Five Sobering Warnings

This was written by Clarence DeLoach. It is reprinted here from the September 1, 2003 edition of The Gospel Proclaimer, a weekly publication of the Church of Christ in Washington Court House, Ohio.

The book of Hebrews stresses the superiority of Christ. The Jewish Christians had been brought the messages of Christ by the apostles and prophets (Hebrews 2:3-4). They had not matured in the faith and consequently, they lacked confidence. They were on the fringes, in danger of returning to the patterns of Judaism. They were tempted to hang on to the old temple ritual and its worship.

God wanted them to understand that they no longer needed the old temple. They system was shaking and was about to be destroyed. They were a part of the new, unshakable kingdom. They didn't need the old priesthood or sacrifices. They had a better covenant, a better priesthood and a better sacrifice.

Whenever a Christian departs from Christ, he always goes to the inferior. It does not get better than Christ. In view of that truth, the writer of Hebrews gives sobering warnings that Christians of all ages need to heed.

The Word of God

1. Don't DRIFT from the Word (Hebrews 2:1-4). It is easy to just drift! Drifting is gradual. Drifting is dangerous. Drifting is caused by neglect. The cure to drifting is to pay close attention. Be spiritually alert.

2. Don't DOUBT the Word (Hebrews 3:12-13). A doubting, questioning heart turns from the living God. Doubting leads to hardness of the heart and finally to outright unbelief.

3. Don't be DULL toward the Word (Hebrews 5:11-14). The Hebrews were, "slow to learn." They could not bear solid food. Their dullness had resulted in spiritual sluggishness.

4. Don't DESPISE the Word of God (Hebrews 10:26:39). A deliberate, presumptuous attitude reflects a willful despite toward God.

5. Don't DEFY the Word of God (Hebrews 12:14-25). One may get to the point where he actually refuses him who speaks. Hebrews opens with the declaration that, "God has spoken" and ends with a warning to, "see that you do not refuse him who speaks" (Hebrews 1:1; 12:25).

There is a progression involved in these warnings. If you don't hear the Word, you will drift from it. When you drift from it, you will doubt it for faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). When hearts are hardened, sluggishness results. Sluggishness produces dullness toward the Word. When we become dull, a spiteful spirit results.

Why is it so vital that we store up God's Word, reverentially, in our hearts? Because, as He Himself said in Hebrews 1:1-2, "God who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." If it is our desire to hear God, then we must hear Him through the words of His son as revealed in the New Testament.

In Hebrews we are warned of grave dangers. Let us not allow these possibilities to happen to us. Keep an open, tender, receptive and believing heart toward the Word of God.