Running to Finish the Race

Hebrews 12:12-17

Main Idea: In order to finish the race of the Christian faith, we must clear all obstacles, encourage one another, and heed the warning of Scripture’s negative examples.

1. The Charge: Keep Running (12:12-13).
2. The Challenge: Live Holy Lives (12:14-17).
   1. Pursue peace and holiness.
   2. Watch over one another.
   3. Avoid Esau’s example.
   4. Heed the warning.

Those who study communication believe certain gestures are recognized in almost every culture. For instance, smiles and frowns universally communicate happiness or sadness. No one needs a translator to understand a look of resignation or a gesture of defiance. In this passage the author of Hebrews speaks about the Christian life with metaphorical language that makes use of universally understood gestures: drooping hands, weak knees, lame feet, and other imagery. These word pictures help us understand the Christian life as the exhausting struggle that it can be at times. And they also show us how to continue running this great race with endurance and perseverance.

The Charge: Keep Running

Hebrews 12:12-13

We need to understand the context in order to grasp what the writer means when he says “strengthen your tired hands.” At the beginning of the chapter he exhorts us to run the race by following the example of those who ran before us. The “therefore” at the beginning of verse 12 refers to the discipline he spoke about in verse 11. In other words, because the author knows that the Lord disciplines his church for its own joy, he encourages his people to persevere in trials and to be strong in the Lord.

The writer also exhorts God’s people to “strengthen your . . . weakened knees.” Weak knees are an almost universal illustration of fear. You don’t have to be a Jew or a Gentile, or an ancient or a modern to get this. Thus, the author encourages this congregation to keep standing in the Lord despite difficult circumstances, presumably persecution. The race may be grueling, even deadly, but we do not run in vain.

The writer metaphorically speaks of our physical posture in order to address something of deeper spiritual significance. As Christians, we know that we were created for God’s glory. We understand that God is sovereign and has a purpose for us. Even when he disciplines us, we must trust his goodness, knowing that it makes us more like Christ. Rather than being resigned to whatever fortune falls our way, we sincerely want what God desires for us. And so we have reason to strengthen our tired hands and weakened knees. We run for the joy set before us.

Although odd sounding at first, “make straight paths” is actually an immensely powerful expression when understood in its biblical context. The author is almost certainly drawing this idea from Isaiah 35, a chapter depicting Israel’s return to Zion from exile (see also Isa 40:3-4). If you are going to run a race well, you will need a clear path, and to get a clear path, you will need to remove any obstacles. You don’t want to leave any dangerous spots where you could twist an ankle or trip over a rock. Here the author is commanding these runners to clear their paths. These paths are moral ones that lead to righteousness. We need to free ourselves from the kinds of obstacles and dangers that are designed to trip us up. We must arrange our lives so that sin’s opportunities to ensnare us are significantly reduced.

Should we fail to clear our paths, we will not find healing and will remain out of joint. It is what the second half of verse 13 teaches. It is common sense, but we have a hard time obeying this command. Rather than making our paths straight and running after Jesus, we avoid opportunities for accountability and entertain our sin just enough to keep it alive. The danger in this, of course, is that we are never healed, remain crippled in our sin, and eventually turn away from the Lord. Clearing our paths and following Jesus, on the other hand, will spiritually restore us.

The Challenge: Live Holy Lives

Hebrews 12:14-17

Verses 14-16 string together a chain of moral imperatives that those running the Christian race live by. These imperatives give us a picture of holy, faithful running that stays the course to the very end. Conversely, the author also gives us a picture of unholy living in the person of Esau. We are told not to fall away as he did.

Pursue Peace and Holiness

The call to pursue peace is a very important Christian imperative. Notice verse 14 does not say, “achieve peace with everyone.” It says we are to “pursue peace with everyone.” We may not be able to achieve peace, but Christ’s people are those who strive for it and are known for doing so. And notice we’re called to do so “with everyone.” We are not merely to seek peace with those in our own circles of concern, but with everyone with whom we engage. This exhortation echoes Paul’s charge to the Christians in Rome: “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom 12:18). Seeking peace with everyone is part and parcel of the path of righteousness on which the author encourages his people to run.

In this same verse the author also exhorts his audience to pursue holiness. He warns that no one will see the Lord without it. Thus, holiness is required for the believer. Holiness is not a mark of unregenerate people, nor is it a mark of those who are falling away and failing to run the race of Christian faith. Here the author is using the term holiness to describe those who are pursuing the Lord. This does not mean those who run are perfect or sinless, but it does mean they are fighting sin and living faithfully. No one will see the Lord without this holiness, which makes the moral imperative to make straight paths for our feet eternally significant.

Watch Over One Another

The writer continues his chain of commands in verse 15. Believers should be vigilant that no one in the community of faith fails to receive the grace of God. While we may think of the grace of God in an evangelistic sense, this is not the author’s focus here. He is speaking of the ongoing grace of God, which believers experience through the preaching of the Word and the Christian disciplines. In this context of the new covenant community, the readers were called to watch over one another—from the weakest brother to the strongest—so that all in their midst would grow in holiness and obtain the grace of God.

He also commands his people to see to it “that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble.” Believers must be on guard against the poison of bitterness. Bitterness is a deadly contagion and a sign of serious spiritual trouble. It’s an on-ramp to the way of sin, not to the way of righteousness, tearing apart the church as it spreads. We do not necessarily make a cognitive decision to become bitter, but we allow a wrong to fester just enough that it takes root in the heart. Thus, we must stop bitterness at the root, lest it spread to others in Christ’s body and make us unclean.

