While I Breathe, I Hope - Hebrews 12:4-17

There’s an old anecdote about a man who was out walking one day and he came upon a little league baseball game. He approached one of the dugouts and asked a boy about the score of the game. The young boy replied, “It’s eighteen to nothing - and we're behind.” “Wow,” the man said, “You must be pretty discouraged.” The little boy replied, “Why should I be discouraged? We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!”

The power of hope. Over the past weeks, we’ve explored the biblical definition of faith. Hebrews 11 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction [or proof] of things not seen.” The writer of Hebrews urged his listeners in the first century church, and the letter urges us still today, to trust in and find hope in the promises of God.

We are not promised that life will be easy or that things will always go the way we desire. We are not promised earthly health and wealth. But God does promise that nothing takes place outside of His control, and He promises to work all things together for the good of His people. God promises to forgive the sins of those who trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and He promises to be with His people always, to never leave us or neglect us.

God promises that in this world we will have troubles, but Jesus has overcome the world. He promises to hear our prayers and that not one whom He saves can be snatched from Him. God promises that we can know Him more and more, we can walk with Him through this life, and that He changes those who are born again, making us more and more like Him in our character, values, and desires.

But as we attempt to trust in His promises, faith is necessary, because we will endure many struggles and trials, many pains and disappointments. We saw in the previous verses of Hebrews 12 that the life of faith is like a race that we run. It is difficult, but it all takes place according to God’s plans and with His help. And because God has a plan and offers His help to us, there is real cause for hope as we struggle. Not just hope in our abilities or life’s probabilities, but hope in the purpose and the power of the one true living God.

If there is hope to be found in Him who made us and all things, we should seek it. But how do we do that? How do we pursue the deep, abiding hope that God promises? This section of Hebrews 12 gives us insight. You can find an outline on page 6-7 in the WG. To endure with hope, we must trust that God is disciplining us for our good, understand that our decisions are important, and accept the duty that we have to one another.

Now notice verse 4 again, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Many Bible scholars interpret the language here as a change of metaphor from a race to a boxing match. The “struggle” described here is literally a fight against sin. And the persecution they were facing for following Jesus is still in view, but also, this addresses the temptation to give up on the faith, to give us hope, to turn away from Jesus.

You probably know the old phrase, “Throwing in the towel.” It’s an old expression describing a boxer’s trainer, tossing a towel into the ring as a sign that the boxer has given up. Boxers often bleed during the course of a fight, but if the boxer appears to be on the verge of permanent damage or death, the trainer will throw in the towel.

“The point of shedding your blood” is a phrase referring to a bloody death. These believers had taken some hits, no doubt, but they were still standing. They were not like the Lord Jesus, who was persecuted to death. As these folks moved forward, and as you move forward through whatever struggles you face, you must remember this: you’re still alive.

You’re still on your feet, by God’s grace. You may feel wobbly. You may feel weak. But by faith, you can put ‘em again and say, “Come on,” because Jesus Christ is the founder and perfecter of your faith. The writer of Hebrews is encouraging them: “You’re not dead yet.”

And then he reminds them of something essential, verse [5] And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. [6] For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” This exhortation or encouragement is a quote from Proverbs 3 in the OT. God disciplines, in other words, He instructs and trains His children.

Because God loves His children, He corrects them. For their own good He applies the rod of wisdom and understanding, not to harm them but to teach them. He “loves” them, but also, He “receives” or claims them as His own. God acknowledges His children as His.

How does this relate to our struggles? Verse [7] “It is for discipline that you have to endure.” What you are going through is God’s training, and you must keep on keepin’ on because, verse 7, “God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? The implication is that a good father does not leave his children in their foolish ways. Verse [8], “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”

If you look back over chapter 11, and all of redemptive history, the struggles and the trials that God’s people endure are His training. Everyone whom God calls must receive His discipline. He corrects our sinful ways through struggles both great and small. And notice here how the writer of Hebrews compares an earthly father to our heavenly Father, the LORD God, verse [9] “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.” This is a general truth. Of course, some people don’t have fathers who disciplined them, some don’t know their fathers at all. But the principle here is clear: fathers provide discipline and they deserve respect.

