Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 10:35

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

35. your confidence ] Heb 3:6, Heb 4:16.

which hath ] The Greek relative implies “seeing that it has” ( quippe quae).

recompence of reward ] The compound misthapodosia as before for the simple misthos (Heb 2:2, Heb 11:26; comp. Heb 11:6).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Cast not away therefore your confidence – Greek your boldness; referring to their confident hope in God. They were not to cast this away, and to become timid, disheartened, and discouraged. They were to bear up manfully under all their trials, and to maintain a steadfast adherence to God and to his cause. The command is not to cast this away. Nothing could take it from them if they trusted in God, and it could be lost only by their own neglect or imprudence. Rosenmuller supposes (Alte und Neue Morgenland, in loc.) that there may be an allusion here to the disgrace which was attached to the act of a warrior if he cast away his shield. Among the Greeks this was a crime which was punishable with death. Alexander ab Alexand. Gen. Dier. L. ii c. 13. Among the ancient Germans, Tacitus says, that to lose the shield in battle was regarded as the deepest dishonor, and that those who were guilty of it were not allowed to be present at the sacrifices or in the assembly of the people. Many, says he, who had suffered this calamity, closed their own lives with the baiter under the loss of honor. Tac. Germ. c. 6. A similar disgrace would attend the Christian soldier if he should cast away his shield of faith; compare the notes, Eph 6:16.

Which hath great recompense of reward – It will furnish a reward by the peace of mind which it gives here, and will be connected with the rewards of heaven.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Heb 10:35

Cast not away, therefore, your confidence

Spiritual confidence

I.

WHAT THIS SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE IS.

1. Confidence in Christ.

(1) In His inherent goodness.

(2) In His power and will to save.

2. Confidence in the riches which Christ will give.

II. SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE IS TO BE FIRMLY HELD. For the better understanding of this, it is well to bear in mind the difference there is between confidence and faith. They are much the same in their exercise; still they are different. Confidence is the outcome of faith. Confidence is stronger than faith, and leads the soul onward to be bold and daring. Faith is as the root; confidence the branch springing out of the root. Confidence grows on faith, and cannot live without it; but faith may exist without confidence, though there can be no doubt that the one is affected by the other, and that as the one strengthens the other strengthens, or that as the one wanes the other also wanes. We see, therefore, that we may cast away our confidence by unbelief. Once begin to doubt the power and will of Christ to bless us, and our confidence is gone. The faith may not altogether have departed, but confidence is thrown away. In fact, it seems to be possible for one to have all the evidences of Christs character and goodness set before him, so that he cannot doubt, but must believe in Christs divinity and salvation; and yet to have no real confidence in Him, no confidence which leads one to trust Him fully, and to go forth in His name in all boldness and with Christian courage. If, then, you are a possessor of this confidence, hold it fast. It is a step in advance of the ordinary Christian plan. It leads to something more, something higher, bolder, and grinder, for Christ and for His cause. Hold it fast, and exercise it. The more it is cultivated and exercised, the more it will grow and the stronger it will become.

III. SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE BRINGS ITS OWN REWARD.

1. We have it here upon earth. You cannot confide in Christ one single hour without receiving some blessing. If you have this confidence, it matters but little what may befall you here. There may be war, or jealousies, or collapses in business, or bodily suffering, or temptation, or any other kind of trial as sharp as death itself, yet your mind is calm amidst it all; and, like the bird which sits on some secluded twig and sings sweetly while the thunder roars and the lightning flashes, so you are joyful in the Lord, and amidst every storm can sing to the praise of your Saviour.

2. We shall have a further reward hereafter. Self-devoting unselfishness for Christs sake will be its own reward in heaven. Can any soul absolutely confide in Christ and not be made holier in heaven than he is here? He will also be rewarded with the rest of heaven–blessed, peaceful rest, after his toils and sufferings here. He will have the glories of heaven poured upon him in such a measure as he never anticipated, and of a kind of which he had not conceived. (H. F. Walker.)

The Christians confidence

The confidence here mentioned is not merely that trust in the personal sacrifice of Christ whence springs pardon of sin. It is the filial trust of a believing heart, washed from guilt in the redeeming blood, already an heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ. And in what is this confidence placed? In self-goodness, or self-power? No; but in God, through Jesus Christ alone. The more of this confidence the Christian possesses, the more humble will he be; for it makes Christ supreme in the heart. And on what is it immediately grounded? This rejoicing confidence is not founded on dim speculations, on vague hopes, on boasted deeds, but on the clear testimony of the Divine Spirit. In this must be the basis of all the enjoyment in the blessings of the kingdom of grace here, and all for which we may look in the glory hereafter. In hours of distress it ministers consolation. In danger it brings preservation and rescue. In trouble it gives support and relief. It realises not only a deliverance from all evil, but a communication of all that is good. Who can tell how rich in delight earth may be, with this confidence in God keeping the soul; with the kingdom of righteousness, and peace, and joy as its government; with the sure promise that the maintenance of this confidence is constantly adding to the lustre of our heavenly crown! But its highest, its supremely great recompense of reward is beyond the grave. With expanding and quickened facilities, with ever-opening objects for thought and feeling, with closer approach to the infinite, and changing into the Divine likeness, the faithful saints shall reap the eternity of their reward. The apostle here alludes to the conduct of the ancient warrior. The Lacedaemonians were celebrated for a valour which chose death before an ignominious defeat; therefore they threw their lives away rather than shrink from the foe. The mothers of their young men often gave them, as they departed for the fight, the shield of the father, and commanded them to bring it back, or be brought back upon it–that is, to return victorious or slain. So the loyal, valiant Paul bids the soldier of the cross never to give up his shield, never cast it away in foul retreat. Ours is a mighty moral conflict. If we Can cast this away, we can have no hope of succour and deliverance from Him. We must fall a prey to the devourer. Let us, then, resist the various devices to ensnare us. Cast not away your confidence in any sore temptation. Cast it not away should the prosperity and flattery of the world try to attract you from it. Perhaps this is the least dreaded, but it is the most dangerous combatant; for, like Judas, it first kisses, then betrays. (S. B. Bangs.)

Hold fast your shield

I. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THIS CONFIDENCE of which the apostle speaks? It is not very easy to explain this word in one English word. It means that freedom, that peace, that at-homeness which makes a man feel bold, free, confident. The elements of it seem to me to be these.

1. Confidence in the principles which you have espoused. There must be certain undoubted truths about which you can sing, O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise–things which you perceive to be plainly taught in the Scriptures–things brought home by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. This is the groundwork of true confidence but to make it complete there must be an open avowal of our belief in our Lord Jesus.

3. To do all this you must know your own interest in those truths man will readily let go a truth which may condemn him. Who will die for a truth in which he has no share? The man who can live and die for Christ is the man who believes that Christ has lived and died for him.

4. This means, besides, a full and firm reliance upon the faithfulness of God, so that we are free from all mistrusts and fears, and simply rest in God.

5. Where this confidence really reigns in the soul, it takes the form of full acceptance before God.

6. Upon this there follows that further confidence, of which John says, This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He heareth us–confidence that when we pray we shall be heard.

7. Over and above that, how delightful to feel that even what we do not pray for, by reason of our ignorance or forgetfulness, our gracious God will bestow.

8. You may add to all this the confidence that He is able to keep that which you have committed to Him; for we have this confidence–that whether we sleep or wake we shall be together with Him.

II. How THIS CONFIDENCE MAY BE CAST AWAY.

1. By changing it for self-confidence. Be empty, and Christ will be your fulness, but if you become full in yourself you have done with Christ. Cast not away your confidence by leaving your simple reliance upon Jesus Christ.

2. Some, however, cast away their confidence by giving way to sin. Old Master Brooks says, Assurance will make us leave off sinning, or sinning will make us leave off assurance. You cannot grieve your Heavenly Father and yet feel the same confidence towards Him.

3. Another way of losing our confidence is by getting into worldly company and mixing up with the gay and frivolous. A child would soon lose his loving, confident feeling towards his father if his father had an enemy opposite, and he constantly went into that enemys house, and heard all the language that was used there.

4. You can very easily lose your confidence by changing your aim in life. While your object is God you will be bold as a lion, but a sordid motive is the mother of cowardice.

5. Some unhappy professors have apparently cast away their confidence in utter unbelief.

III. THE REASONS GIVEN FOR HOLDING FAST OUR CONFIDENCE.

1. Cast not away therefore you confidence. What does this therefore mean? Why, it means this–because you have already endured so much. Do not lose the victories which you have already gained. If it was wise to go so far, it will be wise to go on to the end. I recollect going over the Col DObbia on the Alps, and when I got a little way down I found myself on a steep mountain side upon a mass of loose earth and slates. There seemed to me to be some miles of almost perpendicular descent and no road. My head began to swim. I set my feet fast down in the loose soil, turned my back to the scene below me, and my face to the hill-side, and stuck my hands into the earth to hold as best I could. I cried to my friend, I shall never go down there: I will go back. He coolly replied, Just look where you have come from. When I looked up it appeared to be much worse to try and clamber up than it could possibly be to go down, and so he remarked, I think you had better go on, for it is worse going back. So we must go on, for it will be worse going back. Let us gird up the loins of our mind, and push onward with firm resolution, by the help of the Spirit of God.

2. Do not cast away your confidence, for it has great recompense of reward. There is a reward in it now: for it makes us happy. Do not cast away your confidence, since it yields you such pure delight. But it makes you strong both to bear and labour. When you are like a child in confidence before God, you can endure pain and reproach right bravely. And, moreover, it makes you victorious. And, best of all, there is a recompense of reward to come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Discouragements and comforts in Christian life

1. There are many discouragements which follow false conceptions of life, and which result from the practical rectification of those conceptions. There are those who enter upon a Christian life expecting to be borne, as it were, by the Divine afflatus, straight through their course. When they find, on the other hand, that God only works in them to will and to do, and that the effect of the Divine influence upon them is to make the necessity of work in them still more emphatic, they are disappointed. There are those who have supposed a religious life to be a tide of joyful emotion. They thought religion was some Cleopatras barge of ivory and gold, with purple sails, and with music and joyfulness within; and though there would be savage barbarians along either shore, that would shoot arrows at them, they meant to fire out of the barge a great deal better than was sent at them; and when they find that instead of being a Cleopatras barge, it is a galley, as it were, and that they are galley-slaves, they are despondent. The dispersion of these illusions destroys all that they stood on; and yet, at that, it is far better. There is many a man who is much nearer the kingdom of

God at the point of discouragement than he was at the point of hope. The point of hope was the point of misconception; this discouragement is more wholesome than was their hopefulness, because it is nearer to the truth.

