Hebrews 2:1 - Meaning and Application

The apostle goes on in a clear and useful way, moving from doctrine to reason to practical application through this letter. Here he applies the truths he has already proved, and he does so with the word “therefore,” which links this chapter to the last. Since he has shown that Christ is greater than the angels, by whom the law was given, it follows that the gospel must be greater than the law.

He first gives an exhortation: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to the things we have heard” (Hebrews 2:1). This is the first way we show our respect for Christ and for the gospel. Everyone who lives under the gospel should treat its truths and commands as a matter of the highest importance, listen to them carefully whenever there is opportunity, read them often, think on them deeply, and join faith to what they hear. We must welcome these truths into our hearts and affections, keep them in our memories, and shape our words and actions by them.

He then adds strong reasons for this warning. First, if we do not pay close attention, we will let these truths slip away. They will leak out of our heads, our speech, and our lives, and we will suffer great loss because of our carelessness. Once gospel truth enters our minds, it is still in danger of slipping away, because our minds and memories are like a leaky vessel. This comes from the corruption of our nature, from Satan’s craft, from the pull of the world, and from the cares and temptations that choke the good seed.

Those who let gospel truth slip away lose far more than they may realize. They lose a treasure better than piles of gold and silver. The seed is lost, the time and effort spent hearing are lost, and the hope of a good harvest is lost. If the gospel is lost, all is lost. So this should urge us both to pay attention and to hold on to what we hear. In truth, if we do not listen well, we will not keep the word long. Careless hearers soon become forgetful hearers.

A second reason is the terrible punishment that comes if we fail in this duty, a punishment greater than the one under the law (Hebrews 2:2, 3). The law is described as the word spoken through angels and as something firm and lasting. It came by the help of angels, who were present at its giving, and God will also use angels when he gathers all people before his judgment seat to receive their sentence according to whether they have kept or broken the law. That law is steadfast. It stands true and sure whether people obey it or not, and every act of breaking it or refusing it will receive a just punishment.

If people treat God’s law lightly, the law will not treat them lightly. It has already reached sinners in earlier ages, and it will reach sinners in every age. As a righteous ruler and judge, God did not leave contempt for his law unpunished. He has repeatedly dealt with those who broke it, giving each one what their sin deserved. Even the severest punishment God gives to sinners is still only what sin deserves. Punishment is as just as reward, and in one sense more due to sin than rewards are due to imperfect obedience.

The gospel is described in a very different way. It is salvation, and not just ordinary salvation, but a great salvation. Nothing else can compare with it, and no one can fully describe or even fully grasp how great it is. The gospel reveals a great Savior, one who shows that God is reconciled to our human nature and willing to be reconciled to our persons. It shows how we may be saved from great sin and great misery, and brought back to great holiness and great happiness. It also reveals a great sanctifier, that is, one who makes us holy and fits us for salvation and for coming to the Savior. And it opens up a great and gracious covenant, a new covenant, whose great charter and legal promise are made secure for all who enter into its bond.

To sin against the gospel is described as neglecting this great salvation. It is to treat the saving grace of God in Christ with contempt, to make little of it, to care nothing for it, to think it not worth learning about, and to ignore both the worth of gospel grace and our own need for it and helpless state without it. It is also to make no real effort to see whether it is true, to believe it, to approve it, or to apply it to oneself. In all these ways, people show that they are neglecting this great salvation. Let us take care that we are not numbered among those wicked and miserable sinners who neglect the grace of the gospel.

The misery of such sinners is shown as unavoidable (Hebrews 2:3): “How shall we escape?” This means, first, that those who despise this salvation are already condemned. They are already under arrest and in the hands of justice. They were so because of Adam’s sin, and they have only made their case worse by their own sins. “Whoever does not believe is condemned already” (John 3:18).

It also means there is no way out of that condemned state except by accepting the great salvation made known in the gospel. For those who neglect it, God’s wrath remains on them. They cannot free themselves, rise above it, or get away from the curse. And it means there is an even heavier judgment waiting for all who despise the grace of God in Christ, and they cannot escape that either. They cannot hide on the great day, deny what they have done, bribe the Judge, or break out of prison. No door of mercy remains open for them, no further sacrifice for sin will be offered, and they are lost beyond recovery.

The terrible loss of those who neglect this salvation is shown here in the form of a question: “How will we escape?” It is an appeal to plain reason and to the sinner’s own conscience. It challenges all their strength, plans, wealth, and allies to find, or force, a way out of God’s righteous judgment and wrath.

This also shows that those who ignore so great a salvation will stand at the judgment day with no power to save themselves, no excuse, and no defense. If they are asked why sentence should not be carried out, they will have nothing to say. Their own conscience will condemn them, and their misery will be greater than the misery of those who rejected the law or sinned without knowing the law.

Another reason for this warning comes from the greatness of the One through whom the gospel first came to us (Hebrews 2:3). It began to be spoken by the Lord, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah, the Lord of life and glory, Lord of all. As Lord, he had perfect wisdom, unlimited goodness, complete truthfulness, full authority, and unstoppable power.

This great Lord of all was the first to make the gospel plain and clear, without the types and shadows that had pointed to him before he came. Surely all people should honor such a Lord and pay close attention to a gospel that first came from one who spoke as no one else ever did.

Another reason comes from the people who witnessed Christ and the gospel (Hebrews 2:3-4). The message was confirmed to us by those who heard him, and God also testified to them. The gospel was carried on and confirmed by those who had heard Christ, the evangelists and apostles, who were eye and ear witnesses of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1). They had no worldly gain to serve by giving this testimony. They were moved only by the glory of the Redeemer and the salvation of themselves and others, and many of them sealed their witness with their blood.

God himself also bore witness to these witnesses for Christ. He showed that they were authorized and sent by him to preach Christ and salvation to the world. He did this by signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his will. Signs showed his gracious presence with them and his power working through them. Wonders were works beyond the power and order of nature, filling people with amazement and leading them to listen and ask questions.

The various miracles were mighty works in which God’s own power was clear beyond fair argument. The gifts of the Holy Spirit fit, enabled, and stirred the apostles for the work they were called to do, as different gifts are described in (1 Corinthians 12:4). All of this was according to God’s own will. God wanted us to have a sure foundation for faith and a strong basis for hope in receiving the gospel. As he gave the law with signs and wonders to show its authority and greatness, so he bore witness to the gospel with even greater miracles, since it is a more excellent and lasting message.