Monthly Meditations

January 2008

The Sin That Doth So Easily Beset Us

Hebrews 12:1-2 

Throughout the Bible, and especially throughout the New Testament, the Lord often uses common illustrations from everyday life to reveal to us different aspects of our Christian walk and experience.  As when Christ spoke in parables, so these simple pictures cause us to understand the work that God is doing in our lives.  For instance, in John 15, Jesus calls himself the vine and God the Father the husbandman.  Then Christ says that we who are saved are the branches of the vine.  As such, we are in need of constant attention and continual cultivation.  God is ever seeking to purge and prune our lives that we may be fruitful branches.  In 1 Corinthians 3 the Bible speaks of our lives as being a building.  When we were saved, the foundation of Christ was laid.  Now, God expects us to cautiously and continually build upon this foundation in Christian maturity.  

There is another illustration that is used commonly throughout the New Testament, and it is found here in our text.  The Bible compares the Christian life to the running of a race. (Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Timothy 4:7) Because of the nature of this life, the race we run is not a 100 yard dash; rather it is a marathon race.  All believers will cross the finish line.  The only thing that remains to be seen is how we will cross the finish line.  The very fact that Paul says, “…that I might finish my course with joy…” indicates that some will not finish “with joy”.  The purpose of this passage in Hebrews 12 is to show us how to finish the race well. 

In order for the believer to run the race well, there are things that we must “lay aside”.  Any runner that wants to be a winner must cast off those things that would weigh us down or cause us to stumble.  There are two things that are mentioned in this text: “…every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…”  There may be a number of things that can be applied to the phrase “every weight”.  However, there is a second thing mentioned that seems to be very distinctive and very clear: “the sin which doth so easily beset us”.   

Often in preaching, I have used this phrase to deal with the subject of personal weaknesses.  All of us have weaknesses with which we wrestle in our lives.  Satan is ever seeking to gain an entrance into our lives through these weak spots.  Whenever he tempts, he always does so at the point of weakness.  Consider the words of James 1:14 and Hebrews 4:15.  This is clearly illustrated in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.  Satan attacks Eve at her point of weakness (i.e. doubting God), and by bringing her down, he gets Adam at his point of weakness (i.e. Eve).  From that time to this, Satan is always looking to use our weaknesses against us.  This statement in Hebrews 12:1 is about weakness.  However, this is not speaking about the varying weaknesses that each of us may have, but rather it deals with a singular weakness that exists in the hearts of every believer.  Notice that this weakness is called “the sin” singular, “that doth so easily beset us” plural.  So the question is, “What is this sin?” 

You will notice that Hebrews 12:1 begins with the word, “Wherefore”.  This word draws our attention to the previous passage and interlinks it with this text.  Hebrews 11 is a themed chapter with a very obvious focal point.  In fact, the subject of the chapter is mentioned 24 times in 40 verses.  The message is “faith”.  In light of that notice how verse 1 begins, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses…”  This does not meant that these people are witnessing our lives, but rather that we are witnesses of theirs.  And the witness they give is that men and women can both live and die “by faith”.  Because we have seen this to be so, the Word of God bids us to “lay aside…the sin that doth so easily beset us…”  I am convinced based upon the context, that this sin is doubt.  The sin of doubt is to the believer what kryptonite is to Superman.  Doubt weakens us because it squelches the most important element of the Christian life: faith.  What does this passage teach us about the problem of doubt? 

I.                   How Doubt is Described  

    Here in our text, we find a clear and complete description of the topic of doubt.  When the Bible states in verse 1, “…let us lay aside…the sin that doth so easily beset us…”, we find that doubt is described in two ways:

Doubt is Sinful 

The very first two words of this descriptive statement call upon the believer to “lay aside…the sin”.  As we examine the Bible, we discover that faith is the hallmark of Christianity.  We are saved “through faith”, and we must live “by faith”.  Therefore, faith is an absolutely necessary ingredient to our spiritual lives.  Consider the warning that is given in Romans 14:23, “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  Doubt is always sinful, and so much so that it stifles our ability to fully perform God’s will.  Consider the words of Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him…”  This means that if we doubt God, there is no possible way that our lives can please Him.  What makes these two facts so scary is that the Bible describes this sin as one that affects each of “us”.  Doubt is the tool which Satan is ever seeking to use to bring us down. 

