Never give up

Hebrews 12:1-3. "Never Give Up" (p.948) Ajax Alliance Church. Sunday October 1st, 2023. Hebrews 12:1-3. 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 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. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (ESV) In the ancient Isthmian games of Greece, a pedestal stood at the finish line, and on it hung a wreath-the winner's prize. No one runs a race without some expectation of reward. The reward may be nothing more than a ribbon or a trophy or a wreath of leaves. It may be a prize worth a large amount of money. Sometimes the reward is fame and recognition. Sometimes it is a healthy body. Occasionally the race is run for the sheer exhilaration. The Isthmian races and the race spoken of in Hebrews 12, however, were not run for exhilaration. This type of race is the agōn, the agony race, the marathon, the race that seems never to end. It is not a race you run simply for the pleasure of running. If you do not have something important to look forward to at the end of this race, you will likely not start it and will certainly not finish it. It's not uncommon for us to talk about the rat race, or it seems like we're just running on a treadmill, going nowhere. In the last part of the epistle the writer is speaking to believers of the peril of remaining stationary. He is saying, "Let's get into the race. Let's get moving and not just drift along. We are racers." I would say that one of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is the peril of just remaining stationary, of doing nothing (McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Hebrews 8-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 52, p. 111). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.). In Hebrews 12:1-3. we see various aspects of the race, as they are compared to the faithful life in Christ. Christ calls us to 1) Race Freely (Hebrews 12:1), 2) Race Focused (Hebrews 12:2), and 3) Race to the Finish (Hebrews 12:3) To help us to Never Give Up in the race of life, Christ calls us to: 1) Race Freely (Hebrews 12:1) Hebrews 12:1 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 (ESV) We are all creatures of motivation. We need a reason for doing things and we need encouragement while we are doing them. One of the greatest motivations and encouragements to the unbelieving Jews, as well as to Christians, would be all the great believers from the past, their heroes, who lived the life of faith. This cloud of witnesses refers, of course, to the heroes of the faith presented in chapter 11: Noah, Abraham, Moses... the writer of Hebrews does not see these as dead men to be remembered, but living witnesses to be heard. (Phillips, R. D. (2006). Hebrews. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (p. 529). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.) * Do we read their accounts and dismiss it as another time, or that they had different resources? Yet they had less light to run by than we have. We have the Holy Spirit resident within us, live in a country with relative safety, great resources, access to an unending supply of theological and people resources. If they accomplished what they did with what they had, what can we accomplish if we run the race? We are to run the race of faith like they did, always trusting, never giving up, no matter what the obstacles or hardships or cost. They knew how to run the race of faith. By their loyalty and endurance they have borne witness to the possibilities of the life of faith. It is not so much they who look at us as we who look to them-for encouragement. They have borne witness to the faithfulness of God; they were, in a manner of speaking, witnesses to Christ before his incarnation, for they lived in the good of that promise which has been realized in him. (Bruce, F. F. (1990). The Epistle to the Hebrews (Rev. ed., p. 333). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) The cloud of witnesses described here as "surrounding us" is not standing in the galleries of heaven watching as we perform. The idea here is not that we should be faithful lest they be disappointed, or that we should try to impress them like a sports team trying to impress the fans in the bleachers. These are witnesses to God, not of us. They are examples, not onlookers. They have proved by their testimony, their witness, that the life of faith is the only life to live. To have a whole gallery of such great people looking down on us would not motivate us but paralyze us. In the NT, however, a witness is never merely a passive spectator but an active participant who confirms and attests the truth as a confessing witness (cf. Riggenbach, 385; Michel, 427, 3, 428; Peterson, "Examination," 294). The tendency to associate "witness" with martyrdom is strengthened by the account of the martyred and persecuted exemplars of faith in Hebrews 11:35b-38 (Lane, W. L. (1998). Hebrews 9-13 (Vol. 47B, p. 408). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.). * We are not called to please them. They are not looking at us; we are to look at them. Nothing is more encouraging than the successful example of someone who has "done it before." Seeing how God was with them encourages us to trust that He will also be with us. The same God who was their God is our God. The God of yesterday is the God of today and tomorrow. He has not weakened, or lost interest in His people, or lessened His love and care for them. We can run as well as they did. Because we have the same God, He can do the same things through us if we trust Him. Given the context of this chapter in Hebrews, the audience that the author is referring to in verse one with the address: "let us" most likely would have been to Jews who have made a profession of Christ, but have not gone all the way to full faith. They have not yet begun the Christian race, which starts with salvation-to which the writer is now calling them. The truths, however, apply primarily to Christians, who are already running. The writer is saying, "If you are not a Christian, get in the race, because you have to enter before you can hope to win. If you are a Christian, run with endurance; don't give up." Perhaps we should think of something like a relay race where those who have finished their course and handed in their baton, (through their testimony are an encouragement to) their successors. (Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 133). