Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
Hebrews 2:1-4

The story of the Gospel is everywhere this time of the year. Most of us know that the Lord Jesus Christ was born as a human baby in a manger in Bethlehem. We all know that this baby grew up and proved Himself to be the very Son of God and the Messiah that was predicted in the Old Testament. The signs and wonders and various miracles proved that He was who He claimed to be. The resurrection after the crucifixion proved that God had accepted the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus as the sacrifice that satisfied Him on our behalf. Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Now the question is: Are we going to let these truths slip away like water out of a leaking boat? Are we going to neglect these great truths? These are solemn questions this time of the year in a country that has easy access to the Truth of God’s salvation. This is a solemn question for many who have turned to science and reason and have turned away from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a solemn question for those who once embraced these Truths but now have turned away from the Lord whom they once found precious. These are people who confuse us. We wonder if they were ever saved or if they are saved and are just living a life in opposition to the Lord. But this I know, if we reject the Lord and His great salvation, we will not escape His judgment.

The message that we believe was spoken by the Lord. John 3:16 is a quote directly from Him. The message was confirmed by the Apostles who heard him. Peter says that we have not followed “cunningly devised fables” when he refers to seeing the Lord on the mount of transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16). This was a real experience, not a dream or a myth. Peter says that the Lord suffered for our sins in order to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). So it was confirmed by those that heard Him. God the Father bore witness to this message through the signs and wonders and miracles and also by raising the Lord from the dead.

Many scoff at the resurrection. However, it is one of the best documented events of history. In 1 Corinthians 15 over 500 saw him alive after the resurrection and, if we had lived then, we could have talked to them about this. Likely Paul had been in Jerusalem on some of the feast days when the Lord spoke to the crowds since Paul was trained by Gamaliel, a great teacher of the Pharisees who taught in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). But Paul was not convinced of the Truth until he met the resurrected glorified Lord on the way to Damascus. So Paul was one who heard him and who at first did not believe. When he did realize that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, he also confirmed the message of salvation (see 1 Timothy 1:15) and in his writings, he emphasized that the Lord was alive and was coming again (See 1 Corinthians 15 particularly verses 51-52).

We are going to be held accountable for what we know. If we are so foolish as to let the things that are true slip away–if we neglect these things, then as far as God is concerned we have rejected the Lord. Since there is no other means of salvation, “How shall we escape if we neglect a salvation that is so great?.” And of course the answer is, “There is no escape (John 3:36).”

Since this salvation is so great and so necessary, we who are saved should not neglect it either. Of course, we do not have to worry about being lost, but we may have friends, relatives and neighbors who will be lost if we neglect this great salvation.

Bruce Collins