Hebrews 12A (2014) The writer has conclude his tour through the Hall of Faith

Transcription

1 Hebrews 12A (2014) The writer has cnclude his tur thrugh the Hall f Faith We ve examined the lives f many Old Testament saints learning frm their examples what faith lived ut lks like The writer began this tur fllwing his furth warning t the church That warning explained the cnsequences f shrinking back Specifically, he was cncerned abut Christians wh step back frm living with eyes fr eternity in a vain attempt t preserve smething abut their earthly lives In his day, the church suffered great persecutin S the temptatin was likely t return t Judaism, which was a relatively safe practice in the Rman Empire But in ding s, they were repudiating the Lrd Wh bught them They were sacrificing eternal, heavenly reward fr the sake f a passing, earthly gain S t inspire his audience t live ut their witness even in the face f trials and persecutins, the writer presented example after example f OT saint wh willingly accepted trials and deprivatin and persecutin fr the pprtunity t please the Lrd He ended with a cnclusin that summed up his entire argument Heb. 11:39 And all these, having gained apprval thrugh their faith, did nt receive what was prmised, Heb. 11:40 because Gd had prvided smething better fr us, s that apart frm us they wuld nt be made perfect. The writer says all these saints gained Gd s apprval by living ut their faith And they lived in this way despite never seeing the full measure f their reward n earth 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Hebrews 12A (2014) 2 f 12 Fr it was nt Gd s intentin t reward His peple in this fallen passing wrld That is ur inspiratin t d the same Ntice in v.40 the writer turns t his audience and adds that Gd had anther reasn in delaying their rewards He says that Gd had smething better fr us Gd s plan is t prvide the inheritance t the saints all at nce All saints thrughut histry will enter in the glry f the kingdm tgether And tgether, we will receive ur respective share f Christ s inheritance Hw glrius it will be t see all the saints marching in tgether int the Kingdm, as the sng celebrates S Gd s delay in rewarding the saints is part f a plan, ne intended t bring all Gd s children tgether n an appinted day Therefre, all His children are called t testify thrugh a life f patient, expectant faith We await ut rewards in Heaven] We dn t grw faint r weary in the meantime This is where the writer picks up as he mves int chapter 12, with his exhrtatin Heb. 12:1 Therefre, since we have s great a clud f witnesses surrunding us, let us als lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which s easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set befre us, Heb. 12:2 fixing ur eyes n Jesus, the authr and perfecter f faith, wh fr the jy set befre Him endured the crss, despising the shame, and has sat dwn at the right hand f the thrne f Gd. Referring back t chapter 11, the writer says first, since we have such a great legacy f examples, we shuld lk t these examples He calls them a clud f witnesses, which is a phrase that reminds us they still exists in spirit frm nly 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Hebrews 12A (2014) 3 f 12 These witnesses have nt yet received their new physical bdies Like us, they await the resurrectin Once again, the writer is emphasizing that apart frm us, these saints will nt see the fulfillment f Gd s prmises Furthermre, the wrd witnesses desn t refer t an bserver but rather t ne with a testimny In ther wrds, the writer isn t saying these saints are watching us they re nt He means we shuld be watching them, as in taking nte f their examples And if we re taking nte f them, then we shuld d as they did Secndly, the writer instructs us t lay aside every encumbrance and sin s that we may run the race set befre us There are several imprtant elements t this exhrtatin, beginning with ntin f laying aside sin The Greek wrd translated encumbrance is used nly here in the New Testament It s a wrd cmmnly used in relatinship t running a race We might use the wrd drag r resistance Anything that negatively impacts a runner s ability t gain full speed Obviusly, in a ft face we want t eliminate anything that hlds us back and slws us dwn When yu race, yu are trying t win the race t btain the price Yu can t achieve that gal as lng as yu run encumbered by resistance r drag Swimmers wear skull caps r even shave their bdies f all hair t reduce drag It s that imprtant t ensuring they can win the race...they want every advantage they can get 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Hebrews 