Letter to the Hebrews Volume 117

 We 'the Just' Must Live by Faith Part 9

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. KJV

We found the author of Hebrews (in the last study/commentary) warning the Hebrew converts back then to be patient under their reproaches and afflictions that came to them from their very own Hebrew brethren and sisteren who had not received the gift of faith from our Lord Jesus Christ and were still beholden to the old Mosaic law and system of worship that God the Father had now discarded with the sending of the Messiah our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. No longer was being a Hebrew and following the Mosaic system the way to approach God the Father, but now faith in Jesus Christ is the only key that can and will unlock access to God the Father and justify, that is, to absolve the sinner from their sin before Him. With this being said, we find the writer of Hebrews now declaring these next words to the Hebrew converts then and we converts to Christ today and of every era and generation, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Hebrews 10:38) (KJV). The English word 'just' is translated by the Greek word dikaios meaning (as used here) by implication innocent, holy (absolutely or relatively): - just, meet, righteous. The English word 'faith' is translated by the Greek word pistis meaning (as used here) persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself. The little English phrase 'draw back' is translated by the Greek word hupostellō meaning (as used here) to withhold under (out of sight), that is, (reflexively) to cower or shrink, (figuratively) to conceal (reserve): - draw (keep) back, shun, withdraw. The English phrase 'shall have no pleasure' is translated by the Greek word eudokeō meaning to think well of, that is, approve (an act); specifically to approbate or accept (a person or thing). In other words, the man or woman who hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, the Gospel of Grace and believes unto salvation, that is, is born again by the Holy Spirit, then this person lives by the gift of faith he or she has received from God and trust in Christ alone and only for their salvation must continue in their lives to live by that faith as it is written by Paul the Apostle with these words, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:6-10) (KJV). How did we receive the Lord Jesus Christ? Answer, by faith, therefore our response is to live by this faith we have received and have exercised and not by what we see going on around us with the theorizing and the philosophy of mere human undertsanding which is worthless and useless to humanity after time has been done away with. Faith in Christ is important for living now, but it is far more important for life in eternity because faith unites you to Christ forever just as no faith or unbelief disconnects you from Christ forever, meaning hell/lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15). The author of Hebrews here declares his disdain for those who shrink back during times of reproach, ridicule, and revilement because of the Name of Jesus Christ and he declares the person who does so unaccepatable to him.

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of Hebrews 10:38, "This is a part of the quotation from Habakkuk 2:3-4, which was probably commenced in the previous verse; see the passage fully explained in the notes on Romans 1:17. The meaning in the connection in which it stands here, in accordance with the sense in which it was used by Habakkuk, is, that the righteous should live by 'continued confidence' in God. They should pass their lives not in doubt, and fear, and trembling apprehension, but in the exercise of a calm trust in God. In this sense it accords with the scope of what the apostle is here saying. He is exhorting the Christians whom he addressed, to perseverance in their religion even in the midst of many persecutions. To encourage this he says, that it was a great principle that the just, that is, all the pious, ought to live in the constant exercise of 'faith in God.' They should not confide in their own merits, works, or strength. They should exercise constant reliance on their Maker, and he would keep them even unto eternal life. The sense is, that a persevering confidence or belief in the Lord will preserve us amidst all the trials and calamities to which we are exposed. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him - This also is a quotation from Habakkuk 2:4, but from the Septuagint, not from the Hebrew. Why the authors of the Septuagint thus translated the passage, it is impossible now to say. The Hebrew is rendered in the common version, 'Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him;' or more literally, 'Behold the scornful; his mind shall not be happy' (Stuart); or as Gesenius renders it, 'See, he whose soul is unbelieving shall, on this account, be unhappy.' The sentiment there is, that the scorner or unbeliever in that day would be unhappy, or would not prosper. The Apostle has retained the general sense of the passage, and the idea which he expresses is, that the unbeliever, or he who renounces his religion, will incur the divine displeasure. He will be a man exposed to the divine wrath; a man on whom God cannot look but with disapprobation. By this solemn consideration, therefore, the apostle urges on them the importance of perseverance, and the guilt and danger of apostasy from the Christian faith. If such a case should occur, no matter what might have been the former condition, and no matter what love or zeal might have been evinced, yet such an apostasy would expose the individual to the certain wrath of God. His former love could not save him, any more than the former obedience of the angels saved them from the horrors of eternal chains and darkness, or than the holiness in which Adam was created saved him and his posterity from the calamities which his apostasy incurred."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…