I suppose that I have been a runner my whole life. Long before it was popular to go jogging, I used to run long distances as a young boy. I read a lot as a child, my parents choosing not to have a TV in the house, and I was inspired by some of the stories I read of biographical characters of earlier times. And I suppose from those stories I was inspired to run.
It’s kind of embarrassing to talk about it now, but I had a great interest in American Indian culture as a young boy, and I read about how particularly the Apache Indians could run tremendous distances. They had unique ways of training their young men to become long distance runners. It was said that an Apache warrior could run down a horse, going more than 20 miles a day. And so I used to pretend I was training to be an Apache warrior and run long distances. I used to get my younger brother to do it with me. We would take off our shoes and shirts and run on gravel roads thinking that would make us tough like the Apaches.
I don’t know if that played into my running interests or not as I grew older. But I continued to run through high school and I still run 3 or 4 times a week today. I’m not a fast runner, I’m a long distance runner. And I’m not even particularly good at that either. In other words, I don’t run at a fast pace. My strongpoint is that I just don’t quit. I just keep plodding along. And if you are on the road early in the morning you may see this tall old guy that looks like he’s jogging in slow motion down Route 26. When I’m on the road, it often serves as mechanism for my prayer life. Perhaps I should pray that I don’t get run over or have a heart attack. But for the most part I just pray about all the things I need to pray for. And I find that the two go together pretty well, the jogging serving as a cadence for my prayers. So I say all of that to illustrate that today’s passage is something that I can relate to. And I suspect that a lot of you here can relate to running yourselves to some degree.
Our text today likens the Christian life of faith to that of running a long distance race. I think the author is attempting to illustrate the doctrine that was given at the close of chapter 10 in vs 38, “BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.” And then living by faith is likened in chapter 12 to running a long distance race. illustrating that faith is not just some sort of static or passive thing, once and done, but it’s a life of faith, it’s a pattern of living by faith, persevering by faith that is what is being talked about here.
He first talks about this race in the sense of the inspiration for the race. I mentioned earlier that I once found inspiration in the lives of early people on the frontier. Hebrews talks about the inspiration that comes from those who have run the race of faith in the past. I think he is talking specifically about those men and women of the Hall of Faith, as listed in chapter 11.
Now notice what he says about these people in vs. 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.” The word “Therefore” ties this back to chapter 11, the men of old that were listed there as heroes of the faith. And you will notice that in that listing never was simply the starting point of faith given the emphasis, but the work or perseverance in which by living out they illustrated a life of faith.
So it’s a process, a pattern of faith, a life of faith that was given to us by this great cloud of witnesses. And their exemplary faith should inspire us to run with faith. Some people have interpreted this statement to conclude that it indicates the saints who have gone on before us are in heaven, seated in the clouds of heaven, so to speak, like some sort of amphitheater, and they are watching us to see what we will do.
That’s not how the better commentators interpret this statement. But rather it indicates that their lives were a testimony or a witness to us. Their testimony, their witness of seeing that which is invisible serves as an inspiration for us to do as they did, and run the race that is before us by faith in Christ.
Now my view of eschatology means that I believe the dead in Christ are in Paradise, which is not in heaven, but in the heart of the Earth, so there is no way for the dead to be seated above the clouds in heaven looking down, yet I do believe that to some degree, we know not how much, the dead in Christ are aware of what is going on here. And though I doubt that is their primary interest, yet I find evidence in scripture that they are aware of what’s going on here. So to that extent they are witnesses to our lives.
I’ll just give you a few examples to back that up. Samuel, when he came up from the dead and spoke to Saul, spoke of things that were happening then. He was conversant about the present day, even though he was dead. Another example is given by Jesus in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Both the rich man and Abraham spoke of the rich man’s brothers who were still alive. Also another example is at the transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus concerning His ministry. So there is ample indication that they know of what is going on here, but I doubt our lives are the focus of our existence. But rather the context makes it clear that this cloud of witnesses is a host of witnesses, witnesses to the faith, testimonies to a life of faith, that we are to look to as examples for inspiration to run our race.
