About Hebrews' warning: Do not draw back to perdition!

[ZacharyB]

The distinguished author of Hebrews gives 5 big-time warnings to born-again brethren
(and back in those days, many/most of them were also baptized with the Holy Spirit).
One of the 5 warnings is this intreging passage …

Hebrews 10 (NKJV):
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
34 … knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession
for yourselves in heaven.
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,
but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

First, let us consider the last part of “the promise” (v.36) to the brethren,
which is … If anyone “draws back”, God has no pleasure in him (v.38).
Then in v.39, the writer talks about those who draw back to perdition (hell).
Therefore, we should consider what it means to draw back.

The writer tells us the opposite of falling back is:
• to draw near with a true heart (v.22)
• to hold fast your confession (of faith) without wavering (v.23)
• to not sin willfully (v.26)
• to not cast away your confidence (v.35)
• to endure (v.36)
• to do the will of God (v.36)
• to live by faith (v.38)

If you draw back from something, you first must have that something!
In this case, if you have something that keeps you out of hell,
and you choose to draw back from it, then you’re on your way to hell again!

And BTW, the writer really has NO idea who might draw back (fall away)!
He is simply following the Pauline method of encouraging, exhorting, etc.
He is saying that some brethren (somewhere) draw back (fall away),
but not these wonderful brethren to whom he is writing. Nonsense!
As with Paul, the method is to give warnings which are tactfully veiled,
and it is up to the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual Truth to those who are open.

“God has promised to reward us. But we must persevere, and we
must continue to do the will of God with perseverance until the end;
otherwise we shall lose our reward. We shall lose what He has
promised … Therefore, let us not shrink back. Because if we do,
we will not only lose our reward (v.36); we will also be destroyed
(see Mark 8:35, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:19).”
(The Applied NT Commentary, Dr. Thomas Holt, Spirit-filled missionary)

 

[ZacharyB]

Okay, what do we have here ... a problem or a blessing?
Problem? ... true believers may and can fall back to perdition!
OR ...
Blessing? ... true believers simply cannot fall back to perdition!

 

[ZacharyB]

It appears we have a distinct lack of believers who care to
consider the very real threat of drawing back to perdition!

 

[corinth77777]

The distinguished author of Hebrews gives 5 big-time warnings to born-again brethren
(and back in those days, many/most of them were also baptized with the Holy Spirit).
One of the 5 warnings is this intreging passage …

Hebrews 10 (NKJV):
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
34 … knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession
for yourselves in heaven.
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,
but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

First, let us consider the last part of “the promise” (v.36) to the brethren,
which is … If anyone “draws back”, God has no pleasure in him (v.38).
Then in v.39, the writer talks about those who draw back to perdition (hell).
Therefore, we should consider what it means to draw back.

The writer tells us the opposite of falling back is:
• to draw near with a true heart (v.22)
• to hold fast your confession (of faith) without wavering (v.23)
• to not sin willfully (v.26)
• to not cast away your confidence (v.35)
• to endure (v.36)
• to do the will of God (v.36)
• to live by faith (v.38)

If you draw back from something, you first must have that something!
In this case, if you have something that keeps you out of hell,
and you choose to draw back from it, then you’re on your way to hell again!

And BTW, the writer really has NO idea who might draw back (fall away)!
He is simply following the Pauline method of encouraging, exhorting, etc.
He is saying that some brethren (somewhere) draw back (fall away),
but not these wonderful brethren to whom he is writing. Nonsense!
As with Paul, the method is to give warnings which are tactfully veiled,
and it is up to the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual Truth to those who are open.

“God has promised to reward us. But we must persevere, and we
must continue to do the will of God with perseverance until the end;
otherwise we shall lose our reward. We shall lose what He has
promised … Therefore, let us not shrink back. Because if we do,
we will not only lose our reward (v.36); we will also be destroyed
(see Mark 8:35, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:19).”
(The Applied NT Commentary, Dr. Thomas Holt, Spirit-filled missionary)

This is how I SEE IT.....FIRST THEY, AND WE ARE NOT THOSE WHO"DRAW BACK TO PERDITION" DESTRUCTION
AND SENSE WE ARE NOT...THEN WHAT IS THE AUTHOR REALLY ADDRESSING AND WHAT DOES HE USE TO ADRESS HIS POINT TO GET ACROSS HIS POINT?

