Are You Walking or Gliding?

Are You Walking or Gliding

Pastor Russell Henderson

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

 (Hebrews 2:1 NIV)

There’s an old saying when it comes to studying the Bible that anytime you see the word “therefore”, it is an indication that you need to stop and notice what it is there for.  I know it is bad grammar, but it helps us to know that something important is being stated.  Hebrews 2:1 is no different.  In Hebrews chapter 1 the author built a case for Jesus and why he is greater than the angels.

God never called any angel a Son, but He did Jesus.  God never commanded for any angel to be worshiped, but He did Jesus.  God never gave any angels a place of honor in heaven, but He did Jesus.  Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and His words are the only words of life.  Therefore we are instructed to “pay the most careful attention…to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

What is it, then, that we have heard?  The author is referring to the Word of God—Truth.  He is referring to the commands and teaching of Christ.  He starts by saying that we should pay the most careful attention to them.  The Greek word for pay attention  means to hold tightly to, cleave to, and even be addicted to.  The Greek word for most careful means extraordinary or more than normal.  So, the author is saying that the truth of the Gospel is so important that we need to hold so tightly to it that we even become addicted to it. 

When someone is addicted to something it becomes a part of them.  It  consumes their thoughts and they will act upon that addiction any chance they get.  That’s the way that we are to be with the Truth of the Gospel.  It should consume all of our thoughts.  It should be the first and last thing we think about in the day.  It should become such a part of us that we can’t help but act upon it at all times.  Isn’t that what James instructs us to do in James 1.  We should not be merely hearers of the Word, but doers.  When we live a life of paying the most careful attention to the Word of God we will naturally become a doer of the Word. 

The last part of this verse can be a little controversial, but it explains why we should pay attention to the word:  so that we do not drift away.  No one who is truly saved and has tasted of the goodness of the Lord would intentionally do an about face on God.  It is impossible to know and experience His goodness and purposefully reject Him. However, it is very possible to drift away.  The Greek here means to escape, or slip away.  It also means to find oneself gliding or floating along.  In other words the more we merely hear the word and don’t pay attention to it, and the more we don’t put our faith into action we are slowly releasing our grip on our salvation.  The more we entertain the things of this world, and the more we allow sin into our lives, it slowly drives a wedge into our lives until we finally let salvation slip right out of our hands.   It doesn’t mean that we were never saved, but it does mean that sin and complacency has set in to the point to where we are no longer “walking” with the Lord, but we have “glided” away from Him. 

Jesus even said that those who are not acting and doing the words of Christ will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  How terrible it will be for many who have been gliding along thinking that they are walking with the Lord, only to hear God say, “Depart from me”.   

Let this message be a wake up call if you have found yourself gliding along instead of actively walking with Christ.  Pay the most careful attention to the Word of God, so that you will always be steady and sure with Him.

Slavery Of Sin

Slavery of Sin

Pastor Russell Henderson

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

[Titus 3:3 NIV]

Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I just want to be free to do what I want and live my own life”?  I think it is quite ironic that they usually use the term “freedom”.  When in reality it is just the opposite of freedom—it is slavery.

The scripture above says, “At one time we were….enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.”  The definition of  passions is “to lust or covet, specifically for things forbidden”.  How many times have we witnessed someone pursue forbidden lusts all in the name of freedom.  The definition of pleasures is “anything that brings pleasure or makes one feel good”.  We get our English word “hedonism” from this word. 

This scripture makes it very plain that the one who lusts after the things of the world and passionately pursues things that appeal to his flesh has become a slave to those things.  The Greek word for enslaved comes from the root word “deo”.  Deo means “to bind or fasten together”.  You see when you are enslaved by something or someone, you are bound, or fastened to it.   You are stuck to it, and it is stuck to you.  It is a part of you.  You can no longer think or act on your own, you can only move or think in accordance with that thing to which you are bound.

When one is enslaved by an alcohol addiction, for example, everything that they do or think is controlled by that alcohol addiction.  The same goes for any other type of addiction.   If the addiction is not appeased then the person is uncomfortable and miserable.

Notice what Jesus said in John 8:34 “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’”  Paul said in Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”  You cannot be set free from something unless you were first bound by it.

Friends, the world is full of sin, and the pleasures of this world will only drag you down into slavery.  There is no freedom that comes from pursuing the world and its pleasures.  I know it is cliché, but it is still true.  The only true freedom comes from serving Jesus Christ.  He alone has the words of life and salvation.  So, if you find yourself chasing after the things of this world repent and turn to God and find true freedom TODAY.