Hebrews 2:1
So then, we must pay all the closer attention to what we heard, in case we drift away from it.

Scripture and the early creeds are kind of like our guard rails. If we wander off too far from them, we will soon find ourselves lost and groping about in the darkness of our own, or somebody else’s, version of the Gospel. Perhaps unknown to us, we will be living by a made-up philosophy.

I like definition #5 of “philosophy”: a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs. 

For further thought, here is an excerpt from George Guthrie’s commentary on Hebrews 2:1-4:

“If our listeners do not have a clear concept of God’s right to rule their lives, if they have no sense of accountability to the divine Word, then our teaching or preaching of this passage loses its rhetorical power. This text cannot “speak” to them if they rest comfortably in a self-centered authority that judges all of life in light of one’s own self-actualization rather than according to the will and ways of God.”

“…many drift because they lack a solid grasp on commitment and personal responsibility. This problem is exacerbated in Western culture by the concurrent, contradictory longings for both autonomy and status as victim.”

What are your principles for guidance in practical affairs? Where do they come from?

Remember, the root of our religion is Jesus Christ. Scripture and creeds may be our guide rails, and good works will be our natural response, but our root is a person. The resurrected, living Christ always with us.

Distanced from Christ, CHRISTianity loses its meaning.

May we never stray from Jesus, His Spirit, His Father, His guidance, His teaching, His example, His power, His life, His presence. For from Him, from His actual life, flows the living water which we have to drink if we hope to live how He told us to live.

In the Name of Jesus,
Soli Deo Gloria