How do we move beyond initial faith and grow deeper in our Christian journey? Host Steve Schwetz invites listeners aboard the Bible bus to explore this crucial theme, delving into Hebrews 12 with insights from Dr. J. Vernon McGee. This episode challenges believers to lay aside unnecessary burdens and truly participate in the race of faith, allowing Christ to work in and through us. The episode features Tom, who shares his powerful testimony of redemption and how Scripture, especially through the Bible ministry, has played a pivotal role in his journey. His story serves as an inspiring reminder of
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
Why is it that many Christians stumble and wander through the Christian life? Well, our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, tells us that the problem with so many who know the Lord is they don’t choose to go on with God. They do get saved, but they don’t get into their new life in Christ. They never get into His Word. Well, if you can identify with this issue, then you’ve come to a good place. And you’re on your way to an even better place as we travel through God’s Word together. Welcome to Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, welcoming you aboard the Bible bus for this great study. So while you find your seat, I got just enough time to share a voicemail from a fellow listener. His name is Tom.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hi, my name is Tom. I’m from Newark, Ohio. And I listened in the past to Through the Bible, the Bible bus program. on columbus ohio area stations and currently the internet and the little blue bible bus player i love to tell the story of how the lord’s used through the bible and the word of god in my life i love the word of god because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god and the lord is used through the bible many different times in my life different seasons i trusted christ as a nine-year-old at 16 my pastor said tom i think lord’s called you to preach but instead because i was not in the word of god then i didn’t even know about through the bible i was basically living for myself had a lot of guilt and shame sin in my life and i went to ohio state university took up an engineering degree solely because it promised a lot of money in financial security. Almost died three times, but the Lord began to work in my life through the Bible as I commuted. I remember the very first time I believe that I heard through the Bible. I can almost picture the spot on I-70 going to campus as I thought to myself, you know, I didn’t repent then, but I thought to myself, there is hope for me. that God could forgive me, and the Lord has used through the Bible many times in my life. I did come back to faith in Christ alone for my salvation, and there’s been multiple times where the book of Galatians, the Lord used it when there was legalistic influences coming against my faith and giving in to the temptation to try to live the Christian life in my own strength. It’s through Christ alone, him living in us by the power of the Holy Spirit and his love. And then also Jonah and the God of a second chance has been a great blessing in my life. The Lord in mercy has allowed me to get back out and preach. He is the God of a second chance. About last year, the Philippines, Ghana, and U.S. college campuses were The Lord gave opportunity to pray with approximately 2,904 people to put their faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. And when I share the gospel, I have put the through the Bible, please study the Bible, giving the web address on my track. And then also I try really hard to try to encourage people to listen to through the Bible. There’s been especially, but not especially, but including people from other countries. There was a master I got to play with. He prayed to receive Christ and he almost started. Well, he did. He started crying when I shared with him that him and his Spanish speaking mom could listen to through the Bible in Spanish. And he was overjoyed and started crying. It’s really an awesome experience.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thanks, Tom. It’s great to hear how God’s getting you into His Word and how God is using you to share it with others. And what’s your story? You know we’d love to hear how God’s using our time in His Word in your life. And like Tom, you can call and leave a message at 1-800-65-BIBLE. You can also leave a note via our app, or you can always email us at BibleBus at ttb.org. And remember, you can always reach us by mail, Box 7100, Pasadena, California. California, 91109 is the address. Or in Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Now let’s pray. Father, thank you for your word that encourages and gives us hope. Focus our minds and help us to take the message that you have for us to heart. In Jesus’ precious name, amen. Here’s Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Hebrews 12 on Through the Bible.