Turning Back Toward Egypt

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:39—NIV)

What is God's attitude toward the believer who shrinks back, that is, he or she does not continue to press forward in joyous faith?

God takes no pleasure in that individual.

What will happen to us if we, having started on the Christian pilgrimage, turn back toward Egypt, toward the world?

We shall be destroyed. In the day of resurrection there will be no spotless robe given to us. Instead, if we are saved, most of our personality will be burned away by the fire of judgment. There will be no fruit remaining, only a corrupt adamic personality, which cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

If we are finally saved into the Kingdom, saved by passing through the fire of judgment, it will be as a naked spirit.

What were some of the Jewish Christians doing?

They were neglecting their salvation by not pressing into spiritual maturity in Christ.

What will we accomplish if we keep living by faith in Christ?

We shall save our soul.

Notice from the above that the salvation of our soul is a program in which we must participate. It is a pressing forward against obstacles—obstacles that may cause us to turn back in the battle unless we have enough faith to keep on fighting.

Notice also, in the following chapter, that it always has been true that the righteous have lived by faith. When teaching us the meaning of the expression, "The righteous shall live by faith," the writer of the Book of Hebrews begins with Abel—the second person born on the earth.

As we have stated, "the just shall live by faith" is an Old Testament declaration (Habakkuk 2:4). It means that the righteous individual lives by trusting in the Lord for every one of his thoughts, words, and deeds. The unjust are those who trust in themselves. They are proud and think that they do not need the Lord. God is not in all their thoughts.

Today, perhaps because of a modern interpretation of the teaching of the Protestant Reformers, "the just shall live by faith" has come to mean we do not have to serve the Lord. The only obligation of the Christian is to give assent to the facts of theology. To attempt to live righteously is "works," and works of righteousness and godliness must not be allowed to contaminate the pure faith by which, supposedly, we are saved.

This is not what the declaration means. The righteous shall live by faith means just that—the righteous are to conduct their life on earth by total reliance on the wisdom, power, and love of God. They are not of the spirit of the present age, which teaches that man is a god and should trust in his "inner divinity" to enable him to achieve security, pleasure, fruitfulness, and every other aspect of personal fulfillment.

Observe carefully that in the definition of "faith," found in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews, assent to doctrine is not mentioned. Rather, the faith portrayed here is the faith of works—works that proceed from obedience to the revealed will of God. (from A Study Guide for the Book of Hebrews)