Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to the Book of Hebrews. We are continuing our series today, “Christ Supreme in All Things.” And we come today to a passage that again speaks of the race of the Christian life. Running the race of the Christian life involves perseverance. It’s not a flash in the pan. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. It requires perseverance, and it requires something else too. It requires holiness. The title of today’s message is “Holy Perseverance.” And what I want to do in the next few minutes is convince you as a follower of Jesus that you need this. And that you want this. 

And I’ll be honest, that’s a hard sell in today’s world. If I said the word “holy” to the world at large, people would turn to each other and scoff. Who wants to be holy? One of the most famous songs in our day is a song called “Unholy.” Who cares about holiness? 

And if I said the word “perseverance” to the world, people would turn to each other and yawn. Who wants perseverance? They’d say, “Let’s live in the now. Let’s change and adapt if we have too. Nothing lasts forever.” So the fact that I’m up here this morning preaching a passage of the Bible that emphasizes both holiness and perseverance, well, that’s tough. 

But listen, if I could bottle up “holy perseverance” and pass it out to you, I would. If there were vitamin supplements for “holy perseverance,” I’d take them. Because this is so central to the Christian life and the Christian mission of living for Christ as a disciple. You can’t be a growing disciple of Jesus Christ without a growing pursuit of holiness. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” You’re not saved by your holiness, but saved people pursue holiness. And you can’t be a disciple of Jesus Christ without perseverance. And oftentimes those two things go hand and hand: holiness and perseverance; perseverance and holiness. 

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So let’s talk “Holy Perseverance” today, church. Write this down as #1 in your notes. I’ll give you three statements this morning. Write these down. 

As members of Christ’s community, God calls us to… 

1) Respond to his discipline with perseverance (12:12-13)

Remember last week’s message was about God’s discipline. And as God’s children, we have two ways that we can wrongly respond to God’s discipline. We can be defiant towards it, or we can deflate. We can regard it lightly. Or we can be discouraged by it. 

But here’s the proper way to respond to it. Look at verse 12.  

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,

Actually let me get a running start at verse 12 with verse 11, so we understand what the “therefore” is there for. 

11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 

So when God’s discipline comes, you don’t bow up in defiance. You buck up. You stiffen up your backbone and you keep running. When God’s discipline comes you don’t bow out with a deflated spirit. You gird up your loins. You lift up drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees. You don’t bow up or bow out. You buck up and you gird up your loins. 

I’m so glad the author of Hebrews brought back this runner’s analogy here, because I love sports illustrations. He started chapter 12 with this runner’s talk. 

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

And now he brings it back. And he admits that the race is hard. And he admits that the race is going to test your resolve. And the important part of the race isn’t the start. It’s the finish. So we need to respond to God’s discipline with perseverance. God takes us through a trial, and we lift up our drooping hands. And we strengthen weak knees. 

Now I’m not a runner, but from what I understand the first thing to falter when you run is your hands. Your hands start to droop or sag. And if you don’t get your hands right, it throws off your gait. The second thing to go is your knees. They stiffen up and start to wobble. In the Christian life, sometimes your gait gets thrown off. Sometimes life gets wobbly and wonky. Things might be going great for you, but then you encounter a crisis. God allows something difficult, some testing to take place in your life, and you’re A+ disposition turns into a C-. What do you do in that situation? You persevere. You fix your eyes on Jesus and continue the race.

But also look at verse 13. 

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 

What does that mean? Well this is an allusion to what Solomon says in the book of Proverbs. Solomon writes, “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil” (Prov 4:26-27). In other words, stay focused on the Lord and the path God has mapped out for you. Don’t chase sin. Don’t veer off-course. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2) and keep running. Don’t let your feet stumble over something dangerous like sexual immorality… we’ll talk more about that in a moment.   

In the ancient world, they weren’t as concerned with the health of the athletes as they are today. So they weren’t always conscientious about clearing paths for runners. So, as a marathoner, you had to be careful out there on your route. You had to avoid rocks and divots and uneven ground. And in a place like Athens or Rome, the roads could be treacherous. And if your knees are weak and your hands are drooping, you are going to be more susceptible to injury. So you can’t just race hard. You can’t just race determined. You have to race smart. You can’t just have resolve. You’ve also got to have discernment. You have to pick your paths and protect your body. So perseverance isn’t just a matter of effort. It’s also a matter of intelligence. 

In the spiritual world, the Christian race isn’t just about effort. It’s also a matter of spiritual growth and transformation. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

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Here’s something else that the Christian race is about. Write this down as #2. 

As members of Christ’s community, God calls us to… 

1) Respond to his discipline with perseverance (12:12-13)

2) Pursue harmony and holiness with diligence (12:14)

Look at verse 14 with me.  