2. There are those who begin a religious life upon the nourishment abundantly supplied to them in the peculiar circumstances in which they are born, but who have a slender capacity for supplying themselves with nourishment. They lack that motive force which makes religion, and that inspiration which gives them vital courage. Those who are slenderly endowed in this respect, find, as soon as they begin to live a Christian life for themselves, that it is very dull. It is for such persons that the external routine of church duties is peculiarly useful. If they could be held to some set, stated exercises allied to religion, they would find themselves, both by the regularity of these exercises and by their routine nature, to be greatly sustained and helped. For they are persons that are living upon a low plane.

3. Men suffer discouragements arising from the misconception of the relations of joy to the Christian life. They think while they are joyful that they are growing, and when they are not joyful, then they are going behind-hand. But pain is a far more growing element than joy. Sunshine is not more indispensable to harvests than rains and cloudy days. And in the Christian life the yoke and the burden are eminently profitable to men. There are many men who think that religion is an invitation to go into the house and sit before a great fire that has been built for them. Religion is an invitation to more than that. It is also an invitation to the felling, hauling, and preparing of the fuel. And is not this rational? Is not this the way to make true and wholesome natures?

4. There are discouragements arising from conflicts and rivalries between lawful secular occupations and religious emotions. Our whole life is a religious life. The experiences of inspiration may be spiritual in the closet; but the real life of every man is that into which he puts his energy, his strength, his vitality, his power. Wherever men are, there they ought to put their power of understanding, their power of sentiment, their power of feeling, their power of planning and execution. That is the thing for a Christian man to do. And the kind of power which he has, and the moral quality of it, depend upon the influence of the interior and invisible life.

5. A large element of discouragement arises in minds of fine temper, on account of the discrepancy which must always exist between ideality and practical reality. There will always be a chasm between duty and performance. The higher our conception of justice is, the harder it will be to reach it. The fact is, a person of a vivid imagination will conceive of an amount of duty and a fineness of experience which it would be impossible, except by a tutoring of years and years, to meet. Do not you suppose that Raphaels mind, before his hand was trained to paint, painted pictures that were infinitely more beautiful than any that his hand painted? No men are so apt to be discouraged as those who are living far up along the scale. They judge themselves by a high ideal of life. I would not have them discouraged finally; but it does not do any hurt for a man to be enough discouraged to keep down pride and vanity. Men are discouraged, frequently, from a perception of the weakness and unfruitfulness of their will-power–their power of executing what they mean to do. Men resolve, and do not accomplish. The relation between the power of the will and the thing to be executed is different in different people. I have often said that moral stamina lay in the will more than anywhere else. The will is like a rudder. Some ships are very hard to steer, and some are very easy. Some you can hardly turn from their course, and some you can set about by the least touch of the wheel. So it is with men. And they are discouraged, usually, if they find it hard to direct their course aright, because they think it is owing to some wickedness in them. Persevere, and work manfully, with weakness and temptation, in darkness and light, and you will reach your Heavenly Father soon. No father on earth was ever so lenient with the faults of his boy who wanted to do right, as God is with your faults if you want to do right, and will try to do right. In a little time you will know that this is so. Not to mention the other classes of discouragement, I remark, in closing, that behind and within all our personal labour is our God. No man will ever reach heaven that does not himself strive; but no man will ever reach heaven simply through his own striving. There are two co-ordinate lives; there is power within a power; there is God in us; and that is the secret of the power by which we are saved. It looks as though the pointers of a watch kept time; but is it the strength of the pointers that carries them round? No. Down deep below there is the coiled spring that moves the wheel, and, in obedience, the pointers move and register the time. But suppose the pointers were taken off? Then all the springs in the world, though they might set the wheels playing round, would not indicate the time. The measuring power would be gone. Both of them, the spring and the pointers, must be concurrently adjusted in order to keep time. It is God that is the mighty spring within us; and it is we that on the great dial of time are moving round in obedience to this interior force. There is, behind our own will and within our own purposes, the Divine influence; and this truth affords a ground whereon we may comfort ourselves in discouragement. (H. W. Beecher.)

Carrying the sword a little further

I recollect a brother minister saying to me when I was a very young man, I remember being sent for, and going to see a very blessed old man. I had never seen a dying Christian; and as I had read a lot of poetry about the deathbeds of the Lords people, I had got the notion that they all died very quietly. As I drew near to his bedside, I said, Oh, sir I it is all peace now. It took the old man a little while to get breath enough to speak; and when be did, the sound of his voice seemed to come from beneath the bed-clothes, and chilled me. I could almost have fallen, but I waited a minute, and I then heard what he said. He said, No, it is not all peace yet. I must wear the halbert a little longer, and I must carry the sword a little further. It is a hard fight; but I shall get the white robe and the crown by-and-by. It is a hard fight; but it is worth it. I have never forgotten the lesson I learned at that death-bed. (S. Coley.)

Christian confidence

The celebrated Philip de Morney, Prime Minister of Henry IV. of France, one of the greatest statesmen, and the most exemplary Christian of his age, being asked, a little before his death, if he still retained the same assured hope of future bliss which he had so comfortably enjoyed during his illness, he made this memorable reply: I am as confident of it from the incontestable evidence of the Spirit of God, as I ever was of any mathematical truth from all the demonstrations of Euclid.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 35. Cast not away therefore your confidence] Your liberty of access to God; your title and right to approach his throne; your birthright as his sons and daughters; and the clear evidence you have of his favour, which, if you be not steady and faithful, you must lose. Do not throw it away, . neither men nor devils can take it from you, and God will never deprive you of it if you continue faithful. There is a reference here to cowardly soldiers, who throw away their shields, and run away from the battle. This is your shield, your faith in Christ, which gives you the knowledge of salvation; keep it, and it will keep you.

The Lacedemonian women, when they presented the shields to their sons going to battle, were accustomed to say: , “Either bring this back, or be brought back upon it;” alluding to the custom of bringing back a slain soldier on his own shield, a proof that he had preserved it to the last, and had been faithful to his country. They were accustomed also to excite their courage by delivering to them their fathers’ shields with the following short address. , “This shield thy father always preserved; do thou preserve it also, or perish;” Lacaenarum Apophthegmata, PLUT. OPERA, a Wittenbach, vol. i. p. 682. Thus spake the Lacedemonian mothers to their sons; and what say the oracles of God to us? Cast not away your confession of faith. This is your shield; keep it, and it will ever be your sure defence; for by it you will quench every fiery dart of the wicked one. The Church of Christ speaks this to all her sons, and especially to those employed in the work of the ministry. Of this shield, of this glorious system of salvation by Jesus Christ, illustrated and defended in this work, I say to each of my children: , This faith, thy father, by the grace of God, hath always kept; keep thou it also, or thou must expect to perish! May this be received both as a warning and encouragement!

Great recompense of reward.] No less than God’s continual approbation; the peace that passeth all understanding ruling the heart here; and the glories of heaven as an eternal portion. Conscientiously keep the shield, and all these shall be thine. This will be thy reward; but remember that it is the mercy of God that gives it.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Cast not away therefore your confidence: this introduceth the last direction for helping on their perseverance in Christianity. denieth all degrees of apostacy, from secret undervaluing to an utter renouncing, not to slight, despise, or reject; they had endured already so much as might steel and fortify them against what remained, and implieth the bold, resolute, and courageous retention, Eph 6:10,16, of the boldness of their confession of the Christian faith. It is an ingenuous, free, bold, and daring profession of it, which no brow beating nor violence can dash out of countenance, the fruit of a mighty, invincible faith, and hope of eternal life. This makes them persevere courageously in their religion, notwithstanding their being laden with reproaches and sufferings for it, as Christ himself gave them a pattern, Mar 8:31,32; Ac 4:13,29,31.

Which hath great recompence of reward: what greater encouragement can there be to the retaining this confidence, than the great remuneration secured in the New Testament to them: God himself, in all his fulness, to be their exceeding great reward, seen and enjoyed by them; and which for quality and quantity is inexpressible, Gen 15:1; Mat 5:12; 10:32.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

35-37. Consequent exhortation toconfidence and endurance, as Christ is soon coming.

Cast not awayimplyingthat they now have “confidence,” and that it will notwithdraw of itself, unless they “cast it away” wilfully(compare Heb 3:14).

whichGreek,“the which”: inasmuch as being such as.

hathpresent tense: itis as certain as if you had it in your hand (Heb10:37). It hath in reversion.

recompense of rewardofgrace not of debt: a reward of a kind which no mercenary self-seekerwould seek: holiness will be its own reward; self-devotingunselfishness for Christ’s sake will be its own rich recompense (seeon Heb 2:2; Heb11:26).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Cast not away therefore your confidence,…. The same word is used here, as in Heb 10:19 where it is translated “boldness”; and may design here, as there, an holy boldness in prayer, free from a servile and bashful spirit; and which appears in a liberty of speaking to God, and in a confidence of being heard; prayer itself should not be left off, nor should freedom, boldness, and confidence in it be slackened, or laid aside: or else a profession of faith is intended, which ought to be free and open, bold and courageous, firm and constant; and which ought by no means to be let go and dropped: or the grace of faith in its full assurance, with respect to interest in God, as a covenant God and Father, and in his love; and with respect to interest in Christ, and in his grace, and a right to the glorious inheritance, the better and enduring substance: and this shield of faith is by no means to be cast away; it was reckoned infamous and scandalous in soldiers to lose or cast away their shield; with the Grecians it was a capital crime, and punished with death b; to which the apostle may here allude. There are two sorts of believers, nominal and real; and there are two sorts of faith; an historical one, which may be in persons destitute of the grace of God, and is in devils; and a true and unfeigned one, which has salvation connected with it; the former may be cast away and lost; the latter, though it may be remiss and weak in its exercise, yet it cannot be wholly and finally lost; and this exhortation may be designed as a means of continuing it, and of perseverance in it: the reason urging it follows,

which hath great recompence of reward; freedom and boldness in prayer has its reward, for such that ask in faith shall have; and so has a firm and constant profession of religion, for he that endures to the end shall be saved; and so has a true and strong faith in Christ; everlasting salvation is connected with it; the reward of the inheritance follows upon it; and this reward is the recompense of God’s own grace: and it is a very great one; it is the fruit of great love and grace; yea, it is no other than God himself, who is the exceeding great reward of his people; it is Christ and his glory, and the riches of it; it is a reward exceeding, and beyond all deserts of men, and beyond all thought and expression.

b Alex. ab. Alexand. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 13.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Cast not away therefore your boldness ( ). Prohibition with and the second aorist active subjunctive of . Old verb to throw away from one as worthless, only twice in the N.T., here in a figurative sense and Mr 10:50 in a literal sense (garment by Bartimaeus). The Jewish Christians in question were in peril of a panic and of stampeding away from Christ. Recall in verse 23.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Confidence [ ] . Rend. boldness. The boldness and courage which you manifested under persecution.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “Cast not away therefore,” (me apobalete oun) “You all cast not away therefore;” or don’t discard, throw aside, or abandon for a moment, do not turn your back on the profession you have made, 1Co 15:58; Gal 6:9.

