Hebrews 12:1-3
~16 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
TRANSCRIPT
As we look at the Epistles to Hebrews, I think that it is good to look quickly into the book or the letter itself. Briefly, the main theme or subject of this letter is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we have seen in verse two of chapter 12, here in verse two we see, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith". Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Here, Jesus is called the author and finisher of our Christian faith. So, the book itself, the Book of Hebrews, talks about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
If we look at chapters 1 and 2, there we will see that Christ is the perfect revelation of God and He is superior to the angels. In the Old Testament period, God revealed Himself through visions and dreams, and through the angels. But here we have the Lord Jesus Christ who is superior to the angels. Of course, Jesus is God Himself, and He came into this world and He revealed Himself. And He is the gospel and the perfect revelation. That's why He is called the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus is superior to the angels, the messengers of God, the ministering spirit of God, especially in the Old Testament, to bring good tidings and messages to God's people.
And if we look at chapters 3 and 4, there we see again Jesus is superior to Moses, the great prophet to the Jews. But Jesus is superior to Moses. In other words, we can call Him the greater Moses. Yes, Moses was deemed the greatest prophet among the Jews and to the Jews, but Jesus is supreme. Jesus is superior to Moses. Jesus is the greater Moses, the prophet, the greatest prophet. According to Deuteronomy 18:15, we understand that Jesus is the prophet or the greater prophet, the greater Moses raised up by Jehovah. Yes, Jesus is superior to Moses, the one whom was esteemed highly by the Jewish people.
And in chapters 5 to 10, there we can see Jesus is superior to the Old Testament priests and to Aaron. And also, Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, much more better than the Old Testament sacrifices. Because the Old Testament sacrifices are the shadows of the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross, and who offered Himself, and who sacrificed Himself on the cross as a perfect sacrifice. And in the Old Testament time, we know that the priests sacrifice and offer sacrifices once for all and repeatedly. But in the New Testament, when the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself on the cross, it is once for all. No need to be repeated again and again. The sacrifice is perfect, one once for all sacrifice. So, Jesus is superior to the Old Testament priests, even to Aaron, and also to all the sacrifices.
And in chapter 11 here, we see Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith mentioned in chapters 1 to 10. Here in chapter 11, we see God's people, God’s people, God's chosen Old Testament saints. They testify of that faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Hebrews chapter 11 is called the Heroes of Faith chapter because they also testify of the faith that they have in the Lord Jesus Christ. And also, they also have run their own race of faith. So here in our verse, chapter 12 verse 1, there we see, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses". Here we see “so great a cloud of witnesses”. This refers back to chapter 11, those who have run their own race of faith successfully. They are called heroes of faith. So they witness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they also endure hardship, difficulties, and trouble for the faith. And they have run and finished their course.
So, here, "so great a cloud of witnesses" refers to those heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, beginning from Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and even Sarah, and also we see Isaac, Moses, and also Rahab, and even some judges here mentioned, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and the King David, and prophet Samuel, and also other prophets. All these are heroes of faith. They testify of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are good examples for all of us today concerning testifying of the faith which is in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Here, because of that, here in verse one, we are encouraged and we are exalted, "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, 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. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
These verses talk about Christian sanctification life as a race. This race we are to run, this race is called a race of faith. And this is set before all of us, those who believe in Christ as personal Saviour Lord. If you are Christians, then this race is for you to run. As we believe in Christ and we are Christians, we must run this race. Because God set before us this race as long as we are in this world until the end of our last breath, we must run this race. We cannot run away from this race. We must put our efforts, we must put our energy, and we must run this race of Christian life. We cannot escape because it is the Christian life and it is likened to the race.
So, brothers and sisters, let us get ready to run this race because this is our responsibility as Christians. So, in order to run this race, in order to run successfully, and in order to finish our course, here, we are encouraged and we are exalted how to run the race.
