July 2 - Pay Attention

July 2 – Hebrews 2:1-4 – Pay Attention

After what we have just read, we are told to pay close attention to the truth of those words. This is the first of five warnings found in Hebrews. The others are found in Hebrews 3-4; Hebrews 5:11-6:20; Hebrews 10:19-39; and Hebrews 12. This short admonition begins the series as the author pleads with his readers to heed God’s Word.

In Galatians 3:19, Paul tells the readers that the Law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. Here in Hebrews, we find that the message given by the angels was binding (Hebrews 2:2). If the angels gave the Law to God’s people, how much more important are the words that the Son has spoken to us (Hebrews 1:2). The law tells mankind what to do. The Gospel tells mankind what God has done. The law is the knowledge of sin. The Gospel is the knowledge of salvation (Believer’s Bible Commentary).

The law was given by God to the angels to Moses who brought it to the people. The Gospel of salvation came directly from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is the greater loss, rejecting or neglecting … drifting away from this Gospel.

In Hebrews 2:4, we read that God testified to this Gospel of Salvation by offering signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. These signs and wonders were seen while Jesus was walking among the people and then as the apostles began to perform miracles while spreading the Gospel throughout the world.

Hmm, the last bit of this passage is astounding to me. These gifts are distributed according to the will of the Father. We can’t demand that they come to us, we can’t pray hard enough for miracles, we can do nothing. They were never promised to us, they are simply gifts that the Father can give to His children … according to His will.

Do not drift away, do not try to escape the greatest gift of all – salvation. It is a free gift, offered to us by the One who created everything and who has moved heaven and earth to draw us closer to Him.