WELL HE USES THE LAW....UNDER THE LAW THERE IS DESTRUCTION...ONLY HELL AWAITS WITHOUT christ.....and what he is addressing is their slothfulness......for he wants them to move forward in the faith.... So to get his point across he goes back to the law..
Live Life to the Full
Appears in Christian Herald (U.K.) 14 April 2001.

"Beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. Instead, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (II Peter 3:17-18)

Is there a path of steady growth in the presence and power of God for the one who has placed their confidence in Jesus? Should we assume that it is God's intention our lives would be increasingly pervaded by the action of his hand, until "all we do in word or deed" would be done "in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him"? (Col. 3:11) Is this something we can arrange for, so that the command to grow in grace makes sense?

We are told repeatedly by Paul to put off the old person and to put on the new. How does one do that?

The answer is actually rather simple. One must intend to do it, and then one must sensibly implement the means. Putting on the new person, growing in grace, is something we must do. Appropriate action is the key. True, as Jesus said, "Without me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) But it is also true that if we do nothing it will be without him.

The path of spiritual growth in the riches of Christ is not a passive one. Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude. You have never seen people more active than those who have been set on fire by the grace of God. Paul, who perhaps understood grace better than any other mere human being, looked back at what had happened to him and said: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." (I Cor. 15:10)

As to "means of grace" placed in our hands, well-directed action is the key. The disciplines of the spiritual life are simply practices that prove to be effectual in enabling us to increase the grace of God in our lives.

That grace is, of course, "unmerited favor." But the form it takes is the action of God in our lives and with our actions. If we wish to know more of this and see the deliverance it works in and around us, we must do the things that will bring it to pass. These things are spiritual disciplines or the disciplines for the spiritual life.

A discipline in any area is something in my power that I do to enable me to do what I cannot do by direct effort. This is the general nature of discipline, and there is simply no area of human attainment--from playing a musical instrument, to sports, to speaking a language or being friendly--that does not require discipline.

The need for discipline does not change when we come to all that is involved in walking in the holiness and power of Christ. Would we do the things that Jesus himself did and taught? Then there is a way. It is the way of disciplined grace: discipline under grace and grace in the midst of discipline.

What are some of these disciplines? A primary one is solitude, which must go hand in hand with silence to be complete. In solitude I arrange to be alone, out of human contact, for lengthy periods of time. This allows my inner compass to stop whirling in response to the demands of others. The elasticity and wholeness of my soul is restored as I grow "still and know that God is God." (Ps. 46:10)

Only solitude and silence, extensively practiced at wisely allotted intervals, can take the world off my back and forever release me from both hurry and loneliness. They open the door to productive engagement with other disciplines. I begin to find myself increasingly before God in such a way that he can safely fill me with himself.

Study and worship, fasting and sacrifice (of time, energy, money), journaling and prayer, confession and service are also among the disciplines. Some disciplines may be freely chosen. But often our circumstances will impose activities on us which, if taken as such, can be marvelous disciplines enabling us to receive extraordinary grace. "Tribulation works patience" is only one illustration of this principle.

But there is no such thing as a complete list of spiritual disciplines, chosen or imposed. Many different activities might be entered into with the aim of finding the manifest grace of God which enables us to do what we cannot do--and be what we cannot be--by direct effort. But the ones that emerge as most beneficial in Christian history should all be considered very seriously.

And of course "what we cannot do by direct effort" covers all that Jesus taught us. We cannot keep his teachings on our own. He never intended it. But by whole life training in the well-known disciplines of the spiritual life we can become inwardly the kinds of persons who naturally (supernaturally of course) do what he said and did. That is how the gift of a holy and powerful life comes to us.

Now disciplines are not law, they are wisdom. We have to learn how to do them, and we always fail at the outset. But to fail here is not to sin. The sin would be in not adopting and following up on a wise program of disciplines under grace. For then we are not really intending to do what Jesus said. We are planning to fail.

Also, disciplines are for disciples--apprentices--of Jesus, not for dabblers or mere consumers of religious services. They are for people who intend to learn from Jesus how to live their whole lives in the kingdom of God as he would live their lives if he were they. Such people are serious about this and will not be denied.

