Hebrews: Run With Perseverance

David Owens

Sermon #1: “Run With Perseverance”

Text: Hebrews 10:35-39; 12:1-2

Introduction:

In October of 1982, a 25 year-old woman finished the New York City Marathon.
No big deal, right? Many women have finished that marathon.
What you need to know is that the woman is question is Linda Down and has Cerebral Palsy.
She is the first woman ever to complete the 26.2 mile race on crutches.
Linda fell a half a dozen times, and it took her 11 hours to finish the race (the best runners finish the race under 3 hours).
Linda Down’s handicap limited her speed, but not her determination.
She wasn’t concerned about winning the race; her concern was finishing the race.

The Apostle Paul likened the Christian life to a race, and it is a good illustration of what we face.
The key to the Christian race is not winning it; it is not a competition between people.
The key to the Christian race is finishing it.
We must finish the race, however long it takes us and however difficult the course may be.
In many respects the race we are called to run is the same, and yet in other respects it is different, it is individual.
Some of us will have to run the race longer than others because we will start the race earlier in life, or because we live longer.
Some of us will face more obstacles than others either by God’s determination or by our own foolishness.

However long or difficult the race may be, we all need the same things.
We need the Lord.
We need each other.
We need faith and strength and perseverance.

There is perhaps no better book in the New Testament to speak to this challenge of running with perseverance than the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews – What is it all About?
Although the book of Hebrews is one of the largest and most significant of all the New Testament letters, it remains one of the least known.
It reaches more often and more deeply into the Old Testament as no other letter does.
It is rich in history and eloquent in style.
Those who understand the message of Hebrews the best are those who have a good handle on the Old Testament, especially the priestly system of sacrifices.
To become a little more familiar with the book, let’s consider some important questions about Hebrews.

So, who is the author of Hebrews?
That’s a good question.
The author of Hebrews does not identify himself, but he was not anonymous to his first-century readers.
In Hebrews 13:18-19 the author says, “Pray for us…I particularly urge you to pry so that I may be restored to you soon.”
His reluctance to attach his name to the letter may be explained by the threat posed to his life if the Roman officials seized the letter.
Several have been suggested as possible authors: Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Silas, Philip, Prisiclla, and Paul.
Paul remains the most likely author.
The doctrinal presentation is similar to Paul’s other writings.
The writer was a close associate of Timothy. 13:23 – “I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.”
The use of the term “grace” in the closing remarks (13:25) is uniquely Pauline. “Grace be with you all.”

Who are the recipients of the book?
There is no formal address to the recipients as is often the case with the New Testament letters.
The book is obviously written to Hebrew Christians because there are repeated references to the Old Testament and it appears the people being addressed were considering returning to their former Jewish religion.
The letter reveals this about the recipients:
They had professed faith in Christ (2:1).
They had been believers in Christ for many years (5:12).
They had endured hardship because of their faith in Christ (10:32-34; 12:4-6).
They were in danger of drifting away from their commitment to Christ(2:3, 3:12, 10:35-39)
From history, we know some of what was going on at the time.
In the mid-sixties of the first century, many Jews who had become Christians were being made homeless.
Without places to call their own, they lived as pilgrims and strangers in a foreign land.
They were mocked, scourged, tormented and imprisoned.
Being of Jewish background, they didn’t fit into the anti-Semitic, gentile life-style of the Roman Empire.
Having become Christians, they were cut off form their Jewish families and friends.
The world at the time was governed by the emperor Nero.
He had come to despise Christians.
When he took the throne in A.D. 54, conditions remained mild for about 5 years, but then he began to act more crazily.
In A.D. 64, a devastating fire swept through Rome and destroyed a great portion of the city.
The emperor himself was suspected of having set the fire because of his desire to build a “golden place” for himself.
In order to divert the blame, Nero accused the Christians of having caused the disaster.
Many stood trial and were subsequently tortured to death.

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The people who received this letter were likely living in the midst of this nightmare.
If anyone needed encouragement, they did!

