An Enduring Faith

Good morning. It is my pleasure to be here with you this morning. I want to make sure to take a moment and thank Pastor Daniel for the invitation to come and to deliver this message to you this morning.

I met Pastor Daniel about a year ago when I was serving as the interim dean of the College of Christian Studies. He brought, I believe, his daughter for one of our preview days, an opportunity for her to see the campus and think about maybe if North Greenville was a place for her.

And we met and we've gotten to know each other a little bit, but very thrilled when he contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me if I'd be available to fill the pulpit for him today.

I want to make sure and thank him because having been a pastor myself, I know how important it is in choosing the right people to fill the pulpit.

And it's quite a privilege for me that he would entrust me with this opportunity.

And so I'm praising the Lord for it and asking the Lord to help me to be faithful in delivering this message to you today.

I invite you to take your Bibles this morning and turn with me in the New Testament to the book of Hebrews.

We'll be actually reading in a moment from chapter 12. That's where the text for the sermon will be.

But I want you to turn to chapter 10 because I'm going to work my way up to, in the argument of this letter, really, maybe even a sermon, into chapter 10 to set the stage for our message there in chapter 12.

And so if you'll turn there in just a moment, we'll be looking at that.

Imagine a place and a time in the ancient world where it was costly to follow Jesus.

Imagine the religious and cultural pressures against those who would seek to follow him.

Those who would seek to keep them from making that choice or to turn them back from following Christ.

Now imagine a respected Christian leader, maybe even a pastor, sitting down to pen a sermon in the form of a letter

that he would send to a group of these Christians, encouraging them to endure the pressures they faced.

If you can imagine those ideas, then you have a little bit of a grasp of the background of what we call the letter to the Hebrews.

And so this morning I want to talk to you about what I'm calling an enduring faith.

It's the title of my sermon and it's the content of the letter of Hebrews.

This group of Christians facing the difficulties of their day and being encouraged and challenged to endure.

I would say that in many ways this letter was not written directly to us.

The author had this particular group of Christians in mind there in the ancient world.

But the Holy Spirit was working behind the scenes to inspire him to write this letter.

And as I look at the letter and the challenges of enduring faith,

I find they're not that radically different than the challenges we're facing today.

I see in our own day religious and cultural pressures that would seek us to turn away from following Jesus.

That would keep us from sharing the gospel with the people around us.

We're living in a time in America that I never thought I would see.

A time when although we still have the right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech,

many believers refused to share the gospel openly with those around them for fear of retribution.

We're living in a time that's not unlike the Greco-Roman world the author of Hebrews was addressing.

Situations that we face that cause us to question whether we ought to speak or not.

And those pressures are very real and very difficult.

So this morning as we're looking at Hebrews, I want us to think,

although we're not the original ancient audience,

God is speaking directly to us through this text by the inspiration of his spirit.

And helping us to face the challenges of our own day

in a way that will allow the gospel to go forward unhindered.

I want to share very quickly two differences about this letter we call the Hebrews.

First of all, all of the other letters of the New Testament,

we have what's called an addressee.

In other words, the author indicates specifically to whom he was writing.

We could go back and look at several of the letters that precede this letter

that starts the final collection known as the general epistles.

And we could find churches specifically named that were to receive the letter written.

We could find specific individuals who were addressed in letters.

Even after this letter's position, we can find specific addressees.

But in Hebrews, we don't know who wrote the letter.

And scholars have debated for many years who that could be.

And there are several alternatives.

Let's just say, however, no one knows for sure who wrote it.

A second difference with this letter is we don't know exactly who the letter is addressing.

We don't have the name of a church or a person.

We don't have an author and we don't have an addressee.

And so we're left at a loss to understand fully the context behind the letter.

One thing we can do, however, is to look at the context of the letter

and begin to put together an idea, at least, about who the author had in mind.

And so as we begin to do that, we notice immediately he's writing to Jewish Christians.

And not just any Jewish Christians, but those who would be a part of the synagogue in the Greco-Roman world

and from what we call a Hellenistic Jewish background.

