Don’t Quit Running, Christian!

Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In chapter 11 God defined faith for us. Faith must be in the proper OBJECT, as faith in the wrong thing or wrong person will not save your soul. We read:

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please {God}: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Faith must come to GOD, believing that He is. Faith must come to Jesus, believing that He is the Messiah. Faith must come to the Bible, believing it is the Word of God. Faith must be in the proper PERSON, the proper OBJECT.

But faith – true faith – is PERSISTENT. We learned that “God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. When we believed on Jesus Christ and called upon Him as Savior and Lord, we had all that we needed to enter God’s Heaven. But God left us on this earth to be Ambassadors for Christ. “We are AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are “MINISTERS OF A NEW COVENANT” (2 Corinthians 3:6). We are “WORKERS TOGETHER WITH GOD” (2 Corinthians 6:1).

We Who Are Saved Run The Race Set Before Us

The best way to lose a race is to focus on the crowd, and not on the goal. We who are saved by faith in Christ were left on this earth to live out our lives for and with Jesus. The Bible says:

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses …

All around us are “witnesses”. They are watching how we are living our lives for Jesus. Who are these witnesses? God is watching us. He watches us when we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You O God are with me”. God has promised “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). God watches us. Jesus watches us. The Holy Spirit indwells us. “If ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, you are NONE OF HIS” (Romans 8:9). God is with us. God watches us.

Furthermore, the angels of God watch us. The Bible speaks of “Angels, ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). We are told in the next chapter of Hebrews that angels walk among us (Hebrews 13:2). The angels watch us, and so do the fallen angels.

But also, others around us watch how we live out our faith in Christ. Your children are watching you, your grand children. Your spouse, your friends. Your work acquaintances all watch how we live out our lives. The Bible speaks of the “MIGHTY CLOUD OF WITNESSES”. How you live out your life for and with Jesus will effect whether others hear the Gospel of salvation. If your children hear of Christ on Sunday, but see you living without Christ Monday through Saturday, they realize that this is no more than a ruse, a cloak, and an unreal faith.

Those who are saved by faith RUN THE RACE SET BEFORE THEM. A faith that evidences no relationship with Christ is no faith at all.

James, the stepbrother of Jesus Christ wrote about the “no faith faith” that the cultural Christians of his day had. He very plainly stated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

James 2:17-20 (ESV) faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

A faith that has no fruit is like a dead tree – it is no good whatsoever. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 7:17-20 (KJV) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. [20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

You are not saved by good works – but once saved, you are born again, a child of God, and you are going to bring forth good works. If you don’t, you AIN’T!

The demons at least tremble at the name of Jesus. You must run if you are saved!

We Who Are Saved Put Off Anything That
Hinders Our Race

As we run the race for Jesus, we are to put off or put away anything that hinders us from running.

We Run Our Race With “US”: We are told “Let US lay aside every weight”. You see that little word there? The word “US”. US who? Us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We run the race set before us with Jesus, and with other believers.

If the devil cannot keep you from being saved, he will do his best to hinder your race. One of his favorite tricks is to try and get you running the race with or for unbelievers. We are to witness to unbelievers. We are to love unbelievers. But we are not to band together with unbelievers and ask them to run the race with us. Unbelievers are dead in trespasses and sins. We are warned in:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ESV) Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Illustrate: Several years ago Rick Warren came out with his book The Purpose Driven Church. In that book he encouraged churches to be seeker sensitive, to cater to the lost in their midst in hopes of bringing them into the Kingdom of God. We should certainly be loving to the unbeliever in our midst – but Beloved, the lost walk in darkness, apart from the light of God’s Word and His Spirit. You cannot invite unbelievers to become a part of the race.

I run a site called bibleteacher.org, where I post sermons and teachings every week. At present I have around 11,000 visitors every month. I very rarely read comments made on my site. Why? Because I am frequently attacked by unbelievers who come across the site. Why burden my mind with the negativity. I also post to Facebook, Next Door, Linked in and Twitter. Hoo boy the remarks I’ve received for what I’ve shared. Beloved, we cannot run the race with the lost. The lost cannot bind with the Church. They cannot be put on membership rolls, nor be given jobs in the Church.

People are lost, undone, until they meet Jesus as Lord and Savior. And like the world hated Jesus (John 15:18), lost people will hate YOU for loving the Word of God. You cannot run your race to please the lost.