The rest of verse 9 says, “Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?” The logic is that the discipline of an earthly father is good and designed by God. Therefore, the discipline of God the Father makes infinitely even more sense and is infinitely better.

Regarding earthly fathers, verse [10] they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them.” Earthly fathers are far from perfect. We sometimes discipline out of anger; we can be unfair or unreasonable. Earthly fathers sin against their children at times. We sometimes give discipline and later, looking back, realize we mishandled the situation.

And, of course, the discipline of an earthly father is relatively short. Children grow up and exit from under our authority. But the authority of God the Father remains over us our whole lives, and His discipline continues throughout our lives, notice the rest of verse 10, “but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.,” that we may know peace, joy, and hope, loving what is good and hating what is evil.

How often in our society today do we hear folks lamenting the lack of fathers? Boys and girls need fathers who will train them up in what is right, teach them how to live, prepare them to go out into the world and make their own way. Boys and girls need fathers who will correct them. Even after a young man or woman is grown, it’s appropriate to return home to talk to dad or place a call to ask for advice or help.

In adulthood as in childhood, the advice may not always be right. The correction may not always be spot on. But that’s not the case with God the Father. Our struggles are used by God to our advantage, that we may be set apart to bring Him glory and to live as He created to live, not enslaved to sin but free to follow Him.

However, just as with the correction from an earthly father, discipline from God the Father is not always what we want. It’s not always what we think we need. Look at verse [11] “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.”

What is God doing in you as you endure whatever painful things you must face at this time? As you struggle, perhaps in your physical body or your mind, with your work or relationships or finances, with neighbors or family or friends or co-workers or teammates or classmates? Those who trust in God’s promises must interpret the whole of our life experience through this lens, that God is not sidelined or absent as we go through troubles, but that He is actively involved, working it all together, that we may know Him and love Him more.

Through the struggles of this life, God slowly pries our little fingers away from our idols, and though it hurts, the rest of verse 11 says, “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” It produces a wholeness in us that only comes from God. Only God can give it; we simply receive. And yet, according to God’s design, what we do matters. To pursue hope in God, we must understand that our decisions are important.

Verse [12] “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees.” Here’s the boxing metaphor again. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, He is working in ways we don’t fully understand. Yes, endurance is a gift from Him, as we saw last Sunday at the beginning of this chapter. But what we do matters. How we live makes a difference.

Our choices have weight and meaning and real results. In this fight, we must renew our strength in the Lord. The boxer has to bounce back, keep His hands up and stay on his feet. We must keep fighting with all the strength God provides, learning from God’s correction. And see verse [13] “make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” In other words, don’t swerve to the left or the right.

When I was a kid, my family had a very large garden, and we had a piece of gas-powered equipment that would cut a trench. It had one big wheel and nothing to stabilize it on either side. It was also heavy and you had to hold it upright and keep it going straight. If you couldn’t hold your line as you dug the trench, you might be off a little at the start, but by the time you got to the end, you would be way off.

Continual swerving from God’s path may very well lead to permanent straying. Like not dealing properly with a physical injury can lead to permanent damage. What is in view here is taking a road that leads away from God and eventually results in apostasy, to the abandonment of faith in Jesus Christ.

Some who profess faith in Jesus wrongly think that because God’s grace covers all sin and He has forgiven every past, present, and future sin, that it’s ok to dabble in sin or even indulge. The logic is that grace is endless, why not take advantage of it. But the apostle Paul addresses this plainly in Romans 6. He says, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10 also speak to us all. He says, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take care not to fall.” Don’t torpedo your faith. Don’t sabotage your life with willful sin. Don’t destroy your hope through a laissez faire, “whatever happens happens” kind of attitude.

Are there areas in your life where you have not taken seriously the commands of the Lord? Are there places where you have disregarded the values and standards of your Creator? Repent today! Tell it to Jesus. Humble yourself before Him. He promises to lift you up. We all need to be healed. We all need Him to put us together again, and if you think otherwise, I’m concerned for you.

