In a previous article, we looked at two Bible passages that compare the Christian life to running a footrace. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul said that a runner in a footrace competes to win a perishable wreath; but in our Christian race, we are seeking an imperishable prize. In Hebrews 12:1-4, the Hebrews writer said that we should lay aside anything that will hinder us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Our goal in this series of articles is to compare these two passages of scripture, and to answer three questions that are raised by Paul’s writing, by analyzing those questions in the light of the Hebrews passage.
The three questions are:
- What is the race that Paul is talking about?
- What is the imperishable prize we are supposed to pursue?
- How do we go about running this race so that we can obtain this imperishable prize?
The first thing we noticed from the Hebrews passage in our previous article is the fact that we must run the race that is set before us. It matters what race you are running. It matters what direction you are going. It matters where you show up. God set the race before us in His word, so the only way we can discover the parameters of that race―the only way we can make sure we are running the right race―is through a careful, lifelong study of God’s word.
That brings us to the second thing that we need to notice from Hebrews 12:1-4.
- We must lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely.
When you watch the Olympics, or the Boston Marathon, or any other footrace, you don’t see people wearing heavy jackets or thick blue jeans as they run. Most runners wear lightweight clothing that will not weigh them down. Sometimes when training for a race, runners will carry weights while they run in order to build their muscles and increase their endurance. But when it’s race time, you will not see them carrying those weights. They lay aside those weights so that nothing will hinder them or weigh them down.
The same is true in our Christian lives. We must lay aside anything that will hinder us from effectively running the Christian race. And realize this: Not everything that weighs us down is necessarily sinful in and of itself.
If your hobby steals your focus and your time away from God, it may be a weight that needs to be laid aside, or at least dialed back.
If your pastimes and entertainment steal your focus and your time away from God, they may be weights that need to be laid aside, or at least dialed back.
If your career steals your focus and your time away from God, it may be a weight that needs to be laid aside in exchange for a different career that gives you time and room for God to be your focus. I know that’s easy for me to say, and a whole lot harder to actually do.
But here’s the point. Anything that hinders us from running the race that God has set before us is a weight that needs to be laid aside.
Sin itself is certainly something that weighs us down and keeps us from running the race. It is certainly something that needs to be cast off and laid aside. But how do we know what sin is? How do we know what stuff we’re not supposed to do?
Once again, God’s word is the answer. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). God’s word not only shows us the path we are supposed to follow, it also warns us of the things we need to avoid.
This was true under the Old Law. Paul said in Romans 7:7, “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”
This is also true under the New Testament. There are many New Testament passages that identify attitudes, thought patterns, and behaviors that are sinful and should be avoided. One example is Galatians 5:19-21. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
And there are many other Scriptures that tell us what God considers to be sinful. That’s why it is so important for us to read and study God’s word, so that we will not only know how God wants us to live, but also the things that He wants us to avoid.
Those who practice sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. They are on the wide road that leads to destruction. In order to run the race set before us, we need to lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely.
That brings us to the third thing that we need to notice from Hebrews 12:1-4.
- We must run with endurance.
The Christian race is not a sprint. It’s not “run a hundred yards as fast as you can and then you’re done.” It’s a race that lasts for a lifetime! You run it today. Then you get up tomorrow and run it all over again. Then again the next day. Then again next week, and next month, and next year. You don’t quit running until you reach the finish line. And in this race, you don’t reach the finish line until you get to heaven.
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7 about the road we are on? It’s narrow, and it’s difficult. So it’s a race that lasts the entire rest of your life, over a road that is narrow and difficult. That is why you need to run with endurance.
I love what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Life is not supposed to be easy. We are going to face all kinds of afflictions, but God will not allow those afflictions to crush us if we hang onto Him and stay on the narrow road. You may have to deal with sickness, or disease, or some physical handicap. And it may be painful and debilitating. You may even get to the point that things seem hopeless.
That’s when God looks at you with love in His eyes and says, “Don’t give up! I will not let this crush you! Just hang onto me and remain faithful.”
Or maybe you’ve lost your job; or your investments have tanked, and you’re worried about paying next month’s mortgage, or how you’re going to retire. And maybe it gets to the point that you start feeling hopeless.
That’s when God looks at you with love in His eyes and says, “Don’t give up! I will not let this crush you! Just hang onto me and remain faithful.”
