A Sermon Based Upon Hebrews 1: 1-4; 2: 1-4
By Rev. Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, DMin
Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership
Passion Sunday, April 13th,
2014
“Therefore
we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift
away from it. For if the message declared through angels was
valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3a NRS).
Escape what?
Back at the beginning of February, the
death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was fresh in the America public
mind. Hoffman was noted as ‘perhaps the
most ambitious and widely admired Actor of his generation.’ He won an Academy Award for his starring
role as renowned literary figure, Truman Capote, was nominated three times for supporting
roles in other films and also known as a Broadway star and director, taking on
some of the most challenging and ‘burdensome’ roles. In his
final appearance on Broadway in 2012, Hoffman portrayed one of the most
demanding, but most esteemed roles; that of Willy Loman, Arthur Miller’s title
character in “Death of a Salesman.” No
one could portray “all-American optimism” mixed with the realities of
“uncertainty” and “doubt” than Philip Seymour Hoffman, wrote one critic. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014
/02/03/movies/philip-seymour-hoffman-actor-dies-at-46.html?_r=0).
Philip Seymour Hoffman could not
‘escape’ his addictions. According to
the NY Daily News, when they discovered his 46 year-old body in his rented New
York apartment, they also found a heroin syringe with the needle still sticking
in his arm. It is reported that they seized 70 baggies of
heroin, at least 50 of which were still unopened. They also seized 20 hypodermic needles and
five prescription drugs, including one drug used by heroin addicts to help kick
a habit. Hoffman became addicted to
heroin all the way back in High School, when his talent was first
discovered. He has been fighting that
addiction all of his life, being sober at times and then crashing again.
For those who don’t find or respond to
treatment, there little hope of escape.
Names of the gifted and talented who did not escape stand out in our minds; names like Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Janis
Joplin, and Jim Morrison who all eerily passed away at the same young age of
27. Others who could not escape, both
sooner or later, have famous names Corey Montieth, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley,
Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
List_of_drug-related_deaths). Despite their talents, gifts, success or
wealth (or perhaps partly because of them) they could not escape.
Whatever you do, as you reflect upon
this tragic death, don’t right off Hoffman as just another ‘drug addict’. He was a devoted family man. He was not only extremely talented in his
work, but he related well to people and was much loved by those who worked with
him. When Phil Hoffman was only nine,
his parents divorced. Hoffman gave his
energies to sports, but due to a neck injury, he started acting. It was about that time, that young Phil
Hoffman started drinking and became addicted.
Anyone who knows what addiction is, knows that it is a way to ease the unhealed
pain of the soul. The emotional and
physical pain Hoffman experienced without healing, along with the wealth that gave him easy
access to the forbidden, left this gifted young man with no way to escape (http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/03/philip-seymour-hoffman).
HOW
CAN WE ESCAPE?
It is estimated that perhaps 10 to 15%
of the human population, have what is known as “addictive personalities” and
don’t know when to stop (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/look-it-way/200903/the-addictive-personality
).
I would reason that the figures go even higher, because the addiction
problem is tied very closely to an emotional ‘co-dependency’ problem, which affects
about 96% of the population (http://www.nytimes.com
/1990/02/11/books/chances-are-you-re-codependent-too.html ). The so called
“Drug Czar” and right wing morality champion Bill Bennett, was also an
‘addictive personality’, hooked on both food and gambling. His so called ‘War on Drugs’ was not simply
about the ‘addiction’ of others, but it was more about a more common human
struggle of the unhealed soul. The
truth is, people like us, that is, people who know pain in life, can get hooked
on most anything: going to sporting events, lottery tickets, profanity, being
political, and even on good and meaningful work, whom we innocently label as ‘workaholics’. And guess what? You can even go to Church too much, not just
every Sunday, but why not twice a day, or 3 or 4 times a week? Some people think that the more you go to
church, the more faithful you are too God.
Some preachers don’t tell them any different, but encourage it, because
it boosts attendance. Some of the newer,
contemporary churches are known as 7 day a week churches, becoming the only way
to keep the ‘addictive’ society in church these days. In other words, the way to grow church
today, it seems, is to trade one form of addiction for another.
