Guest Speaker:  John Bellingham from Campus For Christ

“Keep on Running”

Hebrews 12:1-2

Introduction

1)      First experience going to see the Blue Jays in the SkyDome with my Dad

1. Enormous crowd of people
2. Excitement of the crowd – especially in the early 90s when we won the World Series 2 yrs in a row
3. Encouraging the home team and heckling the visitors – psychology of the home team advantage
4. Imagining as a little leaguer what it would be like to play in the Major Leagues

2)      Context

1. Anonymous author writing to Jewish audience
2. The Jews who are hearing this letter had left the fold of Judaism in order to follow Jesus as Messiah
3. Because of their profession of faith, they are being persecuted and some of them are beginning to think that it would be easier to give up or to go back to life under the Old Covenant
4. Their persecution is described in 10:32-36 [Read and highlight the kinds of things they were enduring]
5. The theme of endurance which is mentioned in 10:36 is developed in our passage in terms of a long distance race taking place in a crowded stadium; the author is exhorting these weary believers to keep running the race with endurance

3)      Proposition – Brothers and sisters, we’ve gathered here today to celebrate the anniversary of Rosedale Baptist and to acknowledge God’s unwavering faithfulness to this congregation through years.  Over the past 71 years many faithful men and women have completed the race set before them, and now the baton has been handed off to you.  As God’s chosen servants called to service and witness here in Welland, His call for you is to complete this leg of the race as well trained and well disciplined athletes.

4)      Organizational Sentence – The author to the Hebrews offers five coaching tips to the first century Christians who were struggling to stay in the race. Today we will examine each of these tips so that Rosedale Baptist Church can keep running and continue to be a vital witness to this community well into the future.

I. Visit the Hall of Fame (v. 1a)

 1)      The great legends of the Faith are cheering from the stands

1. Chapter 11 – the “Hall of Faith” gives some portraits of a few people who have come to watch the race (briefly highlight a few)

              i.      Noah – building the Ark at God’s command when he had never seen rain

             ii.      Abraham – following God’s call to a new land, not knowing where he was going

            iii.      Rahab – hiding the Jewish spies at great risk to her life

            iv.      Many unnamed Old Testament heroes who suffered greatly and even died because of their unwavering faith (vv 36-37)

             v.      All of these heroes were characterized by faith that persevered in the face of adversity and opposition – the kind of faith that pleases God (11:6)

The original Jewish audience would have resonated deeply with these stories of the heroes of faith

They are part of the “great cloud of witnesses” in two senses:

              i.      They are pictured as retired athletes who ran the race with enduring faith and are now cheering on the next generation

             ii.      Many of them witnessed to their faith through martyrdom – they paid the ultimate price to finish the race

Illustration – Trips to the Hockey Hall of Fame when I was starting to get involved in sports – we often gain motivation from the examples of others who have accomplished great things

2)      The Christians being addressed here have a major advantage over their heroes

They had seen the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus

              i.      The Old Testament heroes finished the race not receiving what was promised – the fulfillment of the law and the prophets in Jesus (Heb 11:13,39)

             ii.      if those who came before Christ could finish the race without receiving what was promised, there is no excuse for these believers to give up

Illustration – Using my Dad’s old sports equipment – skates with no ankle support, baseball glove that has no padding, golf clubs with no titanium or graphite – if he could play well with inferior equipment what’s my excuse?

Application – From time to time weary athletes should spend some time at the Hall of Fame to gain inspiration and motivation

-read biographies of other believers who have run the race well

“Rosedale Baptist church, the Lord has given you a rich spiritual heritage!  The Lord has preserved this congregation by His grace over the past 71 years through many good times where the future looked bright and many difficult times when the future looked uncertain.  Through the years the Lord has provided godly men like Pastor Muir whose evangelistic zeal and commitment to the Lord was greatly honoured here in Welland as men and women from the community heard the gospel, repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus alone for their salvation.  Friends, pastor Muir and other faithful servants who have provided godly leadership over the years are part of that great cloud of witnesses who cheer you on from the stands.   Thank God for your spiritual legacy, but always look to the future!  We serve a God who always has been and always will be faithful.  He never changes and I know He will bless you and use this congregation to reap a harvest in this community if you keep running and don’t give up.”

