indeed (10:32–34), but not so severe as to have involved martyrdom (12:4). But the afflictions to which they had been subjected, together with the delay of the Lord’s Coming (10:36, 37), had caused a relaxation of their efforts (12:12), a sluggishness in their spiritual intelligence (6:12), a dimming of the brightness of their early faith (10:32), a tendency to listen to new doctrines (13:9, 17), a neglect of common worship (10:25), and a tone of spurious independence towards their teachers (13:7,