“Make Every Effort” [Matt's Messages]

“Make Every Effort”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus 

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

November 15, 2026 :: Hebrews 12:14-17  

The sermon title for today comes from the first three words in the NIV of verse 14.

“Make every effort.”

It’s only one word in the original Greek, “Diokete” from “Dioko.”  It means to “pursue, to chase after, to persecute.”  It’s really kind of an aggressive word. It means to really go after something. That’s why the NIV has “make every effort.” “Strive. Work at this. Dig in. Go for it. Throw yourself at this.”

Like the effort I’m sure it took for the Drama Kids to put on their play this weekend. That didn’t just happen. They had to make an effort, especially on Show Week to pull it off.

“Make Every Effort” In these four verses, the writer to the Hebrews has some urgent things to urge his readers to tackle with all their might.

Which raises a question, I think:

What is the relationship between effort and grace? What is the relationship between faith and works?

I thought that Christianity was all about faith? Chapter 11 was all about faith. Trusting God and not our own works. That’s right! What’s all this about “effort” then?  I thought salvation was by God’s grace and not by my works? And that’s right! It certainly is.

But grace is not opposed to effort. They are not enemies. Grace and effort are not opposites. Grace is not opposed to effort. Grace is opposed to “earning.”  We cannot earn our salvation through our efforts. And we cannot trust our efforts. That’s always a losing proposition. But grace empowers effort.  And faith empowers effort.

What we saw over and over again in chapter 11 was not just “faith, faith, faith,” but “by faith,” “by faith,” “by faith,” the Old Testament believers did stuff. Often seemingly crazy stuff! But they did stuff because they had faith.

Faith works. Does that make sense? Do you see what I’m saying? Faith works. Genuine faith issues into genuine works. And that’s where these “efforts” come from in verses 14 through 17.

[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]

These four verses don’t get enough attention. I think people don’t know what to make of them, and the parts right before and right after are a little more exciting. But we don’t want to miss them because Hebrews is telling us what it looks like for us to run. What our priorities need to be as we run the race of faith in Jesus.

Two weeks ago, we reached Hebrews chapter 12, the pinnacle and point of the whole letter where the author invites and encourages his readers (and therefore us) to join him and all those who gone before to run the race of faith in Jesus Christ. He says (Hebrews 12:1):

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Let’s do it. Let’s run. And let’s keep running. We’ve been saying it to our neighbors with the upnod, right? Go ahead and do it again. Say to your neighbor, “Let’s run.” And now say, “Let’s run some more.” He says, “Let us run with perseverance.” With “hupomonay.” With endurance.

Keep going. That’s been the whole point of the whole letter which we’ve studying this whole year. 

Let’s run and run and run and run.

How do we do that? And how do we do that when it gets hard to do? How do we keep running when we “hit a wall?” That’s what we talked about last week. How do we keep running the race of faith when it hurts so much? Maybe persecution like they faced or other kinds of suffering that make it hard to put one foot in front of the other.

The key according to Hebrews is to focus on Jesus. Remember verse 2.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3).

That’s the key. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. When you do that, you don’t lose heart.

And then he gave us even more encouragement about how to stay in the race. He told us to not forget how loved we are. And how we need to see even the pain of persecution as mysteriously designed discipline by our loving Heavenly Father for our ultimate good. 

And that is so mindblowing but also so encouraging! And he kept urging us to keep going. To strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees and straighten our paths and keep running and keep running and keep running...or else.

Starting in verse 14 and going to the end of the chapter, Hebrews goes back into “warning mode.”

WARNING!

He’s not just telling them that they should keep running towards Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith, and that they can keep running towards Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith but that they must keep on running towards Jesus or dire things will happen.

We’ve seen these warnings again and again and again in the Letter to the Hebrews. We saw them in chapter 2 and chapter 3 and chapter 6 and chapter 10. Some of the warnings have been very very heavy.

Watch out! Beware! Don’t ignore this. Fix your eyes on Jesus...or else. 

In these four verses, he goes back into warning mode. For every thing that he urges them (and us) to make every effort to do, he has a warning of what will happen if we do not. And he tells us these things to keep us on the path. 

I see three. I see three main ones. Three things Hebrews wants us to throw ourselves into and three terrible things that will happen if we refuse. 

Number One. Make every effort...

#1. TO CHASE AFTER PEACE AND HOLINESS.

Make every effort to chase after peace-making and purity. Listen to verse 14.

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

Do you hear the warning? This is what it looks like to run the race of faith. It looks like pursuing peace and pursuing holiness. And if you refuse to pursue holiness, then you won’t see the face of God.

Do you see why I bring up the relationship between grace and effort? Because you might read a verse like verse 14 and think that somehow you have to earn the sight of the face of God by drumming up holiness. Boy, would that be a mistake. You and I cannot drum up enough holiness to see the face of God. If that was how it works, we would be up the creek without a paddle. We would be toast.

No, we get our holiness from the Lord, right? That’s what this whole book has been teaching us. 

We have a great high priest who makes us holy.

Hebrews 10:10, “...[W]e have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:10-14).

We do not make ourselves holy. Our great high priest Jesus does.

And verse 10 of this chapter said that it was part of the discipline process that we would “share in His holiness” as we submit by faith to His fatherly discipline. We do not make ourselves holy. Jesus does.

But at the very same time, we are called to strive for holiness. To take hold of that holiness that He is giving us and to resist temptation and to resist sin (v.4). And that is not optional. That’s the point here. Living in holiness, growing in sanctification, is not optional for true Christians. And if we refuse to chase after holiness, then we will not see the Lord. Because all genuine Christians do. If we have been made holy by Jesus and are being made holy by Jesus, we will strive for holiness in Jesus. And if we do not, we have not and are not holy in Jesus.

So! “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy.”

What does that look like?

This chasing after peace means being committed to peace with other Christians. As much as it depends on you (see Romans 12:18).

Christians struggle with one another, often. It’s not always easy to get along with each other. But because we have peace with God through our great high priest, we can pursue peace with each other. We can call each other out when we sin against one another. And we can be patient with one another.  And we can forgive one another when we are sinned against.

King Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Who do you need to forgive today?

I know it’s hard. That’s why Hebrews says we have to “make every effort.” We have to throw ourselves into it. Peacemaking and peacekeeping is hard work.  Peace-faking and peace-breaking are a lot easier to do (thank you Ken Sande for these provocative categories). But peace-making and peacekeeping are what we’re called to do as subjects of the Prince of Peace. We’re supposed to be like our King.

Which is what holiness is. Becoming and being like our King. We’re supposed chase after holiness because then we will look more and more like our King. Like our great high priest. 

Are you on the hunt for holiness? Are you resisting temptation and cultivating the fruit of the Holy Spirit?

“...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25).

Or else. 

This isn’t optional. We won’t do it perfectly. Praise God; we don’t have to. And we won’t be earning anything. This is just working out our salvation with fear and trembling, not working it in, not working for our salvation. Working out our salvation. But we must do it.

What do you need to change?

What do you need to toss of? Remember sin is like a weight that makes it hard to run. What is the sin  that is tripping you up right now? Let it go. Throw it off and run. Chase after peace and holiness.

Number two. Make every effort...

#2. TO WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER.

We need to keep an eye on each other. Remember, the Christian life is a team sport. We all need to run ourselves, but we don’t run all by ourselves. Look at verse 15.

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Do you hear the warning? “See to it that no one misses the grace of God...” The warning is that some one might miss the grace of God! Here it is. And then it’s gone. The grace of God is everything. It’s amazing. We just sang about how amazing it is. You don’t want to miss that. You can be really close to it and fall short of it. 

You can’t earn it! You can’t earn grace. It’s not grace if you earn it. But you can miss it. You can reject it. You can refuse it. You can turn it down. “No thanks. I have a better offer.” You can come up short of the grace of God. Which is a total tragedy.

And verse 15 says that it’s all of our job to watch out for that tragedy among our church family.

You see how it places a responsibility on each of us “see to it that no one misses the grace of God.”?

That’s for the whole church. The Greek word for “see to it,” emphases the idea of watching. [“Episkopountes” where we get our word for the church leaders who watch out for us.]

The King James says, “Looking diligently.” The New Living Translation says, “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.”

Do you have your eye on your teammates?

Remember, we looked up and down the row the last couple of weeks at our running team. These are the folks we are called to run with. And we are to have each other’s back. And we’re to call each other out if we see each other running off the path.

Hebrews has said this again and again. Remember chapter, verse 13. “[E]ncourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.”

Or our last memory verse, chapter 10, verses 24 and 25. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Who do you need to encourage today to stay in the race? Write their name down. Or maybe you need to put me on mute and whip out your phone right now and send them a text.

Maybe send these two sentences:

“Following Jesus by faith is often costly and sometimes seems crazy, but it is always worth it. Let’s run."

