How to stop drift

On Sunday night we were looking at Hebrews. It is a book of warnings, in particular it warns believers about the danger of drifting, of gradually becoming apathetic about the gospel and drifting into a sterile legalism and religiosity. But how do you avoid such a drift because if its so gradual we may not even see it coming?

That's where understanding Hebrews and reading it in its entirety helps. Chapter 10v19-25 says this:

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

The key to avoiding drift is one another, it is other believers keeping us gospel focused and applying the gospel to each others lives again and again and again. God knows it is a potential problem we face and so he graciously gives us other believers, he gives us the church.

There are however a number of trends in society that makes this difficult. The first is that we are commitmentophobic - and such relationships require commitment - we must allow the gospel to challenge our individualism and heed its call into community.

The second is that we are proud, we don't like to admit we are drifting and we certainly don't want someone else pointing out what we haven't seen for ourselves. Again the remedy is the gospel where God points out our need before we are aware of it and shows us his love.

Thirdly we devalue the church - it is fashionable to moan about the church; discontent seems to be endemic. There are things in local churches, which if there, we ought to be concerned about; a refusal to teach the Bible, poor/wrong Bible teaching, unchallenged sin. That concern shouldn't result in moaning but prayer and then an approach to the elders of the church. But some things; music style, things just not being quite how I would like it, etc... should not cause moaning. I was always told that if I found the perfect church not to join it because I would ruin it. God gives us one another to gospel one another.

Fundamentally if we don't want to be in relationships which have elements of accountability to one another, if we will not engage in gospel-ing one another then we have failed to understand the call of the gospel and we open ourselves up to the danger of drifting.