What is the message of Hebrews?
Hebrews is a grand sermon that begins and ends with force.
The message of Hebrews stated most concisely is that Jesus is better and Christianity is superior.
Overview:
Hebrews begins by emphasizing that the Old Covenant (Judaism) and the New Covenant (Christianity) are both religions revealed by God.
Nevertheless, Jesus and Christianity are better.
The writer shows how Jesus is superior to angels (1:4-2:18), superior to their leaders (3:1-4:13), superior to their priests (4:14-7:28).
Christianity surpasses Judaism because it has a better covenant (8:1-13), a better sanctuary (9:1-10), and a more sufficient sacrifice for sins (9:11-10:18).
Having established the superiority of Christianity, the writer moves on to the practical implications of following Christ.
The readers are exhorted to hold on to their new faith, to encourage each other, and to look forward to Christ’s return (10:19-25).
They are warned of the consequences of rejecting Christ’s sacrifice (10:26-31) and are reminded of the rewards for faithfulness (10:32-39).
Then the author explains how to live by faith, giving illustrations of the faithful men and women from Israel’s history (11:1-40).
Next there is a practical discussion of the value of enduring the discipline of God (12:1-17).
The book concludes with some moral exhortations (13:1-17), a request for prayer (13:18-19) and a benediction and greetings (13:20-25).
Key Words:
As we work our way through the book of Hebrews, be looking for the following words: Better (11 times), Let us (16 times), Perfect (9 times), Faith (35 times), Rest (10 times).

Hebrews: How does it apply to us?
In an Eerdman’s introduction to the New Testament, this statement is made about Hebrews: “Its fundamental description of Christian believers as pilgrim people with a sure guide in Jesus Christ and a definite goal in the heavenly city, in need of faith for the journey they undertake, rings true in every generation where discouragement and distractions threaten such faithfulness.”
The original Christian teachers and preachers believed that theology mattered.
Theology was preferred to the breeze of the day that was blowing through the philosopher’s academy.
Theology is worth far more than the modern day pop psychology.
The very best thing that we can do to weather the storms of life is to sink deep roots down into Christ and the truth revealed about him in Scripture.
What we believe about Jesus makes all the difference in how we see ourselves and the life we are called to live.
Hebrews helps us see and understand and believe in Jesus more deeply.

Much like our own times, the writer of Hebrews and his audience were not accustomed to daily miraculous experiences that make God’s presence in the world glaringly obvious.
The first recipients of Hebrews were not first-generation followers of Christ.
None of them saw Jesus personally, and apparently they were not accustomed to the miracle-working of the early apostles and leaders.
Like us, the activity of God in their world was apparently more subtle.
When the social world around them seemed to be doing just fine without God, and when they seemed to be suffering so for their faith, it was easy for them to decide that God wasn’t active any more, or that he didn’t care any more.
All of this was eating away at their faith commitment to Christ.
Many of them were abandoning their faith altogether or they were returning to Judaism where at least they could rejoin that cultural community.

I get the impression that the writer of Hebrews wanted his readers to believe that God really, really did love them.
He wanted them to know that there was both a point to their struggle and a provision of strength so that they could persevere.
Yes, life was hard for them. Yes, their faith was being challenged. Yes, the thought of going back to a more-familiar and less-demanding lifestyle was very tempting.
But they must not give up and give in.
They must run with perseverance the race marked out for them.

They same is true for us.
Is there any message more needed by us today?
Without a doubt, there are some of you here this morning who almost didn’t come.
Perhaps the pain and defeat seem so great in your life that you’re not really sure there is a God who loves you.
Perhaps your life is so full of other commitments, so many other pleasures and pursuits that money can buy, so many other tempting offers that you almost didn’t come today.
Perhaps you almost didn’t come because your faith just isn’t working for you and your church family seems to be letting you down.
These are very difficult obstacles.
Sometimes the Christian race seems far too long and hard and we are tempted to give up.
The writer of Hebrews has many words of encouragement for us.
He has many theological anchor points to help us when we feel like throwing in the towel.

I pray that all of us will hang on and hang in the race.
Let us remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (12:1).
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. Let’s remember all that he went through to save us (12:2).
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (12:1).
Let us not throw away our confidence, it will be richly rewarded (10:35).
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (12:1).

We can do it, but only with God’s help. We can’t do it on our own
I hope and pray that our study of Hebrews will be just what we need at this time.
Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (Jn 14:6).
Through Christ Jesus and through Christianity God is at work in the world today.
When tempted to give up on Christ and His church, don’t. There is nowhere better to turn.
Christ is faithful. You can trust Him.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (10:23-25)