2) “Your confidence,” (ten parresian humon) “Your confidence or boldness,” motivated by faith in the blood of Christ, the better covenant; come boldly instead to the throne of God where there is grace to help in time of need, Heb 4:15-16; 1Jn 5:14; 2Pe 3:18.

3) “Which hath great recompence of reward,” (hetis echei megalon misthapodosian) “A much better and remaining possession,” Rom 8:18, than any seized or confiscated from you by men, 1Co 2:9; 1Co 3:8; 2Ti 4:7-8.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

35. Cast not away, therefore, etc. He shows what especially makes us strong to persevere, even the retaining of confidence; for when that is lost, we lose the recompense set before us. It hence appears that confidence is the foundation of a godly and holy life. By mentioning reward, he diminishes nothing from the gratuitous promise of Salvation; for the faithful know that their labor is not vain in the Lord in such a way that they still rest on God’s mercy alone. But it has been often stated elsewhere how reward is not incompatible with the gratuitous imputation of righteousness.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(35) Cast not away therefore your confidence.Rather, Cast not away therefore your boldness, seeing it hath a great recompence. To cast away boldness is the opposite of holding fast the boldness of the hope (Heb. 3:6); the one belongs to the endurance of the faithful servant (Heb. 10:32; Heb. 10:36), the other to the cowardice of the man who draws back (Heb. 10:38). This verse and the next are closely connected: Hold fast your boldness, seeing that to it belongs great reward; hold it fast, for he that endureth to the end shall be saved. On the last word, recompence, see Heb. 2:2.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

35. Therefore Inasmuch as these noble antecedents show you to be heirs of a heavenly inheritance, do not cast away your trust and boldness, and so wane into apostasy. This true heroic confidence, based on faith and good works, and basis of glorious hopes, (note Heb 11:1,) has a final reward appended to it.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Do not therefore cast not away your boldness, which has great recompense of reward, for you have need of patient endurance, that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.’

So he begs them not to be moved by the present uncertainties, Not to toss away their boldness as previously revealed in how they had faced persecution, because now counting it as worthless. For their bold service will bring them great recompense of reward. And in order to do the will of God, as Christ had done before them (Heb 10:7-10), and to then receive the promise, they will require the same boldness in order to patiently endure. God’s inheritance and God’s rewards come through suffering and patient endurance in well-doing (2Co 1:7; 1Pe 4:13; Rom 2:7).

‘The Promise.’ That is, the good things promised for the future, the coming of Christ (2Pe 3:4), the heavenly resting place (Joh 14:2), the coming redemption, the crown of life (Jas 1:12), the eternal kingdom (Jas 2:5), eternal life (1Jn 2:25; 2Ti 1:1), new heavens and a new earth (2Pe 3:13).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The need of steadfastness:

v. 35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

v. 36. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

v. 37. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

v. 38. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.

v. 39. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

With all these facts to stimulate them in their Christian life, the writer may well add the concluding exhortation: Do not cast away, then, your confidence, for it has a rich hope of reward; for you have need of patience, in order that, after having done the will of God, you might receive the promise. The remembrance of what they had already endured and the consciousness of their lasting possession in heaven are the best and most urgent motives to keep the Christians firmly and cheerfully confident. For this hope will most assuredly not make ashamed, since it has the promise of the most wonderful reward of grace, namely, that of eternal salvation through the merits of Jesus Christ. Thus the result and reward following their steadfast confidence is in itself a reason which should incite them to the greatest fervor and the highest efforts. At the same time they have need of this patient endurance, for circumstances and conditions certainly do not favor the Christians in their position in the midst of a world that is inimical to the cause of Christ. But it is only by enduring to the end, by holding fast to the faith in Christ and doing the will of God as long as life lasts, that the promised reward will be forthcoming, Rev 2:10.

That this prospect, which holds out the idea of the cross, which is the lot of the Christians, might not discourage them, the author adds: For yet a little, a very little while, and He that is coming will have come and will not delay. See Hos 2:3-4: Isa 26:20. It may often seem to the believers as though they were about to be crushed under over whelming odds; but their final deliverance is near. It is only a little, a very little while, and the Lord will come for His second great advent, to judge the quick and the dead, to bring the enjoyment of everlasting salvation to His people. It may seem to some that He is delaying, that His promise will not come true; however, His day is coming just as sure as His word is the truth, 2Pe 3:8-9. Keeping this in mind, the Christian will be upheld in his faith by the words of the Lord, Hab 2:4: Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11: But My just one shall live by faith, and if he draw back, My soul has no pleasure in him. Only he that to the end remains in the faith in Jesus Christ, that clings without wavering to the consolation of Christ’s perfect merit, and does not permit himself to be turned aside by any consideration from within nor by any attack from without, shall live. Faithfulness and loyalty are the two virtues which must stand out in every believer.

Very diplomatically and tactfully the sacred writer concludes his admonition: But as for us, we are not of those that shrink to perdition, but of faith to the gaining of the soul. By including himself with his readers, the author makes his appeal all the more effective. The true believers are not characterized by such timid shrinking which results in giving up the confession of faith. Their faith may sometimes grow weak under the constant battering to which it is subjected, and may have anything but a heroic aspect. Men of faith the Christians must be in spite of all attacks; for it is only thus that they acquire and hold their soul’s salvation, that they obtain the deliverance of their souls, to be held as the most precious possession throughout eternity.

Summary

The inspired author compares the insufficiency of the Old Testament cult with the one willing and perfect offering of Christ, adding an urgent admonition to be firm and patient in faith and thus to obtain the salvation of souls.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Heb 10:35. Cast not away therefore your confidence, “Do not cast away, on the contrary, hold fast that liberty, that freedom of access ( ), which is granted you to enter into the holy of holies.” See ch. Heb 3:6 and Heb 10:19 of this chapter.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Heb 10:35 . Exhortation deduced from Heb 10:32-34 . The self-sacrificing zeal for Christianity displayed in the past ought to animate the readers to a joyful maintenance of the same likewise in the present, since of a truth this very stedfastness in zeal leads to the longed-for goal.

] here not the involuntary losing (Jac. Cappellus, Lsner, and others), but the voluntary casting from one , or letting fall away (comp. Mar 10:50 ), as though it were a question only of a worthless, useless thing; thus the same as , Heb 10:23 ; Heb 3:6 ; Heb 3:14 , and , Heb 4:14 , Heb 6:18 .

] your joyful confidence, sc . towards Christ as your Saviour. The free, courageous confession of Christianity before the world, of which Beza, Grotius, and others understand the expression, is only the consequence of the , which here, too, as Heb 10:19 ; Heb 3:6 ; Heb 4:16 , denotes a frame of the mind.

] which of a truth . Introduction of a well-known, indisputable verity.

] great rewarding retribution (see at Heb 2:2 ), namely, the promised everlasting blessedness (Heb 10:36 ).

The present , although the is as yet something future, of the undoubted certainty of its containing in itself, or having as a consequence.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

DISCOURSE: 2315
PATIENT FORTITUDE REQUIRED

Heb 10:35-36. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

THERE have been, to the Church of Christ, seasons of bitter persecution, and seasons of comparative tolerance and peace: but in whichever of these states we be, it becomes us not to yield to dejection on the one hand, or undue security on the other. We are soldiers on the field of battle, and must be ready to encounter our enemies whensoever they may advance against us. It will be time enough to put off our armour, when we have received our dismission from an earthly warfare, and are crowned with laurels in the realms of bliss. There had been to the Hebrew Christians seasons of severe trial, which the Apostle called to their remembrance: and it is probable, that when this epistle was written to them they enjoyed somewhat of tranquillity: but he bade them not to cast away their confidence: since they would still have need of it, as long as they should continue in the body.
In this apostolic injunction we see,

I.

What state of mind befits the Christian

The confidence here spoken of is a holy boldness in confessing Christ
[This is essential to the Christian character. Not even faith itself will avail for our salvation, where this is wanting: With the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation [Note: Rom 10:10.]. If we are ashamed of Christ, and deny him, he will be ashamed of us, and deny us [Note: Mat 10:32-33.].

This holy fortitude we should maintain, under all circumstances. Never, for a moment, should we cast it away. If trials increase, we need it the more: if they abate, or even cease, we still need this divine quality; because we know not how soon it may be called for, or to what an extent it may be required.]
And it will bring its own reward along with it
[It will keep us from all that disquietude and distraction which the menaces of the world might occasion in an unstable mind. It will induce a consistency of conduct, under all circumstances; and will bring into the soul, stability and peace. It will be to him who exercises it an unquestionable evidence of his own sincerity; and will doubtless be honoured with peculiar manifestations of the Divine favour. If more than ordinary supports are called for by reason of the augmented troubles that assault us, they shall be vouchsafed to us; even as they were to the Hebrew Youths in the furnace, when the Son of God himself condescended visibly to appear in their behalf]
To every Christian is this requisite, because of,

II.

