Study Thirteen - Running the Race – Chapter 12
We have come now to the Apex, the main objective of the book of Hebrews. 1-4
There is a course set for each of us to run.
Though it may be difficult, others have done it --- see chapter eleven for a short list of those who made it.
Run with a wise strategy
Lay aside every weight. Carrying extra weight slows us down and tires us out.
Lay aside particularly sidetracking sin.
Run with patient endurance … steadily … this is not a 'sprint'.
Keep your eyes on the goal – Jesus is at the finish line, waiting for you.
To make it to the finish line, to end up not having 'thrown away our faith' (confidence), to end up having a firm grip on our faith … not letting it slip … the author paints us a word picture. He says we are all in a race, the course of which has been set out for us, tailored to suit our own strengths and gifts and capacities. He tells us how to 'run' this race and he gives us the impression of the race looking like a large oval track having grandstands filled with people cheering us on, people who themselves have run this very race. They have finished the course. They made it to the finish line. They are the ones in the hall of faith of chapter 11. Just a note of caution here … Verse one mentions a 'cloud of witnesses'. This verse is not teaching us that these are looking down at us from heaven and cheering us on, literally. Some preachers are putting forward a great error here. No where is this taught in scripture, and it is not taught here. It is drawing from an analogy, using common practices of the Greeks in matters of sports and competition. In that case there were grandstands of spectators. Here is the difference … we are not on a literal oval track … there are no literal grandstands and there are no literal spectators. Ours is a spiritual course. In our case the list of spectators would be those mentioned in chapter eleven. They made it. So can you. Having the list in front of us to read about is like having them cheer us on.
The race is not a competition against other runners.
Paul also spoke of the 'race' in another place.
1Co 9:24 ¶ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.
26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Paul says in verse 24, 'Only one gets the prize … run AS IF you are the only one getting the prize.
He also says in Php 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 ¶ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,
14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Coming near to the end of his course Paul said in 2Ti 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
From verse seven above we read Paul's statement … I have kept the faith. He has been talking to the Hebrew believers about keeping, not losing, not throwing away their faith.
There are things that can discourage us.
Weariness – burn out, We must pace ourselves. Many have started out 'all on fire for Jesus' and have burned out. This is more like a steady jog. As far as rest goes, other than for short periods of rest, and your rest when you go to bed at night, you can sit down at the end of the race. Jesus did.
Opposition – 'contradiction of sinners.' Believers in much of the world are facing this every day … are we lucky to live in a free country? Are we blessed? One thing for sure, we are not here because we chose to be … at least not most of us. Look at this verse from Acts.
Ac 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
We don't get a lot of opposition in this country. But we can do more to identify with those who who are suffering in other parts of the world. Paul said this to the Colossian church:
Col 4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
And to these very people to which Hebrews is written:
Heb 10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
Heb 10:34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
We need to 'keep up on' the opposition that Christians experience throughout the world. So we can feel like we know them, love them and pray for them. It will also help us when the political tables turn a bit here, and Christians begin to receive OPEN opposition, threats and torture.
Discipline from God. 5-11
Don't answer out loud … When's the last time you were 'disciplined' by God? How do you know it was from God and not the Devil? Did you know what it was for? Did it do any good?
(NIV has TERRIBLE version of verse 6) Punishment is equivalent to 'payback time'. Scourges … means 'whips'. God punishes the wicked but His children … He corrects. Correction may hurt at times. But in no way is God settling a score with us.
2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for (1) doctrine, for (2)reproof, for (3)correction, for (4)instruction in righteousness.Discipline can hurt, and if we don't learn from it … and it has to be repeated … that could be very discouraging.
There are things that can sidetrack us. 12-17
Paul has been trying to convince the Hebrew believers to turn around. They have gradually slipped away from the core of Christianity. Slipping away from the very basic foundation, faith. Faith, believing … that Jesus came to fulfill and replace the old Jewish covenant with a new way that is superior in every way to the old one. We have read the word 'better' many times in this book. Here is another contrast .
Two mountains are mentioned … the first is not named here, but it is Mount Sinai which is located near the bottom of the Sinai peninsula. This is where Moses went up the mountain and received the law. This is where he came down the mountain and found the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. This is where he destroyed the stone tablets containing the ten commandments and had to go back up the mountain a second time to receive the law all over again.
