Don't Drift

In January of this year, just outside Washington, D. C., an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial flight from American Airlines. Three people were on the helicopter, 64 people were on the plane, and all of them died.

Just a couple weeks ago, news articles came out giving details about the events surrounding the crash.

The mission for the helicopter crew was to conduct an evaluation of the pilot. She had joined the Army in 2019, and, for this flight, she was joined by her instructor and one technician.

About 4 minutes before the crash, the instructor announced he was at an altitude of 300 feet and would descend to the upper limit of 200 feet. As the helicopter continued, the instructor repeated his command. They were still at 300 feet and needed to drop to 200 feet. The pilot said she would do it. Two and a half minutes later, however, the helicopter was still above 200 feet.

Just a short time later, air traffic control told the pilot that a plane was circling to a different runway, one that is rarely used. Investigators, however, believe the word “circling” was never heard because someone on the helicopter was pressing down the microphone button. This meant the helicopter could send a message out, but was unable to hear messages coming in.

About two minutes before the crash, the flight instructor indicated they had “traffic in sight,” and he requested “visual separation.” This means instead of relying on air traffic control, they would make their own observations and their own decisions. They were granted permission to do this.

About a minute before the crash, the controller contacted the helicopter asking if they could see the approaching airliner, but no response was recorded. At that point, the helicopter and the plane were about a mile apart with the plane coming in at around 150 miles per hour.

The controller asked the helicopter to “pass behind the airplane,” but the records indicate the instruction might not have been heard. So, rather than fly to avoid the plane, the helicopter continued flying straight at it.

A couple seconds after the controller’s instruction, the flight instructor responded, affirming for a second time that the Black Hawk saw the traffic. And again, they requested visual separation. This would be the final communication between the helicopter and air traffic control.

According to the helicopter records, 15 seconds before the collision, the instructor spoke to the pilot. He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left. This would have widened the space between the two aircraft. The final paragraph in the New York Times article, simply says: She did not turn left.

There are times in life when paying attention to instruction is critical, and failing to listen will lead to disastrous results.

This is exactly what the author of Hebrews has in mind as we come to the second chapter. He has just made the case that Jesus is the Son of God who is superior to angels. Therefore, the New Covenant through Him is superior to the Old Covenant.

The message of Jesus, which is the message of Christianity, is set apart from any and every other content. Christ is superior to all. And that theological and universal reality brings us to the exhortation of chapter 2, verses 1-3.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [2] For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, [3] how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Since the message of Christ comes with a superior authority we need to pay much closer attention.

The message of Jesus Christ is not something you can afford to overlook. It is more significant than the “low tire pressure” warning or the “check engine” light on your car. It is more significant than any sporting event. It’s more significant than any emergency alert you might receive or news article you could read. The message of Jesus—the message from Him and about Him—requires the highest level of our attention. Our attention to it is absolutely necessary.

In verse 1, the Greek verb for “pay attention” also means to beware, to watch out, to be careful, to be on guard. The word can also be used to mean “addicted to,” which I think is helpful because when someone says they’re addicted to social media, or to the news, or to some sport, what they mean is that they pay an inordinate amount of attention to it.

Paying attention to Jesus is not a one-time event in your life. You can’t just think, “Well, there was a day or a season in my life when the Bible really impacted me, and I listened to the message. So, now I’m good.” That not going to work. The call here, and in other parts of Scripture, is to continually, regularly, pay attention to Jesus Christ. This is to be the pattern of your life. It’s supposed to be the underlying characteristic.

And, notice, the instruction isn’t simply to listen to Jesus. The mandate is for you and me to “pay much closer attention.” The descriptor there means abundantly, surpassingly, exceedingly, especially, earnestly. Our attention to Christ and His word needs to be at a level beyond anything else.

In his second letter, the Apostle Peter, speaking of Christ’s prophetic word, says: you will do well to pay attention [to it] as to a lamp shining in a dark place.

