Don't give up your race (Heb 12a)

Don’t give up your race

Hebrew 12:1-29

Key verse 12:1-2

In my high school days we were required to run about 7 mile every year. Everybody started fast at the start line and then began to walk or give up one after another. There were a couple of times on the way when I felt I could not make it. My heart pumped too fast and my legs were worn out. I was tempted to stop running. Like me, we often feel overwhelmed by many things while living in this world by faith. Sometimes we want to stop our struggle. Sometimes we wonder if we are going the right way. Sometimes, we feel dry and have no motivation to keep our faith. This is not about young believers only. Mature Christians have the same challenges and problems. Some missionaries at the staff conference I attended last week also shared this kind of difficulties. Today we are covering Hebrews 12a. I think that the book of Hebrew is a perfect book for such people. I pray that through the passage God may help us keep our life of faith and grow more in faith in Him.

The theme of Hebrews is the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and man. The book of Hebrews was addressed primarily to Jewish Christians who were being tempted to go back to Judaism or to compromise the gospel to avoid persecution. They were about to give up their faith in Jesus. In response to this, the author presents Jesus Christ as God’s full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation in the OT, which they were going back to. He maintains that Jesus is superior to angels and even Moses and the Aaronic priests whom Jews respected the most. (1:1-10:18) Then he encourages the believers to follow Jesus with perseverance. (10:19-39) In chapter 11, he presents many of their ancestors who overcame suffering by faith in hope of God’s kingdom. In today’s passage, the author continues his exhortation that the believers should run the race set before them with perseverance and endure their hardship as discipline from God.

Run the race with perseverance

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,

In ancient times, sports were very popular much like these days. They enjoyed running, wrestling, boxing, racing and the like. The games were competitive and tough. To win the games, they had to train themselves rigorously and do their best in the games, which all entailed perseverance. When they run, the spectators cheered them. “Run, run!” If they won, they were rewarded and became heroes to their towns. Here the author compares believers to such competing runners. We believers are like runners who are going toward the heaven. (11:13-16) Though we are saved, our salvation is not complete yet until we enter the kingdom of God. Until that day, we have to struggle on earth, which is compared here to the race. How should we believers run our race successfully?

Firstly, the author reminds the believers that they are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, who are mentioned in chapter 11. Their ancestors, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David and so many others, suffered to live up to God’s will and overcame their hardship by faith. They finished their races victoriously and now they are watching down and cheering the believers who are running the race of faith. We believers are not alone. We are following the same way many people of faith traversed with victory. Do not think you are alone? We have so many witnesses with us. You may look like strangers in the world but you are precious people of God surrounded by so many forerunners who ran the same race and won the victory.

Secondly, we should throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Everything that hinders refers to weight. I have never seen any runners who wear heavy clothes or equipment. Runner should make themselves light. They do not even carry smartphones with them when they run. What is the weight that hinders? It can be all kinds of things that weigh us down. It can be worry, anxiety, worldly relationships and the like. But I think that the heaviest weight is sin. Sin easily entangles us. What entangled them was their immoral sin and greed for money. (12:16 ; 13:4-5) The author also gave a warning about bitterness. (12:15) We should reconcile with someone, particularly coworkers, if we have some conflicts with them. Rather than remembering and chewing others’ sins, we should forgive and move forward. The primary sin the author has touched throughout the book of Hebrews is their backsliding and apostasy. They even stubbornly or deliberately ignore God’s warning about their sin. (10:26-31) When we sin, our heart is heavy and we are greatly discouraged and depressed. Now we should put aside our sins. We are runners pressing onward to heaven. If you have anything that hinders your race of faith, it is not worthy to carry no matter how good it may be in the world. Just throw it off and focus on your race of faith.

Lastly and most importantly, we should run our race with perseverance. Our race is not short and easy. While running, we will be out of breath and feel that we almost collapse. But as I said earlier, I would run a long distance race in my high school. Through this I learned that the big difference between those who give up and those who finished the race was whether they had perseverance or not. It is not a matter of how smart and able they are or how strong their physical body is. It is all about whether enduring perseverance to the end or not.

