If you are familiar with Olympic history you may be familiar with the name Eric Liddell. Eric was born to missionary parents in China and he would die in that same country living out that same missionary calling. However, most know Eric Liddell because of his extraordinary gift as a runner, along with his spectacular performance in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, where he won the Gold Medal and set the world and the Olympic record in the fourteen-hundred meter race. He would hold that title for 12 years. The movie that chronicles his career as a runner, accurately portrayed him as a man fully surrendered to God whose conviction concerning the Lord’s Day led him to refuse to run on Sunday during the Olympics.
The Bible often uses the images of athletics to teach us important truths about the Christian life. Paul uses the sport of boxing in his letters to the Corinthians. In Ephesians, its wrestling. In 2 Timothy and Hebrews 12, the analogy is that of a race, specifically that of a long race. Truly, living out our faith in a dark, deprave world is without question, a difficult task. There are several clear and overarching truths for how we are to run the race of faith in this lost and sinful world.
In Hebrews 12 we read, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. Print.)
It is here that we find encouragement as we run. The word, therefore, at the beginning of the verse is there because the author is referring to the previous chapter in the book. Hebrews 11 is known as the Heroes of Faith chapter. These are believers who have gone before us, those who have finished their race and it is through their example that we find great encouragement. We have a great cloud of witnesses is really two-fold. It refers to those heroes of the faith in Chapter 11. In fact, the word translated witness is the Greek word mar-tus, which is where we get the word martyr. It is referring to some who testifies about an event. These heroes of the faith certainly give testimony of our great and gracious God.
The second side of this coin that is also an encouragement are those around us in the present because, truly, we are not running by ourselves. Listen, there are no Lone Rangers in the Christian life. That’s why being a participating and active member of a local church is so important. It is in that kind of fellowship, that kind of accountability, that kind of community that we find great encouragement.
Not only do we find encouragement as we run in this first verse, but we also are taught to focus on the essentials as we run. Anyone who is a runner knows that to perform well in a race, one must train and have a strategy. In this verse, the author gives us three critical keys for success as we run the race of faith. First, we must run unshackled, we must run with sureness and we must run steadily. Look at the verse, “Lay aside every weight.” Lay aside means to throw off every weight, every chain, everything that could possibly slow you down and keep you from running well for Christ. Runners today wear the lightest material clothing and best shoes they can find so that they are unencumbered as they run. We must run unshackled from anything that might slow us down.
We must run with sureness. The next phrase is “lay aside the sin, which clings so closely.”
Some translation read, “the sin that so easily entangles.” One commentator deals with the phrase in which “the sin that so easily entangles us” as “the octopus of the Christian life.” It is the same sin for all of us—the sin of unbelief. In the Greek text, the word “sin” is preceded by a definite article, the word “the” making it most likely that this is a particular sin. The only particular sin that entangles universally is the sin of unbelief. You may be thinking, okay, but I am a believer, so this can’t be referring to me. In our culture, I would say that we fall into the seductive and deceptive sin of unbelief when we fall into the “I need Jesus plus” trap. Once we add anything to Jesus for our salvation or our sanctification, we have run into a world of unbelief. So, we must run with sureness in who we are and to whom we belong, never doubting the message that we have heard from the Word of God—that saving faith is found in Christ and Christ alone.
Then the last phrase, “let us run with endurance the race set before us.” We must run unshackled, we must run with sureness, and we must run steadily. We must run consistently. Any believer who burns bright for a moment then vanishes into the night sky brings little glory to God and does very little for the body of Christ. This passage is teaching us that is it not how high you jump that is important, but how long you keep running. The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 5:3-5, “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.”
So, we find encouragement as we run, we should focus on the essentials as we run, and then lastly, we should follow Christ’s example as we run.” Look at verse 2, as we run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Then verse three, “Consider Him [Christ] who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
That’s the example we should and must follow. The example of Christ’s endurance as He took our punishment and our death for the sin in our life. He willingly endured the cross on our behalf because of His great love for us and His obedience to the Father. As we run the race of faith, we too, must run with endurance, being focused solely upon Christ and Christ alone, and being encouraged by our brothers and sisters around us who are running the race of faith with us.
Brent Thompson
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