Drifting Theology

0:00Good morning again.

0:01Hey, preacher.

0:03Hey, good to see you. Turning your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 2 this morning. We're going to be covering verses 1 to 4. And as we begin, I will mention this. I leaned pretty heavily on the outline that is given in the commentary that I have provided for you in the bibliography of your notes. And I tell you that for a couple of reasons. One, so that you have some degree of assurance that I am just not up here making things up and establishing interpretations and outlines solely on my own. The interpretation application I provide is always based on uh proven and tested ideas. Uh ones that have been through the furnace of critical analysis and have shown to be true and beneficial. Um I have no desire to come up with a host of novel ideas about the text. I really just desire to give you what is there. And you'll see a justification for that in just a minute. Secondly, I mentioned those resources to again suggest that you get a copy of some of these for your own personal study. God has blessed us with a wealth of resources to help us mine the depths of Scripture and to offer us these anchor points in the church that we may collectively stay fixed on the truth that is set before us. Far too often, when we assume that we personally can come up with a better interpretation or a better application, we drift off course. So read the Bible for yourself. That's number one. Read it for all its worth, number two, and keep some resources handy with interpretation and application so that you do stay anchored in the truth. And that is more or less where we're going this morning. I'm going to add a few more comments of introduction, though. We very often lament the loss of truth, don't we? From this pulpit, we often lament the loss of truth, but it becomes more evident in election years. The outright lies are apparent, to be sure. But more dangerous are the subtle mischaracterizations of someone or the taking things even slightly out of context. These subtle lies are used to reframe the narrative about someone or about a given subject, and if you do it enough and are persistent enough at it, you can convince people that someone is the next Hitler, for instance. The slow drift is often the most dangerous sort of deception. And while no candidate is perfect and never will be, one party has for a while been trying to drift us towards progress, whatever that really means. And the other is trying to conserve the truths we were founded on. Political or otherwise, I ask, are we trying to uphold and conserve the truth? Or are we progressing towards a future of our own design? How we answer that in politics has temporal and many temporal implications for our lives, that is certain. But more than that, how we answer that question in relation to Christ and his word has eternal consequences. Hear me when I say this, then, that faith in God, air quotes, doesn't save anyone. Muslims have faith in God and are very passionate and active in that faith. And don't clip this next statement out of context and slander me on CNN, but faith in Christ, air quotes, doesn't necessarily save us either. Mormons will confess faith in Christ, but such a faith will not save. Why? Because the object of our faith and the truth about the one in him in whom you are trusting is vital. Imagine getting onto a plane, and I'm sure I've used this analogy before, so forgive me, but imagine getting onto a plane and the and the pilot has never flown a plane before. But you confess your faith in this pilot and trust that he is going to get you to your destination. What incredible faith this person has, we might say. But this is a terrible object to trust in. Faith in a false or a bad object, no matter how great said faith is, will crash you into the side of a mountain. We must have faith to say, but not just any faith will do. It must be true faith. In the true God, Jesus Christ. Everything else progresses us toward destruction. No other object is worth trusting because no other object will save you. How easy it is for us to drift from the true object of our faith and exchange him for a lie. May God once again anchor us in the truth, more specifically in the truth of Christ this morning. So stand with me as we read Hebrews 2, verses 1 to 4. Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by the angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first declared, it was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. This is the word of the Lord. Lord, we thank you again for this word. We ask that you would speak for Christ's sake. It's in his name that I pray. Amen. Interestingly enough, I learned this week that this word in Greek, translated as drift away, is a nautical term. This is the only time this word is used in the Bible, and it conveys the idea of a ship slowly drifting off of course, perhaps because of an absent-minded captain. It can also mean a ship drifting away from shore due to insufficient anchoring. In either case, you can clearly see what the writer is communicating. The drift that he is warning us about is just that: a slow, almost unnoticeable veering off course. This is a grave warning to us that very few people are actively trying to neglect their salvation and neglect Christ. Further, we don't have to be active in such an endeavor to find ourselves in positions of neglect and denial. It doesn't have to always be an active neglect or denial. Just stop paying attention for a few moments, and inevitably the drift begins. Perhaps even more frightening is the reality that far too often the ones drifting away have no idea they're drifting until it's too late. The Bible gives us a handful of examples of this in the New Testament, but perhaps the most poignant comes from Paul. In Colossians, Paul writes a final word of update about who is with him and what he is doing, and he mentions this. Quote, Luke, the beloved physician, greets you as does Demas. And Demas is not a person that we talk about much, but maybe we should. He was a disciple of Paul, he was a follower of Christ. Demas wasn't just a flash in the pan kind of follower either, as far as we can tell. He is mentioned as being with Paul in Colossians. This is what I just quoted. And Colossians was written in 53 to 55 A.D. Okay? He was also mentioned as being with Paul, or Paul mentions him in his letter to Philemon, which was during Paul's imprisonment in Rome, which is around 60 A.D. Okay, so Demas was with Paul and learned from him and was participating in the ministry of Paul, in the ministry of Christ, for at least seven years. Likely more. For at least seven years, this man saw the power of Christ, the goodness of the gospel working to save people. So what happened to Demas? And the last letter Paul