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, I trust you found your place in the 12th chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. We’ve come now to another great chapter here in this very great book that we’ve been studying. We’re in the practical section now. We began in chapter 11 that Christ brings better benefits and duties today. And we’ve seen that that comes to us through faith. And faith is reality. It’s not dream stuff that we’re talking about. The 11th chapter has been called the faith chapter of the Bible. And if that is true, then I would call chapter 12 the hope chapter of the Bible. And if that is still true, then I would call chapter 13, the last chapter, the love chapter of the Bible. So that, friends, we have now come to the 12th chapter, and it’s the hope chapter, and it’s divided like this. I’ll get rid of the mechanics right here at the beginning, but these help us to understand, and if you have our notes and outlines, you’ll be able to follow along. We have first the Christian race. That’s in the first two verses. Then we have believers are now in contest and conflict. And that is verse 3 through 14. And then beginning with verse 15 through the rest of the chapter, you have the sixth danger signal that we have in this book. And this danger signal is the peril of denying. Actually, when we come here to chapter 12… We want to read verse 1 and get into this. This is a very wonderful statement made in the first two verses. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now, I want us to take a look at these two verses. They’re quite wonderful. And they need to be understood. We have in the first part of the epistle, the peril of drifting. Heroes just being heroes and just drifting along, doing nothing about God’s salvation at all. Now, in the last part, he’s speaking to believers and the peril of remaining stationary. Let’s get in the race. Let’s start moving. Let’s get going. But not drifting, you see. We’re racing. And I would say that the greatest danger in the Christian life is at this particular point, the peril of just remaining stationary, doing nothing. There is a grave danger, they tell me, in the far north when you’re out in the cold and can’t find a place, get lost, that there’s a danger of freezing to death. And the first step of it is you go to sleep. You just have to fight it. You can’t keep from going to sleep. You have to keep moving. If you don’t keep moving, you’ll freeze to death. Well, I would say that that’s the grave danger of believers today, the danger of just doing nothing, going to sleep. I would say that’s far more dangerous than the peril of drifting today, of really being just heroes. That’s bad enough. But this is something that is tragic indeed. Just staying right where you are. I’ve told the story before. The old cowboy back in the great meetings they used to have in West Texas years ago. A little lady with a son, Bonnie, got up to give her testimony. She said, the Lord filled up my cup 20 years ago. And she said that nothing has run in and nothing’s run out. This old cowboy in the back, he spoke out. He said, I bet it’s filled with wiggle tails now. And I think that’s the condition of a lot of the saints today. They say that the Lord’s filled my cup, but there’s been no running over. They’ve just remained that way. And I agree with the cowboy. There’s a whole lot of wiggle tails in a lot of these cups that people are boasting of. Therefore, we are told here we’re to move out. We’re to live by faith. Why? Wherefore, and wherefore is another one of these little words that is cement that holds the chapter that goes before with the chapter that’s coming up. And that’s what it does here. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Now, for many years, I took the position that that the witnesses were these saints that are mentioned in the Old Testament, and many of them listed in the 11th chapter. And they’re sitting in the grandstand watching us run the race of life today. Well, I personally couldn’t think of anything that would be more boring to them than to watch us run the Christian race down here. That is the way some of us are running it. But it doesn’t really mean that. Although it caused me to lose a marvelous story that I’d heard. And I’d like to pass it on to you because it is a very sentimental story. And it does make a point. There was a famous football coach in the East. I heard this at the kickoff luncheon in Pasadena years ago that is given before the Rose Bowl game. A friend invited me to go with him. And one of the newscasters told about this famous coach in the East that he had a football player that was famous for two things. The first thing was he was noted for his faithfulness at football practice. He was the first one out and the first one to leave the field. But he never could make the team. He just wasn’t quite good enough. The second thing, though, he was famous for is that he had a father that visited him on the campus. And he and his father would be seen arm in arm walking across the campus, very much engrossed in conversation. And everyone, of course, noted that. They thought how wonderful it was. Well, one day the coach got a telegram saying that the boy’s father had died And they felt he was the proper one to transmit the sad news to the boy. He called him in and told