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Teaching Text: Hebrews 10: 26–39
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spiritof grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For,
“In just a little while,
he who is coming will come
and will not delay.”
And,
“But my righteous one will live by faith.
And I take no pleasure
in the one who shrinks back.”
But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Hebrews: A new and Living Way
Do Not Shrink Back
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Sermon Summary
The question we’re confronted with isn’t “Do you believe?” It’s “Will you keep believing when it costs you?”
Our world offers more comfort and self-soothing escape than ever before — every product promises paradise, every binge a momentary refuge, every glass of wine a reprieve. And there’s a way to live religiously that ticks every box while being emptied of risk and power. The real danger isn’t leaving the faith outright — it’s carefully packaging your walk with Jesus so it’s presentable and never cuts into your comforts or your plans.
Consider this question today: what drives you to dial it back just enough that it doesn’t touch your life in the uncomfortable places?
The text gives us three things:
A warning
An encouragement
An invitation
The Warning: What Is at Stake (vv. 26–31)
“Deliberately keep on sinning” is present tense — ongoing, willful. This isn’t the stumbling believer. It’s someone who knows the truth and still, consciously, turns away.
“No sacrifice for sins is left” because there is only one sacrifice sufficient to deal with sin. To reject Christ is to reject his sacrificial, saving love.
The argument runs — if defying Moses’s law brought death, how much more severe is rejecting the blood of the covenant and the Spirit of grace?
“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (v. 31) isn’t a threat to terrify the faithful. It’s a warning to those flirting with abandonment.
Dallas Willard, asked about hell and its theological traps, put it this way: when people see the sacrificial love of Jesus and choose not God — that is exactly what they get. And “not God” is a terrible place to be.
The warning is severe because what’s at stake is so precious. The question isn’t why the warning is so severe — it’s whether it’s severe enough, if this is the only hope we have. For those under pressure, the warning isn’t “perform harder.” It’s: don’t let the cost of following Jesus cause you to despise or forget what Jesus has done for you.
The Encouragement: You Have Already Stood Firm (vv. 32–34)
The tone pivots — from warning to pastoral encouragement. These believers are weary, at the end of their rope, but they are not deserters.
“Remember” isn’t nostalgia — it’s a theological act. Tending to the past draws courage into the present and hope into what lies ahead.
They endured great conflict, full of suffering — and did it joyfully. Not gritted teeth. They had a better calculus: “better and lasting possessions” (v. 34), the inheritance secured in Christ.
Whatever feels like loss doesn’t get them down, because they are more acutely aware of what they’re gaining in the process of losing it.
What we have in Christ — forgiveness, security, adoption, a future inheritance, the presence of God — cannot be confiscated. Suffering loosens its grip when I know what I cannot lose.
A Sober Invitation: Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence (vv. 35–39)
“Shrink back” translates hypostellō — to draw back, retreat, like a soldier deserting a post, or a sailor furling the sails and pulling back from the wind.
“Do not throw away your confidence” (v. 35) — boldness. The author isn’t telling them to find it. He’s telling them not to discard what they already have.
Perseverance is patient endurance, not performance. Perseverance only begins when motivation ends.
The Habakkuk citation (2:4) was written to a prophet watching Babylon rise, asking God how long. God’s answer: “My righteous one will live by faith.” Faith isn’t the absence of hard circumstances — it’s the presence of trust in God despite them.
“We do not belong to those who shrink back” (v. 39) is identity, not behavior management. He isn’t saying try harder. He’s saying: this is not who you are.
The person who truly grasps the gospel does not shrink back — not because they’re fearless, but because, as Paul says, they know whom they believe. Not what they believe.
What’s facing you right now that would cause you to just turn the intensity down a little on your relationship with Christ? Job challenges, marriage, unrealized relational desires, financial pressure, fear of others’ opinions, unanswered prayer — does it move you closer to Jesus, or does it demotivate you into apathy?
Three movements:
The warning is real, proportional to what Christ has done.
The past is our encouragement — you’re here for a reason, and that’s enough to know God is faithful.
The invitation is yours. You are a believer. Hold your confidence.
Direct Quotes
“Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
— David
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
— Jim Elliot
“Sometimes our loved ones choose not god and we get really deeply offended or worried about them. But sometimes they’re not choosing not God — they’re choosing not the god the western church has made in its own image. Sometimes that’s a step towards God, even though it looks like a step away.”
— sermon notes
Three Questions for Personal Application
What does “not shrinking back” look like in your specific context right now? Think of the one place you’ve quietly dialed things back with God — not walked away, just turned the intensity down. Name it honestly before him.
What comfort or resource are you unwilling to sacrifice, because it’s grown more important to you than Kingdom value? This isn’t about guilt — it’s about clarity. Ask God to show you what you’re gripping too tightly, and whether it’s actually worth what it’s costing you.
When pressure comes — financial, relational, unanswered prayer — does it move you closer to Jesus, or toward apathy? Consider your last hard season. Did it deepen your trust or quietly numb it? Ask God to meet you in whatever is pressing on you now.
“My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back… But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
— Hebrews 10:38–39
