Practical Perseverance

As the author of Hebrews moved toward closing his book, he rapidly listed many different exhortations about specific areas of life. In many respects, this is the most practical portion of his book because it touches, especially, on the kinds of behaviors he hoped his audience would pursue. But the author also took the opportunity to inspire and energize his audience with a vision of the great privileges they enjoyed as followers of Christ.

In Hebrews 12:1-3, the author exhorted his audience to persevere, as if in a race. They could do this by throwing off sin and focusing on Christ, who did the same.

Hebrews 12:4-13 exhorted the audience to endure hardship as fatherly discipline from God. The author supported this outlook by quoting Proverbs 3:11-12. He explained that God’s discipline “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.” So, he encouraged them to strengthen themselves and not be disabled by suffering.

In Hebrews 12:14-17, the author again exhorted his audience to encourage each other. He urged them to live in peace and be holy. They were to ensure that no one falls short or becomes sexually immoral. He illustrated how important this was by referring to the example of Esau who could not reverse giving up his inheritance rights.

In Hebrews 12:18-29, the author exhorted his audience to be thankful for their blessings in Christ. To lift his audience’s spirits and to inspire them to perseverance, he described the immeasurable privileges and blessings they had received. Listen to Hebrews 12:22-24:

You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

In Hebrews 13:1-19, the author briefly encouraged his audience to be faithful in daily life. He mentioned loving each other, remembering outsiders and prisoners, honoring marriage, being content, and remembering their leaders. He also reminded them to resist the strange teachings of their local Jewish community and to embrace the suffering of Christ in their own lives. He urged them to offer sacrifices of praise, to do good, and to share with each other. Then he closed this section by urging them to pray for him and his companions.

In Hebrews 12:22 and following, the writer of Hebrews says, “We have come to Zion.” Now, you have to take that in relation to the previous chapter because what we call the faith "hall of fame” in chapter 11, all the Old Testament saints were told they died in faith without receiving the promise. But then, at the beginning of chapter 12, we’re told that Christ has entered in, that Christ has finished the race; he has overcome. And so, what verse 22 and following is saying is that we have now come into a place that even the Old Testament saints did not enjoy in their earthly lives. And the writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “We have come to Mt. Zion, to the church of the firstborn, to the myriad of angels, to the general assembly which is in heaven,” and what he’s describing there is the throne of God, the presence of God in the heavenly realms. And one of the staggering implications of this is that everything that Mt. Zion and Jerusalem pointed to in the Old Testament has now come into reality for those who are in Christ so that we can rightly look at a psalm like Psalm 48, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God,” and think about what that means as we gather together as the assembly of Christ on earth — that we stand at Mt. Zion in heaven, not the earthly replica, but the true heavenly Zion, the one that will be revealed in the new heavens and earth when the New Jerusalem descends, that we stand in the very presence of God himself in and through Christ who has overcome. And it has a remarkable difference in how we look upon the visible church in the world. [Rev. Michael J. Glodo]