Thus they are prepared to experiment and learn from their failures until, under their constant teacher, they find that disciplines truly are full of grace and strength.

Fasting becomes feasting on God, meditation on scripture becomes celebration. Religion is no longer an additional burden to be carried in an already overburdened life, but is replaced by a joyous confidence that God is present and prevailing in every situation of life and death.

e is addressing

 

[corinth77777]

So...he is addressing their slothfulness teaching them why they should move forward in the faith......

They and we are not ones who draw back to perdition...destruction...so why does he mention it.....? he had to be addressing where their mindset was.

In order to do that....if they were thinking about going under the law, he shared where it led....to destruction

Why because a mindset in the law for salvation would hinder progressive growth spiritually....how he addresses them is by using 2 sides to one coin.

For example we know if one could keep the law...according to their thinking at the time then salvation awaited....the flip side to teach them is to stir them in the direction of faithful living....by using the law as something to obtain perfection by....which we know cant be done but by the same token it was the way..in their minds....to salvation as faith working through love ....while it is the way of salvation.....since this is the way...(faith) you cannot neglect it.....so in a sence In this context the falling away or sin is going back under the law for salvation...not that they really can...because faith has come....but we find that the way they were thinking affected their behavior.....he gave them a new way to think so they would move forward in their deeds....while their deeds are the ways of salvation...its only because we are capable through Christ to get back up in the right spirit and move the diection of a saved person...so not works of righteousness(to earn)..but rather righteous works.. Therefore righteous works are the way of the saved.

So one way to fall into sin or to sin is works that do not line up with the faith...yet in this passage falling away or the sin...is rejecting salvations way which is faith...not that they could...yet he took them back...to the old..that flip side of the coin...to encouage them to look and move forward in the faith.

these are my thoughts and they are not law...but giving one an option of how to think abouth this Hebrews passage

 

[brotherjerry]

Amen Cori.

One always has to look at the context of the message... Hebrews was written to who?....Hebrews...Jewish converts.

And Zach in order to "fall back" you do not have to have something to fall back from...but you have to have come from something in order to fall back to it. And as Cori explained that is exactly what was being talked about...the Jewish converts falling back to the Law of Moses as their means of salvation. That is what they were preaching.

 

[ZacharyB]

...the Jewish converts falling back to the Law of Moses
as their means of salvation.
That is what they were preaching.

Yes, of course, falling back from their new-found salvation, and losing it.
And "they" who were preaching it was one writer.

 

[brotherjerry]

Yes, of course, falling back from their new-found salvation, and losing it.
And "they" who were preaching it was one writer.

What verse says that? None. Not one says they had or even lost their salvation.
And no "they" was Jews that were preaching messages such as required circumcision, keeping the Law of Moses. They were teaching a false gospel. They did not understand the message of Christ. That is why it says in Hebrews that there is no more sacrifice required. They did not understand that Christ was the final sacrifice for sin. These folks were not Christian in heart, they were not saved, they were Christian only in claiming the name. They were what Christ spoke of in Matthew 7 "Look at what we did in your name".
They were not going forward with their faith as examples such as those in Hebrews 11...but instead were falling back onto the Law...they never achieved salvation because they never relied upon their faith.

 

[corinth77777]

What verse says that? None. Not one says they had or even lost their salvation.
And no "they" was Jews that were preaching messages such as required circumcision, keeping the Law of Moses. They were teaching a false gospel. They did not understand the message of Christ. That is why it says in Hebrews that there is no more sacrifice required. They did not understand that Christ was the final sacrifice for sin. These folks were not Christian in heart, they were not saved, they were Christian only in claiming the name. They were what Christ spoke of in Matthew 7 "Look at what we did in your name".
They were not going forward with their faith as examples such as those in Hebrews 11...but instead were falling back onto the Law...they never achieved salvation because they never relied upon their faith.