In other words, they were Greek-born and Greek-speaking

and had studied the Greek translation of the Old Testament extensively,

a testament known as the Septuagint.

So they were very familiar with the text of Scripture

and the author quotes quite frequently from the Septuagint in his letter.

He expects them to know what he's talking about.

He expects them to be well-versed in the understanding of this Greek Old Testament.

A second thing we can discern by looking back is

this group of Christians has experienced some radical, radical persecution at times.

And they've become discouraged by it.

And it appears they're about to again experience further persecution.

And the author wants to encourage them to remain faithful

as they continue to experience these struggles.

We can see two strategies in the letter, at least.

The first of these is that the author traces out

what we might call the greater or better nature of Jesus

in regard to the Jewish leaders and figures that we find in the Old Testament.

Very familiar chapter, chapter 11, sometimes called the faith chapter or the hall of faith.

He's going to trace out all of these different people who serve the Lord well.

But he's going to do it even more so throughout the letter.

Starting in chapter 1, the idea is that Jesus is greater than or better than all of these.

And so if we were looking in chapter 1, we'd find the beginning of the letter.

God, in many ways and at various times, has spoken to us and to the fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, he's spoken to us by a son.

And so Jesus is greater than the previous messengers of God,

those prophets who had spoken on behalf of God, because he's the son.

And not only is he the son, but God created all things through him.

And so we might say he's the creator of all things,

echoing perhaps John's gospel in chapter 1.

And Jesus has actually completed his work

and taken a position of preeminence

by sitting down at the right hand of God.

From which position he upholds the world by the word of his power.

Jesus is better than those early religious leaders,

those prophets who spoke for God.

But he's also better than the angels.

In fact, the author says,

to whom did God ever say?

To which of the angels did he say,

you are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

Jesus is better than the prophets.

He's better than the angels.

Quite surprisingly, perhaps,

to a Jewish person in that day,

he's better than Moses.

Moses was like a faithful servant in the house,

but Jesus is the heir of the house itself.

He's the one to whom all belongs

and to whom all honor is due.

Jesus is actually better or greater than Israel.

Called in Exodus the firstborn son of God,

but Jesus is better or greater than Israel.

He's been tempted in all points like a man

and yet without sin.

He's better or greater than the Aaronic priesthood.

The priesthood that descended from Moses' brother Aaron.

He's better or greater than that priesthood

because he doesn't have to offer sacrifices

for his own sins as they did.

And he can come and intercede on behalf of God,

opening up a way for those who trust in him

to come in to the very throne room of God

to find help and mercy and grace in time of need.

Jesus is better or greater

than the priesthood and the sacrificial system

which they administered.

Jesus is better than the covenant God made with Israel,

that first covenant.

He's actually the mediator of a new covenant.

When he offers sacrifices,

he does so in the heavenly tabernacle,

not in the earthly one.

In fact, Jesus' sacrifice

is so much greater than the sacrifices

of the Old Testament

that when he offered himself,

and by the way,

the sinless, spotless lamb of God,

when he offered himself,

he did so in contrast

to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.

You may be familiar with this.

In the wilderness,

in the tabernacle,

and later in the temple in Jerusalem,

every morning

and every evening,

they offered burnt offerings,

sacrifices to God

to atone for or to cover

the sins of the people,

to make them temporarily holy

that they might be able to dwell

in the presence of a holy God

every morning

and every evening.

In fact, the author of Hebrews says

when speaking of these sacrifices

that were offered every morning and evening,

he says,

the blood of bulls and goats

never really could take away sin.

But,

when Jesus offered himself

for sin,

he did it one time

for all sin.

Think about that just for a second.

How much greater a sacrifice

could Jesus give

than to be the one sacrifice

for all time

that would pay for sin?

And so we find again and again

the author pointing us

to this idea

that Jesus is greater,

Jesus is better.

Ultimately,

it brings us to the faith chapter

and to our text today

where Jesus ultimately

is even better or greater

than all the figures of faith

in chapter 11.

He's the pioneer

and perfecter of faith.

And so one of his strategies then

is to trace out

how Jesus is greater

than everything else

in the Jewish religion.