Several years ago, the church I
pastored, had a supportive relationship with a local “halfway house” for men
who struggled with alcoholism. That
“halfway” house had a success rating higher than most other private or
government sponsored institutions. We had
residents to speak to our congregation as part of their recovery effort. What I noticed, from hearing their
testimonies, is that the recovery strategy was to replace the very harmful
addiction these men had with alcohol with a less harmful addiction to work and
religious faith. You could see that
their new habits, like strict religious devotion and over regimented lifestyles,
were just as overboard or excessive as their alcoholism. But that kind of extreme discipline worked as
a rehabilitation program because it fit their personality, until grace and
health could reshaped their souls. As I listened to these men speak, I was filled
with more compassion for them and came to see them not as ‘those who struggle’
with an addiction, but as fellow strugglers in life. It made me remember what I heard someone say
when I was in clinical training for being a pastor: “We are all dysfunctional, but the only question that remains is level
of our dysfunction.”
When the writer of Hebrews wrote ‘WE must pay greater attention’ so that “WE don’t drift away from
what WE have heard’, and when he asks the rhetorical question: “How shall WE escape if we neglect so great
a salvation’, he uses the word ‘WE’. He is not talking about a problem that
troubled some people, or a problem that put ‘other’ people at risk, but the
writer of Hebrews is talking about a very human struggle that puts everyone at
risk: “How shall WE escape…?” What he writes about is a matter of life or
death. Why else would you listen to a
really long sermon? I’m not talking
about this sermon, but the book of Hebrews is one, single argument, which makes
for a very long sermon of 7, 281 words; almost 3 times longer than a normal
sermon. Why would we still be
considering such an archaic, ridiculously lengthy argument?
Of course, no one would have the
attention span to listen so long, unless it was a matter of life and death. If we ‘neglect’ or ‘lose’ our salvation---salvation
from addictions, salvation from our worst selves, and salvation from our own
best efforts to stay alive---such ‘neglect’ it is a matter of life of
death. For if we ‘drift’ away from the
truth---the truth about ourselves or the truth about life---how can we escape
the endless struggles, addictions, conflicts, and threats of life? How can we escape the threats which can
leave us forever and always vulnerable and susceptible to negative powers and
influences which can take away both physical life and can rob us of our soul? Our human ‘soul’ makes us more than living
cells of protoplasm, but contains the ‘spirit’ and ‘image of God’. Our
soul reminds us that we are indeed made ‘just
a little lower than angels’ and have been ‘crowned with glory and honor’ (Psalm 8) and that our lives are
gifts that matter.
But no matter how gifted or invincible
we think we are, we are still at risk. We
are at risk of many things, but we are surely all at risk in our struggle with
sin, death and the devil. Jesus too said
that his ‘spirit was willing’ but ‘his flesh was weak’ (Matt 26.41). We are weak too, even if we think we are now
very strong. We are all ‘weak’ and ‘dependent’
creatures in need, which is a truth we will not always be able to neglect or deny,
even if we are doing a pretty good job of it this moment.
IF
WE NEGLECT
Who would ‘neglect’ the loving rescue
that would enable release you from destructive behavior that leads to a
demoralizing, diminished life or destroyed life? Why would someone with so much to live for
give into powers that rob you of our loved ones and your own life? But it does happen, doesn’t it? Even talented, smart, and much loved people,
neglect the rescue that is offered.
Hoffman neglected going back into rehab.
He neglected doing what rehab had taught him before. He neglected the support from AA and NA. He neglected to listen to ‘tough love’ from
his girlfriend and he neglected his children, who needed him. Why do people ‘neglect’ to do what they know
they need to do? We may write off
Hoffman’s tragedy to the power of addiction, or the negative lifestyle of an
addictive personality, but the truth is that even the ‘addictive personality’
has to neglect working against their own weaknesses, as do we all. Even though we may not have an addictive
personality, no matter how smart, how well grounded, how gifted or how blessed
we are, we too can ‘neglect’ to do the things we know are good for us, right
for us, or necessary for us to maintain our lives, our love and our faith in the
future.
The writer of Hebrews speaks of ‘neglect’ because there was a real
potential for ‘neglect’ (2.1) of the
‘heavenly gift’ (6.4) in the early
Christian community. And strangely enough, the writer of Hebrews
says the kind of ‘neglect’ which put
the Hebrew Christians at most risk was not what they were doing wrong, but it
was what could fail to get right. What they were about to ‘neglect’ or fail to get right was unthinkable, unreasonable, if not
outright ridiculous: They were about to leave Jesus. These Jews who had once decided to risk all
and to follow, were now wondering whether Jesus was worth it, whether Jesus
made any real difference in their lives than did Moses and the Law. Of course they wouldn’t outright denounce
Jesus, but perhaps they would pay less “attention”
to him (2.1), or ‘neglect to meet
together’ to worship him (10.25), or just ‘shrink back’ from going forward in faith (10.38).
