“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” – Hebrews 2:1
The author of Hebrews is unknown but we know that God inspired him, just as He inspired the authors of the other books in the Bible. Also, the book of Hebrews was written for the Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah. These Jewish believers were in real danger of slipping back into the old traditions of Judaism because of their familiarity with the customs and the traditions they had been practice through out their lives. They had been taught that a person comes to God by keeping the law yet no one can ever be justified by the law. Only the Lord Jesus can justify the law and bring us to God through what He did for us on the cross. They needed to place their trust in Jesus alone.
When the Scripture uses the word Therefore it means the reader must pay close attention to what the writer is about to say. The next words call us to receive the message with undivided attention. Our mind our heart and our soul must be ready to hear. This helps us understand why he then says we must give the more earnest heed.
So we ask what had they heard that required such a strong call to undivided attention. The message they had heard was the gospel of Jesus who brought salvation to every one of us.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17
Beloved, this is why hearing is of such great importance. For our Lord Jesus often declared, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” He spoke these words again and again, as though to open our understanding, showing us that hearing is the very doorway through which faith is born and begins to grow. For it is written, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). And even in the book of Revelation, Jesus repeats this same call to every church, testifying to us how serious and vital hearing is. By hearing the gospel, we respond to salvation, for how can a person respond to the good news unless it first reaches their ears and enters the heart?
When we were children and our parents called out to us, it was through hearing that we were able to respond. But there were times when we ignored their voice, and that neglect brought us into trouble, and at times even into harm. In the same way, the gospel calls to us today, and we respond only when we give our undivided attention to hear the word of salvation. This is why the Scripture says, “Many are called, but few are chosen,” For many are called to respond to the gospel’s invitation, but only a few truly respond. And do we not see this in our day? Many give little attention when the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, even though this message only will brings salvation and passes us from death into life. For again it is written, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
Jesus shows us the danger of not giving our full attention when the gospel is preached through His parable of the sower. He spoke of different kinds of soil: some along the wayside, some on stony ground, some among thorns, and some on good ground. He explained that the devil comes and takes the word of God from the heart of the one who hears but does not understand. Another person hears, yet the troubles and pressures of life pull the word away. Another hears, but when persecution arises, the word is driven out and cannot grow. But the one who receives the word as good soil receives seed brings forth fruit, because he gives careful and earnest attention to what he has heard.
Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy yet he has no root in himself but endures only for a while for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold some sixty some thirty. Mathew 13:18-23
The parable of the sower shows us why we must give earnest heed “our full and undivided attention” when we hear the gospel. For only the gospel of Jesus Christ is what saves us from eternal condemnation in hell, there is no other way. But because the devil desires that we join him in destruction, he works to distract us whenever we do not hold and prioritize the words of salvation with all seriousness.
The devil will send the cares of this world to pull our focus away from God, and before we are even aware of it, we begin to drift from the word of life. Our minds become fixed on our own needs rather than on the God who not only gives us salvation but also promises to provide for every need we have. And how many Christians, without realizing it, exchange their faith in God for the temporary riches of this world?
And the devil sends persecution as well, putting fear into the heart—fear of being mocked, shamed, humiliated, rejected, or even harmed. Slowly, this fear can cause us to run from the word of life. We see this in Scripture: Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times out of fear (Matthew 26:69–75). And in the early church, some believers betrayed their own brethren to save themselves from suffering, just as Jesus warned, “Brother will betray brother to death” (Mark 13:12). Fear can make a person step back from Christ simply because the path becomes uncomfortable. Yet the Lord told us beforehand, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). And He comforts us saying, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).
But some hear the word and receive it with earnest heed. We allow the word of life to be planted deeply, rooted and grounded. So that nothing the devil does can pull it out. We trust God to provide for all our needs, remembering that “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We are not afraid of persecution, because we understand that the Lord Jesus Himself was first hated and persecuted by the world. He said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). This becomes a sign that we are walking as He walked, for “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
For us, death is not something to fear, for is a path that transitions us from this life into the presence of the LORD Jesus before His coming. As Paul declared, “to depart and be with Christ… is far better” (Philippians 1:23). To be “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). And once we are with Him, we will dwell in His kingdom forever, where “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying… for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
This was written to the Jewish believers, who grew up believing that by fulfilling the law they would obtain salvation. Yet even to this day, many people create their own ways in hopes of receiving salvation. But what we hold is our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, For it is written, “by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2). And the Lord Jesus Himself warns us, saying, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Revelation 3:11). Knowing that through Him and Him alone. We all must be saved!
But if we do not hold tightly to the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we begin to drift away. Many say, “Once saved, always saved,” and that is true if you never let go of Jesus. For salvation is found in Him alone, and He said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Salvation is secure in Christ, but we must remain in Him, as it is written, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). This is why we must watch, pray, and continue reading the Scriptures not to earn salvation, but to stay awake, to guard our hearts, and to remain aware so that we do not drift away from the word of salvation that saves our souls. For the author of Hebrews warns us,“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).
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