But a second strategy

is to offer warnings

to those who consider

turning back

from following Jesus.

And we have through

the book of Hebrews

several warnings.

I want to touch on one

in chapter 10.

So now,

let's now pick up

in chapter 10

just for a moment

and read a little bit

of the chapter

in preparation

for our message

in chapter 12.

We're going to begin reading

in verse 32

of Hebrews 10.

This also gives us

probably the clearest picture

of the audience

of the letter.

But remember

the former days

when after being enlightened

you endured

a great conflict

of suffering.

Partly by being made

a public spectacle

through reproaches

and tribulations

and partly by becoming

sharers

with those

who were so treated.

for you showed

sympathy

to the prisoners

and accepted

joyfully

the seizure

of your property

knowing that

you have for yourselves

a better possession

and a lasting one.

Therefore,

do not throw away

your confidence

which has a great reward

for you have need

of endurance

so that when you

have done

the will of God

you may receive

what was promised.

And now quoting

from the Greek

Old Testament

verse 37

for yet

in a very

little while

he who is coming

will come

and will not delay

but my righteous

one

shall live

by faith

and if he shrinks

back

my soul

has no pleasure

in him.

But notice here

verse 39

key

part of his

argument

but we

are not

of those

who shrink

back

to destruction

but of those

who have faith

to the preserving

of the soul.

Here's his warning

through the message

of Habakkuk

the prophet

in the Old Testament

he says

it's by faith

that we're able

to live this life

and face

these struggles

and endure

in our faith.

He says very clearly

we including himself

we have need

of endurance

so having done

the will of God

we may receive

what was promised.

Can I just add

to the we

in this chapter?

It's not just

the author

and his audience

but today

the we includes us.

We have need

of endurance

so we might

receive

the promise

that God

made to us

the reward

that he offers

for our faithful

lives in service

to him

as the divine king.

And that brings us

up to chapter 11

where we then

begin to look

at all of these

faithful people

through the ages.

It's almost like

a survey of the

Old Testament

just in one chapter

and we touch on

all of these

familiar names

and we think about

all of the ways

by faith

they serve the Lord.

and it brings us

all the way up

to chapter 12

where we now

will connect

with our text

for the message

today

beginning in verse 1.

I'm going to ask you

if you are physically

able to stand

with me now

as I read our text

for the sermon

and as we pray

over the message.

