We live in a society that is increasingly becoming more ambivalent towards Christianity. Yes, I realise there are some who are becoming hostile towards those who embrace Christianity, but generally, that is not the case. We still live in a society where we enjoy the freedom of religion and Christians have the freedom to gather together for worship. We also live in a society where most people have heard about Christianity and what it teaches. They may not know the details of the Christian faith, but most would know that Jesus is the central character around which Christianity revolves.
It’s precisely at this junction which leaves people in our society and in our families in danger of an eternity without Christ and hence without hope. It’s not so much that these people reject Christ outright, which of course is terrible, but more so because they neglect Christ.
Hebrews 2:1-3, encourages the readers to pay much closer attention to what they have heard from the Apostles about the last Word Jesus Christ, and not to drift away from it. In the OT, under God’s law, ever transgression or disobedience received a just retribution. In the NT, with the coming of Christ, there is a far greater responsibility to be obedient and we will not escape retribution if we neglect such a great salvation.
Andrew Kuyvenhoven makes the following comment in his Daylight devotional, “The majority of those who are not saved will be lost ‘simply’ because they have not paid attention to the gospel of the Son of God. They have not openly rejected God’s last and loving word, but they have shamefully neglected it. More people perish by disregarding the gospel than by opposing God’s Word.”
It’s a rather scary thought that work colleagues and those perhaps we commute to work with every day, and even some loved ones will not be lost because they rejected the gospel, but simply because they have neglected it. These people have heard the good news of Jesus Christ, perhaps even sat in churches hearing it explained in detail, but have neglected it.
Many modern cars have a warning bell when the fuel level becomes low. Usually, drivers and those who don’t wish to push do not deliberately reject the warning bell, but many have ended up pushing because they have neglected the warning bell. Jesus Christ is the last word to sinners that they need to repent and believe to be saved into the kingdom. Sinners can choose to reject it but not many do for everyone wants to go to heaven. However, many of those same people neglect the last word and they do so at their own peril.
Most analogies come unstuck if you push them too far and the car one is no different. If we run out of fuel in our car due to our neglect, we could push or thumb a ride and get some fuel and tip it in and be on our way again. Interestingly, neither the writer to Hebrews nor Scripture answers the question, “Who will escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Perhaps the answer is too horrifying. So, let’s be in prayer that our neighbours, friends, family members will not continue to neglect the great salvation and even more as we see the Day drawing nearer. JZ