The occasion he will have for it

Different as may be the path of different persons in some respects, in their great outline they are all the same. In their progress, all these different steps may be clearly and distinctly seen:

1.

Duty

[Every Christian does the will of God. To believe in Christ, to receive every thing from Christ in the exercise of faith and prayer, and to give himself up to God without reserve; this is the one habit of his mind, and the one labour of his life. From day to day he does not his own will, or the will of an ungodly world; but the will of God, as it is revealed in his blessed word.]

2.

Suffering

[This will always more or less attend a faithful discharge of our duty to God. There will now, as formerly, be seasons of comparative peace: but it is not possible for unregenerate men to love the light, whether it be set before them in the word, or be exhibited before them in the conduct of Gods faithful servants. The servant cannot be greater than his Lord: if they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, those of his household must assuredly expect some opprobrious designation at the least. And though, in comparison of imprisonment and death, this may be regarded as a light matter; yet is it not light, when we consider, that the names with which the godly are designated, are a signal for the world to load them with every species of obloquy and contempt.]

3.

Patience

[Our blessed Lord was as a sheep led to the slaughter, and, in the midst of all the indignities that were offered him, opened not his mouth. And in this manner his faithful followers also possess their souls in patience. They expect that they shall have need of patience; and it is their endeavour so to demean themselves under their trials, that patience may have its perfect work; that so they may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.]

4.

Glory

[This is the object of their pursuit; and to this they press forward with all their might. They know, that if they draw back, it must be unto perdition; and that it is by believing only, and maintaining their faith with steadfastness, that they ever can be saved [Note: ver. 38, 39.]. They are well assured, that the means must be used for the attainment of the end; and that if used aright, the end shall be attained. They are well aware, that duty must be performed, suffering expected, patience exercised: and in this way they have no doubt but that glory shall be ultimately secured. By a patient continuance in well-doing, they seek, and will obtain, eternal life.]

Application
1.

Let us be thankful for the peace that we are privileged to enjoy

[These are days of extraordinary toleration and candour. We cannot indeed say that the offence of the cross has ceased: for it never can cease, as long as the ungodly constitute the great majority of the world. But persecution, except in private circles, is but little known. The flames of martyrdom are no longer kindled amongst us, as in the days of old. Let us, then, make a due improvement of this great mercy, for the more abundant edification of our own souls, and for a more active advancement of Christs kingdom in the world [Note: See Act 9:31.].]

2.

Let us, however, stand prepared for other days

[No one can tell how soon the face of things may be changed. If Popery were to gain an ascendant again, it would, in all probability, bring with it all its attendant horrors. But even in private life we may be called to make severe sacrifices, and to suffer the loss of all our prospects upon earth. But let us remember, that Heaven will richly repay us for all that we may either lose or suffer: and if only we receive at last the promise of eternal life, we shall never have reason to regret the patience we exercised, and the confidence we maintained.]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Ver. 35. Cast not away your confidence ] Since it is your shield and buckler, Eph 6:16 ; but if battered with temptations, beat it out again. Demosthenes was branded with the name of , one that had lost his buckler.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

35 39 .] Hortatory conclusion , enforced by ( Heb 10:36 ) the need of endurance, which itself is recommended by the assurance of the speedy coming of the Lord, and the knowledge that we are not of the number of the backsliders, but of those who live by that faith by which our hope is substantiated.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

35 .] Cast not away therefore (it is better to keep the active, intentional sense of , to cast away , than to take the accidental and involuntary sense, ‘lose not,’ with the vulg., “nolite amittere.” This latter sense is common enough, e. g. Herod. viii. 65, : see many more examples in Bleek: and Dio Chrys. (in Wetst.) xxxiv. p. 425, , . But seeing that we have such expressions as , ch. Heb 3:6 , it is more probable that the other meaning is intended. So in ref. Mark: so lian, Var. Hist. x. 13, , &c.) your confidence (on the subjective sense of , see ch. Heb 3:6 , note), the which ( , not . The simple relative would predicate what follows of the one preceding individual antecedent only, whereas predicates it of a whole class of which that antecedent is one. The Latin ‘ quippe qu ’ expresses it well: ‘being of such sort, as ’) hath ( present , although the reward is future: hath, set down over against it: possesses in reversion) great recompense of reward (see on , ch. Heb 2:2 , note; also reff.).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Heb 10:35 . “Cast not away, then, your confidence, for it has great recompense of reward”. The exhortation begun in Heb 10:19 is resumed, with now the added force springing from their remembrance of what they have already endured and from their consciousness of a great possession in heaven. A reason for holding fast their confidence is now found in the result of so doing. It has great reward. used in Heb 2:2 of requital of sin, here and in Heb 11:26 of reward. Cf. Clem. ad Cor . 6, , and Wis 3:5 . Therefore, , do not throw it away as a worthless thing you have no further need of. Retain it, , “for ye have need of endurance,” of maintaining your hopeful confidence to the end under all circumstances. Without endurance the promise which secures to them the enduring possession cannot be enjoyed, for before entering upon its enjoyment, the whole will of God concerning them must be done and borne. . , Davidson and Weiss agree in thinking that “the will of God is His will that they should hold fast their confidence”. Rather, that accepting all privation, as they once did (Heb 10:32 ) and recognising all they were called to endure as God’s will concerning them, they should thus endure to the end ( cf. Heb 3:6 ) and so receive the promised good ( = the thing promised as in Heb 6:12 ; Heb 6:15 ). , the verb properly means to carry off or to recover what is one’s own. See Mat 25:27 ; 2Co 5:10 ; Heb 11:13 ; Heb 11:19 ; Heb 11:39 . And their entrance on the reward of their endurance will not long be delayed . “For yet a little a very little while and He that cometh will have come and will not delay.” [“Es ist noch ein Kleines, wie sehr, wie sehr Klein” (Weiss), “noch eine kleine Zeit, ganz Klein” (Weizscker). “Adhuc enim modicum aliquantulum” (Vulg.). “For yet a little ever so little while” (Hayman)]. The phrase is found in Isa 26:20 , “Go, my people hide thyself for a very little , till the indignation be overpast”. The double is found in Aristoph. Wasps , 213, where however Rogers thinks the duplication due to the drowsiness of the speaker. Literally it means “a little, how very, how very”. The following words from to are from Heb 2:3-4 , with some slight alterations, the article being inserted before , instead of the less forcible words in Hebrews, and the two clauses of Heb 10:4 being transposed. In Habakkuk the conditions are similar. God’s people are crushed under overwhelming odds. And the question with which Habakkuk opens his prophecy is ; The Lord assures him that deliverance will come and will not delay. By inserting the article, the writer of Hebrews identifies the deliverer as the Messiah, “the coming One”. Cf. Mat 11:3 ; Luk 7:19 ; Joh 6:14 . . “And the just shall live by faith,” i.e. , shall survive these troublous times by believing that the Lord is at hand. Cf. Jas 5:7-9 . , “and if he withdraw himself” or “shrink”. The verb, as Kypke shows, means to shrink in fear, and it is thus used in Gal 2:12 . It is the very opposite of . Accordingly it is thoroughly displeasing to God, whose purpose it is to bring men to Himself in confident hope. But the idea that any of the “Hebrews” can be in so ignominious and dangerous a position is at once repudiated. . “But as for us we are not of those who shrink (literally of shrinking) to perdition but of faith to the gaining of the soul”. That is, we are not characterised by a timid abandonment of our confession (Heb 10:23 ) and confidence. Cf. 1Th 5:5 . What such timidity leads to ( , cf. Act 8:20 ; Rom 9:22 ) is hopeless perdition. Cf. M. Aurelius on the , Heb 10:25 . . But we are of faith whose end is the acquisition of one’s soul. Very similar is Luk 21:19 , “By your endurance win your souls”. See also Jas 5:20 , and 1Th 5:9 . Like our word “acquisition” sometimes means the acquiring as in 1Th 5:9 and 2Th 2:14 ; sometimes the thing acquired as in Eph 1:14 . [In Isocrates, 2nd Ep., occurs the expression (Wetstein)].

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Cast . . . away. Greek. apoballo. Only here and Mar 10:50.

confidence. Same as “boldness”, Heb 10:19.

recompence, &c. Greek. misthapodosia. See Heb 2:2.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

35-39.] Hortatory conclusion, enforced by (Heb 10:36) the need of endurance, which itself is recommended by the assurance of the speedy coming of the Lord, and the knowledge that we are not of the number of the backsliders, but of those who live by that faith by which our hope is substantiated.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Heb 10:35. , cast not away) Liberty of speech, boldness, confidence, where once it finds a place, only withdraws, when it is driven out; but it is driven out and cast away, as if it were something vile, by those who do not persevere.-, has) The 37th verse is to be referred [has reference] to this present.-, a recompence of reward) So ch. Heb 2:2, Heb 11:26; and , he who bestows the reward, ibid. Heb 10:6.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Heb 10:35-39

THE HEBREWS ARE FURTHER EXHORTED

AND ENCOURAGED TO MAINTAIN THEIR

CONFIDENCE; AND TO PERSEVERE

THROUGH FAITH EVEN TO THE END,

WHICH TO THEM WAS THEN VERY NEAR

AT HAND, WHEN THEY WOULD ALL BE

ABUNDANTLY REWARDED FOR THEIR

FIDELITY

Heb 10:35-39

Heb 10:35 —Cast not away therefore your confidence,-There seems to be an allusion here to the conduct of weak and cowardly soldiers, who in the day of battle were wont to throw aside their shields and turn their backs on the enemy. This was regarded by the ancients as extremely dishonorable. And hence when the Lacedemonian women presented shields to their sons on going to battle, they were in the habit of saying to them, Bring this back, or ‘be brought back upon it.” The same sentiment prevailed also among the ancient Germans. Tacitus says, that to lose or cast away the shield in battle, was regarded by them as a matter of the greatest dishonor ; and that those who acted so were not allowed to be present at the sacrifices, nor to attend the public assemblies of the people.” (Germ. c. vi.) In allusion to this very prevalent feeling among the ancients, our author exhorts his Hebrew brethren not to act the part of cowardly soldiers by voluntarily casting away the shield of faith, or rather of that holy and joyful confidence (parresia) which faith inspires in the soul; but to quit themselves like men; to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might”; knowing that no one could ever deprive them of this most valuable weapon of their Christian panoply, unless they would themselves voluntarily cast it aside, and then turn about and act as cowards.