Hebrews chapter 12

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1

Therefore

since we have

so great a cloud

of witnesses

surrounding us

let us also

lay aside

every encumbrance

and the sin

which so easily

entangles us

and let us run

with endurance

the race

that is set

before us

fixing our eyes

on Jesus

the author

and perfecter

of faith

who for the joy

set before him

endured

the cross

despising

the shame

and has sat

down at the

right hand

of the throne

of God

for consider him

who has

endured

such hostility

by sinners

against himself

so that you

will not

grow weary

and lose heart

let's pray

father

father we thank you

for this day

and the opportunity

to come together

in this place

to glorify

and exalt

the name of

Jesus

to praise

the one

who is greater

than all that

came before

and all that

come after

he is the one

to whom

all of our

allegiance is due

and so today

God I pray

that your spirit

will have freedom

to work in

and through

this congregation

Lord I recognize

my full dependence

on you

Lord there's

nothing I can say

that could change

any heart

but Lord your spirit

through the words

you give me to speak

God I believe

you can make an impact

for eternity

right here today

in this room

and so I invite

your spirit to come

and Lord empower me

give me a clear mind

give me clear words

Lord give me

a clear message

and then by your spirit

apply it to the lives

of each one here

Lord we want to live

in a way that honors you

and God we pray

that you will help us

to have an enduring faith

that your good will

be done in and through us

we pray this in Jesus name

for his sake

amen

you may be seated

I want to show you

three elements

of the text here

the first three verses

in Hebrews chapter 12

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

the first element

I want to address

is what I'm going to call

enduring faith

pictured

enduring faith

pictured

look at verse 1 again

in chapter 12

therefore

since we have

so great a cloud

of witnesses

surrounding us

let us also

lay aside

every encumbrance

and the sin

which so easily

entangles us

let us run

with endurance

the race

that is set

before us

the author here

is following

a very common

pattern

in the Greco-Roman

world

not only among

Christians

but even among

secular authors

of the day

and that is to use

the concept

or picture

of a race

as a way

of describing

life

running a race

and responding

to the challenges

of that race

now

if you take

a good look

at me

I think you'll

agree

I haven't run

too many races

lately

in fact

I don't know

if I've ever

run a race

officially

and I don't think

I could run a race

right now

in my physical

condition

getting a little

older

not a great

runner

last time

I ran anything

with sprints

and high school

football

maybe some of you

suffered through

August two-a-days

and ran sprints

at some point

in your life

so I struggle

a little bit

with the picture

I don't know

what it's like

to run a race

but I do

generally understand

what races

are about

even though

I haven't run

one

and I've seen

some of the

things that

people who

are part of

a race

will do

in fact

I had

a friend

in college

who was a

part of a

Christian group

there at our

university

he was a

competitive

cyclist

first met him

I got to

know him

one night

at one of

our Christian

group meetings

I just happened

to notice

he didn't have

any hair

on his arms

and I thought

that was a little

odd

a couple of

meetings later

he was wearing

short pants

and I noticed

he didn't have

any hair

on his legs

well I couldn't

resist

and so I went

over to him

and I said

I'm not trying

to offend you

but I'm curious

you don't have

any body

hair

I mean

other than

the hair

on your

head

what's the

deal

and he said

well I'm a

competitive

cyclist

and he said

I shave

all of the

hair off

of my body

because it

could slow

me down

it could be

a drag

on me

as I

compete

in a

cycling

contest

and I wear

on my head

a very tight

cap

that smooths

out that part

of my body

even though

I don't shave

it off

it allows me

to do the

same thing

well to be

honest with you

I thought

that was a

little weird

a little

disconcerting

that a man

had no

body hair

but for him

it wasn't

an option

he wanted

to compete

well

he wanted

to win

the race

and if

body hair

was going

to slow

him down

guess what

was going

to happen

to body

hair

it was

gone

look in

the text

here

what does

the author

of Hebrews

tell us

to do

well first

of all

he tells

us

we have

a great

cloud

of witnesses

and these

are those

in chapter

11

these

part of

the great

hall

of faith

people

by the way

who've

already run

the race

and completed

it

and so as

we look

back to

them

we actually

see first

of all

is it

possible

to run

this race

and be

successful

and the

answer is

yes it

is

look at

all of

these

examples

of people

by faith

who ran

this race

and they're

here now

not so much

to watch

us run

as to give

testimony

and witness

to the fact

that this race

can be run

and won

so the cloud

of witnesses

there

that see us

and testify

to us

we can run

this race

this race

but notice

what he

says

continuing

let us

lay aside

every

encumbrance

my friend

that was a

cyclist

thought of

body hair

as an

encumbrance

and so he

laid it

aside

and the

sin

which so

easily

entangles

us

there are

things in

