Hebrews: A Warning not to Drift Away
Hebrews 2:1-4 - Believers, do not drift from the Word or neglect salvation.
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
Hebrews 2:1-4 NASB1995
This passage that begins the second chapter of Hebrews is apparently the first of five warnings in this epistle to the reader. Commentary is divided on whether or not this first warning is to believers only, if it also includes unbelievers, or if it is only for unbelievers. There is speculation that Hebrews was written to encourage new Jewish believers in Christ who were thinking about reverting back to Judaism because of the hardships associated with Christian belief. I tend toward the position that this is primarily a warning for believers, because it is so easy for those who pretend to walk the walk with Jesus to drift away and neglect the importance of their salvation and the full impact of the list of things we learned about the Son in Chapter 1. I’ll share some commentaries with the three different aspects.
But first, let’s do a word study!
Drift away [from it] comes from the Greek verb παραῤῥυέω or pararrhyéō (Strong’s G3901) with the following Biblical usages (this is the only usage in the Greek translations for both the OT and NT):
to glide by: lest we be carried by, pass by
lest the salvation which these things heard show us how to obtain, slip away from us
a thing escapes me
slips my mind
Wow - if you know and believe, it seems so strange to me that you could have something as vitally important as the eternal Christ’s incarnation, death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection showing us the path to eternal life “slip your mind”. Granted, this world is full of fascinating distractions but seriously… you would have to be as mindless as this dead leaf floating on dark water (and I was that mindless earlier in my life).
First, let’s look a commentary that believes this is directed to both believers and non-believers, from Ray Stedman (quoted in Precept Austin):
It is addressed both to the Christian and to the non-Christian. To the non-Christian it says, Where are you going to go? How will you get out of God’s universe? How can you escape the inevitable? Indeed, why seek to avoid that which is unavoidable: a confrontation with the One Who is behind all things? How can you escape, and why attempt to do so? Especially when His purpose is not to curse but to bless? How can you find deliverance by any other route, by any other path, or by any other channel, if it does not involve the One who is behind all things? To the Christian, the writer is saying it is not enough that we know Jesus Christ: We must use the resources we have in Him. We can lose so much, even knowing Him, unless there is a day-by-day walk with Him. We lose peace and freedom and joy and achievement. We are subjected to temptation, frustration, bewilderment, bafflement and barrenness without Him. And if we do not go on as Christians, if we do not grow, a serious question is raised: Have we ever really begun the Christian life? (The Great Danger in Ignoring the Son)
Now, two examples of commentary that are believing this passage to be more directed to the unbeliever or perhaps the very, very casual believer (what I would call Christmas and Easter “Christians” who go to church on those two days to make someone in their families happy ). First, John MacArthur (from Precept Austin):
“Hell is undoubtedly full of people who were never actively opposed to Jesus Christ, but who simply neglected the gospel. Such people are in view in these four verses. They know the truth and even believe the truth, in the sense that they acknowledge its truthfulness, its rightness. They are well aware of the good news of salvation provided in Jesus Christ, but are not willing to commit their lives to Him. So they drift past the call of God into eternal damnation. This tragedy makes these verses extremely important and urgent.” (See context in Hebrews MacArthur New Testament Commentary)
Then, of course, the inestimable Charles Spurgeon from his expositional writings on Hebrews found on Precept Austin (this is focused on verse 3):
Let that question ring in our ears, “How shall we escape?” There will be no escape, there can be none if we refuse the Lord Jesus. Do we mean to be lost? Dare we continue to neglect the great salvation?
The apostles and the other followers of our Lord constantly bore witness to his miracles and his resurrection.
Hark: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” Not if we resist it, reject it, despise it, oppose it; but if we neglect it. If a man is in business, it is not necessary that he should commit forgery in order to fail; he can fail by simply neglecting his business. If a man is sick, he need not commit suicide by taking poison; he can do it just as surely by neglecting to take proper medicines. So is it in the things of God, neglect is as ruinous as distinct and open opposition: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation: “ —
They could not trifle with the angels’ message without receiving just punishment from God. Much less, then, can we trifle with Christ’s gospel. We have not au angelic saviour; but God himself, in the person of his Son, has deigned to be the Mediator of the new covenant. Therefore, let us see to it that we do not trifle with these things.
