Hebrews 2:1

Hebrews 2:1

Pay attention!

Chapter 2 of Hebrews starts with a warning! Firstly, it is important that we reflect on what we have been told and what we have heard about Jesus Christ. Remember, this was written at a time before the New Testament Scriptures were collated and made available to the infant church. The only way to receive the message, the Gospel, was through word of mouth. We greatly underestimate this today, tracts, pamphlets, books, on-line sources are all great, but the message was first passed on simply by speaking it and the recipients simply heard it! Sharing our testimony and the Gospel is primarily a “word of mouth, person to person” responsibility and that will never change.

What was it that these early believers heard? It was the news that God had come to the world in human form and that He had been crucified for our sins and He rose from the dead. The message was about Jesus; it gave the world a hope that had never existed before or since. The Apostles and others went on to make the links with their ancient Scriptures and to teach the new infants in the faith, how Jesus Christ had now fulfilled and unlocked truths that had been hidden for centuries. These were exciting times; the world had never heard or experienced anything like this. That is why it was so important that the new believers hung on to what they had been taught and treat the message with respect, but they must also give full attention as to how they should live in the light of it. From the very first, there would be endless lures and temptations planted by the enemy to cause young disciples to drift away from the faith. Nothing has changed, we too need to pay the most careful attention to what we have heard.  

 

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