Show-up!
Hebrews 2:3 “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.”
What is salvation? Simply put, it is the successful delivery of someone or something from danger. You can’t have salvation from a burning house until you are out of the house. Salvation from a plane going down doesn’t mean assuming the crash position and hoping all goes well. No, no, no. For salvation to occur, someone or something has to be taken out of danger. Now how does this occur? Through a savior.
You see, without a savior, salvation does not, can not, and will not occur. And to be a savior, a person has to have at least two characteristics: (1) willingness and (2) ability. In some cases, a person may have the ability to do the job but might not be willing to put forth the effort to do it. An example of this might be having a friend who is a plumber and needing him/her to repair your toilet. Your friend is very capable of doing the job, but he/she might not be willing to do the job.
Then on the other hand, you could have a person who is willing to do the job but does not have the ability to do it. An example here could be that of a parent whose child is sick. From experience, I can tell you that all that mom or dad wants to do is see his/her child well again. Therefore, the parent is willing to do anything, but the truth is sometimes there is nothing physically that can be done.
In each case above, there is insufficiency in the rescuers. Whether they lack the ability or the willingness, something is missing. Yet, if we look at God’s plan of salvation for man, it is easy to discern that nothing on the Rescuer’s part is missing. First, God’s willingness is there. We know this because He sent His Son Jesus to complete the plan of salvation for our lives. Secondly, God’s ability is there as well. We know this to be true because of the resurrection of Jesus. So what is missing in this plan? The person who needs to be rescued.
In our text, we are asked the question, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.” The only way God’s plan of salvation does not work is if we reject or neglect the plan. Jesus stated in John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” You see, Jesus’ part in this plan is to accept anyone, and I mean anyone, who comes to Him. This isn’t a credit application in which there is a possibility of being denied based on your “past credit.” This isn’t a secret organization in which you have to hope to the members like you enough to let you in. This isn’t an initiation in which you have to prove yourself worthy of getting in. If the plan of salvation were these things, then it really wouldn’t be a “great plan” would it?
God implemented a great plan of salvation to grant us abundant life and everlasting life. He implemented a plan that would rescue us from going through hell while on earth and going to hell for eternity. In this plan’s simplicity, the only thing we, the rescued, have to do is “show up” and accept the resurrected work of Jesus Christ.
