Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away

The Word in the Beginning

“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God ...” (Heb. 6:1)

We want to move beyond the word of the beginning and to be brought to maturity.

That does not mean we should cast aside the word from the beginning. Repentance is still important. We need the reality of baptism every day. The fundamentals must be a regular practice for all of us. If we neglect the fundamentals, everything falls apart. But we must not stop there. We must build upon that foundation. We need to have the desire within us to move forward and grow.

The End is Near – so Pay Even Closer Attention to What You Hear

This age is drawing to a close. Everything will pass away. The end of democracy is clearly in sight. But the Word of God remains, as does the truth we have gained from it.

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” (Heb. 2:1)

We need the substance of the Word. We hear many words, but that is precisely why we must pay all the more attention to it. Everything will pass away, but it remains:

“They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;” (Heb. 1:11)

That is why we must gain Him, because He is the only one who will stay. We hold fast to what He has told us.

Nowadays, one can be preoccupied with fleeting things from morning till night. As a result, our hearts very quickly become fat and hard. Then God’s Word cannot bear fruit. Laodicea had everything and was already completely sated.

Don’t Let Yourself Get Distracted

The Devil tries to distract us with all sorts of things. It requires our full attention. Otherwise, we’ll completely miss the mark. The struggle is about our focus: that we keep pursuing after it.

It’s a whirlwind of things that are trying to sweep us away. The devil is trying to get some of his stuff into us.

“They therefore walk like a shadow and Such a fuss is being made over nothing at all; ‘they amass (wealth) and do not know who will bring it in.’ (Ps. 39:7)

We must not allow ourselves to be distracted by this noise. Rather, let us listen to God speaking through his Son. If we do not do this, we may well be part of church life, but we will remain the same year after year. We may find ourselves entangled once more in the very things we once fled from:

“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” (2 Peter 2:20)

The sequence is serious: tainted, entangled, overwhelmed. That is why we need the reality of the Feast of Tabernacles. We do not want to be drawn back into the old ways and overwhelmed by them, but rather to move forward, to grow, to win Him over and to pay attention to what we have heard.