Lesson Eleven: HEBREWS 12:1-29 Key Scripture: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, …fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 Key Concept: We run the race of faith with Jesus and to Jesus.
Hebrews 1-10 presents the argument for faith in Jesus—REVELATION & REWARD Hebrews 11 lists men and women who lived by faith—OBEDIENCE & REWARD Hebrews 12 and 13 is practical application of faith—ACTION & REWARD
Faith is like running a race. ! Every race is a unique, one of a kind race marked out by Jesus. The race begins when we believe Jesus is the Son of God and it ends when all of history is gathered up in Jesus Christ. ! Every race is extremely important and of great value to God. When God is free to run through us, Satan is defeated and God’s precious creation moves closer to its ultimate release from decay and its fulfillment in Jesus! ! Every race requires training, discipline, and unrelenting endurance because we have an enemy who wants to disqualify us!
The entrance fee for running the race has been paid by Jesus Christ, but there is a personal price for running the race of faith—and the price is everything that hinders our ability to run with Jesus. …There is also a reward!
Jesus Christ has gone before us, laid out the course, and made it across the finish line. He is running the race with us and waiting for us at the finish line. Just think of all the races Jesus has already run and won! Can you imagine His excitement as the day draws near when the last runner crosses the finish line?
Now is our time to let Jesus run His race through us. This is the day appointed for us to run and fight and win. The final verses of The Letter to the Hebrews reveal what we need to do to be able to run the race of faith and finish well.
Jesus wins every race when He is allowed to lead!
95 Jesus runs the race of faith with us Hebrews 12:1-4 The Greek word for witness is martus: one who testifies or can testify to the truth of what he has seen, heard, known. As the early Christians died for their faith, the word martyr was coined to describe a person who endured persecution without recanting his testimony of what he had seen, heard, and known about Jesus Christ. And they overcame him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. Revelation 12:11 1. a. Who is watching from the finish line as believers all over the world run toward them? (12:1)
b. Why are the witnesses so very interested in the race of faith? (11:39-40)
Think about this: Imagine the witnesses who have finished their race, crowding the edges of heaven, watching us run with Jesus. What does our race look like to them? What do you think they would tell us if we could hear them?
2. a. What impedes or hinders someone’s ability to run effectively? (12:1)
b. What do you think is the difference between an encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles? …Give an illustration of each. (12:1)
96 Apply these truths: let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us…
What is one thing that keeps you from running at full speed?
What sin easily entangles you? (It can be an attitude or a thought pattern.)
Laying aside is an action! What do you do when you realize you are too hot and want to take off your coat? It is not enough to just recognize you are hot. It is not enough to identify that your coat needs to come off. You have to take action.
In the same way, it is not enough for us to see the sin or encumbrance and know we need to deal with it. We have to take steps to remove it and lay it aside. Until we are willing to actually do something about the sin or the encumbrance, it will stay with us.
This is where ROAR comes in. Fill in the words and ask Jesus to help you ROAR! (if you need help with this, refer to Lesson 4, page 27)
R-
O-
A-
R-
3. Endurance (hupemeno) is defined in the Greek as to stay under; to remain under; to abide; patiently suffer; tarry behind. a Why does every race for faith demand endurance? (12:1)
b. What did Jesus endure in His battle to free the world from sin’s power? (12:2-3) Remember, it was our sin and our sin nature He was battling!
97 Apply these truths: What we fix our eyes on determines what rules over us and where we are going. If we fix our eyes on self and sin, it is self and sin that rule what we do and how we live, but if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we abide in Him. We do not have worry about where we are going and what we are doing. We just let Him run His life through us.
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in Him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:36-39
Have you ever watched a good coach as he works with his players? He is constantly teaching, guiding, and correcting; he knows how to motivate and discipline each player. As individual players respond to the coach’s input, their skills are honed and perfected. As the players become proficient, the team performs with excellence and accuracy. Jesus is the ultimate coach. The body of Christ will soar when we fix our eyes on Jesus and stop looking at sin and self. We will know how to run and where to run and we will do it well! We will not worry about stumbling and falling, because we will not be looking down, we will be looking up and longing for God to do all He can in us and through us!
4. a. Why are sinners hostile toward Jesus? (12:3) …The answer is not in the text.
b. How does Jesus respond to the hostility of sinners? (12:3-4; Matthew 26:36-46)
5. a. Where should we fix our eyes when God exposes sin in us?
b. From your experience or what you have learned in God’s Word, what happens to the sinner who turns to Jesus and hands Him their sin?