Behind every sin that a person could possibly commit, there are two root sins: Pride and Doubt.  Pride says, “I’ll do what I want to do because I am most important.”  Doubt says, “I’ll do what I want to do because I don’t really believe that I’ll have to pay a price.”

Look back to the words of Christ in Luke 22:31, “…Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat…”  Notice that the Lord reverts back to calling Peter by the name “Simon”.  This name comes from a Greek word meaning to listen.  Christ is forcefully calling Peters attention to the warning that He is about to give.  Notice that the warning defines Satan as the one who desires to “sift” the believer.  This term comes from a Greek word which figuratively means to inwardly agitate one’s faith to the verge of overthrow; to riddle. (Illustrate riddle using the show Batman)  Satan’s desire is to riddle the believer with question marks about God!  We know this is the message, because of the very next words Christ speaks in Luke 22:32, “But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not…”

Look also at an interesting statement that is found in Ephesians 6.  This is a familiar text in which God describes the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged.  Notice one particular piece of the armor which we are to have for this battle.  Ephesians 6:16 says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”  If all the arrows of Satan can be extinguished by faith, then they must be arrows of doubt.  Doubt is a sin that is ever lurking at our heart’s door, seeking to gain an entrance and to overthrow our faith in God.

Doubt is Subtle

        In our text there is a second way that God describes doubt.  Notice the phrase again in verse 1 of Hebrews 12, “…the sin that doth so easily beset us…”  The Bible describes doubt as a sin that very easily finds a lodging place in our soul.  This is because doubt is subtle.  It is amazing to note how quickly a person can turn from faith to doubt.  Let’s consider this in the life of Peter.  In Matthew 16:16, Peter has been confronted with a very clear question about the person of Christ: “Whom say ye that I am?”  Consider the unwavering faith of Peter’s response: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  Peter declared that Jesus was God in the flesh.  However, a short time later, Christ begins to speak of His crucifixion and resurrection.  When He began speaking of His suffering and death, Peter responded with doubt.  Notice the words of Peter in Matthew 16:22, “…this shall not be unto thee.” His heart went from faith to doubt at rapid pace. (Mention the illustration of this when Peter walked on water in Matthew 14)  Doubt is a very subtle problem that can plagues all of our lives.  It can arise suddenly, when we begin to take our eyes off of the Lord.  This is why we must be aware of the dangers of doubt. 

II.                How Doubt is Developed 

Not only does the Bible describe God’s perspective on doubt, but it also lays out for us the things which can cause a believer to doubt.  Obviously, there is no way that a single message can touch every issue that is at the heart of our unbelief, but we want to examine three different things that can cause us to doubt.  In order to set the stage for our examination of these three seeds of doubt, let’s look back to what the Bible says about faith in Hebrews 11.  In verse 1 of this chapter, God defines faith as “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  This means that faith is the very foundation of every hope and expectancy of Christianity, and it is the existent proof of things that the human eye cannot discern or detect.  Notice how it is practically exemplified in Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”  In other words, faith causes us to understand things that are not humanly understandable.  It is not humanly logical to believe that something can be made out of nothing.  However, though this is not humanly logical, faith trusts that it is Divinely possible and therefore accepts it is absolute truth.  Faith demands that we trust God in the face of life’s paradoxes.  A paradox is found when we face two bodies of truth that don’t seem to be able to co-exist; it is a seeming contradiction.  If we are not careful it is at the times we face paradoxes that we will find ourselves doubting God. 

The Paradox of Scripture 

The Bible is written to man from the infinite wisdom of the mind of God.  The mind of God far exceeds man’s capability to understand, and thus many things which God has recorded are “hard to be understood”. (2 Peter 3:16)  Though the Holy Spirit teaches us the “deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10), the Bible also declares that God’s thinking is far above ours.  Consider the words of Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  It is because of this fact that we often come across paradoxes in Scripture.  These are bodies of truth in the Bible that may be difficult to reconcile with one another, and yet because there are no contradictions in God’s perfect Word, they are both true. 

