Running the Race of Faith (Part 1)

INTRODUCTION

When you got saved, you were entered into a life-long race of faith. And…

Running the race of faith requires discipline.

(verse 1)—“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...”

Imagery of a stadium filled with fans at a sporting event watching athletes compete. Just like Bryant-Denny, Jordan-Hare, Memorial Stadium.

“cloud” — “crowd”

Witnesses—those who have gone before us in this race of faith…everyone he just talked about in chapter 11.

Running the race of faith requires discipline.

This week and next Sunday are two parts of the same message. The author is continuing to urge the believers to persevere and keep living by faith—trusting in the goodness and the promises of God. Here, he tells them that they are to discipline themselves as they pursue the life of faith in Jesus and in the rest of chapter 12, he talks about God’s work of discipline in their lives making them more like Jesus.

What is discipline? Discipline is the intentional, Spirit-empowered practice of ordering your life under God’s Word and God’s will, denying sin, and training your heart, mind, and habits to grow in holiness and Christlikeness.

“Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely…”

Discipline requires getting rid of whatever slows me down and trips me up.

The author tells us to “lay aside.” This is a command and it is an intentional choice. Remember what we just say “discipline” is—the intentional, Spirit-empowered practice of denying sin in my life and ordering my life under God’s Word and will.

Here’s the reality—Sin isn’t going to just magically flee from you. In the Bible, we are told to “flee from sin.” All throughout his letters, Paul instructs believers to “put off the old self/sin and put on the new self.”

Here’s one of the most powerful verses in the Bible:

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

What does the author tell us to lay aside? Weight and sin that cling so closely to us. Whatever slows me down and trips me up.

Thephrase, “clings so closely” has a dual meaning. It means “to be confining so as to distract.”

Orsippus Incident

A) Weight

Weight—burdens that, if you’re being honest, you just haven’t given over to the Lord and they’re weighing you down and keeping you from running the race of faith.

Busyness → Prioritize time with Christ

Don’t just fill your calendar—fill your soul. Ask: What in my life is good, but not necessary? Trim it back so that prayer, Scripture, and worship are not squeezed out.

Application: This week, deliberately carve out 15–30 minutes each day for focused communion with Christ.

Relationships that Distract → Reorient or release

Some friendships pull you toward Christ; others pull you away.

Application: Evaluate your closest relationships. If they hinder your faith, either reshape them with gospel intentionality or, if necessary, step back.

B) Sin

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”

Discipline requires me to daily train myself.

This one statement is absolutely loaded with meaning and fleshing out the imagery of the life of faith being like an athletic event.

I want to start with the word, “race.” Now, to us—English language speakers—we see the word “race” and we think sprint, or relay race, or even marathon.

But, this word—while it described a running race in Greek—actually means “struggle” or “conflict.” In fact, the Greek word is “agona”—we get our word “agony.” In other words, as Christians, we are running in an agonizing struggle of a faith journey/faith race.

Man, if that doesn’t describe what these believers in the first century are facing, I don’t know what does.

This is also a great picture of the Christian life/life of faith as a whole. Now. Let me be very clear…there is infinite joy and peace and blessing in being a child of God. There is life and love and grace upon grace that is ours in Jesus only Jesus. But, the life of faith can be an agonizing race. EXPLAIN//GIVE EXAMPLES.

Which is why he says that we need “endurance.”

“Endurance” — perseverance

Now, look at how the author describes this race…it is “Set before us” — the race is marked out by God. His rules, His way…we obey.

He is sovereign. He is good. He is in control. He has given us all that we need, Peter says, for life and for godliness.

Spiritual disciplines—are you daily training your mind according to the Word of God? Are you spending time in the Word of God? Are you meditating and memorizing the Word of God? Are you training the words that come out of your mouth according to the Word of God, relying on the Spirit of God by surrendering to Him through a strong prayer life? Are you training your heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness through fasting?

1 Timothy 4:7–8 “…train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

To run the race of faith and finish well, we must discipline ourselves in getting rid of whatever slows us down or trips us up…train ourselves daily…and, then, finally, look again…

“(Let us) look 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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

Discipline requires me to keep my eyes on Jesus.

In 1968, during the Olympic Games in Mexico City, a marathon runner from Tanzania named John Stephen Akhwari became famous—not for winning, but for finishing. Halfway through the race, he fell, severely injured his leg, and was in tremendous pain. Most runners would have dropped out. But hours after the race had ended, long after the medals were given out, Akhwari limped into the stadium. With bandages on his leg and blood running down, he crossed the finish line to a nearly empty crowd. When reporters asked him why he didn’t quit, his answer was unforgettable: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.”

The author tells these believers that, in order to run with perseverance, they must keep their eyes on Jesus—the author and perfecter of their faith. When you run a race, you learn very quickly that where your eyes go, your body follows. If you look over your shoulder at the competition, you lose stride. If you stare down at your feet, you stumble. If you fixate on the pain in your legs, you quit. The disciplined runner keeps their gaze locked on the finish line—that’s what draws them forward when everything in them wants to give up.

Notice how He is described: He is “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” That means He started this race in us—He gave us new life when we trusted Him—and He has promised to finish what He began. Discipline in the Christian life is not first about rules or routines, but about relationship. It is a daily decision to reorient your heart and mind toward Christ.

Look to him as an example

1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

Look to him as the reward

And look at how He ran His race: “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus did not run with His eyes fixed on the pain of the nails or the jeers of the crowd. He fixed His eyes on the joy of glorifying the Father and redeeming sinners like us. He endured hostility, shame, and suffering because He knew what was on the other side. The cross was agony, but the outcome was joy. If He could endure that for us, then surely, with our eyes on Him, we can endure what is set before us.

That’s why verse 3 says, “Consider Him…” Think deeply on Jesus when you feel weary. Remember His endurance when hostility makes you want to give up. Meditate on His faithfulness when you are tempted to compromise. And verse 4 puts it into perspective: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” In other words, your battle is real, but Christ’s was greater. You haven’t faced the full weight of suffering He endured—and yet He pressed on. Keeping your eyes on Jesus gives you perspective: your pain is not meaningless, your struggle is not ultimate, and your race is not in vain.

So let me ask you—where are your eyes fixed today? If you’re staring at your problems, you’ll grow fainthearted. If you’re looking at other people, you’ll stumble. If you’re focused on yourself, you’ll run out of strength. But if you fix your eyes on Jesus—the One who endured for you, the One who empowers you, and the One who awaits you at the finish line—you’ll find the discipline to persevere, to run with endurance, and to finish well.

Next Steps:

Identify, confess, and surrender the burdens and sins that slow me down and trip me up.

What areas of "training" do I need to focus on?

Are there other things that I am keeping my eyes on instead of Jesus?