Probably one of the few useful things that the internet has produced, amid all the unhelpful aspects of the internet, is youtube. And though youtube has every conceivably bad thing on it, it also has some good things. For instance, you can fix anything by going on youtube and finding a tutorial. Even someone as mechanically deficient as I am can usually fix things or learn things from watching youtube videos. And so I often watch videos about things I am interested in. Sometimes that includes exercise videos. And I watch them in hopes that they will inspire me to get going on some exercises and get in shape or lose some weight.
But what I’ve found is that inspiration alone is not enough. I can watch four or five exercise videos a day, and never lose a pound. I watch guys bust out 20 pull-ups, but I can only manage 3. I may get inspired from watching and decide that starting tomorrow I’m going to start doing pull-ups every day, but by day two or three I’m usually already over it. Inspiration can be a good thing, but it’s not enough on it’s own.
So what the author of Hebrews tells us is that in addition to inspiration we need to apply preparation. I was going to use the word “perspiration” because that indicates what is involved. But I think I’ll stick with preparation. What I mean by that is we need commitment. We need to add work to our faith. James said, “Faith without works is dead.” We have to begin the work, the preparation, the training for the race.
Notice he says in vs 1, “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.” If you’re going to run a race, especially an endurance race, then you must get rid of things that will slow you down or trip you up. In the King James it says lay aside every weight. As I’ve said many times in regards to this verse, a weight is not necessarily a sin. A weight may be something perfectly fine in and of itself, but it’s not the sort of thing you want in a race. And the reason is that it may slow you down. It may trip you up.
Someone said that in the ancient Greek games, which may have been the template for this passage, they used to train by running with weights tied to their bodies. And before the race day, they would take off the weights. Back when I was young and played basketball, we used to wear ankle weights in hope that it would make us better at jumping. I was a terrible jumper. I may be tall, but I can’t jump. Nowadays I think that they say that ankle weights aren’t good for your aquilles tendon. But anyway, before the game, we would of course take the weights off. We knew that we couldn’t wear ankle weights in a game and have any chance of winning.
I think that oftentimes in our life of faith, we burden ourselves with a lot of things that serve to keep us from really being effective in this life as Christians. We weigh ourselves down by things such as possessions, careers, relationships, and so forth, which render us ineffective and inefficient in our faith. They are not necessarily sinful, but they can become so, if they keep you from accomplishing your purpose.
I think it’s important to realize that the author of Hebrews and the Apostle Paul, talk about this life of faith as not just exercise but a race to be won. A prize to be gained. You know, when I run I don’t run in a race. I’m just jogging hoping to see some health benefit. But they speak of running in a race. Listen to Paul in 1Cor. 9:24-25 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then [do it] to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” Do you think of your life of faith in that way? As a contest? As something to be won? Or do you just see your life of faith as something passive, as just a life of leisure? I believe the apostles see it as a competition, as a goal, as a reward that we are to strive for. Now that may go against this idea that we talk about so often that the Lord has done everything and we do nothing. I think we have a responsibility to live by faith. We are responsible to put the spiritual life we have been given to work.
One of the greatest weights or hindrances to this race of faith comes in the form of distractions. We tend to lose our focus, to get distracted from our commitment to live for Christ. I think that’s what is indicated there in the phrase “which so easily entangles us.” We can be tripped up very easily and fall away from our steadfastness as we allow our focus to be distracted by things that are not important. It’s no secret that I love surfing. And there is nothing wrong with surfing per se. But it can very easily become a distraction that keeps me from more important things. And I’m sure you have your distractions as well, it might be a love for golf, it might be fishing, even perhaps a friend or a family member. I’m sure God knows what it is, if you don’t. It’s things that distract you from your race.
And then he says not only to lay aside the weights, but the sin which so easily entangles us. I’m ashamed to say that I am so easily entangled by sin. I’m sure that is not the case with you. But it is for me. Sin is always crouching at the door. But as God told Cain, you must master it. We have victory over sin through our Lord Jesus Christ. But I’m afraid that we all have a weakness for certain sins. Your weakness may not be my weakness. And my weakness may not be your weakness. But we are have weaknesses. And we need to lay it aside. We need to turn from it. Leave it behind. Stop holding on to your sin.
