²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.

Terse warnings in the letter to the Hebrews point out the seriousness of the message. All roads do not lead to heaven! There are serious consequences to rejecting the unique message of Christ. God is the One who “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb 1:2). Just as Christ compares to Moses in an absolutely superior way, so rejecting the message of Christ compares to the rejection of Moses’ message in a superior way.

The verse calls to mind Heb 2:2-3, where a similar comparison was made, “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 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 …” Yes, God’s message has progressively become more clear, which as a result creates a greater responsibility for us to respond. Therefore, “See to it!” (see Heb 3:12, 12:15 for similar terseness).

Once again, we must comment on the “warning” statement, of which there are a number in this letter. Does he warn Christians as well as non-Christians? Believing as we do that the believer is secure in the unique and sufficient once-for-all-time sacrifice of Christ, and that it is impossible for a Christian to fall away, because if that were possible then the only way back to God would be to crucify Christ all over again (which is an utter impossibility and denial of what Christ did on the cross —see Hebrews 6:4-6), this verse cannot be understood to warn genuine Christians with the judgment of God. Genuine believers “have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10), for “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb 10:14).

The writer uses “we” rhetorically, as if he were to be among those who don’t believe in Christ, although of course, he does in fact believe in Him. Paul, in a similar way, wrote of the hypothetical case of his preaching a perverse gospel (Gal 1:8), something he clearly did not do—such people are to be accursed! The purity of the gospel is so important that he stresses it with the hypothetical. So here, the writer hypothetically includes himself in the warning, but he essentially addresses unbelievers. Anyone (including himself) refusing to believe in Christ’s perfect sacrifice will not escape judgment.

Lord, when I see the seriousness for unbelievers in turning away from Christ, I renew my commitment to walk in grace and in the confidence of Christ.