Chapter 24 - Apostasy - Rejecting Christ (10:26-39)

24 Apostasy: Rejecting Christ (10:26-39)

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly, by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. (10:26-39)

This chapter could be titled, “The Tragedy of Getting over It,” because it deals with those who had heard the gospel, had come face-to-face with the claims of Christ, had been associated to some extent with His church, but had gone away. These were people whose hearts had been warmed toward the gospel of Christ, who had made a superficial commitment of faith in Him, and had identified themselves visibly with the true church. But their enthusiasm was cooling and the cost of being a Christian was becoming too high. They were “getting over” the gospel, and were in danger of becoming apostate.

Of the five warnings given in Hebrews, the one in this passage is by far the most serious and sobering. It may be the most serious warning in all of Scripture. It deals with apostasy.

When the gospel of Jesus Christ is presented to an unbeliever, only two responses are possible. After he has heard the basic truths and claims of Jesus Christ, he either believes and is saved or he disbelieves and becomes apostate. Apostasy, as we will see, is the sin of rejecting the gospel for which there is no forgiveness. One helpful Scripture in defining apostasy is 1 John 2:19, which says, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.”

There have always been apostates from God’s way. Deuteronomy speaks of “some worthless men [who] have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known)” (Deut. 13:13). These men were types of apostates.

Saul, Israel’s first king, became apostate. The Lord told Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not carried out My commands” (1 Sam. 15:11). Amaziah, another king, also turned apostate. “Now it came about after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites that he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them, and burned incense to them. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, . . . And from the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there” (2 Chron. 25:14-15, 27).

Apostasy is not new, nor is God’s attitude toward it. It is the most serious of all sins, because it is the most deliberate and willful form of unbelief. It is not a sin of ignorance, but of rejecting known truth.

Judas Iscariot is, of course, the classic apostate. No other rejecter of Christ ever had the exposure to God’s truth, love, and grace as did Judas. He knew the Lord intimately. He was one of the twelve of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. Had he believed, he would have become an apostle. But he rejected the truth and became an apostate. His story is the supreme contradiction to the common excuse, “I would probably believe in Christ if I just had a little more evidence, a little more light.” Judas had the perfect evidence, the perfect light, the perfect example. For some three years he lived with Truth incarnate and Life incarnate, yet turned his back on the One who is truth and life.

THE NATURE OF APOSTASY

Apostasy is an intentional falling away or withdrawal, a defection. Paul was falsely accused by some of his fellow believing Jews of using the gospel to cause other Christian Jews “to forsake” (apostatize from) the teachings of Moses (Acts 21:21). Paul speaks of a large falling away when he cautions the Thessalonians not to be misled about the coming of the Lord, “for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first” (2 Thess. 2:3). Jesus is clearly speaking of the same apostasy in Matthew 24:10—”And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.”

There are people who move toward Christ, right up to the edge of saving belief. They hear of Him and they are drawn to Him. They are perhaps deeply convicted of sin and even make a profession of faith. But their interest in the things of God begins to wane, and the pressures and attractions of the world distract them further still, until they have no interest at all. They may turn to another religion or to no religion at all. Apostasy is determined by what you leave, not where you go after you leave. After a person leaves God, it makes little difference where he then goes. Our Lord was illustrating this in the parable of the soils (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23).

Many years ago I had a friend who often went with me to Pershing Square in Los Angeles to witness. He was raised in the church and was a regular and dependable member, but I always felt that something was missing in his life. Then, suddenly, I did not see him anymore. About three years later, I met a mutual friend and asked if she knew what had happened to him. “Oh, he’s an atheist now,” was the reply. “He doesn’t believe in God anymore. He has accepted situation ethics, and sees everything as amoral. He doesn’t believe anything is good nor bad in itself.” Apparently he had had enough of God, and simply turned away.

The apostle Paul said that apostasy is going to be a characteristic of the last days. “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Tim. 4:1-2). In the end times, the times in which I believe we are now living, apostasy will become worse and worse.

CHARACTERISTICS OF APOSTASY

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. (10:26)

Here is possibly the clearest and most concise scriptural definition of apostasy—receiving knowledge of the truth, that is, the gospel, but willfully remaining in sin. An apostate has seen and heard the truth—he knows it well—but he willfully rejects it.

Apostasy has two major characteristics: knowledge of the truth of the gospel and willful rejection of it.