this cursed

world

that hold

us back

that hold

us down

that don't

let us

run the

race

to the

best of

our

ability

you know

what it

might be

a particular

sin that

you're

struggling

with

that's

holding

you back

it might

be as

it was

in my

life at

one time

something

that you've

actually made

an idol

you might

not even

know it's

an idol

in your

life

I didn't

know

that guitar

which I

was learning

to play

in my

university

courses

and what

was my

goal

to be a

professional

guitarist

that I'd

actually

turned

guitar

into an

idol

and I

was

worshipping

it

and God

made that

known to

me and it

was time

for me to

lay it

down

so that I

could do

God's

will

in my

life

what is

the sin

that's

ensnaring

you

that's

keeping

you from

running

the race

well

and notice

he goes

on to say

we're running

the race

with endurance

the race

set before

us

and so

what the

author shows

us

the picture

he gives

us

of living

the Christian

life with

an enduring

faith

is a

common

race

we're all

in the race

but each

one of us

is competing

not so much

against others

as against

our own

selves

and those

things that

would seek

to hold

us back

and so

we see

first of all

this enduring

faith

pictured as

a common

race

notice a

second

element of

the text

this morning

not only

do we see

enduring

faith

pictured

we see

enduring

faith

perfected

look at

verse 2

fixing our

eyes on

Jesus

the author

and perfecter

of faith

who for the

joy set

before him

endured

the cross

despising

the shame

and has

sat down

at the right

hand of the

throne of

God

this

resumes

the theme

we talked

about

a strategy

of the

author

in this

letter

to trace

out how

Jesus is

better

and greater

than everything

else

and here's the

great news

this morning

one translation

in verse 2

could be

that Jesus

is the

pioneer

and perfecter

of faith

in other words

he already

ran the race

for the joy

set before

him

he endured

the cross

now if you

know anything

about crucifixion

in the ancient

world

you know it

was a very

shameful

event

criminals

were crucified

criminals

were hung

on a cross

naked

stripped

of all

of their

clothing

in the ancient

world

public

nakedness

particularly

for the

Jews

was a

terrible

shame

and they

hung

these

criminals

on crosses

right along

the main

road

so that

when people

walked by

they would

see the

criminals

hanging there

naked

shamed

publicly

for their

crimes

and they

would get

the message

it was

almost like

a billboard

from the

Roman Empire

don't mess

with Rome

or this is

what happens

to you

now there's

one thing

about this

when we

think about

Jesus

because

Jesus

had not

sinned

the author

of Hebrews

tells us

he was

without

sin

he was

tempted

at all

points

like a

man

but without

sin

and yet

did he

not hang

on one

of these

same

crosses

as a

criminal

naked

and stripped

of his

clothing

and shamed

publicly

notice how

verse 2

addresses that

the author

and perfecter

of faith

who for the

joy set

before him

endured

the cross

I've been

told it's

the most

painful

method of

execution

the Romans

could come

up with

he endured

it

and he

despised

the shame

but notice

this

he has sat

down at the

right hand

of the throne

of God

God

honored him

even though

the world

shamed him

God

honored him

for his

obedience

and gave

him the

position of

power and

priority

at his

own right

hand

what an

amazing

truth

John's

gospel

indicates

that Jesus

made this

claim

it's an

astounding

claim

I can't

even fathom

it

Jesus

said

I always

do

what pleases

the father

can you

imagine

ever making

that statement

I always

do what

pleases

the father

and God

rewarded

him

because

for the

joy set

before him

and by the

way I would

argue the

joy set

before him

was doing

his father's

will

and maybe

even

bringing

many

into the

kingdom

who would

trust in

his sacrifice

for sin

and so we

see here

enduring

faith

perfected

and we

could say

it like

this

Jesus

is the

greater

exemplar

of faith

he trumps

everyone

in the

hall of

faith

in chapter

11

because

he's

not

only

the

first

one

to

complete

the

race

fully

he

pioneered

it

in a

sense

he's

the

one

who

perfected

what

enduring

faith

looks

like

finally

look at a

third element

of the text

in verse

three

we see

an enduring

faith

pictured

an enduring

faith

perfected

but finally

enduring

faith

pondered

notice

verse

three

for

consider

him

who

has

endured

such

hostility

by

sinners

against

himself

so that

you

will

not

grow

weary

and

lose

heart

consider

him

in the

first

service

I mentioned

this

unfortunate

truth

about

students

in our

day

we

often

require

students

to

attend

what

we

used

to

call

cultural

events

now

we

have

another

name

for

that

but

basically

go to

a

concert

go to

a

play

go to

something

that will

help them

better

understand

what culture

in the

western world

is like

and when

I used

to go

and monitor

these

events

I noticed

the students

would sit

there and

listen

politely

but as soon

as the

intermission

came

they'd

pull out

of their

pocket

a

smartphone

and they

start

doing

this

somebody

told me

the other

day

by the

way

that's

called

doom

scrolling

!

Doom

scrolling

just

endlessly

going

through

the

social

media

pages

right?

