Post 12 of Study: Hebrews 2:1-4

V. 3 is more revealing than on first glance. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.  We must understand this “So great a salvation,” and then the method of its coming to mankind.

Before I go on, most commentaries will include the information that the recipients of the letter were under persecution. Early Christians, Jews and Gentiles, found persecution from the Temple and the Tiber, one might say. If the Jewish community didn’t bring it, the Romans did. I take issue with Rodney Stark, who claimed that only a couple of hundred Christians were actually martyred.  Even Wikipedia puts it at up to 3500. (That number is low compared to martyrdoms today in parts of the world.)

So, we must see that if the readers were tempted to “go back,” and neglect so great a salvation, it was not just because they had intellectual problems with the gospel; in fact, that was probably not the case. It was because the call of culture and family was so strong for them and because they could have been jailed and lost their lives.

Neglecting so great salvation, however, is more than turning back. I think we can neglect it on an everyday basis, too. In fact, if we are not mindful and giving our walk with God daily focus, we are neglecting and drifting becomes a real thing. Whether we will then be unable to escape judgment is another matter, but I do think the message of Hebrews is that our Christian walk has to be nurtured or something bad could happen.

That’s my take; I can see where others would disagree and see that my view lacks grace. God is gracious and there is no condemnation to those in Christ, Roman 8:1. We hurt ourselves, though, and put ourselves in a darker place if we neglect our salvation.