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.) * Unfortunately, many people are not even in the race, and many Christians could hardly be described as running the race at all. Some are merely jogging, some are walking slowly, and some are sitting or even lying down. Yet the biblical standard for holy living is a race, not a morning stroll. The "Race" referred here is the Greek agōn, from which we get agony. A race is not a thing of passive luxury, but is demanding, sometimes grueling and agonizing, and requires our utmost in self-discipline, determination, and perseverance. God warned Israel, "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure in the the mountain of Samaria" (Amos 6:1). God's people are not called to lie around on beds of ease. We are to run a race that is strenuous and continuous. This is a PRESENT ACTIVE SUBJUNCTIVE, which speaks of a continual action but with a note of contingency. This surely fits the overall emphasis of the four warnings directed to Jewish believers who were "shrinking back" from Christ and the gospel (Utley, R. J. (1999). The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews (Vol. Volume 10, p. 124). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.). In God's army we never hear "At ease." To stand still or to go backward is to forfeit the prize. Worse yet is to stay in the stands and never participate at all. Hebrews gives examples of what it means to "run": having faith, visiting prisoners, entertaining strangers, believing God, trusting God, worshiping God, knowing Christ, having courage, praying, encouraging others, and confessing sin. These can be summarized as loving God and loving others (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews (p. 204). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.). This race is 'set before us'. We have not stumbled into the competition by accident, nor have we joined it of our own volition. We are called by God to participate (Andrews, E. (2003). A Glorious High Throne: Hebrews Simply Explained (p. 406). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.). We are to run the race of our calling with endurance. Endurance (hupomonē) is steady determination to keep going. It means continuing even when everything in you wants to slow down or give up. The Christian race is a marathon, a long-distance race, not a sprint. The present imperative implies that the readers have been and are now running and calls on them to keep on more strenuously than ever (Lenski, R. C. H. (1938). The interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (p. 425). Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern) * The church has always had many short-spurt Christians. They drum up enthusiasm or motivation for a task. Most likely they don't start at all or they start for a bit but the cares of this life choke out the effort. But the Lord wants those who will "make the distance." There will be obstacles and there will be weariness and exhaustion, but we must endure if we are to be faithful in our calling. God is concerned for steadfastness. Here in Hebrews 12, we do not know exactly what sort of things the writer had in mind regarding spiritual weight/encumbrance, and commentators venture a host of ideas. From the context of the letter as a whole, it seems most likely that the main weight/encumbrance was Judaistic legalism, hanging on to the old religious ways. Most of those ways were not wrong in themselves. Some had been prescribed by God for the time of the Old Covenant. But none of them was of any value now, and in fact had become hindrances. They were sapping energy and attention from Christian living (cf. Gal. 2:20). Spiritually, a weight/encumbrance (onkos) diverts our attention, saps our energy, dampens our enthusiasm for the things of God. We cannot win when we are carrying excess weight. Athletes carried nothing with them in a race (they even ran naked), and the writer is suggesting that the Christian should "travel light." ... Some things that are not wrong in themselves hinder us in putting forward our best effort. So the writer tells us to get rid of them (Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 134). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.). * When we ask about a certain habit or condition, "What's wrong with that?" the answer often is, "Nothing in itself." The problem is not in what the weight is but in what it does. It keeps us from running well and therefore from winning. Sometimes the weight/encumbrance can be fellow Christians. We need to be careful about blaming others for our shortcomings. But a lot of Christians not only are not running themselves but are keeping others from running. They are figuratively sitting on the track, and those who are running have to hurdle them. Often the workers in the church have to keep jumping over or running around the non-workers. The devil does not put all the encumbrances in the way. Sometimes we do his work for him. Undue concern over temporal affairs, inordinate affection for the things of this life, the intemperate use of any material blessings, undue familiarity with the ungodly, are "weights" which prevent progress in godliness. A bag of gold would be as great a handicap to a runner as a bag of lead! (Pink, A. W. (1954). An exposition of Hebrews (p. 888). Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot.) Please turn to Galatians 2 (p.914) The Temple and its ceremonies and pageantry were beautiful and appealing. And all the regulations, the does and don'ts of Judaism, were pleasing to the flesh. They made it easy to keep score on your religious life. But these were all weights, some of them very heavy weights. They were like a ball and chain to spiritual living by faith. These Jewish believers, or would-be believers, could not possibly run the Christian race with all their excess baggage. Some in the Galatian church faced the same problem. Paul tells them, Galatians 2:20-3:3 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. 3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (ESV) * "After you started the Christian race," he is saying, "why did you then put all those old weights back on?" An even more significant hindrance to Christian living is sin. A hindrance in itself is not a sin, but because it impedes a contestant a hindrance can become sin. Sin entangles, much as a flowing robe that reaches down to the ground would entangle a runner in ancient times (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Exposition of Hebrews (Vol. 15, p. 367). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.) Obviously all sin is a hindrance to Christian living, and the reference here may be to sin in general. But if there is one particular sin that hinders the race of faith it is doubting God. Doubting and living in faith contradict each other. Doubt clings so closely/entangles the Christian's feet so that they cannot run. It wraps itself around us so that we trip and stumble every time we try to move for the Lord, if we try at all. When we allow sin in our lives, especially doubt, it is quite easy for Satan to keep us from running. Spiritually speaking, Christians should lay aside/put away any sin that might entangle, impede, or trip them up. Sins such as greed, pride, arrogance, lust, gossip, dishonesty, and stealing can cause believers to drift off spiritual course (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews (p. 204). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.). It is important to distinguish the differences in the athletic race from the Christian race mentioned here. The competition of the Christian life, of course, is different from that of an athletic race in two important ways. First, we are not to compete against other Christians, trying to outdo each other in righteousness, recognition, or accomplishments. Ours is not a race of works but a race of faith. Yet we do not compete with each other even in faith. We compete by faith, but not with each other. Our competition is against Satan, his world system, and our own sinfulness, often referred to in the New Testament as the flesh. Second, our strength is not in ourselves, but in the Holy Spirit; otherwise we could never endure. We are not called on to endure in ourselves, but in Him. The Christian has only one way to endure-by faith. The only time we sin, the only time we fail, is when we do not trust. That is why our protection against Satan's temptations is "the shield of faith" (Eph. 6:16). As long as we are trusting God and doing what He wants us to do, Satan and sin have no power over us. They have no way of getting to us or of hindering us. When we run in the power of God's Spirit, we run successfully. Illustration: One of the greatest problems runners face is weight. Several years ago the winner of a recent Olympic gold medal for the 100 meters came for an invitational track meet. He was considered the world's fastest human being. But when he ran the preliminary heat, he did not even qualify. In an interview afterward he said the reason was simple. He was overweight. He had trained too little and eaten too much. He had not gained a great amount of weight, but it was enough to keep him from winning-even from qualifying, Because of a few pounds, he was no longer a winner. In that particular race, he was not even qualified to compete. In most sports, especially where speed and endurance count, weighing in is a daily routine. It is one of the simplest, but most reliable, tests of being in shape. When an athlete goes over his weight limit, he is put on a stricter exercise and diet program until he is down to where he should be-or he is put on the bench or off the team. Too much clothing is also a hindrance. Elaborate uniforms are fine for parades, and sweat suits are fine for warming up, but when the race comes, the least clothing that decency allows is all that is worn. When we become more concerned about appearances than about spiritual reality and vitality, our work and testimony for Jesus Christ are seriously burdened. To help us to Never Give Up in the race of life, Christ calls us to: 2) Race Focused (Hebrews 12:2) Hebrews 12:2 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. (ESV) In running, as in most sports, where you look is extremely important. Nothing will throw off your stride or slow you down like looking at your feet or the runner coming up from behind or the crowds in the stands. The Christian race is very much like this. Some Christians are preoccupied with themselves. They may not be selfish or egotistical, but they pay too much attention to what they are doing, to the mechanics of running. There is a place for such concern, but if we focus on ourselves, we will never run well for the Lord. The verb translated looking to Jesus (aphorōntes eis) implies a definite looking away from others and directing one's gaze towards Jesus. This is a PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE meaning "looking intently." Notice that we watch Him-not the crowd, not the circumstances, not ourselves. (Utley, R. J. (1999). The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews (Vol. Volume 10, p. 125). