RUNNING the RACE (Hebrews 12:1-3) Week 2 Discussion Questions “Disentangling from Sin”

RUNNING THE RACE (Hebrews 12:1-3) Week 2 Discussion Questions “Disentangling from Sin”

1. Do you think that we ever underestimate, minimise, trivialise, or ignore the problem of sin? 2. Why is it important for us to take sin seriously and seek (in God’s strength) to be disentangled from it? What are the potential ways that sin holds us back from all that God has in store?

Read Hebrews 12:1-3 3. How is sin sometimes like a weed in our lives? Have you ever known sin to start off small but then quickly get out of control? 4. What are the ways in which we can often get entangled in sin? 5. Why do we delude ourselves sometimes in thinking that we have some sin ‘in control’?

6. How does confession (with the assurance of forgiveness in Christ) help us to throw off sin? Why is it really important to recall that there is no condemnation as we say sorry to God? 7. What does it look like to be both sorry and have intent for change? 8. Have you ever chosen to be accountable with someone about some way that you wanted to change? Was that helpful? Why or why not? If we are going to be accountable with someone, what are some important considerations at both ends of the relationship? 9. What does it look like to replace sin with something that draws us closer to God?

10. When we think about sin, why must we always do it in context of a great vision of Jesus already triumphing over sin and death, along with a vision of him returning one day? 11. Do we ever need to be on guard from being ‘legalistic’ in our approach? What might happen in this regard? 12. What would help you recall the great truth that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?

13. What might be some of the potential ways that God may use us for the in-breaking of his kingdom the more we throw off sin?

For personal reflection (not sharing with the group): Is there an area of sin that you need to throw off in 2016 so that you’re not held back from running the race that God has laid out for you?

St Bart’s Toowoomba

Talk 2/4 (“RUNNING THE RACE”): 10/1/16 “I will disentangle from sin” by the Rev’d Adam Lowe

Bible Passages: Hebrews 12:1-12

INTRODUCTION \\ NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Last week we began a new series on Hebrews 12:1-3, all about running the race. • We’re right at the starting line, our feet are in the blocks ready for the 2016 leg, we have the cloud of witnesses cheering us on from the finish line, and so now is the time to shed all of those things which get in the way of running the only race which really matters - that set out by God. • We saw that now is the time, to shed off all of those things which can get in the way, weigh us down, set us off course, and inhibit us from the race that God has in store for you. • Like a finely tuned athlete stripping down to the bare essentials to run a race, because we don’t want anything to get in the way of our relationship with God. • We have this amazing opportunity, right at the beginning of the year, to ask God: what is going to hinder me from running this year. Please help me to shed those things.

I loved in the video that we shared just before, when Vi (who is well into her nineties) talks about the most recent years of her life being years of great growth in Christ. She has this unending desire to know Jesus better and to love him more.

2 • We’re inspired by the witnesses of the past, we’re inspired by the witnesses of today, but we also look to the Lord Jesus who is not only the perfect example, but also provides the necessary help. • We’re running the most important and exciting race that has ever existed. // • But as we run this race, keeping in mind that the image is not a little sprint, the Greek word for race has the same root as our word for agony, it’s more likely to be the gruelling ancient pentathlon, as we run this endurance race we’re mindful that two things impede our progress: unnecessary weights that restrict activity (that which we looked at last week), but also the sin that mars and stifles our performance.

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

You might be thinking, talking about sin Adam, that’s such a downer, such a dreary thing to look at as we start the year. But actually, it’s ignoring sin that’s really the downer. • There is nothing good about sin; It will get in the way of our race this year; It will hurt and harm us as we seek to follow God; and it’s an enemy that has already been defeated, so we do well to dispense with it. • So three things this morning as we reflect on that: • The Effect of Sin: Entangled; • How to Weed Sin Out: Disentangle; and • A Great Vision of the Future.