II. Come Dressed to Win (v. 1b)

1)      Christians pictured as long distance runners

Main verbal imperative in this passage is to “run the race set before us”

Sports competitions were common in 1^st century Greek cities – included a variety of events including fighting, wrestling and running (Brill’s New Pauly – Sports; Running)

c.       They were to “run with endurance” – indicates that the “dolichos” is in view – 20 lengths of the stadium – longest race of antiquity (approx. 4km)  (Brill’s – Running; Dolichos)

              i.      Main emphasis on endurance rather than speed – the Christian life is a test of endurance, not a sprint

2)      The Christian runner must get rid of any sin that will slow him/her down

1^st century Greek athletes would run in the nude –  prevent loose clothing from getting in the way or slowing the athlete down (Hughes)

              i.      the verb used for “lay aside” is used elsewhere in the NT to indicate the removal of clothing – Paul uses the same imagery in Eph 4:22 -24  (BDAG)

Image of clothing is applied to sin in the Christian’s life

              i.      Sin described as a “weight” that slows us down – may refer to the athlete staying in shape (Hughes 519)

1. 1.      1^st century athletes stayed in shape by working out at the local gymnasium (Brill’s – Sports; Gymnasium)
2. 2.      Christians must stay in good spiritual fitness – too easy to become spiritually lazy in university

              ii.      Sin can trip us – sin that “clings so closely” could also be translated sin that “easily entangles” (NASB)  

1. just as the athlete does not wear anything that interferes with his ability to perform, so the Christian must lay aside sin

3)      Paul uses clothing imagery and the language of “taking off” the old man and “putting on” the new man to deal with sin in the corporate body

Examples from Eph 4

               i.      Put off falsehood

              ii.      Put off unresolved anger

             iii.      Put off laziness

             iv.      Put off corrupting language (ie. malice, gossip slander)

Application – Satan would love to take you out of the race by getting you tangled up in sin, destroying your unity and ruining your testimony for Christ.

“Satan hates the ministry of Rosedale Baptist Church and he would love to tangle you up in sin, to ruin your testimony and to take you out of the race.  As you celebrate the past and look toward the future, I want to urge you never to let sin get a foothold in the corporate body!  Strive to maintain the bond of unity that the Holy Spirit has created in this church.  Rejoice in your unity, and repent regularly.  “Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed.”  Both individually and corporately we need to “lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely.”  We need to keep short accounts with God and come to the track every day and every week dressed to win.  That’s coaching tip number 2.”

III. Imitate the Champion (v. 2)

Illustration: My desire to emulate Nolan Ryan in little league – considered him to be the best pitcher in the game (7 no-hitters, 90+ mph fastball) – bought his pitching instructional video to boost my game

1)      Our champion must be the object of our attention as we are running  (v. 2)

1. “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (NASB) – Jesus is the goal of our faith

               i.      Distance runners in the 1^st century would maximize their exertion by fixing their eyes on a square pillar marking the goal (ISBE – Games)

              ii.      Keeping our eyes on Jesus keeps us from being distracted by lesser things – must choose to make our walk with Christ #1 priority!

1. Matthew 6:33 – “seek first the Kingdom of God and his and all these things will be added to you” – don’t get the order reversed in the busyness of life!

2)       Jesus is the “author” of faith

Same word for “author” used in 2:10 [Read] – Jesus is pictured here as the Son of God leading his adopted brothers and sisters to glory

               i.      The death and resurrection of Jesus is the very basis for our faith – without His finished work on the cross our running would be futile

              ii.      He is the first person to obtain the goal of faith – we run in the footsteps of our great Champion who has conquered death and has made us joint heirs with Him

Jesus is the “perfecter” of faith

               i.      Jesus brings faith to a successful conclusion (BDAG)

1. Christ perfects or completes the faith of the OT heroes listed in ch. 11 – same root word used in 11:40
2. Christ will also bring our faith to completion when he returns – “we will be like Him for we shall see Him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2-3)

Jesus is the ultimate example of enduring faith

               i.      His eyes were fixed on the prize – the joy of being seated at the right hand of the Father

              i i.      He successfully endured the ultimate test of faith by giving His life on the cross

we often focus on the pain of the cross and forget that Jesus endured incredible shame – cross reserved for common criminals and social outcasts (Hughes)

1. the cross was the ultimate insult for a Jewish person – everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed of God (Deut 21:22-23)
2. we see the incredible test of endurance as Jesus sweats drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane

Application – “We don’t imitate the champion by atoning for our own sin, but rather by living in the light of the atonement He has already made for us who believe.  Our purpose as followers of Jesus is to declare the good news so that men and women can enter into the community of faith and join us in the race.  The privilege of declaring the good news of the gospel is part of the joy set before us which enables us to endure the pain and the suffering and the reproach which we will all face as disciples of Jesus.  We joyfully endure suffering and hardship in this life so that others may come to know and experience a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Rosedale Baptist Church, let me urge you today to imitate the champion.  Fix your eyes on Him, set your hope on heaven and gladly bear reproach so that hundreds of men and women in this community can join you in the race and rejoice with you at the finishing line.”

Conclusion

-Describe scene from Chariots of Fire – Eric Liddell falls down in the race, but gets up and finishes strong

-probably most of us have stumbled in some way since we’ve started running and the main question is what we will do about it?

-Satan wants us to sit out the race in defeat and self-pity – he will do everything in his power to tangle you in sin and keep you on the sidelines

-The Lord wants you to keep running! 

-Be motivated by the great cloud of witnesses

-Throw off the baggage of sin

-Imitate the champion

-See you at the finish line!