wrote in our scriptures, which is 2 Timothy, he says, this, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Did Demas set out with Paul in the beginning with the intent to ultimately desert him? And desert Christ in the end? I would assume not. Certainly his deserting of Paul didn't happen suddenly, right? He didn't just wake up one morning and decide, you know, I just love this present world too much. It was a slow drift. And I can't even put into words how tragic this situation is. And what a crushing blow it would have been for Paul and his ministry and for Paul to experience. Equally as tragic is the fact that such occurrences are happening right now, all the time, within the visible church. There is an epidemic of drifting among contemporary Christian music artists, if you've been paying attention, such that it's painfully unsurprising when I hear of another Christian artist denouncing their faith. For a while it seemed like every month there was another Texas Baptist pastor having forfeited their ministry as a result of drifting into some sin. If you think this can't happen to you, or assume that you would never drift, hear again the words of Paul, therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. As we have been discussing in detail on Wednesday nights, if we do not discipline ourselves for godliness, and if we do not practice such discipline continuously, we will find ourselves off course. So what are we to do? That's the question. And our text gives us then two commands in light of the reality of drifting, and each of those commands hits on kind of two main areas, we'll say, of drifting. And one of those is drifting from obedience to something else, and the other being drifting from truth to a lie. Okay? Those are really two separate kinds of drifting. Uh and I'm going to intermingle these two as we look into these commands because they are inseparably connected. And the first of this, the first of these commands is that we must hold the wheel. Hold the wheel. The beginning of our text commands us to pay attention or pay much closer attention, as my text says. This is actually also a nautical term that means something like hold the wheel or secure the anchor. This idea is plain enough. Keep the line straight and the anchor firmly secured, or you will drift off course and out to sea. C.S. Lewis says it this way: quote, we have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in your mind. It must be fed. As a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by an honest argument. Do not most people simply drift away? In the matter of our belief, as in all matters, Christianity requires hard work. The New Testament describes the life of faith as a fight, a race, and a field which the farmer labors. Paul says, in various places I press on, I follow after, I strive, I fight. End quote. This, of course, begs the question: what exactly are we fighting for? What are we following after? And what is this straight line to which we are holding? Well, chapter 1 of Hebrews is a pretty good place to start, right? We hold the truth about Christ. And we hold the truth of his gospel, his message of salvation for the sinner by grace through faith alone, in Christ alone. The real and true Christ alone. We can argue that we hold more, we should hold on to more than that. We'll make relosely make that case in just a second. But it certainly can't be any less than that. I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to hell the third day. He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. We must, at a minimum, hold that line. You might say, well, that's an easy line to hold, right? No problem. I got that. But it's much more difficult than you initially supposed. Did God create the heavens and the earth? And by extension everything in it, or did you only get it started and now we've evolved from that? Is Jesus Christ the man really our Lord? Yahweh, the great I am, the one who was and is and is to come? Is the person of Christ really that? Surely you don't think that Jesus was actually conceived by and born from a virgin woman. You see how then, in even an otherwise simple statement of Orthodox Christianity, the drift can begin. And once it begins, it's very difficult to pull back a drifter. I do want to be clear about something here, and providentially as was clarified in Sunday school this morning. Salvation is a work solely of God given to us by faith and the justification that follows. Further, if not for Christ's continual intercession on our behalf, we would all drift away. In saying everything that I have said and will say this morning, I do not want to put a burden on anyone to save themselves or to keep themselves, because that would go against the very gospel that we're preaching here. It is a great joy to us and the best possible news that Christ has saved us by his work, and that Christ is keeping us by his work. Praise and thanks be to God for this. I can't, however, and shouldn't ignore the commands given to us to pay attention or to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And on that point, allow me to quote two men much, much wiser than I. Martin Lloyd Jones says this quote, in the matter of our righteousness and justification, we can never say too often that we do nothing. We can do nothing. It is entirely the work of Christ. But once we are saved and given this new life, then the progress, a progressive work of sanctification does not call for passivity, and we are exhorted to activity. J.C. Ryle, quote, I will never shrink back from declaring my belief that there are no spiritual gains without pains. I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing in his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to obtain much holiness who is not diligent about his Bible reading, his prayers, and the use of his Sundays. End quote. It is his work that has saved us and is keeping us. But now, in light of such an incredible gift as we have been given, we must hear the words of Paul and the author of Hebrews. We must press on. We must follow after, strive for, and fight for. We must hold the wheel on the truth of this amazing grace that has saved us. Okay, there are very few Christians who don't want to grow in grace, and I think that's a fair enough statement. There's very few Christians who don't want to grow in grace and in holiness and don't earnestly desire to be sanctified. But the means by which we get there is the issue. The second command our text gives us, related to the first, which was hold the wheel, is hold the truth. Hold the truth, our text said we must pay a closer attention to what we have heard. What we have heard. Okay, I notice I said ordinarily because God does at times in past, present, and we'll assume future work in special or particular