In our last month’s article, we considered the warning passages of the book of Hebrews. Five times the writer warns his readers of the possibility of falling away or drifting from the faith; something many may be prone to do in a year like 2020. But the writer doesn’t just drop warnings without any type of solutions on how to avoid that drifting away. In each of the warning passages there are solutions given as to how individuals can prevent this straying from the Lord and from the faith. We will consider these solutions this month as the way to prevent the march to apostasy.
In 2:1-4, the writer warned us not to drift away. But what can we do to make sure we do not drift? The answer is right there in the text. Verse 1 says we must pay ‘much closer attention to what we have heard.’ So, the solution against drifting away is to pay closer attention. If you don’t want to drift from the faith then you need to exert serious energy in paying close attention to what you have heard. It’s not enough to just exist in your current spiritual state, you must pay close attention to the truth!
The second warning passage found in chapter 3 told us to not ‘fall away from the living God’ (v 12). Ok, so how do I prevent that? Well, it is there in verse 13. It says to ‘encourage one another.’ So, the solution is a close relationship with the people of God, being encouraged and being an encourager. It is this relationship encouraging that keeps the heart soft, and without it, the heart can be hardened into deceitful sin. How do people get hardened by their sin? They are not involved in spiritual relationships with the people of God. They stand alone and their own heart gets hardened.
The third warning passage is found in the first eight verses of chapter 6. It is a warning about ‘falling away.’ What is the solution? It is found in verse 1, and it says, ‘we must press on to maturity.’ Those who are pressing on towards maturity are not going to be those who fall away. So, the idea is to make your spiritual growth a priority. If you are not maturing in the faith, then you are a prime candidate to eventually fall away.
The fourth warning passage in chapter 10 tells the readers to not ‘shrink back to destruction.’ In that context, he is talking about a great conflict of suffering (v 32). Suffering was seen in how they had their property seized from them (v 34). That seems like something that would cause anyone to lose hope and shrink back. So, what should we do? The writer tells us that we need ‘endurance’ (v 36). We need that staying power, that never-give-up spirit that does the will of God no matter what. It is spiritual endurance that allows us to not shrink back.
The fifth warning passage is found in chapter 12 and it tells us that bitterness can spring up (v 15) and that we should not refuse God’s words (v 25). What is the solution found there? Well, it says in v 14 that we should pursue peace with all men. This will prevent the bitterness that can spring up from unresolved conflicts in relationships. Such conflicts are what lead people astray from the faith, so believers must strive for peace. The other solution to not refusing God’s words is found in verse 28 and it tells us to ‘show gratitude.’ A lack of gratitude is what can lead us to ignore what God says because we are always looking for Him to do something better.
It is a wonderful joy that the Bible does not simply give warnings about falling away and then leave us to figure out on our own how not to fall into that. The Bible gives us the solutions to making sure we do not begin to stray. But all the solutions require effort and striving on our part. It is not enough to just sit back in the status quo and assume we will be all right. We must pay close attention, stay in relationship, strive for maturity, show endurance, and seek peace with others and gratitude with God. If we are not actively doing our part, we can fall away and fall prey to these warnings.
It is like a marriage. If the marriage is struggling, the couple needs to refresh and recommit to one another again. The staying put in the same state will not bring the two closer together again, they will just continue to slowly drift. They each must passionately commit to one another again and the same is true with our spiritual life. We know that God has not left, He has not drifted, He has not strayed. So, if the relationship with Him is strained, it is on us to get closer again. Sitting still and keeping the status quo will not stop you from straying, you must passionately pursue a closer relationship with the Lord to keep you from drifting away from Him.