---
title: Hebrews 10:39
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/hebrews-10-39/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/hebrews-10-39.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Hebrews 10:39
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Hebrews 10:39

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

## JW Usage

"We are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith" (NWT 2013). The Watchtower reads "shrinking back" as abandoning organisational loyalty — leaving the Truth, associating with former members, or failing to endure in service. Faith is then read as continuing active loyalty demonstrated through programmed activity.

## Protestant Usage

Hebrews 10:39 is the positive half of the faith-versus-retreat antithesis that runs through the book. The "shrinking back" the author warns against is specifically retreat into the old sacrificial system — Jewish-Christian readers tempted to go back to animal offerings rather than trust Christ's one offering. Verse 38 cites Habakkuk 2:4 ("the righteous will live by faith") and verse 39 contrasts the faithful with those who shrink back. Faith here is what saves — "of those who have faith and preserve their souls" — not a specific form of organisational participation. The verse is an encouragement to endure in trusting Christ, not an exhortation to preserve membership in a specific religious institution. Pair with Hebrews 10:14 (Christ has "perfected for all time those who are being sanctified") for the ground that makes endurance possible.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Eternal Salvation to All Who Obey Him](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/hebrews5-9-obey-salvation.md) — Hebrews 5:9 and the obedience of faith [Salvation]