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 

That word “strive” is the Greek διώκω. It’s an imperative in Greek, and it’s an aggressive word. So the author of Hebrews is commanding this of us here. He’s saying, “Strive for peace with everyone.” 

“Everyone? Even that guy at work who hates me? Even that atheist who keeps trolling me on Facebook? Even my ex-husband? Even my in-laws?” Yes, everyone! Paul said, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom 12:18). Sometimes peace isn’t possible, and everything surely doesn’t depend on you. But to the extent that it does, you make every effort to be at peace.

Paul also said, “let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom 14:19). He told us to be eager “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt 5:9). The author of Hebrews says here to strive for that. Strive for peace with everyone. Strive for harmony inside and outside of your Christian community.

By the way, a peacemaker isn’t the same as a peacekeeper. Sometimes peace requires confrontation. Sometimes peace requires hard conversations. Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean that you’re a doormat, and you let people walk all over you. Jesus didn’t live his life like that. But I’ll tell you what peace does require, and this is something that Christians struggle mightily with sometimes. Peace requires forgiveness. There are no lasting relationships without forgiveness. 

And you’ve got to know your temperament in that. People typically have a fight or a flight tendency when there is conflict. And those who have a “fight tendency” need to learn to pick their battles and forgive for the sake of peace. People who have a “flight tendency” typically need to learn to stand their ground and be more forthright for the sake of peace. For more on that, see the book The Peacemaker by Ken Sande.  

So the author says, 

14 Strive for peace with everyone,

And as part of this striving, the author also says, “Strive for … holiness” too. 

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 

Without holiness no one will see the Lord! That’s a sobering statement! But that’s a helpful statement too. Because it helps us understand that that guy you know, who says he’s a Christian, but lives a more wicked life now then he did ten years ago—he’s not going to see the Lord. Because a genuine follower of Jesus is indwelt by the “Holy” Spirit. And the Holy Spirit can’t indwell you without making some serious adjustments to your life. 

I said at the beginning of this message that you can’t be a growing disciple of Jesus Christ without perseverance and without a growing pursuit of holiness. I said to you that if I could bottle up “holy perseverance” and pass it out to you, I would. 

But in a sense, God has actually done that. God has done something better than that. God has sent himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, into you to produce something inside of you that you can’t produce yourself. And he’s the Spirit of holiness. And he’s the Spirit of perseverance. And he is producing those things inside of you. 

And that doesn’t absolve you of your own role in this. The author of Hebrews here says, “Strive for … holiness.” And he means it. Strive for holiness, and as you are doing that, the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you is accessible to help you. 

So strive for peace. And strive for holiness. And by the way, the starting point for that is salvation. You can’t have peace with others if you don’t have peace with Christ. You can’t have peace with others if you don’t have peace inside yourself. You don’t have the resources apart from Christ to accomplish that. 

And you can’t pursue holiness, until you have your sins permanently forgiven. That comes, not by works, but by faith. And the author of Hebrews would agree with this entirely. He spent ten chapters in this book telling you how awesome Jesus is. And if you don’t have that down, if you don’t have saving faith, then nothing in chapter 12 is possible. So put your faith in Christ. Be at peace with the holy God of the Universe. Then you can strive for peace and holiness in your life.  

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And by the way, here’s another resource that God has given us. He’s given us his Holy Spirit. That’s amazing. But he’s also given us the church community. In fact, I would argue that the role of the church community is intrinsic to this entire passage. So write this down as #3, and let’s talk more about that.  

As members of Christ’s community, God calls us to… 

1) Respond to his discipline with perseverance (12:12-13)

2) Pursue harmony and holiness with diligence (12:14)

3) Stave off sin in the community of faith with vigilance (12:15-17)

Look at verse 15 with me. 

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God;

Now let me share a quick nota bene here. In the Greek, verse 15 is not a separate sentence from verse 14. Actually verses 15-16 are an outworking of verse 14. So you might say it this way, “Strive for peace and for holiness by seeing to it…”

15 … that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 

So just to be clear, the way that we pursue holiness is by seeing to it that no one fails in these areas: 1) failing to obtain God’s grace, 2) failing to remove a root of bitterness, and 3) failing to curb sinful appetites. I’ll give you three terms for these. 

Write these down as…

Three enemies of “Holy Perseverance”

1) Apathy

2) Acrimony

3) Appetites

Notice the communal way in which this author communicates these directives. This is not the description of one man racing in a race all by himself isolated from other believers. No, this is the language of a community of faith. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God.” One author I read called this section “How to cultivate endurance through Christian community.” And that’s clear by the verb that is used in verse 15. 

