Endure Hardship

Hebrews 12:1-13

Key Verse 12:7

1. Read verses 1-3. This passage compares one's life in the Lord to a "race". In what respect is our life in the Lord a race? What does "everything that hinders" mean? (Give some examples.) 

2. Verse 2 describes Jesus as the "author and perfecter of our faith". What does this description tell us about Jesus? 

3. In verses 1-2 we find three exhortations beginning with "let us". How are the exhortations related to each other? (1) let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles; (2) let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us; and (3) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...

4. Read verse 4. We are told that Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many. Yet, why should we struggle against (or resist) sin? What does "resist" mean? What does it mean to resist sin "to the point of shedding your blood"?

5. Read verses 5-11. How many times is the word "discipline" or "disciplined" repeated? What does "discipline" mean? Why does God discipline his children?

6. Verse 7 reads, "Endure hardship as discipline." What does it mean to "endure hardship as discipline"?  

7. Read verses 12-13 and think about the expression, "your feeble arms and weak knees" or "the lame". What do these expressions indicate about "you"? What does "make level paths for your feet" mean? The passage says that if you make level paths for your feet, you are going to be "healed" [rather than be disabled]. Why is this so?