Two such difficult truths are the sovereignty of God and the free will of man.  The Bible teaches both of these doctrines as absolute truth.  However, these two concepts do not seem, at least in the human mind, to fit together.  The fact is that I do not have to be able to explain Biblical truth in such a fashion that it fits into human understanding.  What I must do is to accept both teachings on the grounds of faith.  It is doubt that causes such heresies as Calvinism and Arminianism.  These two groups doubt that both of these doctrines can co-exist with one another in Scripture.  However, after the longest discourse on these two truths in the Word of God (Romans 9, 10, and 11), the Holy Spirit gives us a vitally important statement.  Consider the words of Romans 11:33, “O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”  We must accept the Word by faith! 

The Paradox of Suffering 

Suffering is a mandatory part of life, particularly the life of the believer.  The child of God will undergo suffering and persecution that the lost will never have to face.  Philippians 1:26 says, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake…”  It is not suffering that is the issue; it is how we handle it.  Often times, the sufferings of life present us with a paradox; one that can breed doubt, if we are not careful to guard our hearts. (Illustrate: A bad day and a Wednesday night prayer meeting and Romans 8:28)  From the small problems, to the major issues of life, Satan can at these times of paradox sneak in and cause us to doubt the goodness of our God. 

The Paradox of Surrender 

There is a third paradox which the devil has used to successfully sideline many of God’s people.  This paradox is described in Mark 8.  Here the Lord is calling us to a life of devotion and discipleship.  Ultimately, Christ is trying to reveal to those who would listen what the true meaning of life is all about.  Consider the words of Jesus in Mark 8:35, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it.”  What a paradox!  Christ says that the meaning of life is not found by our struggle to attain, but rather it is found through the surrender of our will, and death to self.  This is contrary to our human logic, and yet Christ bids us to believe Him and to yield to His control.  Here is where Satan trips up the children of God.  He causes us to doubt that surrender to Christ will bring meaning to our lives, and therefore, we refuse to let go of our own way.  Because of this, God is unable to use our lives.  There is one passage of Scripture that well expresses what is expected of the Christian in a life of faith.  Look carefully at the words of Proverbs 3:5-6. 

III.             How Doubt is Defeated 

We now come to the most important aspect of this entire message.  Diagnosing a problem is only half the battle.  If we want to live in daily victory over doubt, we must also identify God’s prescription for this problem.  Let’s begin with this fact; doubt is a sinful and subtle problem with which each of us will contend for the rest of our lives on this earth.  I realize that most people are looking for an instant cure all formula that will make doubt disappear forever.  Such a remedy does not exist!  The key to conquering doubt is to obey God’s Word in consistent daily discipline.  Here in Hebrews 12, God outlines three things which we must do again and again if we are going to defeat doubt. 

Confess the Sin 

In Hebrews 12:1, God not only describes the sin of doubt, but He also tells us what we are to do with it.  Consider the admonition that is given in the text, “let us lay aside…the sin that doth so easily beset us…”  We are to cast of the sin of doubt by the means of confession.  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  When you read the context of this verse, it becomes apparent that true confession demands that we take what is hidden in the dark, and drag it into the light.  Until we are ready to come to grips with doubt by confessing it, we cannot defeat it. 

Continue in Service 

The second step which we must take to defeat doubt is also described in verse 1.  Consider the last phrase of the verse, “…let us run with patience the race that is set before us…”  We are not to allow doubt to continually encumber us and become a stumbling block.  The key to preventing this is not merely confessing that doubt is wrong, but it is also accomplished by staying in the race.  Consider the words of James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”  Faith demands more than a mere attitude of trust, it also demands the action of obedience.  In Matthew 14, Peter displayed his faith by his actions, not by his words.  When Christ said “Come”, Peter obeyed the Word of Christ and walked on the water.  If we are to truly defeat doubt, we must not get sidetracked.  We must keep on the course that our Lord has called us to run. 

Concentrate on the Savior 

Christ gives us a third command in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus…”  The term “Looking” means to give full attention to; to look away from one thing to see another.  This term is also a present active participle, which means this is a call to a continuous action.  As Satan seeks to draw our attention away from Christ, we must be careful to keep turning our focus back to him.  We must turn our eyes from every person, problem, or paradox that would seek to cause us to doubt Him, and we must continue to turn our hearts back toward Christ through confession, continuance, and concentration.