The Olympiad of Faith
Hebrews 12:1-17
Note: Our text is not a digression of our author. It, like chapter 11, is the logical progression of the entire book. Chapters 1-10 are the fuel of faith. We have the Perfect Object laid out and proven before us. Christ Jesus our Lord, the Final and Complete Word of the Father, the Perfect God/Man, is our Perfect Mediator and King/Priest, our Melchizedek. Chapter 11 then lays out the essential nature of faith founded on the facts of 1-10. Chapter 12 is our "Olympiad", struggle, trial of faith,
I. Vs 1&2 Race: #74 agonia, from #73 agone—a place of assembly, especially the place where the Greeks assembled for the Olympic games. #74 agonia (agony)first referred to the violent and strenuous contest that occurred in these stadiums, and eventually referred to the intense emotional and physical strain and anguish of the contests. A fit description for our path to Glory!
A. "So great a cloud of witnesses": We have all those of chapter 11 and those they represent witnessing to Our God's faithfulness, even though they did not have the advantage of the promise fulfilled—an incarnation of the Son of God, atoning for their sins by His historical death, burial, and resurrection, and now seated in victory at the Right Hand of Power as Mediator/Intercessor. They could only live in anticipatory obedience!
B. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us": Are you acquainted with this phrase in your innermost being? If you aren't, this text isn't for you.
1. "Let us"—Here's that frustrating little word "LET". Our basic problem is that we won't "LET". We want to hang on to our weights and sins. This "race process" is our Lord's way of prying our weights and our sins out of our grubby little hands, hearts, and wills!
2. Notice that "the race" is set before us. We don't get to pick which race we will run, nor which lane we will run in!!! We will revisit this in just a bit.
3. "With endurance"—already we understand that this is no 40 yard dash! This is a marathon! It is going to take more than we have got!
C. Therefore, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." We must keep our eyes on the Prize—and there He is, seated at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. He has already run the race and been victorious, and His Race was a whole lot more difficult than ours!
1. The prize, the joy set before Him caused Him to endure the ultimate hardship. Wonder of wonders, we are that prize, we are that joy!
II. Vs 3-11 The Race is the Path of Discipline from the Loving Father!
A. Vs 3 "Consider Him". Meditate upon the grief, reviling, hatred that He received—and that from His own people! John 1:11 Think of the forsaking of the Father. Matthew 27:46 Why?
1. Hebrews 5:7-8 "Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."
a. We learn from a sin context, He from a pure context. We learn remedially, Our Jesus learned vicariously—for us. "He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14 Because He is our Perfect God/Man, He is our source of victory even though we are tempted in and because of our sin! His victory is made ours through faith.
Vs 4 Because He resisted sin unto blood, the blood of the cross, striving against sin, our sin, we have by faith, victory against sin.
B. Vs 5-11 Our Savior learned obedience by the life of suffering He lived, how much more is that to be true of us!!
1. Vs 5-8 Chastening, child training, is integral to sonship! Proverbs 3:11-12; Job 5:17-18; Revelation 3:19.
2. Vs 9-11 Here's the why!!
a. Vs 9 That we may "be in subjection to our Father of spirits and live". By human nature, we love independence, subjection—not so much!! The usual response to calamity is Why? But that is only the first word of our fleshly thinking. The rest of the the sentence is , "I don't deserve this." We think way too highly of ourselves. We spend most of our time being "cool", trying to be "cool", or wishing we were "cool". Chastening "fleshes out" the truth about us! It unveils our true colors!!!
` b. Vs 10 "that we may be partakers of His Holiness". Notice that His intention is not to fix our old stuff, but to bring us into the participation of His Glorious Eternal Stuff—His Holiness. This agrees with the process of Ephesians 3:19. The process is to bring Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith in order that "you may be filled with ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD'. That's Holiness!!
c. Vs 11 Chastening isn't fun, neither is a marathon! But "afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness in those who have been trained by it. This is the truth of Romans 8:3-5. Christ Jesus is our forerunner, the first born among many brethren. He is the Righteous One. We must be brought into the delighted obedience to the Father's Will! Ps `40:8.
Remember Romans 8:29 "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren."
The Gospel of John is the record of our Forerunner's delighted obedience to His Father's will. That is the Holy Spirit's goal for every one of "the children". The "race" is God's means!
II. Vs 12-17 It's a long race—we need each other.
A. Vs 12-13 Few are finely tuned athletes. Many are weak and feeble—pay attention, offer assistance, keep the truth path before their eyes. Don't be a distraction through trivialities—theological and otherwise!!
B. Vs 14-15 Pursue peace and Holiness that the Grace of God may be plainly seen! A contentious spirit quickly distracts from the right path and leads to bitterness which is the cancer of the soul and assembly!! Remember James 3:17 The Wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable!! Prefer the wisdom from above to highly vaunted theological knowledge!
C. Vs 16-17 Remember the parable of the soils!! Do not assume that everyone is on the right path. Vs 15 "Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God". Be clear about the Grace of God and hold it forth continually.
Make sure our "birthright" as children of the Most High God is valued and held dear! To take God's Grace for granted may be eternally fatal!
