THE RACE SET BEFORE US
Hebrews 12: 1, 2
New Year’s Sermon by:
Rev. A. Stehouwer
PUBLISHED BY
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.
(Re-Issued November 2004)
LITURGY:
Votum
Psalter 345
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12: 1 – 15
Text: Hebrews 12: 1, 2
Congregational Prayer
Offerings
Psalter 391
Sermon
Psalter 422: 6
Thanksgiving Prayer
Psalter 73: 1, 5, 6
Doxology: Psalter 315
This sermon can also be read on the first Sunday in January
Dear Congregation,
One …. Two …. Three …. Wait a minute! Yes, we are at the beginning of a New Year, and the
race is set before us. It is a long track this year, 365 days. But we do not just dash forward, do
we? Listen! “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith.”
For the world 2005 will once again be a rat race and, we say with heartfelt regret,
therefore also a mad race with mounting problems, a race which eventually leads to perdition.
The believers, however, run the race of faith. This race is a holy race. And by looking unto Jesus,
they can run the race that is set before them, also the race of 2005, with patience. Only by
looking unto Jesus in faith can we face the unknown future with confidence.
We all find ourselves at the starting line of a New Year. But how are we going to start?
How are we to run this year? Before setting out we must pause for a moment to consider these
questions. Are we going to run in faith or without faith? To whom or what are we looking?
What is our goal? We may not run aimlessly.
THE RACE SET BEFORE US
1. How to begin this race
2. How to continue this race
3. The goal of this race.
In chapter 10 of this epistle the apostle impresses upon the Hebrews the need for
endurance. Of this endurance he has given numerous illustrations in Chapter 11 .
All these men and women have shown in their lives what the endurance of faith means. By the
grace of God they persevered till the end. They too ran the race that was set before them. They
all ran in faith. Hence the Hebrews to whom this letter is addressed and we too are to run in faith.
We must begin as they began.
Of course it is possible to start running without faith. That is what many people are doing
also this year. But at the beginning we are told that all such running will be in vain. For what
does it profit a man if he runs to gain the world and he loses his soul? Hence the importance of
how to begin this race is impressed upon us most solemnly.
The text defines faith in terms of an athletic contest. The apostle Paul states the same idea
in several of his letters. He writes to the Corinthians: “Even so run that ye may attain.” (I, 9:24)
And to Timothy he writes: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith” (II, 4:7). The people of that Greaco-Roman world were familiar with this kind of
language. Many had seen the runners at the famous Olympic and Isthmian games. Now the
apostle does not necessarily endorse these various sports. He only uses them to draw a profound
spiritual lesson from these races. The Greeks ran to obtain a “corruptible crown” but the
believers run to obtain the incorruptible crown of glory ( 1 Cor. 9: 25). Hence the race of faith is
by far superior to any other race. It has its own requirements and its own set of rules. These
requirements must be met and the rules followed if we are to run the race that is set before us
well. The Christian way of life is not watching a game but it means running a race. And how do
we now begin this race?
In the previous chapter faith is defined as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen”. Faith is knowing and trusting in God. “By faith” is the recurring phrase.
All the people who are mentioned in chapter 11 lived by faith and they died in faith. Thus faith
was the governing principle in their lives.
Now the Bible states very clearly that the governing principle in our lives is not faith but
sin. And sinners are people who do not believe God and His Word.
The Bible also shows us the serious nature of unbelief. For unbelief mean rejection of God and
of His Word, of the Lord Jesus Christ. In unbelief we resist the Holy Spirit. Thus unbelief is a
negative force which opposes God. Hence unbelief is never something neutral as many people
take it. Faith and unbelief are like two poles which reject one another. Scripture shows us the
true nature of faith but it also shows the true nature of unbelief and its end result.
In the text, however, the apostle continues to speak of faith and the endurance in faith.
Now faith is the gift of God which He freely grants. God works faith in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, through His Word and the preaching of the Gospel.
By His Word and Spirit He also strengthens faith. In His Word the Lord calls us to faith and
repentance. Let us therefore begin by using the means which the Lord in His great mercy has
given us. He sets the race before us but He also provides what we need to run this race. Yes, we
are to begin running but we should remember that God begins first. In the text Jesus is called the
“author” or the “beginner”; He is also the finisher of our faith. Thus the text point us to God’s
beginning in Jesus Christ. He is the First, He is also the Last.
God Himself bore witness to all these men and women of faith. He bore witness in them to
His own work. Now they in turn bear witness to us of God’s faithfulness. They form as it were a
clout or host of witnesses around us. They are spoken of as a “cloud” or “host” because they are
numerous. They all ran their race and finished their course. They have fought the good fight of
faith and now they wear the victor’s crown of glory. We see here the Church triumphant which is
also the Church at rest. But all these witnesses continue to speak, not only to the Hebrews but to
us today. Their witness is a living testimony to the faithfulness of God.
Do you see large host of witnesses which surrounds us? Do you hear their testimony also
at the beginning of this year? When we look at the world around us, we become downhearted.
