The gospel of Jesus Christ is offered freely to any who come to Him.

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; – Romans 10:9

But as a gift, though offered to all comers, it’s not received by all.

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, – John 1:11-12

Some reject God’s offer outright. These have no expectation of eternal life in the presence of God. Some delude themselves with a “good place,” fantasy. Others simply expect an end of life and nothing more. Still, others think hell will be a huge party where all their friend will join them for enteral sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.

Again, these are not the ones being warned in…

Warning #2

For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 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, 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. – Hebrews 2:1-4

Today we talk about neglectors. (Dictionary.com offers this as an acceptable form of the word, I promise.)

Ok, there is some overlap with the drifters from yesterday. But at the core, it’s a different kind of sin. Unlike those who float in and out of faith, these neglectors never pull the trigger.

Like the drifters, they are in church. How do I know? The book of Hebrews is written to the church. It’s not an evangelistic letter sent to Nero to be read to the masses. It’s a letter from an apostolic leader to a group of Jews who gathered to grow in their faith in Christ together.

All the warnings in this book are to the Chruch, so we must be attentive when the writer gives us these danger signs.

How does one neglect?

I think there are levels of neglect.

In most church congregations, some never pull the trigger. They never actually surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. It would be super easy to just fit in with a church family as a neglector today. Perhaps they have a spouse who is connected. Or they come to church with their parents. They have been in church all their lives, and it is always assumed that they are in Christ. They know the lingo. They play along with the church crowd. They know how to look the part.

They can fake worship.
They can fake prayer.
They can fake tears.
They can fake tongues.
They can even fake evangelism.

But they’re in charge of their own lives.

Their church life is an act. They know the truth. They figure when they’re older they can actually “get saved,” but they will not “waste their youth” on religion.

It could be they don’t really think they are so bad.

To a neglector, well, they’ve been good all their lives. They keep the rules. They look the part.

But like the rich young ruler, though they have kept the law, they will not surrender the lordship of their own life to the Lord Jesus.

They want to be their own lord, their own boss, their own king.

But there be great danger in these waters.

The writers says “How will we escape?”

If you’re feeling a tug from the Holy Spirit, neglect Him no more. Turn your life over to Him today.

Thanks for coming by.

Tomorrow–we’ll put a little of the “so great” into our understanding of this salvation. Come back soon.

Ben

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