Another echo of what we saw in Hebrews 2 is found in Hebrews 12:25, which says, See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven. That's what spiritual sclerosis does - it causes us to refuse Him who speaks. That refusal probably won't be one of outright defiance until the condition is far advanced, when it turns into willful sin for which there is no remedy.
But long before that, hardening begins with drifting, neglect, and inattention to the things of God. It develops from being more tuned in to voices from this world than to God.
We tend to follow those who align with our worldview or interests, whether podcasters, influencers, commentators, analysts, industry experts, and even musical artists. Something they say or do makes sense to us, or attracts us in some way, and so we subscribe or follow. One danger is that even as our worldview overlaps theirs in some way (or else we wouldn't be interested), in time, we will probably adopt bits of their worldview as well, not all of which agrees with God. Yet even in the areas that are true and good, their words still cannot compare with the message from our King and what He is offering us. In time, the truth of God can barely squeeze through because our vessels have become coated with all these (hopefully) reasonable but less important things. And if we refuse Him who speaks because His words no longer sink in, we will not escape.
Can we not see that he is making a contrast here? He is showing that, in one way, our position is actually worse off than theirs was - simply because we have been given so much and the responsibility upon us is so great.
Are you afraid of the Lake of Fire? Are you afraid of the consequences of sin? The consuming fire is the consequence of sin! We can see that whenever God chooses to reveal Himself in ways that can be appreciated by the senses (by eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and the sense of touch) the occasion is so majestic and so awesome and so dreadful that people cannot endure it! And might I remind you that this did not seem to do Israel any good, either. The older generation of ancient Israel, all those who had experienced that about which we just read here, all perished in the wilderness. Symbolically they did not make it into the Kingdom of God - even though they experienced, through the senses, God actually being in their presence.
We are beginning to see that godly fear has a spiritual element to it. It has nothing to do with anything that a person can perceive with the eyes, ears, nose, or any of the other senses. And I think we can see, too, that there is an element of terror involved in this fear.