THE TRUTH IS KNOWN AND RECOGNIZED

Every apostate is an unbeliever, but not every unbeliever is an apostate. Many people have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel, even in part. They are sinful and, of course, do not believe in Christ, because they have never heard of Him or of His claims. An apostate, however, is well acquainted with the gospel. He knows more than enough to be saved.

The Greek language has two primary words that can be translated “knowledge.” Gnsis has to do with ordinary knowledge, and in the New Testament is often used for general spiritual knowledge. But epignsis, the word used in verse 26, denotes full knowledge, understanding, and discernment. In other words, the persons described here are those who have much more than a passing acquaintance with the gospel. They know it well. An apostate has all the information. He lacks nothing intellectually. He has epignsis. He is among those who have “once been enlightened,... tasted of the heavenly gift,” and even “been made partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4).

An apostate can be bred only in the brilliant light of proximity to Christ. Apostates are not made in the absence, but in the presence, of Christ. They are bred almost without exception within the church, in the very midst of God’s people. It is possible for a person to read the Bible on his own, to see the gospel clearly, and then reject it—apart from direct association with Christians. But by and large, apostates come from within the church.

TRUTH IS REJECTED

Eventually, sometimes even after years of pretense and self-deception, the unbeliever who acts like a believer finally falls away. He gives up, loses interest, and goes his own way. He returns to sinning willfully, with no more regard for the Lord’s way or the Lord’s people. To know God’s way, to study about it and hear about it, to identify with believers, and then turn away is to become apostate. The process of falling away may be gradual, but at some point a conscious decision is made to leave the way of God, and reject the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Willfully (hekousis) carries the idea of deliberate intention that is habitual. The reference here is not to sins of ignorance or weakness, but to those that are planned out, determined, done with forethought. The difference between sins of ignorance and sinning willfully is much like the difference between involuntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Hekousis is habitual. It not only is deliberate, but is an established way of thinking and believing. It is the permanent renunciation of the gospel, the permanent forsaking of God’s grace.

A believer may sometimes lapse into sin and stray from intimacy with the Lord and with His people. But, unless the Lord disciplines him and takes him to heaven, he will come back. He will be too much under conviction to stay away permanently. In the meanwhile, he will be robbed of joy and peace and of many other blessings.

We cannot always determine who is apostate and who is backsliding, and we should not try. We are not able to distinguish between a disobedient carnal believer and an apostate unbeliever. That is the Lord’s business. But there is a difference between the two, a very great difference. A person’s concern should be first of all that he himself is a true believer (2 Cor. 13:5) and then that he is a faithful believer. There are many calls to self-examination in the New Testament. Every time a believer comes to the Lord’s Table, he faces the reality or unreality of his salvation.

Paul distinguishes between apostates and disobedient, fleshly Christians in his second letter to Timothy. “If we deny Him, He also will deny us,” because we will be apostate and willingly will have no part in Him. But, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:12-13). If a believer falls short in his faithfulness to the Lord, the Lord still will not fail in His faithfulness to the believer, for He has promised never to let us go. “He cannot deny Himself,” by falling short in His own faithfulness, no matter what His people do. A Christian can become weak in faith and disobedient, which is bad enough. But this is not denying the Lord, which is apostasy. The apostate habitually continues to disbelieve and habitually continues to sin. John tells us that “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in Him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).

The two major characteristics of apostasy, then, are sufficient knowledge of the gospel to be saved and willful and habitual denial of God in spite of this knowledge.

CAUSES OF APOSTASY

But why would a person who knows the gospel, has seen the light, has even experienced many of the blessings of the Holy Spirit, ever reject so wonderful a gift? What causes people to do that? In a sense, there is always just one cause, willful unbelief. Following our own wills often has no reason except that this is what we want to do. But in another sense, there are a number of things that strongly influence a person to forsake God, that stimulate his will to deny his Creator.

PERSECUTION

What may drive a believer closer to the Lord will likely drive an unbeliever further from Him. Whenever the church has been persecuted, the faithful have become stronger, spiritually and morally. On the other hand, continued persecution drives unbelievers away from the church and from contact with the things of God. They do not have the strength or the desire to pay a high price for something that means little to them. Words are cheap; persecution is not. Hard times are not for the self-willed unbeliever who is simply using the church for business, or social, or other personal reasons—or who may have been raised in the church and has simply never gotten out of the habit of attending. Persecution, sometimes as mild as criticism, is usually enough to break that habit.