The readers of this book were under severe persecution and pressure. They endured it but they were losing their confidence and got weary over time. But that was the time they needed perseverance.

In February 2015, a Kenyan woman was running at Austin Marathon. She was leading the race and no one was seen behind her. Her victory seemed certain. Then with just 450 feet or so left to run, her body began to break down and she eventually fell down. She attempted to get back up but was unsuccessful. It looked like she could not make it. She was offered a wheelchair by the surrounding medical staff, which meant she would be out of the race. But she refused it and then she began to crawl, only looking to the finish line. She was totally exhausted and her mouth was drooling. She paused at one point. Then, one lady said, “You are almost there!” Finally the female runner finished third in the race. Her name is Hyvon Ngetich. Later she said, "Running, always, you have to keep going, going,"

Like her, we must never give up our race. Do not give up your race. Do not stop even if you almost collapse. Keep going even if you cannot but crawl. You are going to the kingdom of God. You will be greatly rewarded. If we stop, however, God is not pleased with you. Let’s read Hebrews 10:35-39.

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Run your race with perseverance. Do not shrink back. That is the key to the successful race. How can we run with perseverance then? We know we should persevere but there are times when we think we can’t make it. How can we endure difficulties and hardship to the end and overcome doubt that comes into our mind? Fix your eyes on Jesus!

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.

Fix your eyes on Jesus.  Look away from something that discourages, bothers, depresses, and tempts us. Do not listen to worldly people. Instead, just look at Jesus with a focus as the runners look to the finish line. Our Lord Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Jesus is the perfect example who shows what faith is. He went through hardship with perseverance and finished his race by faith. Though he is the Son of God, he came down to the earth and was despised and killed by men. He took all bits of pain by his body. He fainted again and again. Each moment Satan tempted him to give up. But Jesus put his faith in God and his promise. He put his trust in God to the end in such an extremely difficult time on the cross. He believed that his suffering would pass by and then he would be victorious. He saw the joy after his suffering and he scorned and despised his shame and suffering. Again, he was not overwhelmed by his suffering but he scorned it! Finally he said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) As he believed, he rose from the dead and became the Judge and the Lord of all, sitting at the right hand of God. He went through the painful process with perseverance. So he understands our suffering and weaknesses. (Heb 4:16) And he encourages us to look to him. “Look at me!” He will help you and even carry you if you can’t run.

When Rick Hoyt was born, he suffered from brain damage, which disabled him to move his muscles. He was like a plant. But fortunately, he could communicate by a special computer equipment. One day he asked his father if he could attend a five mile race, which was organized by his school for handicaps. That meant the father should push his son in a wheelchair all the way. His father Dick Hoyt said, “yes” though he was not a runner. They finished the race next to last. That night Rick said to his father, “When we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!” These words inspired him to take a life-long mission of giving his son that feeling of not being disabled. Another day the son asks Dick: "Dad, would you like to run a marathon with me? His father says "yes” and they participated in Boston Marathon in 1979 and then another and another. And another day his son asked, "Dad, would you like to participate in triathlon?” Triathlon is a most difficult race, which consists of a 4 km swim, 180 km bicycling, and 42 km of running. His father says "Yes.” And then they completed the triathlon. Since 1979, Dick and Rick have participated in a total of 958 events including 224 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances, 65 Marathons, and so on. Rick said to his father through the computer, “CAN.” That means that he can’t run by himself but he can with his father who always goes through all the races together with him. Rick always moves his eyes wherever his father moves and fixes his eyes on him because he knows he can run because his father also runs with him.

Like the father Dick, our Lord Jesus bears our weakness and sins and even carries us when we grow weary or we are disabled. Fix your eyes on this Jesus!

3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Here the word “consider” is not just consideration as an option. It is not just to try once. It is to reason up to a conclusion by thinking again and trying again so that we can come to clearly see the truth. So, it involves a struggle. We should always remember and consider Jesus who endured his hardship by faith. In that sense, this is the same meaning with fixing our eyes on Jesus. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and run until we finish our race victorious. By the way, our suffering does not last forever. It will end for sure. Fix your eyes on Jesus. We can’t by ourselves. But we can with Jesus.