You see, dear friends, that we need not be great open sinners in order to perish; it is merely a matter of neglect. See how it is put here: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” You need not go to the trouble of despising it, or resisting it, or opposing it; you can be lost readily enough simply by neglecting it. In fact, the great mass of those who perish are those who neglect the great salvation, —
If we neglect that salvation, is there any other way by which we can be rescued from destruction? Is there any other door of escape if we pass that one by? No, there is none.
Luther says, “When I think of what Christ suffered, I am ashamed to call anything that I have endured, suffering for his sake.” He carried his heavy cross, but we only carry a sliver or two of it; he drank his cup to the drege, and we do but sip a drop or two at the very most. “Consider him.” Consider how he suffered far more than you can ever suffer, and how he is now crowned with glory and honor; and so you are to be like him, descend like him into the depths of agony, that with him you may rise to tho heights of glory.
The Strong’s definition of the word “neglect” (ἀμελέω or ameléō) includes “to make light of”. Many people caught up in our secular, science-driven world mock Christianity with a fervor normally reserved for demons. They talk of “flying spaghetti monsters” and invisible “daddies” in the sky. They show contempt for the virtues of believers who are attempting righteousness through the help of the Holy Spirit. Mysteriously, those same mockers rarely target Muslims with the same level of sarcasm. There is no other path or way to pass from destruction except through salvation from Christ.
Now let’s look at two commentaries that believe this passage is targeted at believers. First, from Enduring Word:
Therefore: The use of therefore in Hebrews makes us pay attention to a point of application after the writer develops a principle. The Scriptural fact of Jesus’ superiority over the angels has life-changing application – and now we must consider the application.
We must give the more earnest heed: This is what we must do in light of Jesus’ superiority over angels. We must give more earnest heed to the words of Jesus. It’s easy to think this exhortation is directed to unbelievers, but this letter was written to Christians.
Give the more earnest heed: This has not only the idea of hearing carefully, but also in doing what we hear – and we must give the more earnest heed. There is an urgency and necessity to this.
Lest we drift away: If we do not give the more earnest heed, we will drift away. The writer had the drifting of a boat in mind, and such drifting happens naturally without an anchor to something solid. If we are not securely set in the truth of the supremacy of Jesus, we will drift into danger with the currents of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The ancient Greek phrase for drift away comes from the idea “to slip” (Marcus Dodds). It was used for an arrow slipping from the quiver, for snow slipping off a landscape, or of food slipping down the windpipe to cause choking. It happens easily. One doesn’t have to do anything to drift away. Departure from the faith usually comes from slow drifting, not a sudden departure.
The Philippian jailer asked Paul, What must I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30) – Paul answered him. The question, “What must I do to be lost?” also has an answer: nothing. To do nothing is quite enough to be driven by the currents of the world, the flesh, and the devil and to drift away.
“The protection against drifting is to have Christ as once the anchor and rudder of life. The anchor will hold us to the truth, while the rudder will guide us by the truth.” (Griffith Thomas)
…
If we neglect so great a salvation: The ancient Greek word translated neglect is amelesantes, also used in Matthew 22:5 of those who disregarded the invitation to the marriage supper (they made light of it). It means to have the opportunity, but to ignore or to disregard the opportunity.
This was a word to believers, not to those outside the faith. The danger described isn’t rejecting salvation (though the principle certainly applies there also), but the danger is neglecting salvation.
Remember that Hebrews was written not primarily as an evangelistic tract, but as an encouragement and warning to discouraged Christians. It was written to those who neglected an abiding walk with Jesus.
So great a salvation: When we consider something great, we will naturally pay attention to it and not neglect it. If we do not consider something great we leave it to convenience rather than to commitment.
“The phrase, ‘so great salvation,’ is a striking reminder of what God has provided in Christ. The word ‘so’ is similar to the instance in the familiar passage, ‘God so loved the world’ (John 3:16), and expresses an unfathomable depth.” (Griffith Thomas)
Therefore, if we neglect something, we probably do not consider it great. Yet our salvation is great, because:
We are saved by a great Savior.
We are saved at a great cost.
We are saved from a great penalty.
A reason many neglect their salvation is because they never see it as salvation. They see it merely as receiving something, not as being rescued from something.
