"Slip-Sliding Away" December 2 Readings: Hebrews 1-2

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New. 

Bible Readings: Hebrews 1-2

Background:  

Nothing is known about the authorship of the book of Hebrews. It seems clear to me that it was not written by Paul, but likely by someone who had been influenced by him greatly. I've often wondered if it was written by Apollos, who was a learned Jew. Some have suggested Luke, others Barnabas. Some even think Priscilla wrote it. This book is steeped in Jewish tradition and it shows signs of having been written by someone with a scholarly background. 

The intent of the book is clear. Some who had come to the grace of God in Christ were slipping back into the useless rituals of Judaism, which pointed toward Christ but could never permanently solve the sin problem. The background of the book is the Old Testament and it is organized around a series of exhortations not to fall away from grace back into a life of works and dependence on the law and sacrifices. 

The once-for-all sacrifice of Christ is a key theme in the book.  

Daily Devotional: Slip-Sliding Away

I used to love body surfing, back in my Florida days. I'd go out into the Atlantic when the waves were right, dive and catch the wave at just the right time, and see how far I could ride it up the beach. Out and back. Time and again. But I had to be careful. Most of the time, at the beaches I frequented, there is a side current that will cause you to drift up or down the beach. If you didn't pay attention, you could find yourself a long way from the way you were supposed to be.

The writer of Hebrews (I think it might have been Apollos, though no one really knows) was concerned about something similar. He observed people who came to faith in Christ but were drifting back into legalistic Judaism. In Hebrews 2:1, he said,

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  

As I had to pay attention on the beach not to drift away, Christians must be careful that we do not drift away from our walk of faith in Christ. Fortunately, our salvation is kept by Christ and is secure. I cannot lose my salvation because Christ holds it for me. But I can drift away from my walk of holiness back into the ways of the world. I can drift from a walk of faith back into living by sight. My passion can wane and I can drift back into the love of the world and that which is in it. I can drift from Christ's call to die to self back into a life of self-centeredness and indulgence.

Henry Blackaby said that we have a natural (sinful) tendency to drift away from God. Hebrews is written to warn us not to allow that to happen. We must continue to focus unwaveringly on Christ, walk in obedience, and live in the power of the Spirit God has given us. We must daily fan the flames of passion for Christ through the Word and prayer.

We have an inborn and constant struggle to resist, in God's power, the natural tendency of our hearts to drift from our rightful passion for Christ. Time and again, the writer of Hebrews warns of this.

But the solution is found in Hebrews 1, along with the rest of the book, which exalts Jesus Christ. The more we exalt him in our lives, the more he is the center, the focus, the passion of our lives, and the greater our resistance to our tendency to drift away.

Father, fill my heart with a zeal for Christ that my zeal for him might never wane and that I will never drift away. 

Consider God's Word:

Are you being careful to maintain your zeal and passion for Christ?