Hebrews 12:1-17
Note: Our text is not a digression of our author. It, like chapter 11, is the logical progression of the entire book. Chapters 1-10 are the fuel of faith. We have the Perfect Object laid out and proven before us. Christ Jesus our Lord, the Final and Complete Word of the Father, the Perfect God/Man, is our Perfect Mediator and King/Priest, our Melchizedek. Chapter 11 then lays out the essential nature of faith founded on the facts of 1-10. Chapter 12 is our "Olympiad", struggle, trial of faith,
I. Vs 1&2 Race: #74 agonia, from #73 agone—a place of assembly, especially the place where the Greeks assembled for the Olympic games. #74 agonia (agony)first referred to the violent and strenuous contest that occurred in these stadiums, and eventually referred to the intense emotional and physical strain and anguish of the contests. A fit description for our path to Glory!
A. "So great a cloud of witnesses": We have all those of chapter 11 and those they represent witnessing to Our God's faithfulness, even though they did not have the advantage of the promise fulfilled—an incarnation of the Son of God, atoning for their sins by His historical death, burial, and resurrection, and now seated in victory at the Right Hand of Power as Mediator/Intercessor. They could only live in anticipatory obedience!
B. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us": Are you acquainted with this phrase in your innermost being? If you aren't, this text isn't for you.
1. "Let us"—Here's that frustrating little word "LET". Our basic problem is that we won't "LET". We want to hang on to our weights and sins. This "race process" is our Lord's way of prying our weights and our sins out of our grubby little hands, hearts, and wills!
2. Notice that "the race" is set before us. We don't get to pick which race we will run, nor which lane we will run in!!! We will revisit this in just a bit.
3. "With endurance"—already we understand that this is no 40 yard dash! This is a marathon! It is going to take more than we have got!
C. Therefore, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." We must keep our eyes on the Prize—and there He is, seated at the Right Hand of the Throne of God. He has already run the race and been victorious, and His Race was a whole lot more difficult than ours!
1. The prize, the joy set before Him caused Him to endure the ultimate hardship. Wonder of wonders, we are that prize, we are that joy!
II. Vs 3-11 The Race is the Path of Discipline from the Loving Father!
A. Vs 3 "Consider Him". Meditate upon the grief, reviling, hatred that He received—and that from His own people! John 1:11 Think of the forsaking of the Father. Matthew 27:46 Why?
1. Hebrews 5:7-8 "Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."
a. We learn from a sin context, He from a pure context. We learn remedially, Our Jesus learned vicariously—for us. "He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14 Because He is our Perfect God/Man, He is our source of victory even though we are tempted in and because of our sin! His victory is made ours through faith.
Vs 4 Because He resisted sin unto blood, the blood of the cross, striving against sin, our sin, we have by faith, victory against sin.
B. Vs 5-11 Our Savior learned obedience by the life of suffering He lived, how much more is that to be true of us!!
1. Vs 5-8 Chastening, child training, is integral to sonship! Proverbs 3:11-12; Job 5:17-18; Revelation 3:19.
2. Vs 9-11 Here's the why!!
a. Vs 9 That we may "be in subjection to our Father of spirits and live". By human nature, we love independence, subjection—not so much!! The usual response to calamity is Why? But that is only the first word of our fleshly thinking. The rest of the the sentence is , "I don't deserve this." We think way too highly of ourselves. We spend most of our time being "cool", trying to be "cool", or wishing we were "cool". Chastening "fleshes out" the truth about us! It unveils our true colors!!!
` b. Vs 10 "that we may be partakers of His Holiness". Notice that His intention is not to fix our old stuff, but to bring us into the participation of His Glorious Eternal Stuff—His Holiness. This agrees with the process of Ephesians 3:19. The process is to bring Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith in order that "you may be filled with ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD'. That's Holiness!!
c. Vs 11 Chastening isn't fun, neither is a marathon! But "afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness in those who have been trained by it. This is the truth of Romans 8:3-5. Christ Jesus is our forerunner, the first born among many brethren. He is the Righteous One. We must be brought into the delighted obedience to the Father's Will! Ps `40:8.
Remember Romans 8:29 "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren."
The Gospel of John is the record of our Forerunner's delighted obedience to His Father's will. That is the Holy Spirit's goal for every one of "the children". The "race" is God's means!
II. Vs 12-17 It's a long race—we need each other.
A. Vs 12-13 Few are finely tuned athletes. Many are weak and feeble—pay attention, offer assistance, keep the truth path before their eyes. Don't be a distraction through trivialities—theological and otherwise!!
B. Vs 14-15 Pursue peace and Holiness that the Grace of God may be plainly seen! A contentious spirit quickly distracts from the right path and leads to bitterness which is the cancer of the soul and assembly!! Remember James 3:17 The Wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable!! Prefer the wisdom from above to highly vaunted theological knowledge!
C. Vs 16-17 Remember the parable of the soils!! Do not assume that everyone is on the right path. Vs 15 "Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God". Be clear about the Grace of God and hold it forth continually.
Make sure our "birthright" as children of the Most High God is valued and held dear! To take God's Grace for granted may be eternally fatal!