When persecution is severe, the apostate not only will leave the church but will often join the persecutors. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another” (Matt. 24:9-10). Some apostates not only turn away from the church but turn against it.

FALSE TEACHERS

False teachers also cause their share of apostasy. In the same passage in Matthew, Jesus says, “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many” (Matt. 24:11). Persecution frightens unbelievers away from the truth, whereas false teachers entice them away. False teaching can, and does, do a lot of damage even to God’s own people. It can confuse and discourage and corrupt any believer or group of believers too immature to recognize and deal with the falsehoods or too sinful to resist them. But a true believer will never be led to deny the Lord because of false teaching, no matter how unbiblical and persuasive it is. True believers may deny some biblical truths because of false teaching, but the only person false teaching will cause to deny the Lord is a person who never belonged to Him. When unbelievers get “fed up” with the gospel, they can usually find someone who will feed them something more palatable to their sin nature. “They will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (2 Tim. 4:3).

TEMPTATION

Apostasy is sometimes triggered by temptation. The things of this world become more attractive and more influential than the things of God. These apostates are “rocky soil” hearers (Luke 8:13), who are attracted to the gospel for a while, but who are tempted away from full commitment. Whether the temptation is in the form of many small ones over a long period of time or of a very strong one that comes suddenly, they do not have the resources or the will to resist. Demas possibly was such a person. “Having loved this present world,” he may have deserted the Lord as well as Paul (2 Tim. 4:10).

NEGLECT

Perhaps the saddest cause of apostasy is neglect. A person can put off deciding for Christ so long that he loses the opportunity. Not to decide for Christ is to decide against Him. Such a person may never persecute believers. He may not publicly, or even consciously, deny Christ. But by continually resisting the gospel of Christ, he takes his stand apart from Him and is in danger of neglecting his way into apostasy. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb. 2:3). To make no positive decision for Christ is to decide against Him.

CLINGING TO THE OLD

Holding on to the old religion, or simply the old life-style, can eventually bring a person to apostatize. Many of the unbelieving Jews addressed in the book of Hebrews were very much in this danger. Their religion not only would not bring them salvation but had become a barrier to salvation. False religion can become so habitual, so much a part of our way of thinking and living, that to give it up seems unthinkable. It would be like cutting off part of our body, our very life. Jesus knew how hard such a break with the old ways can be, but warned, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matt. 5:29). Religious tradition has long been one of the greatest barriers to the gospel and one of the foremost contributors to apostasy.

FORSAKING CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Another cause of apostasy is forsaking Christian fellowship, which the writer has already mentioned (10:25). The best place for strong influence toward Christ is to be in the company of believers. And, especialy once he has been exposed to the truth of the gospel, the worst place he can be is away from true believers.

THE RESULTS OF APOSTASY

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (10:26-31)

NO SACRIFICE FOR SIN REMAINS

The first result of apostasy is that the apostate no longer has a sacrifice that can atone for his sins. He is, therefore, beyond salvation. The only sacrifice that can bring a person into God’s presence is the sacrifice of Christ’s blood in the New Covenant. If Christ’s sacrifice is rejected, then all hope of salvation is forfeited. Opportunity is gone, hope is gone, eternal life is gone. Apart from Christ, everything worth having is gone. The old, repeated sacrifices of Judaism would soon be stopped. They were ineffective, anyway. The only effective sacrifice has already been made, and will be made only once. To turn away willfully from this sacrifice leaves no sacrifice; it leaves only sin, the penalty for which is eternal death.

BRINGS GREATER JUDGMENT

But a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. (10:27)

The second result of apostasy is greater judgment. The greater the sin the greater the judgment. Since apostasy is the worst sin, it will have the worst judgment. God sees the one who knows the truth and walks away as an enemy, an adversary whose judgment is certain and terrifying.

Just before Jesus cast the demons out of the two Gadarene men, the demons cried out to Him, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:29). They were well aware that their final judgment of torment was coming, that it was certain, and were afraid that Jesus was going to bring it early. The demons know, better than many professed Christians seem to know, that God’s judgment on His enemies is inescapable, and the fury of a fire from Him is consuming.