98 Apply these truths: God hates sin; God loves sinners! There is a very real tension that exists when God exposes our sin and we acknowledge it, because sinners are by nature hostile to God. Sin separates us from God, hides His glory, and hinders His campaign to take His sweet salvation to the far reaches of our souls and the ends of the earth. Sin is where Satan lives and tries to destroy God’s plans to redeem and restore. But, Jesus took SIN to His Father and canceled the hostility between God and man over sin. You and I can fix our eyes on Jesus and give Him our sin and be set free, because Jesus canceled the certificate of debt that made sinners hostile to God. Jesus took the hostility on Himself and nailed it to the cross. Now, sinners can run to God with their sin and be forgiven of all transgression. God loves sinners. In fact, God loves sinners so much, He sent His Son to take away the sin and save the sinner!
And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14
We have to hate sin as much as God hates sin. We must see every encumbrance and sin as a shackle! The more we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the more we see our sin and recognize the things that encumber. …If we do not hate our sin like God hates our sin, we will ignore it, excuse it, and endure it. Oh, we can pray about it and moan about it and complain about it, but until we hate the sin like God hates the sin, we will coddle the very sin that separates us from Him. God loves us! He reveals sin to bring it under the blood of Jesus and remove it from us. …When we love God, we gladly surrender everything to Him! God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice call us to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles. The saint is not sinless; he just loves God more than he loves his sin. The saint confesses sin and moves on. …If we are not quickly confessing, the problem is that we do not love God enough! The sins of the saint become dust beneath their feet and they fix their eyes on Jesus, lay aside every encumbrance and sin, and keep running. Why would we want to hold onto the sin that so easily entangles us?
We have no right to hate sin in others, if we do not hate the sin in us even more!
99 The Father disciplines the son He loves Hebrews 12:4-17 6. a. Who does the Father discipline? Why? (12:5-10)
b. How does the Father discipline the sons He loves? (12:5-6)
c. Why should sons welcome the discipline of their heavenly Father? (12:7-11)
Verse 12 begins with the little word Therefore, a word that ties the words that come before the therefore to the words that follow the therefore. Verses 12-17 point out areas where many believers sin and struggle to appropriate God’s love personally. Read the verses more than once before you attempt to answer the questions and apply the verses in your life.
7. Hebrews 12:12-13 Surrendering our bodies to the Lord a. What happens when we let God control what we do with our hands, where we bend the knee and where our feet take us?
b. What happens if we are not willing to surrender our hands and knees and feet to God?
c. What is God calling you to lay aside? …Will you?
100 8. Hebrews 12:14-17 Pursuing peace with all men a. Why should we pursue peace with all men and the sanctification that follows the transaction of peace? Sanctification is peace with God.
b. If we are unwilling to pursue peace with all men, what is going to spring up? …Why is this so dangerous?
c. Can you identify a root of bitterness in you or someone you love? …Can you identify the breach in relationship that allowed it to spring up? …Can you see how it has caused trouble and defiled many?
d. Is there someone you need to pursue and seek to make peace?
e. What is required from you by God before you set out to make peace?
101 Endurance is the reward for coming under God’s discipline; we are awarded endurance as we respond to God’s discipline. When God disciplines us (points out specific sin) and we do not take it lightly, we gain endurance. When God reproves us (shows us where we are wrong) and we do not fall away, we gain endurance. When God scourges us (tells us what we need to do) and we obey Him, we gain endurance.
Endurance is the evidence of a teachable heart.
Sanctification is the reward for bringing the parts of our bodies under God’s control and pursuing peace with all men. Sanctification is the state of being set apart by God for God.
We receive The Kingdom of Heaven Hebrews 12:18-29 9. The ancient Hebrews who were at Mount Sinai when God delivered the Old Covenant saw flashes of thunder, darkness, and a blazing fire; they heard a trumpet and the sound of God’s voice and they were terrified! What do we see and experience and hear when we come to Mount Zion—to God? (12:22-24) …As you write out the answer, take time to ponder what we gain when we run with Jesus in the race of faith.
10. Hebrews 12:25-29 is a warning and a promise. a. Why is it dangerous to refuse God’s voice when He is speaking to us about our sin? (12:25)
102 b. God spoke over the earth in Creation (Genesis 1:1-31); God spoke over the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai; God spoke over the world (a sin infested, Satan ruled world) through Jesus, but He is going to speak once more. What will occur when God speaks this time? (12:26-27)
c. If we are God’s children, sinners saved and being saved by grace, how should we respond to Him and why? (12:28-29)
While Paul was awaiting death for his testimony of faith in Jesus and his part in promoting the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, he wrote these words to Timothy, his son in the faith.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
When you come to the end of your earthly race, do you think you will be looking at what you missed in this world or at Jesus?
As your life passes in review, will you see Jesus or will you see self and sin?
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29
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