Let me simply say two things about the ‘neglect’ that was possible them, and
still possible now. First, our neglect of some very small things can
lead to the neglect of a much bigger, more important things. Later, in chapter 6:1 of Hebrews, the writer
encourages ‘us to go on toward perfection
(completion), leaving behind the basic
teaching about Christ….” This writer is not saying these ‘basic teachings about Jesus’ are
unimportant; things like ‘repentance’, ‘baptism’, ‘laying on of hands’, ‘resurrection
of the dead’, and ‘eternal judgment’ (6.2).
But he is saying these things are ‘basic’
and ‘foundation(al)’ for even greater
things in our life. Because we repent of dead works, good works should
come alive in us. Because we are rightly
instructed in Baptism, baptism becomes
a model of how we live our lives sacrificially every day. Because we lay hands on and bless others, blessings of grace, goodness and
love will grow in our communities, and because we believe in resurrection and eternal judgment, we change how we live our lives right now. This
major point Hebrews is making is by neglecting these basic things, the bigger
and better things won’t happen.
Several weeks ago, while I was working
on this sermon, I received a phone call from a person working to raise money
for a worthy cause. The call was,
however worthy, interrupting and intrusive to me. So as they lady began her well-rehearsed
speech, I interrupted her, asking, ‘Excuse me, ma’am, are you making this call
on my behalf of on behalf of my work?’
If she had answered that she was calling as ‘on behalf of my work’ I
would have taken the call. But if she
had answered that she was calling me as an individual, I would ask her to call
back again. But when I interrupted her
prepared sales pitch with a question, she became confused. After I repeated my question, “Is this call
for me, or about my work, she paused, then finally responded, “Thank you
sir, someone will call you back later”,
and she hung up. Evidently she was not well
trained in the most basic skill needed in sales, how to talk to a real person
who asks real questions and expects real answers. Because she was not trained in the most
basic way, she missed moving to the ‘greater thing’ she wanted to accomplish,
which was raising funds for her cause.
SO
GREAT A SALVATION
So, one problem of ‘neglect’ in the book of Hebrews is the neglect of the most basic,
foundational, and simplest truths we have received from Jesus. When we pay less attention to them, neglect to
meet together for worship, or when we draw back from going forward in faith, we
start to go backwards. And though we
might think we are only neglecting small things, the neglect of the most basic, can lead to the neglect of the most
important thing that matters most----the neglect of following Jesus. This is the ‘neglect’ the book of Hebrews is
most concerned about: Neglecting our ‘great salvation’ can take us to the worse
thing of all: losing the very ‘faith’ that saves us (12: 39).
I know that to hear a warning about
‘losing salvation’ is controversial, especially for Baptists. Southern Baptists once fired a greatly
respected and accomplished Baptist teacher, Dale Moody, for teaching that
Hebrews proclaims that “Apostasy” is possible.
Moody taught that Hebrews reveals that if we neglect our faith in Jesus,
it could result in losing salvation, just as many Jews lost their salvation by when
they refused to go forward with God.
Interestingly, every major Baptist group in the world, outside of Southern
Baptists, believes that we retain our ‘free will’ to ‘fall away’ from Jesus, even
after we have ‘tasted’ and ‘shared’ in the ‘heavenly gift’ of His blessings.
Some still prefer the non-biblical slogan “Once Saved, Always Saved” than to be warned by Scripture, which
says, “For it is impossible to restore
again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the
heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness
of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen
away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are
holding him up to contempt (Hebrew 6:4-6 NRS).
I know that’s very scary language, but this
is not meant as an accusation or threat, but as a warning. It is very important for us to realize that
it does not mean we can slip and fall out of God’s love or lose your salvation
accidently. Remember Jesus explained
that the Father shelters us in his hand, and nothing can snatch us out (John
10.28). Neither does it mean that when
you neglect God in your life, that God will neglect to forgive you (1 John 1.9). The God of the Bible and the God of Jesus
Christ does not work that way. The God
of the Bible sent Jesus to die for us ‘while
we were sinners’ (Romans 5.8) and this certainly means that he still loves
us, even if we fail, even we fall down or even if we sin again. I think that the slogan “Once Saved, Always
Saved” intended to convey this angle of assurance. Even Hebrews says that Jesus’ sacrifice was
made ‘once and for all’ (7.27). But
even though nothing can ‘snatch’ us out of God’s protective hand, this does not
mean we can’t walk out on our own. Who
would want to do that? Some of the
Hebrew Christians did. And even though
it sounds like madness, there are still those who would neglect ‘so great a
salvation’ that they leave Jesus behind by his Lordship over their lives trading
him for some substitute.
