The Letter to the Hebrews
Lay Aside Extra Weight and Clinging Sin, and RUN
Hebrews 12:1-2
When we first trust Jesus Christ, our lives are powerfully changed. We feel the heaviness of guilt lift off us, we experience the freedom of God’s forgiveness come upon us, and we are filled with the joy of knowing Jesus Christ. So we are off and running – reading God’s Word, praying, fighting sin, loving our brothers and sisters, telling others about Jesus – we are off and running.
It’s like we’re all running a race – the finish line of heaven is ahead of us – and we are full of energy as we run purposefully, passionately, and joyfully.
But over time, that can change. We get tangled in sin – and that can slow us down. We get too caught up in things of this world – and that can sap our energy.
So instead of your Christian life being an energized, joyful run to heaven – it’s slowed to a trot, or become an aimless wandering, or come to a dead stop.
But if you have been born again – you don’t want that. You want to be energetically and joyfully running the race. So how can you get that back? What can you do?
The answer is in Hebrews 12. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one back to you. Hebrews 12 is on page 1008 in the Bibles we are passing out.
The author has just finished giving us a long list of men and women who lived by faith. And here in vv.1-2 of ch.12 the author explains his point in giving us that list. Look at what he says --
1 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,
2 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.
To unpack these verses, let’s start with this question. What is the Christian life? Look at the end of v.1 – “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” So the Christian life is a race.
Think about that. Before God saved us we were not in this race. We were in another race – running towards achievement, running towards comfort, running towards entertainment – on a race track heading towards was eternal destruction.
But in great mercy God brought someone into your life who told you about the forgiveness you could have in Jesus Christ and the joy you could have in knowing God – and so you quit that race and joined this race whose finish line is heaven.
And so you started running that race. Running that race means nurturing faith in Jesus Christ. It means battling sin. It means loving your spouse, your children, your brothers and sisters in Christ. It means working whatever job God has called you to. It means living a life of risk-taking, sacrificial love to free people from suffering – especially eternal suffering – so it means making disciples who make disciples.
And notice at the end of v.1 that we are to run with endurance. So this race is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. It’s a race that lasts for months, for years, and for decades.
And the finish line is heaven itself. The city prepared by God (11:16), our true homeland (11:14), where we will enter God’s rest (4:10), and see God (12:14), know God, fellowship with God -- which is the highest joy in the universe.
So the author of Hebrews tells us that the Christian life is a race. But he also tells us that as we run we face problems. What problems do we face? Read v.1 again --
1 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 …
He mentions two problems. There’s the problem of extra weight, and there’s the problem of clinging sin. Let’s talk first about that second problem – clinging sin.
That word “clings” has the idea of something clinging to you so it entangles you and gets in the way. So let’s say you are running the race at a strong, steady pace, but then someone says something hurtful to you. And instead of forgiving them, you fall into the sin of bitterness, and let that bitterness fester.
Now you might think you’ll just be able to keep running at that strong, steady pace. But you won’t. You’ve let sin cling to you – so it’s just like this rope which tangles me up and makes it harder to run.
So you keep running, but you find that it’s harder to run. The Word is no longer alive to you. Prayer is starting to feel like a duty. And you find yourself saying – man, the Christian life is hard!
That’s what happens. If we stumble into sin, and let sin remain, it will cling to us, entangle us, exhaust us, slow us down in the race. So that’s one problem.
But there’s another problem. He says in v.1 – “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.” So there’s the problem of sin, but there’s also this problem of weight.
See, there can be things which are not necessarily sin, but which we pick up as we are running and they end up weighing us down. So picture yourself running the race, but then maybe you started an innocent hobby which ends up taking way too much time. You’ve just picked up a weight. Or maybe it’s a TV show whose shallow humor is shrinking your soul. More weight. Or maybe it’s a computer game which you are now playing way too much. More weight.
And you find that your run is slowing. You’re getting tired. You’re not as interested in being with your home group brothers and sisters. You’ve lost your passion for making disciples who make disciples. Man, the Christian life is hard.
So the author says that as we run we will all face two problems – extra weight and clinging sin.
So what can we do about these problems? To answer that, read v.1 again --
1 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 …
What can we do with extra weight and clinging sin? Lay them aside.
Here’s why we need to hear this. It’s true that after we’ve been saved we still have what’s called indwelling sin. We do not become perfect. We will not become sinless and perfect until heaven. That’s a crucial biblical truth to understand.