Heb 10:35 —Which hath great recompense of reward.-This joyful and well grounded confidence gives us peace of mind here, and secures for all who possess it, glory, honor, and immortality hereafter. Great indeed, therefore, is the recompense of its reward. It should be remembered, however, that this reward is not bestowed on anyone as a matter of debt, but of grace. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8.) This confidence is therefore but one of the legitimate fruits of Gods gracious plan; and it serves as a means of enjoying the salvation that has been so freely purchased for us through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.

Heb 10:36 —For ye have need of patience,-Patience is necessary at all times, and especially in times of trial and affliction. For without it, Gods gracious chastisements are unavailing; they only serve to irritate and excite our evil passions, and to make us more discontented. But with patience, they always give us a joyful and approving experience which fills us with an increase of hope and love. (Rom 5:3-5.) And accordingly James exhorts his brethren of the dispersion to let patience have her perfect work, that they might be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. The man who does this, can always with Paul glory in tribulations, knowing that these light afflictions which are but momentary [serve to] work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2Co 4:17.)

Heb 10:36 —After ye have done the will of God,-That is, after ye have done and suffered all that God requires of you. The Apostle does not mean to say that Christians should fulfill the will of God, as Christ did by means of his atoning sacrifice (Heb 10:7 Heb 10:9) ; but only that they should do and suffer patiently, in obedience to Gods will, whatever he himself may appoint or permit for their own spiritual improvement, as well as for the welfare of others.

Heb 10:36 —Ye might receive the promise.-The whole verse may be more literally and simply rendered as follows: For ye have need of patience ; that having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise. By the promise is not meant the word of the promise; for that had been long previously given to Abrahapi and to his seed. (Gal 3:29.) But the promise here means the thing promised. It is the eternal life with all its accompanying blessings, upon the enjoyment of which the soul of every true believer enters immediately after death. (Luk 16:22; 2Co 5:6 2Co 5:8; Php 1:23, etc.) And so we read that after Abraham had patiently endured he obtained the promise. (Heb 6:15.) The object of the Apostle, then, in the use of these words, is simply to persuade the Hebrew Christians to walk in the footsteps of their father Abraham; so that like him, when the toils and trials of life were all over, they too might obtain the promise, and enter on the enjoyment of the eternal inheritance.

Heb 10:37 —For yet a little while, etc.-More literally: For yet a little little while [that is, a very little while], he who is coming (ho erchomenos) will come, and will not tarry. The coming One here spoken of is manifestly Christ himself. But what is meant by his coming? To what coming does our author here refer ? Many say, To his second personal coming. But this is plainly inconsistent with the scope of the Apostle’s exhortation, as well as with the truth itself. His obvious design in the passage is to encourage the Hebrew brethren to persevere in their begun Christian course, on the ground that the coming of Christ was then very near at hand, when they would all be delivered from the snares, reproaches, and violence of their persecutors. But how could he consistently and truthfully encourage them to do this, on the ground that the second personal advent of Christ was then very near at hand ? It will not do to say with some that the Apostles themselves so believed and so taught. They did neither, but just the reverse. For when some of the Thessalonian brethren so understood Paul’s teaching (1Th 4:15-17), he promptly addressed to them a second letter, in which he very emphatically corrected their mistake. Now we beseech you, brethren, he says, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ [the Lord] is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, etc. (2Th 2:1-3.)

This, then, is a clear and satisfactory refutation of the charge, that the Apostles believed and taught that the second personal coming of Christ was near at hand in their own day. And so also is the book of Revelation a refutation of it. Indeed, with this prophetic chart before us, no one can yet say understandingly that the second personal advent of Christ is even now near at hand. For after the destruction of Babylon, a long period of religious prosperity will intervene before the final judgment, which will take place immediately after Christs second coming. See Mat 13:30 Mat 13:41-46 Mat 16:27 Mat 25:31-46; Joh 5:28-29; Act 17:31; Rom 2:5-16; 1Th 4:15-18; 2Th 1:6-10; 2Ti 4:1; 2Pe 3:7-10; Rev 20:11-15. The coming of Christ, as referred to in our text, must therefore mean, not his second personal coming, but his coming in providence most likely, to destroy Jerusalem, and so to deliver his elect from the violent persecutions to which they had long been subjected by the unbelieving Jews. (Mat 24:29-41.) To this Christ himself refers encouragingly in Luk 21:28; where, speaking of the signs of Jerusalems approaching ruin, he says, When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. The fall of Jerusalem put an end, of course, to Jewish persecution; and in this way and to this extent, it brought deliverance to the Christians of Palestine. And as this occurred in A.D. 70, about seven years after the writing of this Epistle, the evidence seems very clear that the Apostle has reference here to that ever memorable event. See note on the last clause of verse 25.

This view of the matter is also further corroborated by the fact that our author finds in the prophecy of Habakkuk, concerning the overthrow of the Chaldean monarchy, language so very appropriate to his purpose that he here takes and applies it as his own; thereby showing that the two cases are very analogous. The words of the prophecy may be literally rendered as follows, beginning with 2: 2, for the sake of the connection. And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and engrave it on smooth tablets, so that he may run [that is, read fluently] who reads it. For yet the vision is for an appointed time, and it will hasten to the end, and will not lie: if it tarry wait for it, for it will surely come; it will not be behind [the appointed time]. Behold his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just by his faith shall live. From this it will be seen that our author does not quote the exact words of Gods reply to the Prophet; but as is usual in such cases of accommodation (see Rom 10:6-8), he so modifies the language as to adapt it to the case in hand. The main lesson is, however, the same in both Hebrews and Habakkuk; viz.: that God would certainly come and execute his purposes at the appointed time: and that while the proud and self-reliant would of necessity perish under the righteous judgments of God, the just mans faith, if it wavered not, would certainly support him under the severest trials.

This was all impressively illustrated in the fall of Jerusalem. The unbelieving Jews were all slain or taken captive; but not a Christian perished in the siege. Eusebius says, When the whole congregation of the Church in Jerusalem, according to an oracle given by revelation to approved persons among them before the war, were commanded to depart from the city and inhabit a city which they call Pella, beyond the Jordan, to which when all those who believed in Christ had removed from Jerusalem, and when the saints had totally abandoned the royal city which is the metropolis of the Jews, then the Divine vengeance seized them who had dealt so wickedly with Christ and his Apostles, and utterly destroyed that wicked and abominable generation. (Eccl. Hist. iii. v.) To the same effect testifies also Epiphanius. He says, The disciples of Christ being warned by an angel, removed to Pella; and afterward when Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem and called it after his own family name, yElia Colonia, they returned thither.

Heb 10:38 —Now the just shall live by faith:-The following readings are submitted for the consideration of the thoughtful: (1) but the just by his faith shall live (Hebrew) ; (2) but the just by faith shall live (Rec.) ; (3) but the just by the faith of me shall live (Sept. Codex B) ; (4) but my just one by faith shall live (Sept. Codex A). In all these readings there is an ambiguity depending

REFLECTIONS

1. How transcendently great are the honors, birthrights and privileges of the children of God (verses 19-21). Having now free access to the Holiest of all by the blood of Jesus, and having a great high priest over the house of God, we need fear no evil so long as we walk worthy of our high and holy calling. All the events of life must and will work together for our good while here (Rom 8:28); and death itself will but serve to elevate us to a higher state of glory, honor and blessedness hereafter (Heb 4:10). For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2Co 5:1.) Who then that has the faith and experience of Paul would not like him prefer to depart and be with Christ. (Php 1:23.)

2. But let it not be forgotten that, after all, the enjoyment of heaven depends essentially, through Divine grace, on our own exertions (Heb 10:23). Work out your own salvation, says Paul, with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (Php 2:12-13.) The blood of Christ is of no avail to the man who lives and dies in willful disobedience. Christ came to save men from their sins, not in them. And hence the force and propriety of the exhortation that we should draw near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. God himself is infinitely holy; and they only can enjoy his presence who purify their souls by obeying the truth, through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren. (1Pe 1:22.)

3. Obedience consists in doing from the heart the will of God, as it is revealed to us in his Holy Word (Heb 10:23). It is, indeed, wholly useless for us to attempt to serve God in any other way. In vain, says Christ, they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Mat 15:9.) So he once said to the Jews, and so he still says to thousands today. For it must be confessed that many who profess to be the followers of Christ have departed quite as far from the letter and spirit of the New Covenant, as the Jews had departed from the Old. Indeed this spirit of will-worship is a weakness and proneness of human nature, not confined to any one age or people. The mystery of iniquity was at work even in Pauls time (2Th 2:7); and many have since departed still further and further from the faith and simplicity of the Gospel. How many thousands, for instance, who habitually desecrate the Lords Day, are not superstitiously punctilious in observing days and festivals of their own creation. And to how many thousands might it still be said, as Paul once said to the Corinthians, When ye come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lords Supper. O that God would raise up another Elijah to restore to the Church what the Man of sin has taken away; and to free her, at the same time, from the many oppressive burdens which he has arrogantly imposed on her.

4. Christians should never neglect the meetings appointed for public and social worship, especially on the Lords Day (Heb 10:25). Those who do so, show but a poor appreciation of their rights and privileges, and at the same time they set before others an example which often leads to the very worst of consequences. God has given to us a social nature, and he has also given to us a religion that is in all respects adapted to the wants of our nature: a religion that knows but one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. (Eph 4:4-6.) And hence we are required to bear one anothers burdens (Gal 6:1) ; to exhort and admonish one another daily, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13). The habit of going to meeting merely for the purpose of hearing some distinguished preacher has become entirely too common in the church of Christ. Indeed, it has become a very great evil. Christians should meet together to worship God, and to commemorate the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as did the primitive church, whether they have a preacher with them or not. If there is present anyone who is in all respects well qualified to instruct and edify the congregation, let us thank God for the favor and gratefully listen to the words of his servant. But if no such one is in the meeting, we have nevertheless the precious promise that Christ himself is present to bless all who meet in his name, and to honor him in the ordinances of his own appointment. (Mat 28:20.) Let the Lords Day, then, be wholly sanctified to the honor and glory of him who has inscribed his own name upon it, as a day that is most holy. Let it be a day of holy joy, and prayer, and praise, in the family, in the Sunday-school, in the social meeting, and in the public assembly of the saints, and very soon the happy consequences will be felt throughout all Christendom.

