Hebrews 1.1-2.4

The outline of a sermon preached at Barclay Church, Edinburgh by Robin Plant
16 June 2002

Spiritual Journey or Spiritual Drift? (Heb. 2.1-4)

Several recent Christian books and songs reveal a renewed understanding on the Christian life as 'spiritual journey'. The metaphor is both attractive and healthy; it conveys the idea that following Jesus is exciting (there is lots to discover), humble (we haven't arrived), and realistic (we've made mistakes). For our faith, experience and worship to be what they were twenty years ago is not a commendation but an indictment.

However, the 'spiritual journey' image can be misleading. Without further definition, it can cover all kinds of individualistic, selfish lifestyles; and indeed, there are today all kinds of spiritual paths on offer. For Christians, the journey we are called to is not one where we chart our own course. Instead, since Jesus is the 'pioneer' (Heb. 2.10; 12.2), we are to follow the trail he has blazed for us.

The author of Hebrews takes up both points. On the one hand, his Christian readers were spiritually static ("though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word", 5.12); on the other, they were in danger of abandoning Christ for a more visually impressive and physically secure religious system (13.9-13). In urging them not to drift (2.1); he is both warning them against going nowhere, and against going the wrong way.

Countering Spiritual Drift

1. 'What we have heard':

In C.S.Lewis' story, The Silver Chair, Aslan gives Jill a set of signs to guide her on her journey:

Remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learnt here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances.

Similarly, our resource against spiritual drift is not something we can see, but a message we have heard:

• The message lived out. This is where Hebrews begins (1.1-4): God has spoken many times through creation, but he has spoken definitively through his own uncreated Son. In Jesus, God's word was literally 'fleshed out' (Jn. 1.14), as he enacted God's love, power and justice.

• The message written down: We ourselves have not physically heard Jesus; neither had the readers of Hebrews. But God's living message has been carefully, reliably and sufficiently passed on as a written message, in the New Testament (Lk. 1.1-4; Jn. 20.31; 1 Jn. 1.1-2).

2. 'We must pay more careful attention'

This might mean 'more than we have up till now' (cf. 5.11-14), or 'more than we do to other messages' - particularly relevant in an age of mass media when we are bombarded with so many messages. The writer does not mean that our sole resource is a written word, for God's Holy Sprit lives within us; but he equips us through (not apart from) Scripture (Eph. 6.17). Some implications:

• A conviction about the seriousness of the message: Contrast the post-modern love of irony and playfulness ('lighten up!'): "The truth and teaching of the gospel must not be held lightly; they are of supreme moment, they are matters of life and death, and must be cherished and obeyed at all costs." (F.F. Bruce)

• A willingness to reflect: According to David Petersen, the problem with these Christians was "an unwillingness to progress to a deeper understanding of the Christian message and its implications". By contrast, attention to the apostolic message was central in the early church (Acts 2.42; 20.7).

• The involvement of the whole church: Careful study of scripture is not the responsibility of the minister and elders alone. The response of the Bereans to Paul's preaching (Acts 17.10-12) is an excellent model for us.