#45.

When God's Word is Preached, it is an Anchor for the Soul

Hebrews 2:14 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. The writer to the Hebrews issues a solemn warning to his readers. They were not to neglect the Word of God which had first been spoken by Jesus Himself and was passed on to them by those who heard Him directly - his Apostles. God confirmed that the words they spoke were His words by enabling them to perform authenticating signs and wonders. This, he says, is consequently a superior word than that received by God's people in former times, which had been communicated to them not by the Second Person of the Godhead, but by angels. Nevertheless, there were strict penalties for failing to pay attention even to that word. So, he reasons, what will happen to the readers if they do not pay close attention to the superior word, and as a result they drift away from it? Let's apply this to ourselves. We have the completed revelation from God - the Bible. God has ordained that this should be spoken to us by those He has appointed as preachers of the Word. Aren't we under the same obligation to pay close attention? Note especially, though, that there is a link in the passage between failing to pay close attention to the Word and drifting away from it. The Word is a mirror for our souls, in which we may look to see our sins and shortcomings so we can confess them and repent of them. But if we do not continue to gaze at our reflection in the mirror, we will forget what we look like and we will cease to be doers of the Word. It is a perilous thing, then, to absent ourselves from the place where the Word of God is being preached. It is taking a first and very significant step towards fruitlessness, loss of assurance, backsliding and even apostasy! It will not seem like it at the time - because as we begin to drift away from the straight and narrow path there will only be a short distance between us and it to begin with. Over time, though, and almost imperceptibly, that gap will widen and we will lose our power and our consciousness of God's smile. This is most likely a major reason for the weakness and lack of holiness in large parts of the church today. Dear believers in Jesus, we need to pay much closer attention to the Word preached, so that we do not drift away from it!

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