Keep on Running – Together (Hebrews 12:12-17)

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2013

The author continues with his athletic imagery in this set of verses. We are familiar with pictures of tired runners with ‘drooping hands and weak knees’. He is citing part of Isaiah 35:3, a chapter which describes the exiles returning from Babylon to Zion, a picture of the journey that God’s people today make from earth to heaven. The exiles were encouraged in their journey by the prospect that their God would come to rescue them and to reward them. If we read that chapter, we can see how it applies to those who are running the Christian race.

How do runners in the Christian race lift their tired hands and weak feet? They do it by looking to Jesus and imitating his example of thinking ahead to the joys of heaven. The writer has already told them to run looking unto Jesus, the one who ran the perfect race of faith, and to consider the way that he endured opposition. They are also to remember that he is coming back in order to rescue them from their troubles and to reward them for their faithfulness.

Finding the right track

The writer, as a good coach, also instructs the Christian runners to use the most suitable paths as they run along the route to heaven. An athlete can be hindered if he finds himself running through mud rather than on dry ground. In general, the suitable paths in the Christian race are those that are expressions of obedience to God’s commandments. On several occasions the Bible stresses that this is the case. For example, the apostle John writes, ‘For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome’ (1 John 5:3).

Yet the author does not refer to God’s commandments in general here when advising his readers about the best paths. Instead he highlights two necessities for each believer as he runs his race. The first is that he has to bear in mind the other runners. Unlike an earthly race, he does not regard those running with him as his competitors. He should realise that he will not get the prize because he is better than them. It is possible not to be as bad as someone else and yet fail to get the prize. In the Christian race, those who get the prize will be all those who ran according to the rules.

Instead of a spirit of competition in the Christian race, there has to be a spirit of concord or peace. A contrary attitude can cause great problems and even spoil the witness of a congregation. We see an example of the danger in Paul’s letter to the Philippians when he exhorted Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord (Phil. 4:2). Paul also urged the Roman Christians to ‘pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding’ (Rom. 14:19). And we can see its priority from the greetings sent to churches and individuals in the New Testament letters. Usually they say that they want grace and peace from the Father and the Son to be given to their readers.

It is also possible that the attitude of peace should extend towards those who are outside the church. Paul does stress this requirement in Romans 12:17-19: ‘Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honourable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”’ This would also be a good path to run on.

In addition to having a right relationship with the other runners, the Christian athlete on his way to heaven has to have a right relationship with God. There has to be consecration or dedication. As John Brown observed, ‘To “follow holiness,” is to live like persons devoted to God, as the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; to make it evident that we are His, and are determined to serve Him; that to promote His interests and to advance His glory are our great objects in life.’ Or as Adolph Saphir commented: ‘We are sanctified through the truth. The commandments of God, and the precepts of the Lord Jesus Christ, are to be our constant study, our inward delight, and our daily path.’

If the runners don’t do this, they will not finish the race and see the Lord in heaven. There is a double application of seeing the Lord in this passage. The runners have to see the Lord as they run looking unto Jesus, that is, seeing him by faith. If they do so, they will see the Lord when he returns, that is, seeing him as he is.

Corporate and individual responsibility (vv. 15-1)

The word translated as ‘see to it’ is a verb connected to the noun episkopos, which usually describes the work of an elder in caring for God’s people. Here the task is not limited to elders but is addressed to every believer. There has no be mutual shepherding of one another as they run the race. Of course, there is personal responsibility and we have to watch ourselves as individuals.

The author is going to mention three likely dangers to Christian runners. What should be our response if someone succumbs to one or more of them? Usually when a Christian falls, the response is, ‘I am surprised that he or she failed in that way. I wonder what made them do it.’ The writer would say to us, ‘That is the wrong response. Instead the response should be, “What did we not do to prevent that calamity happening?”' Because he indicates here that pastoral responsibility and care involves the entire congregation to which he was writing.