12A (2014) 4 f 12 Likewise, we want every advantage we can get, fr ur race is far mre imprtant We are running a race against urselves We are running t win an eternal prize Nt ur salvatin, fr that a free gift f Gd btain by faith alne We are running s t speak t please the Master Wh bught us s that we might please Him and receive a greater share f His inheritance Remember Paul s wn wrds n hw he understd his race 1Cr. 9:25 Everyne wh cmpetes in the games exercises self-cntrl in all things. They then d it t receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 1Cr. 9:26 Therefre I run in such a way, as nt withut aim; I bx in such a way, as nt beating the air; 1Cr. 9:27 but I discipline my bdy and make it my slave, s that, after I have preached t thers, I myself will nt be disqualified. Ntice Paul eches the writer s line f thught He says that he must exercise self-cntrl in the race f life t ensure a gd utcme S that even after he has helped thers live a life that pleases the Lrd, he himself must nt be disqualified frm winning his wn prize That prize being a great imperishable reward S if we want t fllw the lead f the OT saints like Abraham, Mses, and the prphets, we must begin by setting aside the sin that is hlding us back frm bedience Thse sins are numerus fr all f us Search yur heart and yu knw what yu must d Lay aside the sin, put it away, walk away frm it Dn t play arund the edges f the prblem And in ding s, yu are freeing yurself frm a drag weight that is literally preventing yu frm winning yur race 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Hebrews 12A (2014) 5 f 12 If yu d s, yu can expect that the prize that lies ahead f yu will far surpass the temprary pleasures f what yu can prvide yurself tday We must all recgnize that thugh we have been saved frm the penalty f sin, we are still called t wrestle with it And as we struggle and persevere, we are nt furthering ur salvatin, fr the Lrd wn that battle n ur behalf Rather, we are ensuring that we will nt be disqualified frm receiving ur prize Finally, ntice hw the writer describes the race f ur life f faith: it is a race set befre us The Lrd, in His svereign will, has prepared a race fr each f us Put simply, the Lrd has designed us t experience a certain life Sme f us will have strng health, sme f us will nt Sme f us will have great wealth, sme f us will have little Sme f us will knw jyful family life, sme f us will experience great tragedy Sme f us will live peaceful lives f faith, while thers will be persecuted and martyred The Lrd has set these races befre us We didn t chse them; He did He didn t ask us t apprve f His chices But He des ask us t run well the race He set befre us Run with endurance, the writer says Dn t give up Like a runner runding the find bend and staring at the finish line in the distance, dn t stp running until yu reach the tape What a shame it wuld be t run a gd race f faith, sacrificing fr the Lrd and husbanding yur witness...nly t give up in the final lap T succumb t sin and t indulge ur fears and weaknesses 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Hebrews 12A (2014) 6 f 12 We all have struggles in ur walk f faith In fact, the Lrd has ensured that all f us face tests in ur walk f faith These tests are Gd s way f qualifying us fr the reward Yu can win if yu dn t run, s t speak, which is why James pens his letter with such cunterintuitive advice James 1:2 Cnsider it all jy, my brethren, when yu encunter varius trials, James 1:3 knwing that the testing f yur faith prduces endurance. James 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result, s that yu may be perfect and cmplete, lacking in nthing. We are t cnsider trials in ur life as jy Because the existence f a trial is evidence the Lrd is at wrk ffering us pprtunity t demnstrate endurance Endurance t walk with trust in the Lrd s prmises Endurance t make the sacrifices f time and treasure required t mve the Kingdm frward Endurance nt t shrink back frm the trials t seek cmfrt in the wrld Cmfrt in materialism, eg, lust, drugs, career, whatever And that endurance will bring a result f ensuring we lack nne f the rewards the Lrd ffers t us fr bedience And f curse, as usual, ur ultimate example is fund in the wrk f Christ In v.2, the writer says fix yur eye sn Jesus s example He is the authr and perfecter f ur faith The Greek wrd fr authr can als mean pineer r riginatr Jesus authred ur faith in the sense that He went befre us t establish a way int salvatin Furthermre, as Paul says in Ephesians 2, He then brught saving faith t each f us as the starting pint f ur relatinship with Gd 