That is superb commentary, in my honest opinion. It makes you pause a little bit when people are invited at church to “say yes to Jesus” or “accept Him in their hearts”. That is not true redemption if there is no repentance. We must always look at our salvation as our rescue from sin and damnation, not as an opportunity to “receive” something without any effort on our part.
Gotquestions.org has a great answer to the question, What does it mean to neglect our salvation (Hebrews 2:3)?:
Neglecting salvation is not the same as rejecting it. The author of Hebrews is not talking to sinners and inviting them to be saved. He is speaking to Christians, urging them to pay close attention to the great salvation they have received from the Lord. He wants his brothers and sisters in Christ to understand that careless neglect of one’s salvation has dreadful consequences. Some listeners had apparently heard and responded to the gospel’s truth but were now at risk of drifting away. The writer is sending out a wake-up call. God doesn’t just sit back and let His people drift away into rebellion. He issues warnings, and, when necessary, He disciplines His beloved children (see Proverbs 3:11–12; Hebrews 12:5–7; James 1:12).
To neglect so great a salvation is to “become spiritually dull and indifferent” (Hebrews 6:12, NLT). This happens when we get too comfortable and self-satisfied. We grow careless and complacent. The Bible repeatedly warns against such complacency (Proverbs 1:32;1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Hebrews 12:25).
Warren Wiersbe writes in The Bible Exposition Commentary, “More spiritual problems are caused by neglect than perhaps by any other failure on our part. We neglect God’s Word, prayer, worship with God’s people (see Heb. 10:25), and other opportunities for spiritual growth, and as a result, we start to drift. The anchor does not move; we do” (vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, p. 282).
Our hope of salvation is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:18–20). Instead of drifting aimlessly, we must grab hold of our anchor and “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And . . . run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2, NLT). Jesus endured the cross, public shame, and hostility from sinful people, but He did not grow weary or give up (see Hebrews 12:1–3). God wants us to stay laser-focused on Jesus Christ and His salvation and to follow His example so we, too, don’t grow weary and give up.
To keep from drifting we need the daily anchor from belonging to Christ (prayer, word, worship).
Now let’s briefly look at the last part of verse 3 and verse 4.
After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
This gives a hint about the author of Hebrews - the writer has heard the testimonies but was not directly involved with the Lord. Here is what Steven Cole says about this, as quoted in Precept Austin:
Salvation is only great if it is true. If it’s just someone’s fanciful idea, with no factual basis, it may be nice, but it certainly isn’t worth suffering the loss of your property or shedding your blood for (Heb 10:34; 12:4). This great salvation was not only “at the first spoken through the Lord,” but also “it was confirmed to us by those who heard” (Heb 2:3). That statement seems to place the author, along with his readers, in the category of those who did not hear the gospel directly from Jesus Christ, which would exclude Paul from being the author. Those who hold to Pauline authorship say that this is just an editorial “us.” But whoever he was, the point is the gospel that Jesus proclaimed comes to us from those who directly witnessed His earthly ministry. The gospel is not the best ideas of a bunch of religious philosophers speculating about how they think we can be reconciled to God. The gospel is a matter of revelation and historical fact. Jesus really lived. His teaching and miracles are truthfully recorded in the gospels. He died on the cross and was raised physically from the grave before He ascended bodily into heaven. Many eyewitnesses saw these things and recorded them for us. If they were fictional stories, those in that day who read these accounts would have laughed the apostles out of town. But rather, these witnesses held to the truth about Jesus, even when [it] cost them their lives. (Hebrews 2:1-4 The Danger of Drifting Spiritually).
David Guzik notes that there are two dangerous paths concerning miracles (same link to Enduring Word as the excerpt above):
Denying miracles ever happened
Creating fraudulent miracles to garner attention
Jesus lives!
My next devotional examines Hebrews 2:5-8 - The Humanity of Christ.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord: Please keep me from ever drifting or neglecting the most beautiful gifts that You have given me! I heed the words in this first passage in Hebrews as a necessary warning for those who believe! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 10/13/2025 to review the lexicon for to drift away, neglect.
Precept Austin was accessed on 10/13/2025 to review commentary for Hebrews 2:1-4.
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made to improve readability.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 10/13/2025 to answer the question, What does it mean to neglect so great a salvation (Hebrews 2:3)? © COPYRIGHT 2002-2025 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.