The first danger is that someone ‘fails to obtain the grace of God’. We need to ask how someone gets this grace. The best answer would be that he gets it through the means of grace. There are private means of grace and there are public means of grace, and both are necessary in order to run the Christian race. None of the means are beyond each runner. Each of them can pray, meditate on the Bible and live in fellowship with Jesus wherever they are. These are the private means of grace and if we use them we will obtain grace from God.

In addition, there has to be a diligent use of the public means and they are connected to church life. There are legitimate reasons for not being always able to participate in some of them. Yet we should remember when stating this reason that God knows if they are legitimate or not in each case. The fact is that attendance at the means of grace usually reveals the depth of spiritual commitment a person has. No doubt there can be formality, but if Christians want their souls to prosper they have to obtain the grace of God through the means he has provided in order that they can continue to run the race.

We must also remember that the grace of God is free for us to obtain. It has been purchased for us by our Saviour's blood. Moreover, we have been given a right to it through the status of adoption – as our catechism reminds, ‘we have a right to all the privileges of the grace of God.’ This is our inheritance and we can enjoy it as we run the Christian race. And this grace is rich and varied – forgiving grace, comforting grace, enlightening grace.

So we each have a responsibility to obtain grace from God. And we have a responsibility to ensure that each of us obtains it. When the Lord brings to our attention that there is something wrong in another’s commitment it is a sign that he wants us to say words of encouragement to that person. He doesn’t usually mean that he wants you to get someone else to go and do it. It is not hard to spot a runner who is beginning to fade in earthly races. And it is usually not hard to spot when a runner in the Christian race is losing spiritual energy.

The second danger is what the writer calls a ‘root of bitterness’ (v. 15). A root of bitterness, I suspect, is a wrong attitude to another runner, perhaps caused by professing disciples who are not genuine believers – the idea is found in Deuteronomy 29:18 where Moses tells the Israelites to beware of an individual or family or tribe that would turn away from God and worship idols, and influence others to do the same. Perhaps there were such who were suggesting that the Hebrew Christians should give up their commitment to Jesus and return to Judaism.

In a normal race, one runner may become bitter against another runner who cuts in in front of him but does not cause any serious concerns. Wrong attitudes in Christian circles are very easy to have and a lot of them are over trivialities and mere imaginations. What is the effect of a root of bitterness? The writer says that it has rapid growth, it causes a lot of trouble, and it defiles many people. There are many ways in which this can be applied.

If I think a person has done something wrong to me, I should go and speak to him about it in order to clarify the situation. What I should not do is get annoyed and angry, then spread my feelings to others, and cause them to get involved in my sinful outrage. Roots of bitterness have caused lots of damage and each one of them was sinful. Moreover, the effects are catastrophic because many runners cease to run the race and instead get involved in something unholy.

So each believer has a responsibility not to have a root of bitterness. But each believer also has a responsibility to prevent roots of bitterness in other believers. What should we do when someone comes to us with a complaint against another person? We should ask him if he has spoken to the other person and we should not do anything until he has. If we get involved in supporting an attitude that is only a root of bitterness we will harm ourselves and others, and we and they will stop running in the race.

The third danger is sensuality or living for physical pleasure at the expense of God’s grace. No doubt, sexual immorality is an obvious danger that has caused many tragedies in the church. The experience of Esau is a solemn one because he swapped his birthright for a bowl of soup, which is a stark reminder (1) of how powerful the desires of the body can be and (2) of what we can do when the moment of opportunity comes. I suspect if someone had asked Esau beforehand if he would swap his birthright for a bowl of soup he would have replied, ‘Of course not.’ Yet he did, and he could not get it back, no matter how earnestly and regretfully he sought.  The question that every runner in the Christian race must ask is, ‘What desires am I dealing with, and am I in danger of being overwhelmed by them?’

As we conclude our studies on this passage in Hebrews in which the author uses the illustration of a race, we can see how important it is to start the race right and to run the race correctly as individuals and as a church. If we do so, we are promised that we will see the Best Runner in the glory that he received as his reward. And the sight of him will make us think then that running a dedicated race was the best path to get to glory.