"Run the Race by Faith"

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 9 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and week knees 13 Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed (Hebrews 12:1-3, 9,12,13).

Cross country runners race over various surfaces and terrain. Race courses are seldom flat, smooth, or straight, and they can be called anything but easy! I have one particular course in mind. It featured uneven ground, large steep hills, numerous curves, roots that might cause you to stumble, and its path was not clearly marked. Runners could mistakenly turn down the wrong path, letting others pass them by. Now the starting line of this course is placed where the runners cannot see their final destination. It does not come into view until runners have nearly completed the race, and even then, the course deceives them into thinking the finish is just around the next corner. Imagine, if you will, you have stumbled over rough ground, struggled up steep hills that cause your thighs to burn as if on fire, been elbowed by competitors rounding blind curves – you think, "surely the race is nearly done," yet you cannot see the finish. It is only after rounding a final curve that the finish line comes partially into view. Up to this point the underbrush along the course prevented most spectators from witnessing the race but as you enter an open area witnesses line both sides of the path, shouting words of encouragement as you pass by. You are getting closer to the finish line with each labored step. The shouts become louder and louder, causing your body to reach deeper and deeper for a final burst of energy, and you break into a sprint – the finish line is just ahead. You cross the finish and are greeted by those who had gone before you, and you are embraced by the winner of the race.

Not totally unlike the race I just described, our text describes the race you are running today. "The race marked out for [you]" is one you began when you were brought to faith – it is a Christian race, a race run by faith. It is a race you are to run with perseverance. So, "let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" for he has already run the race and He was victorious! He will embrace you at the finish of your race. And it is because of his victory that:

YOU CAN PERSEVERE IN THE CHRISTIAN RACE

Our text demonstrates this in three ways:

I.

When the Lord enables us to remember that "we are surrounded by such a great

cloud of witnesses" (v.1), we are encouraged and can persevere! But you might ask, "Who are the witnesses?" In order for us to properly understand who they are we must look to Hebrews chapter 11. For it is there that we find great Old Testament pillars of faith who persevered in their race. A quick look and one sees names like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. And included among these great names is the reformed prostitute Rahab, Gideon, Samson, and reformed adulterer David. These are but a few of those who make up the "great cloud of witnesses." The cloud may also include your parents, grandparents, or children and a common thread binds all of them together. Each of these witnesses had faith in the Lord – all of these heroes were men and women of faith. Yet they all had something else in common, too: they carried crosses during their race.

Many witnesses were anonymous, not of royal birth nor known for any great accomplishment, yet they suffered terribly because they were people of faith - "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned…they were put to death by the sword" (11:36-37). Do the challenges that we face today lose some of their sting when compared to the suffering of those who have finished the race? Look around you right now. Who is sitting next to you, in front of you, behind you? Look at them! Each person you see is in the race with you. You are not running alone! You are surrounded by fellow believers – people of faith – who readily encourage you as you run along the path marked out for you.

Think back to those great pillars of faith I mentioned. Some of them struggled with the same sins you and I struggle with. Sin that hinders us, tripping us up, causing us to take our eyes off Jesus. Consider the following, I am about to run the cross country course I described earlier, the one full of steep hills, numerous curves, and terrain that will surely trip me causing me to stumble. Training for this race has consumed every spare moment, and I have been on a strict diet designed to maximize my performance. I arrive at the starting line ready to beat the entire field of competitors, only to discover I am expected to run this grueling course wearing a trench coat and over-boots. That’s not all! I am to run - blindfolded. Is there any hope of staying on the path - of even finishing? I suggest that often this is exactly how each of us is dressed in our Christian race. You see, each of us is burdened with sin that hinders us and blinds us as we run. "Impossible!" you say. Does your job or hobby so engross you that you have no time for the more important things of the kingdom of heaven? Do our family affairs and our pleasures, which may be perfectly harmless in themselves, interfere with reading the Bible, family devotions, attending church, receiving nourishment at His table. Lay these weights aside – "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…" (v.1) Please remember, this great multitude of sainted witnesses, by the grace of God, overcame every obstacle, every temptation, even the mightiest hindrances, and endured – indeed persevered – in the faith unto the end. The power of the living God surrounds us, sustains us, protects us, and carries us along on our race That is encouraging to us, is it not? Yes, by the grace of God we, too, through faith can lay hindrances aside.

