The Race of Faith

For years, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with running. In the seasons of my life when I’ve been in great physical shape, running has been a wonderful means of exercise and a context for prayer. But then there are those periods when I’ve done a poor job of prioritizing exercise. And in those seasons, running is an experience I want to avoid at all costs.

In the 12th chapter of Hebrews, the author uses the metaphor of running to provide believers with an exhortation to endurance. As we explore his Spirit-inspired words, I believe we’ll find great encouragement as we seek to live out the gospel faithfully, in whatever context and season of life we each find ourselves in.

He writes this in verses 1–3:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

A Reason to Run Well

In short, the writer of Hebrews compares the Christian life to a race. And in this passage, we find four features of this race of faith that are applicable and relevant to every believer. The author begins our text by surveying the proverbial landscape, saying:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”

So, we begin with a crowd. And who are these witnesses surrounding us as we run? Well, contrary to popular belief, they’re not part of some heavenly fan base, looking down upon us, and cheering us on as we run. In fact, the author’s point is not that we have witnesses looking at us. Rather, it’s that we have examples of others whom we can look to and see this faith lived out–both in terms of God preserving them, and them persevering in the faith. If you want to know more about this great cloud of witnesses, you’ll find many of their names listed in chapter 11.

And as we look to these witnesses, what do we find? We find real life examples of God’s faithfulness. Just as God demonstrated his faithfulness and persevering power to them, we can be confident that he’ll do it for us as well.

A Responsibility to Run Well

With that motivation to run with endurance set before us, the author of Hebrews goes on to speak of our responsibility:

“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

So what does it take to live out the Christian life faithfully? What is required of us to run this race well? Well, we find, within this second feature, three aspects:

First, the author says that we need to lay aside every weight. When it comes to running, especially in a race, excess weight is not your friend. I can guarantee that if you go to a track meet, you will not find the runners wearing ankle weights. Why? Because the runners want to complete the course as efficiently as possible. Excess weight would be counterproductive. It would just hold them back, slow them down, and make it harder for them to complete the race.  

So translating that analogy to the Christian life, the first thing required for us to live faithfully, is to put off, or give up, those things that discourage or interfere with our faithfulness to Jesus Christ. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be sinful, in and of itself. It could be a good thing that we’ve elevated in our minds and made into an idol. Whatever it is, it’s something that is simply interfering with our commitment to Christ and his gospel. So if we’re going run this race well, we have to be willing to evaluate our lives. We need to have the same attitude, for example, that the Apostle Paul expresses in 1 Corinthians:

In chapter 6, he says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything” (v. 12).

And then in chapter 10, he says: “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up” (v. 23).

So like Paul, we need to have an awareness of how things influence us. And when necessary, be willing to lay them aside.

The second thing our text says we must lay aside is sin. And although all sin certainly hinders our faithfulness to Christ, our text speaks specifically about the sins that seem to trip us up more than others, in this race of faith. This isn’t necessarily the same for every believer. Each believer struggles with certain temptations to various degrees. But what is the same is the result. Sin is not only a hindrance to faithful living, but it’s also a discouragement to us as we strive to run well. It weakens our devotion and consumes the time and energy we should be using for God’s glory. Therefore, our responsibility is to turn away from sin.

But then the third thing we’re called to do is to run the race of faith with endurance. And in order for us to really appreciate this, it’s important to point out something about the Greek word, which is translated as “race.” The Greek word, from which it comes, is where we get our English word, “agony”. So recognizing that this is what God has chosen to use as a metaphor for the Christian life, it should indicate to us that it’s not going to be easy, or without struggle. But instead, it’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be, at times, agonizing. There are going to be trials and temptations. Our faith will be tested, and we will experience suffering. This is, after all, why we need to run with endurance.

So like a runner in a race who must fight through the temptation to stop, because his body hurts, we must live with a steadfast determination in order to persevere. And you might say, “Well Kevin, that sounds good, but you don’t know what I’m dealing with. You don’t know what I’m going through.” And that’s true. I’m not in your shoes. But no matter what we’re facing as we strive to live faithfully for Christ, we can always look back to those who have gone before us for perspective. As we find in that great cloud of witnesses:

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:35–38).

So just as they endured by faith, so must we. God’s grace was sufficient for them, and it will be sufficient for us.

The Risen Savior as our Focus

But, of course, as we think about the concept of a race, there are so many variables that can change from one type of race to another. For example, it may be a very short race, where you’re simply sprinting for 40 yards. It may be a very long race, like a marathon, where you’re running a little over 26 miles. You could be competing in a race against 1,000 other people, or you could be racing against just one. And yet, with all those potential variables, there are two things about a race that never change. There’s always a starting point, and there’s always a finish line.

With that in mind, the author of Hebrews continues, saying:

“…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,…”

And so here we see where our focus is called to be, as we strive for faithful endurance. In a race, one of the predominate focal points should be a place–the finish line. You want to continue pressing on and staying focused, as you both physically and mentally fight through the struggle and agony of wanting to quit. But in the race of faith, our predominate focal point is not a place. It’s a person. And concerning our faith, he is both the starting point and the finish line.

He is the Founder. Faith originates in him, and he begins it. He came to the earth to live a perfect life of obedience to the Father; a life which we could not live. And he surrendered that perfect life to satisfy the wrath of God on the cross, paying our sin payment and dying in our place. And then he took up his life again in power and glory, dealing death a fatal blow. And therefore, it’s only because of his life, death, and resurrection that we have this faith, which we’ve been given as a gift of God’s grace. Christ is the Founder of our Faith. 

And He is the Perfecter. Our faith is sustained by him, and he will bring it to completion. So this Jesus is the One who should consume our focus as we seek to live out our faith. Yet, I want us to notice that the scope of that focus should not be limited only to his divinity, but also to his humanity As the rest of verse 2 goes on to say:

“…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In other words, the founder and perfecter of our faith didn’t just officiate the race from the sidelines, or from a distance. He stepped into our world and ran it.

As the writer of Hebrews wrote back in chapter 4:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (v. 15).

So in focusing our eyes upon Christ, we are not only looking to the One who is the author and perfecter. We’re also looking to the perfect example of faith lived out. The cloud of witnesses from chapter 11 are definitely an encouragement to us, but Christ provides us with the supreme demonstration, because he paved the way before us, perfectly. This is why, as we run this race of faith, that our eyes must remain focused on him.

A Right Response to our Lord’s Example

The perpetual result of focusing on our Savior, as we seek to persevere in the faith, will be strength, encouragement, and endurance. And yet, looking to Christ is more than focusing merely on his perfect obedience. While that’s invaluable, it also includes running the race with the same enduring purpose and motivation that Christ did. And what was that motivation? It was the eternal joy that we will share with him in his exaltation. Positionally, as hard as it is for us to believe, we’re there (Eph. 2:6–7). But practically, that’s the anxious anticipation we live with in the here and now. We want to be there. We want to experience and share in that eternal joy with our Savior, Jesus Christ, in the present.

But for now, the author of Hebrews calls us to see our Savior accomplishing his mission, and to meditate on his motivation, saying:

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (v. 3).

What an encouragement this is! The remedy for weariness and faintheartedness is the faithful endurance of Christ. With the joy of Christ and the glory of God as our aim and motivation, we can live out the gospel faithfully and persevere through every season of life. Instead of seeing our circumstances from a short-sighted perspective, may we see them through the lens of God’s Son. And as we do, we will run the race of faith with endurance, one day crossing the finish line into the eternal presence of our Savior.