How Do We Compare?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. [Hebrews 12.1-4] 

We are to run with endurance the race God has set before us.

What is the race? The race God has set before us is the life of faith described in Hebrews 11.

We run with endurance the race God has set before us by keeping our eyes on Jesus. 

Jesus said:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

To give up your own way, is to live the life of faith as Jesus demonstrated in miraculous Holy Spirit power and resolve. The life of faith and man's own way should never be confused and certainly never be mingled. Hebrews 11 gives Moses as an example of what this should look like:

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. [Hebrews 11.24-26]

Moses deliberately rejected the fleeting pleasures of sin which Hebrews further describes as owning the treasures of Egypt. From the pages of the Bible, Egypt was known for its wealth, its industry, and its idolatry. Even non-biblical sources confirm that Egypt was notably advanced and widely celebrated in the knowledge and accomplishments of man. The ways of Egypt were indeed the ways of man - the ways of wealth, industry and idolatry. Moses chose Christ over the ways of man - the ways of idolatry.

It requires no stretch of the imagination to correlate Egypt's ways of man - the ways of idolatry - to modern society's ways of man - the ways of idolatry. All we must do is look for man's accomplishments, and there we will find man's ways and therefore, man's idols - that which we too must give up (as did Moses) in order to fulfil Jesus' demand to give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him.

Modern society's ways of man - idols - are debt, insurance, medicine and technology. While this list is not exhaustive, it is indeed far-reaching into the ways of man - the fleeting pleasures of sin. How are debt, insurance, medicine and technology the fleeting pleasures of sin? They all promise benefits God clearly said He would provide for His people but they do so without specific obedience to - singular faith in - God alone as a requirement for their benefits.

There is a reason that Moses refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter! That reason was undivided, undiluted faith in God alone (Hebrews calls it "the life of faith")! Moses rejected the ways of man - the ways of Egypt - the ways of idolatry - even to the point of suffering for the sake of Christ - so that his faith might be unadulterated and pure. Is it any wonder then that God would entrust His precious Ten Commandments first into the hands of Moses - especially the first three?

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

Moses was rightfully unwilling to straddle the fence. He was unwilling to enjoy Egypt in any way mingling it with his faith in God - his obedience to Christ. Moses chose Christ. Moses chose to distinctly reject "Egypt" in pursuit of his faith. Moses' example teaches us that holding onto idols - the ways and accomplishments of man - disqualifies us from following Jesus. 

Moses could have reasoned that God gave him the life of the pleasures of Egypt to better equip him to lead Israel. But Moses decidedly viewed the treasures of Egypt as the pleasures of sin - the pleasures of unbelief - that would indeed disqualify his genuine faith in God alone.

The fleeting pleasures of sin is unbelief. It is trusting in the accomplishments of man instead of God. It is no less a stumbling block to faith today as it was in Moses' day. It is however, not limited to just Egypt any more, but has infected the entire civilized world. Debt, insurance, medicine and technology are flagship idol industries in the modern world. No follower of Christ can hold to these idols of man's ways. Jesus was and is clear on the topic. Moses was and is a specific witness to what the life of faith looks like. Hebrews 11 provides the big picture of what a genuine life of faith looks like.

How do we compare?

Father, compared to those mentioned in Hebrews 11, and specifically Moses, I find myself woefully short of the standard of faith described there. I remain reluctant to reject the "treasures of Egypt" (man's accomplishments) for the sake of Christ. I find myself not in company with the huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith in Hebrews 11, but instead surrounded by those still burdened with the ways and means of the world - the idols of man's making - and I find myself surrounded by these people even in my place of worship. God we need the power of Your Holy Spirit to convict us of our idolatry as we consider Jesus' words: "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me." So be it.