5. We have all reason to anticipate a day of trial, as well as the ancient Hebrews (Heb 10:25). God has not called us to go to Heaven

On flowery beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize,

And sailed through bloody seas.

This world is preordained and arranged for our education and discipline, and it is therefore a great blessing to be allowed to suffer patiently for the sake of Christ and his church (Php 1:29.) But the danger is that in the hour of trial our faith may fail us. and that in consequence of our great weakness we may bring dishonor on the cause of Christ. Many have done so; some to their own shame and everlasting disgrace; and others, like Peter, to their deepest grief and mortification. We cannot, therefore, be too earnest in our supplications at the throne of grace, that God would help us, and not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear, but that he would enable us to come off more than conquerors through him who has so tenderly loved us. This, God will certainly do if we only trust in him and rely on him as we should. See 1Co 10:13; Isa 49:15.

6. It is well to remember our first love and to think often of the joy, comfort, and consolation which filled our hearts when we first put on Christ and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit (Heb 10:32-34). Then, we had no thought of ever looking back to the flesh-pots of Egypt, or to anything else pertaining to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life. Jesus was to us the chief among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. We then felt that we would gladly bear anything for the honor and glory of his name, and that we would never murmur or com-plain in the service of him who bore the cross for us. But, alas! how many become discouraged by the way, and are almost persuaded to turn back and walk no more with Jesus. Such persons need to be encouraged. The spirit is often willing when the flesh is weak. And it not unfrequently revives the hearts of these discouraged ones to talk with them of the former days, when they willingly and joyfully bore much for the sake of Christ.

7. It is a consolation to know that the period of our earthly trials is of but short duration (Heb 10:37). If we had to endure these trials and afflictions for even a few hundred years, many of us might faint by the way. But not so. Our blessed Lord says to each of us, Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his works shall be (Rev 22:12). He that overcometh, he says, shall be clothed with white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; but I will confess his name before my Father and his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. (Rev 3:5-6.)

Commentary on Heb 10:35-39 by Donald E. Boatman

Heb 10:35 –cast not away therefore your boldness

The cowards in battle would throw aside their weapons and flee, and of course this meant defeat. The Christian is to gird on, to be strong, to be confident, with the shield of faith. Eph 6:13-18.

The word boldness here is not cockiness nor haughtiness, but confidence.

a. This is gained in Christ. See Eph 3:12.

b. Only the confident have the confidence of God.

Heb 10:35 –which hath great recompense of reward

The faithful know that their labor is not vain in the Lord.

a. 1Co 15:58 : Eternal life will be ours.

b. Gal 6:9 : We shall expresses certainty.

c. Joh 6:27 : Some labor for that which perishes.

If we cast away our confidence, we throw away our chances for eternal life.

Heb 10:36 –for ye have need of patience

The authors analysis of their specific need is patience. We win our own salvation by patience, and also win the souls of others. See Luk 21:19.

Heb 10:36 –that having done the will of God ye may receive the promise

Patience in spite of discouragement leads one on to do the will of God, When Gods will is done, then Gods promise is assured and received.

a. Abraham found it to be true, Heb 6:15.

b. The children of Abraham by faith will someday obtain the promise.

Eternal life and all its joys is meant here.

Heb 10:37 –for yet a very little while

This suggests that a short time remains, Milligan and the American Standard Version editors feel that this language is from Hab 2:3.

Heb 10:37 –He that cometh shall come and shall not tarry

Milligan: Obviously it is Christ, He says not the second coming, but the providential coming to save them from Jerusalem. Newell thinks Christs coming is the promise found in Heb 10:36. The Christian does not look to death but to the coming of Christ.

Heb 10:39 –but My righteous one

Footnote: the righteous one. If the expression, My righteous, is allowed, we see the ground on which God claims us, the principle of faith. We ought to live so that God will say to us, My righteous one.

Heb 10:39 –shall live by faith

This is a quotation from Hab 2:3-4. It appears three times in the New Testament, and each time in an interesting light.

a. Rom 1:17 : Connected with the just or righteous.

b. Gal 3:3 : Connected with the subject of being perfected.

c. Heb 10:38 : Set in the midst of conflict of sufferings.

Heb 10:38 –and if he shrink back

The words any man appear in the King James version, but not in the original.

a. It is not any man that he is speaking of, but the just man.

b. We are to live by faith, in spite of all that the devil sends against us.

With God by our side let us not shrink back like Sauls army, but like David live by faith, and we are a match for any enemy. The danger lies in living by appearance rather than by faith. See 2Co 5:7.

Heb 10:38 –My soul hath no pleasure in him

Shrinking back puts us in the class with Cain, wilderness wandering Israel, Ahab and the others. God loves the persevering, like Joshua, Abraham, David, Paul and others named in the following chapter.

Heb 10:39 –but we are not of them that shrink back

It may seem a little thing to yield to sin, but how terrible are the results.

a. It is a turning from glory to doom.

b. The Christian is to keep on keeping on.

Heb 10:39 –unto perdition

This sets forth damnation; and note that it is a place of bad company.

a. The false Christ, antichrist, and false prophets are doomed to perdition. Rev 17:8-11.

b. 2Th 2:3 : The same word is applied to this evil one.

c. Judas was the son of perdition. Joh 17:12.

d. 1Ti 6:9 speaks of destruction and perdition together.

e. 2Pe 3:7 : Perdition of ungodly men.

Shrinking back then must be a condition in danger of being permanent.

Heb 10:39 –but them that have faith unto the saving of the soul

It is a joy to be on the salvation side of faith.

a. The author no doubt expresses this to give them courage.

b. We are on the road to eternal life, whereas the shrinkersback are on the road to perdition.

There is a faith that will not save us.

a. The wavering faith will not. Heb 10:39.

b. The faith without works. See Jas 2:17-26.

Study Questions

2028. If we lose our boldness, what hope have we?

2029. Has the author analyzed the need of the Hebrews?

2030. What did he conclude that they needed? Cf. Luk 21:19.

2031. What is an alternate translation of the word patience?

2032. Name some Old Testament characters who exemplified patience.

2033. What will patience lead one to do according to verse thirty-six?

2034. What is the promise mentioned here?

2035. Why is it singular when we have so many promises?

2036. What does he say concerning time?

2037. Is this a quotation?

2038. Who is the One coming?

2039. Is it the actual coming or a providential coming?

2040. What do the scholars mean by the providential coming?

2041. Could the promise of Heb 10:36 be the coming referred to in Heb 10:37?

2042. If it referred to the actual coming of Christ, then is this false hope in Heb 10:36-37?

2043. What is meant by righteous one?

2044. How can we be considered righteous when we have sin?

2045. Does it say My righteous one or the righteous one?

2046. Is this an original statement by the Hebrew author?

2047. Is living by faith peculiar to Gods people, or does the principle of faith act in other relationships?

2048. How does the King James Version differ here?

2049. Is it any man, or the righteous man referred to here?

2050. What is meant by shrink back? Shrink from what?

2051. Is the believer a shrinker-a coward?

2052. Does God have a soul?

2053. In whose class would we be if we shrink back?

2054. Name some courageous people in whom God was pleased.

2055. Does the author identify himself with the shrinkers or perseverers?

2056. What is meant by perdition?

2057. The Christian keeps on for what?

2058. The shrinker shrinks back to what?

2059. In whose company would we be if we shrank back? Cf. Rev 17:8-11; 2Th 2:3; 1Ti 6:9; 2Pe 3:7.

2060. If perdition is so serious, can we take backsliding lightly?

2061. In what class are those who keep on keeping on?

2062. Is this a statement to give courage?

2063. Does this verse imply two kinds of faith, one that saves and one that cannot?

2064. Who has a faith that will not save?

2065. What does Jas 2:17-26 say about faith?

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

, , .

Heb 10:35-36. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

In these two verses there is an inference from his former argument, and a confirmation of it from the necessity of what is required thereunto. The first is in verse 35, wherein the apostle gives us the peculiar design, use, and force of the preceding exhortation unto the consideration of what they had suffered in and for the profession of the gospel. And there are in the words,

1. A note of inference from the foregoing discourse, , therefore.

2. A grace and duty which in this inference he exhorts them to retain; and that is .

3. The manner of their retaining it; cast not away.

4. The reason of the exhortation not to cast it away; because it hath great recompence of reward.

1. The inference is plain: Seeing you have suffered so many things in your persons and goods, seeing God by the power of his grace bath carried you through with satisfaction and joy, do not now despond and faint upon the approach of the same difficulties, or those of a like nature.The especial force of the inference the words themselves do declare.

2. That which he exhorts them thus unto by this argument, is the preservation and continuance of their confidence. This , whatever it be, was that which engaged them in and carried them through their sufferings; which alone was praiseworthy in them. For merely to suffer is , and may be good or evil, as its causes and occasions and circumstances are. Now, this was absolutely neither their faith nor profession; but, as we have had occasion to mention several times, it is a fruit and effect of faith, whereby the minds of believers are made prompt, ready, free unto all duties of profession, against all difficulties and discouragements. It is a boldness of mind, with freedom from bondage and fear, in the duties of religion towards God and man, from a prevailing persuasion of our acceptance with God therein. In this frame of spirit, by this fruit and effect of faith, these Hebrews were carried cheerfully through all their sufferings for the gospel And indeed without it, it is impossible that we should undergo any great sufferings unto the glory of God, or our own advantage. For if we are made diffident of our cause by unbelief; if the helps and succours tendered in the gospel and promises thereof be betrayed by fear; if the shame of outward sufferings and scorns do enfeeble the mind; if we have not an evidence of better things to lay in the balance against present evils; it is impossible to endure any great fight of afflictions in a clue manner. Unto all these evil habits of the mind is this confidence opposed. This was that grace, that exercise of faith, which was once admired in Peter and John, Act 4:13. And there can be no better account given of it, than what is evident in the behavior of those two apostles in that season. Being in bonds, under the power of their enraged enemies, for preaching the gospel, yet without fear, tergiversation, or hesitation; without at, all questioning what would be the issue, and how they would deal with them whom they charged to have murdered the Lord Jesus; with all boldness and plainness of speech they gave an account of their faith, and testified unto the truth. Wherefore those things that I have mentioned are plainly included in this confidence, as to invincible constancy of mind and boldness in the profession of the gospel, in the face of all difficulties, through a trust in God and a valuation of the eternal reward, which are the foundation of it. This frame of spirit they ought to labor to confirm in themselves, who are or may be called unto sufferings for the gospel. If they are unprepared, they will be shaken and cast down from their stability.

