Running the Race of Faith - Hebrews 12:1–3

Hebrews ch. 11 is often referred to as “the Hall of Faith.” It begins with an outstanding definition of biblical faith: “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” What follows is example after example of OT believers who believed in God’s promises by faith, who relied upon God’s grace, who pursued the greater reward of obeying God and living for him rather than living for the passing pleasures of this world.

With God’s help, each of these people were able to make key decisions in their lives that demonstrated trust in God’s promises. They were empowered by God and made able to wait on Him even as they faced fears and questions and as they endured great trials. Each one had ups and downs, but God made a way.

Hebrews 11 is bookended, so to speak, by two statements intended to spur the listeners on to endurance. At the end of chapter 10, the writer says this: “Do not throw away your

confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised...we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

At the beginning of chapter 12, we have these three verses which we just read, which include these words: “Therefore...let us run with endurance.” Like believers in every age, it is a fight to live by faith. It is never easy. It brings us to the end of ourselves. It exposes our weaknesses and faults.

And all of us are prone to waver in our faith as we attempt to trust in the promises of God. But just as saving faith in Jesus is a gift, the ability to endure by faith is a gift as well. Endurance, like salvation, is from God, and so naturally He provides help along the way.

Just as God provides the means of salvation, so He provides the means for endurance. God gives us what we need to run the race of faith. That’s why He receives all the glory. So we should take advantage of God’s help as we run, of God’s means to endure.

But what does God provide for us in this race? The beginning of chapter 12 speaks to that. You can find an outline of this passage on pages 6-7 in the WG. God provides inspiration from the former champs, encouragement at the finish line, and leadership against our many foes. So let’s look at these together.

All the people listed in chapter 11 are with God now. Their earthly days are over. Their challenging lives are only a memory. And now, in the heavenly presence of God, they watched these first-century Christians run.

For the original audience of the book of Hebrews, the people who first received this sermon, the challenge was not a memory, but a reality. Those first-century believers were in the thick of it. They were being persecuted, drawn toward their old lives, their old ways, and the familiar traditions of Judaism.

The easy route, walking by sight, was appealing. And so the writer of Hebrews, led by the Holy Spirit of God, employs the analogy of a race as he urges them not to give up. Notice verse 1 again: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” The now-retired runners in chapter 11 are the former champions of the faith. They finished the race; they received the winner’s trophy. And now they watch from a distance.

Picture a track, with the runners preparing to compete. They stretch, they focus. The stadium is full of spectators, full of fans, but not your ordinary fans. The stands are full of past runners, former champs. They know what it’s like to train, to sweat, to discipline yourself. They know the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory. They know the fear of losing, the fear of failure. They know what it takes to win.

Imagine that you are a runner. You look around that big stadium, you see all those former champs, and you realize, if they could endure, then so can you. All the past believers who trusted God’s promises stand to inspire God’s people even today.

Studying their example, notice the rest of verse 1, “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.” What are these “weights?” They are the things that impede or prevent us from resting in God. We cannot run the race of faith saddled with unnecessary hindrances.

There are things that are not necessarily sinful, but they keep us from relying on God as we run.We can get caught up in the desires and pursuits of this world. Things that are not sinful in themselves can become sin for us.

For example, it’s good to have possessions. But we cannot be so caught up with our things that they become ultimate in our lives. It’s good to have human relationships, but we cannot exalt them to the place that belongs only to God. It’s good to pursue success, but your success must be enclosed in surrender to God’s will.

Also, as we run, there is “sin which clings so closely.” Things like immorality, lust, greed, pride, bitterness, anger, grudges, and list goes on. These things drag us down. If you look back at the lives of the people in chapter 11, it’s clear there will be some of that. No one runs weight-free all the way. No one has zero sin clinging to them in the race.

But the command is clear: make every effort to put it aside. Put it away. Put away the slander, gossip, wrath, malicious behavior, obscene talk. Put aside the filthiness, wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, and envy. These things are not appropriate for the people of God. Imagine the runner, with heavy clothes and a coat, carrying bags. All this extra, unhelpful stuff.

