In this Bible teaching, Shawn delves into Hebrews 10:32-42, focusing on the importance of remembering past trials and victories in the Christian walk. He emphasizes the need for patience in enduring trials, the promise of Christ’s return, and the necessity of living by faith. Shawn encourages believers to hold fast to their confidence in Christ and to continue believing unto the saving of the soul, rather than drawing back into perdition.

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Hebrews 10:32-42 Part 2 Bible Teaching Script

Hebrews 10.end
June 15th 2014
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When we come back we’ll pick it back up at up at Hebrews 10:31 and go until the end of the chapter.

Alright, last week we read where the writer was strongly cautioning his readers to not draw back from the confidence they had in Christ (or had formerly had in the finished work of Christ) and to return to the elements of the Law.

And we left off with him writing a rather sobering statement which we supposed could have been taken from the account of David.

What was the statement the writer used on his Hebrew readers? Verse 31 where he said:

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

But then we also noted that after this very strong and sobering warning, the writer returns to both advice giving to these believers AND encouragement. (verse 32)

32 But (he wrote to them as a means to advice and encourage them) call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

All right, let’s go back to verse 32 and the writers advice to his Hebrew reader who were converts to Christ, the faith called Christianity.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” he says, “BUT . . .”

“But . . . call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

Typically speaking, our trials or crisis’ of faith come in times of difficulty.

As believers when things are going really good we typically have abounding faith and praise for the living God.

But when times get rough, when loved ones are suffering or pass, when money is scarce, when we are surrounded on all sides by wolves and enemies, faith can wain.

This seems to be the case with the believers who are being addressed here in Hebrews. So the writer, as a means to admonish them says:

“Call to remembrance the former days.” Take your eyes off the immediate circumstances and allow yourselves to look back to former days.

Now, from the rest of the verse it appears these were days where other afflictions and trials surrounded them but they passed through (with the Lord’s help) unscathed.

“Remember that time when you were delivered,” he seems to be saying, “when you endured and passed through similar circumstances and you bore it with Christian patience and love.”

The writer appears to appeal to such former successes to remind them that they have gone through trials before and they can do it again.

In their case it was probably persecution by the people of their former faith, but this could have included any sort of trial.

Whatever it was they passed through it once before and they out to use that success to encourage them to continue forward again.

Because the writer includes the line:

“After ye were illuminated,” we know he is writing to converted Christian and that he is warning them against the potential of apostasy.

“But . . . call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions . . . “

The language that is used here seems to be taken from the Grecian Games where the word for “fight” means to contend and combat like those who were involved in Greek competition.

We are talking about warfare where the opponent is trained and armed and conditioned to contend for victory.

Facing them our defenses and offensive strategies must be in place and when the enemy appears to be taking hold of us and winning we cannot be tempted to surrender to them (and in this case) to their points of view and religious opinions.

But to carry on, warring against the enemies of Christian truths and remembering that God has seem us through such warfare before.

We might as at this point why God allows us to enter into such wearisome battles. How come He, as our God, doesn’t just step in and wipe out our enemies and give us the victory.

The answer ought to help us when we find ourselves in the midst of such engagement – He has.

The victory has been had – He (and those who side with Him) have won.

So the warfare is always and completely in His hands. We are the recepients of the assaults at times, true.

And because we side with Him there is a price to be paid in such fall-out. But He was victorious over Satan, and darkness, and lies, and the grave, and evil – past present and future, so by remembering this we are free from the errant notion that “we” have to win.

We don’t.

We simply have to speak the truth, and share the reason for the hope that is in us, providing every man and answer, and relaxing in the outcome – whether it be someone converting to the truth or someone mocking us for the stance we have taken for God and doing so in patience and love.

Don’t get me wrong – I agree with the writer in that there is a struggle – like being in an arena with a great wrestler and our having to endure his grips and holds, but if the mindset is “the victory has already been won by Him we will be far better equipped to respond in the Spirit than the flesh.

In the next verse the writer explains how his audience had formerly endured “a great fight of affliction,” saying:

33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.

In other words your affliction consisted partly in this area and partly in this other area.

And the first affliction they were subjected to is they were made a “gazingstock” as translated in the King James.

It’s taken from a Greek word =
“theatridzo” and it means that they were made a public spectacle, held up in some manner most likely public scorn, often within an environment of great theatrics (hence the word theatridzo).

