“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.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)
Hebrews 12 follows directly after Hebrews 11 which is regarded as the faith chapter of the Bible. For it describes men and women of faith in Bible times who obeyed the Lord and who pleased the Lord, perhaps over a lifetime, or perhaps in specific situations, or perhaps at the very last minute before they died. But by faith they did what pleased the Lord, and that brought glory to God, and it was according to his will and purpose for their lives. I believe they are this cloud of witnesses who testify to us regarding our faith.
So, by faith in Jesus Christ, if our faith is genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is still what we obey, and not God’s commandments, it will lead to death, not to life eternal with God. And Jesus said we are to deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience if we want to save our lives for eternity and not lose them.
So the Christian life is a life of daily dying to sin, by the Spirit, daily putting to death the deeds of the flesh, laying aside every hindrance to our walks of obedience to the Lord, and laying aside all sin which clings so closely. This sin can end up being our patterns of behavior if we are not diligent about dying daily to sin and putting on Christ and his righteousness. But so many who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still walking in sin, and not in walks of obedience to the Lord, because they are being taught they don’t have to.
So before it mentions here that we must lay aside sin which clings so closely, it instructs us to lay aside every weight, every encumbrance (hindrance) to our walks of obedience to God. And that can include whatever is stored up in our hearts, for it is out of the heart that comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. These are what defile a person. And these need to be removed from our lives via repentance and submission to God, and via obedience to his commands.
But those sinful behaviors may be rooted in what is stored up in our hearts – such things as hatred, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, anger, and anything else that may keep us trapped in sin. For what we believe in our hearts and minds, and what we hold in our hearts, comes out in our attitudes, words, and actions. So first our hearts must be cleansed of all bitterness, resentment, pride, and unforgiveness, etc. so that the sin which clings so closely will have no root to pull from, so we’ll be free.
But other hindrances, which are also rooted in what is stored up in our hearts, are physical things such as computers, smartphones, certain movies, TV shows, music, games, social media, videos, cartoons, or certain preachers’ sermons, if what they are teaching is cheap grace and not biblical grace. Most of these things are not evil in themselves. The evil can be both in the content we are taking in as well as the hold these things have on our thinking and behaving and attitudes, and how they hinder our obedience.
Those are the things that lead us down a path of sin, and that is why I believe we need to deal with those things first if we want to have victory over sin. For if we are still taking in the garbage of the world into our minds and hearts, well, as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” We cannot have victory over addictive sinful behaviors if we are feeding our minds and hearts and souls with the junk and the filth of this sinful world. And we cannot serve God with our lives if our time is spent pleasing self, instead.
And if we are not truly looking to Jesus Christ – past all the junk of the world, and past all the hindrances that might tempt us to stray, and past all the persecutions and rejections and opposition we will face when we do obey the Lord – fixing our eyes (minds, hearts) on him, blocking out all temptations, persecutions and hindrances to our obedience, we are bound to trip and fall and fail. Our minds and our hearts have to stay focused on Jesus Christ in this world filled with all sorts of evil, or we won’t survive!
For Jesus is the one who gave his life up for us on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and now live to him and to his righteousness. And we can only do that if our lives are surrendered to him in submission to him as Lord in dying with him to sin and now living to his righteousness in his power at work within us, as we cooperate fully with his work of grace. And he is the author and perfecter of the faith which comes from him, which is not of our own doing or thinking or reasoning, but is biblical faith.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18]
So, when Jesus Christ died on that cross for our sins, it was not just to forgive us of our sins, and it was not just to give us the hope of heaven when we die, provided that we forsake our sins and walk in obedience to his commands. But he died so that we will die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living, doing what pleases him, and doing what he has called all of us who believe in him to do. For if we do not obey him, but we keep on in our sinful practices, we will not have eternal life with Jesus Christ.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]
When I’m with You
An Original Work / April 22, 2011
When I’m with You, Lord, hear my cries.
Soon I’ll be with You by Your side.
Harken to me; Lord, hear my plea
When I’m with You and You’re with me
Precious Savior, Lord, and my friend,
Life with You has no final end.
I’ll reign with You eternally
When I’m with You and You’re with me.
Father, God, my only desire.
Your word is in me like a fire.
I’ll sing Your praise all of my days
When I’m with You and You’re with me.
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