Reading: Hebrews 12:1-3
Hebrews chapter 11 is one of the greatest chapters in all of the Bible. Many refer to it as the the Hall of Fame of Faith. And, that is what Hebrews chapter 11 is all about. It records how Old Testament saints believed in the promises of God.
Abel believed God and offered a better sacrifice. Enoch believed God and was taken to Heaven without experiencing death. Noah believed and built the ark saving his family and many animals. Abraham believing in God left his homeland for the promised land. He believed and had such faith and trust in God that he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac believing that God could raise Isaac from the dead.
This chapter goes on to name Moses, Jacob and many others who put their trust in God. All of these Old Testament saints passed from this earth without seeing the coming of the prophesied Messiah. They died looking forward to the glorious day of redemption.
Living in the twenty-first century, we have seen the promised one. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, Jesus to be the Messiah, the one who would redeem the world from sin.
The Old Testament saints looked forward to the cross. As New Testament believers, we look back on the cross where Jesus bore all of our sins in His body to secure our redemption from sin.
Since the time of Jesus, many great saints of God have lived lives of holiness in witness to their faith and have passed from this earth. These, along with all of the Old Testament saints make up the great cloud of witnesses the writer of Hebrews references in chapter 12 verse 1. Everyone we know who has died in Christ is part of this cloud of witnesses.
I know that my parents are part of this cloud of witnesses. My Mom accepted Jesus into her life when she was a teenager. She faithfully served the Lord until she died two years ago.
My Dad didn't come to know Jesus until he was forty years old. But thank God a minister shared the gospel with my Dad and led my Dad to Christ.
I know others in this cloud of witnesses. My friend Toby is there. My grandparents are there. They are all there in the presence of Jesus because He died and rose again.
But, those of us who are alive here on earth still have a life to live and a mission to carry out for the Lord as His ambassadors until He calls us home. The writer of Hebrews refers to it as running the race set before us.
I love the metaphor of the Christian life that these verses proclaim. We are runners. In the grandstand are those people of faith gone ahead of us. We look to Jesus as our example, and we run the race of life in a manner pleasing to God.
But how do we run the race of life well? The writer of Hebrews has an answer to that.
As we run the race of the Christian life, we have the example of the saints of old to emulate. The reason we have the stories of the many characters of Scripture is so we will know how to and how not to do what is pleasing to God. I also believe that this cloud of witnesses is there to encourage us. I know that that is the way it is for me. I want to stay on course and one day be reunited with my folks and Toby. I know they're cheering me on to keep going because they want me to follow Jesus and be in His presence for all of eternity as well. I want to follow their good example.
The writer of Hebrews goes on and says that in order to run the race effectively, we need to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets or entangles us. It causes us to become distracted from our goal. We take our eyes of Jesus and look to the world and the enticements it has to offer.
What is sin? Sin is a violation of the commands of the Lord. The Lord has clearly revealed His commandments in His word. When we violate one of these commandments, we sin. Some people become burdened by sin by repeatedly engaging in the same type of sin.
There are sins of commission and omission. Those things we do such as violating a command not to do something are sins of commission. When the Lord instructs us to do something like carrying out the great commission and we don't do it, that is a sin of omission.
However, we can lay aside the burden of sin. The Bible says that, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We can repent, start over, and get back on course. All the while, that great cloud of witnesses is cheering us on.
The key to everything in running the race of the Christian life is looking to Jesus. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and through His resurrection, when we place our faith and trust in Him, we are born again and begin our Christian journey. Then we progress by looking unto Jesus.
What does this mean? We look unto Jesus by following the example He provided for us. Jesus came not only to die for our sins. He came to show us how to live a life pleasing to the Father.
I know that this has become cliche, but in truth, a Christian is someone who asks the question, what would Jesus do? in every situation.
If we look to Jesus, we will run a good race. When we die, Jesus will take us home to be with Him in the place that He has prepared for us. We will be reunited with all of those who through faith in Christ have gone before us and wait for us.
I urge you today to follow Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. Don't become distracted and burdened with sin. Remember the example of the saints of God and run the race until you stand before Jesus and hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."
Lord, help us this day to follow You. Help us know You and serve you completely. Amen.
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