When he talks about “no bitter root” in verse 15, I used to think that was saying that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to get bitter and be unforgiving as Christians. So we don’t allow a “bitter root” in our hearts. And that’s true. We shouldn’t do that. We need to chase after peace.

But I’ve come to understand that Hebrews is quoting the Old Testament here. (Big surprise! He loves his Old Testament.)

Specifically, he’s quoting Deuteronomy 29:18. Let me read it to you. Moses is reminding them of the covenant God has made with the Israelites, including this new generation that is going to go into the promised land. 

He says, “You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. [Verse 18.] Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. [You hear it?] When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, ‘I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven” (Deuteronomy 29:16-20).

In other words, he will miss the grace of God. 

So the warning about a “bitter root” is actually a warning against idolatry and falling away from the faith. It’s choosing another god than the LORD. And we aren’t supposed to just let each other do that and allow that kind of unbelief to fester and grow in the church.  It’s a bitter root that will choke out the healthy plant. It will spread like a diseased root in a plant or a cancer in the body of Christ.

We have to say something. We have to watch out for each other and warn each other that if we keep on this path, we may miss the grace of God. I know that’s hard to do. We don’t want to be busybodies. And we’re not supposed to be busybodies! But we are supposed to be teammates. We are supposed to be family. We can’t make other people’s choices for them. But we can, like this pastor is doing for this church, (we can) warn them.

I know that’s hard to do. Hebrews knows it’s hard to do.

That’s why he wrote verse 15! “Make every effort. See to it. Do this. It matters. This is a not a game. Following Jesus is not game. This is life or death stuff. Eternal life or death stuff.”

One more which is really just an expansion of the last one. Number three.

Make every effort...

#3. TO CHOOSE THE LORD OVER THE WORLD.

In other words, don’t be like Esau. Look at verse 16.

“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.”

Do you know this story? 

It’s from the book of Genesis, chapters 25 through 28. If you haven’t read it before, you should read it this afternoon.

The Book of Genesis is full of an amazing story with all kinds of twists and turns you would never expect. Sometimes it’s like a soap opera, “The Days of the Patriarch’s Lives.” “As the Covenant Turns.”

Esau is the twin brother of whom? Jacob. That’s right. They are the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Twin boys. Double-trouble. 

Which one of the boys was the firstborn? Anybody know? They were fighting in the womb. Esau was born first (all red and hairy) and Jacob came out grasping his heel!

And they were against each other basically all of their lives.

So if you’re the firstborn in that day and age and place, then you have some wonderful birthrights as the firstborn. You inherit a double portion of everything.

And what did his father Isaac have to hand down to Esau? No land. But lots of blessing.

And all of those promises that his father Abraham had received from God. (We just talked about this chapter 11.)

Well, how did Esau feel about those promises? How did Esau value his inheritance?

Do you know the story? It’s complicated because the characters are complicated. You aren’t supposed to like anybody in this story including Jacob! He’s still grasping! But at the same time God is at work.

One day (according to Genesis 25), Esau who was a big time outdoorsman was out in the open country. He had been hunting all day long. He apparently hadn’t been successful, and he came home hungry. Really hungry.

And his scheming twin brother Jacob was cooking up some stew. Oh boy, I’m sure it smelled good. Everything smells better when you’re hungry.

His older twin brother Esau says, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" 

And Jacob says, “Sure! But, first, sell me your birthright.”

Now, he shouldn’t have said that. He should have just fed his hungry brother. Or asked for something reasonable in return. But he doesn’t. He asks for the birthright. Basically everything! 

And Esau says, "Look, I am about to die...What good is the birthright to me?"

Jacob makes him swear to it. This is irrevocable. This is binding. He’s signing on the dotted line. 

“One birthright for one bowl of soup.”

And then he ate the stew and got up and left. 

And this is what Genesis says, “So Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34).

That’s a tragedy. The Lord was promising so much good to Esau, and he said, “Yeah, I don’t care.”

And this isn’t the only thing he did that was like that. Hebrews says that he was “immoral” using the Greek word “pornos,” which means what you might think it means. He chased after women including Hittite and Canaanite women who worshiped other gods. 

He was “godless” or “profane” or “unholy.” He was the opposite of the men and women in the Hall of Faith of chapter 11. He did not have faith. He disdained faith. He despised faith. He was worldly. He was focused on his comfort. He was focused on his appetites. He was focused on his stomach. His god was his stomach (see Philippians 3:18-21).

He was focused on the short term, on this world, and on what he could see  and get. And not on the Lord or on the kingdom to come. 

His life was a tragedy and a cautionary tale. And this pastor is concerned that some in this Hebrews church might end up like Esau! So he warns them to not let themselves or let their teammates go down the same road. Because...look where it leads. Verse 17.

“Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.”

That’s Genesis chapter 27. In between, Jacob did more scheming and conniving and tricked his dad into giving him even more of the blessing that Esau would have gotten. It’s quite a twisted soap opera. The birthright and blessing are somehow tied to each other. And God is in the mix sovereignly  superintending the sordid story to achieve His glorious goals. Make sure you read it. I’m giving you the Spark Notes version here. 

So Esau came to his father and asked for a blessing anyways. And he got a tiny little leftover one just because he was part of the family. It’s almost an anti-blessing. 

But the big blessing and all of the covenant promises that could have been his were not given to Esau. He was passed over. He was rejected. (Even though he was his dad’s favorite!) And he cried.

I think that Esau was one of those tough guys who never cry. But Genesis says, “he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me–  me too, my father!’” (Genesis 27:34).

And the answer was, “No.”

God had rejected Esau. And he couldn’t change His mind. He couldn’t get God (through his dad) to turn away (to repent) of that decision even though he cried. He missed the grace of God.

He was so close. He was living in Isaac’s house. The promises could have been his. But he missed the grace of God. He did not inherit the blessing. Let this be a warning to you.

Now, let’s be clear. Esau did not repent.

When he was crying, he was crying because he was missing out on the blessing. Not because he loved God and was sorry that he chosen the bowl of stew over God’s promises.

 

Esau had what the Bible calls, “worldly sorrow,” not “godly sorrow” (see 2 Corinthians 7:10). He did not repent.

Remember, what we learned with the warnings of chapter 6, if you can repent, then repent, and come to the Lord. Jesus said, “[W]hoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).

But Esau did not repent. And he was rejected.

You almost feel sorry for him. There is he crying his eyes in his father’s tent. But don’t feel sorry for him. Get mad at him. He took his eyes off of the Lord and put them on a bowl of soup. He chose the world over the Lord. And he never repented of it. He wished that he hadn’t gotten caught! But he did not repent.

Don’t feel sorry Esau, and don’t be like him. No, fix your eyes on Jesus.

I know it’s hard.  Hebrews knows it’s hard. That’s why this pastor wrote this whole letter. That’s why he say, “make every effort.” Do it. Pursue it. Chase after it.  Throw yourself into it. By faith. Because of grace. Do whatever it takes to choose the Lord over the world.

Because if you choose the world over the Lord and don’t repent of it...

Church, don’t fall out of the race. Don’t be an Esau. Don’t just cry. Repent. And run. And run and run and run. And run towards Jesus. 

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10
11. "On To Maturity" - Hebrews 5:11-6:3
12. "We Speak Like This" - Hebrews 6:4-12
13. "An Anchor for the Soul" - Hebrews 6:13-20
Bonus Message: "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus" - 2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
14. "In the Order of Melchizedek" - Hebrews 7:1-19
15. "A Priest Forever" - Hebrews 7:20-28
16. "Better Promises" - Hebrews 8:1-13
17. "By His Own Blood" - Hebrews 9:1-14
18. "Cleansed with Blood" - Hebrews 9:15-26
19. "Once" - Hebrews 9:27-28
20. "He Sat Down" - Hebrews 10:1-18
21. "Since We Have a Great Priest" - Hebrews 10:19-25
22. "Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence" - Hebrews 10:26-39
23. "Faith Is..." - Hebrews 11:1-7
24. "Living By Faith" - Hebrews 11:8-19
25. "Commended For Their Faith" - Hebrews 11:20-40
27. "Let Us Run" - Hebrews 12:1-2
28. "Do Not Lose Heart" - Hebrews 12:3-13

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“Do Not Lose Heart” [Matt's Messages]

“Do Not Lose Heart”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

November 8, 2026 :: Hebrews 12:3-13  

Why does it hurt so much?

Why does it hurt so much so often when you are following Jesus?  

Have you ever asked that question? Have you ever felt that question?

“I’m following Jesus. I’m trusting Him. I’m running the race. Why am I suffering? Am I doing it wrong? Is it all for nothing?  Why am I being treated like this? Does the Lord see what’s going on here? Has He left me? Am I all alone? Why am I suffering? Why does it hurt so much?”