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God;

That verb “see to it” is the Greek ἐπισκοπέω. It’s a cognate word with the Greek ἐπίσκοπος meaning “bishop” or “overseer” in the church. And it’s interesting that the author says here that the whole church has an ἐπίσκοπος function. We all should be looking out for each other.  

And our looking out for each other is exemplified in the way that we are always directing people towards God’s grace. We don’t let apathy or complacency set in. 

1) Apathy

We “see to it” that no one fails to obtain God’s grace. We “see to it” that no one is apathetic or lethargic or pessimistic. 

How do some fail to obtain the grace of God? Let me be clear about this. This is not a reference to “saving grace.” Yes, we are saved by grace. But also we grow in the grace of the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18). The Apostle James says that God “gives more grace” (James 4:6) as we need it. The author of Hebrews said earlier, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:16).

We are saved by grace. We grow in grace. And we also finish the race by grace. In his song, “Amazing Grace,” John Newton writes:

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,

I have already come;

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

So, one of the community tasks that we have in our church family, is directing people constantly towards God’s grace. And I would say that we especially need to do this when they are suffering through trials and despair. When Christians go through that… when you see them struggling… do two things. 1) Direct them to God’s grace. And 2) Serve as an instrument of God’s grace. 

How do you direct them to God’s grace? Well, you remind them about the gospel. You remind them about their eternal hope. You point them in a direction away from their temporary pain and suffering. You remind them, Romans 8:28, that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

How do you serve as an instrument of God’s grace? Well, you sit with them and encourage them. Sometimes you don’t say anything. Sometimes you just weep with those who weep. You don’t say Romans 8:28 until the right moment avails itself. You bring a meal to someone who just had an extended hospital stay. You pray over someone who went through something tragic. You watch someone’s kids who needs a day off. You pay to send a struggling Christian couple to a retreat for counseling. The possibilities are endless.

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God;

Oversee one another, church. Look out for one another. Love one another. Be on guard against apathy and discouragement and gracelessness in the fellowship. 

And here’s another enemy of “Holy Perseverance.” There’s apathy, and then there’s acrimony.   

2) Acrimony

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; [and see to it] that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 

Here’s another “overseeing” function in the church. See to it that no root of bitterness springs up in the church community. I know we use this verse sometimes to refer to the “root of bitterness” that springs up in a person’s heart. And to a certain extent, that’s true. We need to deal with the bitterness that’s in our hearts. That’s a biblical thing to do, because bitter unforgiveness is the antithesis of the gospel. But that’s not what this passage in Hebrews is talking about. 

The author of Hebrews is actually quoting a passage from the OT book of Deuteronomy. And in that passage, Moses tells the people of God the following:

Deuteronomy 29:16-20 – “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. 18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. 20 The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.”

Keep in mind, this is Moses, talking to the Israelites right before they are to enter into the Promised Land. This is just a few days before they will finally cross the Jordan River. And he’s telling them to cut out from their assembly the troublemaker. 

And the metaphor is illustrative. When you cook up a meal or a pot of stew, it’s incumbent on the cook to season the stew with vegetables and herbs. Nobody wants bland stew. But an inexperienced cook, who doesn’t know their horticulture, may toss in a bitter root that will spoil an entire batch of stew. 

The KJV used the term “wormwood” here, which was ubiquitous in the ancient world. That’s this weed called artemisia absinthium that wasn’t just bitter, it was lethally poisonous in large doses. In the modern world it can be used for medicines and other purposes. But in the ancient world it was proverbial for messing up meals and messing up crops. 

And the idea here is that it only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch. It only takes one poisonous person in the community of faith to drag everyone else down. So Moses tells Joshua and the rest of the Israelite leaders, “remove the stubborn-hearted person from your ranks.”    

Now, fast-forward to the NT. The author of Hebrews takes that image of the bitter root and says, 

15 See to it [church community] … that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 

So, some within the church must have been causing trouble. Some within the church must have been spoiling the broth of the church. They were acrimonious towards the Lord, and they were acrimonious towards believers. And their bitterness was starting to spread. It was spreading like gangrene. Remember Paul’s comment in 2 Timothy 2:16-18. “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus who have swerved from the truth.”  

Part of our communal task is to encourage those who fail to obtain God’s grace. Part of our communal task is to encourage the weakhearted. But another part of our task is to root out the stubborn-hearted. Holy Perseverance is a team sport. It takes a community effort. R. Kent Hughes calls this “sanctified meddling” in each other’s lives. 

Yes, the elders of this church are ultimately tasked with shepherding and overseeing (1 Tim 3:1-7; 1 Pet 5:1-5). We are called to shepherd the flock, care for the sheep, and protect the purity of the church. But we all have a role in this. 

