaning of the term backslider.
3. Backsliding says God stands still and we go backwards, but in reality we stand still while God is going forward.
II. HOW ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT?
A. Since the writer is talking to Christians:
1. Neglect does not mean rejecting Christ.
2. It means not putting your salvation to work after accepting Christ.
B. Escape what?
1. The lost man cannot escape Hell.
2. The Christian who neglects his salvation.
A. Cannot escape the chastening rod of God.
B. He is living an inconsistent and neglectful life.
C. He will also experience:
1. Lack of assurance.
2. Lack of peace and joy.
3. Lack of fruitfulness and rewards.
