The Danger of Drift; Hebrews 2:1-4
ChristJesus is supreme! That's the argument of Hebrews 1 (and the whole book). He is superior to Old Covenant prophets, to Moses, to the Law of Moses. He is the King, He is the Son, He is God - an astonishing thing to hear from a first century Jewish writer!
The writer gives us a very clear, direct application in 2:1-4: if all this is true, don't drift away. I like the image. Like a boat that is unsecurely tied up, which ever so gently drifts away down river while nobody is paying attention. The owner coming down the river bank to the jetty only to see his boat disappearing downstream.
You can turn away from God by direct, downright apostasy. But its much more common for it to happen by drift. Drift is so imperceptible - and that is its danger. It usually only becomes apparent when it receives public notice, and by that point it is often too late to do anything about it.
Why on Earth would Christians drift from this supreme King Jesus? And how does it happen? The writer gives two reasons:
- not paying attention - just getting distracted
- ignoring this great salvation - distraction leads to other things simply being more important and time-consuming, so that people end up simply editing salvation out of their every day thinking
That is the pattern of drift. What starts off as not paying attention to salvation ends up as ignoring it. The best list of reasons for drift is given by Jesus in Mark 4: Satan stops people hearing God's word, trouble or persecution make Jesus seem less appealing, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, desires for material possessions all choke off our attention through distraction.
There are terrible sanctions for ignoring the gospel. V2 say that if there were severe penalties from God for despising the Law given through angels, the penalty for despising the great salvation of Jesus will be greater. Here is the shock: the writer isn't talking about really-obvious God-haters, just about people who drift. People who say "I'm not terribly anti-God, I even go to church sometimes, I just don't give him much thought any more." Gordon Fee puts it well: people who detach themselves from public profession [of the gospel] until it ceased to have any influence on their lives.
That makes me think about me - what influence will it have on my life today? Right now. Will I worship Jesus today? Will I speak about him? Will I flee sin? Will I be conscientious in my work life for his honour? Will I love my wife well and honour my marriage because the gospel is active in my life?
And it makes me think of my church - what influence will it have on their lives today? Will it be any? Or will it be minimal?
And it makes me think about my Bible preaching on Sunday - will it actually cause the gospel to influence? That's the purpose of preaching - that people will not ignore, will pay careful attention to the gospel in their lives, and that their lives (and mine) might be gospel lives this week.
Reader Comments (7)
I think I'm an apostate, or close to being one, and I desperately want to get out of my sin and back to Christ fully, but I think it's too late, or nearly too late. The young man/best friend I was growing intimately close to Christ with said we should part and not be in touch for a while because we were very emotionally attached and thus hindered in our prayers, and I disrespected that despite the Spirit's obvious prompting for me to stay where I was (at my own college instead of seeking him out). I came to the college he's at during that time, and though that weekend I spoke in tongues for the first time, our reconciliation was postponed because he stopped trusting me with his heart, rightfully stopped trusting my motives. And the Spirit continued to speak to me, telling me to stay where I was. But I've continued to ignore the Spirit until the point that this guy no longer wants to talk to or see me, and the Spirit has become silent. The guy gave me the ultimatum "leave me alone" and said that this desire for no contact was not open for debate. I believe that because of the nature of our relationship when we both were enlightened about the pursuit of holiness, we should be reconciled still, and if I don't do all in my power for him to trust me again and for us to be reconciled in Christ, then I am lost, or will barely escape the fire. However I've almost nearly given up on everything... even college classes. We've been separated for a year, and throughout that time I transferred to his school (even though the Spirit kept telling me "you know where you should be!") lying to myself for my reasons for being here. I'm thinking of transferring back, but it would probably be the worst option at this point, because I've lost so many relationships there. I burned a hundred bridges, so to speak. This guy was the love of my life, a true gift from God - we kept each other accountable, encouraged one another in the truth, etc. And even though it was outside the vows of marriage, that intimacy in Christ was what we were working towards. Had I just obeyed, that intimacy restored would be in sight. Last time I spoke to this guy I ignorantly yelled at him like he had done something wrong. I just let my emotions fly after listening to another person tell me I needed to get over him and telling him I thought he was selfish would probably help. False. This kid is so faithful and discerning that he basically ignored me as if I was a child, which I've become in my faith. The last time the Spirit burned in my heart, even faintly, was when I later read his email about his not being open to discussing anything with me (which is understandable). I see no hope of reconciliation unless I can somehow get all of my homework done tonight, and catch up to him spiritually, gradually, by being faithful immediately in all I do. I want to trust Christ so much but my faith is so calloused. I keep letting Satan take over. I have almost no motivation to pursue Christ and learn from him again... every day I fear I get farther and farther and have less and less hope...