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Hebrews 12A (2014) 7 f 12 Eph. 2:8 Fr by grace yu have been saved thrugh faith; and that nt f yurselves, it is the gift f Gd; Eph. 2:9 nt as a result f wrks, s that n ne may bast. Mre than authring ur faith, Christ is als the perfecter f ur faith The Greek wrd fr perfecter means t carry thrugh t cmpletin Jesus desn t just start us dwn the rad t salvatin, He ensures we cmplete that jurney He brings us int a state f glry by His pwer, nt by ur wn But between the beginning and the end lies a curse with many turns and deturs We have a part t play in mapping ut that jurney Sme chices pay greater rewards than thers The key t taking the right rad is t have a clear view f the destinatin S the writer says fix yur eyes n Jesus and what He did in His earthly life s jurney He had an immense trial set befre Him by the Father The curse f bedience given t Christ was greater than any we have faced He was tempted t seek refuge in the wrld and t avid the crss Obedience required Jesus set aside everything including life and His pwer as Gd s He culd endure the crss He was willing t endure these trials because f the great jy set befre Him The jy f pleasing the Father The jy f receiving a great inheritance and a peple called by faith 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Hebrews 12A (2014) 8 f 12 He is ur Nrth Star, the target we set ur sights n s that as we run ur race, we have a reminder f hw it shuld be run Heb. 12:3 Fr cnsider Him wh has endured such hstility by sinners against Himself, s that yu will nt grw weary and lse heart. Let s cnsider Jesus in this way, as One Wh shws us hw t live a life f faith in the face f trials Jesus endured harsh treatment at the hands f sinners Just as yu will endure harsh treatment at the hands f sinners And when yu cnsider hw He pressed frward anyway, yu and I can find reasn nt t grw weary and lse heart Yu might say, Well, Steve yu dn t knw what I have endured Yu might have a testimny f great suffering and abuse Yu may have endured a life f tragedy and tremendus lss I m sure many f us have endured many things in life that culd becme reasn t shrink back and seek cmpensatin in sme kind f sinful pursuit But if we cmpare ur trials t thse Jesus faced, we cme up shrt every time As the writer says in v.4 Heb. 12:4 Yu have nt yet resisted t the pint f shedding bld in yur striving against sin; Heb. 12:5 and yu have frgtten the exhrtatin which is addressed t yu as sns, MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; Heb. 12:6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES. In the trials yu ve endured, have yu sacrificed yur life fr the sins f the wrld? Have yu wrked s hard t set aside sin and endure trials that it required yu give yur life? Obviusly, the answer is n, which is why the writer pses this questin rhetrically 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Hebrews 12A (2014) 9 f 12 We can t say that ur trials have been s hard that ur encumbrance in sin is necessary and understandable We still have mre we can d t endure and run the race In fact, scripture says the And if ur trials bring us t the end f urselves as it did Christ, then s be it Our reward in Heaven will be great In fact, this church had sught t escape their trials by sinfully retreating t spiritual life as an unbelieving Jew, a life that testified that the Messiah had nt yet cme This sin was their escape frm trials, which the Lrd delivered t perfect them thrugh endurance S t thse wh see trials as reasn t indulge sinful ptins, the writer rebukes his audience saying yu have frgtten the whle reasn Gd brings trials Trials are sent as discipline measures by Gd The writer qutes frm Psalms 3 The psalmist says dn t regard lightly (r reject) the discipline f the Lrd We reject the Lrd s discipline when we d nt take advantage f the trials He sends us t grw and learn endurance T use them t becme a better witness f lve and faith and jy in the Lrd T learn ur weakness and crucify the flesh Imagine if yu yur father grunded yu fr a week as discipline fr smething yu did wrng And then imagine that instead f beying that restrictin that yu wuld sneak ut f the huse every night anyway Yu wuld be rejecting the discipline f yur father 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Hebrews 12A (2014) 10 f 12 And rather than feeling regret and learning a lessn that wuld pay dividends in the future, yu wuld have missed the whle pint f the discipline And yu wuld very likely repeat the same mistake in the future, pssibly with even greater cnsequences the next time As the writer says Heb. 12:7 It is fr discipline that