So Great A Salvation

September 24th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 2:3-4 …how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

Now since the Son of God is superior to angels (1:5-14), then the word the Son declared is superior to the OT Law the angels mediated (cf. Gal. 3:19). And since every violation of the OT Law received a just penalty (v. 2), then there can be no “escape” for those who neglect the “great salvation” Jesus Christ has provided and freely offers to all (v. 3). Though Christians cannot lose their salvation, they can drift away and neglect it, suffering the loss of eternal rewards (1 Cor. 3:8, 14-15). As for those who are intellectually convinced that Christ is Lord and God but have yet to commit their lives to Him, the warning is also very real. Both those who drift and those who neglect are in danger of losing something—either eternal rewards or eternal life.

What was this “great salvation” the author speaks of? The answer to that question is the message of the four Gospels and the rest of the NT. Jesus came as God in flesh. Whereas it was man’s fate to die for his sin, Jesus died in man’s place. Whereas man failed at keeping the OT Law and thus deserves death, Jesus fulfilled the Law on man’s behalf. Whereas man’s sin was constantly needing atonement through the sacrifice of animals and the spilling of their blood, Jesus Christ was the perfect Lamb of God who made the perfect sacrifice when He died on the cross. Jesus atoned for sin then sat down at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3), offering the Kingdom of God to everyone who would simply trust in Him as the promised Messiah. Of course believing that Jesus is the Messiah is no intellectual leap of faith given that He fulfilled hundreds of OT prophecies, performed miracles, and was Himself raised from the dead. This offer was, and is, the offer of grace by faith. All one need do is receive it. This is the “great salvation,” that which is superior to the covenant of works the Jews strove for through adherence to the OT Law.

The latter part of v. 3 says that the “great salvation” was first declared by the Lord Jesus. Then after He ascended into heaven (Acts 1), 50 days after His resurrection God anointed Jesus’ disciples with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), and they were given the gifts indicative of apostles to carry out the task of teaching Jesus’ words to the world. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12). Now the author of Hebrews claims that the apostles confirmed the words spoken by Jesus, for they were eyewitnesses of what Jesus said and did. The Hebrews author, however, was neither an apostle nor an eyewitness, for he claimed that the message of Christ was given to him by an apostle, saying, “it was confirmed to us by those who heard” (v. 3).

But since the apostles were still alive in the first century, apparently signs, wonders, and miracles were still being performed in order to confirm their testimony. These miracles were God’s confirmation by the power of the Holy Spirit given to them. It was God bearing witness about Himself through signs and wonders in order to validate the Son’s superiority. This made their message superior to all others, for they were able to back up their testimony with miracles.

Food For Thought
The message of Jesus is a believable message. He is a man of history who claimed to be God, strongly attested to the hundreds of OT prophecies He fulfilled and by His signs and miracles. His followers had a life-transforming experience, and their message was confirmed. Most of them died martyrs’ deaths because they were so convinced. God’s message is clear, and it is believable, yet it must be received by faith. To reject it is to reject so great a great salvation.