This was often done at the hands of the rulers or magistrates. In fact, it was a custom among the Greeks and Romans to lead criminals, before they were put to death, through the theatre, and thus to expose them to the insults and scoffs and scorn of the multitude.

The writer here says these Christians were made a “public spectacle” by “reproaches” and “afflictions.”

For a Jew to abandon the ceremonial law and follow Christ there certainly would have been “reproaches” from the people of their former walk.

It’s an intriguing spectacle isn’t it – religious reproaches.

I fully understand inquiry and dialog with people who have left one form of faith for another – but to deliver reproaches (justifying them in God’s name) is odd.

I mean if one of you came and said that you have been convinced that Mormonism offers the best way, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or even Islam offers you a better path, I could fully understand sitting down and discussing the departure and to question the departing with motive and their understanding of the biblical faith – but to cast reproaches their way????

I just don’t get it – especially since we are supposed to represent the God of peace and love and kindness and longsuffering?

Anyway, the early believers suffered reproaches for their faith and the writer says, “afflictions.”

These were various punishments inflicted on them – not merely words, but other afflictions probably related to making a living, having access to public places, and even physical pain in some cases.

And then the writer says that they were partly suffering from the fact that even when they weren’t the one afflicted they were part of a group of other believers who were – which is always troubling not only because we love and care for such brothers and sisters but we know whatever is happening to them could also soon happen to us.

In mentioning the suffering they took part in by being part of a group of believers, the writer then mentions his own issues and their response of love, which seems to give an example of their communal suffering, when he says:
(verse 34):

34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

Now, if the writer of Hebrews was Paul (as most believe it was) we know (according to Acts 24:27) that he was once a prisoner for more than two years at Cesarea and during that time he was in the charge of a centurion but that his friends in the Lord had free access to him.

It’s quite possible this is what he was speaking of as they in all probability they took care of his physical needs by supplying him with goods.

If it wasn’t Paul it seems like it would be a very similar situation. But note what the writer says:

“For ye had compassion of me in my bonds (which literally could have been “while I was in prison OR while I was sick or suffering with some other disability) and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.”

We could tie the spoiling of their goods to the first line and suppose that the heart of the people was such that they cared more for the material well-being of their brother (the writer) while he was in distress (or in bonds, as he puts it) and as a result were generous with their material possessions (sharing them with him) because, he says, they “knew in themselves that they had in heaven a “better” (there’s that word AGAIN) and an a more enduring substance (as compared to a lesser and non-enduring substances they had shared with him like their food, their clothes, their money, or whatever they were imparting to him for his well-being).

Or we could separate the line about them
“joyfully accepting the spoiling of their good’s separately from the writers situation and realize that it was not an uncommon thing for the early Christians and their belongings to be plundered by others and here the writer congratulates them on how they react, receiving the plundering with joy rather than resistance or despair.

We now that in the apostolic church many of the early Christians counted it a “privilege and an honor” to suffer in the cause of the Master.

Paul wrote in

Philippians 3:7-8

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”

We read in Acts 5:41 about Peter and the other apostles standing before the council of religious leaders and being afflicted by them and then it says

“And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”

Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 12:10:

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Then he adds in Philippians 1:29 says

“For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake”

James wrote in his epistle (James 1:2):

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;” (which means all manner of trials and difficulty)

The Apostle Peter remarked in his first Epistle (1st Peter 4:16)

“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

Certainly these Hebrew converts had been suffering – even to the point of apostasy. The writer is fretting some will succeed.

And so he tells them to reconsider by looking back over the trials they have undergone in the past and to extract from them courage as they had successfully grown and moved on to greater courage in Christ due to the suffering they had faced.

And so some application.

I propose that we take a minute right here and now and also reflect upon our former days, to a time where we too walked through difficult times in our Christian lives.

Do you have one in mind?

And what was the result? Did you walk from the faith? Obviously not. He saw you through. Hold fast to this – in confidence, knowing that He will, once again, see you through.

In my opinion the following line helps us understand how apostasy actually looks or how it actually happens.

Listen to what the writer says at verse 35:

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

In the debate over once saved always saved we often here passages that support eternal security brought up.

These include:

John 10:28-29 where Jesus says:

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

Do we believe in the words Jesus uses here? Of course we do – no man could ever wrestle a believer out of the hand of Jesus or His Father.

