Hebrews 2: "You can build a Christian Empire without God"

You Can Build A Christian Empire Without God."
​“Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, let we drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1

“You can build a Christian empire without God.” (KB, The Art of Drifting.)

That lyric should terrify you. Maybe you don’t classify our small church that has had an average attendance in the 30’s since the pandemic as a “Christian Empire.” Whether or not you realize it, you are part of building something, not just in your local church.

Your life is building something. At your home when you are sitting around the dinner table, you are building something. When you go to work, complete tasks, and converse with coworkers, you are building something. At school, the way you carry yourself from class to class is part of building something. You are building a culture, a reputation, a way of life. Hopefully if you classify yourself as a follower of Christ, whatever it is that you are building you would consider to be “Christian.” This does NOT mean you are doing it with God.

The author of Hebrews thought it very important that his readers have a proper
understanding about the person of Jesus. It was a matter of life or death. He later instructs them to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity…” (6:1).

Why does all this information matter? Why does the author find it necessary that we understand Christ’s superiority over angels? Or that we understand something like the personal union of two natures in one person (1:3)? He gives the answer to start chapter 2: that we would not drift away from it. What is “it”? It is the message spoken to us by the Son (1:2) and the angels (2:2). The message that His conquering of death makes purification for sins, that He ascended to heaven and is eternally worthy of your worship (1:3-4). You are doing either one of two things. As you progress throughout your life as a Christian, you can be paying closer attention to the gospel message that saved you, learning to adore and praise Jesus more and more as God reveals more knowledge of Him to you, or you can be drifting away from it. We don't get the sense from the passage that the author believes you could be remaining in the same place.

Time and time again, we have seen teachers, preachers, musicians and “Christians” in all areas of life, fall short of their calling. We have seen it personally, and we have seen it on a large scale. People in the spotlight, selling out stadiums, selling books, etc.… getting caught in sin with an unwillingness to repent. Drifting away from the gospel that saves. The gospel they know and have heard time and time again, even taught to people thousands of times. Yet losing the person of Christ throughout the process, never growing in their knowledge and intimacy of their Savior.

You may have heard this message before. You know about the gospel, about Jesus, even have dozens of verses memorized. You may have been a Christian 40 years, maybe just 4. Hebrews reminds us that we are not safe. You are never safe from temptations to sin. As long as you are in the flesh, temptation and sin is real and we must fight against it.

Jesus is the destroyer of the devil (2:14). He satisfied the wrath of God that we deserve because of our sin by being our propitiation (2:17). Hebrews is teaching us this: how can you expect to escape punishment for your sins if you neglect the message that saves you?

Paying “much closer attention” to the person and work of Jesus should be the highest priority in your life at all times. Having a right thinking about Christ matters. Deepening our understanding of what God reveals to us in scripture matters. We say in Sunday School every week “doctrine matters.” Bobby Jamieson stated, “Sound doctrine isn’t an information archive that serves to preserve facts. Rather, it’s a road map for our pilgrimage from this world to the world to come.” (Sound Doctrine, 18)

So on your pilgrimage to the world to come, what are you building? Are the things you are involved with and doing paying “closer” attention to Jesus? Or are you drifting away from it? You can be drifting and not even notice. You can be building a “Christian empire without God.” That is a terrifying reality in the world we live. Stay close to Him and His message. Preach the gospel to yourself daily. Love and prioritize quality Bible intake. Study the word. Meditate on scripture. Redeem the wasted hours of your days. Repent of your drifting. His person is mysterious, and His works are majestic. He is the source of our sanctification. Stay close to the God who sent His own Son for the sake of drawing you to Himself. Pay closer attention to the gospel today than you did yesterday.

Pastor Liam Grzasko
Living Word Evangelical Free Church
Elmira, NY.