I think the problem is that too often we say, “Well, it’s just a little sin. It’s not that big of a deal.” And yet in a race, every little thing ends up making a difference. I will never forget years ago we led a Christian Surfers missions trip to Eleuthera. And there were no commercial planes that could handle all of our surfboards and equipment we wanted to take. Only small planes can land at the airport. So I found an old WW2 prop plane that was owned by Missionary Aviation, and we chartered it for the trip. It was one of those planes the paratroopers used to jump from. They had taken all the seats out of one side of the aisle and put a cargo net so that we could hold all of our surfboards and supplies were were going to be using down there to build a playground. And before the flight, they had us all line up and we had to weigh every little thing that was going on the plane. They wanted to make sure that we did not exceed the capacity of the plane or it would not be able to make the takeoff. That didn’t exactly give me a lot of confidence in the plane.
But I think we would be well served if we examined ourselves with such a critical eye. Our life of faith after all is a matter of life or death. And little sins, or little weights, can make a crucial difference in our results. Jesus said we are to count the cost of being His disciples. And oftentimes that cost is things that we want to hold onto, but really need to lay aside if we expect to win the victory.
Counting the cost speaks of difficulties that will beset us. The race of faith does not come easily. And to that end, we must add to inspiration, and preparation, another one, which is determination. Notice it says, “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The KJV says, “let us run with patience.” The Greek word is “hypomone” which should be a familiar word to us. It’s most well known context is in James 1:3 which says, “Consider it all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces “hypomone” or endurance. And let endurance have it’s perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Hypomone is translated there as endurance. But it also means patience, in that when you are suffering, you bear up under it. To endure it. Not to rid yourself of the trial, but to endure it patiently, knowing that God uses trials to train and refine us, to complete us that we might be useful to Him.
One thing is clear, is that the race we are called to run is not a sprint, but a marathon. It’s an endurance race. And that kind of running requires dedication. I can tell you from experience, that when you run long distances, your mind will start finding every excuse possible to stop. Or just walk for a while. I find it really tempting to stop when I’m about halfway. I start thinking it’s ok if I just walk for a bit. It takes determination to keep putting one step ahead of the other. I’ve found that I need to trick my mind when those thoughts come. My mind will say stop, and I’ll say, just go to that stoplight, or that house, and then you can walk. And when I get to that house, I either trick myself again or I find that I forgot I was going to walk at that point. But I keep making small goals for myself to go just a little further.
The life of faith, we must remember is described in chapter 11 vs 1 as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Now that sounds great. But in actuality it is often a source of discouragement. How often have you found yourself in a situation and you said, “I don’t know when this will end!” “I don’t know how much longer I can go on.” We need determination, perseverance so we can endure to the end. The point is that there is not always an immediate result to our faith. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. It’s going to cost us some sacrifice. It’s going to be painful sometimes. You’re not always going to feel wonderful. The life of faith is not like going on a pleasure cruise. But the reward is going to make it all worthwhile.
One of the greatest inspirations for running for me is an ex Navy Seal whose name is David Goggins. At some point after he had been in service for a while he found himself quite heavy, about 260 lbs. And he decided he was going to do an ultra marathon to honor other Seals who had fallen in battle. But he had never ran a marathon so first he had to do a race that would qualify him for this marathon. And so he ran this race of 100 miles, in 24 hours, and he just wouldn’t quit. Everyone else was running in teams, they took turns at different legs of the race. He ran the whole thing by himself. He had extreme dedication to finish the race, to not quit. By the end of the race, his feet had several broken bones, he had all these physical problems, but he endured to the end and qualified to enter the next marathon. Today he has ran in virtually every Ironman marathon in the world. He is known as a tremendous runner of immense fortitude. Ironically he says he hates running. But he is determined to do his best at it, and to not give up, and he has overcome great hardship and pain in order to accomplish almost super human feats. At last count he competed in over 50 ultra marathons and finished in the top five in about 20 of them. Incidentally he also set the world record in 2013 for 4030 pull-ups. Talk about inspiration.
The word “race” in vs 1 comes from the ancient Greek word agona, a word used for conflict or struggle of many kinds, and it was a favorite word of the Apostle Paul. It suggests that this race is going to be difficult. In order to achieve great things you have to be willing to endure great hardships. We love to sing the song Amazing Grace that says “through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.” But the truth is that we are really surprised to encounter any difficulties in the life of faith. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation. They will hate you because they hate Me. They will persecute you. That’s part of the life of faith that we must persevere through. You have to be willing to make the sacrifice. And the greatest inspiration of someone who made the greatest sacrifice of all time is of course, Jesus Christ. So the author says that in addition to inspiration, and preparation, and dedication, we must add consideration. He says “Consider Jesus.”
