Running to Finish the Race

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.

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).

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.

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.