“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip,” Hebrews 2:1.
This is the first verse of the fourth chapter allocated for reading today (7th November) by Rev Robert Murray McCheyne in his excellent ‘Bible Reading Calendar’.
What a wonderful verse this is! C H Spurgeon often spoke of verses leaping out at him crying, ‘Preach me, preach me’!
This verse did demand of me that I pass a few remarks upon it.
I. THE ACTION THAT ARISES FROM A GREAT TRUTH.
“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which” He has spoken!
The word ‘Therefore’ throws us back upon earlier verses in chapter 1, in order to understand why Paul is urging upon us this response.
The chapter 1 of Hebrews has the setting forth of the glories of Christ our Saviour.
1. God has spoken unto us by the Lord Jesus in this present age. Yes, He spoke in “time past by the prophets” and of their witness we read: _“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,” Acts 10:43.
What was spoken by the prophets is more fully revealed and enlarged upon in the New Testament.
But now “in these last days”, God has “spoken unto us by his Son”. This same indicator of time is used by Paul in 9:26.
“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
What divine and ultimate authority we have in the Words of Christ! What folly to ignore or disbelieve or disobey His Word!
2. Christ is “heirs of all things.” verse 2. He is the One to Whom will come the ultimate and absolute possession of ALL THINGS!
Presently, the Saviour is deemed worthy of little or no honour by men and His Word and Name, which is above every name, are treated in a most shameful way by kings and princes, presidents and parliaments, peoples and nations!
That will not always be the way!
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:5-11.
Christ, in order to redeem His elect, “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
But as a result of that undertaking of His Father’s will to redeem His people, there is coming a day when God shall highly exalt him before all the world and “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
That being so, how dare we neglect or ignore His Word?
3. Christ has “made the worlds”. It was His Word that brought forth the universe out of nothing!
“And God said . . .” Genesis 1:3. This truth is repeated in many places throughout the Bible. None more plain than John chapter 1.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made,” verses 1-3.
What utter submission is due to the Creator of all things?
What bold and brazen and outright folly it is to defy the Creator and reject His commands!
Yet, day and daily across the world, and in no place is this rebellious defiance more evident than here in Ulster, even amongst the ranks of those who profess faith in His name!
The devil blindly determines to accomplish this and fills the minds of fools that they too can successfully defy God but heed just how the devils folly will end!
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,” Revelation 20:10.
Those who shared his foolhardiness will likewise share his fate!
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:15.
Dear reader, see that your name is written down in that sacred register. There can be no heaven for you if your name is absent from that roll.
“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life,” Revelation 21:27.
The mark of having your name in the Lamb’s book of life, is to be delivered from being defiled by sin and separate from the abominations of this world and engaging in falsehood.
This can only come about by the experience that Paul said the believers in Corinth had enjoyed.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God,” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Make sure that such is your experience, reader.
4. Christ “himself purged our sins”. Who else has a better right to obedience than the One who has “purged” away our sins and made us ready for heaven?
Christ’s blood-shedding warrants our immediate and full-hearted obedience.
5. Christ is infinitely higher than the angels. “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Verses 4-14.
It is for these reasons that Paul says: “THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.”
II. HAVING GIVEN US REASON WHY WE SHOULD GIVE EARNEST HEED TO GOD’S WORD, WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
1. We must bear in mind that we have every evidence that God always recompenses sin! “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward,” Hebrews 2:2.
When the words spoken by angels were defied, then judgment followed for they were speaking with God’s authority.
2. Likewise, the words of the servants of God, when rejected, were followed by judgment, for they being sent of God, spoke with His authority. That is illustrated innumerable times in Holy Scripture! Here is one example.
“Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi,” Numbers 16:1-7.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation,”
Numbers 16:23-33.
It is no light thing to defy and reject the Word of God spoken by the most humble of individuals!
3. There is no escape, either in time or eternity, if the Word of God is neglected. “How shall we escape,” says Paul!
I recall hearing of a Gospel tract produced by someone which had on its front, in very large letters, ‘WHAT MUST I DO TO GO TO HELL?’
When it was turned over for the answer, the page was blank!
The simple message was, WE DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO GO TO HELL!
That will happen simply as a result of the natural disposition and actions of the unregenerate sinner!
By nature we were born facing hell and immediately began to stride downward to the pit.
This the Bible declares unmistakably.
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” Ephesians 2:1-3.
4. This is an age of indifference toward the Bible! The words of verse 1 of chapter 2, demand attention! “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” This carries the meaning of letting something slip through your fingers as a leaky container would allow water to escape!
Carelessness with the truth of God today is abounding. The Bible is not read diligently, reverently and constantly. It is not seen, as it should be, as the only rule of faith and practice.
Even in the pulpit, it is not given the proper regard that it ought to be!
The thoughts and sayings of men are elevated above it. More regard is given to the proud presumptions of men, and their words and notions are often quoted more frequently in sermons than the living and everlasting Word of God!
Paul employs another word to show what may occur regarding God’s Word, “If we neglect.”
This Age
The ’spirit of this age’, which has an impact upon us all if we do not recognise its workings and strive to resist and reject it, entails a ‘letting slip, a neglecting’ of the Bible!
God’s Word has ceased to be a ‘reference book’ for politicians, merchants, school teachers and even the majority of so-called ‘ministers’!
Gone are the days of large and prominent displays of Gospel verses. There have been protests against such. Whatever we do, we must not insult the foolish foibles of the heathen!
Thus removing public displays of God’s Word helps remove it from the public mind and memory!
There is to be seen again the attitudes toward the Bible that were displayed in former ages.
Paul says that “in the last days perilous times shall come”. Days in which “As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith,” 2 Timothy 3:1, 8.
There is not the strong preaching of God’s Word in which it is plainly applied to the sins of this age. That is because too many in the pews delight in such sins and there might be objections or even departures if such proper preaching took place.
The doctrine of ‘live and let live’ is practised frequently in pulpits.
Let it be remembered that such attitudes and behaviour were the forerunners of the descent into apostasy within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Methodist Church in Ireland and the Episcopalian Church of Ireland!
Tolerance
Any who thinks it cannot happen to us is a complete and utter fool. Indeed, any who think that there are not very obvious signs that there is a slide toward that dreadful and damnable conclusion have shut their eyes and ears to that which is becoming ever more obvious!
The tolerance of support for sodomy and its associated perversions; tolerance of empty, lifeless sermons; tolerance of unscriptural fellowship and communion with those in rebellion against God’s call to separation from apostasy; tolerance of the ‘music’ and ‘songs’ of ungodly men and linked to worldly entertainment — these and other departures from the holy path that the Lord would have His people walk in these times, are all too evident around us!
The simple call to return to the ‘old paths’ is resented, rejected and resisted by every carnal method available.
All of this simply entails a ‘LETTING SLIP THE WORD OF THE SAVIOUR!’
Rev Ivan Foster (rtd)
8th November 2026