Hebrews 12:1-4

J.I Packer- Hot Tub Religion

I joined a gym in Wake Forest when I was in seminary.

The gym I joined had an Olympic size pool where people could go and swim laps and but on the other end, there was a big hot tub.

After I would get done running or working out, I would go to the pool.

For whatever reason, the pool to swim laps in never appealed to.

I would always head straight for the hot tub.

It was interesting because we were in the same room together, but the people in the pool were in the pool for exercise. They were doing something.

On the other hand, I just sat in the hot and enjoyed myself.

JI Packer wrote a book where in it, he compares modern Christianity to a hot tub.

“The hot tub experience is sensuous, relaxing, floppy, laid-back: not in any way demanding, whether intellectually or otherwise, but very, very nice, even to the point of being great fun. Many today want Christianity to be like that, and labor to make it so. Modern life strains us. We get stimulated till we are dizzy. Relationships are brittle; marriages break; families fly apart; business is a cutthroat rat race, and those not at the top feel themselves mere cogs in another’s machine. No wonder that when modern Western man turns to religion what he wants is total tickling relaxation, the sense of being at once soothed, supported and effortlessly invigorated: in short, hot tub religion.”

He’s absolutely right about the modern Western people.

Where Christianity is meant to be a grueling run and race to the finish, many people in our day, and especially in our culture, want comfort.

That’s why people looking for a church often look for larger churches where they are large enough to hire people to do the ministry for them.

People join churches based upon their comfort level, or worse, how can this church serve me and my family?

Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Its people walking the pool for the hot tub.

As we get started today in our text, Keep in mind here we are in the middle of this book that was likely read or preached in one sitting.

We take a few verses a week and go through them, but this book is written to be read in its entirety. So I want to remind you of where we left off.

Last week, we walked through the definition of faith, and we listed example after example of people who through hope and conviction, practiced their faith to the end of their lives.

We mentioned Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, Rahab, David, Daniel, and other whose names were not mentioned. We mentioned their acts of faith in God, and we finished by discussing how those acts of faith were looking forward to the reward of faith which is Christ.

Now we come to chapter 12

Hebrews 12:1 NASB95

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,

He speaks of a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.

He is talking about the people we mentioned last week in Hebrews 11. The picture here is that they have completed their race. they have completed their journey and now they look on at us.

Now if you are like me, when you hear those names of Old Testament giants in the faith, my immediate response is to assume that those people were somehow on another level than me when it comes to faith.

None of us would dare compare ourselves to Moses or Abraham or David or Daniel. Or any one in the Bible. I mean they are in the Bible....

....And yet the picture that we get here is that as they ran their race and finished well, so too we are to do the same.

This is mind blowing to me- because this means that there is no lesser expectation of you and me than there was of Abraham. There is no lesser expectation of you or me than there was of Moses, Elijah, David, Daniel, Ruth.

We are called just like they were, to be faithful.

We looked at all those examples of faith, and every one of them is meant to show US what faith in God looks like in order to push us forward in our faith.

The whole point of last week and chapter 11 was to encourage you in the faith.

The gaol was not to leave last week thinking, well I could never live by faith like those people.

Don’t forget!- These were common, ordinary people. They just had faith in God.

The author here is painting the picture as if they are standing around encouraging us saying, “We finished the race. You can do it too.”

But he is going to give us some instructions.

Look what he goes on to say in verse 1

Hebrews 12:1 NASB95

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,

Let us lay aside the things that hold us back.

The things that entangle us.

The word here for entangle means to snare up, to trap. It carries with it the idea of being held back, tripped up.

Essentially, you are unable to continue to run the race because you are altogether kept from running by sin.

Older translations used the term- besets us. In other words, it gets us off track.

Regardless, the whole point here is this, it keeps you from running.

And it says here that it easily does this.

That sin easily entangles us and keeps us from being able to move forward in the faith.

I don’t think I have to do much convincing here.

We all know how prone we are fall into sin.

The question becomes-Why? Why is it so easy for us to be entangled into sin?

I think one reason is this:

We have a deceptive and crafty enemy who is really good at what he does.

This is why Peter warns us

1 Peter 5:8 NASB95

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Paul was worried about the Corinthian church that they would fall to Satan’s tactics.