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.) It suggests the impossibility of looking in two directions at once. In any contest a single eye for the finishing-post is essential and the writer turns this thought into a means of focusing on Jesus himself (Guthrie, D. (1983). Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 15, p. 251). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.). * Sometimes we are preoccupied with what other Christians are thinking and doing, especially in relation to us. Concern for others also has a place. We do not disregard our brothers in Christ or what they think about us. What they think about us, including their criticism, can be helpful to us. But if we focus on others, we are bound to stumble. We are not even to focus on the Holy Spirit. We are to be filled with the Spirit, and when we are, our focus will be on Jesus Christ, because that is where the Spirit's focus is (John 16:14). It is not that we try hard not to look at this or that or the other things that may distract us. If our focus is truly on Jesus Christ, we will see everything else in its right perspective. When our eyes are on the Lord, the Holy Spirit has the perfect opportunity to use us, to get us running and winning. We are to focus on Jesus because He is the founder/author and perfecter of our faith. He is the supreme example of our faith. In Hebrews 2:10 Jesus is called the author of salvation. Here He is the founder/author (archēgos) of our faith. He is the pioneer or originator, the one who begins and takes the lead. Jesus Christ is our preeminent example of faith. He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). He trusted His Father implicitly, for everything and in everything. "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:30). His Father's will was what He lived by and died by. It was all Jesus ever considered. The faith of all the heroes of chapter 11 together could not match the faith of the Son of God. They were wonderful witnesses and examples of faith; Jesus is a more wonderful example still. Their faith was true and acceptable to God; His was perfect and even more acceptable. In fact, without Jesus' faithfulness, no believer's faith would count for anything. For if Jesus' perfect faith had not led Him to the cross, our faith would be in vain, because there would then be no sacrifice for our sins, no righteousness to count to our credit. In all of this, the author is moving to a powerful exhortation to his readers to hold fast to their faith, of which Jesus is both the object and the supreme example (Ellingworth, P. (1993). The Epistle to the Hebrews: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 639). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.) Jesus not only is the founder/author of our faith, but also its perfecter (teleiōtēs), the One who carries it through to completion. As perfecter of faith, he brings it to its intended goal.... He is not only the basis, means, and fulfillment of faith, but in his life he also exemplifies the same principle of faith that we saw in the paragons of chapter 11 (Hagner, D. A. (2011). Hebrews (p. 212). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.). Only what was at the end of the race could have motivated Jesus to leave what He did and endure what He did. Jesus ran for two things, for the joy that was set before Him and sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God. He kept his eyes focused on the goal of his appointed course, the accomplishment of his priestly work, and his seat at the right hand of God. Knowing that a great reward was coming for God's people gave Jesus great joy. He did not look at his earthly discomforts, but he kept his eyes on the spiritual, invisible realities (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., Taylor, L. C., & Comfort, P. W. (1997). Hebrews (p. 206). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.). By faith, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. The Jews who demanded Jesus' crucifixion wanted to place him under the curse of God. They knew that God had said, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under [my] curse" (Deut. 21:23; see also Gal. 3:13). They wanted Jesus to experience the utmost shame. He took the curse upon himself to set his people free and to experience with them the joy God had set before him. Indeed, the author and perfecter of our faith triumphed when he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This is a PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE which emphasizes a completed act with abiding results. This is a continuing allusion to Ps. 110:1 (Utley, R. J. (1999). The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews (Vol. Volume 10, p. 125). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.). Please turn to Philippians 3 (p.922) That word "run" then presupposes the heart eagerly set upon the goal. That "goal" is complete deliverance from the power of indwelling sin, perfect conformity to the lovely image of Christ, entrance into the promised rest and bliss on High. It is only as that is kept steadily in view, only as faith and hope are in real and daily exercise, that we shall progress along the path of obedience. To look back will cause us to halt or stumble; to look down at the roughness and difficulties of the way will discourage and produce (slackness), but to keep the prize in view will nerve to steady endeavor (Pink, A. W. (1954). An exposition of Hebrews (p. 880). Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot.) Even though, like Paul, we are not yet perfect, we should also forget what is behind and reach forward to what lies ahead: Philippians 3:12-17 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. (ESV) * Some of us are having such a problem running the Christian race because of past baggage. We can't get over a past failure or a past offence from someone. This causes us to live our lives looking backwards. If anyone tries to run like this, they stumble over everything in their path. When our eyes are focused forward on the goal of Christ's calling we can effectively run and call others to run with us together. When Jesus went to the cross, He endured all that it demanded. He despised the shame and accepted it willingly, for the sake of His Father's reward and the joy that anticipation of this reward brought. As we run the race of the Christian life, we can run in the joyful anticipation of that same reward-the crown of righteousness, which one day we can cast at His feet as evidence of our eternal love for Him. Illustration: For team rowing in the Olympics, the rowers row with their backs to the finish line. They can't see the finish line. But at the front of the boat is the cockswain, a guy with a horn. He sits at the front of the boat, shouting instructions. "Pull, Pull! Row, Row!" The rowers keep their eyes fixed on the cockswain while they row. While they can't see where they are going, he can. The cockswain gives them a cadence and keeps them on track. If you don't know where you're headed, put your eyes on Jesus because He knows where your finish line is. He knows how to get you in the start of the race and take you to the finish line (Evans, T. (2009). Tony Evans' book of illustrations: stories, quotes, and anecdotes from more than 30 years of preaching and public speaking (pp. 109-110). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.). Finally, to help us to Never Give Up in the race of life, Christ calls us to: 3) Race to the Finish (Hebrews 12:3) Hebrews 12:3 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (ESV) When we get weary in the race, when our faith runs out and we think God has turned His back, when it seems we will never get out of the mess we are in and we are sure our faith cannot hold on any longer, we should read this verse. Part of the purpose to Consider/fix our eyes on Him (Jesus) is the same as that for considering the cloud of witnesses-our encouragement. That is why the writer to the Hebrews calls us to "consider Him", using a word occurring only here in the New Testament ...(elsewhere) this word is used in the mathematical sense of 'reckon up' and clearly implies a careful assessment. The readers are exhorted to weigh up carefully the endurance of Christ when contemplating their own hardships (Moulton and Milligan's Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament (London, 1952).) Jesus here is described as one who endured from sinners such hostility against himself. It is expressed that he: "endured" in the perfect tense which points to an abiding result. The example he set remaines before the readers. He endured from sinners such hostility/opposition against himself and thus was in the same kind of position the readers found themselves in. (Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 135). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.) Please turn to 1 Corinthians 9 (p.900) The purpose of fixing attention on Jesus Christ is so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. This expression was used by Aristotle of runners who relax and collapse after they have passed the finishing post. The readers were still in the race. They must not give way prematurely. They must not allow themselves to faint and collapse through weariness. Once again there is the call to perseverance in the face of hardship (Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 135). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.). * Equally valid is the fall to not let up before the final finish. Some take the assurance of salvation as a license to coast to the finish. Perseverance calls for continual striving. Are you as excited about your redemption as you were at first? Have the cares of life chocked out your resolve? Don't coast into eternity. Paul knew some Christians in the same condition, and to them he wrote: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (ESV) * Nothing makes less sense than to be in a race that you have little desire to win. Yet many Christians are content simply to be saved and to wait to go to heaven. But in a race or in a war or in the Christian life, lack of desire to win is unacceptable. At the end of his life, the Apostle Paul said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). We, the contestants, must run the race with perseverance. Our objective is to come to the finish line. But as we keep on running the course that God laid out before us, we keep our eye of faith fixed on Jesus. He encourages us to persevere in the contest, for he himself has run the same race. Jesus is the one who strengthens the runner and enables him to endure (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Exposition of Hebrews (Vol. 15, p. 367). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.). (Format Note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, John: Hebrews. Chicago : Moody Press, 1996, c1983, S. 371) 5