“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”— Hebrews 10:35
Imagine going through a lot that one feels like giving up. That is the situation behind Hebrews 10:32–36.
The original readers had suffered for their faith. They had been publicly humiliated. They had stood beside persecuted believers. Some had even watched their property being taken away.
And yet they had endured.
But now, something had changed.
They were tired.
Under continued pressure, some were apparently tempted to shrink back. The author of Hebrews therefore gives them a powerful reminder:
Remember who you were when you first believed. Remember what you endured. Remember what you knew. And do not throw away your confidence now.
To understand these verses properly, we must read them within the larger argument of Hebrews 10.
The Context: One Sacrifice, Perfected Forever
The author has spent the entire chapter declaring the sufficiency of Christ’s finished work.
The Old Covenant sacrifices were repeated continually because they could never take away sins.
But Jesus was different.
He offered:
“one sacrifice for sins for all time.”
Then He sat down.
Why?
Because His work was finished.
Hebrews 10:14 declares:
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
Then God makes this astonishing promise:
“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
And the author concludes:
“Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
The sacrifice is complete.
The believer has access to God.
The conscience has been cleansed.
The way into God’s presence is open.
Therefore, believers are told:
- Let us draw near with full assurance.
- Let us hold fast our hope.
- Let us encourage one another.
Then comes a severe warning against deliberately rejecting the only sacrifice that can actually take away sin.
And immediately after that warning, the author turns to his readers and says:
“But remember the former days…”
He does not tell them they have already abandoned Christ.
He calls them to remember.
Verse 32: Remember Who You Were
“But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings.”
See the first word: Remember.
The author wants them to look backward, when they first encountered Christ. Remember when you understood the gospel. When their faith cost them something.
These believers had not merely made an intellectual decision about Jesus. Their identification with Christ had brought suffering.
The expression translated “great conflict of sufferings” contains the Greek word athlēsis, related to athletic competition.
The picture is of an athlete struggling through an intense contest.
Their Christian life had not been comfortable.
They had fought through pressure.
They had endured.
And the author’s point is:
You endured then. Don’t forget that now.
Sometimes when we face present difficulties, we forget the grace that carried us through past ones.
The author tells them to remember.
Verse 33: You Were Publicly Humiliated
“Partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated.”
Some of these believers had personally suffered public humiliation.
The phrase “made a public spectacle” comes from the Greek word theatrizō, related to our English word theater.
They were put on display. People watched them suffer, mocked, insulted.
They experienced hardship because of their identification with Christ.
But not everyone experienced persecution in exactly the same way.
The author says others became: “sharers with those who were so treated.”
They could have remained silent.
They could have distanced themselves from persecuted Christians.
They could have said:
“I don’t know those people.”
But they didn’t. They stood beside them. They identified with them. They shared in their suffering.
Their faith produced courage.
Verse 34: You Joyfully Accepted the Loss of Your Property
“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 a lasting one.”
This may be the most remarkable verse in the passage.
Their property was confiscated.
Their possessions were taken.
Yet somehow they accepted it with joy.
Why?
Not because losing property is enjoyable.
Not because injustice should be celebrated.
The key word is: Knowing.
They knew they possessed something better. They knew they had something lasting. Their joy came from assurance.
People can endure enormous losses when they know they possess something that cannot be taken away.
Their homes could be taken.
Their money could be taken.
Their possessions could be taken.
But Christ could not be taken from them.
Their inheritance could not be confiscated.
Their standing before God could not be stolen.
They possessed something better.
And something lasting.
Verse 35: Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence
Then comes the heart of the passage:
“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”
Notice what the author does not say.
He does not say:
“Try to get saved again.”
He does not say:
“You have already lost your salvation.”
He says:
Do not throw away your confidence.
The Greek word translated “confidence” is parrēsia.
And this is extremely important because the same word appeared only sixteen verses earlier.
Hebrews 10:19 says:
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus…”
Where does their confidence come from?
The blood of Jesus.
Not their performance.
Not their ability to endure persecution.
Not their spiritual discipline.
Not their moral perfection.
Christ’s blood.
So the flow is beautiful.
In verse 19:
You have confidence because of Jesus.
In verse 35:
Don’t throw away that confidence.
The author is pointing them back to the finished work.
Christ has opened the way.
Christ has offered the sacrifice.
Christ has cleansed the conscience.
Christ has perfected forever.
Therefore:
Don’t abandon your confidence in Him now.
Verse 36: What You Need Is Endurance
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
What did these believers need?
Another sacrifice?
No.
More forgiveness?
No.
A return to the Law?
Absolutely not.
They needed:
Endurance.
The Greek word is hypomonē.
It means:
- perseverance,
- steadfastness,
- patient endurance,
- remaining under pressure without giving up.
This is important from a finished-work perspective.
Resting in Christ does not mean Christians never experience hardship. Grace does not mean we will never face opposition. The finished work does not eliminate the need for endurance. It gives us the foundation from which we endure. We do not endure to make Christ’s work complete.
We endure because His work is complete.
We do not persevere to convince God to accept us.
We persevere knowing we are already accepted in Christ.
The Danger Was Not Ordinary Failure
This is crucial to understanding the context.
The author is not warning believers that every failure puts them in danger of losing salvation.
The issue is much larger.
These Jewish believers were under pressure to abandon their confidence in Christ.
The temptation was to go backward.
Back to the old system.
Back to repeated sacrifices.
Back to the shadow after encountering the substance.
But Hebrews has already declared:
“There is no longer any offering for sin.”
Why?
Because Christ’s sacrifice failed?
No.
Because Christ’s sacrifice succeeded.
There is no other sacrifice because no other sacrifice is needed.
Jesus is enough.
Remember What You Knew
Perhaps the most moving phrase in this passage is found in verse 34:
“Knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.”
These believers once knew something so deeply that they could lose earthly possessions without losing their joy.
But pressure has a way of making us forget.
Suffering can make us question what we once knew.
Fear can make us abandon confidence.
So the author says:
Remember.
Remember the former days.
Remember how you endured.
Remember what you knew.
Remember what you possess.
And don’t throw away your confidence.
The Heart of Hebrews 10:32–36
The message of Hebrews 10:32–36 is not:
“Work harder so you don’t lose God’s acceptance.”
The message is:
“Don’t abandon the confidence Christ’s finished work has given you.”
These believers had suffered.
They had been humiliated.
They had stood beside persecuted Christians.
They had lost possessions.
And they had endured it all because they knew they possessed something better and lasting.
Now the author calls them to continue.
Not to earn salvation.
Not to complete Christ’s work.
But to remain confident in the One whose work is already complete.
The sacrifice has been offered.
The conscience has been cleansed.
The way has been opened.
Christ has sat down.
So when pressure comes, remember what you know.
And whatever happens:
Don’t throw away your confidence.
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