ways. But ordinarily, though, sanctification does not occur through emotional experience or secular methods. It does not. I don't have time to go through all those various ways this morning. But a Christian is enticed into the pursuit of holiness through the learning and practice of various charismatic gifts, the repeated exposure to emotional spiritual experiences, or even the practice of prolonged or repetitive prayers, these are ways in which Christians can be confused into saying. Again, to be sure, God can use any of those things to sanctify in spite of their otherwise misapplication, but more often than not, such things like that are the beginning of a drift. What does the Bible command us to do, or what the Bible does command us to do, is to pay attention to what we have heard. This is perhaps a less obvious way of saying to prevent drift and to participate in willful and proper sanctification, devote yourselves to diligent study and application of God's word to your heart. To prevent drift and to participate in willful and proper sanctification, devote yourselves to diligent study and application of God's word to your heart. To support that statement, I give you two verses. John 8, 31 and 32. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. That is to say, that if you abide in and cling to the word in flesh, and the words given to us by the word, you prove yourselves to be a true disciple of Him. Further, a disciplined abiding, a discipline abiding in the Word will reveal the truth about God, and such revelation is the only means by which there is any possible freedom. Such true and lasting freedom can be had and is given through the knowledge of this word, both spoken and in the flesh. Okay, John 17 is the second text I'll give you. John 17, 17 to 18. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth. The prayer of Jesus shortly before he went to the cross to right, went to the cross, promises sanctification. In this prayer, Christ promises sanctification for all those whom he is praying for, namely those for whom the Father has given him and those for whom he is going to the cross for, right? These are believers. How is it then that this promised sanctification will be given according to Christ through truth? And where may that truth be found? In his word. In his word. One more quote for you this morning. This is from Donald Barnhouse. Quote, it is the word of God that can establish the Christian and give him strength to overcome the old forces and to live the new. It can never be done any other way. You cannot find even one Christian on this earth who has developed into strength and wisdom and witness in the Lord who has attained it by any other means than study and meditation in the Word of God. End quote. Strong words. I again say that I have little doubt that many earnestly desire to grow in strength and in wisdom in the things of God, but we must never neglect the clear and prescribed way in which the strength and wisdom is obtained. Holding the wheel and holding the truth. Specifically his word. We can certainly see through even a casual reading of the Old Testament that God punished failure according to the Old Covenant, right? Even a person with only a slight acquaintance with the Bible would surely proclaim that the God of the Old Testament seems to be very angry towards sinners. And he is. Has something changed in God's disposition towards sin now? I would say no, of course not. What changed is that he has given us a final and sure way of escaping judgment. That is, faith in his Son Jesus Christ, the word become flesh. And far too often, in an attempt to reduce the severity of God and his judgment, we put man back under the same bondage that Christ has set us free from. I will explain that. How often is it said that God is a God of love, right? The God of the New Testament is a God of love. And one only needs love. That is love to God and love to one another, and they will be saved. How often have we heard this? For how can God condemn anyone who just loves one another? If we are diligent, though, about holding the wheel, about holding the truth, the truth that is actually freeing, we would see that Christ did not relax the condemnation of the law, but rather he elevates it. Do you love your brother? It's a question for you to consider. Do you love your brother? Have you ever been angry with him? Then according to Christ, you are not only unloving, but you're also a murderer. Just love one another, they say. But do you have any idea how impossible that is? Read 1 Corinthians 13. Have you ever been impatient with someone? Have you ever been unkind? Have you ever envied someone or been rude to them? If you can answer yes to even one of them, and I would argue that we all answer yes to all of them, possibly daily, then you do not just love one another. You don't. And if you could ever hope to just love one another, you would have to reduce what love actually is to such a sorry and pathetic shell of true love that would render such a love that you possess worthy of only Hollywood or a soap opera. Such a love will not save, though. It cannot save. It's not love, really. There is, however, a love that does save. A love that was declared before the world began. And a love that was given to us in the flesh and attested to by those who heard him. A love that was confirmed through a message and a very good one at that. A love that was validated by signs and wonders. A love that is further confirmed through the various giftings that all serve to point us back to the source of real love. The God of our salvation. It is only in Christ that we are saved. It is only in abiding in and holding fast to his great love. His great love. Do not neglect so great a salvation and do not trade it for any other. The true Christ. Trust in him alone and cling to him alone. Set your anchor fast to his redeeming work at Calvary. Hold your wheel straight down the line of his truth. Pay attention to his good news. Meditate on his good word and do not drift from it. Uncharted waters may seem enticing. Novel ideas about love and salvation may tickle your ears, but do not listen to this siren song. Hold the wheel. Hold the truth. Abide in Christ, and you shall surely sail to glory. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you as always for your word. We thank you for the truth that you have given to us in your word. We thank you, Lord, that you have commanded us to pay attention to what we have heard in your word, Lord. Give us the strength to do it. Lord, open our hearts to receive your word anew every day. Help us to delight in your word, to love your word and your law, Lord, to cling to it, to cling to you, Lord. Thank you for the salvation that you've given us in Christ. We ask all these things in his name. Amen.