God made this into a sacred mountain.
Ex 19:12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
The second mountain is called Mount Zion. The reason many Jews today are called Zionists, is because the mountain which Jerusalem and the temple occupied was called Zion. In this next scripture section you will notice that he is not talking about that Mount Zion, rather he is talking about it metaphorically. He is talking about mount Zion in heaven. 18-24.
The first mountain was 'touchable' that is, it was a tangible object. That is the meaning of the word 'touched' in verse 18. From this wording we understand that the second mountain can't be touched.
Notice how graphically Paul described the first mountain. Terrifying. No doubt the giving of the law event was a story passed down through the generations, without skipping any of the details. These Hebrew believers heard all about it when they were still Jews. They probably got reminded of it a few times as they met and mingled with some of the local Jews living in their vicinity.
So Paul is saying … as awesome and 'mind-blowing' was the sight of that event, … here is an even bigger event, if you can imagine it.
He is saying, Picture yourselves standing at the foot of a different mountain with eyes raised up to the heights. What do you see?
As you gaze heavenward you see a heavenly Jerusalem – the City of the King … King Jesus. You see and hear thousands, millions of angels in worship. You see thousands of believers who have died and are with God in heaven. Their names are in the Book of Life. (Just like our names were added when we turned from sin to God, asking for forgiveness, placing our trust in Jesus for salvation!) We can see God on His throne, the righteous judge … the one who has declared believers to be just and sinless and complete. We see Jesus in His work as our mediator, the one who established a new covenant making it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. (There is a note added about Abel. Abel is commended for having offered sacrifices by faith. They were blood offerings. God was well-pleased with his offerings. But what is said here is, Jesus' sacrifice of blood is ultimately better.)
The Law (mount Sinai) was very demanding. Grace comes from Mount Zion. But never forget, God has not changed. People, although they were required to keep the law in the old testament, were not SAVED by keeping the law. They were saved by FAITH … believing in the promise of a coming Saviour.
Today we do not have a set of commandments to obey, instead we have the indwelling Spirit who changes our motivation. In the old testament … the HAD to obey …. in the New Testament we WANT to obey. But what if we let it all slip away? What if we get so casual that we think God doesn't care what we do1?
God does care. 25-29
At the giving of the law He shook the earth. There is a time coming that He will again shake the earth … and the heavens. There are three heavens. Paul tells us that he was 'caught up into the third heaven2'. That would be referring to where God dwells. But the heaven above us … the sky, is included in the shaking that is coming. Although it is not explicitly stated I think he may also be telling us that the governments of the world will be shaken, as well. We are receiving a government … a kingdom, that cannot be shaken. We pray for that … Thy kingdom come ...Thy will be done.
“Let us have grace …” Grace means favor. In light of everything Paul has said so far, he is now saying, “Understand that as a child of God your are favoured” . Because of this we CAN serve God acceptably. What is this about reverence and godly fear? The word fear is exactly the same word used in Heb 5.7 where it is used referring to the fear Jesus had toward the Father. From this we get a better perspective. We should understand that we are permitted the same relationship that Jesus had with the Father. Wow! How wonderful is that! But with a somber note we leave this chapter ….
Our God is a consuming fire! This is what those who slip away have to deal with.
When we come to our last study we will see a shift to some very practical Christian living. Obviously Paul is hopeful that these believers will come back to service. If there is hope for them … there is also hope for us.
1The book of Jude is all about churches being infiltrated by leaders who were teaching that 'It's all good', now that we are living under grace. Jude condemns these leaders.
22 Corinthians 12:2
We have come now to the Apex, the main objective of the book of Hebrews. 1-4
There is a course set for each of us to run.
Though it may be difficult, others have done it --- see chapter eleven for a short list of those who made it.
Run with a wise strategy
Lay aside every weight. Carrying extra weight slows us down and tires us out.
Lay aside particularly sidetracking sin.
Run with patient endurance … steadily … this is not a 'sprint'.
Keep your eyes on the goal – Jesus is at the finish line, waiting for you.
