Sermon26-28 Heb2 "Heed the Word" Guide

Hebrews 1:1-3, 2:1-4 theme verse Hebrews 2:1

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this twenty third Sunday of the year 2026, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life.

Last week, on the first Sunday of ordinary season after Pentecost, through Luke 8, we looked at how we have to read the Word of God, yet on this second Sunday of Ordinary season after Pentecost, we would like to think about how we cannot drift away amidst the temptations of the world and Satan in this end era together.

1)    First of all, we would like to summarize general information about the Hebrews.

Regarding the author of the Hebrews, there have been various opinions from early Church Fathers. While scholars in the eastern Mediterranean region often claimed that the Apostle Paul wrote this epistle, yet Western scholars, centered in Rome, opposed this view, because the writing style of the Hebrews differs significantly from Paul’s writings so even Clement of Alexandria and Origen, who claimed Paul as the author, acknowledged that the writing style of the Hebrews was very different from Paul’s writings. So recently, almost no scholar from any theological tradition claims that Paul is the author of this epistle.

Instead, some mention Luke, Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Judas, Apollos, Philip, Silvanus, or Priscilla as the author. Yet, since many scholars after Martin Luther presented Apollos who is “A Jew from Alexandria to Ephesus” in Acts 18:24-26, as the most likely author of Hebrews, because he was introduced as a man of eloquence and proficient in the Scriptures, and he seems to possess a broad understanding of the Old Testament and to have a heart devoted to the authority of Scripture and to be a preacher who received higher education and was trained in rhetoric and was trained in Jewish interpretation tradition in synagogues and also to show deep concern as a church leader, for the spiritual state of the congregation.

However, today, we will start our exegesis leaving the author as unknown.

Regarding the recipients of Hebrews, according to the various clues, they seem to be members of a Christian community with a Jewish background and some of them abandoned the Christian faith and returned to Judaism, and the rest seem to be suffering from the same temptation, so it seems most likely they were a Jewish church community in Rome. Because in the 1st century, approximately 40,000 to 60,000 out of 1 million of Roman population were Jewish and after some of the Jews who came to Jerusalem during the Pentecost as we can see in Acts 2 converted to Christianity, returned to Rome, and established a church. Based on the fact that the Epistle to the Hebrews was mentioned first in the "First Clement," a pastoral letter written by Clement of Rome to the Corinthian church, it is sure that the epistle was utilized in Rome. Therefore, presumably we can infer that the recipients of Hebrews were members of the Jewish Christian community in Rome who were struggling to maintain their Christian devotion.

And regarding the date of writing, verses 5:11–6:3 indicate that the recipients were Christians for a time, but as described in 10:32–34, they likely suffered somewhat severe persecution at some point in the past. This event can be presumed to be the expulsion of all Jews from Rome in AD 49 during the reign of Emperor Claudius due to conflict between Jews and Jewish Christians. Furthermore, verse 12:4 suggests that although the intensity of persecution was increasing, they had not yet faced martyrdom. Therefore, according to all these facts, we can infer that it could be written around the mid-60s AD, just before the persecution instigated by Emperor Nero became increasingly severe.

Through this epistle, the author exhorts those who are spiritually wavering to believe in Jesus Christ, to endure to the end by heeding what they heard from Jesus who as the Son of God, superior to angels, Moses, or Joshua, and also the great High Priest, has shown an example of endurance in all His races.

2)    By the way today’s text the author begins with the word “Therefore” in verse 2:1. Therefore, I think we first need to know what was said in the preceding chapter 1.

Before we jump into that, we need to define what the Gospel is. As John 17:3 says, "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent," the Gospel centers on Jesus Christ. He is the very essence of the Gospel; indeed, the Gospel is essentially knowing Jesus Himself.

Yet knowing Jesus means more than just being aware of historical facts about Him, rather it means confessing Him as my Savior and Lord, uniting with Christ through the Holy Spirit, acknowledging Him as the Lord of my life, and experiencing Him personally through ongoing fellowship.

Therefore, we have to check whether we living a life of fellowship with Him after knowing Him as today’s text, specifically in 1:2-6 says that:

a) First He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature, I mean, God Himself;

b) He is the Creator God through whom the entire universe was made;

c) And also He as the Providential Carer upholds all things by the word of His power;

d) And then He is the Redeemer who purifies the world of its sins;

e) And also as the firstborn of the new humanity, He is the heir of all things;

f) And He is the King of kings who currently seats at the right hand of God and rules over the entire world;

g) Yet, He will return on the last day, to judge all things;

h) Therefore, it is said that He is the One to whom all peoples and all creations have to worship as the second person of the Triune God.

3)    And also today’s text says that this gospel concerning Jesus was not proclaimed only from the first century when He came first time.

I mean, the author says in verse 1:1 that this gospel a) was already proclaimed in ancient times through the prophets that it was promised within various covenants such as the Adamic covenant, known as the “proto-evangelium” or "first gospel” which was already revealed as early as Genesis 3:15; the Noahic covenant in Genesis 9 regarding the preservation of nature after the flood; the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12, 15, and 17; the Mosaic covenant in Exodus 19; and the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7 concerning the eternal Kingdom of God and also was foreshadowed in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, in the 613 Old Testament commandments, in the regulations of the Tabernacle in Exodus 25–40, and also in the various sacrificial and purification rites in Leviticus.

b) and then, in the beginning of the end era which can be defined as the period spanning from the Lord’s first coming to His second coming according to the amillennial view, not only did the Lord Himself come to earth and speak, but also those who heard Him directly who  proclaimed through signs, wonders, and mighty works, testified and confirmed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

c) and also this gospel, having been continuously proclaimed and witnessed to over the past two thousand years, continues to be proclaimed today by God’s messengers.