In addition to remaining on guard against bitterness, we are also called to see to it “that there isn’t any immoral . . . person.” While other forms of immorality certainly exist, the Bible addresses sexual sin with particular candor. We live in a day that minimizes sexual sin, but the Bible maximizes its severity. Why? Because, as we read in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Every other sin a person can commit is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.” Sexual immorality not only violates the law of God; it also defiles our own bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20).

Avoid Esau’s Example

In the same breath, the author tells us not to be irreverent like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. Is there a relationship between Esau and sexual immorality? Scripture gives us no indication that Esau was sexually immoral, so it does not seem that the combination is meant to point to Esau’s sexual sin. Rather, the conjunction in the sentence—sexually immoral or irreverent like Esau—indicates the strong relationship between sexual immorality and irreverence. They are both markers of unfaithfulness to God.

Like those listed in Hebrews 11, the example of Esau is meant to encourage us to persevere in the faith. Yet, we are not encouraged to imitate his example; we are to avoid it at all costs, for his example was not one of faithfulness to God. Rather, Esau traded away his birthright in order to alleviate the physical discomfort of hunger (Gen 25:29-34). A single meal was more important to Esau than the birthright that belonged to him as Isaac’s firstborn son. Trading it away to Jacob demonstrated his disinterest not just for his birthright, but for the holy things of God. In fact, Moses says that Esau’s actions show that he “despised his birthright” (Gen 25:34). Thus, the author of Hebrews appropriately identifies Esau as irreverent, unfaithful, and unworthy of our emulation.

Why does the author regard the selling of a birthright as unholy? Esau’s privileged position as Isaac’s firstborn son designated him as the one who was to bear the responsibility of the family and carry his father’s name and role after Isaac’s death. Having such an honor and privilege was a direct result of God’s sovereign choice. Therefore, what Esau did was unthinkable. It was a crime not only against his family but also against Yahweh—the One who bestowed the birthright on Esau. He committed the offense willingly; he did not give it up by force. He let the appetite of his belly lead him into a serious offense against God.

Heed the Warning

This is not the end of Esau’s story, though. After trading away his birthright for a bowl of stew, Esau longed to receive the blessing of the firstborn from his father. Jacob, however, deceiving Isaac, received it instead (Gen 27:27-30). When Esau learned of the blessing he had lost to his brother, he bitterly begged his father to bless him as well (Gen 27:34), but the original blessing could not be revoked.

Esau stands as an example of someone who regrets what he has done but does not truly repent of his wrongdoing. There is a crucial distinction between regret and repentance. God never rejects true repentance, but he has no interest in worldly regret (2 Cor 7:10). Esau does not respond in such a way that communicates genuine repentance over his offense. He simply regrets that he has lost his birthright and his blessing as the firstborn. It is not repentance that Esau seeks with tears, it’s only what he’s lost to Jacob: his father’s blessing.

True repentance requires a hatred of sin. Tears alone do not signal repentance. There are many people who are brokenhearted over their sin, but they do not repent. They do not agree with God about what their sin is. They do not understand that their sin demonstrates a need for Jesus. They may show regret, but they are unwilling to repent. This is the warning the author presents to us in the person of Esau.

By drawing our attention to Esau, the writer presents us with two options: either we can follow the example of those who were faithful until the very end, or we can follow the example of Esau. We need the honesty and candor of Scripture not only for its positive examples but also for its negative examples. We must not follow the steps of Esau. We must heed the author’s warning and run the race with faithfulness by truly seeking to turn from our rebellious ways.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What is the relationship between the Lord’s discipline and the exhortation to strengthen our tired hands and our weak knees? How does verse 11 lead to the exhortation in verse 12? Why are Christians able to run with the kind of posture described in verse 12?
2. What obstacles are currently on your path, tripping you up in a spiritual sense? In what ways are you entertaining sin and not waging war against it? Do you have accountability and discipleship built into your life, helping you “make straight paths” for yourself?
3. What does pursuing peace have to do with the path of righteousness on which Christians run? What does the writer mean when he exhorts us to “pursue” peace with everyone? What does striving for peace look like inside the context of the local church?
4. How do Christians pursue holiness? If holiness is a divine gift, then in what sense can we legitimately strive for holiness? According to the way the author is using the term holiness in verse 14, would this be an accurate word to describe your life right now?
5. What does it mean to “fall short of the grace of God”? How should we understand this phrase? What role do we have in making sure that others obtain the grace of God?
6. Summarize a time when bitterness caused division in your church. How was it addressed? From where does such bitterness generally come? What are some practical ways that help us guard each other against bitterness?
7. Why do you think the author lists the command to make sure that no one is sexually immoral among these other imperatives? How is sexual immorality particularly destructive to our personal holiness? How is it related to Esau’s irreverence? What do both demonstrate?
8. How does the poor example of Esau encourage you to endure? How does trading away his birthright demonstrate irreverence? What implications can you draw for your own life from his irreverence? How are you tempted to disregard the holy things of God in order to ease physical discomfort or temptation?
9. What is the difference between regret and repentance? Why is regret such an insufficient response to our sin? Why is it not enough to be heartbroken over our sin? Which biblical figures regretted their wrongdoing without repenting of it?
10. In addition to the positive and negative examples given in Hebrews and throughout Scripture, are there other people in your life whose examples of faithfulness or unfaithfulness teach you? How does the author use a portrait of unfaithfulness to warn his readers and encourage them to endure?