3. This confidence, which had been of such use unto them, the apostle exhorts them now not to cast away; . He doth not say, leave it not, forego it not; but, cast it not away. For where any graces have been stirred up unto their due exercise, and have had success, they will not fail not be lost without some positive act of the mind in rejecting of them, and the refusal of the succours which they tender unto us. And this rejection may be only as unto its actual exercise, not as unto its radical inbeing in the soul. For as I look on this confidence as a grace, so it is not the root, but a branch from it: faith is the root, and confidence is a branch springing out of it. Wherefore it may, at least for a season, be cast away, while faith abides firm. Sometimes failing in faith makes this confidence to fail; and sometimes failing in this confidence weakens and impairs faith. When faith on any occasion is impaired and ensnared, this confidence will not abide; and so soon as we begin to fail in our confidence, it will reflect weakness on faith itself. Now unto the casting away of this confidence these things do concur:

(1.) That it do, as it were, offer itself unto us for our assistance, as in former times. This it doth in the reasonings and arguings of faith for boldness and constancy in profession; which are great and many, and will arise in the minds of them that are spiritually enlightened.

(2.) Arguments against the use of it, especially at the present season when it is called for, are required in this case. And they are of two sorts:

[1.] Such as are suggested by carnal wisdom,, urging men unto this or that course, whereby they may spare themselves, save their lives, and keep their goods, by rejecting this confidence, although they continue firm in the faith;

[2.] From carnal fears, representing the greatness, difficulties, and dangers that lie in the way of an open profession with boldness and confidence.

(3.) A resolution to forego this confidence, upon the urgency of these arguings.

(4.) An application unto other ways and means inconsistent with the exercise of this grace in the discharge of this duty.

And hence it appears how great is the evil here dehorted from, and what a certain entrance it will prove into the apostasy itself so judged as before, if not timely prevented. And it is that which we ought continually to watch against; for he that was constant in this grace yet did once make a forfeiture of it unto his unutterable sorrow, namely, the apostle Peter. And it is not lost but upon the corrupt reasonings which we have now mentioned, that aggravate its guilt. He that casts away his confidence as unto his present profession, and the duties thereof, doth what lies in him cast away his interest in future salvation. Men in such cases have a thousand pretences to relieve themselves; but the present duty is as indispensably required as future happiness is faithfully promised. Wherefore the apostle adds,

4. The reason why they should be careful in the preservation of this confidence; which is, that it hath a great recompence of reward.

That which the apostle as unto the matter of it calls here a recompence of reward, in the end of the next verse, from the formal cause of it he calls the promise, and that promise which we receive after we have done the will of God. Wherefore the recompence of reward here intended is the glory of heaven, proposed as a crown, a reward in way of recompence unto them that overcome in their sufferings for the gospel. And the future glory, which, as unto its original cause, is the fruit of the good pleasure and sovereign grace of God, whose pleasure it is to give us the kingdom; and as unto its procuring cause, is the sole purchase of the blood of Christ, who obtained for us eternal redemption; and on both accounts a free gift of God, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ, so as it can be no way merited nor procured by ourselves, by virtue of any proportion by the rules of justice between what we do or suffer and what is promised; is yet constantly promised unto suffering believers under the name of a recompence and reward. For it doth not become the greatness and goodness of God to call his own people unto sufferings for his name, and unto his glory, and therein the loss of their lives many times, with all enjoyments here below, and not propose unto them, nor provide for them, that which shall be infinitely better than all that they so undergo. See Heb 6:11-12, and the exposition of that place; Rev 3:3. Wherefore it is added,

That this confidence hath this recompence of reward, that is, it gives a right and title unto the future reward of glory; it hath it in the promise and constitution of God. Whoever abides in its exercise shall be no loser in the issue. They are as sure in divine promises as in our own possession. And although they are yet future, faith gives them a present subsistence in the soul, as unto their power and efficacy.

Obs. 1. In the times of suffering, and in the approaches of them, it is the duty of believers to look on the glory of heaven under the notion of a refreshing, all-sufficient reward.

Heb 10:36. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. The apostle in these words confirms the necessity of the exhortation he had insisted on. He had pressed them unto nothing but what was needful for them. For whereas there were two things proposed unto them; one in the way of duty, namely, that they should do the will of God; the other in the way of reward, or what they should receive upon their so doing; things were so ordered in the sovereign pleasure and will of God that they could believe neither of them, not only without the duty which he exhorted them unto, but without a continuance therein. And indeed the exhortation not to cast away their confidence, that is, to abide in it, and to improve it against all difficulties and dangers, doth include in it that patience which he affirms that they stand in need of. Wherefore there are three things in the words:

1. The confirmation of the preceding exhortation by this reason, that they had need of patience.

2. The time and season wherein that patience was so needful as unto them; and that was whilst they were doing the will of God. 3. The end whereunto it was necessary; which is the receiving of the promise.

1. The rational enforcement is introduced by the redditive , for. This is that which you must apply your minds unto, or you cannot attain your end.

2. That which he asserts in this reason is, that they had need of patience. He doth not charge them with want of patience, but declares the necessity of it as unto its continual exercise. , is a bearing of evils with quietness and complacency of mind, without raging, fretting, despondency, or inclination unto compliance with undue ways of deliverance. In patience possess your souls. , or confidence, will engage men into troubles and difficulties in a way of duty; but if patience take not up the work and carry it on, confidence will flag and fail See Heb 6:11-12, and our exposition thereon. Patience is the perfecting grace of suffering Christians, Jas 1:4-5; and that which all tribulations do excite in the first place unto its proper actings, whereon the exercise of other graces doth depend, Rom 5:4-5.

This,saith the apostle, you have need of.He speaks not absolutely of the grace itself, as though they had it not; but of its continual exercise in the condition wherein they were, or whereinto they were entering. Men for the most part desire such a state wherein they may have as little need and use of this grace as possible; for it supposeth things hard and difficult, about which alone it is conversant. But this is seldom the estate of the professors of the gospel; for besides the troubles and afflictions which are common unto, and almost inseparable from this life, they are for the most part continually exposed unto all sorts of troubles and miseries, on the account of their profession. He that will be the disciple of Christ must take up his cross. The necessity here intimated of patience is grounded on these two suppositions:

(1.) That those who profess the gospel in sincerity shall ordinarily meet with trials, tribulations, and sufferings, upon the account of that profession. This the Scripture and the experience of all ages do abundantly testify; and in particular, it was the condition of these Hebrews, as it was of all the primitive churches.

(2.) That without the constant exercise of patience, none can pass through those tribulations unto the glory of God, and their own advantage, as unto the great end of the obtaining the promise of eternal life. For without it men will either faint and give way to temptations that shall turn them aside from their profession; or will misbehave themselves under their sufferings, unto the dishonor of God and the ruin of their own souls. Patience is not a mere endurance of trouble, but it is indeed the due exercise of all graces under sufferings; nor can any grace be acted in that condition where patience is wanting. The exercise of faith, love, and delight in God; the resignation of ourselves to his sovereign will and pleasure; the valuation of things eternal above all things of this present life; whereby the soul is kept quiet and composed, free from distractions, fortified against temptations, resolved for perseverance to the end: this is patience. It is therefore indispensably necessary unto this condition.

Obs. 2. He that would abide faithful in difficult seasons, must fortify his soul with an unconquerable patience.

(1.) Then pray for it.

(2.) Give it its due exercise in the approaches of troubles, that it be not pressed and overwhelmed by thoughts contrary unto it

(3.) Take care to keep faith vigorous and active; it will grow on no other root but that of faith.

(4.) Especially exercise faith unto a view of eternal things; which will engage the aid of hope, and administer the food that patience lives upon. Wherefore in this case,

(5.) Remember,

[1.] That the want of it lays the soul open unto the power and efficacy of all sorts of temptations, for this is the only armor of proof against the assaults of Satan and the world in a suffering season.

[2.] It is that alone which will assuage the pain of sufferings, ease the burden of them, rebate their edge, and make them easy to be borne. All other things will fall before the sharpness of them, or give relief that shall end in ruin.

[3.] It is this alone whereby God is glorified in our sufferings, and honor given to Jesus Christ in the gospel.

3. The next thing in the words is the season of the necessity of the continuance of the exercise of this grace and obedience; until we have done the will of God. There is no dismission from the discharge of this duty until we have done the whole will of God. The will of God is twofold:

(1.) The will of his purpose and good pleasure, the eternal act of his counsel, which is accompanied with infinite wisdom, concerning all things that shall come to pass.