We need the word of Christ. We need it constantly and regularly.

Why is it such a big deal that we pay attention to Jesus Christ?

If we think about the message of chapter 1, our attention  matters because Jesus has the highest authority of all, and He will judge us. But the motivation in our passage today is another one.

The reason given here for us to pay much closer attention is that if we don’t, we will drift away from it. That’s what the word “lest” means. This is what will happen if we don’t obey this command. We will drift away from it.

If you’ve ever gone swimming in the ocean, or gone out in a fishing boat, you understand the idea of drifting. You start out in one spot. You don’t feel yourself moving, but then, after a while you look around, and you realize you’re not in the same place you once were.

The Greek word for drifting also has the idea of something being washed away or eroded. What happens to some of the people who decide to build their homes on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It’s looks beautiful, but little by little, the waves are eating away at the cliff. And one day, the cliff gives way, and the house falls into the ocean.

That’s what will happen to some of us, spiritually speaking. You think you’re secure. You think you’re safe. But little by little, your faith is waning. And one day, either in this life or in the next, it is revealed that what you thought was salvation was really an illusion and a deception.

So, having been introduced to the richness of the theology of chapter 1, today, I want to get real practical. I want to point out to you some way that this drifting happens, and how we can fix it.

What are some ways that people drift away from Christ? This is some of the conversations we have as elders about you members. We want you to cling to Christ. But how is it that people drift? Let me share some categories, and these are going to be interconnected in our lives. When you start falling in one area, it starts affecting other areas.

One area in which people drift spiritually is with unrepented sin.

Unrepented Sin

All of us are sinners, even those of us who have trusted in Christ. We are going to dishonor Christ and give ourselves over to the desires of the flesh. But when that happens, what do we do? We’re supposed to come to Jesus in confession and repentance.

Proverbs 28:13 says: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Most of you know that Judas betrayed Christ. But that wasn’t the first major sin in his life. John 12 says that Judas, being the one in charge of the group’s money, used to help himself to what was in there. He opened up his life to a pattern of unrepented sin, and it led him away from Jesus Christ.

Do not give in to the lie of Satan that your sin means you need to separate from Christ for a while. Confess your sin and repent, and God will mercifully draw you to Himself again.

In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul talks about the difference between worldly grief and godly grief. Godly grief is a grief over the sin in your life, and it leads to repentance, to a changed life. Worldly grief is just remorse. It’s feeling bad about the consequences of your sin, but not bad about the sin itself.

If you have sin in your life that you are not confessing and repenting of, you are drifting from Christ.

A second area we can drift in is corporate worship.

Corporate Worship

When we gather as a church, it’s not so that we can just perform some religious ritual or check it of our list. No, this is a gathering of God’s people in obedience to Him, and for our own benefit.

That’s why in chapter 10 of Hebrews, in this very same letter, when we get the exhortation to draw near to God, we’re also told not to neglect meeting together, which some of them had already started doing. That’s from Hebrews 10:25.

The goal isn’t just church attendance; the goal is meaningful participation in our corporate worship. We sing together in praise to Christ. We hear the word read. We pray together. We sit under the word of God.

When the word is preached, or when you’re sitting in a classroom, you need to be asking yourself, “How is this going to affect my own life?” It shouldn’t just be information. It needs to result in transformation. And if you can’t answer that question ask someone. It’s a great question to ask.

I am confident that our Sunday teachers are going to give out good information. Right now we’re learning about the Old Testament. But when you finish a quick lesson on Genesis or Exodus, ask yourself, or ask the teacher, “What can I take away from this? How does this affect my life?” That’s meaningful participation.

Not having meaningful participation in corporate worship is a major way we drift from Christ. And the risk is greater today because we can just sit at home and listen to church services from around the world and convince ourselves that we’re doing okay.

I understand that we’re not all going to make it every week; life happens. But where is your heart?

Do you want to be here? And in the days when you don’t feel like coming, do you come anyway, in obedience to Christ, knowing that this is good for you?