Since the Spirit is now silent, I know I'm in serious danger... though I still long for perfection at heart and long to be restored to our Lord's love, and I cry for all these awful compounded sins... I can still feel the Spirit's pull when I really focus, but it's becoming so difficult to understand what's the best thing to do to bring me back to Him. I can't focus on school anymore. I'm focusing anywhere but God's will for my life. While my old friend is growing up spiritually and learning to balance etc., my conscience is seared and I've become a pathetic useless follower. A straggler. I don't have any close honest friends to keep me accountable to God anymore. No one I know knows the truth like this guy. Which makes it even harder to give up in mind. But I've lost the passion for reconciliation. Almost all passion. Everything seems pointless. The gospel has little meaning in my heart. I'm like a ghost, the walking dead. At least my life can serve as a warning to those who think taking the Spirit lightly won't cause problems later. All of my future is horribly tangled up now - financially, socially, mentally, even physically... I used to hope maybe I could just "start over" elsewhere, but that's a lie.
I'm sorry for all the things I've ruined, but even that seems like a lie now.
Is there any hope for me? Are there any verses that say God will help me out of this even though I kept deliberately sinning? I cry continually for all my sins but find it increasingly difficult to get out of them. How can I be useful any longer? Should I stay where I am and finish out my degree here with the hopes that God can still use me for His glory, or return to the other school and try to forget the love I shared with this guy? All my passion for God's love was tied up with him. Now I don't even think to share the gospel with people. I used to pray all the time and fell in love with the Bible! and now I see nothing but words. augh
Hi Jennifer
thank you for sharing such a painful situation. A blog comment isn't going to be the thing you need to help you. I strongly encourage you to find a pastor and church who will help you navigate your way through this. But here are a few comments:
1. Yes there is hope for you. A thousand times yes! God's grace is bigger than all our sin. He forgave us for crucifying his Son which is much worse than anything you relate here. In fact he gave his Son precisely because we are all broken, sinful people who are utterly dependent on him being showing mercy and grace
2. You seem to have come to a realisation that you established patterns of deliberate sin, thereby quenching the Holy Spirit's work in your life. I suggest that Galatians 5:16 and onwards would be a helpful place for you to start to re-engage with the Bible, which tells us how godly desires expel sinful desires. While you are there you might like to look at what God says about you in Galatians 4:1-7. You might also like to look at how Jesus interacts with people who have completely mucked up and who throw themselves on him, such as the woman at the dinner party in Luke 7:36 or the Samaritan woman in John 4. And maybe especially Jesus story of a lost son coming back to the Father in Luke 15.
3. You seem to have completely tied up your walk with God with your relationship with the man you mention. That was always likely to lead to the danger of getting all your spiritual nurture from a person. And finding it spiritually devastating when that relationship no longer exists. From your description I think it likely that having spent a long time getting into the downward spiral, it will take some time to get back out of it again, and you need to get some good help and accountability who will stick with you over a period
4. The first step in breaking downward spirals is to recognise them and know you would like to. It may feel that God is a long way away right now, but in fact he isn't. He receives everyone who turns to him, regardless of how wounded. It sounds like you want to do that, which is wonderful. Don't assume that you will have the strength to press through to breakthroughs on your own. And don't assume that they can only come from the man you mention. I think you realise that isn't going to happen. It may take a lot of bravery to share what you wrote with church leaders, but that is likely to be a first step in the right direction for you, and the necessary admission that you need some help in this situation.
5. The very fact that you are writing in your desperation tells me that you would really like to walk with God again. You will find that he doesn't burn bridges, even if you think you have. It isn't too late.
Praying for you to have courage in the next steps as I write this
So I would be interested to hear your take on the "once saved, always saved" debate.
Say a bit more, Karita. Do you have a particular, clear question you would like me to answer?
Some people say that once you have committed your life to Christ you are always saved. Some people disagree. I knew somebody who was a Christian and then turned away. He seemed to be on fire for God, but then he turned away. So people wondered, was he ever really a Christian in the first place, or did God let him lose his faith? How you answer that question depends on which side of the debate you come down on. This post made me wonder what you think, that's all.
Thanks for clarifying Karita
It is indeed a long standing debate.
As you know some folk will go to passages like John 6:37f where Jesus says "all the father gives me will come to me...and this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me" or Romans 8 "nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ" an argue from there that if God is in control then noone he has called will turn away. Once saved, always saved
And the other side will go to severe Bible warnings not to turn away that clearly seem to suggest that it is possible and that God would allow someone who has turned to him to be lost. eg Hebrews 6 "if anyone has tasted the heavenly gift sna shared in the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance if they fall away". Or they point to specific examples such as Demas deserting Paul because he loved the things of the world too much (2 Tim 4:9). Not once saved always saved
So which is it? My view is that it depends where you are looking from: God's perspective or ours. God does indeed know who is rescued and who isn't, and all who belong to him are completely secure. And we can have a fairly good idea about ourselves too. BUT, I am not God and my view isn't perfect and unclouded like his is. From my perspective the confidence that I will be kept to the end is closely tied up with am I walking as a Christian in repentance and faith (NB not sinlessness) today? If not, why would I be sure that I will be at the time I die? So from my point of view I don't have perfect understanding of who is saved and who isn't (including myself) The Bible warnings are written for me to help ensure that I do walk in repentance an faith today, thereby giving me assurance that I do belong to Jesus. But because they are intended to help me in my human perspective, they don't mean that the salvation of anyone who really belongs to the Father is unsafe or contradict the verses that say God keeps all real believers secure
Does that sound like wanting to have my cake and eat it?
I guess it's one of those paradoxes that always cofuse me...