I. Laying Aside
If we look at verses 1 and 2 there, we will see the word or a sentence, "Let us run". This is the main theme and also the main verb of the whole sentence, “Let us run”. So we are exalted by the author of this epistle, he included himself, "Let us run the race that is set before us". So, when we run the race, how should we run? We are given here the instructions so that we may be able to finish the course successfully. Here we see the first important thing is that we must lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us.
The first instruction is negative. We must put off, we must lay aside every weight, every weight that may burden us, that may pull us down, that may make us slow in the race, so that we may not run smoothly. Therefore, we must lay aside or put off every weight and the sin. So this every weight, this weight I believe refers to excess weight, unimportant weight, unnecessary weight. Spiritually speaking, this is none other than the false beliefs and the false doctrines that we are holding to before we do not come to the truth. Though we may be Christians for five years, maybe for ten years, but some doctrines we are not familiar with and difficult to understand. For this, we need teachers, we need to understand, to understand, we need proper teaching, and learning, and even training.
Here, this epistle is addressed to the Jewish Christians. Yes, these Jewish Christians, because of their newfound faith in Christ, they suffer persecution and also opposition from other people or the worldly people. If we look at chapter 10 verses 19 to 39, we can see their sufferings. And because of that, some have thought of giving up their faith in Christ. And some also could not continue to run this race of faith. They were troubled and they were about to give it up, they were about to give up their faith. So here, the author of this epistle exalted them, encouraged them to continue to hold on to the faith and to run this race that was set before them.
So, this every weight may refer to Jewish legalism. It means that by keeping the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses, they think they may earn or they may get eternal life. This is called Jewish legalism. So here, as they have been converted from this Jewish legalism and they put their trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but still, some people, they have doubt or they had doubt of their faith because of the false teachers and the oppositions and so on. So this is still weight that makes them slow so that they may not grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So here, the author of this epistle exhorted them, "Lay aside that kind of false belief, that kind of false belief so that you may be able to run faster and you will be growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and you may finish the course successfully."
So, it is important that we should not bear extra weight as we run the race of faith. We must be careful of the false doctrines, the false belief. In the days of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Pharisees, they put more weights upon people to follow the Law of Moses, to keep the Ten Commandments so that people might be saved. Actually, it is false doctrine and false teaching. Salvation is not by works, not by keeping the Ten Commandments, rather by grace through faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That's why here the author said, "Jesus [is] the author and finisher of our faith". He is the one who kept the Ten Commandments fully, a hundred percent for you and me. So when we are keeping the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, it is not for our salvation because we are saved and then we keep God's commandment in obedience to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That's why here we are exhorted to lay aside the false teaching and even the deceptions of Satan.
And even here, we can see not only every weight but also the sin which does so easily beset us. Yes, our adversary Satan is so active in attacking us and always tries to pull us down in our Christian race. He tries to stumble us so that we may not run successfully. So, brethren, we must be very careful. And also here, we should keep in mind that every weight and the sin can also refer to the things of the world, the things of the world. If we look at Matthew 13, there we can see the parable of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ concerning the sower and the seed. In verse 22 there, we see the care of this world, this present world, is likened to the thorns and thistles. The thorns choke the seed and the seed is growing, of course, but because of the thorns, this tree cannot bear fruits.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must lay aside the weight, every weight, and the sin. Here, every weight also can refer to our care of the world, the things of the world. So, this will choke us and then we cannot grow properly and especially we will not be able to bring forth fruits, the Fruits of the Spirit. In our Christian life, we will not have a good characters. Here therefore, we must put aside and lay aside, and we must run the race that is set before us. So, the negative thing is that we must put aside every weight and the sin, the care of the world, and even our sinful lust, and we must deny ourselves. Only by then we will be able to run successfully the Christian race of faith.
II. With Patience
So the second one is that when we run this race of faith, we must run with patience. We must run with patience. Here, the word "patience" in these three verses, we can see three times. So, it is very important for emphasis. Here, the author used the word "patience" three times in verse one, “patience”, in verse two, “endure”, in verse three also, we see, “endure”. So, patience and endure have the same Greek origin, “hupomone”. So, this “hupomone”, patience is necessary for a runner of Christian faith because Christian life is not easy. It is difficult. That's why patience is necessary and enduring is a must.
