Hebrews 10:19-39: Don’t Shrink Back
Isaiah 46-48, Proverbs 27:1-14, Luke 23:38-43, Hebrews 10:19-39
This passage has three specific encouragements, and then a lengthy and awesome warning to motivate us to make the most of those three specific encouragements!
The three specific encouragements are framed by “let us.”
First: let us draw near to God. Because of what Christ has achieved, let us then draw near to God. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Don’t keep God at a distance. Don’t treat him as “up there” and out of reach. Draw near.
Second: let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. Don’t give up. Don’t wander. Stick to what you believe and what you are hoping for because God is faithful and he will do it. You can trust him. You can hope in him!
Third: And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together. Keep going to church. But don’t just “go” as an observer. Participate. You are in ministry if you are a Christian. Consider how you can spur on other Christians towards love and good deeds.
The warning runs from verse 26 to verse 38. The author of Hebrews is warning us that we cannot turn our backs on God and expect that there will be no consequences. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. There is no room for complacency. We must stick with Christ. We must press on to holiness. We must live up to our calling. We must make sure of what we say we believe. Don’t drift. Don’t abandon Christ.
But then Hebrews circles back to encouragement: But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.