The outlook for this coming year is not very bright. We hear of war and rumors of war. The
tensions in the world are mounting and the problems are becoming heater. The dreadful weapons
which man has devised threaten our lives. Many parents are burdened when they think of what is
awaiting their children. Also the developments in our own country cause concern. The laws of
the land are not only modified but they are even in part nullified. And if the present trend
continues, we can expect more lawlessness and crime in the near future. The way for the
antichrist, the man of sin, is being prepared. There is very little indeed that inspires us when we
look around us in the world and also in the church.
Now these Hebrews were also troubled by what they saw around them and by the
persecutions which they experienced. Their outlook for the future too was not so bright. Ence
they should not look at the world around them but look at the clout of witnesses which surrounds
them. They should listen not to the reports of man but to the living testimony of these men and
women of faith. In unison they bear witness to the faithfulness of God. He is ever faithful.
Even our unfaithfulness will never make void the faithfulness of God. This truth of His Word is
seen in their lives. Ask Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets and so many more. Yes, all these
saints have proved God’s faithfulness which is very great. (Lam. 3: 23).
How do we begin the race that is set before us? We begin by listening to God who is
faithful. He tells us in the text that He sets the race before us. Thus the path we are to go is
known to Him. Whatever therefore awaits us we are to receive out of His Fatherly hand. In His
Word he not only reveals to us His faithfulness but also His Fatherly goodness. This great cloud
of witnesses therefore points us at the beginning to God the Father. He is a providing God.
Now we can start running? No, No! In the text God gives us a few more instructions.
Boys and girls, what are the leaders doing at the Sunday School picnic before the game start?
They give you instructions. They tell you what to do and what not to do. Every game begins with
instructions. Well, that is also the case here. The Lord wants us to listen carefully.
For the apostle continues: “ Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily
beset us”. Thus we are also told to lay aside or to cast away every weight. You cannot run well
and bear all kinds of weights at the same time. Hence these weights are the things which hinder
the runners. We too have our “weights” at the beginning of the year. There is much carnal
overweight within the church.
Let us therefore ask ourselves what these “weights” are that hinder us. Now it is not enough to
see these weights. No, but by the grace of God we must learn to lay them aside, to cast them
away. We may not make of the race that is set before us an obstacle race. I know that there can
be many obstacles. I also know that it is not easy to cast these weights, these obstacles away.
They are often the things which we cherish. The Bible tells us that eyes must be plucked out and
hands cut off in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is our attachment to things which makes
them weighty. Let us then begin today by casting away these weights which hinder us in running
the race. You are a professing member of the church?
Wonderful! But are you now also a professional runner by the grace of God? Is it your prayer
that the Lord will grant you the strength to cast away whatever hinders you?
Closely related to these weights is sin which so easily besets us. The apostle is not
referring so much to some specific sins but to sin itself, the sin within us. Believers are not free
from sin. Yes, they are called to be saints but they know themselves as sinners. Sin so easily
besets us because it dwells within us. The year is new but at the beginning of the new year we
are confronted with the old sins, the sins which remain against our will in us. These remaining
sins caused Paul to groan: “O wretched man that I am!” (Rom 7:24). Paul knew the wretchedness
of sin and he was troubled by it. Sin snares the runner in his course. Sin is the greatest hindrance
in running the race that is set before us. Hence we not only need God’s pardoning grace but also
His sanctifying grace by which we learn to fight against sin, cast off sin and thus break with sin.
It is impossible to run in faith and live in sin. Casting off sin is very much like pulling up weeds.
You are never fully done with it. Nevertheless, we are exhorted in the text to make a beginning.
But we are to begin in dependence upon God.
II. Here you also have the answer as to how we are to continue this race. We are to begin
and continue this race by looking unto Jesus. The runners at the Olympic races looked forward to
the end and the reward. The believers, however, are to look upward to Jesus who is presently
sitting at the right hand of the throne of God.
If you look around in the world, you become downhearted, I said. When you see what is
taking place within the churches you become dishearten or discouraged.
And when you look forward at the race that is set before you, the race of a whole year, you
perhaps fell like not setting out at all. The way is long and can be so difficult. Past experiences
have made you aware of this. Perhaps you can hardly face the old problems and how can you in
addition face new problems which might come up?
No, we do not have to ignore these things. The text does not say that we have to close our
eyes for the reality of life as we know it, this life spoiled by sin. The Bible is God’s revelation to
man. And to reveal means to lay bare, to open up. Hence in the Bible we have the most honest
account of life. It shows us what life was, what it now is because of sin and what life can become
by God’s redeeming grace. It speaks even of eternal life. “This is life eternal that they know
Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent”.
However, amidst the reality of life the believers are exhorted to keep looking unto Jesus.
Jesus means Saviour. The name Jesus speaks of His humiliation. And as such He is also
portrayed in the text. “He endured the cross,” says the apostle. The cross that is the depth of His
humiliation.
We are to call to mind the scene of Golgotha as it is described in Scripture. He was led to
the cross and nailed on the cross. He hung there between heaven and earth, numbered among the
transgressors. For two thieves were crucified with Him, one on each side. His hands and feet
were pierced and His blood stained the ground. He was reviled and mocked by Jews and Romans
alike.
The cross! And while He hung on the cross, He was forsaken by God. During the three
hour darkness Jesus experienced the agonies of hell. And at the end of this period we hear Him