We need to be aware of signs of spiritual illness and a failure to thrive. When we start to find ourselves disinterested in Jesus, his Word, and our future inheritance, we should be concerned. When we realize that we are having a difficult time discerning between truth and error, or that we are unable to teach others the truth of the gospel, we know that we are in spiritual trouble. If we begin to drift away from the body of Christ, we are in a precarious place.

When babies are born, they are expected to hit developmental milestones at a certain rate. When they don’t meet those milestones or when they start to regress, doctors will sometimes offer the general diagnosis of failure to thrive. This medical category is a useful illustration to help us think carefully about our spiritual health.

The author of Hebrews is deeply concerned about the spiritual health and perseverance of his listeners. It is for this reason that the author offers multiple warnings throughout the book. There is, however, significant debate among Bible interpreters about the intended audience of these warnings. Are the author’s warnings directed at believers or almost-Christians. Are the warnings hypothetical or real?

We can’t venture into an answer to these questions here. Suffice it to say that I take the view that these warnings are all directed at Christians and serve as a means of their perseverance. You may read a long-form defense of my view here.

In this article, I want to focus on the first of those warnings, located in the second chapter of Hebrews.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:1-5)

The word “neglect” in v. 1 is conceptually connected to the word “drift” in v. 3. The warning is not emphasizing an overt, all-of-a-sudden rejection of Jesus’ great salvation. The warning is about a mere carelessness, inattention, apathy; the slow growth of desires for other things, as Jesus mentions in Mark 4:13, that begin crowd out desire for God.

A Slow Drift

This is like the captain who, out of weariness over the regular routine of securing his ship at port, doesn’t have the crew anchor the boat upon arrival. Yes, the wind is calmly blowing seaward, but surely we don’t have to secure the anchor in light of such a peaceful breeze, the captain reasons.

So, the men disembark from the ship, collect supplies in town, and come back to the ship to sleep.

Well, over the night that gentle breeze carries the ship out toward the ocean and right into a rock formation at the mouth of the inlet. The hull of the ship is pierced by the rocks and the ship eventually sinks, but not because the captain was driving his boat recklessly into a reef. He just chose to not secure the anchor, and a little breeze carried the captain and his men to their doom.

Falling away from Christ may look abrupt. A person finally says, “I’m done with Christ and his church.” But it never really is abrupt. That seemingly swift decision is merely the result of a slow drift over time: a shipwreck due to a light breeze and a little neglect.

The warning to every professing believer listening to this letter when it was read 2000 years ago and everyone who reads it to this is this: do not neglect this great salvation.

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