I think that the original readers of this letter may have been feeling that question deeply. They had started the race of faith, but they were tempted to crash out of it. Because it had gotten so painful. They were experiencing persecution (Hebrew 10:32-34). Some of them had been insulted and mistreated. Some of them had gone to prison for following Jesus. Gone to prison for following Jesus! Some of them had lost their homes. Their homes were ransacked or even taken away from them because they were following Jesus. Maybe by a mob or maybe by the authorities.

They were suffering. And this suffering was not letting up. And so they were tempted to go backwards and give up.

But this pastor who loved them wanted something better for them, so he wrote this sermonic letter to encourage them to, “Do Not Lose Heart.” Those words are in verse 3 and in verse 5 of today’s passage.

“Do Not Lose Heart”

Don’t give up. Don’t punch your ticket out. Don’t throw in the towel.

Last Sunday, we reached the point that we’ve been building towards all year long when we finally got to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1. We’re memorizing it together now. 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” 

Hebrews says, “Let’s run!”

Remember last week, we said it to each other with the up-nod?  Do it again. “Let’s run!” 

I tried to say it to most of you on the way out last week. “C’mon. Let’s go. Let’s get into the race of faith. All of those Old Testament witnesses in the chapter 11 Hall of Faith have done it, and they are cheering us on. Run! Run! Run! Run! God is faithful. You can trust Him. Run! Run! Run! Run! Let’s throw off anything that’s weighing us down–whether it’s a bad sinful thing or even a good thing that’s gotten in the way. Let’s throw it off like Simon did that weighted-vest last week. And let’s run.”

I hope you felt the wind behind you this week and the team alongside you this week as you ran the race of faith marked out for you by our Lord.

But maybe you didn’t. Maybe you ran out of those doors last week and ran right into a headwind. Maybe you ran right into your enemy. Maybe you ran right into a wall. 

Runners talk about “hitting a wall.” Where they feel exhausted and fatigued and like they are going to drop. Maybe that was you this week, and you’re barely limping in here this morning. You’re all drooping and dragging spiritually. You’re all wobbly. You’re weary, and you’re hurting.

If so, this passage is for you. Hebrews is saying don’t lose heart.

I have three points this morning in this message to point out what Hebrews says we need to keep in mind so that you and I don’t call it quits on the Christian life. And here’s the first one.

#1. DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF JESUS.

Last week, we ended with that idea. In verse 2, Hebrews said, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

That’s been our theme all year long. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus.” The updated NIV calls Him, “the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” He set us going on our race, and He will see us through. And He’s our example. He ran the race before us and was victorious. Now look at verse 3.

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Don’t lose sight of Jesus. Consider Him. Think about Him. Stare at Him and ponder His endurance.

What did Jesus endure? He was mocked, flogged, and crucified. 

He was humiliated. He was spit upon. He was arrested on false charges. He was mistreated and misjudged. He was slandered in court. He was stripped of his clothing. He was made to carry His cross. He was ridiculed. He was spit upon. He was nailed. He was asphyxiated. He was crucified.

Hebrews says, “Think about that.” Whenever you are tempted to quit the race, think about Jesus, and how He did not quit. Same word in verse 3 as in verse 1 and verse 2. “Hupomonay.” Endure. We are to persevere/endure in the race, Jesus endured the cross, He endured such opposition from sinful men.

See the logic in verse 3?  “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

When we dwell on the endurance of our Lord, it empowers us to stay in the race. Don’t lose sight of Jesus. 

Have you thought this week about what Jesus did for you? That’s one of the best reasons to come to church on Sunday mornings to remind our hearts and to remind each other what Jesus did for us.

That’s why we sing so many songs about the Cross. It’s so easy when we’re hurting to lose sight of what’s important and to just think about our pain. But Jesus didn’t! He thought about the joy. “For the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross.” And we need to set Him before us. And that will keep us in the race. Jesus gave it all!

In verse 4, Hebrews points out that they have not yet given all. Verse 4.

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

I think he’s trying to help them keep their suffering in perspective. They have not yet been martyred. Nobody in that church has given their up their life. Not yet.

Jesus did! He gave up His blood. Many of the Old Testament believers from chapter 11 did (see especially 11:35-38). And believers all across the world are dying for their faith today. We call them “the persecuted church.” But nobody from this church has yet died because they were following Jesus. 

It could be worse. And it might get worse.

I think it’s interesting that he calls it, “your struggle against sin.”

It’s not clear if he means your struggle against the sins of others against the church (like the sinful men against Jesus in verse 3) or the struggle against their own sin, especially the sin of apostasy, falling away.

Both are true! Both are struggles with sin that we have.

The word for struggle is “antagonizomenoi.” You can hear where we get “antagonize” in English. This is hard. It’s a fight! The Bible does not sugar-coat how hard it is to follow Jesus. It doesn’t make it worse than it is, but it doesn’t gloss over it either. Following Jesus is not Candyland.  But just because it’s hard is no reason to whine or to quit.

Jesus didn’t! And He had it so much worse. Don’t lose sight of Jesus. Don’t lose heart.

But...it hurts! You say, “It hurts.” Yes, it does. And so in the next little paragraph this pastor tries to help these Christians to make sense of that suffering.  He doesn’t say everything that could be said, but he wants to help them think about their suffering in the right way.

Which is counterintuitive. It’s not the way we tend to think, especially when we’re hurting. But we should. Hebrews says that if they were reading their Bibles, they would already know this. Look at verse 5.

“And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son’” (vv.5-6).

He’s quoting Proverbs chapter 3, verses 11&12.  He sure loves his Old Testament, doesn’t he? And he thinks they should, too! Verse 5 could be translated as a question, “Have you forgotten Proverbs 3?! Guys?!”

There’s so much encouragement in the Old Testament. Remember how it teaches that we are God’s beloved children? Here’s point number two of how to keep from quitting.

#2. DON’T FORGET YOU ARE LOVED.

And he’s not saying, “Remember that you are loved in spite of your suffering.” He’s saying, “Don’t forget that you are loved in the design of your suffering. Your suffering, if you are suffering in faith, if you are suffering for Jesus, your suffering is, mysteriously, a part of how God is loving you.”

Here he brings in the category of discipline. Or you might use the word “training.” In this context, discipline is the application of pain to teach and train someone. Like a parent or a teacher or a coach does. 

I’m sure that Ashley didn’t get to “States” by just running every once in a while when she felt like it. She disciplined herself to do it. And her coaches disciplined her, gave her a training regimen to follow. And they pushed her to surpass her limits. And it was not always pleasant!

Sometimes discipline is corrective. If you are doing some wrong, then you apply some pain to get things back in line. Parents have to do this when our kids are young.  Proverbs teaches us that we need to discipline our children.

But not all discipline is corrective. Sometimes it’s just educational. It’s preventative. It’s showing where the boundaries are. “Don’t go here or it will hurt worse than this.”

But, and this is what’s really important here, when it’s done right, discipline is love. Look at verse 5 again.

He says, “Make sure you’re listening!” Sounds like a parent doesn’t he? “Are you listening?” Proverbs 3 says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline [don’t roll your eyes at this, don’t say, “6/7" at this], and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son” (vv.5-6).

Hebrews is saying that these hurting Christians should see their pain as the Lord’s discipline, and know that the Lord only disciplines those He loves.

This pain is not wrath.

This pain is not condemnation.

This pain is not sadistic.

God doesn’t have it out for them, even if their sinful persecutors do.  But God has a design in this suffering that comes from His love.

He’s saying, “You are not doing it wrong.” You are not being persecuted because God’s has abandoned you. You are being persecuted because God is with you. And He’s using this pain (he even calls it “punishment” or better “chastisement,” or even “scourging” because it does truly hurt).  He’s using this pain to discipline you because He loves you.

Now, this can be a difficult thing to wrap your mind around. I thought about all of the traps that we can fall into this week.

One thing to remember is that the Bible is not teaching that we should just be happy that we are mistreated and abused. Or that God is happy that we are mistreated or abused. Or that we should just go along with abuse and mistreatment, because God obviously is disciplining us.

This does not make persecution good. This does not make suffering good. It’s not good. Remember verse 3. Jesus endured such opposition from sinful men. This suffering is not good, even though God can and does use it for our good. And Jesus’ suffering was sufficient! He willingly chose it once and for all.  “He sat down.”

We don’t have to grin and bear it, too. Sometimes, like Moses, it’s the role of faith to run from it (Hebrews 11:27). Too see if there is a way out.

But when that bad suffering inevitably comes, it doesn’t mean that we are rejected by God. But that God can use it to train us in the way we should go. 

And it also is not teaching that if we are experiencing suffering that we have done something specific to bring it on. 

Like a lot of our discipline with our children is that they do something that needs corrected, so we apply some pain to encourage them to not do that thing again.

And that might be true when we experience suffering. When it hurts, we should ask the Lord if there is a correspondence and consider whether there is something to be repented of or a particular lesson to be learned.

