Hebrews 2:1, commentary and pictures

We must give especially earnest attention to the truths of the gospel heard from Christ, so that they are not allowed to drift and slip away. Letting them slip is like water leaking from a leaky vessel, when what is heard is treated as ordinary and not received deeply and acted upon, so its impression fades and the person falls back harder and darker. Hearing profits only when Christ's words are received in faith, kept in mind, and practiced in order to know Him. Neglect leaves no escape, because the word spoken through angels proved steadfast with just punishment for every disobedience, and indifference and spiritual sloth toward the greater salvation are themselves neglect. Giving heed means holding the beginning of confidence steadfast to the end, obeying God's commandments, exhorting one another daily, and answering His redeeming love with full love expressed in obedience and work for suffering humanity.

Meaning of the Warning

Therefore more earnest attention is required to the truths heard in the gospel from Christ, so that they are not allowed to drift and slip away. Neglect of that great salvation leaves no escape, for the message began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed by those who heard Him, and disobedience even to the word spoken through angels received just recompense. Responsibility extends to how faculties, means, light and knowledge are used, and safety depends on heeding the Lord's Word, obeying His commandments, and parents faithfully teaching them to children. Clear instruction has been given in the Word and the Testimonies to be read, considered and obeyed, and holding fast to the hope of the gospel guards against drifting when desire for new ideas would introduce strange doctrines and weaken influence.

Letting what was heard slip is like water leaking from a leaky vessel. When Scripture is heard as something ordinary rather than taken personally and deeply to heart, its impression fades. Mere feeling under the Spirit's presence in a meeting is not enough, for without holding what was heard and acting on it a person can fall back into old ways harder, darker and more unhappy. Hearing profits only when Christ's words are received in faith as sure testimony, kept in mind and practiced, and such saving hearing leads to knowing Christ. His instruction thus received is for present and eternal good.

The things heard are Christ's ministry and teaching, which are greater than the message spoken through angels and therefore call for especially diligent heed lest their truth slip from memory and life. His words in His earthly ministry do not contradict what He gave through Moses, and the Old and New Testaments together are to be cherished, accepted and applied. Neglect of God's Word lets human theories, practices and misused Scripture replace truth, distort Scripture, confirm misunderstanding, and drain needed truth from the soul.

The things heard also include every principle of truth already given, the evidences God has given, and the clear sanctuary truths and relation of Christ to the sanctuary made plain since 1844. They include the warning and instruction given through the Holy Spirit to confirm faith, especially in the early days of the message, established through years of suffering and self-sacrifice and remaining safe instruction to follow in the closing days, together with clear instruction already given in the Word and the Testimonies. They must be held steadfastly to the end and held as leaky vessels must hold water, refusing strange doctrines, new inventions and confusing excitement, exhorting one another daily against an evil heart of unbelief hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and putting on every piece of armor to stand firm and present truth in clear-cut lines. They must be preserved against misinterpretation, false teaching, removal of landmarks and pillars of faith, and theories contradicting the message borne by diligent Scripture-searching messengers under the Holy Spirit's guidance, for failure cuts away from the anchorage of truth and sets adrift to receive any sophistry that arises, and indifference to this light leaves no escape from snares but stumbling, falling and being taken as rejectors of light.

More earnest heed is demanded by the exalted position of Christ, who was made so much better than the angels. He is the begotten Son to whom the Father stands as Father, obtaining by inheritance a more excellent name, worshiped by all the angels, addressed as God whose throne is forever with a scepter of righteousness, anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows for loving righteousness and hating iniquity. He is Lord who laid the foundation of the earth with the heavens as the work of His hands, who remains unchanged when they perish and wax old and are folded as a garment, and who is seated at the right hand until His enemies are made His footstool, while angels are only spirits and flames of fire, ministering spirits sent to minister for heirs of salvation. In these last days God has spoken by His Son, appointed heir of all things, maker of the worlds, brightness of glory and express image of God, upholding all things and purging sins.

Why Neglect Has No Escape

The verses that follow show why the warning is so serious: the word spoken through angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, so neglecting the greater salvation is more serious and leaves no ground for escape. A mere profession of faith does not make men Christians, and the urgency bears on teachers and believers alike. This great salvation at first began to be spoken by the Lord, was confirmed by those who heard Him, and God bore witness with signs and wonders and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will. It is a message of mercy brought by Christ from the Father for all the world.

Neglect does not require open opposition or open wrongdoing. Indifference and spiritual sloth amount to neglect, especially when a person knows the truth and God's requirements, and cannot escape its penalty. Neglect appears when eternal interests are not made the first concern. Human beings are accountable for how they use the faculties, means, light, and knowledge God has given, and ignoring that responsibility brings consequences and just recompense.