Therefore, in the 2:2–3, it is said that as even the violation of and disobedience to the word delivered through angels met with just retribution, the author asks that how can we avoid judgment if one neglects this "great salvation” which was achieved by Jesus Christ, who as the Creator, the Providential Carer, the Redeemer, the King of Kings, and the Judge, finally fulfilled the promise of the Bible which has been proclaimed throughout human history by the prophets, Jesus Himself His disciples to this day. I think this question is addressed not only to the members of the Roman church whose faith was wavering two thousand years ago but also to us.

4)    Even though this Gospel of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed here and until now, yet I confess that I have a heavy heart after observing the current reality of churches in both the United States and Korea.

We once held the faith that David confessed in Psalm 84:10 that "better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." Yet now, it seems to me that living a comfortable and happy life in the world has become a higher priority than living in the presence of God.

And also when we see Hebrews 11:33–38 that those who embraced the promises of the Gospel faced lions without fear, destroyed the powers of Satan through the Lord’s word, and sustained by faith in the resurrection, they refused to accept release through compromise even under severe torture. They also willingly endured mockery, scourging, chains, and imprisonment; even suffering stoning, sawing in two, and death by the sword; And they wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated, roaming deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground. Yet, we clearly saw they ultimately evangelized Rome, living out the power of the Gospel, a power the world could not contain. But today, sadly I think the Gospel has been distorted to merely receiving earthly blessings or achieving success while living a healthy and happy life in comfort zone.

Therefore, as a minister of God’s Word called to proclaim the Gospel, I am deeply concerned about how I will see our Lord when I eventually arrive in the Heaven. Even though it is true that the Gospel has been distorted by the prosperity Gospel, legalism, humanism, or "cheap grace” which was proclaimed by false prophet, I think we cannot be free from guilt. Therefore, we need to what has happened in us.

5)    First, I think we need to think about the word in 2:1, saying "so that we do not drift away."

Here the Greek word pararreo (παραρρέω), translated as "drift away," carries the meaning of missing the mark or floating away signifies "to drift away from a belief [and] gradually give up belief in truth” according to the Louw-Nida lexicon.

In other words, it refers not to a sudden, drastic loss of faith caused by a massive, overwhelming attack, but rather to a gradual drifting further and further away.

This is typically how sin attacks us; for instance, we can remind the incident in 2 Samuel 11 where David committed adultery with Bathsheba, who was the wife of his loyal soldier Uriah and violated all the Ten Commandments. That tragedy unfolded because, at the start of the campaign season, he stayed in the palace instead of performing the royal duty of inspecting the border regions.

Similarly, our church has lost the Gospel because we have drifted away from what we have heard slowly and imperceptibly floating off course without even realizing we were gradually dying.

6)    However, today’s passage offers a way to prevent this drifting away.

I mean, it says that the key to avoid this drifting away is to pay close attention to what we have heard.

Here the Greek word prosecho (προσέχω), which is translated as "paying attention" or "taking heed”, literally means to be attentive or to exercise caution, refers to "being in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger, need, or error, and to respond appropriately” by the Louw-Nida Greek lexicon.

Therefore, in order not to drift away amidst the overwhelming waves and rapid currents of the world which try to devour us, we have to remain in a state of constant readiness, I mean, staying spiritually awake, after listening to the Word, by reflecting deeply upon it so that we can identify potential dangers or errors in our lives and respond to them appropriately.

7)    By the way, as we strive to live such a vigilant life, there is one thing we have to keep firmly in mind.

What I mean is, if we look at 1 Kings Chapter 19 which you are all familiar with, we can see that the Prophet Elijah, after slaying the 400 prophets of Baal who worshipped false god atop Mount Carmel, he abruptly became disheartened by the sudden threats of Jezebel and fled to Mount Horeb. Then as God appeared to him, asking “What are you doing here, Elijah?” yet, God did not reveal Himself in a mighty wind, or in a great earthquake, or in a raging fire to Elijah who said “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away.” Rather, He appeared to Elijah in teh sound of a low whisper. And upon hearing that gentle voice, Elijah was able to regain his strength and again returned to His calling.

We hear the sermons every Sunday and read the message every day in our Quiet Time devotions! Yet if we do not pay heed to these very words of God which ring in our ears and are inscribed upon our hearts, I think we could not ever discern God’s low whisper in other moments, or live our lives in obedience to His Word. That’s why we have to be awake not to be tempted by Satan, but also to discern God’s low whisper in our mind.

8)    I hope we all may heed what we hear in every daily devotion and in every Sunday sermon. So, by paying heed to what God spoke us in a low whisper onto our hearts, I hope we may not drift away today and during the week. And as Isaac sat in the field and meditated on the word of God in Genesis 24:63, I sincerely pray that we can all be mindful of God’s Word every moment of every day.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that we have to heed what we heard not to drift away. So after reflecting our life and checking whether we live and heed the Word, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that we have to be awake to discern the temptation of Satan and to hear the low whisper of God. So after reflecting our life and checking whether we are awake in the Word, I hope we can share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.