But consider Jesus. Was Jesus disciplined? Yes! Remember Jesus never sinned. So He never needed corrected. But what did Hebrews 5:9 say? “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

Remember, doesn’t mean that He was somehow imperfect or that He learned by failure. He learned by success. But in His human nature, He did learn! And He learned by suffering. And He knew that His suffering was not because He was hated by His Father but because He was loved by the Father!

And if that’s true for the sinless Jesus, how much more is it true for us who do need corrective discipline? Who need to be reminded to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

This discipline is not punitive. It is not wrath. Sometimes we think about discipline as getting someone, a parent, really angry, and then they take it out on you. That’s wrong. Dads and Moms, don’t “discipline” like that.

There’s a place for wrath in God justice as Lord, as the aggrieved party in all sin.  But as a Father, His discipline, though painful, is not wrathful. It’s loving! You and I are so loved. Look at verse 7.

“Endure hardship as discipline [same word “hupomonay”, endure]; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons” (vv.7-9).

Do you see what he’s saying? Church, if you were not loved by God, then you would not be hurting. But, mysteriously, you are hurting because you are loved by God.

“Why does it hurt so much?” Strangely, because you are loved by God.

I have all three of sons here with me today. It’s been great to have Andrew with us this month. He heads off again on Tuesday, and I don’t know when I’ll see him again. But it’s been great to have him home and all three of my boys in this same room together. I love them all.

And when they were little, I had to discipline them. We won’t say which of them needed it the most.  But their mother and I disciplined all of them (and their sister) because they were ours, and we loved them.

Imagine if we woke up one day when they were say 5 years old and realized that one of them (let’s make it Andrew since we’re picking on him today) had snuck out of the house and was playing out on the road. Maybe he had gone through a hole in the fence and was playing out on route 80!

And imagine if I just said, “Oh well. That’s interesting.” And didn’t do anything about it. No spanking. No speech. No consequences. No pain.

Would I be loving them if I just let them go and didn’t train them? No!

In the ancient Roman world, men who were Roman citizens could have biological children that were not considered their children by law–their recognized legitimate sons. And those “illegitimate” children did not bear their bio-father’s name, and therefore he didn’t consider himself to have any responsibilities for their education. Their behavior did not affect his reputation. 

They didn’t “count,” so he didn’t care. And he didn’t bother to discipline them. He may have hurt them, but he didn’t train them. “Not really my kid.” But if they were his true sons by law, then he would discipline them.

And Hebrews is saying to these hurting Christians, "He loves you. He cares about you. This pain is not a sign of His rejection. It is a sign of His love. You suffering for Him shows that you are His. You belong to Him."

Can you believe that?

I know it’s hard.  I’ll bet it was even hard for Jesus, and He understood it perfectly. But on the Cross cried out in the words of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It’s okay to feel that question. But don’t forget the answer. He has not abandoned you. He is loving you through the pain. Because you are His son. And that goes for both men and women who are Christians.

We are IN His Son. And we are so loved. 

Remember, whenever you start to wonder if you are loved, fix your eyes on Jesus! Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men for the joy of saving you for His kingdom, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

You are so loved. Not just in spite of the pain, but through the pain. Because your Father is using the pain for your good. That’s the third and last point this morning.

#3. DON’T MISS THE GAIN FROM YOUR PAIN.

You know that saying in athletics, “No pain, no gain.”

Well, that’s the idea here. Hebrews says all of this pain will be for our good.  Look at verse 9.

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!”

He’s saying that we can learn even more from the example of our earthly fathers, who could only see our outsides. How much more should we submit to the discipline of our Heavenly Father who can see our spirits inside of us, and who is giving us life (see Hebrews 4:12)! Verse 10.

“Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

We can learn from our earthly fathers both in their strengths and their weaknesses. He says that our earthly fathers disciplined us for a little while. God’s discipline lasts our whole lifetime.  We might be very glad that our earthly father’s discipline was for a short time because they are very limited in their wisdom.

I’m sorry, boys, for all the ways that I failed to discipline you well. 

Some parents do it just terribly. I’m sure that some of you in this room had abusive parents and you are having a hard time even wrapping your mind around how God’s discipline could be good at all.

Dads and Moms, remember that you are training your children in their view of God by how you parent them. It will be easier or harder for them to trust in God the more or less you are like Him as you are their parent.

But God’s fathering is perfect. And it’s for our good. Look at verse 10 again. “But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

Wow! What a thought. When we accept His loving training in our life, we grow in holiness, in sanctification.

Heather and I talked about this a lot this week. This is one of our her favorite passage in the Bible. She has it memorized and meditates on it regularly as a great encouragement to her, especially when she’s suffering. She pointed out to me that when we trust God through the pain, we grow in our love for Him and for His kingdom. And that helps us to grow in holiness.

Like we saw over and over again in Hebrews 11, where the believers had to choose God over the world. Suffering reminds us that this world is not satisfying. It’s broken. It’s painful. It’s disappointing. It’s failing.

Pain reminds us of that. It’s a gift to goad us to holiness. To wean us off of the world and towards heaven. So we don’t get too comfortable here. Because this world is not our home. Not the way it is. Things are not they way they should be. 

Remember those folks in chapter 11 who were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, persecuted, mistreated. The Bible says, “the world was not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:38). They were holy.

And as we trust God through the pain, we become holy, too.

It’s no fun! It hurts. No joke. It hurts. Look at verse 11.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Yes, it hurts. But it’s worth it. Following Jesus by faith is often costly, and often seems crazy, but it’s always worth it. He says, the Father’s discipline “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.”

Oh, I want that!  Don’t you want that? Do you want a harvest of righteousness and peace? Other versions says, “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” I want my life to look like that. Peaceful. Righteous. How do you get there? You’ve got to hold on. You’ve got keep running through the pain. 

You don’t get the harvest right away. You have to wait for the harvest. We celebrate the harvest now in November, but the planting was in the Spring.

We have to endure. Run with perseverance the race marked for us. Even through the pain. And when we do, we gain.

Here are three quick points of application as we close. 

First, submit to your Father’s training.

Go ahead and tell Him, regularly, that you are trusting Him no matter what. Tell your Heavenly Father, that you want to grow in holiness, righteousness, and peace, and you’ll go through whatever He brings your way to get there. You can also ask Him to take away the pain. Jesus did! And sometimes God will. He loves to relieve His children by His grace. But tell Him that you’ll trust Him even if the pain stays. You are going to (v.9), “submit to the Father of our spirits and live!”

Secondly, strengthen your limbs.

That’s verse 12. As this pastor brings it back to racecourse analogies. V.12.

“Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”

Your version might say, “...lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees” (ESV). He’s calling them to keep going. Even through the pain. Keep running. Even if you wobble when you run.

Remember, this race is all important. You can drop out of physical footraces, but not the race of faith in Jesus. There is no other way. Fix your eyes on Jesus and strengthen your limbs. Put on a knee brace, spiritually speaking. Lift up your arms and keep them going. Do whatever it takes to stay in the race.

I think he’s quoting another part of the Old Testament here. Isaiah chapter 35 which is one of my all time favorites!

Isaiah 35 says, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you....[And it ends like this.]...and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (Isa. 35:3, 4, 10 )

That’s the joy set before you. It’s worth it! Keep running. Keep running! Keep running!

Thirdly and last, straighten your path. That’s verse 13.

"Make level paths for your feet,’ so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

That last part is a little difficult to interpret with precision. What does the metaphor mean? Is it a mixed metaphor?  The word for “disabled” could be translated “dislocated” or “turned aside,” so it might be saying level the path so that runners don’t fall off it.

Or it might be leaning towards the next section where he’s going back to talking about how we help each other to stay in the race. Helping those who are nearly falling down to be healed and stay in the race.

Either way, it’s all about staying in the race.

And that’s definitely the point of the first part, “Make level paths for your feet.”

Again, he’s quoting the Proverbs. This time it’s Proverbs chapter 4. Listen to verses 25 through 27 as we close.

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”

Church, let’s run! And let's keep running! Pound, pound, pound. Go straight. Don’t leave the path. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t lose heart. Even though it really hurts. The pain actually means that you are loved. It’s discipline. Keep running. It’s for your good. You know why it hurts so much. You are going to be holy. You are going to be righteous. You are going to be peaceful. You are going to live in the Kingdom. Sorrow and sighing will all fly away!

Keep running. Jesus did it.

