Don’t Shipwreck: A Warning from Hebrews 2:1–4

This is a transcript edited for reading purposes from a sermon preached at The Heights at Night, The Heights Baptist Church’s weekly Young Adult Ministry on Monday Nights.

“How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)

This is the first warning in the book of Hebrews. And it’s not a soft one.

Hebrews 2:1–4 tells us plainly: if we have received a message greater than that of angels, a covenant confirmed by Christ, attested by eyewitnesses, and affirmed by the Spirit through signs and wonders—then we must pay very close attention to it. Otherwise, we will drift. And drifting is not a passive problem—it is the beginning of shipwrecked faith.

“Is It Me?”

To get our hearts ready, let’s go back to a scene from the Gospels.

You’re sitting around a table with Jesus and the twelve disciples. One of your friends has been skimming money off the top for months. Everyone knows. Then Jesus says, “One of you will betray me tonight.”

Naturally, you’d think, “Well, it’s Judas. Obviously.”

But the disciples didn’t say that. Every single one of them, even with the thief sitting among them, asked Jesus: “Is it I?”

That’s the heart posture Hebrews 2 demands of us. Not speculation, but self-examination. We’re not here tonight to debate soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), but to take seriously the Spirit’s warning: Pay attention. Don’t drift.

The Weight of a Greater Covenant

In chapter 1, we saw that the Old Covenant was delivered through angels. That covenant—think of the law given to Moses—came with divine authority. Every transgression received just retribution. It worked. It was holy. It was sufficient for its purpose.

But now? Christ has come. And He is greater than the angels. He brings a new and better covenant, one that demands our whole attention.

If breaking the Mosaic law brought judgment, how much more severe is the danger of neglecting the gospel of Jesus?

What Does It Mean to Drift?

The Greek word for “drift” paints a picture: a boat untied from the dock, slowly pulled away by the current, unaware that it’s headed toward destruction.

That’s the danger for us. It’s subtle. It’s passive. It happens when we stop paying attention. And let’s be honest: no one drifts into godliness. Our hearts are prone to wander. Left unchecked, we’ll spiral into spiritual atrophy.

Which is why Scripture warns us again and again.

A Saving Faith Is an Enduring Faith

Let’s be clear. I believe that once you are truly saved, you are secure in Christ. Salvation is a work of God, not of man. But Scripture also teaches that the faith that saves is the faith that endures. If it doesn’t last, it was never real.

There are many who think they are saved—people who may have prayed a prayer or gone to church—but over time, their hearts grow cold, they drift from the gospel, and their lives reveal a tragic truth: they never knew Him. (We see this most explicitly in Matthew 7).

The Bible doesn’t downplay this danger. It sounds the alarm. Let me just list some of the warnings:

Hebrews

Hebrews 2:1 "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

Hebrews 3:12 "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."

Hebrews 4:1 "Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it."

Hebrews 6:4–6 "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."

Hebrews 10:26–27 "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."

Hebrews 12:15–17 "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears."

James

James 1:14–15 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

James 2:17, 26 "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."

James 5:19–20 "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."

1, 2, and 3 John

1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."

1 John 2:3–6 "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."

1 John 3:6–10 "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."

1 John 5:16–17 "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death."

2 John 1:9 "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."

3 John 11 "Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God."

Some Others:

2 Peter 2:20–22 "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: 'The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.'"

Matthew 13:20–21 "As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away."

Galatians 5:4 "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace."

1 Timothy 1:19–20 "Holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."

The list goes on. And the point is sobering: saving faith endures. Not perfectly. But truly.

So What Do We Do?

Ask the question: “Lord, is it me?” Let that question drive you to Christ, not away from Him. If your heart has grown cold, repent. If you feel yourself drifting, return. And if you’re standing firm, press on all the more.

We must be a people who take the Word seriously, who tether our lives to Scripture, who live in community that encourages perseverance.

We must not treat salvation as something optional or casual.

But There’s Good News

This passage ends with hope:

“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…” (Hebrews 2:3–4)

This gospel is not a myth. It’s not folklore. It is a divine message, confirmed by Jesus, proclaimed by the apostles, validated by miracles, and alive through the work of the Spirit.

And that same Spirit is still active today—calling, convicting, strengthening, and sanctifying. Jesus is still saving sinners. The Spirit is still working among us.

So Here’s the Invitation

If tonight you realize that you’ve been coasting, if your heart is cold, if your faith has become a label rather than a life—come back. Jesus has paid the full price. There is nothing left for you to do to earn your salvation. It is a gift.

And if you are truly His, you will endure. Because He will hold you fast.

If this stirred something in you, don’t ignore it. Reach out. Message me. Talk to someone. Today is the day of salvation.

Let’s not neglect such a great salvation.