Here, the word "hupomone" or patience or endurance is defined by Cambridge Dictionary in this way: “Patience or endurance is the ability to wait, do things despite difficulties and troubles, and opposition and suffer without complaint.” And if we look at the original Greek word "hupomone," it literally means remain under or under remain. “Hupo” means under, "mone” is from “meno”, which means remain. So it can be defined in this way: "hupomone" or patience means remaining under a very intense pressure or opposition without losing the original identity. As Christians, we need patience, we need endurance, we need perseverance in our Christian daily life because Christian life is not easy, very difficult.
And for the biblical understanding on this "patience," I would like to read 2 Corinthians 4:8-11. 2 Corinthians 4:8-11, I think this is a very relevant passage to understand what is patience. Let me read 2 Corinthians 4:8-11. Here, the Apostle Paul said, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." Here, the Apostle Paul said, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted and cast down, but not destroyed." That is enduring, that is perseverance, that is patience. This patience, we the Christian, need in running the race of faith which is set before us.
When we run, we must run with patience. So, how can we have this patience, perseverance, and endurance? How can we suffer all these difficulties and trials because of the faith that we have in Christ? As we are told, if we believe in Christ and if we are Christians, if we are believers, Jesus Himself tells us in this world, the world will hate you, the world will persecute you. So, the Christian life or following after Christ is not an easy one. It is so difficult. It is so difficult. So we need to be patient, we need to endure hardship, temptations, difficulties, opposition.
So how can we bear all these things without murmuring and then run the race of faith successfully? For this we are told to look unto Jesus. Look at Jesus. The author and finisher of our faith. For patience, for endurance, for perseverance, we are to look at Jesus who went through all the sufferings, the despise and the shame, and even dying on the cross. He is the perfect example for us. Of course, yes, in chapter 11, there we see the heroes of faith, how they suffer for their faith.
Like Moses, like Moses, he forsook the riches and the glory of Egypt, and then he followed after the commandments of God. And then he was asked to go and lead the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. He did a very difficult job. He suffered many things. He forsook the worldly pleasure. And then he obeyed the call of his Lord. And he did a very important service to God. He led the people out of Egypt.
But we have the perfect example in the subject or concerning to the subject of endurance and patience who is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So looking unto Jesus and then in verse three we see “consider him”. This “looking” and “consider”, these two words, these two words have the same idea. We fix our eyes on Christ. And then we meditate and consider how He had suffered. And we meditate and consider and recount His life here on Earth, the crucifixion, and also after that how He has been exalted and now sitting at the right hand of the Father, glorified.
Especially here, let us look at Jesus, consider Him. Let us fix our eyes on Him so that we may be able to run the race set before us, Christian race, the life of Christians, successfully. So here we look at Christ and Jesus for perseverance so that we might not be worried and faint in our minds, in order not to give up our faith, in order to turn back from the way that we are walking. What we need is strength, what we need is perseverance. For this, we must learn from the life of Christ how He suffered and how He endured difficulties, and trials, oppositions.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, think of yourself, think of your journey of Christian life, how you suffer for your faith, how you suffer as Christians. But if you compare with the sufferings of Jesus, it is nothing to be compared. The sufferings, the difficulties, the troubles, the hardships that we are going through and we have gone through and we are going through and we will go through. All these sufferings are not and will not be worthy to compare with the sufferings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So when we look at Christ, we will not be disheartened, we will not be discouraged, but we will be full of energy and we will have strength to go on and to run the race that is set before us. But if we turn our eyes off the Lord, if we turn our focus from Jesus, then we will be in trouble. For this, I would like to draw your attention to Peter, the one who also walked on the water at the command of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is found in Matthew 14:26-31. Jesus was walking on the water, and then Peter also saw Him and then asked Him, "Lord, bid me walk on the water." And Jesus allowed him to come, and Jesus and Peter also walked on the water. But when he turned his eyes or his focus off Jesus and then when he looked at the wind and the water and the waves, he began to sink. But he cried immediately, "Lord, save me!" And Jesus also stretched His hand and then held on and then Jesus said, "O [ye] of little faith, wherefore didst [you] doubt?"
