Are We Stepping Back from Faith? Hebrews 10:39

Hebrews 10:39 reads: "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."

In his book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well, The Permanence of Racism, the late Dr. Derrick Bell, who at the time was visiting professor at New York University, shared his thoughts on the men and women with whom he worked with on the problems of human life, particularly as it related to the legal aspect of the struggle for peace and justice in America at the nascent of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Bell mentions Judge Robert L. Carter, one of the leading attorneys in the NAACP’s school desegregation litigation, who spoke of the courage needed when, back in the early 1950s, whites exerted economic pressures to curb the new militancy among Blacks, who were joining lawsuits challenging segregation.

In this hostile and hate-filled climate, Carter, and the other lawyers working on these cases, urged parents to carefully consider the risks before making a final commitment to join in the litigation. Carter said to Bell, “That so few stepped back still astounds me.” These were parents who, like so many Blacks of that era, were tired of seeing justice wearing a rag and rascality a purple robe as it related to the educational aspirations for themselves and their children: “That so few stepped back still astounds me.” Remember, this was a season of terror, where men and women wore white sheets and burned crosses in the yards of Black people in acts of intimidation: “That so few stepped back still astounds me.”

In this world of guided missiles and misguided souls, we need faith that will not step back, and we need believers who will not step back from faith, nor compromise their faith and what they believe.

Would that I could report that that same sentiment is alive and well today, just a quarter into the new millennium, but there are signs that is not the case. For there appears to be more believers stepping back from faith. Church attendance is down. Hopelessness is up. The fastest growing category in the religious life of Black people, according to Pew Research, is the “religious nones” – those who follow no religious or denominational structure.

The writer of the text senses this same hopelessness and declares:

If you stick with God, God will stick with you!

Context:

This is what the author of the text was communicating to his hearers. The setting points to the mid-sixties, A.D. 64-68, a generation after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and one year after Nero instigated the burning of Rome and blamed it on the Christians, ushering in a sporadic period of persecution.

It was a Jewish Christian community under social, political, and religious pressure. These believers had endured sporadic persecution, seizure of property and, as a result, these saints were faced with integrating into established Roman and religious socially accepted norms OR remain true to the struggle to inaugurate the kingdom of God.

The context is clearly one of struggle.

Every person listening to this homily shares a single trait: You are either struggling, have struggled or anticipate struggling, whether it is connected to relationships, money, career, or family. Or, it could be a collective struggle, such as the struggle for peace and justice in America.

The existential question is: How do we respond to struggle?

If you stick with God, God will stick with you!

In the text, the believers had one of two choices:

1. Shrink back or abandon the faith out of fear, frustration, and fatigue. This is the apostate, a person who renounces his or her belief (whether religious or political). In 2 Timothy 4;10, Paul laments the departure of Demas, saying, "For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica" (NIV). 

Illustration:

Clothes are made from fibers that are either natural, like cotton and wool, or synthetic, like polyester and nylon. Natural fibers are more prone to shrinkage because their molecules act like tiny, coiled springs. During manufacturing, fibers are stretched and pulled to form the fabric. When exposed to water and heat, these fibers relax and recoil to their original, unstretched state, causing the garment to shrink. Cotton, for example, can shrink 3–10% after the first wash, while wool can shrink dramatically due to felting, were fibers interlock and mat together.

Lesson: When believers – true believers – are exposed to the “heat” of life, we do not recoil to our original, unstretched state. Once God stretches you, you never go back to being the same! What this writer pens to those first-century believers is remarkable. Our spiritual fiber does not allow us to shrink back!

2. Persevere in faith, move forward with a resolute spirit. This is the steadfast. “Steadfast” is an adjective used throughout Holy Writ to describe the response of believers who remain loyal to what they believed; and who were resolute and dutiful despite the vicissitudes they faced.

Such is our predicament in 2026 as believers facing the headwinds of stupendous change, tremendous challenge, and momentous complexity in the face a massive effort to undermine and erase not only our cultural gains but our religious belief in a God who knows all, sees all and embodies all.

And so I ask today: which category are you in?

If you stick with God, God will stick with you!

Here are three points based on the text:

Hebrews 10:39 reads: "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved"

First, We can’t Lose with the Stuff we Use (2 Corinthians 12:9–10: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness… when I am weak, then I am strong.” With “To the saving of the soul…,” the writer borrows a metaphor from merchants, who either get more or lose what they have. Our salvation as believers cannot be lost, though our faith as believers can be compromised.  To bring it home, the writer harkens to the Israelites from Habakkuk’s day, who were also facing persecution, but endured. How? “The just shall live by faith…” (Habakkuk 2:3-4). Faith was their daily ritual; indeed, faith was their spiritual DNA. Thus, these are the footsteps we must follow!

Our Christian faith, then, must be as durable as the Energizer bunny! It keeps going and going and going – no matter what the test!

Second, Our Confidence is Based on Christ and Christ Alone Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We persevere when we understand it is impossible for God to fail us. This is the promise we have from God. Guthrie said, “There is no place in the Christian experience for a hope that is firm at one time and shaky at another.” Our faith teaches us to hold on to Christ, “for he himself is faithful”, according to Hebrews 1:23.

Lastly, In Christ when they Go Low, Believers Stay High.  1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” They went “low”, as in they gave in to doubt, disbelief, and deception of the enemy.  Believers have confidence in God’s grace and based on Scripture; such confidence contrasts the temporary nature of creation with the permanence of Christ. The writer declares “They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.” Hebrews 1:11

“We are not of those,” declares the writer, pointing to the apostates or the ones who lost faith and gave in to disbelief.

The enemy attacks us by “those” we love and depend on most. Be careful of “those” people who are chronic naysayers, pathologically negative, for “those” people will wear down your faith quicker than a flash flood!

Conclusion

Time is filled with swift transition/Naught on earth unmoved can stand/Build your hopes on things eternal/hold to God’s unchanging hand.

The redemptive hermeneutical principle:

If you stick with God, God will stick with you!

 Reach Pastor C at: info@pastorwericcroomes.com