Introduction
For years I struggled with a pornography addiction. My addiction damaged my first marriage, brought me shame, and worst of all, came between me and God. After several years of working through my past, growing, and maturing, by God’s grace I recovered from my addiction. We all have struggles in life; sometimes they are self-inflicted, and sometimes not. What battles do you deal with: bitterness, gossiping, lust, or anger? It is easy to become weary in our fight with sin, but do not grow weary. Today we will find encouragement in Hebrews 12 as we learn how God’s discipline is a blessing.
My earlier post looked at Hebrews 11 and saw how many figures in the Old Testament had a faithful heart of service to God; today we are going to continue with Hebrews 12.
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, 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.
Just like today, runners in biblical times would reduce their weight any way they could, so they could run with greater speed and endurance. With the great people of faith mentioned in chapter eleven as our example, and cheering squad, the writer of Hebrews implores us to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
1 Day after day, athletes train to improve. Filled with success and failure, they never give up.
The weight of our sin is woven through every part of our lives. We can only fight the good fight and finish the race with daily training and strength from God. The writer of Hebrews points us to Jesus as our ultimate example and source of strength. Jesus is the foundation and source of our faith. It is only through our faith in him that we have hope of even getting off the starting line.
Jesus displayed perfect faith by going to the cross. He is the only person who can be perfectly faithful to God, so he is the only one who can lead us to that kind of faith.
Do not grow weary
Hardships come from many directions; sometimes they are consequences of our own actions; while other times they come from other people. What is one hardship you are facing from yourself, and one from someone else?
Regardless of the source of our struggles, the writer of Hebrews offers us encouragement so that we do not grow weary. Despite immense suffering and shame, Jesus joyfully went to the cross, because he knew the blessing on the other side.
When we are persecuted by others for following Jesus, there is comfort knowing he has overcome and is by our side. God promises us that he hears, answers, and delivers us in our affliction. He will not let our trials be more than we can handle, but they will be difficult.
God will use trials to grow our faith and make us holy; this includes trials from the consequences of our own sin. Discipline from God for our own actions is the hardest to handle. The writer of Hebrews invites us to change our perspective when he reminds us of the passage from Proverbs 3, which says, The Lord disciplines the ones he loves.
2 He uses the example of earthly fathers who discipline their sons because they love them. While earthly fathers discipline as it seemed best to them
3, God is perfect and good in all he does. He knows our thoughts and actions completely, and will never judge unjustly. God disciplines with a patient and faithful heart—his discipline is a blessing of love. As we’ve noted, these trials will be difficult, but never impossible to bear. The writer acknowledges this in verse 11 when he says, For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.
4
God’s grace and his discipline go hand in hand. He disciplines every son whom he receives.
5 Avoiding God’s discipline means we are avoiding his grace and a blessing he only gives to his children. The writer warns us that avoiding God’s discipline can cause a ‘root of bitterness’ to spring up, or lead us to become ‘sexually immoral or unholy like Esau.’
6
In Genesis 25, Esau gave up his birthright to his brother for a single meal; showing no regard for the blessing and honor of his birthright. He valued earthly things over God’s covenant with his family, which should have been passed on to him. When the time came for Esau to receive this blessing he found no chance to repent.
7 Though it may be difficult, do not turn away from the blessing and grace of God’s discipline.
Conclusion
In Hebrews, we are encouraged to run with endurance and stay faithful to Jesus as we lay aside the sin in our lives. Though your circumstances may be difficult, God is always with you, and his discipline is for our good. Allowing God’s discipline to have its full effect in your life will lead to holiness and the fruits of righteousness. When we reject God’s discipline, we miss the blessing of rooting out sin from our lives and becoming more like Jesus. Do not grow weary, but thank God for the blessing of his discipline.