The Danger Of Drifting: A Warning Against Neglecting So Great Salvation

Introduction: The Unseen Current

Good evening, my brothers and sisters.

Imagine a boat tied securely to a dock in a quiet harbor. For that boat, the most obvious danger is a violent storm—a typhoon with crashing waves and howling winds that could smash it to pieces. But there is another danger, one that is far more subtle, and perhaps even more perilous. It is the danger of a silent, unseen current.

If the rope that moors the boat to the dock becomes loose, if it is not given proper attention, the boat will not crash. It will simply begin to drift. Slowly, quietly, and almost imperceptibly, the current will pull it away from the safety of the harbor. By the time the owner notices, the boat is far from shore, lost in the vastness of the sea, and in terrible danger.

The author of Hebrews writes to a group of believers who were not in a violent storm of persecution, but were in danger of this very thing: a slow, quiet, spiritual drift. And so, in our text this evening, he sounds the first of five great warning alarms in this book. It is a passionate, urgent plea for us to check our moorings, lest we neglect the greatest reality in the universe.

I. The Command: Give Earnest Heed (v. 1)

The warning begins with a logical command, flowing directly from the glorious truths of chapter one.

The Logic: "Therefore..."

The author has just spent an entire chapter proving the absolute supremacy and superiority of Jesus Christ. He has declared that Jesus is greater than all the prophets of old and infinitely higher than the most glorious angel in heaven. He is the Son of God, the radiance of God's glory, and the exact representation of His being. Therefore—because our message comes not from a mere prophet or an angel, but from the Son of God Himself—it demands our absolute and undivided attention.

The Instruction: "...we ought to give the more earnest heed..."

This is not a call for a casual listen or a half-hearted glance. The language here is one of intensity. To give "earnest heed" is to lean in, to focus with all your mental and spiritual energy, to treat the "things which we have heard"—the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ—as the most important message you will ever hear.

The Danger: "...lest at any time we should let them slip."

The original Greek word for "let them slip" paints the picture of that boat drifting away. It means to "flow past" or "drift away from." The great danger for many of us is not a dramatic, sudden rejection of Christ. It is a slow, quiet slide into apathy. It is the sin of becoming so familiar with the cross that it no longer moves us. It is the tragedy of hearing about the empty tomb so many times that it loses its wonder. The rope that moors our soul to the safety of Christ is our "earnest heed" to the Gospel. When our attention slackens, the rope loosens, and the drift begins.

II. The Comparison: A Sobering Argument (v. 2-3a)

To awaken us from any potential slumber, the author now builds an inescapable argument, moving from the lesser to the greater.

The Consequence of Neglecting the Law (The Lesser):

He says, "For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward..." The "word spoken by angels" refers to the Law of Moses given at Mount Sinai. That Law was "stedfast"—it was firm and binding. If you broke it, there was a swift and just punishment. There were no excuses, and there was no escape from the consequences.

The Consequence of Neglecting the Gospel (The Greater):

With that established, he asks the most terrifying rhetorical question in the book: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?"

The logic is irrefutable. If God held people accountable for neglecting His lesser word, delivered by angels, what possible hope of escape could there be for the person who neglects His greater, final, and ultimate Word, delivered by His own Son?

Notice the verb he uses: "neglect." The danger is not just for the person who actively rejects or fights against the Gospel. The danger is for the person who simply neglects it. The one who treats this great salvation as a trivial thing, as something to be ignored or taken for granted. To neglect a fire alarm, to neglect a doctor's warning, to neglect a "slippery when wet" sign—these are foolish and dangerous things. How much more dangerous is it to neglect the salvation of our eternal souls?

III. The Confirmation: A Divine Witness (v. 3b-4)

Finally, to underscore the sheer gravity of this message, the author reminds us of its unimpeachable credentials. Why is this salvation so great?