him. The boy was greatly shaken, of course, and had to go home for the funeral. But he was present at the next game the next Saturday. And he was sitting there on the bench. And he came to the coach. And he said, Coach, this is my fourth year and my last year. And I’ve never played in a game. And I’m wondering if today you just put me in for a few minutes and let me play. And so the coach put him in because the boy’s father just died. And he put this boy in and he turned out to be a star. He never saw anyone play a more brilliant, better game than this boy played. And he never took him out of the game when it was over. He called a boy off to the side, called him by his name. And he said to him, listen, I’ve never seen anyone play like you played today. But up to today, you were the lousiest football player I’ve ever seen. I want an explanation. He says, well, coach, you see, my dad was blind. And this is the first day that he ever saw me play football. Well, may I say to you, if this verse of scripture means that those that have gone before are sitting in the grandstand watching us, then that would be true. But unfortunately, that interpretation just won’t stand up at all. The witnesses here are not actually sitting in the grandstand. They are the ones that have run the race down here. They’re the ones that were down on the racetrack. And you and I are the ones sitting in the grandstand as we did through chapter 11. And we watched them run the race of life. And they ran it by faith. Those that would be called a howling success for the world, they did it by faith. And then those that suffered what the world would call miserable defeat, those that suffered and were slain with the soul and those that suffered and endured, they went by faith also and they’re just as great heroes. And they witnessed to us. We’re watching them or have watched them as we went through the 11th chapter. And you could go through the Old Testament and I’m sure… Pick out many more because the writer said the time would fail him to tell of all of them. There were many there. And they witnessed to us and encouraged us to run by faith, to live by faith. The Christian life here is likened to a Greek race. Christ is the way to God. And along the way, the Christian is a soldier. He’s to stand. And as a believer, he is to walk. But as an athlete, he is to run the race. And one day, we’re going to fly, friends. That’ll be at the rapture. We’re going to do a little space travel to the New Jerusalem. Now, we’re told here that we’re compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, and we’re told, let us, let us. And we have another salad here, a lettuce salad. Let us lay aside every weight. Now, this is not a danger signal put up at all, but it’s a challenge to us. Let us lay aside every weight and let us lay aside every sin. which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. The point is this. Let us get now out of the grandstand. Let us get down on the race course of life. Whatever God has called us to do and wherever he’s called us to live and move and have our being, let’s get out on the race course and let’s run the Christian race. Let us move out for God. That’s the whole thought. A lady went into a department store years ago and went up to a floor walker and said to him, do you keep stationery? Oh, he said, I move around every now and then. Well, my friend, there are a lot of Christians. I think you could say to them on Sunday morning, you keep stationary. And I doubt whether they could say they ever move around very much. We’re told here, let us run with patience the race that is set before us. But we’re to do two things here. One is let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Now, God has saved us from sin. He’s brought us into the heavenlies, actually into the holy place. And he’s made us to sit in heavenly places. He’s given us his Holy Spirit. Then you and I fall down and stumble and wander like a man lost in the dark. What is wrong today with the Christian life that is as it’s being lived at the present time? Well, I come back to the same string that I play on all the time because I think this actually is the answer. The problem is that Christians do not go on with God. Many times they get saved, and then they start giving a testimony, and that’s all they ever have. They never start studying the Word of God. That’s the important thing. It’s like the little girl that one night she fell out of bed and her mother rushed in to her because the little girl began to cry. And she said to her, honey, says, how come you to fall out of bed? And she says, I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in. Well, that’s the problem of the Christian today. The reason we stumble and falter and fail today is because we’re staying too close to the place where we got in. We need to go on. This is a race. We’re to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily beset us. The Christian life, it’s a race. Win or lose, all are to win. And this is the only race in which everybody can win. Paul put it, says, know ye not that they which run in a race all run, all run to receive a prize. Paul says, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. And then he could rebuke some of his followers. You were running well. What did hinder you? Now, the conditions to be met. First of all, is to be encouraged. By these witnesses. They’re not spectators. They’re testifying to you today. They’re in the cheering section. They’re encouraging you and me to run the Christian life. Abraham is saying to you and me, move out by faith. Moses is saying to you and me, move out by faith. Daniel is saying to you and me, move out by faith. Now, the two conditions laying aside. The first condition. And that’s the negative side, laying aside every weight and the sin. What does it mean by laying aside every weight? Well, it simply means this. Weights are highly unnecessary in a race. In fact, they are not essential at all. And we ought not to be using weights. I remember years ago when Gil Dodds was one of the famous runners in this country. He was here in Southern California. He was a very fine Christian. Some of us went out to the track at USC to watch him run. And he ran around a couple times with tennis shoes on. He stopped, took them off, and put on some other little shoes. And one of the fellas there asked him, why did he change shoes? He had on tennis shoes already. He just took one of the tennis shoes, pitched it up, took one of these other shoes and pitched it up to him, told him to feel them. And believe me, there was really a lot of difference. Enough difference that it caused him to lose the race. And that’s what he said. Now, may I say that in the Christian life, there are a lot of things, friends, that are not wrong in and of themselves. But Christians shouldn’t be carrying those weights around because you won’t win. Now, I’m going to use this illustration and don’t think I’m picking on any particular thing at all because I’m not. You have to determine what you can do as a child of God. And I have to determine myself what I can do as a child of God. A young lady went to her pastor and said to him, is it all right to dance? And he said, sure it is if you don’t want to win. The whole point is, it’s not a question of right and wrong for a Christian in his conduct. It’s taken for granted you’re going to do what’s right. It’s not the question of whether this thing is right or wrong, but will this hurt my testimony? Will this keep me from winning? Will this be a weight in my life? And there are many Christians today that are carrying around a weight. And they ought not to be carrying around a weight. A lot of things, friends, that are not wrong, don’t ask me to argue with you about whether dancing is wrong. I won’t. I won’t argue with you about any of these things that these separationists argue about today that you can’t do this if you’re a Christian. I don’t say you can’t do it. All I’m saying is, are you in the race? You want to win? Are you looking under Jesus? And that becomes the important thing, you see. Now, what is the sin? And I emphasize that. It says laying aside every weight and the sin. This is not just sin we’re talking about. It’s the sin. Well, we cast back on the last chapter because wherefore that open this chapter took us right back. So it has to be the sin that was in the last chapter. What really was the great sin of the last chapter? Was unbelief. Unbelief is the sin. And there’s nothing that will hold you back as unbelief. It’s just like trying to run a race with a sack of wheat on your shoulders. That’s a weight. and sticking your feet down in a sack, an empty sack, and trying to run a race. You’d never be able to do it, friends. And you can’t do it in the Christian life. Unbelief is what holds many of us back. And if I may make a personal confession, I’m confident that has helped me back more than anything else in my Christian life. Now we’re going to pick up right there next time and move on into this wonderful chapter. Until then, may God richly bless you. Bible letters.
SPEAKER 01 :
We’ll be right back. In it, we’ve got all the notes and outlines for every book of the Bible. And if you’d like to receive a paperback copy of Briefing the Bible that fits nicely on your shelf, you can call 1-800-65-BIBLE. And if you want to dig a little deeper into Hebrews, you can download our free Bible companion at ttb.org. And we’re happy to now also offer Hebrews and any of our other Bible companions for the New Testament in beautiful paperback editions. So if you want to purchase those, you can go to ttb.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE. And when you get yours, why don’t you tell us what you think? That’s really helpful as this is a new product for us, especially if you’re using them for small group study the way I have. They’re perfect for that. Now, our study of Hebrews continues as Dr. McGee encourages us to stay close to the Word of God. I’m Steve Schwetz, and I’ll meet you back here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus made it all All to Him I owe. Sin had left the prison safe. He washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 01 :
Just go to ttb.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we’d love to know what’s God teaching you.