So we battle against apathy in the church community. We battle against acrimony also. And finally, another one of our communal efforts as the body of Christ is to battle collectively against… 

3) Appetites

And the example that the author of Hebrews gives for this from the OT is the infamous son of Isaac, and brother of Jacob, Esau. 

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God…

[See to it] that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble… and,

16 [See to it] that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. 

The word for “sexually immoral” here is the Greek πόρνος. And it’s a word that has a wide semantic range incorporating a number of different kinds of sexual sins. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” “What’s God’s will for me, Pastor Tony?” I don’t know. But I know he wants you to abstain from sexual immorality. He wants you to be not like Esau.  

The book of Genesis shows us that Esau, unlike his brother Jacob, went and took two Hittite women to be his wives. And even though Moses doesn’t say that this was sinful or immoral, it’s a logical inference from the text. The Bible doesn’t condemn cross-cultural marriages. But it does condemn cross-religious marriages. God’s people were not to marry those who worshiped other gods. And Esau’s sin in this matter is indicated by what is said about his parents. Genesis 26:34-35 reads, “When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.”

So the author of Hebrews is leveraging the Esau example to exhort the church body to see to it that no sexual immorality spreads in the church. They are to make sure there’s no sin in the camp. The Apostle Paul wanted someone kicked out of the church in Corinth for his sexual sin (see 1 Cor 5:1-5). Because that sin compromises the purity of the church.

And by the way, speaking of sexual sin, all of us should be quick to say, “There but by the grace of God go I.” Nobody should think that they are beyond failing in this regard. Charles Spurgeon said once about sexual immorality, “The first person who is likely to fail in this church is myself. Each one ought to feel that … Each man is himself most in danger. If you say, ‘I do not think so,’ then there is the more reason that you should think so. If upon hearing of anyone falling into sin you have said, ‘I do not understand it; I know I never should have done so,’ it is very likely you will, before long, fall into the same or equally vile sin. You are just the man. ‘The one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall’ (1 Cor 10:12).” 

But it wasn’t just sexual appetite that Esau was guilty of. He also sold his birthright for a single meal. If you read the Hebrew of that incident in Genesis 25, Esau talks and acts like a caveman. His speech is the speech of a meathead. And he trades away God’s good gift to him for something passing, not unlike what some of the Jewish Christians are doing in the first century. They are discarding Christ and going back to their Judaism of old in order to get some temporary relief from pain and suffering. And in a not so subtle way, this author is telling a group of Jewish Christians who descended from Jacob, don’t be like Esau! That’ll get their attention.  

And notice in verse 17 how the warning applies.

17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Yeah, Esau felt bad about what he had done. Yeah, he regretted his rash and oafish action. But his remorse was not remorse leading to repentance. Jacob was a dope too and made some horrible decisions in his life. But his repentance was genuine repentance. And the Lord signified that with a change in his name from Jacob to Israel (Gen 35:10). 

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:10 that there is godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. There is godly grief and worldly grief. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” There’s godly grief and then there’s “Esau grief.” And Esau wanted the blessing he rejected. He wanted to be restored, and he even sought it with tears. But he “found no chance to repent.” 

So, one last time, here are the three enemies of “Holy Perseverance.” Apathy. Acrimony. And God-defying and self-gratifying appetites. Don’t be like Esau, church! Who do you have in your life doing a spiritual diagnostic on you for those things? Who do you have in your life watching your six? This is a communal fight. This is a team-effort in our church fighting against these enemies. 

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You know, I have some friends that absolutely love the imagery of Hebrews 12. They are runners, and they love to run. And because of that they love the description of the Christian life as that of a race, and us as runners. 

But I’ll be honest with you. I hate running. I do. I like to watch the Olympics. I like to watch other people run. But I’d rather do just about anything else in the world than run. Put a basketball in my hand, I’ll run up the court dribbling it. But other than that, no thanks.

I had a good friend who used to run all the time in Illinois, and I told her once that I thought the “runner’s high” was a myth. And she got so angry at me for saying that. I told her I’ve run lots of times, and I’ve never gotten a “runner’s high.” Now a “runner’s low,” I’ve gotten that lots of times. 

And the reason I never liked running as a kid or as an adult is because I prefer team sports. I prefer working as a team to accomplish a goal. I like basketball, football, and baseball. I didn’t like individual sports like swimming or running or tennis.

But look, here’s what I like about Hebrews 12 and what the author describes here. Whatever he’s describing with this race metaphor that runs through verse 13 and beyond, this is not running in isolation. This is running as a team. This is running the Christian life in community. Let me say it this way: “Holy Perseverance is team sport.” We’re in this together! So let’s keep racing. And let’s help each other along the way.