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;
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?

The writer of Hebrews now asks a question that hangs in the air for a moment.

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”

Notice the word he chooses. He does not say reject. He says neglect.

Most people who drift away from truth do not shake their fist at God and openly reject Him. Much more often they simply neglect what has been given to them.

They treat the gospel casually.

They hear it, nod at it, maybe even appreciate it for a season. But they never anchor their lives to it.

And the writer says that kind of neglect is dangerous.

Because this salvation did not originate with human ideas. It began with the Lord Himself.

Jesus spoke it.

Then those who heard Him directly carried the message forward. Peter, John, James, Andrew and the rest went out across cities and regions telling the story of the risen Christ.

And God confirmed their message.

The text says He bore witness “with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles.”

When you read the Book of Acts, you see exactly that. The apostles were not gathered safely inside comfortable rooms. They were out in the streets, preaching in hostile cities, confronting darkness head on.

And in those places God moved.

Prison doors opened.

Demons fled.

The sick were healed.

Not to entertain crowds. Not to build a spectacle. But to confirm that the message about Jesus was true.

I like that. The miracles followed the mission.

Think about that.

Jesus said something very similar in the closing words of Mark’s Gospel. As the disciples went out into the world preaching the good news, signs would follow.

Not staged events.

Not advertised demonstrations.

Just God working alongside His people as they stepped into places where the gospel had never gone before.

That is very different from the idea that signs and wonders can be scheduled like a conference.

The pattern of Scripture is much simpler.

When people step out in faith, when they place themselves in places where ministry is real and sometimes uncomfortable, the Lord works with them.

But even then the power is never something we control.

The writer adds one final phrase that keeps everything in balance.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given “according to his own will.”

Not according to our demands.

Not according to our preferences.

The Spirit distributes His gifts exactly as He chooses.

Which means the focus of the Christian life is not chasing experiences or collecting spiritual abilities.

The focus is Jesus.

The One who first spoke the message of salvation.

And the question still echoes today.

How shall we escape if we neglect something so great?