4 THE EFFECT OF SIN: ENTANGLED \\ DISENTANGLE

So first, the effect of sin, we become entangled in it. • For some reason whenever I hear the word ‘entangled’ I think of this, when actually I should more have an image of sheep stuck amongst sharp thistles. • G. K. Chesterton, the nineteenth century writer, famously said original sin is the only Christian doctrine that is empirically verifiable (I’m not sure it’s the only one), but his point is clear… All people sin and have the propensity to sin… • And despite it being really messy stuff, we have the tendency to approach it one of three ways: • Sometimes we MINIMISE it: my lying is not really that big of a problem. It’s just a small thing, it doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s not going to grow into anything more serious. • Sometimes we IGNORE it: someone points something out to us about our behaviour and we are completely blind to it, we push it away, we pretend it’s not true. • Sometimes we REFRAME it: the way I lose my temper is really a plus of my personality because it just shows how passionate I am. Or, actually sometimes being selfish is okay because it shows people how they should also love themselves. • I’m sure we all do all of those to some degree, it can sound a bit funny, but the underlying trend is that we often dismiss how serious sin is. 5

• We tend to think of sin as little bits of behaviour that are different to God’s ideal, but any reading of the New Testament soon highlights that actually sin is a dark force that sways us over, rearranges our priorities, and undermines who we are in Christ. • And before we know it, we have been tripped up and hurled to the ground in a race which had all the possibilities of triumphant victory.

If you’ve ever seen children play a game of elastics, it often starts off okay, but rapidly they get entangled and trip up, unable to get out.

• I’m not saying this to make us feel bad or guilty, but that we’re reminded, and humbled, to consider that we’re not immune. • Last week we looked at some of the great heroes of the faith, they had plenty of foibles too. • This is important for us to grapple with, because we have his opportunity, right at the beginning of the year to be honest with ourselves and God, about the sin which could be taking a foothold in our lives. • In Hebrews 3:13,

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

6 Or you might remember right back in Genesis 4, before Cain kills Abel, the Lord says to him: sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it… In Psalm 1 there’s a great vision of trees being planted next to the streams of living water, but when we let sin persist, it’s more like planting ourselves next to a poisoned river. • If you’ve seen a garden in which weeds are left unchecked, it doesn’t take long before the weeds flourish, suck all the sunlight and nutrients away from the other plants and actually kill them off. • The word for entangles really means that it obstructs and constricts us from running the race that God has marked out for us. That’s the real cost. There’s actually an assumption here that the track we run won’t be clear. If you’re alive, at some level, as we face temptations daily you know that. • There will be hurdles and benches left in the way, things which really get in the path of us completing the course. • That’s what sin does. Starts off small, but sticks closely, becomes hard to brush off, entangles us, so we we must treat it seriously. But it should not crush us…

WEEDING SIN OUT \\ DISENTANGLE

Because even though it can entangle, God gives us the opportunity to weed it out, throw it off.

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles

• Can you imagine that with the beginning of a new season, the farmer walks out to his field, is about to plant the next crop of tomatoes, but the entire field is laced with weeds sprouting out of the surface. But then the farmer says: “oh well, I’m sure it will be right, I’m sure the weeds won’t do any harm, so I’ll just plant the seeds anyway.” That would be madness! • Then why would we, facing a new year of running God’s race, with so much potential for new life and the kingdom of God springing to life, not deal with the weeds in our life which could jeopardise the fruit of God’s crop in us? • Perhaps this year, you are really longing to nurture a deeper prayer life, and so we have this little seed to be planted, we know it can be hard enough, yet meanwhile right next to it is this seed of sin going completely unchecked and raging for our attention and energy, only doing us harm. • Part of the Christian life is giving up whatever endangers our relationship with God. 8 • Three quick ways we can do that…

First we confess - admit our shortcomings, ask God to show us the rest. • There are things in our lives which are going to get in the way of the race: Lying, selfishness, sexual sin, greed… it usually starts small, but will get out of control…

If you ever want to see what people are like, what they are truly like, see what they do when they think no one is watching them. Whether it is under a hoody, in a dark alley, or anonymously on the internet, that is when you see what evil desires and what dark proclivities lurk within the hearts of men and women. (Michael Bird)

• Naming sin can be a bit like a bucket of cold spiritual water, but it’s good for us. • In chapter 12, there’s a lengthy discussion of the sense of discipline that the people are feeling at the moment. But actually there’s a sense here, that it’s a good thing if you feel disciplined at times, because that’s one of the signs of being a child of God. • He loves us so much that he meets us where we are but doesn’t leave us there. // • Last year, we did a series on worship, and one week we focused on how confession and assurances always go hand-in-hand.

