Run The Race With Endurance

INTRO

As we’ve progressed through Hebrews, we’ve seen the author tell his readers to stop following the old covenant and start following the new covenant. Then we looked at the faith hall of fame in chapter 11.

Chapter 12 starts off with a sports analogy to point out the disciplines that lead us to the kind of life Christ wants us to live for Him. I spoke a couple of days ago about the Word of God really resonating with our hearts. This is a passage that resonates with me because of my love for sports. The analogy can be tracked through the entire chapter as the writer tries to shape us into thinking like the icons of our faith described in chapter 11. And the hall of faith in chapter 11 is another sports reference. When we walk by faith, it’s all about the life eternal and living an abundant, eternal life here on earth.

Before we get to the text, let’s set some sports context for the chapter. Sports is really a universal language and is found in every culture. The analogy is based on the sport of competitive running. In the ancient Olympic Games, running was the first competition. The foot races were the big events in the games, the equivalent of today’s swimming, track and field, or soccer. The original Olympic stadium or “stadion” was more of a flat field, and runners would run from one end of the stadium to the other. The distance was about 180 meters or 590 feet, almost equivalent to two football fields or about one and a half soccer fields. Over time, runners would go to the end of the field, circle a pole, and then run back to the starting line to complete the race.

There were several challenges for the runners. First, the running surface was made of sand, so the running was more difficult. Second, the runners competed without clothes. Third, as the events grew larger, chaos would have taken place at each end as runners tried to get around the poles to continue the race. Therefore, the race was one of endurance. Keep these descriptions in mind as you read the text.

TEACHING

Hebrews 12:1: In chapter 11 we talked about the faithful. They are the multitude of witnesses mentioned in verse 1. The word witness is a Greek word from which we get the word martyr, someone who would willingly die for what he or she strongly believes. A witness is someone who can give a personal account for a reality that happened at some point in time. Think about the superstars of faith in chapter 11—so many witnesses, so much testimony, so many who endured! The word endure (or endurance) means to remain in existence. There were many things in the race to be endured—the sand, the heat, the crowd, the exhaustion. Verse 1 also says to lay aside or shed every weight and sin. The weight is an encumbrance; it is something that gets in the way. The sin clings to us (like a sweaty shirt) and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to run free.

Hebrews 12:2: This verse admonishes us to keep our eyes on Jesus. The runners on the racetrack had their eyes focused only in front of them as they maneuvered the course. When we run the race in our lives, we want to stay focused on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. Where our eyes go, our body follows. Jesus endured the race—the persecution, the punishment, the pain, the cross—for the joy that was before Him. Jesus kept His eyes focused on God and looked straight ahead at what He had come to accomplish. It should make us want to run our race in joy because He did, despite what he had to face and endure.

Hebrews 12:3-5: Jesus did all this so we would not grow weary. It shows the mental endurance of saving the very people you are being beaten by. We haven’t gotten to this point of struggle. Regardless of where we are, though, Christ knows that struggle (v. 4). Plus, we are sons and daughters of God (v. 5), so we can expect discipline (training) from the Lord (Ephesians 6:4; 2 Timothy 3:16.

Hebrews 12:6: Discipline is in the context of parents and children, training up the children in the way they should go. It’s not to be confused with punishment. For the Lord disciplines those He loves (v. 6). For example, my wife Erica was asked by God to get up at 5:45 every morning to start praying. She’s not a morning person, but she became disciplined and started each morning at 5:45. Then God told her to get up at 5 a.m. She set an alarm and tried but wasn’t always successful. However, our one-and- a-half-year-old son started crying every morning around 5 a.m. and would be up for the morning. When she would get up purposefully with her alarm, he wouldn’t wake and cry so early. We both believe God was teaching her discipline in her prayer life through this.

Hebrews 12:7-13: Because God disciplines those He loves, we must endure the discipline (v. 7). If you don’t receive God’s discipline, when everyone else has, then you are not His child (v. 8). Just as we have been disciplined by our fathers and we still respect them, so the Father disciplines us in love (v. 9). God disciplines us for good so we can share His holiness (v. 10). The reality is that discipline only feels like discipline until it becomes a discipline and a natural part of you (vv. 11-12). “Drooping hands and weak knees” (ESV), is a reference to being physically weak. Lift your knees and run a straight path, keeping everything in alignment to avoid injuries (v. 13). Therefore, while we run the race, we have to be well rounded in our spiritual lives.

Hebrews 12:14-17: To be spiritually strong as a believer and a member of the body of believers is also necessary for endurance in the race. While we endure, we are to strive for peace and holiness so others will see the Lord (vv. 14-15). Verses 16-17 describe how Esau was rejected because of his unholiness. Spiritual strength helps to keep us from doing things that could harm us individually or harm the body of believers. Nelson’s Commentary points out three dangers when believers don’t pursue peace and righteousness:

1. “Falling short of God’s grace—that is, refusing Christ’s gracious offer of salvation and His provision for their needs.”¹ Don’t live under the condemnation and the weight of the law.
2. “Allowing a root of bitterness to grow in their assembly—perhaps allowing idol worshippers to remain in the church.”² Bitterness festers and creates spiritual disease in your life. There’s no room for bitterness when you have a spiritual race to run.
3. “Becoming sexually immoral or irreligious.”³ Sexual immorality causes guilt, shame, disrespect, and partnering with sin and darkness. We are to flee from sexual immorality.

In a description of an ideal Roman runner in the “stadion,” the emphasis was on being well-proportioned. Not too tall because tall people could lack stability, and having good posture for the sprint, with good proportions of the runner’s legs, shoulders, and chest. If anything was out of balance, the runner would be carrying extra weight.

CLOSING

Verses 28-29 conclude that we are to hold on to the grace of God because His kingdom cannot be shaken. We endure so that we can serve God acceptably with reverence and awe because our God is a consuming fire. This prepares us for the physical battle that lies before us, so that we can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We have set aside the old covenant and have locked our eyes on Jesus, walking by faith, as He prepares us for the race that is before us.