"Warning Signs" (pt1)

    

I remember when I drove an eight-teen wheeler the importance of watching, reading, and knowing the road signs. Those road signs were very important as they directed, navigated, and most of all warned me as a driver of what was to come. These road signs became very important, especially in the hills of West Virginia or Virginia. It was in these states the hills became very steep mountains, so steep there were 'run away' truck ramps for trucks that did not heed the 'steep incline' warning signs to be saved. The end result for not heeding these warning signs left 'big trucks' stuck in a ramp full of pea gravel along with a high dollar wrecker bill in order to be pulled out from the ramp.

     As Christians, God has graciously given us 'warning signs' as it pertains to our walk with Him. God has given us 66 books of the Bible, the Holy Spirit, as well as other believers to encourage, exhort, and warn others in their everyday living. The book of Hebrews is one book in particular, which gives several 'warning signs' for the believer to heed and to listen, lest they find themselves 'fallen away' or 'apostates.' We live in a time and day quiet similar to that of Paul and Timothy. Listen to Paul as he instructs and warns Timothy of the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

     We live in a society today, which people claim to be followers of Christ, yet they have no desire for the things of God. Our society teaches us from an early age to be secular humanist or in other words, that life is all about us. We are also taught at an early age to be prideful, to do whatever we think is right in our own eyes, all the while 'tacking' God on at the end, because of course we are Christian. Yet, God's Word reminds us as true believers this is not what pleases Him. Matter of fact, God warns us in His Word about being prideful, James 4:6 "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." God also warns us about doing whatever we think is right in our own eyes as in Judges 21:25, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This is a sober reminder God is more concerned about His glory and our obedience then our pride or our secular way of thinking.

     Therefore, for the next several weeks I want to take the book of Hebrews and look at the warning signs God gives His people. I believe these warning signs are timely, as many who profess to know Christ live a life which contradicts their profession. My aim in writing this is to encourage us as believers to "examine our lives," according to the Scriptures (2 Cor.13:5). But, also to expose those who are false professors who believe themselves 'regenerate or saved,' yet their lives are so similar to that of the unconverted in the world. I pray God would encourage one and all for His glory and that we as God's people would examine our own hearts, as God would be kind and gracious in exposing our sin lest we fall away. Also, believers and unbelievers both will see and taste the sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ, therefore causing our lives to be conformed more into his image (Rom.8:29). For our good and His glory!

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