Come to Jesus today. If you see your need, well then His discipline has been effective for you. His correction is bearing good fruit. There is deep and lasting hope for those who trust that He is disciplining us for our good, for those who understand that our decisions are still important, and finally, there is hope for those who accept the duty that we have to one another in the body of Christ, in the church.

Look with me at verse [14], the author writes, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. [15] See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.” This is about the congregation. He is addressing the church, the wonderful public assembly of believers established by Jesus Himself.

The members of the body of Christ need one another, in corporate worship on the Lord’s Day and in community together. We are a gift from God to each other. It is a blessed thing when we live together in unity. But we’re all sinners, so it’s not easy. Sooner or later, we offend one another. The closer we get, the more we see each other’s faults.

For the church to be a healthy community, we must all be striving for and seeking earnestly after peace with each other and holiness in our own lives. Look at the rest of verse 15, “that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” Grudges, jealousy, unforgiveness and the like: these things literally contaminate the covenant community. How can the church be the place where folks find the living water if there’s poison in the well?

And related to our holiness, without which we will not one day see God (and what could worse than that), specifically the writer of Hebrews addresses sexual immorality. He brings this up again later, in chapter 13. It’s not surprising. Sexual sin is always, always threatening the people of God in every age.

Notice verse [16] “that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.” The writer doesn’t go into detail about Esau, who was a son of Isaac and a grandson of Abraham. This is another indicator that the original audience of this letter was mostly former Jews, ethnic Hebrews. They knew Esau’s story.

In short, the covenant promises to Abraham were handed down to Isaac, and then Isaac had two sons, twins, the first to emerge from the womb being Esau. Therefore, technically, Esau was the first born, though he was born only minutes before his twin brother Jacob. And so the birthright, carrying the family torch, so to speak, and inheriting the majority of the family’s assets, traditionally would belong to Esau.

But later in his life, in his foolishness and immorality, Esau rejected the birthright, essentially rejecting God and His covenant promises, choosing a life of sin instead. The point in verse 16 is very clear: Esau traded something of eternal value for something that provided only temporary satisfaction. Esau rejected the faith, and in doing so, he rejected the hope available to him.

And you see, for Esau, there was no second chance, verse [17] “For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” We understand that Esau cried tears of anger and regret over his forfeiture of the earthly blessings that came along with carrying forward the promises of God.

He was mad about the land and possessions. When he rejected his birthright, he didn’t seem to realize all he was giving up. But in the plans of God, it was Jacob who was to be the next in line behind Isaac. God’s blessing is not by birthright; it is by grace through faith.

Esau did not repent, but he stands as an example for us of not only what we should fear for ourselves, but also, what we should fear for each other. Again, verse [15] See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.” Repent and encourage each other to do the same. Look out for each other. Pray for each other. Carry each other’s burdens. Serve each other. Love each other. Forgive each other, as in Christ God has forgiven you. The members of the local covenant community, of the church, have a duty to each other that we must accept.

You may recognize the phrase that I chose for my sermon title today. If you look at the SC

state seal you notice the Latin phrase, “Dum spiro spero,” and on a standard SC license plate, you’ll find the English translation: “While I breathe, I hope.” If I’m livin’, I’m hoping.

Hope means different things to different people. Hope is not a uniquely Christian concept. But always, where there is hope, it must be rooted in something. There must be a source. There must be an object of our hope, something or someone who makes the hope reasonable.

As we go to this table today, we remember that the gospel of Jesus tells us that there is no lasting, eternal hope apart from Him. You see, the hope available to us through God’s discipline, our decisions, and the church’s duty is rooted in and founded upon the resurrected and living Jesus Christ.

We naturally reject God’s discipline, don’t we? We botch many of our decisions, and sooner or later we neglect our duty to one another. We fall short of God’s requirements, but Jesus did not do as you and I naturally do. He endured perfectly the discipline of God in our place. His decisions always glorified God and He absolutely, flawlessly fulfilled His duty to the church, living a righteous life and imputing that righteousness to those who trust in Him, having paid the penalty for the sins of those who repent and believe in His name.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Will you hope in Him? Cry out to Him today. Let’s bow in prayer.