Hebrews 10:38-39, “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.”
Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) says this about Hebrews 10:38...
“Hebrews 10:38 is partly explained by the following verse. Read the two verses together. “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.”
But verse 39 shows that verse 38 is not talking about a believer. Those who draw back unto perdition are not those who believe to the saving of the soul! The “drawing back” of verse 38 means that a Jew who has been faithful in keeping the ceremonial sacrifices, when he comes to know that Christ is the Lamb of God, draws back and will not take Christ as Saviour. So he is lost of course, just as anybody else who rejects Christ. This is not a case of a Christian drawing back, but of a lost man drawing back from Christ.” —Dr. John R. Rice, “Dr. Rice, Here Is My Question...,” pp. 275-276; 1962
It ceases to amaze me how many people foolishly cite and wrest this Scripture passage in a lame attempt to deny the Eternal Security of the believer. As Dr. Rice wisely points out, verse 39 makes it clear that only an unsaved man can “draw back.” Likewise, only a man who attempts to earn Heaven by works (keeping the law) has “fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:14).
