You'll take your Bibles and turn to the book of Hebrews and chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, reading the first four verses. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And again, let's pray. Father, we do turn again to you and ask for your grace to enable us, as we gather here around your word, to actually hear what you have to say to this church. And so send your Holy Spirit, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Hebrews chapter 11 is the record of a great cloud of witnesses who inspire and encourage us to run this race with endurance. We can go back to Hebrews 11 and we can read this chapter and we hear their story and they inspire us to keep going. Hebrews 12 is about a great cloud of detractors. People who have gathered around and want to see us fail, drop out, and die. And we hear their voices today. Why do you have to be so narrow-minded? You think that you've got a corner on the truth. What about all of those other religions? How can you say that Jesus is the only way or that the Bible has all of the answers? Why do you have to be so narrow and so hard on other people? Hebrews 12 verse 4 is amazingly relevant for us today in our current confused and hostile culture. In your struggle against sin, You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." It's a statement of fact. At this point in their lives as Hebrew Christians, nobody yet had lost their life as a martyr. You have not yet resisted. You have not yet laid down your lives. As far as I know, I would say that that's true of us at Church Creek Presbyterian. But it's also a reminder that some have. You have not yet resisted. But some have. Hebrews 11 is part of that reminder. January 8, 1956, Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Ecuador, It's a reminder, that's part of that reminder that some have shed their blood. It's also a warning for us. You have not yet resisted. Jesus said, you will be hated by all nations because of me. Paul said, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Peter, writing in his first letter, says, don't be surprised as if something strange is happening when this fiery ordeal occurs in your culture and people are persecuting you because you are a Christian. It's a statement of fact, a reminder that some have. It's a warning for us. But it's also an implied imperative. And it's for us today. Implied is the imperative. Do this. Resist. Struggle against sin. Bleed, if need be. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. This morning, I want to address the question, well, how do we do this? How can I resist and struggle against sin? And what sin? What sin is he talking about? And I want to answer this question by looking at the three most obvious words in this sentence, the words blood, sin, and struggle. In your struggle, Against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. First word, blood. I mean, this certainly assures us that this is serious business. When you bring up blood, you're talking about something that's really serious. He doesn't say death. He doesn't say lose your life. He doesn't write in your struggle against sin you've not resisted to the point of losing your life or dying. He uses a word that is an emotional word that is designed to evoke some kind of response from you, blood. When your child comes running in from outside and says, I fell and bumped my head, You say, well, you'll be fine. You know, go get a Coke or something, watch some TV. You'll, you'll get over it. If your child comes in and says, I fell down and there's blood, uh, you drop what you're doing. You get up and you go over and look and see what's going on. The word blood is designed to get our attention. Most English translations, the word blood comes last in that sentence. That's how English adds emphasis to a statement. It's the last thing that you hear. And so, That's how the English translations do it. In the Greek, you do it the other way around. You throw that word forward, so it's the first thing that hits you when you begin to read the sentence. And so the word order is actually not yet to the point of blood. Have you resisted against sin while struggling? The author is literally throwing blood into your face to get your attention. This is serious business. Not yet to the point of shedding your blood. And again, literally, no one in this church, these Hebrew Christians, had yet lost their lives. None of them had shed their blood. None of their contemporaries or fellow church members had died. They had suffered to some extent. Chapter 10, beginning at verse 32, he gives them this reminder after they had first come to the light of the gospel. Remember those earlier days after you received the light when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution. At other times, you stood side by side with those who were so treated, You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property. They had suffered to some extent. And some believers before them had shed their blood. And we see that in Hebrews 11, the very first story that is told in Hebrews 11. The one in verse four, by faith Abel brought God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Cain is the one who killed his brother Abel because of his faith. By faith he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings and by faith Abel still speaks even though he is dead. And then towards the end of Hebrews 11 there's certainly the record of some who had shed their blood beginning at verse 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning. They were sawed in two. They were killed by the sword. They had not yet, some had, And certainly Jesus had. Chapter 12, verses 2 and 3, as we've already looked at these verses. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Jesus persevered. Jesus endured to the point of shedding his blood, obedient to the point of death. And now you and I are called to be prepared to do the same. Don't let this one word go by without noticing its effect, blood. The author is saying, Take this serious, this is a serious call in your life as a follower of Jesus Christ. Second word is sin. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Sin sounds so old-fashioned. outdated. In light of all that God created us to be, it's simply everything that's gone wrong with us. It's the Bible's word, the word that God himself uses to describe what it is that's wrong with us. Where we have wronged him and brought shame upon ourselves, it's the principle, the power of evil that works inside of us, that works inside of all of us, even the best of us. It's what keeps us from being the women and men that God created us to be, and it makes us guilty before God, and it makes our life miserable. Westminster Shorter catechism, sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God, want of conformity that any lack, any falling short of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, what God intended for us. Or transgression, breaking God's law, something that we actively do where we break God's law. And how serious is sin? What does the Bible say? How serious is sin portrayed for us? The wages of sin is what? And our catechism reminds us that every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. But now, what is this sin? What is the sin that you and I are to resist, even to the point of shedding our blood? In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. It's not the sin of verse one. Go back to verse one. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. It is not the sin of verse one. It's not our personal moral failures, our want of conformity unto her transgression of the law of God. Uh, those general, uh, sins. It's the sin of verse three. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. It is the sin of hostility against an estrangement from Christ. Sinners as they opposed Christ and said, we don't want this man ruling over us. It's the rejection of Christ. The sin of giving up and turning away from our allegiance to Christ. It's the sin of apostasy, to use the theological language. Renouncing our faith in Christ because we don't want to suffer, or we don't want to be inconvenienced, or we want to appear like everybody else. To stop running the race, to turn around, turn aside, go back, abandon Christianity. Forget this, it's not worth it. You know, the way is too narrow, it's too hard. There's so few of my friends going this way, I think I'll go somewhere else. That's the sin that's being addressed in verse four. The original audience who got this letter were Hebrews. Jewish people who had embraced Jesus Christ and had converted to Christianity and they had received the gospel, they had been privileged to see the light, they turned to Jesus Christ and in doing that they lost the good opinion of their Jewish neighbors and family members. People thought they were traitors. You're crazy. Why are you going to turn your back on your roots and on your Family, blood is thicker than water. Why are you doing this? They were thought to be unpatriotic by their Roman neighbors. You're undermining the glorious Roman empire with all of its peace and safety and its strength. You're doing something that's unpatriotic because of your talk about another king and a kingdom. They were hated by their pagan neighbors. Your morals are too strict. Your views on the value of life, on marriage, on sex. You're concerned to protect wimpy women and little children. It's just ridiculous what you're doing. Your insistence on being honest and fair in business dealings. There's no fun in this. It's unrealistic, and it makes the rest of us look bad. You're being so good. So these Christians were being pressured to give up their allegiance to Christ. Oh, you can keep your personal faith. That's a private thing between you and God. You can keep that. But outwardly, let's quit going to church. Let's go back to the synagogue. Let's just blend in with something else. Give up your allegiance. to Christ, to the church, settle for something that's less demanding, a more acceptable form of religion. Judaism in the Roman Empire enjoyed legal status. They were protected. Or give it up for a more politically correct spirituality. This is the message of the book of Hebrews from beginning to end. Keep your allegiance to Christ. give in and stop running the race just because it's inconvenient or people are giving you a hard time. If you've been with us on Sunday night, she'd gone through all of these passages together. Just read a couple chapter two, verse one, we must pay the most careful attention. Therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. Chapter 3, verse 12, see to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Chapter 13, verse 13, we'll see an allusion there where the author says, Jesus suffered outside the city gate. Jesus suffered out. He was rejected by the Jews. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp bearing the disgrace he bore. The word blood is designed to get your attention. This is serious business. The word sin, as it's used here, is talking about giving up. turning away from Christ when faced with ridicule, hostility, or you find it inconvenient. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Last word. struggle, in your struggle against this sin. Okay, I am under the wrong impression here. I thought this was going to be a life of faith. Nobody told me I was going to have to do something. Nobody told me I was going to have to get off the couch and do something like run a race or fight a fight or struggle or resist. I thought that I could just take God's free gift of forgiveness and go on business as usual, like joining a gym or something, you know, just adding something to my life and, you know, experiencing something a little bit different. that I could just believe in Jesus. I could pray this little prayer that, you know, Jesus come into my heart and I'll go to heaven. I thought that's all I had to do. Nobody said anything about struggling. Besides, didn't Jesus already do all the struggling? Aren't we going to sing Jesus paid it all at the end of the service or something, you know, he's already done it. Didn't he take care of all of my sin? Didn't I just hear that in verse two, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and he sat down at the right hand of God. I mean, if he sat down, it's finished. What can I add by my struggling? Well, understand it or not, it's what the Bible clearly says. and you certainly find it all through Hebrews, chapter four, verse 11, for instance. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Chapter six, verse 11. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has been promised. And now we hear, let us run the race with endurance. Let us resist. Let us struggle. Chapter 12, verses 12 and 13, therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees, make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Understand it or not, the Bible clearly says this. And the Bible clearly says that you can do this. I mean, it's a great message of the book of Hebrews, isn't it? I mean, the superiority of Jesus Christ, it's not just let us run the race with endurance, but therefore let us run this race, holding in our minds this great truth about who Jesus Christ is, putting our faith in him. It's because of who Jesus is, and it's because of what Jesus has done, and it is because of what Jesus has already finished doing that we're able to hold firmly, be diligent, make every effort, run, resist, struggle. The Christian life of resisting the sin of apostasy is a life of grace-empowered faithfulness. God's grace in Christ freely given to you apart from anything that you could do or have done. God's grace in Christ freely given is the fuel, is the energy that enables you as a believer to run, resist, and struggle to the point where you win. Just four examples taken from the book. You can spend all afternoon doing this for yourself, looking back through Hebrews and seeing who Jesus is, but just four of these very quickly. We will win because Jesus has already defeated and destroyed our worst enemy. Chapter two, verses 14 and 15. Since the children, that's us, people, have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death, that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Jesus has already destroyed. Our worst enemy, whether you want to think of that as the devil or death or that whole slavery of being bound to do his will, Jesus has already accomplished that victory. We will win because Jesus never stops praying for us. You have his full attention. Today, now, he never ceases praying for you. Hebrews 7. Verse 23 through 25, now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office. But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely or forever those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. I mean, there's not a moment of time when you're not in his mind and he is praying for you. He's praying for you by name. Here's my son, here's my daughter running this race, struggling, resisting, and people are giving them pressure. They're trying to get them to trip up and to deny me on earth. And Jesus is praying that we would have the strength. We will win because Jesus has removed every obstacle. Hebrews 9, verse 14. How much more than will the blood of Christ, this is serious business, the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God. The blood of Christ, removing our guilt and shame so that we are able to stand faultless before the throne. Faultless, blameless. Nothing on our record. The eternal spirit of Christ, uniting us to Christ in his resurrection, life, and power. The father of Christ, washing us clean that we might serve him and live. And then the book ends. Chapter 13, verses 20 and 21, assuring us that today, January the 17th, 2016 that Jesus is this very morning giving us everything. That we need. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with how many. Every spiritual blessing, all spiritual blessings, whatever your translation says, it means the same thing. Every single. spiritual blessing that is already ours in Christ. I have to ask you, as Pastor David asked in Sunday school, do you believe that? Show of hands. Do you believe that right now, as Pastor David asks you, that those opening words of Ephesians are true, every spiritual Blessing is yours now in the heavenly pray places because you are united to Jesus Christ. Do you believe it? And so the book ends assuring us that today, here and now, Jesus is giving us everything we need to win. In this struggle, chapter 13, verses 2021. Now, may the God of peace. who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will. And may he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Blood. This is serious business. This isn't just optional, this isn't just something tucked away in a systematic theology that you might find interesting or something. This is serious business, living the Christian life. Blood, sin, it's the sin of apostasy, giving up, dropping out, drifting away from Christ, walking away from his church. And then struggle. And this is God's call in your life. Run the race with endurance. Resist. Struggle. And God promises to equip you with everything that you will ever need to win. Let's pray. Father, we do believe and At the same time, we pray help our unbelief. We clearly see in your word that you have given us everything that we need to live and work for you, to persevere through this life. And yet this is not the way that we wake up in the morning thinking of every spiritual blessing being ours. and that you have indeed supplied every single thing that we have need of, and that your son, Jesus Christ, is constantly praying for us. Our worst enemies are defeated, every obstacle taken out of the way. And so, Father, this morning, use this, your word, this one verse from Hebrews 12, to build our faith, that as we think of this one verse and its very serious call to us, to resist and struggle, that we would do so as a people who are united to the Lord Jesus Christ, partaking of his resurrection, life, and power. And so fill us. And fill us with a strong faith, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.