We Run Our Race TOGETHER With BELIEVERS: Another favorite trick of Satan is to bring disharmony in the Church, to get believers fighting over stupid stuff. Believers are commanded to run their race TOGETHER WITH OTHER BELIEVERS. The Scripture says:

Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV) … walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

I can’t tell you how many times someone comes to me and says “So and so hurt my feelings, and I’m mad at them”. My response is always, “Did you go and talk with them? Did you privately meet with them, and explain why you were hurt?” Inevitably I’ll be told, “Well no, I didn’t talk with them”.

Well why are you talking to me?

Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV) … if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

You cannot run your race while you are carrying a grudge against a brother or sister in Christ. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). Seek to run together as “US”. Christianity is a team effort. “A house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). Why kills a Church? Divisive Christians. Sectarianism. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV) I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Our standard must always be “what saith the Lord? What does the Scripture tell us?” We bind together as “US” and run together, lifting one another up, helping each other over the finish line.

Illustrate: If you want a Biblical illustration, look to Exodus 17. Israel had been murmuring against Moses because the way was hard, and when they camped at Rephidim there was no water for the people to drink. This set the people even more against Moses. God told Moses to strike the Rock at Horeb (the mountain of God) and water will come out (Exodus 17:5-6). Moses did as God said – and Israel satisfied their thirst.

Then the Amalekites, a warrior people, attacked Israel!

Moses chose Joshua to lead Israel into battle. When Moses held up his staff, Israel prevailed. But when Moses lowered his staff, the Amalekites prevailed. Moses couldn’t do it alone, so Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses, and held his hands up. Only by unifying together was God’s people able to defeat the enemy. Beloved, the Church in America is losing the battle because we are not “US”. We need to work together WITH JESUS AND HIS WORD to run the race set before us.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily BESET us

When we run our race for Jesus we are commanded to “LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT” and “put away BESETTING SIN”. Let’s talk about “LAYING ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT”. What are some of the weights that drag us down?

We Are To Remember We Are Not Who We Were, But Who We Are

If you are saved – born again by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – then you are no longer dead in sin, a child of this world. You belong to Jesus. You are a child of God. At this point, I’m going to let the Bible preach:

Ephesians 4:17-32 (ESV) …. you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The Christian is not a lost person, but a child of God. Our Old Man is incompatible with our New Nature. We belong to God. So we put away anything that hinders our race, and heed the Word of God. We are to be:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

Keep your eyes on Jesus, and your mind filled with Scripture. Remember that the race only matters if you finish well. The race that God put before His Son ended only when He was nailed to the Cross of Calvary.

Hebrews 12:2-4 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

As Jesus ran His race, as He came toward the end, He did not relish what was coming. Jesus asked His disciples to pray with Him. Jesus said,

Matthew 26:38-39 My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

The race set before us may be hard, but it is no where near as hard as it was for Christ. No one stood with Him. The disciples fell asleep, and the Master prayed alone. Three times He prayed:

Matthew 26:42, 44 O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.

The Son of God Who had never done sin, never failed His Father, would go to Calvary for us. He Who had no sin would know sin in our behalf. The Father would literally make Christ sin for us:

2 Corinthians 5:21 {The Father} hath made {Jesus} to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Jesus became US on Calvary. As US, every sin we ever committed was poured out on Him and judged. And as He hung on that Cross, it was not the nails that made Him cry out, but our sins and our judgment. At the height of judgment Jesus cried out:

Mark 15:34 …. Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

And Heaven wept.
The Saints of God witnessed, but the Angels wept.

Had Jesus ran part of the race and quit, we would still be damned, children of darkness. But because Jesus ran the whole race, ran till the finish line, He…

endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

No one suffered like Jesus did for us. Let us remember that He did so “for the JOY SET BEFORE HIM”. He saw our salvation. We read in the first part of this wondrous Book:

Hebrews 2:9-10 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren …

Jesus saw the Kingdom of God filled with brothers and sisters in Him, believers all, saved by His precious shed Blood. So we look unto Him. We do not get down, but we run with patience. We’ll end with this:

Hebrews 12:12-14 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Let us live for Him – if we are His. May God the Holy Spirit lead you to Christ Jesus this very day. Amen and Amen.