Do Not Shrink Back

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction… Hebrews 10:39a

Brothers and sisters, we must be resolved in the ways of Christ.

The world wants us to toss and turn in uncertainty. “Question everything,” used to be a motto to increase understanding about the world around us, but even this quest for Truth has been turned into a license for immorality. Question your gender. Question your love life. Question your parents, defy them if need be. Question the Scriptures. Question God’s existence. Question your “privilege.” The world wants us to be double-minded, but the Apostle James calls us to put off such things.

Even Christendom is divided. We are to be known for our love for one another, yet these pagan ideologies of radical individualism have pervaded the Church and cause us to shrink back. Obey the government, even when they decree against God’s Word. Make your faith which should be taken into the nations personal and private. No words needed, just live properly. Pagan Westerners have continually shrunk the renown of Christ while building upon His foundations for all they enjoy. We must not shrink back.

We have no shortage of people to look to so that we may not shrink back. As the author of Hebrews points out, we have examples stretching back to the beginning. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob all have gone before us as our examples, all culminating in Christ as the most masculine, fearless, obedient Man who ever lived. We must be resolved in His ways.

Our faith is historic, yes, but it continues even to these times we find ourselves in. Coates. Stephens. MacArthur. Reaume. Rock. Richardson. Bainbridge. Andreas. Elson. Slauenwhite. Meadows. Thiessen. Look to these men and find men who admit they are imperfect image bearers of Christ, yet nonetheless, they all showed stalwart faith in the face of adversity. They are not of those who shrank back into destruction. They faced imprisonment, fines, isolation, betrayal, and various other kinds of persecution for Christ’s sake. They are among “those who have faith to the preserving of the soul,” as the author of Hebrews continues in verse 39.

Christian, choose this day whom you will serve. Will you serve the One who is courageous and victorious? Or will you shrink back from that faith, and thus shrink back to destruction?