Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)
“[1] 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,”
What is the sin (or the sins) that doth so easily beset you?
This is a question that should provoke a sincere self-evaluation, and the phrase “… doth so easily beset …” should cause for an even more sober reflection. “Doth so easily beset” means: something that thwarts or skillfully surrounds. It refers to certain aspects of sin that have a strong hold on you. The spirits behind those sins know you very well: your weaknesses, your manner of thinking, your preferences and opinions, your appetites and inclinations, etc, and they find it easy to beset you (to make you fall). It could be as easy as having a bad thought about someone (thinking negatively about someone’s actions, etc) or even having doubt or fear. It could also be immorality or malice (unforgiveness), etc. But every one should know those areas where they usually fall first before realizing they shouldn’t have. Those are the sins that “doth so easily beset” you.
How does scripture say we should deal with such things? It says: “… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, …”. So we are to lay them aside. And then it also says: “… and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”.
How do we lay them aside?
The clue is in the opening sentence. It says: “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 …”. So the laying aside should stem from “… seeing that we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses …”. The cloud of witnesses are the ones mentioned in Hebrews 11, and the general theme that summarizes the example they represent is in faith. Hebrews 11:1-6 says:
“[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [2] For by it the elders obtained a good report. … [6] But without faith it is impossible to please Him : for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
This is the example we see when we consider the cloud of witnesses (the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11). They were people of great faith in God. As such, when Hebrews 12:1 says: “… seeing that we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses …”, it is saying that we should draw inspiration from the way they lived to be able to lay aside (to be able to overcome) the sin that doth so easily beset us. Meaning, faith is a recommended means to overcome sin.
What examples can we learn from that help us to lay aside sin from among the experiences listed in Hebrews 11?
One example is Abraham and Sarah. Hebrews 11:11-12 says: “[11] By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude-innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.”
What can we say they laid aside? That is, what can we say easily beset them? Verse 11 says Sarah was past the age of giving birth. She had no strength to give birth. And verse 11 says Abraham’s body was as good as dead in terms of capacity to produce seed (that is, to impregnate his wife). This was the condition that beset them. And it beset them so easily because of their physical condition of age. But through faith, they were able to lay it aside. Verse 11 says Sarah received strength to conceive. How? By faith! It says: “… because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”. And because of this Abraham and Sarah became the parents of many people, as many as the stars of heaven (of which we who are born-again in Christ Jesus are included).
This is the same wisdom Hebrews 12:1 is enjoining us to employ to lay aside (overcome) the sin that doth so easily beset us. By faith! By actively holding on to the promises of God, and believing God for the miracle of character transformation into the likeness of Christ. In the different examples of faith in Hebrews 11, there was not much else they could do in the challenging situations that beset them. What else could Daniel do when faced with a bunch of hungry lions? But he laid them aside (he overcame them) through faith. Verse 33 refers to his victory (his laying them aside) as “… stopped the mouths of lions”. It was to be an easy besetting for the lions. They would have eaten him. But Daniel stopped it, by hoping in the Lord through prayer. There was nothing else he could have done.
Or what of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? How else would they have laid aside the fire that beset them? But they did, through faith and prayer. That is, through actively hoping on the Lord. And the fire could not consume them. Verses 34 and 35 mention another two interesting examples: “… out of weakness were made strong … women received their dead raised to life again.”. These were different forms of besetting situations that we can relate to: weaknesses or the deadness that sin causes. But by faith, they overcame, and so can you, no matter how hopeless the situation may be. You can overcome that sin: be it in your mind (your manner of thinking), your speaking or your actions; you can overcome, you can lay it aside, through faith and hope in God (as exemplified in Hebrews 11).
How does one lay aside sin through faith?
It is similar to how a blind man receives healing from the Lord through faith. He hears the good news of Jesus, believes it and cries to Him for help, trusting that Jesus is able to heal him. Which is why many times, Jesus would say things like: “… thy faith hath saved thee …” (Luke 7:50, Luke 18:42). How else can a blind man open his eyes, or a lame man heal his legs, etc ? So also: what is that sin that doth so easily beset you? Like the blind and lame man, believe the good news that Jesus can heal you and cry out to Him with all your heart. The blind men did not stop making noise (calling on Jesus) even though people told them to keep quiet, Matthew 20:30-31. So also don’t stop calling on God for your healing. Believe that He can and will heal you! And when He heals you, He will say to you: Thy faith hath saved thee!
Prayer for today:
O Lord, please increase my faith. Help me to believe the good news about You. By faith in You and Your infinite power, help me to overcome (to lay aside) all sin that doth so easily beset me. As the blind men in scriptures trusted You for healing when there was nothing else they could do, and You healed them, so I cry out to You for healing from that sin (sins) that doth so easily beset me. Thank You for being a great healer and a miracle worker.
0 Comments