The second way in which our text demonstrates how we can persevere in the Christian race is:

II.

When we "endure hardship as discipline from our Father" (v. 7), we are reminded of His deep love for us and can persevere! As a youth, I was a long distance runner. My father spent hours talking to me sharing all sorts of tips, and he often ran with me. We ran country blocks, you know, run one mile to the next road, turn and run another mile to the next road, and so on until you completed a "block." When we were nearly finished we always sprinted the last ¾ of a mile. You can imagine the ribbing that would go on once we reached the finish, depending on who crossed first, of course. There were a few times that I simply didn’t try very hard. My father would be waiting there when I finished and would scold me for being lazy. Even when he couldn’t run with me he knew when I was not giving it my all. It hurt to be disciplined! But I knew that he loved me and only wanted the best for me. Submitting to discipline is not easy.

Do you recall my reference to the cross when I referred to the cloud of witnesses? I had just related the thread that bound them was faith, and then I said, "yet they all had something else in common too, they carried crosses during their race." The Lord Jesus speaking to His disciples and all those who are His followers said: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24). These words describe the pattern or way of life for Christians – it is the way of the cross. Our text does the same, and quite explicitly. For we read, "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline…" (v.5b). Never do we read the Lord assuring His followers a life of ease, free from trouble, pain, and sorrow. Why then, knowing full well that we are loved and are disciplined by a loving father, do we have doubt, a sense of guilt and uncertainty? Maybe we or our loved one is wracked with pain, or we suffer financial setbacks and begin questioning how this could possibly be for our good. Our sinful nature causes us to wonder about suffering and begin to question God or believe He is angry at us. Let us return to our text,

My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son[!]" (vs.5b,6)

Did you catch that? "The Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes everyone he accepts as a son [!]"

I pray you see that discipline testifies to our Heavenly Father’s love for His children – His sons and daughters. If you still doubt, let me read on:

Endure hardships as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline) then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but god disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness (vs. 7-10).

My father’s discipline was for temporal good. Our Heavenly Father’s discipline is for our eternal good, so that "we may share in His holiness." This means we are actually strengthened as a result of submitting to discipline. Having now been forewarned, we can be prepared, and we can look at the crosses we carry in a different light. The crosses that rest upon us are accepted as the way that leads to Jesus, they draw us closer to God. They are in our life to help us persevere.

The third way in which our text demonstrates how we can persevere in the Christian race is:

III.

When we "fix our eyes on Jesus" (v. 2) and His cross, we can persevere!

As we run the Christian race we are to set our sights – to fix our eyes – on,

Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (vs. 2,3).

Christ endured unspeakable pain and suffering, for us, for our salvation, so we would not grow weary. We look at Jesus not only as one who persevered and is the object of our faith, but also as the very one who makes faith possible. He gave Himself that through His blood we might have forgiveness. By His life of obedience and by his substitutionary death on the cross, Jesus has earned life and salvation for us.

The day you toed the starting line was the day you were brought forward to the font. For Christians their race began with death, with the loss of life. It was at the Baptismal font that you were buried – buried with Christ into His death (Ro. 6:4). It was there, under the water of your Baptism that you were given the ability to "fix your eyes on Jesus" for the first time. Our internal eyes – our heart (Eph. 1:18) – became focused not on ourselves but, by the power of the Holy Spirit in the mystery of water and Word, on Him who endured the cross. We became runners on that day and we have remained dependant upon Him ever since.

Jesus is the Author of our faith – He is the Finisher of it – He keeps us in the faith unto our end. He ran the race and is the One who enables us to persevere. And as all runners need nourishment to endure to the finish, so too those who run the spiritual race. Our Lord provides for this very need when offers us His body and blood. It is a meal that forgives us our trespasses, lightening us of all that "hinders" and "entangles," a meal that heals and strengthens our physical bodies so we can "run the race marked out for us," and it is a meal that nourishes and strengthens our faith so that we may run with perseverance.

Brothers and Sisters, our Christian life really is very much a race – an endurance race, not a sprint. It is a race which requires continual struggle – going over rough terrain which may tangle your feet causing you to stumble. The path will also include numerous steep hills and blind curves preventing you from seeing what lies ahead. You see, we really can persevere in our Christian race, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has enabled us to remember those who make up the cloud of witnesses, submit to our Fathers discipline, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!