If you don’t know about the race marked out for us, you’re not alone. Many believers aren’t familiar with this biblical truth. And for many years, I wasn’t either…
The church I grew up in was much the same as many of yours, I’m sure, especially if you grew up in an evangelical church. There is a very familiar cadence to the service—3 songs, a prayer, a three-point sermon, the offering, and a closing song. Also, like many other evangelical churches, my childhood church was called Grace. Grace (the biblical concept, not the name) is an incredible and wonderous truth. The concept that God dies in our place, giving us a salvation we don’t deserve, while he himself pays the penalty that we do deserve—it’s incredible.
Growing up, I learned a lot about what Jesus did for me. From a young age, I could tell you that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I could tell you that salvation was a free gift that I could not earn. I knew those truths backward and forward because those were the truths I constantly heard. Grace was an emphasis in my church, as it should be. Unfortunately, though, this came at the expense of other biblical truths—ones that are just as significant and biblical but just not quite as fun or easy to hear. There were several, and unfortunately, I didn’t end up hearing most of them for the first time until I was in my early 20s. When you have grown up in church, not hearing something until you’re 20 is a long time to be missing important biblical truths.
One important truth that took me by surprise was that the Bible teaches I should respond to God’s grace in some way—to run the race marked out for me.
We Are Called to Respond to Jesus’ Work and Example
Perhaps you, like me, grew up in a church where you knew a lot about what Jesus did for you and very little about our response. Hearing that there is a response to grace can be initially off-putting for people. At first glance, it may even feel like a works-based gospel. Of course, this is not the case. The New Testament writers present a very unified picture on this; they make it clear that you are saved by grace AND called to good works (See Ephesians 2:8-10, James 1:22 & 2:14-26, 2 Peter 1:3-9, etc). These are not opposing truths but chronological ones.
- First, you are saved by the work of Jesus on the cross (you can’t earn it—past, present, or future).
- Then you live out the good works he prepared in advance for us to do (because of love for God, not earning your salvation).
Many Christians, including me as a young man, will go long periods of time—even their whole lives—hearing that salvation is a free gift and not realizing that following Jesus comes at a cost. The inference is that because salvation is free, so is all of Christianity. This just is not the case, and a simple surface reading of much of the New Testament will reveal that time and time again. Jesus himself discusses the cost of following him on multiple occasions.
The author of Hebrews brings this same truth to light when he writes in chapter 12, “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 marked out for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” The author (since we don’t exactly know who wrote this book) is calling believers in Christ to respond to His work and example by laying aside the weight and sin that clings so closely and to run the race marked out for us.
Every Christian has a race to run. This scripture makes it clear that it is not an easy race. It also makes it clear that it is certainly a race worth running in light of all that Jesus has done—especially in going to the cross, as it says in Hebrews 12:2.
Understanding the Race Marked Out for Us
So, what exactly is this race?
For those initial readers of the book of Hebrews, the race was the journey of living faithful and God honoring lives in the middle of the intense persecution they were facing—incredibly costly. It also includes the honing that comes from living life with God. In vs. 3-4, the author makes it clear that this race includes warring against sin, even to the point of shedding blood (a reference to the death of Jesus). This leads into vs. 5-10, where the author highlights the discipline of the Lord, making it clear that the race marked out for us will take us through God’s discipline.
What becomes clear here is that the race is designed for our holiness, not for our comfort.
Depending on where you come from, persecution may or may not be a significant factor in your Christian life. But no matter where you come from or where you are in your Christian life, these other teachings from this passage are certainly pertinent. All of us are running a race designed to hone us more into the men and women God is calling us to be. It won’t be comfortable, it won’t be easy, but as the author writes in verse 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.”
It is a race marked out for us that’s worth running!
As Christians, we have been saved by God’s grace, but that is just the beginning of the conversation. God’s grace for us is intended to lead us to live for him. Those who choose to engage in the journey of difficulty, to run the race marked out for us, will reap the benefits of “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” They will see that God is so much more than a source of eternal salvation. He is a good, present, and loving Father who desires to grow and mature us!
Are You Ready to Run the Race Marked Out for You?
Will you run the race marked out for you? Will you engage Jesus to the fullest so that you can become the person he created you to be? As they say, “Every journey begins with a single step.” Consider asking Jesus what step that may be today. And let the stories of twenty passionate “runners” in It’s My Turn inspire you as you move forward!