But all the promises in scripture of eternal security are tied to believers. Believers. Those who believe, get it?

Here the writer instructs the Jewish convert to NOT CAST AWAY his or her confidence.

This clearly implies the free will ability for a one time believer to cast his belief and confidence on God away or off.

And once that is done, the writer is very clear that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Greek work translated here in the King James as confidence is possibly better understood as “your boldness,”
referring to believers confident hope in God.

Don’t cast this away, and to become timid, disheartened, and discouraged and potentially void of faith.

Bear up under all these trials and maintain a steadfast adherence to God and to his cause.

In other words nothing and nobody can take your boldness and hope away . . . except yourselves . . . you could cast it away. The author says,

“Don’t do it.”

Why?

One reason, besides it being a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” was that to retain ones confidence carried with it a “great recompence of reward.”

Namely, there is a reward, albeit somewhat fleeting and ephemeral for the believer here. But the reward that awaits once we pass from this place of mortality is scripturally described as incomprehensible.

Now, I am a betting man but I hate to gamble on things that have no real basis in logic.

For instance I am not the type to enjoy or visit Vegas because while there are odds to games, there is just too much on the line when chance can provide me with a three of Diamonds when I what all odds say that I ought to have been handed an Ace of Spades.

Years ago I spent no small amount of time trying to figure out the game of life.

Truly. I looked at all the ambitions and all the vocations and all the approaches and philosophies that I could figure out and I tried to discover the greatest winner.

Allow me just a few moments to provide an example and to tie it into what the writer is telling these believers whose faith was perched precariously close to apostasy.

When I was working in a bank as an investment officer I happened to be at that time steeped in study about capitalism and communism.

So while I was reading Edwin Von Mises I was also reading Marx.

One morning my bosses came in to have a talk with me as my sales of the banks proprietary investment products was not up to their demands.

One of these men heard I was dabbling in these philosophical comparatives and I guess he decided he wanted to try and figure me out through a discussion about them.

“What do you think about capitalism, Shawn?” he asked me with great sincerity.

I said, “I am a consummate capitalist, Richard.”

“Good, good,” he replied.

But I didn’t think he understood what I meant and so I cleared matters up for him.

“What I mean by this is I work in a bank where the managements objectives are to first get the most work out of me that they possibly can while at the same time paying me the least amount that they can get away with paying me.”

“Okay,” he said contemplatively.

“But Richard,” I said next, “As a total capitalist, I play by the exact same rules and so as an employee who truly loves the spirit of capitalism, I want to do the least amount of work that is humanly possible while being paid the greatest amount of money that I can get the bank to give me.”

His face dropped.

Obviously I learned very quickly thereafter that capitalist systems don’t necessarily want those in their employ to operate by the exact same rules of the philosophy but by how the people or corporations with the capital want things to operate.

I mention this because it helps illustrate just a small part of the time and attention I once gave to figuring out the BEST – I mean the BEST way to live – considering as many or the variables as I possibly could.

In the end, it comes down to this . . . (ready?)

Living a sold out life for Jesus Christ.

Now, this of course is predicated on the belief that who Jesus claimed to be is who He is, and that His teachings and those of His apostles are as they said they were.

If all of those things really pan out (and I believe they do) then if someone is trying to make the greatest wager to ever be wagered, if someone is truly wanting the best return on life, money, time, work, effort, attitude, and devotion, there is simply nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth that can compare to . . .

That’s right . . .

“Living a sold-out life for Jesus Christ. Becoming a joint heir with Christ. Dying completely to self and living for Him.”

Not for money, or material, or social status of any kind of type.

Not for formal education, accumulation of degrees, not land acquisition, not having lots of children, not creating the best marriage, not physical fitness.

I’m NOT saying these things cannot be part of our lives devotion to God nor am I saying that we are to run from being a successful business man or woman if that is what God has called us to do with our lives, but in the end, the BEST overall focus any person can make, when everything is put on the scales and weighed, is true selfless devotion to Him and His will.

I cannot help but believe this is somehow part of the point the writer is making here when he says . . .

“Don’t cast away your confidence in Christ Jesus and all He represents . . . it has great recompence of reward.”

Which has attached to it a tremendous reward.