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we lose focus, if we do not fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith, the one who went through all the sufferings, then we also will be sinking into doubt and we will not be able to run the race of faith successfully. Therefore, what is important is that we must fix our eyes on Jesus, not on the things of the world, not on the physical things, but rather on the spiritual things. We must fix our eyes on Jesus and on the things of Heaven where our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is. Dear brethren, as we run this race of Christian life, the race of faith, we need perseverance. For this, we have the perfect example, who is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a race to run. As we run this race, this race is none other than Christian sanctification life. Until the end of our life, we must run and run and run and running. For this, we need to do these two things. The first one is a negative one. We must lay aside every weight, false doctrine, false teaching, false belief, and even the sin, and also the care of the world. And looking at the things of the world, we must put aside all these things because these things make us slow in our running. All these things pull us down, and all these things make us give up our faith. Therefore, we must put off all these sinful things from our life so that we will be able to run the race successfully.
And the second thing is that when we run this race of faith, we must run with patience. For this, we have the best example, the Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered shame and also opposition and even dying on the cross, the suffering, the crucifixion. So when we look at Christ, we will not be disappointed, we will not be disheartened, we will not be discouraged. But if we look at Jesus Christ, if we fix on Jesus Christ, not on the things of the world, not on the physical things, but on the spiritual things, then we will be once again strengthened and encouraged, and then we will be able to run this race of faith, Christian sanctification life successfully. At the end, we may also be able to say, "We have finished our course, we have kept the faith, we have fought a good fight of faith," and we also may be commended by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, "Thou good and faithful servant." Therefore, brethren, let us run the race of Christian life by putting and laying aside all the weight and the sin. And also, let us run with patience, looking unto Jesus, the best example for patience. May the Lord help us. Amen. Let us pray.
Our gracious Heavenly Father, how we thank Thee for Thy saving grace. Lord, though we are in this world, we are not of this world. We are owned by Thee, and we are commanded to run this race of Christian life. This is called the race of faith. Lord, we want to run with patience until the end, and we want to be faithful unto Thee and to Thy Word. Lord, help us so that we may be able to run successfully with patience and with endurance and perseverance so that we may not give up, but rather, we will be overcome. Lord, help us. And also, we thank Thee for everything that Thou has done for us. Continue to strengthen us and guide us and lead us so that we may live a life that is pleasing unto Thee and for Thy own glory. All these things we ask and pray with thanksgiving in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF HEBREWSChrist, The Living WordChrist, The Living WordHebrews 1:1-2a
The Sevenfold Supremacy of ChristThe Sevenfold Supremacy of ChristHebrews 1:2b-3
The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 1)The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 1)Hebrews 1:4-6
What Child is This?What Child is This?Hebrews 1:4-6
The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 2)The Greatness of Jesus Christ (Part 2)Hebrews 1:7-14
The Danger of Drifting AwayThe Danger of Drifting AwayHebrews 2:1-4