Well I have to digress on wether they were saved ...or not....because I believe they were........at the same time they were...I still dont see a place where they lost their salvation...why because one it never says they could and two, chapter 6 vs 9. Says, " beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak".....those people to me spoken of in the wilderness were an example....for us today....salvation is Christ...he is our beginning and end....so those of faith must walk in fruits of righteousness...to me I am starting to see Hebrews as that part of salvation called sanctification our continuous walk of faith in Jesus....Why were these people not teachers and still in need of milk? Because they were stuck on the Alphabet.....even they knew how to spell. Analogy.....learning the Alphabet leads to learning words leads to reading then understanding....yet they couldn't move forward...they kept singing the Alphabet song.....so rather they were saved or not...it still doesn't say if they fell away they would lose their salvation.

The passage if read through the correct lens was just saying there was no salvation under the law...thereby no repentance under the law...but through faith..there is....and this is where we must progress...

 

[corinth77777]

Back in the old...the promise land I believe was a shadow...it says the gospel was preached to them as well...gospel of faith..maybe? if so these saw Gods work...yet only caleb and I think Joshua entered in...Even moses didn't enter...yet was Moses saved?...that is why I pic this chapter towards sanctification....

 

[corinth77777]

Also why I believe they were saved is...the "we" seens to be inclusive of the people he is speaking to in Chaper 10;39
But we are not them that draw back into perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

 

[com7fy8]

Quoting in Hebrews chapter 10 >

28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

So, it is clear God does not want us to insult the Holy Spirit.

And our Apostle Paul says,

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)

So, it looks like Paul considers it possible for us Jesus people to grieve the Holy Spirit. And, right after Paul says not to grieve the Holy Spirit, he mentions some things which I consider can be what grieves the Holy Spirit >

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." (Ephesians 4:31)

Now our motive of love has us desiring not to grieve the Holy Spirit. And how does Paul tell us to love God, instead of grieving Him? I think the next verse is included in how to live, instead of grieving the Holy Spirit >

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

So, yes, God wants us to forgive, "even as God" ! ! ! This is included in not grieving the Holy Spirit. I see how unforgiveness is included in what can grieve God. Our motive needs to be to love and please God, not only fear of losing our salvation.

So, whether or not the Bible really means we can lose our salvation, what we mainly need to do is love and forgive the way our Heavenly Father desires. And love Him, by being pleasing to Him in His gentle and quiet love >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

And what is Biblical assurance of salvation?

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

This is not an argument that we are sure of salvation; this is reality of all God has done in us so we have assurance.

Here, the Bible clearly says what God has done, which is our assurance > how He has perfected us in His love so that "as He is, so are we in this world" > not in the next life, but "in this world" > > >

"faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6) does this.

And Philippians 2:13-16 talks about all that is possible with God in us, "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation" < this is included in our Biblical assurance . . . not only verse arguments, but all that God's grace does in us to make us like Jesus.

And Hebrews 12:4-11 shows me how we need to actively seek our Father for His personal correction in us. If one does not have this correction, this scripture says, "you are illegitimate and not sons." So, there is no wiggle room for a person to be sure of salvation and the person is not being corrected by God, I consider from this. And the result of this correction is "that we may be partakers of His holiness" and we have His love's "peaceable fruit of righteousness" > God's very own blessedness of His own love shared with us > Romans 5:5.

So, if we discuss whether or not we could lose our salvation, we need to make sure our discussion does not get our attention away from God and all this which His word guarantees He does in His children.

 

[corinth77777]

Yes...dicussing OR ARGUING..THIS MATTER.. Can in some ways be like the Hebrews...so caught up in a particular way of thinking, forgetting or not even moving on to what is the goal...which is to seek God with all their heart...for if we/they did we would trust God,act in love and have the joy and peace of salvation...I don't believe Hebrews is about a doctrine we have in our mind...rather how we should put our confidence in Christ....at the same time we pull scriptures out of context..to put them to our doctrine. I mean does God really want us to to make statements to new believers that if you once say you believe you will never go to hell? Then as Dallas Willard puts it...why would they have a need for transformation?..