2 Corinthians 11:3 NASB95

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

Paul exhorted the church of Ephesus to stand firm against the devil.

Ephesians 6:10–11 NASB95

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Church we have an adversary.

He is cunning. He is crafty. He seeks for those to devour. He leads people astray.

He would love nothing more than to tear you apart in your faith.

And He is goos at what he does- Often, he caters to our own desires.

This reminds me of a story I once heard about how Native American used to kill wolves. Its said that in order to trap and kill wolves, the native Americans use to us what is called a Blood Knife. They take a blood-soaked knife and stick it into a block of ice with the blade showing. Wolves are instinctively drawn to the smell of the blood. As bloodthirsty animals, they lick the blade of the knife believing they are getting a great meal. In a frenzy, they lick the knife, slicing their tongue to shreds because they can’t distinguish their own blood from the original blood on the knife. Unbeknownst to the wolves, they are now bleeding to death. By the time they happen to realize what’s happening, it’s too late. What they thought was satisfying them was actually killing them.

Satan works in the same way. He places what we sinfully desire in front of us, and oftentimes we just give in to the lust of our flesh.

Before we realize it, what we thought was just a brief moment of pleasure, has destroyed our lives.

It has beset us in the walk of faith. Sin destroys our lives in so many ways. and Satan loves to see it.

He loves to see homes broken and shattered over sin and selfishness.

He loves to see Pastors and deacons fall into sin and ruin their ability to serve and cast doubt in the minds of all those to whom they ministered.

He loves to see gossip tear families and churches apart. He loves to see empty pews for worship and prayer meeting.

He loves to see undisciplined and un-discipled people. He loves when we fail to evangelize. He loves to see children go astray. He loves the normalization and legalization of sin. He loves adultery, pornography, and homosexuality. He will glad give you the riches of the world and its comforts, so long as you will worship them and not God. He loves to see us give up the eternal for the temporary.

And he loves a lukewarm church that has lost its first love and sits back in comfort.

Make no mistake-Everything God loves, Satan hates and means to destroy.

Everything God hates, Satan loves and means to make it successful.

And he so often is successful.

And, again, I do think that one reason that sin easily entangles us is that Satan is good at what he does.

On the other hand

Another reason, is that we are bad at what we are supposed to do.

Sin easily entangles us because we let sin stay alive rather than killing it.

But we are told.

Romans 8:13 NASB95

for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 13:12 NASB95

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

There is an urgency to this. We can’t possibly run the race set before us, if we are constantly entangled by sin.

We have to kill the sin. What sin is that for you?

Greed? Envy? Criticism? Laziness? Hatred? Lust? Unthankfulness? Pride? No self control.

Whatever sin it is, it must be stripped off, laid aside, and left behind if you are going to run the race God has set before you.

If not, like a blood soaked knife, what we think is satisfying is actually killing us.

But sin is not the only thing that holds us back.

Listen to verse 1 again.

Hebrews 12:1 NASB95

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,

He mentions first- Every encumbrance.

Some things may not be sinful, but they may not be profitable.

Some things we could do without and it would seriously help in our pursuit of doing the things of God.

Some things may not be sinful in and of themselves, but the time we give to them when compared to the time we give to the Lord, reveals that we are pursuing those things a whole lot harder than we are the things of God. ----

Some questions to consider-

What do you prioritize?

What do you spend your time doing?

What is your screen time?

How much time do you spend in prayer, Bible Study, and making disciples?

What do you make sure you have time for every day? Come Heaven or High Water, You gonna make sure you ain’t going to miss that.

How often do those things keep you from being diligent to seek God’s face in his word?

We are called to Lay aside every encumbrance.

How often do those things keep you from being involved in church?

You’ve all heard the term-The ox is in the ditch? Things happen and come up that have to be done.

Granted I know, sometimes the ox is in the ditch. Right? We have no choice.

But all too often, we put that ox in the ditch on purpose. If the ox keeps getting in the ditch, it may be time to kill or sell the ox.

And our willingness to give up the ox for God in comparison to our willingness to give up God for the ox may just reveal something about who or what we worship.

Let us lay aside every encumbering thing and sin that entangles us and run the race set before us.

Let us run the race.

