But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Hebrews 10:39
On a Friday evening, the north bound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike are fast and crowded. As we made our way north out of Philadelphia we became caught up in the mighty tide of vehicles headed in the same direction. At one point, we crested a hill and had a look at several kilometers of the highway. It was an impressive sight, with those many thousands of cars (the trucks were in lanes of their own off to the right) all going in what seemed to be the same direction. But were they? No doubt most of them were headed for somewhere in the New York area, others further north into New England and other areas. But if we could have looked into the hearts of those in that vast river of traffic, we would have found people going in two very opposite directions. We saw evidence of that. We noted a ‘Christ died for our sins’ bumper sticker on one car obviously driven by a Christian. We also caught the thump of heavy rock music and the stink of marijuana from a car occupied by several young people unlikely to be Christians. But for most of them, we could not tell whether they were drawing back unto perdition or had believed to the saving of their souls. But our text declares that we can know for ourselves the direction that we are bound.
Our text clearly divides the world into the two classes of those unbelievers destined for hell and believers bound for Glory. And Paul (yes, I believe Paul wrote the book of Hebrews) is able to speak of himself and his readers as those who have believed to the saving of the soul. We share his confidence. We know that we are born again, that because of the faith in Jesus Christ into which the Holy Spirit has led us, we have everlasting life. We know that the struggles and failures and sorrows of this world are but temporary and that we have a clear title to a glorious mansion forever. We anticipate with absolute certainty the presence of our Saviour and His eternal unfolding to us the riches of His grace. And, like Paul, we have the same assurance for those Christians who we know and appreciate. We are thankful for the grace of God that differentiates us from those who draw back unto perdition.
Why does our text speak of those bound for perdition as drawing back? I believe it is because the Holy Spirit strives with all of humanity to bring them to God. And most of the world’s population draws back from that striving. Very few people around us have not heard the Gospel, whether in hymns and Christmas carols, in Bible verses learned in Sunday School or on church billboards, or in radio messages, or in funeral sermons, or in Gospel meetings where the message is clearly and powerfully preached. All are responsible. And most draw back. Those who deny the existence of hell will find their denial of no comfort when they arrive there.
Two classes of people: give thanks that our souls are saved, and pray for those who are still drawing back. -Jim MacIntosh