Fix your eyes on Him.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10
11. "On To Maturity" - Hebrews 5:11-6:3
12. "We Speak Like This" - Hebrews 6:4-12
13. "An Anchor for the Soul" - Hebrews 6:13-20
Bonus Message: "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus" - 2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
14. "In the Order of Melchizedek" - Hebrews 7:1-19
15. "A Priest Forever" - Hebrews 7:20-28
16. "Better Promises" - Hebrews 8:1-13
17. "By His Own Blood" - Hebrews 9:1-14
18. "Cleansed with Blood" - Hebrews 9:15-26
19. "Once" - Hebrews 9:27-28
20. "He Sat Down" - Hebrews 10:1-18
21. "Since We Have a Great Priest" - Hebrews 10:19-25
22. "Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence" - Hebrews 10:26-39
23. "Faith Is..." - Hebrews 11:1-7
24. "Living By Faith" - Hebrews 11:8-19
25. "Commended For Their Faith" - Hebrews 11:20-40
27. "Let Us Run" - Hebrews 12:1-2

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“Let Us Run” [Matt's Messages]

“Let Us Run”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

November 1, 2026 :: Hebrews 12:1-2

Do you like to run? Some people love to run. Others, not so much.

We’ve got some real runners in our church family. Miles and Jennifer are runners. Miles broke his foot running a couple of years ago, and he’s back to running these days. That’s dedication!

Our son Andrew who is visiting us for another week and his fiancée Shelby ran a 50K run in the spring and then hiked 2,500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. They even ran some of it!

We’ve got some Cross Country runners among our students. I saw on Facebook yesterday that Ashley has qualified for “states” in Cross Country this year. Well done, you!  A saw Ashley run earlier this month. At least, I think it was her. It was a blur. She’s fast.

I used to run when I was young (not like Andrew), but I don’t any more. I like to walk and hike now, but I’m not that into running.

Some of you are like, “If you see me running, there is a bear chasing me.”

And some of you are like, “I don’t care if there’s a bear chasing me. I’m not running!”

And that’s okay. We don’t all have to run physically, but all Christians are called to run spiritually. It’s a metaphor. And it’s in verse 1 of Hebrews 12. The main thing that Hebrews says that we all must do. He says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Let’s run! C’mon. Let’s go.

This passage should sound very familiar today because it’s the one from which we get our whole theme for our whole church for this whole year. “Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus.” From verse 2. We’ve been working up to this point now since January. And now we’re coming down to the home stretch.

The writer to the Hebrews has been building an argument to convince his readers (and therefore us) that they should and they can and they must run. That WE should and WE can and WE must run.

 “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” 

What does he mean? It’s a metaphor. We don’t have to buy running shorts or shoes to do it. It’s a metaphor for faith. Like we’ve been learning about all through Hebrews chapter 11, all Christians are called to exercise faith in God.

We are called to trust God and choose God and obey God by faith.

Even when it seems kind of crazy.

Even when it hurts.

This life of faith pleases God.

And we’re called to exercise this faith in God again and again and again.

It’s like running a footrace.

One foot in front of the other.

One step followed by another step.

One faith-filled step by another faith-filled step.

And then again.

And then again.

And then again.

I have four points about how we are supposed to run the race of faith from these two verses this morning, and here’s the first one. Let us run...

#1. ALL THE WAY.

Let’s go the distance.

Did you hear the emphasis on endurance in verse 1? “Let us run with perseverance [some versions say “endurance,” some say “patience,” run with perseverance] the race marked out for us.”

 

The Greek word is “hupomonay” and he’s already used it back in chapter 10. He told them, “...do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere [hupomonay] so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (10:36, see also 10:32).

Go the distance. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t fall away. Don’t shrink back. Don’t quit the race! Run all the way.

I remember trying to run a 5K once without training for it back when I was fifty pounds heavier than I am today. I made it about half the way, and then I was like, I’ve got to walk or I won’t make it. And then towards the end, I was like, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” My heart was just beating out of my chest. And I was all sweaty and red-faced. 

It might have been smart to drop out of that race. But not the race of faith in God. That’s one we are called to run all the way to the end.

Now, we don’t always know how long our race is going to be. He says, “the race marked out for us.” And it’s different lengths for different folks. Some race for decades and decades before they reach the end. I won’t mention anybody who turned 98 years old yesterday. She gets mad at me when I do! Others have much shorter races. 

And the race course takes different turns. Some have more of a straightaway. Some have a twisty course through the woods like Ashley, Abby, Jon, and Simon have running with Cross Country. Some are all up hill.

We don’t choose the race course. We are called to run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

And it might be really hard. The Greek word for “race” is “agona,” from which we get the word “agony.” It’s not always easy to make it to the end of this race.

That’s been the theme of this letter all along, and it’s really going to come home in this chapter. This is hard. Living by faith is hard. It takes spiritual stamina. And we have enemies, we have opponents who want us to drop out of the race. People who think we’re crazy for running it in the first place. And people who just want us to lose.

But this pastor doesn’t want any of these Christians to drop out. So he says, “Let us run. Stay in the race. Keep up your pace. Let’s run and run and run and run and run on."

The Christian life is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. For some of us it’s an ultra-marathon. We need to stay in it for the long haul.

Now, how do you do that? How do you keep going in the race of faith?

Well, think about it. How do you keep going in any race? What helps? 

The author keeps running with the metaphor. Point number two. Let us run....

#2. ALL TOGETHER.

Did you hear all the “together words” in there? I love how he includes himself. He says, “we, our, us.” Notice he says, “Let us run.” This is for him, too. Not just for them. But all of us are called to run together.

The Christian life is a team sport. We are not supposed to race alone.

This is a good part of our team right here. Look up and down the rows at your teammates. Let’s run together.

What does our memory verse say? Hebrews 10:24 and 25. Let’s say it again more time. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

“Spur one another one.” BZZZT. Get together with your team. Huddle up on Sunday and throughout the week and encourage each other to go the distance. Are you doing that? Are you encouraging your running mates to keep going? Are you here for the team meetings? That’s what Sunday mornings are supposed to be. It’s the huddle to keep the pack running forward.

Who are you encouraging these days? Who’s encouraging you?

Try this out. Say the sermon title to the person next to you: “Let’s run.” And nod at them. (Maybe with the “up-nod.” Or the “take-it-outside-nod.”)  “Let’s run.” Just that is encouragement. You are not alone. 

We all have to run ourselves, but we do not run by ourselves.

And, in fact, we are running where many others have run before. Notice what he says first before he even got to the part where he says we should run together. Look at the first part of verse 1. It starts with the word “therefore” which means that this is where the argument has been going all along. V.1

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...let us run...”

We don’t just have running mates, we have witnesses. A great big cloud of them. I think we’re supposed to picture an arena filled with cheering fans. Maybe like the Coliseum in Rome. But not filled with our enemies who want us to be eaten by the lions. But with our friends, our fans, cheering us on in the race.

Historians say that the first Olympics were in 776 BC. So there had already been Olympics for nearly 850 years when Hebrews was written. They knew about races, and they knew about crowds.

Who is this great cloud of witnesses in verse 1? Who is he talking about?

It’s the Hall of Faith isn’t it? It’s the all the Old Testament believers that we read about in chapter 11.

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (and his bones!), Moses’ parents, Moses himself, the people who put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts at Passover, the people marched around Jericho, Rahab the prostitute, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

And all the rest! All those Old Testament faith-ers. 

Some who seemed like winners. They “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,  quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again” (11:33-35a).

And others who seemed like losers. They “were tortured...faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated....they wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (11:35-38).

“Faith of our fathers, living still in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword...Our fathers chained in prisons dark...” (Frederick Faber)

Those are the witnesses! There is such a great cloud of them.

And they are chanting:

“Jesus is worth it!

Jesus is worth it!

Jesus is worth it!

You can do it. 

We did it.

You can do it, too.

Run! Run! Run! Run!”

Now, notice this. The emphasis here on their being witnesses, is not that they are witnessing us do our running. Though, they may be true on some level. But they are not primarily witnesses OF US, but TO US.

The word for “witness” here is the same root word as “commended.” Remember last week, we saw that “all these folks (both the ones who were winning and ones who seemed like they were losing) were ALL commended for their faith? They all got a good report? Same root word for “witnesses.”

And now they are giving witness, giving a report of how faithful God is.  They are commending God to us!

They have finished the race, and now they are cheering us on who are still running it.

I saw this at the Cross Country meet a few weeks ago. Those like Ashley and Abby who got to the end of the race early went back down to the racecourse and cheered on their teammates to finish the race, too. “You can do this! Go, go, go!”

So I think we’re supposed to imagine good old Abel doing it. Remember, he was murdered by his brother. But though dead, he still speaks (11:4). He’s cheering, “Jesus is worth dying for.”

And we’re supposed to hear Enoch. Remember, he walked with God and then didn’t die. He just went straight to God. Enoch is cheering from the sidelines, “It’s worth it! I’ve been there. I know! Run, run, run.”

Noah is saying, “Run! Run! Run! Don’t worry if they think you’re crazy. If God says to do something insane like build an ark when it’s not raining, do it. Run!”

They are all doing this.

Abraham, “Don’t worry that you can’t see the promises yet. They are coming. Run! God can bring back the dead. Run!”