Endure hardship

So far, the author has encouraged the believers to run their race with perseverance. Now the author changes his tone and points out their sin, which was also touched in verse 1.

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

The author points out that they do not struggle against sin to the point of shedding their blood. Previously the author compared believers with runners. Now he seems to compare believers with wrestlers or boxers, who often shed blood while fighting. (cf. 1 Cor 9:26) But this eventually points to the saints who martyred as in 10: 36-37 and even Jesus who shed his blood on the cross. They all were determined not to give up their faith at the cost of their lives. The believers somewhat struggled against sin but they are not determined to die for the cause of faith. Instead, they fear hardship they are facing now and so they compromise their faith or give up their faith, which is sin. Now the author is telling them why they should not avoid or fear hardship but endure it.

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

They should know that their hardship is God’s discipline for them. In ancient times, fathers disciplined their sons rigorously. Sometimes they trained their sons until they shed blood. But children still respected their fathers because they knew the discipline was out of love. No legitimate children aren’t disciplined. No discipline means no love. Likewise, our Father God disciplines us because we are his children. He uses our hardship to correct our sinfulness and change us. So, when we have hardship, we should not be discouraged or avoid it. We should know that God loves us so much. Therefore, endure hardship as God’s discipline and his love. So, if we have any troubles or hardship, you should know that God is training you out of love.

9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

Human fathers discipline us in the way they think best, which means that their discipline may not be always the best. Fathers can’t discipline their children as they both are aged. But God our Father disciplines us whether we are young or old, whenever he thinks it is appropriate and necessary. He knows the best way for each of us. He disciplines us for our good so that we may share in his holiness.

Again, the purpose of God’s discipline is for our holiness. God uses our hardship to change us into his holy children. You may wonder why hardship is a necessary process for our holiness. I have never seen anyone who is without sin. And I have never seen anyone who is changed naturally without pains. Our sinfulness is never changed unless we become helpless or break down. Hardship exposes our sins so that we know who we really are and who God is. Hardship humbles us so that we cannot but depend on God. Hardship helps us have desire for God and eventually purifies us in his holiness. However, discipline is not always pleasant. Actually, it is painful. But it bears divine fruit in us.

11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Have you heard about sea glasses? Sea glasses are pieces of glass of broken bottles and tableware people throw into the ocean, which are tumbled by surfs for years until their edges are rounded off and the surface turns into a frosted appearance. They are so beautiful like gems. Pieces of broken bottle have no value per se. They are just useless trash. But when they are worn out for many years in ocean, they have value. Like broken bottle trash, we are not fit for the kingdom of God as we are now because of our sin, but when our sinfulness is worn out by hardship, we are changed humble and holy. In that sense, our hardship is meaningful and beneficial for our sanctification.

Job in the Bible went through tremendous suffering. He lost all his assets and all his children in a day. And Satan afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to his head. What is worse, his friends said that it was out of his sin. It was unbearable pain. He wondered why he had to suffer. But Job learned that he should believe there was God’s sovereign will for his good. Then everything was restored with more blessings. He confessed, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10 - ESV) Even such a great man Job was disciplined for holiness.

However, hardship is painful even though we know it is God’s discipline. But we must believe that our suffering and hardship in God and with God will produce a harvest of righteousness and peace and holiness. 1 Peter 1:6-7 also says, “6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

My military training was a most difficult time for me. But after my service I was changed into a stable and committed man to God. When I carried baby Sarah crying all night, I learned God’s patience and love. When I saw my children suffering, my heart was broken. When I was despised or betrayed while serving Bible students, l tasted the pain of Jesus’ cross. When I tumbled and failed again and again, I learned God’s mercy and grace and I could stand again. Without these, I would not have been changed at all.

Are you anxious about your future? Are you distressed by problems? Are you tired of your spiritual battle?  Get up to your feet. Don’t give up. Move on. Eventually your hardship will end.  After that, our faith will be refined and shine with God’s holiness in us.

Today, we have learned that we are runners going toward the heaven. To win our race, we fight against sin by enduring hardship. If you go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, you can see a flag, saying, “Don’t’ give up the ship.” Don’t give up your race. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and run our race with perseverance to the end. 
by David Yun