For those of you who are members of this church, I want you to know that as elders, our expectation of you is that you are here for all of church. We start at 9, and we end around 11:45. Is that a priority for you?

Some of you serve with Sunday school or with a class, and that’s wonderful. When it’s not your turn to serve, do you still come to the other hour? If not, why not? Think about that.

Or when we have a prayer meeting or a Lord’s Supper meeting, why don’t many of you come? Think about that. A lack of desire to be with God’s people is a sign that you’re drifting.

Related to corporate worship, there’s a third category of drifting. We drift with unrepented sin. We drift with corporate worship. Number three, we drift in relational connection.

Relational Connection

Also in Hebrews 10, connecting to gathering with the body, it says we are to stir up one another to love and good works. God designed the body of Christ to rely on one another. And Sunday mornings are not supposed to be the only time that happens.

Listen to what it says in Hebrews 3:12-13—Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. [13] But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Sin will slowly eat away at your spiritual life, and part of the way we work against that is by daily connection.

Today is Sunday. Tomorrow is Monday. But guess what? Tomorrow is going to be “today,” right? And as long as it’s “today,” Christ says, exhort one another. Stay connected relationally.

Those of you who are moms and dads know the distinct concern that comes when you’re kids is about to finish high school or college. What are they going to do? Are they going to stay connect and deepen their faith? Or will they fall away?

Many times, the first signs of a young man or a young woman drifting away is they stop attending church, and they stop connecting meaningfully with others. That’s a dangerous place to be.

Proverbs 18:1 says—Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.

It is a dangerous thing to isolate yourself spiritually. And it’s a tragedy that with all our technology today, people think they’re more connected than ever before, but in reality, so many people lead empty, isolated, detached lives. And it’s not a good thing.

You need brothers and sisters who will encourage you, and lift you up in prayer, and sharpen you, and point out areas of concern. You need a friend who is willing to risk hurting you because they care about your soul.

Proverbs 27:6 says—Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

You need a friend like that. You need relational connections, otherwise you will drift from Jesus Christ.

Another area of your life connected to drifting away is personal prayer.

Personal Prayer

It’s good to pray with your family. It’s good to pray at church. But what role does prayer take in your personal life?

Prayer is an expression of our personal connection to Jesus Christ. Jesus said we should pray privately as well as corporately. He said God would reward it. There’s an eternal reward, but there’s also the reward of knowing God more and having His power in your life.

Peter was a man of prayer. Daniel was a man of prayer. Hannah was a woman of prayer who poured out her heart to the Lord.

If you’re not investing in personal, private prayer, you are drifting from Christ.

A fifth way we drift is with Bible intake. Bible intake. We need to be taking in the word of God every day, and there are a lot of ways to do that. You can read it. You can study it. You can memorize it. You can teach it. You can meditate on it. You can listen to it, or listen to a teaching on it.

This is God’s instrument for our lives. This is what He uses to mature us, to correct us, to grow up, to shape up. Hebrews 5 tells us the word of God is like milk for a baby. And it’s like meat for the mature. This is what we need to sustain spiritual life.

What role does the word of God play in your everyday life? Does it “dwell in you richly” like it says in Colossians 3? If you’re drifting from the word of God, you’re drifting from Christ.

Now, as you give yourself to the word of God, you should be aware of another distraction. And this is number 6 on the list. It is possible to drift because of doctrinal distractions.

Doctrinal Distractions

In 1 Timothy 1, Paul gives a warning against false doctrine and against paying attention to myths and endless genealogies. This is talking about theological speculation.

There are plenty of things that are clear in Scripture, and to the degree that they are clear, we should stand up for them and defend the truth against error. But some questions that come up are not worthy of our time. They will detract our attention.

First Timothy 4 talks about people paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. This is false teaching. Not everything that claims to be Christian is from Christ.

