Hebrews 2:3-4 "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; (4) 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?"
Where is your dependence? Are you resting in your own ability? Are you
trusting your ability to make right decisions? Are you placing your confidence
in your ability to turn from the world? When the pressure of guilt begins
to come upon you, where do you go? This is the question being asked by
the writer?
"How shall we escape" (flee from) our own guilt? If we neglect
the truth of God's sovereign grace, where can we flee for forgiveness and
acceptance? Are we thinking we can turn over a new leaf? Do we believe we
can make amends and change the fact we are sinners before the righteous God?
Let's say we can change ourselves and start living righteously before God. How
do you think God looks at our good works outside of the righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ? In other words, can we be accepted by God through our works?
Let's look at God's answer to this.
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6) All our righteousness (outside of the
risen Lord Jesus) are seen as pure filth. Yes, that's what God says about them.
Let's look at another point of view concerning our goodness outside of Christ.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There
is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (12) They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12) If there are none good
(yes, that includes you and me), then how can we do good?
So, where can we flee? Where shall we go to find any goodness or any
acceptance? Are you still trusting in your own goodness? Let's look at one more
point of answer. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour; (7) That being justified by his grace, we should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Tutus 3:5-7)
The only acceptance that we can find with God is through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews is going to show this over and over as we
go through this study. Lay down any thought that God accepts us based on
our own merit. Flee to the Rock that is higher than I. Look to Jesus, for He is
our only righteousness.