What is Man, that Thou Art Mindful of Him?What is Man, that Thou Art Mindful of Him?Hebrews 2:5-9
The Captain of Our SalvationThe Captain of Our SalvationHebrews 2:10
Jesus, Our Sanctifier and ConquerorJesus, Our Sanctifier and ConquerorHebrews 2:11-15
Jesus, Our High PriestJesus, Our High PriestHebrews 2:16-18
Jesus is Greater than MosesJesus is Greater than MosesHebrews 3:1-6
Start and Finish WellStart and Finish WellHebrews 3:7-11
Harden Not Your HeartHarden Not Your HeartHebrews 3:12-19
Enter into God’s RestEnter into God’s RestHebrews 4:1-11
Encountering the Word of GodEncountering the Word of GodHebrews 4:12-13
Sola Scriptura: Scripture AloneSola Scriptura: Scripture AloneHebrews 4:12-13
Christ, Our Great High PriestChrist, Our Great High PriestHebrews 4:14-16
Jesus, the Superior Great High PriestJesus, the Superior Great High PriestHebrews 5:1-10
Dull of HearingDull of HearingHebrews 5:11-14
The Tragedy of Falling AwayThe Tragedy of Falling AwayHebrews 6:1-8
Things That Accompany SalvationThings That Accompany SalvationHebrews 6:9-12
Things That Accompany SalvationThings That Accompany SalvationHebrews 6:9-12
The Anchor of Our SoulThe Anchor of Our SoulHebrews 6:13-20
The Greatness of MelchisedecThe Greatness of MelchisedecHebrews 7:1-10
The Sufficiency of MelchisedecThe Sufficiency of MelchisedecHebrews 7:11-19
The Superiority of MelchisedecThe Superiority of MelchisedecHebrews 7:20-28
A More Excellent MinistryA More Excellent MinistryHebrews 8:1-6
The New CovenantThe New CovenantHebrews 8:7-13
The Tabernacle Fulfilled in ChristThe Tabernacle Fulfilled in ChristHebrews 9:1-7
The Time of ReformationThe Time of ReformationHebrews 9:8-14
The Reasons Why Jesus Had to DieThe Reasons Why Jesus Had to DieHebrews 9:15-26
An Appointment None Can EscapeAn Appointment None Can EscapeHebrews 9:27-28
We Preach Christ CrucifiedWe Preach Christ CrucifiedHebrews 10:1-18
Introductory MessageIntroductory MessageHebrews 10:19-25
What Shall We Do?What Shall We Do?Hebrews 10:19-25
A Living FaithA Living FaithHebrews 10:24-25
It is a Fearful Thing to Fall into the Hands of the Living GodIt is a Fearful Thing to Fall into the Hands of the Living GodHebrews 10:26-31
A Call to PerseveranceA Call to PerseveranceHebrews 10:32-39
Message 1: The Nature of FaithMessage 1: The Nature of FaithEphesians 2:8, Hebrews 11:1
Message 1: What is Faith?Message 1: What is Faith?Hebrews 11:1, Jude 3
The Faith of AbelThe Faith of AbelHebrews 11:4
The Faith of EnochThe Faith of EnochHebrews 11:5-6
The Faith of NoahThe Faith of NoahHebrews 11:7
The Faith of AbrahamThe Faith of AbrahamHebrews 11:8-16
The Faith of the PatriarchsThe Faith of the PatriarchsHebrews 11:17-22
The Faith of JochebedThe Faith of JochebedHebrews 11:23
The Faith of MosesThe Faith of MosesHebrews 11:24-29
The Faith of Joshua and the PeopleThe Faith of Joshua and the PeopleHebrews 11:30
How to Run the Race FaithfullyHow to Run the Race FaithfullyHebrews 12:1-2
Let Us Run The RaceLet Us Run The RaceHebrews 12:1-3
The Christian RaceThe Christian RaceHebrews 12:1-3
Despise Not Divine ChastisementDespise Not Divine ChastisementHebrews 12:4-11
Guard Against Stumbling and FallingGuard Against Stumbling and FallingHebrews 12:12-17
Follow Peace and HolinessFollow Peace and HolinessHebrews 12:14
From Untouchable to ApproachableFrom Untouchable to ApproachableHebrews 12:18-29
True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 1)True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 1)Hebrews 13:1-3
True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 2)True Faith Leads to True Living (Part 2)Hebrews 13:4-6
Remember Our LeadersRemember Our LeadersHebrews 13:7, 17
Jesus is The SameJesus is The SameHebrews 13:8
Do Not Be Carried About by Divers Strange DoctrineDo Not Be Carried About by Divers Strange DoctrineHebrews 13:9
Are You Willing to Stand with Christ?Are You Willing to Stand with Christ?Hebrews 13:10-16
Pray for UsPray for UsHebrews 13:18-19
Blessed AssuranceBlessed AssuranceHebrews 13:20-21