 

[corinth77777]

After finishing the reading Hebrews...Here defines a perditional person...Esau who because he sold his blessing...couldnt get it back..(no repentance) though he sought it with all his heart. .....so anything in my opinion that is not of faith...is destructionable...and we end up defiling others by our own sins which reap no reward. It is a life that is lived that has nothing to do with us but everything that is lived through faith in the invisible God that reaps reward.
The destructible areas are the flip side to one coin because..in the same way not following the law people died without mercy, Is in the same light(since Jesus was the fullfillment of the law) not trusting Jesus is perishable works (vanity). So here we see a salvation within a salvation...on earth there is no life without him no peace or joy! Since Jesus is our salvation...we have to also save ourselves in a sense by walking in him...Meaning doing the things that are Him.....if you dont do the things you were birth to do....then can you really be assured of who you are?...Say you were hired as a cashier...yet you go to work stocking shelves...can you be sure your title if you're not doing the job of your title? So as it is said since we live in him let us also walk in him. Grace according to my understanding in Hebrews Is the ability that God has allowed through Christ for us to get back up when we fall short, to live righteous. And salvation in my opinion doesn't seem like deliverance when you dont get back up...deliverence or salvation from what one may ask? from your circumstances now...and how you feel about your future....how can you have confidence about your future as a cashier if you never did the work of one?
So I believe..and I hope im quoting Dallas Willard right when he said salvation is an interactive relationship......

Don't quote me...Im just trying to get an understanding...do research and study for yourself...

 

[ZacharyB]

Also why I believe they were saved is...the "we" seens to be inclusive of the people he is speaking to in Chaper 10;39 ...
But we are not them that draw back into perdition,
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Don't you see the writer was just encouraging, edifying, exhorting, etc.
Paul used this technique many times ...
a dire warning ending with the blue.
This is called tact, and it was wisdom to employ this method,
if one desired to be welcome to visit those whom he was correcting.
Jesus taught this method to Paul during the latter's 17 years
(see end Gal 1 and start of Gal 2) ... in the desert regions
prior to him really beginning his ministry.

 

[ZacharyB]

error

 

[corinth77777]

Don't you see the writer was just encouraging, edifying, exhorting, etc.
Paul used this technique many times ...
a dire warning ending with the blue.
This is called tact, and it was wisdom to employ this method,
if one desired to be welcome to visit those whom he was correcting.
Jesus taught this method to Paul during the latter's 17 years
(see end Gal 1 and start of Gal 2) ... in the desert regions
prior to him really beginning his ministry.

Yes he is definitely trying to encourage them to move on in the faith....

 

[corinth77777]

The distinguished author of Hebrews gives 5 big-time warnings to born-again brethren
(and back in those days, many/most of them were also baptized with the Holy Spirit).
One of the 5 warnings is this intreging passage …

Hebrews 10 (NKJV):
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
34 … knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession
for yourselves in heaven.
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,
but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

First, let us consider the last part of “the promise” (v.36) to the brethren,
which is … If anyone “draws back”, God has no pleasure in him (v.38).
Then in v.39, the writer talks about those who draw back to perdition (hell).
Therefore, we should consider what it means to draw back.

The writer tells us the opposite of falling back is:
• to draw near with a true heart (v.22)
• to hold fast your confession (of faith) without wavering (v.23)
• to not sin willfully (v.26)
• to not cast away your confidence (v.35)
• to endure (v.36)
• to do the will of God (v.36)
• to live by faith (v.38)

If you draw back from something, you first must have that something!
In this case, if you have something that keeps you out of hell,
and you choose to draw back from it, then you’re on your way to hell again!

And BTW, the writer really has NO idea who might draw back (fall away)!
He is simply following the Pauline method of encouraging, exhorting, etc.
He is saying that some brethren (somewhere) draw back (fall away),
but not these wonderful brethren to whom he is writing. Nonsense!
As with Paul, the method is to give warnings which are tactfully veiled,
and it is up to the Holy Spirit to reveal spiritual Truth to those who are open.

“God has promised to reward us. But we must persevere, and we
must continue to do the will of God with perseverance until the end;
otherwise we shall lose our reward. We shall lose what He has
promised … Therefore, let us not shrink back. Because if we do,
we will not only lose our reward (v.36); we will also be destroyed
(see Mark 8:35, Mark 13:13, Luke 21:19).”
(The Applied NT Commentary, Dr. Thomas Holt, Spirit-filled missionary)

I see what u were thinking
. At the same time I must admitt...good thought.......but I dont see it that way...I dont believe he was using sarcasm ...the sentence "though we speak like this"..would be key to dismissing that thought....speak like what? Hypothetically...