Moses is saying, “You can see him who is invisible. And he’s worth it. He’s of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. Run! Run! Run!”

Rahab is saying, “Don’t let your past determine your future. Your past won’t stop God from loving you. If you trust Him, He’ll be happy to be known as your God. Run! Run! Run!”

Do you hear them? “Run! Run! Run!”  They’re lined up in the hall of faith, and you’re running by them out onto the track. “Run! Run! Run!”

Hebrews says that they have been waiting for us. Remember how the last chapter ended? Chapter 11, verses 39 and 40. “These were all commended [witnessed] for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

We’re all in this together. Old Testament believers and New Testament believers like us. All the saints together. Let us run all together to the perfect finish line.

And let’s run light, and let’s run free. That’s point number three. Let us run all the way, all together and...

#3. ALL FREE.

See in verse 1 how he says we need to lighten our load?  Look again at verse 1. 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Before he says we should run, he says that we should get as light as we can.

That makes sense, doesn’t it? If you are going run a long distance, you want to have the least amount of  resistance. You want to have the least amount of weight to go the longest way. I didn’t see Ashley carrying a suitcase.

I see a growing number of people using one of these. It’s a weighted vest. I’ve asked for one for Christmas this year. This one is borrowed. It’s supposed to build stamina, heart strength, and endurance when you are training. So your whole system gets a workout. 

But when it’s time for the real race, you take the weighted vest off.

Notice what Hebrews says that we need to shed. Verse 1.

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”

Now, that second one should be obvious for Christians. Sin that entangles us. Temptations that beset us. Sin that clings to us that threaten to trip us up. Those things have got to go so that we can run.

What is it for you?

Could be greed?

Could be gluttony?

Could be jealousy?

Could be dishonesty?

Could be sexual sin?

Rage, worry, selfishness, drunkenness, hatred?

You know where you struggle. You know where you’ve given in.

Hebrews says, “throw them off." Repent of your sins. Throw them off. Reject those temptations as the trip-wires they are. 

You want to run? Run from sin. Turn away from sin.

The wonderful thing is that Jesus died for our sins so that we can throw them off. We don’t have to sin.  We’re going to celebrate how Jesus gives us this victory at this table in just a few moments. But we don’t have to sin any longer. We can throw it off. And be free.

But notice that sin is not the only thing that Hebrews wants us to be free of. He says, “Throw off everything that hinders.” The ESV says, “[L]et us also lay aside every weight...”

I think that includes good things, not just bad things, but good things that are have gotten out of place in our lives and make it harder to run. That could be a hobby, or a friendship, or a pastime, or a habit, or a something else that isn’t bad in itself but keeps on weighing you down. Do you know what I mean?

I remember, years ago, we had a student in our youth ministry who wanted to grow as a Christian, but the sport he was in met at the same time as the youth ministry, and he decided that as much as he loved that sport, it would be better for him to lay it aside for a while to focus on his faith. Now, I’m not saying that everyone should make that exact same choice.

But I am saying, “What is weighing you down?”

Throw it off. Run unencumbered, unburdened, unfettered, unimpeded, unrestricted, uninhibited.

“Throw off everything that hinders...”

Again, notice he includes himself, “Let US all throw off everything that hinders.” We don’t just point out what someone else needs to toss. We get serious about it, too. “[L]et us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run...”

And here’s the most important thing to know about how we can keep running to the end. Let’s run...

#4. ALL FOR JESUS.

Look at verse 2.

“[L]et us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...”

How many times have we said this year?!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus is at the finish line! 

Jesus is the goal.

Jesus is what we are running to.

And Jesus is so worth running to! Nothing better!

And not only is He at the finish line. He’s the One who got us running in the first place. V.2 again.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...” 

Some of your versions may say, “pioneer,” or “founder,” or “captain,” or “source” of our faith. He’s where we get the power to get going in the first place. He’s the starting gun. Run! And he’s the “perfector” of our faith. Ultimately, He’s the One who makes sure we make it to the end!  

Because He came on the scene, we are going to be perfected with the Old  Testament believers (v.40).

And not only was He at the start of our run and is at the end our run, He also ran the race before us!

Jesus is the ultimate witness! See what he says in verse 2?

“[W]ho for the joy set before him [He also had a goal] endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus saw the future, too. He saw the Cross. He saw how shameful it was. How humiliating. How painful. But He also saw the joy.

The joy of doing His Father’s will.

The joy of resurrection and ascension.

The joy of exaltation at the Father’s right hand.

The joy of saving a people for Himself.

The joy of His kingdom coming in all of its fulness and you and I being there with Him.

The joy of paying for our sins so that they are wiped out.

The joy of sitting down.

His work completed, His reign begun. He sat down! How many times have we reveled in that this year? He said it in the very first paragraph. Chapter 1, verse 3. Chapter 1, verse 13. Chapter 8, verse 1. Chapter 10, verse 12. Our Great High Priest!

“[W]hen this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Heb. 10:12). He’s referencing Psalm 110, verse 1.

Church, where is Jesus right now?

He is sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He finished His race!

He ran right through the Cross.

It hurt. That was the worst race course ever.

The worst suffering ever.

The worst humiliation ever.

But He decided it was worth it, and He ran to the end and sat down.

He’s waiting at the finish line.

And now He beckons for us to run to Him.

And for Him.

And because of Him.

And like Him!

Let’s do it, church.

Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, and let’s run.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10
11. "On To Maturity" - Hebrews 5:11-6:3
12. "We Speak Like This" - Hebrews 6:4-12
13. "An Anchor for the Soul" - Hebrews 6:13-20
Bonus Message: "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus" - 2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
14. "In the Order of Melchizedek" - Hebrews 7:1-19
15. "A Priest Forever" - Hebrews 7:20-28
16. "Better Promises" - Hebrews 8:1-13
17. "By His Own Blood" - Hebrews 9:1-14
18. "Cleansed with Blood" - Hebrews 9:15-26
19. "Once" - Hebrews 9:27-28
20. "He Sat Down" - Hebrews 10:1-18
21. "Since We Have a Great Priest" - Hebrews 10:19-25
22. "Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence" - Hebrews 10:26-39
23. "Faith Is..." - Hebrews 11:1-7
24. "Living By Faith" - Hebrews 11:8-19
25. "Commended For Their Faith" - Hebrews 11:20-40

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“Commended For Their Faith” [Matt's Messages]

“Commended For Their Faith”

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

The Letter to the Hebrews

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

October 25, 2026 :: Hebrews 11:20-40  

“Way to go! Good job! I’m so proud of you. I’m so pleased with you. Attaboy! Attagirl!  Yes! You have done the right thing! You’re going the right way! Keep it up! Well done, you.”

We all love to hear encouraging words like that, don’t we? We all love to receive commendation. Approval. Approbation. Someone giving us a good report on ourselves.

I know I do! I love to hear someone I care about cheering me on. And even commending me to someone else.

What’s amazing about our passage for today is that the writer to the Hebrews says that God Himself has strongly commended a group of people. These people have truly pleased God, and He is making it known. In fact, God is putting this group of people before this church as examples of how to live and calling them to live the same kind of life. What kind of life is it?

It’s a life of faith. Our sermon title for this morning is pulled from verse 39 where it says “These were all commended for their faith.” 

“Commended For Their Faith”

Hebrews chapter 11 is often called “The Hall of Faith” because it’s all about what faith is and what faith does. And who has shown us what faith is like when it is lived out.

Hebrews 11 recounts the faith of many many many believers from the Old Testament. 

We’ve seen the pattern. Something like 24 times the author says, “By faith” and then names an Old Testament believer who trusted God and tells us how that faith came out in their life.

By faith.

By faith.

By faith.

So far, we’ve read about Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham and Sarah. They believed God. They had faith. And they were commended for it! 

The very first verse of the chapter says (Hebrews 11:1), “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

Over and over again God issues His commendation for these ancient believers. He says that He was pleased with them. Because faith is essential to pleasing God. Verse 6 said, “[W]ithout faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

You can’t please God unless you have faith. But if you have faith you do please God!

So much so that verse 16 taught us, and I have not gotten over this, that God is pleased to be associated with them! He said, “God is not ashamed to be called their God...” and that’s putting it mildly and negatively. It’s true the other way around, strongly and positively, “God is glad to be called their God!”

“God is glad to be their God!

That’s how much they are commended! I want that for you and for me. And all it takes (all it takes!) is true faith. And the author to the Hebrews wants it for his readers as well. Because he’s putting forward these many examples of faith to ignite and fan to flame and keep the flame of faith burning bright in the hearts of this church. The whole goal of this whole letter is to keep this whole church going in their faith. 

Especially because it was getting hard to keep going. These primarily Jewish Christians were beginning to experience persecution for following Jesus. Opposition from their neighbors and even from the authorities. And it was becoming more and more tempting to “shrink back,” which would not be pleasing to God (10:38).

