A LESSON IN RUNNING THE SPIRITUAL RACE

By Charles N. Spence, Jr.

According to Hebrews 12:1, a great cloud of witnesses surrounds Christians. These witnesses are those who overcame the obstacles they had before them as indicated in chapter 11. They provide the believer with the testimony that he can overcome by faith. Picture an arena in which a race is taking place. The race requires great endurance and is filled with trying obstacles. In the audience is found all of those who had ever run this race before and overcame. They are cheering on those who must run that same race. By considering those in chapter 11, the believer can take comfort that his is a race that he can win. Also, there is no obstacle too great that he cannot overcome.

In Hebrews 12:1-2 are four things that the child of God must do to run the spiritual race. First, he must lay aside every weight. Everything that would hinder his performance or stand in the way of achieving the goal of heaven, he must lay aside. Jesus talked about those who were burden with the cares, wealth, and pleasures that have their spiritual life choked out of them (Luke 8:14). The child of God is going to have a tough time as it is without being weighted down with hindrances. Second, he is to lay aside the sin, which easily ensnares him. What can easily stop the momentum and forward progress in the life of a Christian is sin and temptation. Such causes the child of God to become entangled. He suffers a set back from which he must take time to recover. However, as several of these Hebrew Christians are demonstrating, they are not always as resilient who fall into sin. The child of God must rid himself and remove himself from every situation that may cause him to become ensnared. Third, he must run with endurance. He must show persistence in the face of adversity. Some people do not want adversity. When they hit a snag or difficulty, they are quick to give up or turn back. The implication in this exhortation is that Christians will meat with adversity. They must endure in the face of it because the goal is still ahead. No one ever won a race by giving up or turning back. Fourth, he must look unto Jesus. Jesus and all that He offers are the ultimate goal. Those who run the race must keep Him as their focus and aim. Paul said in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In the context in which Paul made this statement, to run toward, he had to look forward. To look forward, he had to forget about what was behind him (Phi. 3:12-16). He realized the race was not over and that he had not received the prize for which he had initially set out to obtain. The Hebrew Christians had taken their eyes off the goals and all they saw were the obstacles. This is similar to Peter’s experience when he tried to walk on water (Matt. 14:26-31).

The child of God is to look unto Jesus with great consideration. Jesus had been maligned during His lifetime. He was falsely accused and called names. He was beaten, humiliated and killed. Yet, despite all of that, He did not shrink from His duty. He endured and obtained His glory. Now Jesus is at the finish line urging men to cross it. As men fix their gaze upon Jesus, they can see One who has successfully completed His mission in the midst of relentless adversity. Then and only then will they be able to realize that they can endure. Jesus has run this race Himself. His faith surpasses any of those mentioned in chapter 11. The child of God can look at Jesus who finished the course. Jesus is the One who paved the way for Christians to run. No one knows the course like Jesus. Every Christian can look to Him and run the spiritual race in hope. He does not have to get discouraged even in the midst of persecution because Jesus has overcome.