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 RUN FOR IT! by Randy Jones


Amplified: THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,

Barclay: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses enveloping us, let us strip off every weight and let us rid ourselves of the sin which so persistently surrounds us, and let us run with steadfast endurance the course that is marked out for us and, as we do so...

NLT: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.

Phillips: Surrounded then as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience,

Wuest: Therefore also, as for us, having so great a cloud of those who are bearing testimony [i.e., the heroes of faith of chapter 11] surrounding us, having put off and away from ourselves once for all every encumbrance and that sin which so deftly and cleverly places itself in an entangling way around us, with patience let us be running the race lying before us,

Young's Literal: Therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses set around us, every weight having put off, and the closely besetting sin, through endurance may we run the contest that is set before us



Hebrews 12:1 - I love this verse. I’ve preached on it many times in many churches.

This explains clearly why Satan (and our flesh) try to keep some form of sin in our hearts and lives – to try to make sure we all have a “secret sin” or an “Achilles’s heel – to trip us up – so that they can use this to slow us down, and to keep us from running our spiritual race and course swiftly – all the way to the finish line.

The Apostle Paul put it this way: 24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run straight towards the goal with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Cor. 9 – NLT First Edition


“This group of witnesses is characterized as a "cloud." This is not the normal word used in Scripture for a cloud (which is the Greek word nephele). Instead, the word nephos is employed, and this word appears only here in the entire New Testament writings! "Nephos is a mass of cloud that covers the heavens and differs from nephele, a detached, single cloud. In this way this "cloud mass" is said to "surround" us, or "encompass" us (Heb. 12:1), since it fills the sky from one end to the other. Dr. Kenneth Wuest agrees with this distinction between the words -- "The word 'cloud' here is not nephele, which is a detached and sharply outlined cloud, but nephos, a great mass of cloud covering the entire visible space of the heavens" (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek NT, vol. 2 -- Hebrews, p. 212). The Expositor's Bible Commentary concurs (vol. 12, p. 133). This figure is made all the grander by the use of the Greek word tosoutos, which is a far more demonstrative form of the word tosos, meaning "so great, so many, so long." Thus, tremendous emphasis is placed upon the magnitude and scope of this cloud mass.

Therefore, in the phrase "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses," we have conveyed to us the image of a vast throng who completely surround us. The sky is covered from end to end, the land is completely overshadowed, by this multitude. They are an innumerable host, and the people of God should take comfort in that fact. It is also significant to note they are called "witnesses," which is actually the Greek word martus (from which we get our word "martyr"). It literally means: "a witness, one who testifies."

Figuratively - this vast multitude are witnesses of our daily struggles to live for Jesus - they are spectators; assembled in a vast celestial coliseum observing our race for the finish line, and cheering us on.

The Pulpit Commentary suggests "we are to think of them as hovering over us in the heavens. They circle and crowd around us, tier upon tier, on both sides of the race-course.

R.C.H. Lenski makes the following observation: "It is very powerful if we sense or think of these 'witnesses' spectators who are lining the ramparts of heaven, leaning over to watch us in the running of the race like the crowds in a great stadium who are watching the athletic events”.

These "witnesses" are those who witness, or testify, to us, rather than simply being spectators of us. In other words, they have something to say to us; some truth or truths to present to our view and for our consideration as we strive to complete the race set before us. What do they testify to us? How do they testify to us? They testify by their lives. As we consider their journey of faith, as we view their witness of victorious living, they speak to us! They testify or witness to us that - FAITH is the victory!

In Hebrews 13:7, speaking of spiritual leaders whom most interpreters believe to be deceased at the time of the writing of Hebrews, the inspired writer says, "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith." These departed leaders witness (testify) to us by their lives, and their testimony is to the eternal worth of faith. Therefore, take that testimony of their lives and imitate it. In other words, live by faith just as they did. In Hebrews 12:3 we are told to "consider" Jesus as we strive to run with endurance the race set before us. The theme is that as we journey through life we have a vast cloud of testifiers (Jesus being chief among them) as to how to successfully reach the finish line and receive the victor's crown. It is by an active, obedient, demonstrative FAITH.

