Monday, November 8, 2021

A warning: do not drift away

READ: Ezekiel 11,12; Psalms 128; Hebrews 2

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 2: 1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

OBSERVATION:  If a floating boat is not tied up with a firm object (when it is on the shores) or has no anchor, the boat is in danger of drifting away. The boat and those who are on it will be in trouble. Here, the author of Hebrews uses this image to warn the Jewish Christians to be careful about false doctrines and teachings that contradict what they have heard. In Hebrews 1, the author says that Jesus is the ultimate word of God and explains the greatness of Jesus, his divinity, and his superiority over the angels. Drawing our attention to what has been told about Jesus in the first chapter, the author calls for “the most careful attention to what we have heard.” If a person is not careful enough, they could be drifted.

 In the early Church, Judaizers or legalists, those who espoused the law, misled the people from the truth of Jesus Christ. Christians who received their salvation through grace fell trapped in the schemes of Judaizers. They made people turn from the grace of Christ to a different and unscriptural gospel. In Galatians, Paul says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Gal.1:6-8). If people listened to such false teachers who downplay Jesus’s divinity and reject or distort the bible’s authority, they would drift away. In the past, many claimed that they received a fresh revelation from an angel and started their movements. Further, as Billy Graham says, “A life without God is like a boat without an anchor.” Jesus is our anchor for our souls and the foundation for our spiritual life. We should be eager to listen to his words and read them every day.

APPLICATION:  I should be careful against any false teachings that present a different Jesus. I must listen to the words of Jesus and obey them. He alone can save me completely.

PRAYER:  Father God, thank you for the salvation you give us through Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, help me to discern the word of God to obey it and firmly stand against any false teachings. Amen.

- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573

Day – 311

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