To make it to the finish line, to end up not having 'thrown away our faith' (confidence), to end up having a firm grip on our faith … not letting it slip … the author paints us a word picture. He says we are all in a race, the course of which has been set out for us, tailored to suit our own strengths and gifts and capacities. He tells us how to 'run' this race and he gives us the impression of the race looking like a large oval track having grandstands filled with people cheering us on, people who themselves have run this very race. They have finished the course. They made it to the finish line. They are the ones in the hall of faith of chapter 11. Just a note of caution here … Verse one mentions a 'cloud of witnesses'. This verse is not teaching us that these are looking down at us from heaven and cheering us on, literally. Some preachers are putting forward a great error here. No where is this taught in scripture, and it is not taught here. It is drawing from an analogy, using common practices of the Greeks in matters of sports and competition. In that case there were grandstands of spectators. Here is the difference … we are not on a literal oval track … there are no literal grandstands and there are no literal spectators. Ours is a spiritual course. In our case the list of spectators would be those mentioned in chapter eleven. They made it. So can you. Having the list in front of us to read about is like having them cheer us on.
The race is not a competition against other runners.
Paul also spoke of the 'race' in another place.
1Co 9:24 ¶ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.
26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Paul says in verse 24, 'Only one gets the prize … run AS IF you are the only one getting the prize.
He also says in Php 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 ¶ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,
14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Coming near to the end of his course Paul said in 2Ti 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
From verse seven above we read Paul's statement … I have kept the faith. He has been talking to the Hebrew believers about keeping, not losing, not throwing away their faith.
There are things that can discourage us.
Weariness – burn out, We must pace ourselves. Many have started out 'all on fire for Jesus' and have burned out. This is more like a steady jog. As far as rest goes, other than for short periods of rest, and your rest when you go to bed at night, you can sit down at the end of the race. Jesus did.
Opposition – 'contradiction of sinners.' Believers in much of the world are facing this every day … are we lucky to live in a free country? Are we blessed? One thing for sure, we are not here because we chose to be … at least not most of us. Look at this verse from Acts.
Ac 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
We don't get a lot of opposition in this country. But we can do more to identify with those who who are suffering in other parts of the world. Paul said this to the Colossian church:
Col 4:18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
And to these very people to which Hebrews is written:
Heb 10:32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
Heb 10:34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
We need to 'keep up on' the opposition that Christians experience throughout the world. So we can feel like we know them, love them and pray for them. It will also help us when the political tables turn a bit here, and Christians begin to receive OPEN opposition, threats and torture.
Discipline from God. 5-11
Don't answer out loud … When's the last time you were 'disciplined' by God? How do you know it was from God and not the Devil? Did you know what it was for? Did it do any good?
(NIV has TERRIBLE version of verse 6) Punishment is equivalent to 'payback time'. Scourges … means 'whips'. God punishes the wicked but His children … He corrects. Correction may hurt at times. But in no way is God settling a score with us.
2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for (1) doctrine, for (2)reproof, for (3)correction, for (4)instruction in righteousness.Discipline can hurt, and if we don't learn from it … and it has to be repeated … that could be very discouraging.
There are things that can sidetrack us. 12-17
- Separating our lives in two categories – secular and sacred is a big one. This has been a huge downfall in the church of our day. It's like we live two lives. Our secular lives become … our own. (So don't judge me or even talk to me about my personal choices!!!) And my sacred life … I put that on every Sunday. (Hopefully it is not a literal 'put-on'!) All of life is sacred. There is nothing in the Word that says that God meets with us at 10:30 on Sundays. Or that we should meet with Him to worship at 10:30 on Sundays. If we were to do a study on 'worship' in the New Testament, you will almost NEVER find a reference to a time or a hint that it refers to a church service.
Here is an example: 1Ti 2:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; The place? Everywhere. The time could be and should be any time. Why do we get the idea that we only hold up our hands in worship during a public meeting? By the way, I think a BIGGER word than lifting' in the previous verse, is the word HOLY. Let's make it our aim to live holy and sacred lives 24/7. That will eliminate many of the attractive things the world has to offer, which so easily become a 'weight' that will bring us down, spiritually - Legalistic church rules. For the most part, we are weak. We don't need to make the Christian life harder than what it is. The Pharisees did that in Jesus' day.
Lu 11:46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
We are told to … in our church lives and structures, 'make level paths'.
We are told to 'make every effort' to live at peace with each other. That will take a powerful lot of overlooking and letting your will take second or third place. (14)
Verse 15 may be referring to 'missing the grace of God' or 'falling short of the grace of God' in the sense of how we teach it. What I mean is, we can teach the Word of God without 'grace'. This can create animosities within the church. It can also make the Christian life so impossible to live that people get tempted to just 'sell out'. Like Esau.