Making the Bible secondary while giving other authors with confused ideas of religion the most conspicuous place and devoted respect is neglecting so great salvation. The Word must not be put in the background as secondary, for it is wisdom unto salvation. It gives the knowledge of God that lasts beyond probation and is of lasting benefit, teaches the things coming upon the world that books generally studied cannot teach, and educates for usefulness in this life and for the eternal life. Neglect of God's Word lets human theories and practices and misused Scripture replace truth. Christ's words in His earthly ministry do not contradict what He gave through Moses, and the Old and New Testaments together are to be cherished, accepted, and applied, yet neglect distorts Scripture, confirms people in misunderstanding, and lets needed truth drain or leak from the soul like water from a leaky vessel.

Indifference to light and instruction impoverishes spiritual experience, because hearing Scripture as something ordinary rather than receiving it personally and deeply lets its impression fade. Those indifferent to light and instruction, including the warning and instruction given through the Holy Spirit to confirm faith especially in the early days of the message, must not expect to escape the snares. That early instruction is not made void by time and trial but was established through years of suffering and self-sacrifice and remains safe instruction to follow in the closing days, to be held as every principle of truth already given is to be held steadfastly. As rejectors of light they will stumble and fall and be snared and be taken, falling into snares. Failure to give more earnest heed to the truths heard since 1844, especially the clear sanctuary truths and the relation of Christ to the sanctuary repeated through God's diligent, Scripture-searching messengers under the Holy Spirit's guidance, cuts away from the anchorage of truth and sets adrift to receive any sophistry that arises, forbidding rising up with new ideas and theories that contradict that message and remove the pillars of faith. Unless God's words are heeded so they are not let slip, the heart becomes evil through unbelief hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Giving Heed in Daily Life

Earnest heed shows itself in the life as simplicity and true godliness in every place and in whatever work is done. It is pressing close to the bleeding side of Jesus Christ. It is willingness to be a partaker with Christ in His sufferings in order to be conformed to the image of Christ. Suffering seen in a person does not prove wrongdoing that calls for repentance, for it may be nothing more than what others have done.

The warning keeps its force through the ages and presses with special urgency upon believers in the last days upon whom the ends of the world are come. It repeats to after generations that have not learned wisdom the same rebuke once given to Israel for going far from God and walking after vanity. Teachers and students alike are to receive and obey it as lesson and admonition. They are to gain thereby a deep, living experience in the things of God.

Giving heed is holding the beginning of confidence steadfast unto the end instead of letting truth run out like water from leaky vessels. It is taking heed to clear instruction already given, refusing strange doctrines, new inventions, and confusing excitement. It is exhorting one another daily against developing an evil heart of unbelief hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and putting on every piece of armor to stand firm and present truth in clear-cut lines. Safety depends on heeding the Lord's Word and obeying His commandments, with parents faithfully teaching these instructions to children. It is answering God's spontaneous redeeming love for all the world with deep, earnest, full love, shown in obedience and in work to relieve suffering humanity and bring souls within reach of the throne, receiving from Christ's fullness grace for grace unto a life that measures with the life of God and an eternal weight of glory.

Giving heed means opening the Word in study, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and taking the Bible as the lesson book. It means putting away the spirit of controversy while each seeks to obtain the light and knowledge needed. It means diligent self-inquiry whether present attainments can stand before a holy God in judgment, accepting the gift of the only begotten Son and the salvation bought at infinite sacrifice in order to become partakers of the divine nature and escape corruption through lust. It means maintaining unity with believers without forcing individuality, keeping right relation to God for Christ's atoning work, learning from Christ daily, and increasing constantly in faith and likeness to Jesus. It means humbling self instead of self-exaltation, letting the great self die so Christ dwells in the heart by faith, and not making religion only Sabbath attendance and hearing sermons while continuing sinful practices but letting light shine in good works. It means intensely studying the grand truths of the Word under a sense of accountability for privileges, being sanctified soul, body, and spirit through obedience to its truths.

True service to God in home and school is as sure as pulpit work. Giving heed there is taking up neglected family duties and practicing home religion. It is making home pleasant and as it ought to be, and educating children to live rightly and fear to offend God. Letting truth slip leads to pride, backsliding, and partaking of the spirit of the world. Giving heed brings conviction, coming forward for prayer, confession of pride and worldliness, and determination to live a different life. Success in educational work depends on the spirit cherished and brought into the school, for profession of faith alone does not make men Christians.

Giving heed includes heeding the light on health reform shining for thirty years showing duty owed to self and fellow man. Letting it slip is refusing Christ's yoke of self-denial by overeating and eating unhealthful food. Such indulgence grows the grosser qualities of the mind, deforms the spiritual life, and hinders spirituality. It makes the message of truth of none effect. By example, especially on the part of ministers, it leads others in false paths.

Those who know the truth are to put away unbelief with its evil heart and practice the self-denial taught in God's Word. Then the message will go with power. Then prayers for the conversion of souls will be heard. Then the good works of believers will lead others to glorify God.