But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
A Pauline elegant turning-off from denunciatory warnings to charitable hopes (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Saving of the soul, х peripoieesin (G4047)] - 'acquisition (or obtaining) of the soul.' The kindred verb is applied to Christ's acquiring the Church as the purchase of his blood (Acts 20:28). If we acquire our soul's salvation, it is through Him who has obtained it for us by His bloodshedding. 'The unbeliever loses his soul; for not being God's, neither is he his own (cf. Matthew 16:26 with Luke 9:25): faith saves the soul by linking it to God' (Delitzsch in Alford).