Back to the Basics

by Maurice Pujol
Published June 16, 2006

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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him 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 sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

As the world around us grows more complex, it’s important for believers to get back to the basics.

With so many voices competing for our attention, we need to “tune in” to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. What is the key to accomplishing this? It’s our relationship with Jesus Christ, whom the writer of Hebrews calls the author and perfecter (finisher in the King James) of our faith.

Christianity is unique among the world’s religions because it really isn’t a religion at all. One may attend a church that teaches religious doctrine, but agreeing with doctrine doesn’t make one a Christian. Living the teachings of Jesus on a daily basis makes one more than religious; it transforms a person into a believer.

Being a believer, however, is quite easy on the one hand and one of the most difficult things in life on the other. You don’t have to have any special qualifications or education to receive God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. All you have to do is to repent, or turn from, your sins and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior by faith. Then, you need to live out the new life you’ve been given as a daily witness of this great transformation.

It’s that simple, yet that difficult.

Most people have a problem turning from their sins, especially their pet sins. True repentance means a complete turnaround, a 180-degree change in direction. The best among us make it only about 175 degrees around, while most people fall into that 90-degree category. They do a lot better than they did before repenting, but they find themselves slipping into their old ways every now and then.

As C.S. Lewis noted in Mere Christianity, those in most need of repentance (“bad” people) are the ones least able to do it. “Good” people, who need repentance the least, are the ones most capable of it.

That’s a great dilemma, but here’s the great problem – no one is able to repent perfectly. Of course, that’s where Jesus enters the picture. Core Christian doctrine teaches that Jesus attacked the “great problem” by paying our sin debt completely. The only Man who didn’t need to repent at all took on the consequences of all our sins and was therefore able to accomplish our repentance completely and perfectly. Lewis called Jesus the “Perfect Penitent.”

Believers who choose to follow Jesus and to walk in the benefits of His perfect sacrifice on the cross find the solution to their imperfect repentance in Him and in their relationship with Him. The key to this relationship is faith, believing with every fiber of our beings that Jesus is the answer to the great human dilemma.

The writer of Hebrews recognized all this and presents it to us in a sports metaphor. He uses the example of a race, but the techniques he describes are basic to many sports. The setting he creates is common to all sports, for there are many “spectators” around us.

The writer isn’t talking about the people around us, though believers are certainly under close scrutiny. Those of us who profess our faith publicly are watched very closely to see if our walk matches our talk. How well we do this may make the difference for someone else’s salvation, so this is very important.

The writer of Hebrews, however, is talking about a larger crowd of spectators, a spiritual assembly of all the great heroes of faith who have gone before us. Many of these are listed in Chapter 11, sometimes referred to as the faith “Hall of Fame.”

Training and conditioning are important if we are to play any sport well. We must strip ourselves of anything, which hinders our performance, and so the spiritual athlete must get rid of anything separating him or her from God, including the sin that entangles us in our various levels of imperfect repentance.

And so, believers must be like well-conditioned athletes, able to persevere and to endure until the contest is over. Winners never quit, and quitters never win, as the old saying goes.

There’s another basic technique for believers, used by athletes who hit a baseball or shoot a basketball. We must fix our eyes on the target. Batters keep their eyes on the ball, and successful shooters “look the ball in” to the basket.

Believers have a target on whom to fix our eyes, our Savior who waits for us at the finish line. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we won’t fall so easily into the sin that slows us down. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we’ll stay “on track.”

This brings us to another sports technique important to the successful Christian life – the “follow through.” The basketball shooter, the baseball pitcher and batter, the football quarterback all have this in common – they must “follow through” their shot, their throw, their hit to get maximum results.

So it is with believers. We “follow through” on our commitment to Christ when we keep in mind what He endured for us. When we remind ourselves that He who needed no repentance laid down His life for those of us who need it daily, we will get maximum results in our efforts to lead Christian lives.

As the postmodern world gets more complicated, these basic ideas from the inspired writer of Hebrews never lose their relevance.

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