(2.) The will of his command, presenting unto us our duty, or what it is that he requireth of us. Respect may be, and I judge is had, unto the will of God in both these senses in this place. For respect is had unto the will of God disposing the state of the church and all believers therein into troubles, sufferings, and temptations, 1Pe 3:17. He could, if it had seemed good unto him, have placed the church in such a condition in the world as that it should have been free from all outward troubles and distresses; but it is his will that it should be otherwise, and it is for the ends of his own glory, as also the good of the church in that state wherein they are to continue in this world. This, therefore, is that which we are to acquiesce in, as unto all the sufferings we may be exposed unto in this world: It is the will of God that it should be so. And he seldom leaves us destitute, without a prospect into those holy reasons and ends of it for which it is necessary that it should be so. But whereas this principally respects sufferings, it will be said, How can we do this will of God, when nothing is required of us but patiently to endure what we do undergo?I answer,

(1.) Though sufferings be principally intended in this place, yet they are not so only. The whole state and condition of our lives in this world depends on this will of God: the time of our doing and suffering, of living and dying, with all our circumstances, is resolved into his will concerning them. And it is weariness of the effects ,of this will of God that is ha the most the cause of their departure from their profession. Wherefore this sense is not to be excluded. See Act 13:36. But,

(2.) The will of God is that whereby our whole duty is presented unto us, as unto our faith, obedience, and worship; as our Lord Christ came to do the will of him that sent him, according to the commandment he received of him. The whole of our duty is resolved into the will of God, that is, the will of his command; and so, to do the will of God in this sense, is to abide constant in all the duties of faith and obedience, worship and profession, which he requireth of us. And there is no release in this matter whilst we are .in this world. Wherefore says the apostle, You have need of patience, during the whole course of obedience presented unto you, as that without which you cannot pass through it, so as thereon to inherit the promises.

4. What is meant here by the promise is evident from the context. All the promises of grace and mercy in the covenant they had already received; God had not only given them the promises of all these things, but he had given them the good things themselves that were promised, as to the degrees and measures of their enjoyment in this world. And as unto the promise of eternal life and glory, they had received that also, and did mix it with faith; but the thing promised itself they had not received. This different notion of the promises the apostle declares Hebrews 11, as we shall see, God willing.

Obs. 3. The glory of heaven is an abundant recompence for all we shall undergo in our way towards it.

Obs. 4. Believers ought to sustain themselves in their sufferings with the promise of future glory.

Obs. 5. The future blessedness is given unto us by the promise, and is therefore free and undeserved.

Obs. 6. The consideration of eternal life as the free effect of the grace of God and Christ, and as proposed in a gracious promise, is a thousand times more full of spiritual refreshment unto a believer, than if he should conceive of it or look upon it merely as a reward proposed unto our own doings or merits.

Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

We Have Need of Patience

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Heb 10:35-39

Paul concludes this chapter with a comforting, assuring, and challenging word of admonition. He urges us not to cast away our confidence, our confidence in Christ, our confident hope of everlasting salvation in him. He is telling us not to take our eyes off Christ, to let nothing and no one come between us and him. Trials will come upon us. Temptations will assail us. Satan will roar against us. The world will allure us. Those things are certain; but so is this: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom 8:18).

Yes, there is, indeed, a great recompense of reward at the end of our pilgrimage. We shall be with Christ! We shall be like Christ! We shall see him as he is, face to face! Our God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes forever! When we have entered into and taken possession of glory with Christ, there will be no more sorrow, for there shall be no more sin! For now, let us exercise patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Here is the promise by which the Holy Sprit inspires our perseverance. — For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. When our Lord Jesus Christ comes, he will put an end to all suffering and death and sorrow (Joh 14:1-3; Rev 21:4-5).

Ours is a life of faith. It is written, The just shall live by faith. So let us exercise the patience of confident faith in Christ. True believers live by faith, not by law, works, merit, or ceremony. We receive spiritual life by faith in Christ. That life is sustained and kept by the power of God through faith. That life shall be perfected by faith. The whole of our salvation is by faith. — It is of faith that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed (Rom 4:16).

Works make no contribution to our life in Christ; and if any professor of faith draws back to ceremonialism or turns away from the simplicity of faith in Christ, God says, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. True believers cannot, will not, and do not leave Christ, nor will they take up the weak and beggarly elements of the law and their own works in the place of Christ. To whom shall we go? Christ alone has life. Christ alone gives life. Christ alone is life! He who saved us and has kept us thus far will keep us to the end and will present us, at last, faultless before the presence of his glory (Joh 10:27-30; Rom 8:38-39; Jud 1:24-25).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

Cast: Heb 3:6, Heb 3:14, Heb 4:14

great: Heb 11:26, Psa 19:11, Mat 5:12, Mat 10:32, Mat 10:42, Luk 14:14, 1Co 15:58, Gal 6:8-10

Reciprocal: Gen 15:3 – Behold 2Ch 15:7 – your work Psa 71:14 – But Psa 130:7 – for with Pro 23:18 – end Ecc 3:6 – and a time to cast Lam 3:26 – hope Mat 13:21 – for Luk 18:7 – though Rom 2:7 – patient Rom 11:22 – if thou Rom 15:4 – that 1Co 13:13 – faith 2Co 5:6 – we are always Gal 5:1 – Stand Gal 6:9 – if Eph 6:8 – whatsoever Phi 1:6 – confident Phi 3:20 – our Phi 4:1 – so Col 3:24 – ye shall 1Th 5:8 – the hope Heb 2:2 – recompense Heb 12:1 – and the sin Jam 5:8 – ye also 1Pe 1:13 – the grace 1Jo 5:14 – this 2Jo 1:8 – that we lose

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Heb 10:35. Confidence means strong assurance which prompts one to face danger or affliction on behalf of the truth. The reward will be great in the end.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Heb 10:35. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence (the faith and hope and boldness with which you confessed Christ, and) which hath (hath this qualityis among the things that have) a great recompense of reward.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

As if he had said, “Seeing you have endured so much, never shrink back from a bold and courageous profession of Christ and his holy religion, which will be crowned with a great recompence of reward.”

Observe, 1. The exhortation, Cast not away your confidence and courage in the free profession of Christianity, like cowardly soldiers, that in the heat of the battle do cast down their shields and armour, and run away. The Christian is a spiritual soldier; he must not shrink, or give back, but die a conqueror rather than be taken prisoner.

Observe, 2. The reason which enforces the exhortation, (which hath great recompence of reward,) mark, the reward is certain, and that it is due to such as persevere. Perseverance and the reward are in separably joined together, so that the one shall infallibly follow the other.

Hence learn, That in times of suffering, and in the approaches of them, it is the duty of believers to look upon the glory of heaven, under the notion of a refeshing and all-sufficient reward; cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Heb 10:35-37. Therefore, having formerly behaved with such fortitude, cast not away your confidence As cowardly soldiers cast away their shields, and flee in the day of battle; but since God has supported you under, and brought you through all your sufferings hitherto, with much patience and joy maintain and improve your confidence and courage against all difficulties and dangers; which hath That is, will receive; great recompense of reward That is, a great reward, (namely, eternal glory,) by way of recompense for your obedience. For ye have need of patience Or, of perseverance, as may be properly rendered; that is, ye have need of the continual exercise thereof in well-doing, and waiting for the accomplishment of the promises; that after ye have done the will of God Have conducted yourselves as it is Gods will you should, by enduring whatsoever he is pleased to lay upon you; ye might receive the promise The promised reward of glory. For yet a little while , a little, a very little time. And he that shall come , he who is coming; the appellation given by the Jews to Messiah, Mat 11:3, Art thou he, , who should come? will come As if he had said, Be patient, for it will not be long before he will take you hence by death, and release you from all your trials. Or rather, It will not be long before Christ will come to take vengeance on your persecutors, the unbelieving and obdurate Jews, and deliver you from all the sufferings to which you are exposed from them; and will not tarry Beyond the appointed time. It must be observed, though the apostle in this verse uses some words of the Prophet Habakkuk, (Hab 2:3,) he doth not introduce them as a quotation from him, containing a prophecy of any coming of Christ. There is therefore no necessity of endeavouring to show that, as they stand in Habakkuk, they may be interpreted of Christs coming to destroy Jerusalem. In the passage where they are found, the prophet exhorted the Jews to trust in God for deliverance from the Chaldeans, by putting them in mind of the faithfulness of God in performing his promises. Wherefore, as the faithfulness and power of God are a source of consolation to which good men, at all times, may have recourse in their distresses, the apostle might, with great propriety, apply Habakkuks words, by way of accommodation, to Christs coming to destroy Jerusalem and the Jewish state. Christ had promised to come for that purpose before the generation then living went off the stage; and as the believing Hebrews could entertain no doubt of his being faithful to his promise, the apostle, to encourage them to bear their afflictions with patience, very fifty put them in mind of that event in the words of this prophet, because it assured them that the power of their persecutors would soon be at an end.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

35. Therefore cast not away your confidence which hath great recompense of reward. Reader, be sure you obey this command. Come what may, never let go your hold on God, never in the least relax your grip on faith. Though Satan uptrip you a thousand times, hold on to Jesus amid all, with the pertinacity of a drowning man.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Heb 10:35-39. With the past in mind they are to maintain their former constancy, knowing that it will not be in vain. Their great need, as the whole epistle is meant to teach them, is the power of endurance, enabling them to wait on for the fulfilment of the promise given them by God (Heb 10:35 f.). And the time of waiting will not be long. The day foretold in Scripture (Hab 2:3 f.) is close at hand, when the Coming One will appear, and those who have been faithful will enter into life, while those who have fallen back will be condemned. Our part as Christians is to be men of faith, and so to win for ourselves the coming salvation.

Heb 10:37. he that cometh: in this OT phrase the writer sees a reference to the Messianic title he that should come (cf. Mat 11:3).

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 35

Confidence; firm and steady faith.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

Now was not the time to discard that confidence in a better reward (cf. Heb 3:6; Heb 4:16; Heb 10:19). They needed to persevere, to keep on keeping on. By doing this they would do God’s will and eventually receive what He promised, namely, an eternal reward (Heb 1:14; Heb 3:14; Heb 9:15; Mat 6:19). [Note: Cf. Dillow, p. 129.] This exhortation is a good summary of the whole message of Hebrews. [Note: Cf. Hodges, "Hebrews," p. 806.]

"What they had endured for Christ’s sake entitled them to a reward. Let them not throw it away. The NT does not reject the notion that Christians will receive rewards, though, of course, that is never the prime motive for service." [Note: Morris, pp. 110-11.]

"The safeguard against degeneration, isolation, and consequent failure is to make progress in the Christian life, and to proceed from point to point from an elementary to the richest, fullest, deepest experience." [Note: Thomas, p. 11.]

If the writer’s concern had been the salvation of those readers who were unbelievers, this would have been an opportune time for him to exhort them to believe in Christ. He could have written, "For you have need of regeneration." Instead he exhorted his readers to endure rather than apostatize.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)