Losing Weight and Running Races [28mb]

(To download an MP3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now online, click on the play button of the audio player shown above.)

This is a sermon based on Hebrew 12:1-3.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction: This letter was written primarily to Jewish Christians who were undergoing substantial persecution for their faith and they had been banished from the use of the temple in Jerusalem. Some believers were abandoning their Christian faith and returning to former Jewish beliefs so they could resume their worship at the temple with the tangible benefits.

The author is trying to show them how their faith and their privileges are better now than before. Some writers affirm that one of the key words in Hebrews is the word "better." They have a better sacrifice, a better high priest, better access to God, etc.

Now in this particular passage, the author is trying to encourage them to keep believing and not give up. I would propose that this passage of Scripture presents some incentives from the past and encouragement in the present for the task that is at hand.

I. Incentives from the Past

v. 1a - Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses...

These are individuals and groups mentioned in the previous chapter where we learn what their faith was able to do for them. They witness or testify of a living, vibrant and effective faith. A witness is one who testifies only of those things that he or she knows to be fact from first-hand knowledge or experience. Witnesses are not permitted to testify about hearsay, or opinions, or conjectures.

The witnesses mentioned in chapter 11 "obtained a good report" (v.39), which means they acquired a good reputation because of their faith and the results that they received by their faith. This report continues to live on centuries later and now inspire New Testament believers to keep their faith as well in the midst of opposition and persecution.

II. The Encouragement in the Present

vv. 2-3 - "Looking unto Jesus..."

This verb is in the present tense which denotes an ongoing, continuous action. Their source of encouragement for the present and for all time is to keep looking at the Lord and following Him, rather than getting their eyes on other people.

A. Jesus is the author and finisher of our salvation.
All that is necessary for our redemption has not only been started by Jesus, but has been completed as well. Nothing else is needed for our salvation to be complete and perfect. Our Lord Jesus Christ paid the full price to accomplish all of this for each of us.

B. Jesus endured rather than evaded.
In verse 2, we read that he endured the cross. In verse 3, we read that he endured opposition to his ministry. The Christian life is one that requires endurance; not just for a little while, but for our whole lives. The message in Scripture over and over is "he that endures to the end will be saved, and will receive the crown of life."

III. The Task at Hand

A. Part of the task includes getting rid of extra baggage.

"Let us lay aside every weight." Weight refers to superfluous flesh that slows down the runner in a race. This wording gives the idea that he is not necessarily talking about sinful behaviors, but perhaps things that might be considered legitimate, yet they have the potential to distract and weigh us down if we do not exercise temperance and restraint.

We see this principle applied in all kinds of athletics today. Athletes will exercise, train, and avoid certain foods, activities, etc. in order to get in shape and stay in shape so they can run a race or play the game. This same attitude should be evident in the lives of believers as they strive to run this Christian race.

B. Part of the task includes getting rid of our besetting sin.

"... and the sin that so easily besets us..."  This is referring to the area of temptation that we are most likely to yield to. Everyone of us knows what our weak areas are and so does Satan. He is most likely to keep attacking us at our weakest point, because he knows that is the temptation that we have yielded to so many times before.

Jesus used the analogy, "If your eye offends you (causes you to sin), pluck it out...." Whether or not you believe that he meant this literally, the least he was saying is that we must take whatever measures are necessary in order to avoid committing that sin, so that we will not end up losing our soul in hell.

C. Part of the task includes just running the race.

This race of faith involves daily living out the principles and teachings of Christ. It is a marathon; not a sprint. We must stay true to the Word of God and follow the teachings and example of our Lord. We must remember that only those who are faithful to the end that receive the crown of life.

Let us not give up, but just like those mentioned in the previous chapter, and just like our Lord Jesus Christ, let us also keep faithfully serving and trusting until our race is over. Then we too will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Now there is reserved for me a crown of life..."