“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”— Hebrews 10:39
Hebrews 10:37–39 has often been used to make believers question their salvation.
Many have heard sermons that sound something like this:
“If you don’t persevere until the end, you will be destroyed.”
As a result, these verses become a source of fear rather than encouragement.
But when we read them in context, we discover that the author’s message is exactly the opposite.
He is not trying to make believers doubt Christ’s finished work.
He is encouraging them to continue trusting it.
To understand these verses, we must begin where the author began.
The Context: One Finished Sacrifice
Hebrews 10 is one continuous argument.
The chapter begins by explaining that the sacrifices of the Old Covenant could never completely remove sin.
They had to be offered continually because they could never perfect the worshiper.
Then everything changes with Christ.
Jesus offered Himself:
“Once for all.”
The result?
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.”
— Hebrews 10:14
God then promises:
“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
The conclusion is astonishing:
“Where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Christ’s work is finished.
Nothing remains to be added.
Because of this, believers are invited to:
- draw near with full assurance,
- hold fast their confession,
- encourage one another.
Then comes a severe warning against abandoning Christ’s sacrifice.
The issue is not ordinary Christian failure.
The issue is rejecting the only sacrifice capable of removing sin and returning to a system that never could.
Immediately after the warning, the author reminds his readers of their past faithfulness.
They had endured persecution.
They had stood with suffering believers.
They had joyfully accepted the loss of their possessions because they knew they possessed something better.
Then he says:
“Do not throw away your confidence.”
That is the immediate setting for verses 37–39.
Verse 37: The Waiting Will Not Last Forever
“For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.”
The author now quotes the prophet Habakkuk.
Habakkuk originally wrote to people who were struggling to understand why God seemed slow to act.
God’s answer was simple:
Wait.
The appointed time is coming.
The writer of Hebrews applies that same truth to believers under persecution.
Their suffering would not last forever.
Christ would fulfill His promises.
The delay was only temporary.
This verse reminds us that God’s silence is never God’s absence.
When circumstances tempt us to doubt His faithfulness, Scripture reminds us that God’s timetable is always perfect.
Verse 38: The Righteous Live by Faith
The author continues quoting Habakkuk:
“But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
This verse has become famous because Paul also quotes it in Romans and Galatians.
In Hebrews, however, the emphasis is slightly different.
The issue is not how someone becomes righteous.
The issue is how righteous people continue to live.
They live by faith.
Not by fear.
Not by sight.
Not by circumstances.
Faith continues trusting God’s promises even when life becomes difficult.
The contrast is with the one who “shrinks back.”
In the context of Hebrews, shrinking back does not simply mean having a bad week spiritually. It is the deliberate abandonment of confidence in Christ.
Throughout the chapter the author has contrasted two systems.
The Old Covenant offered repeated sacrifices that could never remove sin.
The New Covenant offers one sacrifice that has perfected believers forever.
To shrink back is to abandon the substance and return to the shadow.
It is to walk away from the only sacrifice that actually saves.
Verse 39: A Beautiful Word of Assurance
Then comes one of the most encouraging statements in the entire chapter.
“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
Notice the first word:
But.
The author now distinguishes his readers from those described in the warning.
He does not say:
“I think you are going to shrink back.”
He says:
“We are not those people.”
This is incredibly important.
After giving one of the strongest warnings in the New Testament, the author immediately expresses confidence in his readers.
He includes himself with them.
“We are not of those who shrink back.”
His purpose was never to destroy their assurance.
His purpose was to strengthen it.
He wanted them to continue placing their confidence in Christ rather than abandoning Him.
The Connection to Hebrews 11
Our modern chapter divisions sometimes hide the flow of the author’s argument.
Hebrews 10 ends by saying:
“We are of those who have faith.”
What comes next?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for…”
Hebrews 11 is not a new topic.
It is the continuation of the same argument.
The author has just encouraged believers not to throw away their confidence.
Now he gives them example after example of men and women who continued trusting God despite enormous hardship.
Abel.
Enoch.
Noah.
Abraham.
Sarah.
Moses.
None of them lived perfect lives.
But they continued trusting God’s promises.
That is the kind of faith Hebrews calls believers to embrace.
Confidence, Not Fear
Sadly, these verses are sometimes preached in a way that produces anxiety.
Believers leave wondering:
“What if I shrink back?”
“What if I don’t endure enough?”
“What if I lose everything?”
But notice where the author places the emphasis.
He does not end with destruction.
He ends with confidence.
He does not end with fear.
He ends with faith.
He does not identify his readers with those who reject Christ.
He identifies them with those who believe.
That is exactly what encouragement looks like.
The Finished-Work Perspective
From a finished-work perspective, Hebrews 10:37–39 is not a contradiction of everything the author has already written.
It is the natural conclusion.
Christ has:
- offered one sacrifice forever,
- perfected believers forever,
- cleansed their consciences,
- opened the way into God’s presence.
Now the author says:
Don’t abandon your confidence in Him.
Keep trusting Him.
Live by faith.
And remember:
We are not those who shrink back.
Our confidence is not in our ability to hold on to Christ.
Our confidence is in the sufficiency of the One who holds on to us.
The Heart of Hebrews 10:37–39
Hebrews 10:37–39 is not meant to fill believers with fear.
It is meant to anchor them in confidence.
The readers had already suffered because of Christ.
Now they were tempted to give up.
The author reminds them that God’s promises are certain, that the righteous continue living by faith, and that they belong among those who continue trusting Christ rather than shrinking back.
The Christian life is not about anxiously wondering whether we can hold on long enough to stay saved.
It is about continually placing our confidence in the One whose once-for-all sacrifice has already secured our salvation.
The righteous live by faith.
And faith keeps looking to Jesus.
Not because His work is unfinished.
But because His work is finished.
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