But this pastor writes this letter to encourage the Hebrews that they are not of those who shrink back and “are destroyed, but of those who [have faith] and are saved” (10:39). And he says, you and I are to be like these believers that stand out from the pages of our beloved Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, and show us how it’s done.

Now, he started kind of slow. So far (vv.1-19), he’s focused on the first half of the Book of Genesis, and he really drilled down on Father Abraham, the father of faith. But now he starts to pick up a little steam. Look with me at verse 20.

It’s about Isaac. Now, Isaac was mentioned already especially as the potential sacrifice when God tested Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22. A test that Abraham amazingly passed! But in verse 20, it’s Isaac’s own faith that is being commended. Look at Hebrew chapter 11, verse 20.

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.”

Now, that’s a very short summation of Genesis chapter 27. You might want to go and read this afternoon. In fact, you might want to look up all of these stories either this afternoon or a little bit more each day. Hebrews kind of assumes that we know these stories. He just wants to point out some things to not miss. Like that Isaac blessed his sons Jacob and Esau by faith.

Remember, Isaac called them into his tent and passed on the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant down from him to them. It’s actually a very complicated story when it comes to Jacob, and a very sad story when it comes to Esau because even though he was the oldest, he despised his birthright. We’re going to come back to Esau in chapter 12. He’s a cautionary tale. 

But Isaac, at this point, was exercising faith. And do you see what his faith was about? Verse 20, “...in regard to their future.”

I’ve got four points this morning of commendation that were true for these ancient believers, and I hope are true for you and for me. Here’s number one. They were commended for:

#1. TRUSTING GOD WITH THEIR FUTURE.

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.”

Imagine being Isaac. What do you think he must have felt about the promises that God gave to his father Abraham?

Remember the three promises of the Abrahmic covenant? What were they?

1. Offspring.

2. Land.

3. Blessing.

Offspring. There’s Isaac. And now Isaac’s got two boys. And neither of them are really great. 

How about land? How much land did Abraham pass down to Isaac? None. Zero. Zip. They have a burial plot. That’s all.

How about blessing? Well, they have seen some of that. Isaac got to live and not be sacrificed! Isaac got a wife that he adored. Rebekah. They have survived and seen a few miracles along the way. But it’s mostly all just still promises.

But Isaac believes the promises! And he passes them down to his sons. Like we sang this morning. He believes that God will do what He said He will do.

And Jacob believes it, too. It took him a while to get there, but he did. Verse 21 is about the last few days of his life. And he passed the promises to his sons (Genesis 48 and 49). And Hebrews focuses on Grandpa Jacob passing the promises to Joseph’s sons. Verse 21.

“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”

He’s got more offspring but no more land. In fact, where was Jacob when he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh? Anybody know? He was in Egypt. Israel had gone down to Egypt to escape the famine. They weren’t even living in the land! But Jacob believed the promise. 

And so did his son Joseph. V.22

“By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.”

I just love that! I’ve said it many times, if I were forming a rock band, I would name it, “Joseph’s Bones.” 

Joseph was in Egypt, too. But his heart was in the Promised Land. At the end of his life, Joseph made his children promise that when the Exodus happened (just as God had promised it would in Genesis 15) that they would take his bones with them when they exited Egypt and bury his bones in the Promised Land. That’s faith! Joseph’s bones were faith. 

Could Joseph see the future? No! But he could “see” the future. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

Do you have faith? Are you trusting God for your future? You may not be laying hands on your kids’ heads and passing on the Abrahamic covenant to them. (Maybe you are!) But are you telling God that you are trusting Him with what is going to happen to you tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that? Or are you worrying about it? Or, worse, telling God that you don’t trust His plans for you and you don’t trust His promises for you. 

Are you trusting God with your eternal future? Where is your hope? “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], that whoever [put their trust in Him] shall not perish but have eternal life” (see John 3:16). Are you trusting God with your eternal future? 

Joseph’s instructions about his bones showed where his faith was. He believed that God a good future for him and his people some day down the line. And he was commended for it.

And just like that, we’re at the end of Genesis and we’re into Exodus. And, as you might expect, he spends a little more time on the great Moses just like he had on Abraham. But he doesn’t start with Moses’ faith, but the faith of his parents. Look at verse 23.

“By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.”

Now, of course, they were afraid of the king’s edict (on one level). Remember the Pharoah had said to kill all of the boys born to Hebrew women. They were afraid that was going to happen to their beautiful little Moses. But they were not afraid to try to save him. They were willing to give up their own lives to save their beautiful little boy. He seemed so special. And so they hatched the plan to put him in the little basket on the Nile (read about it in Exodus chapter 2). 

And it worked! In fact, because of big sister Miriam’s quick thinking, they got to nurse and raise Moses in their home in those critical growing years. And then he moved into the palace and learned to rule as a grandson of Pharoah. And then, later, Moses repudiated that. Verse 24.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (vv.24-25).

This is all in Exodus chapter 2, as well. When Moses grew up, he had two families. His Egyptian one and his Hebrew family. And he knew that he had to choose one. Which one would you choose?

As the grandson of Pharaoh, he had power and prestige and access to pleasure. He could have had anything he wanted.

And what did the Hebrews have? Slavery? Toil? Groaning? Murder? And great big promises from God.

And one day, he chose. He saw a Egyptian master beating a Hebrew slave, and Moses intervened and killed the Egyptian! And when he realized that people knew what he did, he was scared and fled the country. But he didn’t come back to Pharaoh and apologize. And try to get off the hook. He chose to identity with the people of God. Look at verse 25 again.

“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”

Moses was commended for:

#2. CHOOSING GOD OVER POWER, PRESTIGE, AND PLEASURE.

Faith chooses God over the passing pleasures of sin. Even if you have to pay for it! I think it’s amazing that Moses gave all of that up when giving it up didn’t just mean that he lost the power, prestige, and pleasure but that he was going to pay for it maybe with his own life. 

“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.” This was a conscious decision.  His faith caused Moses to think. Look at verse 26.

“He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”

Wow. What a calculation! You see that word “greater” in verse 26? That’s the key word that Hebrews repeats over and over again in this letter. Moses said, “I could really enjoy myself here in Egypt. But it won’t last. And God has given my real family a greater promise.” [Hebrews names it “Christ” though Moses might not have been able to articulate it so succinctly as the Messiah. But he was looking down the corridor of time and thinking about his reward.]

Moses was fixing his eyes on the future. On the greater treasure. Two weeks ago, Donnie Rosie talked about the treasure of Jesus’ kingdom. Moses could see it coming. And he valued it over the fleeting pleasures of sin.

There’s nothing wrong with power, prestige, and pleasure as gifts from God, but as gifts from the world, the flesh, and the devil, there’s everything wrong with them. Moses chose God. Verse 27.

“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”

Now, was he afraid of the king or wasn’t he?  Well, Moses didn’t come back and grovel. He persevered. He stuck with his choice. He decided there was Someone more important than Pharaoh to worry about.

“He saw him who is invisible.”

Wow! Remember, faith is a kind of sight. It’s seeing with the eyes of the heart what is really true and Who God really is. 

Does that describe you and me? Are we seeing “him who is invisible” and choosing him over the world? Are we choosing God over power, over prestige, over pleasure? Or are we worldly? Are we acting like Egyptians? Do we act just like the rest of the world? in how we talk? How we work? How we entertain ourselves? How we relate to others? Which family do we choose? The world or the church? 

It takes courage to practice self-denial. And Moses did it by faith! And so he was commended by God. Look at verse 28.

“By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

You know the story, I hope.  Exodus 11 and 12. God told Moses to instruct Israel paint the doorposts of their homes with the blood of the Passover lambs. And if they did that, if they trusted God in this way, the angel of death would pass-over their homes in the tenth and final plague. If they did not, and the Egyptians (of course) did not, then their firstborn sons would all die. Even Pharaoh’s firstborn son. And a great wailing went up in the land. But Israel was passed over. What a picture that was of the Cross! Jesus is the greater Passover Lamb for all who put their faith in Him.

Now, that’s kind of crazy, right? I mean, put some blood on your doorpost, and then your sons won’t die? Are you going to do that?

I think we’ve seen in this chapter that God’s people often are called to do something that seem a little crazy at the time. 

Noah was told build the ark when noone had ever seen a flood. Abraham was told to go to the Promised Land at age 75, sight unseen. Now Moses has led his people to put blood on their doorposts and head towards Canaan by way of the Red Sea–being chased by Pharoah! It’s a dead end. Read about it in Exodus 14.

What is God thinking?! what is Moses thinking? He’s thinking, “I trust God.” And he leads them right up to the raging water. Verse 29.

“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.”

They were commended for:

#3. OBEYING GOD EVEN WHEN IT SEEMED CRAZY.

What are you doing with your life that seems crazy to the world, but you are doing it because God tells us to?