Or maybe you battle depression or some other emotional struggle. Maybe you just can’t figure out how to love yourself or how anyone else could love you. Maybe you just can’t seem to connect with other people, and you want them to understand you, but it just seems impossible that anyone ever will. And maybe you feel a darkness coming over you, and it’s starting to feel hopeless.
That’s when God looks at you with love FOR YOU in His eyes and says, “Don’t give up! It is NOT hopeless! I will not let this crush you! Just hang onto me and remain faithful.”
Or maybe you struggle with addiction, and you’re ashamed and embarrassed, and you don’t want to struggle with it, and you are trying to overcome it, but you just keep falling back down, and sometimes you don’t feel like God could even love you anymore because you’re such a failure, and it seems hopeless that you’ll ever beat the addiction no matter how hard you try.
That’s when God looks at you with love in His eyes and says, “Do NOT give up! It is NOT hopeless! I will NOT let this crush you! Just hang onto me and remain faithful.”
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.
If you are at least 25 or 30 years old, you’ve probably looked around and thought, “What in the world happened to the America I grew up in?”
When I was a little boy, most afternoons I rode my bicycle all over my hometown for hours, completely unattended and unsupervised, with no thought of anything bad ever happening. When my kids were little, we wouldn’t dare let them out of the yard unless we were with them.
When I was in high school, if a girl got pregnant and wasn’t married, it was a shameful thing. Today, it’s almost a badge of honor.
When I was a boy, America was a Christian nation. Prayers before football games were the norm, not the exception. Today, more and more people are denouncing the idea of America being a Christian nation. Prayer has been banned from football games, religious sculptures and scenery have been banned from public places, and foreign religions steeped in hatred and violence seek to destroy Christianity and annihilate Christians.
Our courts are regularly ruling against traditional, biblical moral values, in favor of blatant immorality, and in favor of those who are hostile to Christianity. Marriage is no longer the sacred institution that it once was, at least not in the eyes of our society.
And on and on and on that list could go. And maybe, like me, you scratch your head and wonder, “What happened?” And it’s perplexing. And sometimes it seems hopeless.
And that’s when God steps in and says, “Don’t give up! Don’t despair! No matter what happens around you, I’m still in control. None of those things change my eternal promise to you. Just hang onto me and remain faithful through it all.”
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken.
In Acts 8, after Stephen was stoned to death, we are told that “there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”
These Christians in the first century were hunted down and thrown in prison, simply because they were Christians. Many fled their homes and ran for their lives. But they told people about Jesus everywhere they went, even though the very reason their lives were in danger was because they believed in Jesus!
Perhaps someday the church in America will face the same type of persecution. The day may come when Christians are once again hunted down and thrown in prison, simply because they are Christians; when we have to flee our homes and run for our lives because we believe in Jesus. And even if it comes to that, God has promised us, “You may be persecuted, but I will never forsake you!” Just like he told Joshua in Joshua 1, “Be strong and courageous. I will never leave you or forsake you.” He makes us the same promise in Hebrews 13:5. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed.
That phrase “struck down” is a reference to the sport of wrestling, which Paul’s readers would have been familiar with, again because of the Olympics and the Corinthian Games. If you’ve ever watched Olympic wrestling, or collegiate wrestling, or even high school wrestling, it is amazing how quickly the advantage can change from one wrestler to the other. Your opponent may have you pinned to the mat, but by quickly shifting your weight or maneuvering your body you can regain the advantage. Being pinned down doesn’t lose the match. Staying pinned down loses the match.
God tells us that there are going to be times when life pins us down. We are going to be afflicted. We are going to be perplexed. We are going to be persecuted. Satan is going to try his hardest to make us give up. But God says, “Don’t give up! Satan cannot win unless you let him. He may pin you down temporarily, and it may feel like you’ve lost, but don’t give up! Just hang onto me and remain faithful, and you will not be destroyed.”
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. We are struck down, but not destroyed.
We must run he race with endurance, never giving up, holding onto God and remaining faithful as we navigate the narrow and difficult road that leads to life.
(To be continued…)
*If you missed Part 1 of “Running The Race,” click here.
– Paul O’Rear is the Involvement and Education Minister at Brown Street Church of Christ in Waxahachie, TX.