What weighs you down? What hinders you from trusting God’s promises and walking by faith? Is it fear? Is it doubt? You must resist it. Don’t wait for it to simply disappear; proactively push it away. You may feel that it’s too much for you. And you’re right. It is too much. You don’t have the strength or fortitude to do it alone. And so you must do it,

Notice verse 2, “looking to Jesus.” The inspiration of the former champs is one thing, but the encouragement of the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord standing at the finish line is another. Those past believers stand as proof of what the Lord Jesus has done through the ages. They are evidence of what He is capable of. They stand as a testament to His grace and power. They also demonstrate that the race is not easy for the chosen of God.

The Summer Olympics begin in less than two weeks. Imagine an Olympic runner, standing at the starting line, taking a runner’s stance, listening for the starting pistol, and when the race begins, the runner just looks at the former champs in the stands. That would be foolish! Look ahead, run to the finish.

If you want to live by faith, look to Jesus. He is, you see in verse 2, “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” What does this mean? Well, first, he is the “founder,” in other words, Jesus is the originator, the author of our faith. He’s definitely the leader in our faith. But he is not just a figurehead. Jesus walked by faith.

In fact, Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, one of the Hebrews scholars whom I study, puts this very succinctly. He makes this statement about Jesus as the founder of our faith: “His whole earthly life is the very embodiment of trust in God. It is marked from start to finish by total dependence on the Father and complete attunement to His will.” Edgecumbes points to the prayer of Jesus, how Jesus withstood temptations and afflictions. Also the obedience of Jesus.

Jesus is not just the one standing there saying, “On your mark, get set, go!” He ran the race of faith perfectly for His people, therefore he absolutely is the “perfecter” of our faith. He is the highest example of walking by faith. We look to him, notice the rest of verse 2, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” What this means is that for Jesus to know the joy of completing His mission, for Him to attain the blessedness at the right hand of God, He had to suffer great pain and He had to die.

And not just a typical death, but the most disdainful, despised way possible. On a despicable cross of wood, like a criminal. It was a torturous, terrible way to be put to death. Jesus knew this, and He dreaded it, but still He endured it, because by faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, He saw past it. Now He stands at the finish line of the faith race waiting on you and me.

But also, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, he is with us as we run. We look to him, seeing who He is and observing all He has done. We fix the eyes of our hearts on Him who completed the race perfectly in our place and is now, you see there, “seated at the right hand of the throne of God,” at the finish line. Jesus sits in the seat reserved for the greatest of all time. His name is above all names.

We look always to Him. Think especially of these long distance runners. They cannot actually see the finish line until near the end of the race. But in their minds, they see it. In their hearts, they picture it.

Have you been looking to Jesus? Do you know Jesus? You have to know Him to look to Him. At some point your eyes must be opened by Jesus for you to look daily to Jesus and see Him. Have you admitted your sinfulness to Him and told Him, in prayer, that you believe in Him, that you want to turn from your sin and follow Him, that you need Him and realize that only He can save you from sin and death.

Have you humbled yourself before the King of Glory? He will encourage you to the end of the race, and He will provide the leadership you need against every foe. Notice verse 3 again: “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” We have many things within us working against us in the race. We also have many people outside of us working against us.

We are sinners and we live surrounded by sinners. Sinners make it tough to run well. I found this interesting. In the Greek manuscripts, what is translated as “fainthearted” is literally “the weakening or failing of the soul.” Just falling apart inside. The cross of Jesus is so horrific that we might underestimate the severity of how people treated Him.

Do you feel like people despise you? They despised the Lord. People mock your faith? They mocked the faith of Jesus? People scoff at your obedience to the Father? They scoffed at Jesus. As you and I look to Him, to know Him, we must see the whole Jesus. Before He was crowned King of Glory in heaven, He was crowned King of Shame and King of Foolishness by his persecutors. And He endured alone.

One fact that can be overlooked in this passage, and even my outline doesn’t speak to it, is that this message of Hebrews was delivered to the church. To the local body of Christ. God provides inspiration from former runners, encouragement of Jesus as the finish, leadership from Jesus as we run, but also, He provides our fellow runners.

What Jesus is doing in you, He is doing in others around you, and He has blessed us with each other. If you glance back over these three verses, the pronouns are plural. “We are surrounded,” “let us also lay aside,” “let us run,” “our faith,” and so on. Jesus provides everything we need to live by faith in God’s promises.

Let’s bow in prayer.