The point of Hebrews is making is not
that we lose our salvation accidently, nor that we lose it by committing a sin,
but the point is that we can lose salvation by neglecting the very ‘source’ (5.9) of the ‘great’ salvation’ we have been given(2.3). We put ourselves at risk when we ‘fall away’ or
‘neglect the “Son”, whom God has “appointed’ to be the ‘reflection
of God’s glory’, the ‘exact imprint
of God’s very being’, who ‘sat down’
in the God’s place of power, and now ‘sustains
all things by his powerful word.’( 1. 2-3). All this overwhelmingly religious language is
simply a reminder to them and for us, that Jesus is the true way God has chosen
to ‘speak’ and to ‘save’, and if we neglect, leave, or deny him, we lose
everything God has to give.
Several years I came across a testimony
of a Christian pastor, who admitted that as a teenager, they left Jesus. They grew up Presbyterian, graduated Harvard,
got involved with Unitarian churches, and eventually became a Unitarian pastor
and then ministered to faith and hope without Jesus. They talked about all the great lessons of
faith, and even challenged people in the matters of faith and life, but they
left Jesus out of it. It all went well
for a while, but then one day, this preacher had to admit something: They swallowed hard and admitted they missed
Jesus. They missed the stories, the
songs, and the worship of Jesus. They
missed the great fact that Jesus is only one who says, “God so loved the world
that he gave his only son….” They missed
everything taught them in their childhood.
But now, suddenly, after leaving Jesus they now apprehended just how important
Jesus is to faith and they realized how much they needed his presence in life. It was sort of like like the person who
wrote, “Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten.” They realized, that everything they ever needed, for life and
for salvation, they had received from Jesus.
Is Jesus really the ‘reflection of God’s glory’?
And do we really risk losing everything if we neglect him? During the hype and height of Nazism in
Germany, it is frightening to look back at the German Churches, and to see how
they neglected and eventually surrendered their faith in Jesus and put faith in
Adolf Hitler. It could have been
otherwise. In those days, most people in
Germany were members of the two state churches: Lutheran and Catholic. So where was the voice of sanity against
Hitler’s insanity? Most of the Church,
gave in to the rhetoric or to the fear, and only a few stood up to say, “Only Jesus is our Lord and the Kingdom of
God is our goal, not Adolf Hitler or the Third Reich (Kingdom).” Although there were a few who realized what
was happening, they were either too late, or outnumbered by the majority’s
opinion and by Hitler’s ruthless tactics.
But what those few faithful Christians also realized was even more
sobering, according to Eric Metaxas, an evangelical writer, who has recently
written a biography of one of the Christian pastors who did oppose Hitler. That pastor noted that because the of church
and the people’s neglect of Jesus as being God’s only true word, even
Christians would share in the judgment that was about to rain down from the
skies above. In fact, he even prayed for
defeat of his nation, so they would pay for the suffering they had brought to
the world (From Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,
Thomas Nelson, 2010, p. 387).
In this world, there are many
distractions, ideas, opinions and even
faiths that can lead you away from “Jesus”, but
Hebrews says only Jesus, is the ‘reflection
of God’s glory’, and the ‘exact
imprint of God’s very being.’ This does not mean that God cannot or does
not speak to us in other ways, and even through the hungering for truth in other
religions. But whenever God speaks,
whether in nature, through religion, in the Bible or in our hearts, God will
never speak contrary or greater than he ‘spoke
to us by a Son’ (Hebrews 1.2).
Hebrews reminds us, and it also warns us, that if we deny, if we leave,
and if we neglect the ‘word’ that has spoken the truth, and if we ‘fall away’
there remains nothing else that can save us.
There is no other way of ‘escape’ from the inevitable reality we all
face, for there is no truer ‘voice’ for God or way to the heart of the Father,
but through his Son, Jesus. Don’t
neglect the “great salvation” you
still need in him. Amen.
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