“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angles proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

These are verses that I am compelled to meditate upon every single time I read them. For no matter where I might be in my walk with the Lord, I need to take heed to these words. For if ever I fail to pay close attention to all that I have heard concerning Jesus Christ, I am in danger of falling away. Let him who stands firm, take heed lest he fail. More specifically, let him who stands firm, take heed to the word concerning Jesus Christ, lest he fall.

Notice that the concern of the writer of Hebrews is not a blatant turning away from the faith. It is not our waking up one day and rejecting all we have heard concerning Christ in one fell sweep. No. It is drifting that is the danger. Or more specifically, drifting through neglect that is the danger. Turning from Christ usually does not happen in a moment. Indeed, even if it seems to happen in a moment, that moment is just the culmination of consistent neglect…consistent drifting.

The danger in the Christian life is a the danger of drifting. The danger of coasting. Cruising. Going with the flow. A sort of relaxed mentality that refuses to fight for life. A ‘chill’ mentality that fosters a false security and fails to pay consistent and persistent close attention to all we have heard concerning the Word of Life.

The truth concerning Jesus Christ is so great, so glorious, so awesome that it is deserving of our consistent and persistent meditation. If it is boring to us any day, that is not because the truth itself is boring, but because we have a problem. And we fail to realize the importance of keeping our hearts hot and humble. The words above are plain: if we do not pay consistent close attention to all we have heard concerning Christ, there is a very good chance we will fall away. Consistent neglect inevitably precedes persistent unbelief. Drifting hardens millions more than any one single attack. Our greatest danger is our own tendency to cruise.

And lest we think that a great deal of religious activity guards us from cruising, we are wise to recognize that we can cruise even amidst much religious activity. Practicing the spiritual disciplines guarantees nothing, though such consistent practice is vital. For we must practice the disciplines with a certain desperation. A certain recognized need. A certain realization that we need to keep our hearts hot and humble today. That we need the Lord. That we need Him to guard us from persistent neglect and drifting.

The warning given to us by the writer of Hebrews should serve to produce in us that sort of humbling realization. And in turn, should stir us to consistently and persistently meditate upon the truths concerning Jesus Christ. If we coast, we die. Therefore, we must take pains to consistently pursue, seek, take heed….for our good and the Lord of God.

The book of Hebrews sets forth the superiority of Jesus Christ. From the beginning of the book, we learn that He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature and therefore, superior to angels, and Moses, and the people of Israel, and the High Priests of the Old Covenant, and Melchizedek, and Abraham, and the Temple, and all the animal sacrifices of the temple.

He is superior to all these things because all these things are mere shadows designed to point to Him. He is the substance of all those Old Testament pictures. The focus of all of human history. All of redemptive history. He is the Living God, through whom we find reconciliation and atonement. It is impossible to become his superior.

In this chapter in particular, we learn that Jesus is superior to all the animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant not simply because He entered into the true Holy Place of Heaven (the presence of God) with the sacrifice of Himself, but that He did so once and then took His seat at the right hand of God the Father. The animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant had to be offered day by day, year by year. Not so with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (v. 10-14)

Words such as these are deserving of years of exposition and should stir us to fall to our knees in adoration of the Lamb. Not only that, but they serve to give us a foundation for full assurance, so that we can draw near to God through faith. This is exactly what the writer of Hebrews makes plain in the paragraphs that end this chapter. The implications of Christ’s sacrifice are very practical. They serve to give us confidence and hope right here and now. They serve to change the very foundations of our lives, moving us from a shaking confidence built upon our own performance (or lack thereof) onto the solid rock of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was once for all. The way unto the Father has been opened, so that there is no need for us to make atonement for ourselves. Sure, we might be struggling today. No doubt we have failed the Lord in countless ways. Well then, let us praise Him that our identity is not rooted in our own performance, but in the performance of our Savior. In the performance of Him who is not seated at the right hand of God, always interceding for the likes of us.

Note verse 23: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…” Why? “….for he who promised is faithful.” And His faithfulness is made plain in the sacrifice of the Son. O how desperate I am to understand the good news of Jesus Christ. Not only to understand it, but to really have it sink down deep into my soul…so that I might see clearly. So that my perspective might be changed. My identity rooted in that which is irrevocable. My confidence and hope resting not upon my own abilities, but upon the full and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

O Lord, give us the grace to really know all that is already ours. Help us to understand….to really understand….what Jesus has done.