(beat)

So, when friends and family ramble on and on and on about their job, their income, their recent vacation (and I don’t mean mention them in passing but have their entire identity tied up in such things) I’m not only entirely bored but sad in my heart.

They haven’t bet well. They haven’t built a house on rock. They’ve spent their time straightening the house when Jesus was there to sit and talk with them.

Call it fanaticism. I just happen to think that there is no greater way to live the Christian walk to live it as though the things Jesus and his Apostles were true.

(long beat)

In the face of these readers “casting away their faith (or confidence) in Him the writer supplies them with another piece of advice, saying (verse 36):

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

When we are in the midst of suffering there is always a need for patience.

Certainly, there lives in each of us a desire to react, to retaliate, to attack, to murmur and cause dissention – especially the longer the trial is stretched out.

Patience, he says . . . “you have need of patience.”

Romans 5 opens with an all familiar reference to the work patience has in all of our lives, saying:

Romans 5:2-5

“2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

For such a response there awaits, a great reward.

James speaks of something similar in the first chapter of his epistle as we noted earlier, saying:

1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Easy to say, tough to do.

But the writer here provides for us a heavenly formula, doesn’t he?

He says:

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Bear the trial, receive the promise.

Now, he does not tell us whether we will receive the fulfilled promise here or hereafter – but he does say first comes the obedience (saying, “After you have done the will of God”) THEN you might receive the promise.”

It is interesting that all of the translations I consulted read the same way – that after we have done the will of God we MIGHT or MAY receive the promise. Not one of them says “we will.”

I like this because our motives now are put into question – do we do the will of God TO receive the promise or do we do the will of God because we have been instructed to and leave all the rewards in the hands of God.

Here’s the final point on my operation life plan – I am not doing it because I am earning a better place nor am I doing it because I demand a better reward awaiting me on the other side.

I want to live it this way because this is what Jesus says, and they are His promises. I have to trust that whatever happens in the end happens at the hands of a just God, so no worries there.

The writer here, however, intimates that there may be case where people actually do the will of God “but do not receive the promises.”

Reading on into the contents of chapter 11 I can’t help but believe he is stoking the fire for some up and coming examples.

But now the writer seems to reveal what promise or promises he has been encouraging them to patiently trust, reminding the reader for the second time in twelve short verses of what promise he is talking about. (verse 37)

37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

In verse twenty five the writer said:

“Don’t forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as some do but exhort one another as ye see the day approaching.”

And then here twelve verses later he says again,

You need patience. Do the will of God and then the promise comes. What promise? In the next verse he adds:

37 For yet a little while he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

The time of their deliverance from their trials was not far remote.

The Messiah was “coming” to save His church, destroy Jerusalem, and to overthrow the Jewish power.

In Matthew 24 His disciples asked the Lord three questions:

When will all these things you have said happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and the end of this age?

And right then and there Jesus told them – promised them, that a generation would not pass before all the things He said would occur.

This is what the writer is assuring them of –

All He taught and said would happen is happening or is about to happen, this will be the signs of my coming and the end of this age.

Hang on!
Have patience!
The reward waiting is worth it!

I would suggest that all the words and promises are in place and applicable to all who await to be delivered from this age and to come to Jesus once this life is over.

The writer summarizes a position that was applicable to believers then who were waiting the return of Jesus Christ and the position that continues to be true for anyone who is to escape hell and the second death, saying (or actually reiterating the importance of faith) by adding:

38 “Now” (or in other words, listen to the sum of everything I have just said) “the just” (those justified before God as righteous) “shall live by faith:”

Not by the law!
Not by any external baloney!
Not by religion – the just shall live by faith! (he says)

. . . but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

It is thought these words were taken from both the Hebrew version on Habukuk and from the Septuagint – but we aren’t sure why they were taken from both.

What we do know is anyone who will stand justly before God so stood until the end – either of Jerusalem . . . or to the end of our lives.

39 “But” (he adds at verse 39) “we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

True believers are not of them that draw back into perdition.

Yes, the statement presents us with that old conundrum – are all true believers always saved because only true believers abide in the vine or is it possible that a true believer can draw back from faith.

I don’t really have an answer except to say, “yes,” to all of it – but add, “it is not something I am capable of figuring out. I just want to make sure that neither I, nor my family, nor anyone I know, is one of them that draw back into perdition but are instead them that (CONTINUE) to believe UNTO the saving of the soul.

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