Running The Race To Finish Well (part 1)

by Jose Barajas

Being raised in a Catholic home meant that I was baptized as a child, and would take classes that prepared me for my first communion. Two things that have always struck me as being odd about the ceremonies I went through are A, baptizing a child goes against what scripture teaches us and B, my first communion was performed by a Spanish speaking priest. As a Hispanic family you would think nothing about it, except that I was raised to speak English not Spanish. So as you can guess I was clueless of what the Spanish priest was saying.  For all I know, I confessed to committing adultery and murder. 

All this to say, I don’t believe my sins were ever absolved or forgiven, because my heart was not really into it. Truth is, I know for a fact I was not changed. It never ceases to amaze me how many have, and still do, fall into the same trap of man’s traditions when it comes to confessing their sins. Yet they are never truly believed nor repented of their sins. I, of course, speak from experience and not just from the time I was a Catholic.

Hebrews has become one of my favorite books in the Bible over the last few years. I want to focus on Hebrews twelve, one thru four, but the whole book is a constant message about our faith in Jesus Christ. There is so much to unpack that this will be four different writings, one for each verse.

The writer is not mentioned and I don’t believe it’s Paul the Apostle as many seem to believe. Let’s look at verse one of chapter twelve,

“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) (Emphasis added)

When writing about, or just reading, the written word, we must consider many things. What is the writer saying, to who is the writer writing, what examples are used, and are there any transition words. Something else to consider, especially with the Bible, is to understanding that the chapters and verses were not in the original manuscripts. Thus, when we read a book, especially a New testament one, we need to read it as we would a letter from a friend. This is because the breaks are not always by subject nor is all the pertinant information needed included in one particular thought.

The writer starts this verse with, “Therefore.” When we see this word, we should look at what he was responding to with this beginning? The word, “therefore,” is a conjunctive adverb that shows cause and effect between independent clauses and can be used as a transition. The writer had just finished saying in chapter Eleven,

“And ALL THESE , though COMMENDED THROUGH THEIR FAITH, DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT WAS PROMISED, since God had provided something better for us, that APART FROM US THEY SHOULD NOT BE MADE PERFECT.” (ESV) (Emphasis added)

Verse one of chapter twelve is about all those who had died throughout the years. Those walking in faith with a belief in the Lord, regardless of what happened to them, and how they died knowing their reward is being with God forever. It isn’t about our loved ones dying and looking down on us, being our angels, or praying for us, because they’re in heaven and no longer can come back until they come in glory with Jesus. Remember, the parable Jesus tells about the rich man and Lazarus? Luke sixteen says,

“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”” (ESV)

Jesus was emphasizing that we have the Bible which was written by Moses and the prophets, and even if one died and rose as Jesus would and did, does not mean people would believe. Today people don’t believe in Jesus, even though there is more proof of Him living, dying, and resurrecting, and yet His words continue to spread with people still walking in faith. The writer of Hebrews is reminding us of the same thing. We have the examples of the men and women in the Bible who endured such pain, hardship, and some even death, but never ever gave into the sin. Did you catch what I said? THE SIN. Most translations just use the word sin, but let’s look at the original Greek.

(τὴν) THE (ἁμαρτίαν) Error “The verb αμαρτανω (hamartano) means to miss in the sense of to miss a target, road or direction (not in the sense of missing a friend). It's used a modest 43 times in the New Testament, but the primary noun αμαρτια (hamartia), meaning error (see below) occurs a whopping 174 times. Our English verb, "to err," and noun, "error," come from the Latin verb erro. This which is cognate to the Sanskrit arsati, and ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root ers-, meaning to be in motion or to wander around. Our Latin verb erro means precisely the same thing as our Greek verb hamartano: namely to miss a target, or to wander from the right way. The Latin word error, meaning a wandering or deviation from the route to the objective, is therefore a perfect equivalent of our Greek noun αμαρτια (hamartia).”