Just as certain as the judgment of demons is the judgment of all who turn their backs on Jesus Christ. In explaining the parable of the tares, Jesus said to His disciples:

The tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:38-42)

A few moments later, Jesus told another parable with the same point: the end of the age will see the separation of believers and unbelievers, the believers to heaven and the unbelievers to hell. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:49-50).

Paul gives similar warnings of judgment, including this one in his second letter to the Thessalonians:

The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. (2 Thess. 1:7-9)

There is nothing in the Old Testament to compare in severity to the judgment described in the New. People often think of the Old Testament as showing a harsh, judgmental God, while the New shows one of mercy and compassion. But God’s mercy and His wrath are clearly revealed in both testaments. It is true that we have a more complete and beautiful picture of God’s grace and love in the New Testament; but we also have here a more complete and terrifying picture of His wrath.

DEGREES OF SIN AND JUDGMENT

Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (10:28-29)

Jesus told Pilate, “He who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). Judas’s sin was greater than Pilate’s. Both were unbelievers, but Judas was an apostate. He had light and evidence far beyond what Pilate had, and was therefore far more guilty in betraying Christ.

Jesus also made it clear that judgment, like guilt, is in proportion to sin. “That slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few” (Luke 12:47-48).

The teaching of punishment is not as clear in the Old Testament, but neither is the teaching about salvation. The person who sinned under the Old Covenant was guilty and deserving of punishment. Every Jew knew the severity of breaking Mosaic law. If such disobedience was affirmed by the proper witnesses, the penalty was death. But the worst offender in that age cannot compare with the person who has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and yet rejects Him. Such persons will find themselves in the Judas section of hell, enduring much severer punishment.

Far from being more tolerant of sin today, God is less tolerant, because men now have immeasurably more light. “Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

REJECTION OF GOD

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (10:29)

APOSTATES REJECT THE FATHER

Apostasy involves total rejection of the godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Just as to accept the Son is to accept the Father, so to reject the Son is to reject the Father. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased,” said God (Matt. 3:17). Paul tells us that “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). The Son and the Father are one (John 10:30), and it is not possible to reject one without also rejecting the other. Therefore, to trample under foot the Son of God is the same as to trample under foot the Father. And to reject the Son is to spurn the Holy Spirit.

To have trampled under foot means to have scorned, to have counted as worthless. A person who sees a coin on the sidewalk may think it is a slug and walk by it or perhaps kicks it into the gutter. He doesn’t bother to pick it up and examine it. Some people walk by Christ and think He is nothing. They see Him clearly, and have gotten close enough to examine Him carefully had they chosen to. But they count Him as worthless, and go on their way. It is a fearful and damning thing to count as worthless the One whom the Father has declared to be of infinite worth.

APOSTATES REJECT THE SON

I believe the phrase by which he was sanctified refers to Christ. It could not refer to the apostate who is regarding the blood as unclean, because he is hardly sanctified. The reference, therefore, must be to Christ. In His high priestly prayer, Jesus spoke of His sanctifying Himself for the sake of those who believed in Him (John 17:19). He set Himself apart unto God, even as He sanctifies us, by the blood of the covenant, shed on Calvary. The apostate counts this sacrifice as unclean, despised, worthless. In so doing he has rejected the second Person of the Trinity, whose very blood was shed for him.

The apostate regards Christ’s blood as common blood, just like that of any other person. That which cost God His Son, and that which cost the Son the agony of becoming sin for us, is counted as worthless. That which is of infinite value, he counts as valueless.

APOSTATES REJECT THE HOLY SPIRIT

The man who has been led by the Spirit of grace in the presalvation work of redemption and has been energized by Him toward repentance (John 16:8-11), insults the Spirit by turning from Christ. He rejects the gracious work of preparation done by the Spirit in his heart—and that is apostasy.

By trampling under foot the Son of God, he rejects God the Father. By regarding the blood of the covenant as unclean, He rejects the Son. By insulting the gentle, gracious leading of the Spirit, he rejects the Spirit. No wonder he deserves much severer punishment.

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (10:30-31)

God is long-suffering, and patient, and loving, and infinitely gracious, not willing that anyone should perish (2 Pet. 3:9). But for the one who turns his back on God’s grace, there is nothing left that God can offer or do for him. Only judgment remains.

THE DETERRENTS TO APOSTASY

Within this severe warning, is a loving and earnest appeal not to fall away. The near-believing Jews are told to do two things that will prevent their becoming apostate and lead them into full belief. They are told to look back on what they had experienced and to look forward to the rewards that would be theirs if they carried through on what they had learned of Christ.