• If God convicted us without going to the cross, it would be conditional love in the form of judgment, but instead God has done everything so that we can abandon the sin which he has already died for so that we are free to live in a way that we never dreamed possible… • And so we confess with a great freedom to be completely honest with God, because when you’re in him, there’s no condemnation. • It’s a completely radical counter-cultural an act of submission, seeking what God wants not what we want. • And we do it, not just to say sorry - but with a genuine sorrow of the heart and a commitment to change. Sometimes that’s hard, sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it will involve tripping up again, but we do it with a genuine desire to be disentangled from sin. • Whatever the challenge, we can lay it before, humbly confess, God and ask for help. • Paul in the letter to the Corinthians says:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13-14)

10 • That’s challenging and encouraging - the things we face are common. We won’t be tempted beyond what we can bear. And the Lord always provides a way out.

Second, be accountable with someone. • Sometimes there can be sin in our lives that has became so habitual that we feel trapped. • Perhaps we’ve done a great job of hiding it, covering it up, from others or even ourselves. • Sometimes a helpful way to approach it, is with someone you really trust, to say I want to be accountable with you. There’s this thing - maybe it’s just a seed, maybe you feel deeply entangled - but I want to check in with you about it. • Would you please check in with me about it. • Not to judge me. But to encourage me. To pray for me and with me. • In James, we read about the community being encouraged to do that with one another. • I really want to emphasise that this is not judgment, but this is so that you can lean on a brother or sister in Christ, and not feel like you’re facing this thing alone.

Third, replace the sin with something that draws you closer to God.

• If you want to stop being greedy, don’t just stop spending money on yourself, start doing the opposite - be generous. • Bonhoeffer: “Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will…” • Paul said (Philippians 4:8-9):

…brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice

• Replace the sin with something that would please God. • We’ll look more at keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus in week 4… • But when it says fix our eyes on Jesus, the literal translation is probably closer to: look away to Jesus. • You might think that sounds a bit strange, but it’s because there’s an assumption so often, we’re distracted by things which are really unhelpful, and we need to look AWAY FROM THOSE, to Jesus, that we might be a person you seeks out what God desires and then imitates that.

12 A GREAT VISION OF THE FUTURE \\ BIG PICTURE HOLINESS

Sin entangles, we need to weed it out, but always do that with a great vision of the future, remembering, Christ has already triumphed over sin and death.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, had this strong desire to beat bad habits and try to triumph over his faults. So in order to do that, he came up with a type of score card in which he listed 13 virtues, and besides each of them the day of the week. He made a little book of this and would carry around with him. Knowing that it would be difﬁcult to concentrate on more than one new habit at a time, he set up a system to work through his 13 virtues sequentially and track his progress with a daily scorecard. And so everyday when he conducted his review, he would mark by a little black spot every fault that he found upon examination with respect to that virtue.

• There’s a lot of black dots, and it wasn’t long before he gave up. • Friends that not what God is calling us to do. • We’re not keeping a scorecard, as if earning our salvation, we’re throwing off the sin that has already been defeated by Jesus on the cross. • That’s the big picture.

• We’re all works in progress, one day we’ll be completely transformed. • But the amazing news is that when God looks at us, he sees in Christ Jesus right now. • We long for that day, when sin will be finally be gone, but we’re invited right today, to start doing that in our lives. • Every time, we throw off sin, an impediment in our race is removed. Every time, we throw off sin, our potential in God’s kingdom breaking in is expanded. Every time, we throw off sin, we point to a glorious future when sin will be no more. Every time, we throw off sin, we show who really rules our hearts and world. • Christ has already triumphed over sin and death, we need to just grow into that reality.

2016, with God’s help, is a great year to disentangle from the sin that is holding us back.