I think about forgiving others. The world says, “They hurt you. You hurt them back.” And if you are patient or forgiving with someone who hurt you, the world says, “You’re crazy.”

Or I think about generosity without expectation of payback. Our team went down to Florida. They spent their own money and time. And we sent them with some travel money. But nobody was paying them.

By faith, Pennie, Bobbi, Kelly, Amy Jo, and Darla drove to Florida, and it was not a vacation! The world says, “That’s really nice you did that. Also crazy.” And some would say, “stupid” when you could be living it up.

What are you doing with your life that seems crazy to the world, but you are doing it because God tells us to?

How about going to church? “The world says you can sleep in on Sundays! What are you doing?!”

Martin Luther was seen as crazy for disagreeing with the religious leaders of his day when he said that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone according to the word of God alone to the glory of God alone.

I think about all of the commands we’re going to see in Hebrews chapter 13.

“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers...Remember those in prison...Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure...Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have...Remember your [church] leaders...and imitate their faith” (see 13:1-7).

The world says, “That’s crazy.” Believers say, “That’s faith.” 

And the Lord says, “That’s my boy. That’s my girl.” They were commended for obeying God even when it seemed crazy. 

Like at Jericho. That’s the next one. Verse 30. All of a sudden, we’re out of Exodus and into Joshua. Verse 30.

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”

Who would have come up with that one? Verse 31.

“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

I’m sure that her neighbors, if they knew, would have considered her actions insane!

“Rahab, what are you doing?” What Rahab did took courage, and it showed that she had faith. Read about it in Joshua chapter 2 and chapter 6.

By the way, isn’t it wonderful that Rahab’s past did not determine her future? And her past didn’t nullify her faith.

The prostitute Rahab was commended! Rahab was commended! Rahab was commended! Because she welcomed the spies by faith. God is not ashamed to be Rahab’s God! God is glad to be Rahab’s God!

God is glad to be known as Rahab’s God. He’s just as glad to be Rahab’s God as He is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses’! That’s what this is saying.

Don’t let your past define your future. Let God define your future.

Don’t go BACK to your past. Burn your bridges. Moses did. Rahab did. Rahab left that life. She married a guy named Salmon. And they had a kid named Boaz who had a son named Obed who had a son named Jesse, who had son named David.

Don’t let your sinful past define your glorious future.  Put your faith in God and do what He says even when it seems absolutely crazy.

And in verse 32, Hebrews picks up steam and just starts flying along. He’s made his point, and he’s driving it home. Verse 32.

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (vv.32-34).

It’s like we got to the Book of Judges, and he’s like, “You know the rest of the story!” It all tumbles out of him. He even stops saying it all in order.

It’s just a jumble.  “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.”

Again, I’m encouraged because these guys are not perfect. Far from it! In fact, these guys who are judges, I know more bad facts about them than I know good ones! We’re studying Judges right now on Wednesday nights at Prayer Meeting. They were deeply flawed.  But when you get down to it, they were also men of faith. And they were commended for it. That gives great hope to me as a deeply flawed man myself.

God will perfect us. He knows we will not come to Him perfect. He knows that He will have to perfect us. But we need to trust Him. And as we do, we will see some amazing things happen! Because God rewards those who earnestly seek Him through faith (11:6). Look at all the things they saw happen because of their faith!  V.33 again.

“...through faith [they] conquered kingdoms [like King David], administered justice [like the judges or wise King Solomon, and gained what was promised [at least in part]; who shut the mouths of lions [who was that? Probably Daniel praying in the lion’s den that we studied last year], quenched the fury of the flames [Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], and escaped the edge of the sword [so many rescued from death in the Old Testament]; whose weakness was turned to strength [like Samson at the very end?]; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies [so many of the kings...]” [Verse 35.]

“Women received back their dead, raised to life again. [Like Elijah in 1 Kings and Elisha in 2 Kings] Others were tortured [UGH] and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. [Wait a second. What’s happening? Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. [Yes, this happened in the Old Testament, too.] They were stoned [tradition says Jeremiah was]; they were sawed in two [tradition says that Isaiah was sawed in two]; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated–the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground” (vv.35-38).

This is so important to understand. Just because we have faith does not mean that we will always win. Not in the short run.

Remember righteous Abel! Murdered by his brother.

Faith does not always mean prosperity.

Faith does not always translate into success.

Faith does not always lead to health and wealth and riches.

That’s a lie. That’s a false gospel.

Faith may lead to shame. V.36 again. “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.”

That’s normal in this age. Jesus told us to expect trouble (see John 16:33).  Are we ready for that?

Hebrews is preparing these Christians to go through jeers and flogging themselves. And even death. He says that these people in the Old Testament were “destitute, persecuted, and mistreated.”

Did that mean that they were doing it wrong? Was Jeremiah doing it wrong if he was stoned? Was Isaiah doing it wrong if he was sawn in two? What does verse 39 say?

“These were all commended for their faith...”

The happy people of verses 33 and 34 were commended. And the people of verses 35 through 38 were commended, too!

Verse 38 says, “The world was not worthy of them.” I know that I’d rather live in verses 33 and 34, but I should probably want to I’ve in verses 35-38. Don’t you want that to be said of you, “The world was not worthy of them.”?

“These were all commended for their faith...” God was pleased with them. God was not ashamed to be called their God. Even though they were suffering. Because they were holding onto to Him.

That’s point number four and last. They were commended for:

#4. HOLDING ONTO GOD UNTIL ALL HIS PROMISES ARE FULFILLED.

Look back at verse 35 when that “vibe shift” happens. 

The women of 1-2 Kings got their dead back, a little taste of resurrection. But others were tortured for their faith, and if they had just given in and given up their faith, they could have gone home.

“Just repudiate the Lord! Just recant your belief. Just sign these documents, Martin Luther.

Just stop saying that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Say Caesar is Lord.

Say Allah is Lord.

Say Money is Lord.

Say America is Lord.

Say Family is Lord.

Just shut up about Jesus.”

But they refused to repent of their repentance. They did not shrink back. They fixed their eyes on Jesus. And it says they, “refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection.” [There’s that word, “better” again!]

This resurrection won’t be temporary. Those who came back to life in 1-2  Kings died again. But those who die in faith in this God will be resurrected like Jesus with indestructible life!

They just have to wait. They just have to hold on. It’s coming. The final victory is still on the way. Look at verse 39.

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. [Not fully! Only a little taste.] God had planned something better [there it is again!] for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

 

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Did you catch that? Hebrews threw “us” in there. The Old Testament saints had true faith, but they didn’t get what was promised in the Old Testament. They all died waiting and holding on for it.

And then it came!

Jesus came.

The Messiah came.

And His kingdom came.

And He and His kingdom are coming again.

So that the Old Testament believers together with us New Testament believers get everything together.

Jesus and His Kingdom and all of the promises–offspring, land, and blessing forever and ever in resurrected bodies in a resurrected world.

Where everything is perfect.

It’s coming!

He’s coming!

And all we have to do is hold on and we’ll see it together with Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses’ parents, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and everyone else who had faith.

“Something better” is on the way. And all we have to do is fix our eyes on Jesus and run towards Him.

Together with brothers and sisters from the Old Testament, we will be commended.

***

Messages in this Series:

01. "The Son" - Hebrews 1:1-4
02. "Superior to the Angels" - Hebrews 1:5-14
03. "Such a Great Salvation" - Hebrews 2:1-4
04. "We See Jesus" - Hebrews 2:5-9
05. "Flesh and Blood" - Hebrews 2:10-18
06. "Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus" - Hebrews 3:1-6
07. “Today, If You Hear His Voice” - Hebrews 3:7-19
Bonus Historical Message: The Gift of My Rest - A Fictional Letter of Sabbath Theology
08. "A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God" - Hebrews 4:1-13
09. "Great High Priest" - Hebrews 4:14-16
10. "The Source of Eternal Salvation" - Hebrews 5:1-10
11. "On To Maturity" - Hebrews 5:11-6:3
12. "We Speak Like This" - Hebrews 6:4-12
13. "An Anchor for the Soul" - Hebrews 6:13-20
Bonus Message: "Fix Your Eyes on Jesus" - 2026 West Branch Baccalaureate
14. "In the Order of Melchizedek" - Hebrews 7:1-19
15. "A Priest Forever" - Hebrews 7:20-28
16. "Better Promises" - Hebrews 8:1-13
17. "By His Own Blood" - Hebrews 9:1-14
18. "Cleansed with Blood" - Hebrews 9:15-26
19. "Once" - Hebrews 9:27-28
20. "He Sat Down" - Hebrews 10:1-18
21. "Since We Have a Great Priest" - Hebrews 10:19-25
22. "Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence" - Hebrews 10:26-39
23. "Faith Is..." - Hebrews 11:1-7
24. "Living By Faith" - Hebrews 11:8-19

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