REMEMBER YOUR SUFFERING AND YOUR SERVICE

The writer obviously knew the ones to whom he was writing, or at least knew a great deal about them. He was aware of their deep involvement in the church. They were so closely identified with Christians (becoming sharers) that they even experienced suffering, reproaches, and tribulations because of it. To the world, and certainly to their fellow Jews in the synagogue, they already were Christians. They were not believers, but had already suffered for being considered believers. And at this point that much persecution had not yet driven them out.

It is possible even for an unbeliever to have a kind of “first love” for Christ. On hearing of Christ’s love, of His promises and teachings, of His great works and graciousness, it is easy to be strongly drawn to Him intellectually and emotionally. If He is learned of in a fellowship of believers that is caring and loving, the attraction is even stronger.

The unbelieving Jews addressed in this passage were so attracted. They had not yet trusted in the gospel, but neither were they ashamed of it. They had been somewhat ridiculed, persecuted, and had property seized because of their association with Christians. But the association seemed worth the sacrifice, so that those problems had not yet caused them to turn away. They did not outwardly apologize for or compromise their stand for Christ, which had cost them dearly.

These Jews were intellectually enlightened. They knew all the basics of the gospel. But this was no substitute for faith itself. They were well on their way to believing, but they had not believed. So they are told to think of how far they had already come, and what they had already endured, and to complete the process by putting their full trust in Jesus Christ. They are told, in effect, “Remember carefully all the experiences you have had in learning of Christ and in fellowshiping with His people. How terrible it would be to fall back now, when you are so close. You mustn’t give up now. How terrible if, after all you have learned of the gospel and all you have suffered and sacrificed for the gospel, you would not receive the real blessing of the gospel—eternal life. You have shown great respect for Christ and great love for His people. Now put your trust in Christ, so that you can become one of His people.” Like the seed in stony ground, they had endured to a degree, but as the persecution increased they would be offended and fall away (cf. Matt. 13:20-21).

Remember (anamimnsk) means more than simply to recall. It means to carefully think back, to reconstruct in your mind. The idea is that these fellow Jews, who were so close to salvation, should, truth-by-truth and event-by-event, look back on what they had learned and on what they had experienced because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This would be a strong deterrent to apostasy and a strong encouragement to belief.

They had the prospect of a better possession and an abiding one. They had given up many worldly things—reputation, friends, possessions—for what they could see were the better things of the New Covenant. But since they had not fully trusted in the Christ of the New Covenant, they were in danger of falling back into complete unbelief, from which they could never return. They had learned too much and experienced too much to have any excuse left for not believing, and so were urged gently but forcefully to go all the way to salvation before it became too late.

LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REWARDS

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (10:35-36)

The second deterrent to apostasy is the prospect of the rewards for those who believe. “You know what the promises are,” they are told. “You know how wonderful and unequaled and how superior they are, and you know that Christ will be faithful in fulfilling them. Don’t let your confidence waver now. Claim the promises. Secure the rewards. Look back and remember how wonderful it once seemed, and look ahead to how even more wonderful it is going to be.”

They needed endurance and patience to prevent their present circumstances from causing them to turn back. Their enlightenment in the gospel and their suffering and persecution and loss by outward association with believers were not for nothing. Their confidence was not in vain, but it was not enough. They had not done the will of God fully, because they had not trusted in His Son fully. And until then, they could not receive what was promised. They knew the promises, rejoiced in the promises, and even had suffered for the promises. But they had not received the promises. The church is still filled with people like this. It is the negative side of Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ”And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ ”

For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. (10:37-39)

The suffering they might endure would not last forever, but their salvation in Jesus Christ would. The Lord would be coming to set His world right, and He will not delay. In the meanwhile, the way to become righteous is by faith and the way the righteous should live is by faith. From the human side, faith is the basis of spiritual life and spiritual living. Knowledge of the gospel is essential. Suffering for the gospel is possible. Serving others, especially God’s people, in the name of the gospel is fine. But only faith will bring salvation and the preserving of the soul. The warning and appeal end on a positive and hopeful note. The writer seems confident that some of those to whom he is appealing will indeed believe—so much so, in fact, that he already identifies himself with them and the other true believers. We are not of those who shrink back to destruction.