But some of us can emphasize that so much that when we face sin we think there’s nothing we can do. We think we are just stuck with it. We say – well, this is a weakness for me. We say – this has to do with the way I was brought up. We say – this is just part of my personality.
But that’s not what the author says. The author says lay it aside. Which means – you can lay it aside! See, if God commands us to do something, that means He will enable us to do it. He is not saying you can just grit your teeth and lay it aside. No.
But He is saying that by His grace you can lay them aside. So when we say – this is just a weakness for me. He says – lay it aside. When we say – this has to do with the way I was brought up, He says – lay it aside. When we say – this is just part of my personality, He says – lay it aside.
Maybe you were running, and then someone said something hurtful to you, and you became bitter, and that sin tangled you up. But maybe that bitterness has been with you so long that you think it can never be conquered. So day after day you are trying to run with this sin tangling you up – but thinking you can do nothing about it. Do you hear what the author would say? Lay it aside! Lay it aside? Yes, go ahead, lay it aside.
So you do – and oh, the freedom!
Or maybe you were running and picked up a hobby that’s ended up taking too much time. So it’s weighing you down. But maybe you now feel that hobby is so much a part of you that you could never turn from it. So day after day you are trying to run with this extra weight – thinking you can’t do anything about it. Do you hear what the author would say? Lay it aside!
So you do – and now you can run!
So ask yourself, if you were going to structure your life so you could run the race of the Christian life faster, with fewer distractions – what would you change? I’m not talking about quitting your job. But ask yourself – given what God has called you to do – what weights or sins could you lay aside that would help you run the race faster, with more energy, and with fewer distractions?
I pray that right now God by His Spirit is showing them to you. Are you seeing what they are? Then once you know what they are – here’s what He would say – lay them aside. Go ahead, lay them aside.
But he doesn’t leave us there. He tells us how. So let’s ask – how can we lay them aside? And I see three answers in these two verses.
First, hear what the cloud of witnesses is saying. To see that, read v.1 again --
1 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 …
This cloud of witnesses is the men and women listed in chapter 11 who lived by faith. We are talking about Noah and Abraham and Sarah and Moses. We are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. And what are they doing?
Some people think the point is that they are watching us. And so because they are watching us and encouraging us we should lay aside extra weight and clinging sin. But I don’t think that’s the author’s point.
This word “witness” can refer to someone who sees something. But more often in this book it describes someone who says something. You can see that in ch.11 vs.4 where we read that Abel is still speaking to us.
So what are all these men and women from chapter 11 saying to us? They are saying -- – God is real, He is faithful, His reward is worth it all, so lay aside extra weight and clinging sin and RUN!
Second, look to Jesus the founder and perfecter of faith. Read vv.1-2 –
1 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,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith …
You might be thinking – all those witnesses in chapter 11 did what they did by faith. But my faith is weak. It’s too weak to lay aside extra weight and clinging sin so I can RUN.
But who is the founder of your faith? Jesus is – He gave you faith. Who is the perfecter of your faith? Jesus is – He will strengthen your faith.
So don’t be discouraged by your weak faith. Jesus is the founder and perfecter of faith. So look to Him. Call upon Him. Ask Him. Seek Him. Everyone who turns to Christ with weak faith, asking for His help and praying over the Word of God, will have their faith strengthened. Everyone. Including you.
He will strengthen your faith so you can lay aside extra weight and clinging sin and run the race.
Third, look to Jesus who endured the cross for the sake of joy. You might be wondering – is it worth it? I like that extra weight. I like that clinging sin. Why would I want to lay the aside so I can run the race?
To answer that the author points us to Jesus. Why would Jesus endure the cross? Why would Jesus undergo that shame? Why would he think it was worth it? Look at v.2 --
2 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.
Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame because of the joy set before Him. What was this joy? The joy of feeling the Father’s pleasure. The joy of saving lost people. The joy of being seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus endured for the sake of joy. The joy he received from the Father was worth it all.
And the same is true for us. Why lay aside extra weight? Why lay aside clinging sin? Why do whatever we can to help us run the race? It’s for the joy set before us.
See, God wants us to obey in order to get joy – because the joy is God Himself. The more you lay aside extra weight, the more you lay aside clinging sin, the more you will be able to run, and the more you will be able to run, the more joy in God you will have now and forever.
So lay aside extra weight and clinging sin – and RUN.