Hebrews 11 lists that galaxy of godly men and women. The writer has gone to great lengths to present to our view a vast cloud of witnesses, or testifiers, to the eternal worth of a life of faith. That is the whole focus of Hebrews 11. Through challenging circumstances, as they themselves ran the race set before them, testify that the victory CAN be won, and that it is won by FAITH. It is they (and others like them, past, present and future) who witness to us by the successful outcome of their lives that victory is assured for the man, woman and child who lives by faith.

Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann describes the "great cloud" in the following dramatic way: "These are shining examples which envelop us like a bright cloud. It is a vast multitude of witnesses that have testified to the worth of faith, and wherever we may turn, we find their encouraging example. And just as they pursued their course unflinchingly and persistently till they reached their goal, so we also should be found running forward toward the heavenly object of our striving with steadfast, courageous patience" (Popular Commentary of the Bible: The NT, vol. 2, p. 487). Dr. Kenneth Wuest writes, "The heroes of faith of 11:4-40 are the cloud of witnesses, testifying to the efficacy of the faith way of salvation and victory" (Word Studies from the Greek NT, vol. 2, p. 213). Dr. F. F. Bruce says that "by their loyalty and endurance they have borne witness to the possibilities of the life of faith" (The Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 346). "There they are, then, and with their record to encourage us let us in our turn cultivate endurance like theirs as we run 'the race that is set before us'" (ibid, p. 347).

"They have by their example borne honorable testimony with respect to the nature, power, value, and sure rewards of faith" (Dr. Robert Milligan, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, p. 440). "They are witnesses whose life, works, sufferings, death attest their own faith, testify to us through the pages of Holy Writ and in other history that they were true men of faith indeed. ... Their past life and their death still speak to us about what faith really is. They have left their multitudinous testimony which speaks to us from all sides and in countless ways" (R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Hebrews, p. 424). "We are surrounded by these great examples of faith. In the midst of such a company how can we shrink back?" (Don Earl Boatman, Helps From Hebrews, p. 390).

The message of the writer of Hebrews to those still running life's grueling race, and who are in need of encouragement of spirit and endurance of faith, is this: consider the victorious outcome of those who have gone before you -- it is a countless host -- and take heart; they finished the course successfully ... so can you. How? The same way they did -- by faith. This is one reason it is so critical that we never discount the lives and the histories of those who have gone before us. They are there for our learning, our warning, and our encouragement. "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction" (1 Cor. 10:11; see also vs. 6). A biblical scholar and historian by the name of Dr. Bob Burrelli made this critical observation, "Recently there has been, on the part of the church growth movement, a decisive move away from all that is past toward everything new and innovative. Out with the old and in with the new is the motto. Such a move comes dangerously close to disconnecting believers from their Christian heritage. Let's be convinced that there is much in the past that has been recorded for our benefit. Let us not abandon our legacy handed down to us by the faithful and stained in the blood of martyrs. For our sake, and the sake of the next generation, let us learn from it, be encouraged by it, and as living stones continue to build upon it with the same costly material with which it was laid."

One minster gave this sobering warning: "We'd best not lose our sense of history. We must never forget the great cloud of witnesses who have walked the faith before us and still have much to say about walking it today." --- "To cut ourselves off from those who have come before us in the faith is to leave ourselves without their example, without benefit of their experience, and without their accumulated wisdom." "A sense of history. That's what God's people need. We need to see the 'great cloud of witnesses' that surrounds us because we need to know that we're part of something bigger than ourselves. ... Just as we're part of something that began long before we were born, they are a part of something that will go on long after they have died. ... "We need that sense of history to know that we aren't alone, that others have lived through trouble and pain and persecution and death with faith and integrity. And that if they could, we can too!"

"There is a lack of gratitude for those who have gone before us. Even in secular history, we have learned to appreciate such men as George Washington, Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln and scores of others who were instrumental in the forming of our nation. Should we think less of our forefathers who sacrificed for the cause of Christ? Certainly we should be thankful for our laws that provide for us liberties and freedoms in our great country. More than these, we should be eager to learn of those men and women who gave of themselves in order that we might learn of the freedom that is in Christ Jesus. Such awareness of the pioneer preachers can motivate us to be more faithful to our Lord."



I pray that we will all run on for the Lord with all of our might – swiftly and surely! The Goal and the Prize are more than worth it. The heroes of Faith in Hebrews 11 show it can be done. The Bible says that Jesus marked out the course for us.

God Bless all of you this week.

“That the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified.” 2 Thess. 3:1


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