Paul has been trying to convince the Hebrew believers to turn around. They have gradually slipped away from the core of Christianity. Slipping away from the very basic foundation, faith. Faith, believing … that Jesus came to fulfill and replace the old Jewish covenant with a new way that is superior in every way to the old one. We have read the word 'better' many times in this book. Here is another contrast .
Two mountains are mentioned … the first is not named here, but it is Mount Sinai which is located near the bottom of the Sinai peninsula. This is where Moses went up the mountain and received the law. This is where he came down the mountain and found the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. This is where he destroyed the stone tablets containing the ten commandments and had to go back up the mountain a second time to receive the law all over again.
God made this into a sacred mountain.
Ex 19:12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
The second mountain is called Mount Zion. The reason many Jews today are called Zionists, is because the mountain which Jerusalem and the temple occupied was called Zion. In this next scripture section you will notice that he is not talking about that Mount Zion, rather he is talking about it metaphorically. He is talking about mount Zion in heaven. 18-24.
The first mountain was 'touchable' that is, it was a tangible object. That is the meaning of the word 'touched' in verse 18. From this wording we understand that the second mountain can't be touched.
Notice how graphically Paul described the first mountain. Terrifying. No doubt the giving of the law event was a story passed down through the generations, without skipping any of the details. These Hebrew believers heard all about it when they were still Jews. They probably got reminded of it a few times as they met and mingled with some of the local Jews living in their vicinity.
So Paul is saying … as awesome and 'mind-blowing' was the sight of that event, … here is an even bigger event, if you can imagine it.
He is saying, Picture yourselves standing at the foot of a different mountain with eyes raised up to the heights. What do you see?
As you gaze heavenward you see a heavenly Jerusalem – the City of the King … King Jesus. You see and hear thousands, millions of angels in worship. You see thousands of believers who have died and are with God in heaven. Their names are in the Book of Life. (Just like our names were added when we turned from sin to God, asking for forgiveness, placing our trust in Jesus for salvation!) We can see God on His throne, the righteous judge … the one who has declared believers to be just and sinless and complete. We see Jesus in His work as our mediator, the one who established a new covenant making it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. (There is a note added about Abel. Abel is commended for having offered sacrifices by faith. They were blood offerings. God was well-pleased with his offerings. But what is said here is, Jesus' sacrifice of blood is ultimately better.)
The Law (mount Sinai) was very demanding. Grace comes from Mount Zion. But never forget, God has not changed. People, although they were required to keep the law in the old testament, were not SAVED by keeping the law. They were saved by FAITH … believing in the promise of a coming Saviour.
Today we do not have a set of commandments to obey, instead we have the indwelling Spirit who changes our motivation. In the old testament … the HAD to obey …. in the New Testament we WANT to obey. But what if we let it all slip away? What if we get so casual that we think God doesn't care what we do1?
God does care. 25-29
At the giving of the law He shook the earth. There is a time coming that He will again shake the earth … and the heavens. There are three heavens. Paul tells us that he was 'caught up into the third heaven2'. That would be referring to where God dwells. But the heaven above us … the sky, is included in the shaking that is coming. Although it is not explicitly stated I think he may also be telling us that the governments of the world will be shaken, as well. We are receiving a government … a kingdom, that cannot be shaken. We pray for that … Thy kingdom come ...Thy will be done.
“Let us have grace …” Grace means favor. In light of everything Paul has said so far, he is now saying, “Understand that as a child of God your are favoured” . Because of this we CAN serve God acceptably. What is this about reverence and godly fear? The word fear is exactly the same word used in Heb 5.7 where it is used referring to the fear Jesus had toward the Father. From this we get a better perspective. We should understand that we are permitted the same relationship that Jesus had with the Father. Wow! How wonderful is that! But with a somber note we leave this chapter ….
Our God is a consuming fire! This is what those who slip away have to deal with.
When we come to our last study we will see a shift to some very practical Christian living. Obviously Paul is hopeful that these believers will come back to service. If there is hope for them … there is also hope for us.
1The book of Jude is all about churches being infiltrated by leaders who were teaching that 'It's all good', now that we are living under grace. Jude condemns these leaders.
22 Corinthians 12:2