Sin on the other hand, comes from an ancient root that means, "to be," hence the German verb sein and the Dutch verb zijn; both meaning to be. This root also relates to the Latin noun sons, meaning guilty or criminal, which in turn derives from the participle sum (meaning "being") of which the infinitive is esse, hence our word "is." All this indicates that our cultural understanding of "sin" is static, intrinsic or even possibly imposed by someone who declares: "he is [guilty]!" possibly despite pleadings and evidence to the contrary. In our world, someone might be "guilty" without having done anything, or "innocent" while stealing all day long. In most modern societies one is innocent until declared guilty by some authority, which ultimately means that in our world being a sinner has nothing to do with actually doing something wrong, but rather with getting found out.

What is the writer of Hebrews saying when it comes to this “Sin?” If we look at the whole book as a whole we see that the writer is talking about faith in Jesus, by believing in Him as the Messiah, the atonement and sacrificial Lamb that came to die for us. “If we believe in Jesus,” doesn’t mean we won’t sin and that isn’t what verse one is emphasizing. The writer actually dispels any notion of a seven year period with people coming to a saving knowledge after a rapture. The idea that a rapture exists where people are coming to have their eyes opened, in essence throws the whole book of Hebrews out the window. The writer also uses examples of men and women who committed sins and yet were in the “faith” hall of fame, so it can’t just be sins as many pastors falsely teach.

We must remember, Abraham didn’t wait for God’s promise of a child, Instead he heeded the advice of his wife by taking her maid, Hagar, as a wife and she bore him a child. He lacked faith by not waiting on God’s promise and not going to Him in prayer. Like Adam did, Abram listened to his wife instead of God and sinned. Isaac would also allow his wife, Rebeka, to trick him into giving the second son the blessing which caused friction between the two brothers. Then Jacob, who became Israel, lied, cheated, had two wives, children with his wives maids, and showed weakness by fearing his brother. Jacob would go one to wrestle with God, and even allowed his sons to commit sins of murder and failed to punish them.

The chapter continues as it lists Moses who ran for fear of his life after murdering a man, and ultimately was not even allowed into the promised land. We see Rahab the prostitute, and David who murdered the husband of the women he commited adultery with. The sins of David created such a devastating chain reaction of troubles for his descendants that the Kingdom God gave him would eventually be divided and fall into idolatry with Baal worship. We also see Samson, Gideon, and many others not mentioned by name, who were less than ideal candidates for such a list. Yet they never wavered in their faith in God, even though they were not faithful in their lives.

When you look at the context of Hebrews twelve one through four and also the previous chapters; we see that the sin mentioned is people missing the mark while being in danger of walking away from God and losing belief in Jesus. There is no other explanation as to what the writer is saying about what the Sin is. This is why we are to run the race with endurance, and that only happens by staying the course. Listen to what Paul says in First Corinthians nine,

“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. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we are imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (ESV)

Paul also says in second Timothy four,

“I have fought the good fight, I have FINISHED THE RACE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH.” (ESV) (Emphasis Added)

He also writes in Galatians five,

“You WERE RUNNING WELL. WHO HINDERED YOU FROM OBEYING THE TRUTH? This persuasion is not from Him who calls you.” (ESV) (Emphasis added)

We can’t insert thoughts and make up things to fit our denominational beliefs in order to sell books, fill churches, or mislead people into thinking things that are not scriptural. The Bible is clear, concise, and orderly. Men are the one's who change the meaning of the Scriptures to fit their agenda. God doesn’t want us sinning, and that is why I share what I believe what the Scriptures are truly telling us. It’s my desire to open the eyes and minds of Christians so they can truly understand what God conveys to us in His Word. Too often I see my brothers and sister being led astray by lies that ensnare or entangle them in untruths. Translations created by Satan’s minions, which even lead believers away from Jesus by denying Who He is. There is only one unpardonable sin, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is denying Jesus is the Messiah.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot run a race where we will easily be disqualified, the minute we get going. The race is tough, and walking with Jesus is tough, but that is why we need to look at the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us. They are mentioned so we may be encouraged by their faith, knowing they never denied Jesus, even though they may have failed in other areas of their life. Keep the faith, run the race, not with traditions and relics, or rules that man has set, but in Jesus and with Jesus as we will see, as we dive into the next verses.