yu endure; Gd deals with yu as with sns; fr what sn is there whm his father des nt discipline? Heb. 12:8 But if yu are withut discipline, f which all have becme partakers, then yu are illegitimate children and nt sns. Heb. 12:9 Furthermre, we had earthly fathers t discipline us, and we respected them; shall we nt much rather be subject t the Father f spirits, and live? Heb. 12:10 Fr they disciplined us fr a shrt time as seemed best t them, but He disciplines us fr ur gd, s that we may share His hliness. Heb. 12:11 All discipline fr the mment seems nt t be jyful, but srrwful; yet t thse wh have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit f righteusness. When we cnfrnt a trial f any kind whether emtinal, marital, physical, financial, r whatever we are encuntering a curse the Lrd has set befre us It is a frm f discipline the Lrd is using t grw us spiritually And we nly gain that benefit if we endure it, accepting it as a lving act f a father wh is disciplining us fr ur wn gd The Lrd wrks in a similar way with His children Because He lves us, He desn t want us t cntinue in sin and suffer the lss f rewards as a result S He brings us discipline in the frm f trials These trials mve us ver time away frm sin and ur fleshly behavirs and int a clser spiritual walk with him But they nly have this effect if we accept them as discipline...as smething gd fr us Perhaps we might say that it s unkind fr the Lrd t bring these things upn us As the saying ges, what kind f lving Gd allws tragedies t befall His children? 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Hebrews 12A (2014) 11 f 12 The Bible says it is prf f His lve that these things cme, because they have gd eternal utcmes When we ask the Lrd t give us an easy life absent trials and disappintments and tragedy, here s what we re really asking Him t d We re asking Him t nt discipline us T allw us t remain as fleshly and sinful as He fund us We re asking Him t refrain frm grwing us spiritually s that we can please Him thrugh ur endurance and gain eternal reward Wuld a lving Father accept thse terms? If yur child asked t frg discipline s he r she culd grw up spiled and immature, wuld yu agree t that arrangement? As the writer says, n lving father wuld make that bargain S why d we think ur lving Father in Heaven wuld d such a thing? In fact, if the Father in Heaven neglected t bring us trials fr the sake f discipline, it wuld mean we weren t His children at all Can yu discipline the child f anther family, like a stranger s child in a supermarket? N, because yu have n relatinship with that child Likewise, if yu culd like a life free f Gd s discipline, it wuld nly be pssible if yu didn t have a relatinship with Him - That is, if yu weren t saved by His grace S the writer says if we accepted and understd the discipline f ur earthly fathers with understanding, then we shuld be able t accept the discipline f ur Heaven Father with understanding We shuld welcme His discipline The discipline f ur earthly fathers taught lessns that lasted a lifetime But Gd teaches us lessns that last an eternity 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Hebrews 12A (2014) 12 f 12 We are grwn spiritually s that we can carry that maturity int ur next life And that maturity will bring us a far greater, lasting reward That s why in v.11 the writer says all discipline, whether frm ur earthly father r ur Heaven father, is nt smething we value in the mment Yet in the lng run, with the benefit f hindsight, we cme t appreciate why it was necessary and wrthwhile Gd s discipline prduces righteusness It brings a peaceful fruit that leaves us better prepared fr the next trial And in eternity, at ur judgment befre the Lrd, we will see just hw much we prfited frm ur trials and the spiritual maturity they prduced But f curse, we nly gain these benefits if we endure the trials With each challenge we face in life, we are at a crssrad rchestrated by Gd Himself It s the curse He has set befre us Cnsider these great trials t be evidence that we have a lt f spiritual grwing t d And the Lrd has cunted us wrthy t receive His attentin in this way And the questin is will we receive His discipline and learn the lessn and endure the trial and receive the reward? Or will be reject His discipline, miss the lessn, shrink back frm the trial, indulge ur sin and frfeit eternal reward? Yu have nt endured t the pint f shedding bld like Christ...s fix yur eyes n His example and repeat it Run the race He set befre yu D s with endurance s that yu will nt be disqualified frm the prize that awaits 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.