The whole

time

of the

intermission

they're

doom

scrolling

and then

as soon

as the

performer

comes back

they put

their

phone

away

and they

listen

to the

performance

I contrast

that with

my own

experience

when I

used to

go to

recitals

as a

music

major

back

in

my

day

in

college

we

didn't

have

smartphones

guess

what I

did

during

the

intermission

I

pondered

things

I

thought

about

ideas

I

processed

what I

had just

seen

in the

performance

I

took

some

time

to

reflect

now

this

bothers

me a

little

bit

because

as I'm

looking

around

when

our

young

people

and for

that

matter

any

people

in

our

culture

ever

pondering

anything

we don't

have time

to ponder

every

single

second

of our

day

is taken

up with

some

activity

we never

think

that's a

bit of a

problem

for a

Christian

because

the author

of Hebrews

tells his

audience

what

consider

him

who is

him

consider

him

consider

him

who has

endured

such

hostility

by

sinners

against

himself

and why

should we

do that

so we

will not

grow weary

and lose

heart

Jesus

has

pioneered

the way

for us

and if

we'll just

reflect on

him

and what

he's done

on our

behalf

we'll actually

find the

answer

to the

struggles

that we

face

in the

race

that we're

running

so this

morning I

just want to

encourage you

with these

ideas

we are

called as

believers

to an

enduring

faith

but

sometimes

there are

great

challenges

that we

meet

as we

seek to

walk with

the Lord

there are

expectations

that our

culture

puts on

us

there are

pressures

from those

who would

call themselves

religious

there are

all kinds

of currents

that are at

work in our

lives to

turn us

away from

following

Jesus

but here's

the good

news

Jesus

himself

has

pioneered

the way

for us

to have

enduring

faith

and so I

challenge you

today

I don't know

what you're

facing

specifically

I don't

know what

issues you

have

but the

spirit of

God does

and now as

we move to

a time of

invitation

I invite

you to

reflect

consider

Jesus

in light

of your

own

struggles

and sins

and the

weight

that you

carry in

this race

and see

him

heartening

you

building you

up

by his

great

example

the greater

example

of the model

of faith

and I

pray as

you do

that

you'll

allow the

spirit of

God to

shape you

into his

image

I invite you

to pray

with me

father we

thank you

for an

opportunity

to consider

these great

truths today

thank you for

the author of

Hebrews and

the text

that he

penned

lord thank

you that

it addresses

the very

concerns we

have

we're living

in a time

with a lot

of cultural

and religious

pressure

we're living

in a time

where there

are so many

alternatives

to taking

a moment

and thinking

and reflecting

and pondering

these truths

and allowing

your spirit

to apply

your word

to our lives

and hearts

we're so

busy

that we're

missing life

so I pray

for these

my brothers

and sisters

today

perhaps you're

Christians

here

who would

hear these

words and

say you

know that's

exactly right

I need to

make some

changes

my faith

has been

under attack

I've been

struggling

and one of

the reasons

is because I

haven't taken

time to

fix my eyes

on Jesus

the exemplar

of enduring

faith

and to

follow him

lord perhaps

another person

today would

say you

know Dr.

Rankin when

you talked

about those

encumbrances

those

weights

those sins

that were

holding the

runners back

I knew

immediately

what was

holding me

back

so I pray

Lord right

now give

that person

courage and

strength

to confess

their sins

to repent

and turn

back

devoting

their lives

again to

you

and allowing

your spirit

to cleanse

them and

to conform

them to

the image

of Jesus

and perhaps

there's one

here today

under the

pressures

and expectations

of a fallen

world who

has been

afraid to

trust in

Jesus and

publicly

announce him

a savior

and Lord

God I

pray for that

person today

that you

would draw

them to

Christ

that you

would help

them see

there is no

other name

under heaven

by which they

must be

saved

there's no

way to deal

with sin

aside from

the one

sacrifice

Jesus offered

once for

all

and Lord I

pray that you

would draw

them to

yourself

and Lord

spiritually

regenerate them

that they may

be born

again

Lord we

give you

this time

of invitation

and ask you

to work

unhindered by

your spirit

in our lives

and hearts

help us

to live out

the enduring

faith the

author of

Hebrews

encourages us

to embrace

for we pray

it in Jesus

name

invite you

to