Finishing the Race!

Text: Heb 12:1-3

            NASB                                     ESV                                        NIV

NAU  Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

ESV  Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

NIV   Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

CTX:  

In Hebrews 10:36, the author exhorted his readers, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” [lit., “the promise”]. Then he devotes chapter 11 to many examples of Old Testament saints who endured by faith, although they did not receive the promise (Christ), which we have received. In our text, the author returns to the theme of endurance, saying, we have both this great cloud of witnesses from the Old Testament and Jesus Himself, who is the supreme example of one who endured horrible suffering by faith. He endured the cross and now is at the Father’s right hand.

The writer of Hebrews combined these two themes of athletics and citizenship in this important 12th chapter. The atmosphere is that of the footraces in the arena. We can see the runners laying aside their training weights and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint, while others endure to the end and win the prize. First the writer pictures the race (Heb. 12:1–13), and then emphasizes citizenship in the heavenly city (Heb. 12:14–29). In the minds of his readers, these two themes would go together; for no one could take part in the official games unless he was a citizen of the nation.

The one theme that runs through this chapter is endurance (Heb. 12:1 [“patience”], 2–3, 7; also see 10:32, 36 [“patience”]). The Jewish believers who received this letter were getting weary and wanted to give up; but the writer encouraged them to keep moving forward in their Christian lives, like runners on a track (see Phil. 3:12–14).

How to run this race that is set before us?

1. LET US RUN THIS RACE AS WE HAVE MANY EXAMPLES LIVED BEFORE US

The opening phrase of 12:1 refers back to chapter 11. All of the Old Testament saints, who endured all sorts of trials by faith, should encourage us to keep running when we feel like quitting. The word cloud was a classical Greek metaphor for a large multitude.

Jesus Himself Is The Main Motivation To Keep Running.

We are not alone in this race. We can be encouraged when we go through suffering and persecution.

  

2. LET US RUN WITH LESS WEIGHT SO THAT WE CAN FINISH

We Must Lay Aside Every Encumbrance.

The word means weight. It can refer to physical weight (obesity), or to unnecessary baggage. Ancient Greek runners would actually run naked so as not to be encumbered. Olympic athletes in our day wear some pretty skimpy outfits. They don’t want anything to slow them down or drain their energy.

Weight refers to sin. This doesn’t refer only to certain besetting sins, but to all sins. Sin always begins in the mind, and so we must judge all sin at the thought level. Pride, lust, envy, greed, anger, grumbling, selfishness—all of these things originate in our thought life. If you cut it off there, it goes no farther. If you entertain these things, they incubate and develop into sinful words and actions (James 1:14-15).

But the author’s point is, you can’t run the Christian race if you keep tripping over your sin.

3. LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE COURSE SET BEFORE US

Note two things:

A. God sets the course.

If you’re running a marathon, you can’t make up your own course. If we stray from the course, we’ll be disqualified. The race is “set before us,” just as Jesus had “the joy set before Him.” God is the Sovereign One who sets the course for each of us, just as He set the course of the cross for Jesus.

To finish the Christian marathon, it’s important to keep in mind at all times that the Sovereign God sets the course. We may not like parts of the course. We may be prone to grumble, “Why did the course have to go over this hill, or through this swamp?” The answer is, “Because the Sovereign God planned it this way.” We won’t be able to run by faith unless we submit our will to His will.

B. We Must Run With Endurance.

Running with endurance requires adopting a certain mindset.

This is what Jesus meant when He talked about counting the cost of following Him (Luke 14:28-33). Before we make a glib commitment to be a Christian, think it through. Are we willing to put out the effort, the sweat, the endurance, and the pain of going the distance? If not, don’t start the race, because we’re going to look pretty silly when we drop out after 400 meters.

Obviously, one key to running the whole distance is motivation. But where do we get the motivation to run the Christian marathon? Our author suggests two sources, both valuable, but the second is incomparably greater than the first.

CH Spurgeon who said it is Perseverance that took the snail to enter Noah’s ark.

4. LET US RUN JOYFULLY THOUGH IT IS NOT AN EASY RACE

(Illus): American Pastor steven Cole shares his experience with one Christian lady struggling with sin.

 Many years ago, a young woman who was a drug addict found my name in the phone book and began calling me frequently. She was married with two small children, but she was hooked on drugs. She had no concept that normal people sleep at night, and so she would call at 2 a.m. from some phone booth where she was stoned out of her mind.

She professed to believe in Christ, and said that she wanted to follow Him, but she had no idea of what that meant. On one occasion when she was relatively sober, I described in detail what a daily walk with Christ looks like. I explained what a daily time in the Word and prayer was like, what obedience to the Bible means, how to think like a Christian, etc.

When I was done, I asked, “Have you ever done anything close to what I’ve just described?” She said, “Yeah, I did that once for two weeks, but it didn’t work.” She thought that she had given it a fair try in two weeks! I explained to her that the Christian faith isn’t a two-week sprint. It’s a lifelong marathon.

The Christian life is a lifelong, grueling race that entails some long hills to climb and some swampy marshes to plod through. To make it to the end, you need self-discipline to get into good shape, you will need to maintain your motivation, and you will need sustained effort. No one enters a marathon with the thought of dropping out after a mile. Finishing well is everything. In this race, you are not competing with other believers. We’re all on the same team. We’re competing against the enemy of our souls, who opposes God’s kingdom and wants us to drop out.

5. LET US RUN WITHOUT GETTING DISCOURAGED

 Fixing our eyes on Jesus is the key to not grow weary and lose heart.

The literal rendering is, “that you not fail through weariness, fainting in your souls.” Spiritual failure happens gradually from continuous weakening (B. F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews [Eerdmans], p. 398). Just as a runner who is not in excellent condition gradually slows down and finally collapses, so the believer who does not keep looking with faith to Jesus will eventually collapse. We call it “burn out” today, and it seems that there are many who are weary in their souls in the Christian marathon. The remedy is to fix our eyes on Jesus.

(Illus): The King said in the empire whoever wins the race will marry the princess. Many contested. One handsome person said he will win the race and marry her. Many have quit the race in the middle. Many were distracted by the audience and the golden apples were thrown to distract the runners so that they could miss the focus. They lost the race. Sadly the handsome man too was distracted by the golden apples.

CONCLUSION

Ish 40:28-30

You can’t run the race if you’ve never entered it. If you’ve never put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you aren’t even in the race. If you don’t enter the race and run with endurance, you won’t get the prize.

Questions to ponder:

1.      How do we find the balance between our effort to run the race and God’s power working through us (see Phil. 2:12-13).

2.      What are some spiritual encumbrances in our lives that are not necessarily sin, but they keep us from running well?

3.      Is there any golden apples that distract us from this race?