Hebrews 12:1 NASB95

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,

Few things I want to point out-

First- Its a run not a walk.

It takes effort. You will get tired. You will feel pain. You will feel like quitting. It ain’t a hot tub.

Its a run. Its effort. And we all have to give effort.

We have to run the race set before us.

There’s a race every individual must run.

Your race is different in many ways and similar in many ways.

Some races are longer. Some are shorter

Some paths are more difficult.

I may not be able to run your race, and you may not be able to run mine.

That is not the point.

The point is that we can finish well by the grace of God.

There is a race that you have been called to run. Its yours. You will either run it well, or you will not.

Second, We must run the race with perseverance.

Its not a walk- The Christian life is not a sprint where you run well for a little while and then quit. Its a race of endurance.

For the Christian life, the race set before us is a grueling one. Its a long one.

Its for those who put one foot in foot of the other over and over and over again.

The Christian life is a pilgrimage.

It requires enduring to the end even when many grow cold.

Speaking of the end times, Jesus says this-

Matthew 24:12–13 NASB95

“Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

In the Christian’s life there is a necessity to endure.

In fact, other than holiness, I think the attribute that best describes a Christian is endurance.

Faithfulness to the end.

Which means, young people your race has just started. Keep plodding.

Older folks, don’t quit now. You never age out of the race.

Verse 1 here is so rich.

We have all these witnesses who have died faithfully following and enduring in Christ.

And the urge to us, is this- Now it your turn. Its our turn to live and die following Jesus.

You might be asking at this point: How are we supposed to do this?

We look around us and we see so many in our culture who claim to follow Christ, but their lives show no mark of obedience to Him.

Beware of looking at those people and misdefining what it means to faithfully endure.

We look around at our families and those we grew up with or those we raised are no longer following Christ.

They’ve bowed out. They aren’t running.

Beware of looking at those people and misdefining what it means to faithfully endure.

We look at pastors and leaders that we used to respect and hold dear and they have fallen. No longer in ministry. Some no longer in the faith.

Beware of looking at those people and misdefining what it means to faithfully endure.

Well who can we look at then?? Should we go back to Hebrews 11 and look at the examples of the people in the Old Testament who were so faithful. that whole chapter is written about their faithfulness.

But when you start to consider many of those people, you realize their lives were incomplete and flawed as well.

Because if you tell me to be like Moses.

I have to ask: Which Moses? The Moses who by faith stood up to Pharaoh? Or the Moses who had an anger problem and disobeyed God

If you tell me to be like Abraham?

I have to ask: Which Abraham? the Abe who by faith offered up Isaac or the Abraham who laughed in God’s face the first time he promised.

If you tell me to be like David? The man after God’s own heart

I have to ask: Which David? The one who as a boy killed Goliath who defied the armies of the living God, or the one who as a man had Uriah killed to cover up the fact that he had slept with Uriah’s wife?

You see when we examine the Scriptures and examine the hearts and lives of people who live around us, we are prone to misidentify what it means to follow Christ.

This is why the author of Hebrews doesn’t tell you fix your eyes on other Christians-He doesn’t tell you to fix your eyes on David. He doesn’t tell you to fix your eyes on your pastor or your family.

Listen to who we are to put our eyes on

Hebrews 12:2 NASB95

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.

Who is the superior example of faith. Its Jesus.

Who should you keep your eyes on. Its Jesus.

Who is the only perfect example of faith? Jesus.

So if you want to focus on someone to pattern your life of faith on, its Jesus. Its not me. Not your mama, your daddy.

He is the author of faith- Meaning he is the one who gives faith and perfects our faith.

Jesus is our example of what it means to persevere.

He was obedient to God in the midst of the worst suffering imaginable.

As believer’s and those who call Jesus Lord, We must look to Him.

On your worst day where for a moment you took your eyes off him and you fell.. Get back up. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run.

Jesus is example of our faith and the reward of our faith.

He sits at the right hand of God proving he was faithful.

And he sits at the right hand of God ready for all believers who finish the race to reward them with himself.

If we ever take our eyes off of Him, the road looks to difficult, the race looks impossible.

Take some time today to look not at your situation but at Jesus.

Hebrews 12:3 NASB95

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Praise and worship Him for He is the prize for which we run and only He can give us endurance.