Just because some YouTube personality says he’s a pastor or a theologian, doesn’t mean you need to listen to him. And there is bad theology, and there is also distracting theology. Speculations about aliens and the ark of the covenant. Go to the Bible. Don’t waste your time on biblical conspiracy theories that give the appearance of piety.

One of the doctrinal distractions of our culture today is this idea, that more important than reading your Bible is sitting back to hear a private word from the Lord. Let him whisper to you a personal message. This is a very prominent message, even from well-known names.

The problem is, it’s not a teaching rooted in the teaching of Scripture. Yes, God talked to men and women in a distinct way during the Old and New Testament, but there is no biblical command to wait to hear from God outside of His word.

In fact, that’s exactly what the opening paragraph of Hebrews is saying. God spoke to us through His Son who chose His Apostles, and who gave His Spirit to give us the Bible. This is how God speaks, and we need to listen.

God will guide us and lead us providentially as we obey His word. But to sit back and wait for some extra-biblical message from Him is a dangerous practice, and it undermines the authority and the clarity and the sufficiency of Scripture.

Second Peter 1:3 says God has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

You don’t need a new or a personal word from God, you need to give yourself to what His word already says. If we start looking for answers or for meaning or for guidance outside Scripture, we will start drifting from Christ.

The final category I want to share today is a major one. And that is worldly concerns.

Worldly Concerns

We can drift through unrepented sin, in the area of corporate worship, in relational connections, in personal prayer, in Bible intake, in doctrinal distractions, and finally, number 7, with worldly concerns.

Matthew 13 records a parable Jesus shared about four different kinds of soils. And each soil had seed thrown onto it, but each had a different result. The first soil was a stony path which represents someone who doesn’t embrace the word of Christ. The fourth soil produced fruit, which represents true faith.

The second soil had rocks without a depth of soil. The seed grew quickly but when the hot sun came, the plant withered. The third soil had thorns in it, so when the crop grew, is was choked away by the thorns.

Jesus said that the second soil represented people who initially receive the word of God with joy and enthusiasm. But once tribulation or persecution comes, they fall away. They are more concerned with personal comfort than with honoring God.

The third soil was people whose faith is choked by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. Again, they started caring about the things of this world.

And that can happen all at once, or it can happen little by little. There is so much good in this world, and we can give ourselves to it. But when our pursuit of something crowds out our devotion to Christ, we are in danger. We’re drifting.

It reminds me of what Jesus said to Martha when she was distracted with her hospitality. He said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.

People miss church because they can make more money working on the weekends. People invest so much energy into fantasy football that it crowds out investment in the things of God. People give themselves to whatever else—news, politics, finance, work, business, kids events, birthday parties, whatever.

Let’s enjoy some of those to the glory of God, but let’s make sure they are not choking away our pursuit of Christ. We cannot serve God and money or the things of this world.

Let’s make sure the garden of our hearts isn’t filled with the weeds of worldly pursuits. Don’t let earthly passions and pursuits crowd out a heart devoted to Jesus Christ. Don’t let your heart drift away from your first love.

In Matthew 7, as Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, he talked about the danger and the tragedy of people who think they are going into the kingdom of God, but instead, Jesus says to them, “I never knew you; depart from me.”

And then He told a memorable story about two different men who built a house. One built his house on the rock, and the other built his house on the sand. Both men built, and both men had their home assaulted with floods and winds. The house built on the sand had a disastrous collapse, but the house built on the rock did not.

I think the storms there represent the coming judgment of God. Some will stand confident before God, humbly covered in the righteousness of Christ. Others will be condemned forever.

What was the difference? Jesus said building your house on the rock meant you hear His words and you do them. That’s the difference. That’s how you avoid making a disaster and a catastrophe of your life and soul. Hear the words of Christ and do them.

Good intentions won’t be enough. Take action to make sure you’re not drifting. Reach out to others for help. Cry out to God.

One other step you can take to keep yourself from drifting, or to restore yourself, is to consider the eternal consequences. We’ll talk more about that next time, as we move into verses 2 and 3.