The first step in considering Jesus is according to vs2 is fixing our eyes upon Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. The idea in the Greek there is to look away from whatever else distracted you, and to fix your eyes on Jesus. Focus on Jesus. He has gone before us, and we can go where He has gone.
Let me tell you something. You can run a lot faster if you have someone in front of you to set the pace. But people will fail you. The Old Testament saints of chapter 11 failed in their faith from time to time. But Jesus never fails. Jesus was the perfect example of faith, and you can count on Him to lead you in the way that you should go.
Peter, you will remember took his eyes of Jesus and instead of walking on water he found himself sinking beneath the waves. He started looking around him. Maybe he looked back at the boys on the boat and was about to say “Hey guys, look at me, I’m walking on….” then glub, glub, glub, the next thing he knew he was drowning. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Peter, perhaps having learned his lesson the hard way, says in 1 Peter 2:21, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in His footsteps.” I have said before that the original language there refers to a sort of handwriting exercise like they use to teach children how to write. You trace over the lines on the pattern and learn how to write the letters. That is how we are to follow Jesus. Step by step, in the pattern which He has laid out for us. That’s how you fix your eyes upon Jesus.
Notice it continues by saying, “fix your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our 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.” This idea of Jesus as the author and finisher of faith, or of our faith, speaks of the eternal purpose of Christ to become flesh, and to live the perfect life, to submit Himself fully to the Father’s will in all things, to believe in the Word of God, to trust in the care of God and the faithfulness of God. And we are to trace our steps over His pattern.
He began the race as our representative, and He has finished the race. He traversed the span of death and hell and time and space and was resurrected, and ascended to heaven to act on our behalf as our intercessor and Great High Priest. And where He has gone, we can go. As He was resurrected, so we will be resurrected. As He is in the presence of the Father, so we will be in the presence of God. Because He lives, we live.
In John 11:25 Jesus said, ““I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and he that lives and believes in Me, shall never die.” As He is, so shall we be. But as He endured the cross, so must we take up our cross and follow Him. As He suffered the shame, so we must suffer shame for the sake of Christ. Not that there is any shame in following the Lord, but that the world considers it shame. There is no shame today for anything anymore. Things that would make our ancestors roll over in their grave are now looked at without blushing, without any sense of shame. But ironically, that which is noble, that which is good, that which is trustworthy, the life of faith, the life of Christ, is something that is scorned by the world. And if we are not careful, we will find ourselves hiding the light which we have been given to carry because we are ashamed.
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” I always liked the Olympic relay in which they carried the torch. It was a symbol of the Olympic flame which has it’s roots in the ancient Greek games, and it is carried into every new Olympic Games around the world. I want to proudly carry the flame which was lit for us by the ancient men and women of faith who ran before us. I want to carry the flame in honor of the One who has gone on before us into heaven and finished the race and sat down at the throne of God. The race that we are called to run is so much more important than any earthly games. The Olympic athletes dedicate their lives for a moment’s glory, for a temporal crown. How much more should we dedicate our lives to run for an eternal crown of glory?
Consider Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He is our reward. One day we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is in all His glory. Let us not grow weary and lose heart.
One of the hardest parts about running an endurance race is that it is easy to get discouraged out there all alone running along the side of the road. It’s early, it’s sometimes cold, sometimes hot, sometimes raining. And it’s easy to get discouraged in the race of faith as well. But in the race of faith we do not have to run alone. The Spirit of Christ is given to live in us that we might have the strength to run, that we might have the comfort and help of someone who will be with us. Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. We can run the race well, we can finish the race, the can be victorious in the race, because He not only has gone before us, but He goes with us. Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Don’t lose heart. Don’t be discouraged. But encourage one another day by day. And do not forsake the assembling of yourself together as is the habit of some, for that is how we are to encourage one another to keep running the race. Lay aside the hindrances and run the race. Run with endurance. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and keep on keeping on. The reward that is set before us will make it all worthwhile when we will one day see Jesus face to face and be with Him forever.
Paul said in Phil 3:7-8, 13-14 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, ... 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do:] forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” I pray you run in such a way that you might gain that prize.
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