Holiness Is a Race, Not a Prohibition

00:00:00.000 | The Christian life is not intended to operate on a minimalist ethic, on prohibitions.

00:00:11.040 | Don't touch that, don't do this, avoid that.

00:00:14.400 | Success in the Christian life is not merely a matter of avoiding sin, and yet often we

00:00:17.880 | make it into a life of exclusions.

00:00:21.120 | This is a point John Piper makes in his 1997 sermon titled "Running with the Witnesses,"

00:00:26.880 | a sermon on Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 on laying aside every weight.

00:00:32.120 | Here's what he said.

00:00:34.000 | Everything else in this text explains running or motivates running.

00:00:40.140 | So the point is don't stroll, don't meander, and don't wander about aimlessly.

00:00:47.840 | Run as in a race with a finish line where everything hangs on the race.

00:00:53.400 | Now what supports it?

00:00:56.920 | In verse 1 there are a couple of things said here as a means to running.

00:01:03.160 | It says, "Lay aside every encumbrance and sin which so easily entangles us."

00:01:13.480 | Now I remember as a boy the effect a sermon had on me on this verse.

00:01:22.560 | The only thing I remember was the distinction that the preacher made between, he was preaching

00:01:30.280 | from the King James at the time, weights, translated encumbrances here, and sins.

00:01:40.440 | And he looked out on us and he said, "Not just sins, don't just lay aside sins to run

00:01:47.840 | this race, lay aside every other weight that gets in your way."

00:01:54.720 | As a boy, you know what the effect, it was a revolutionary effect that that had on me.

00:02:02.680 | Because what it said to me was, and I speak it now especially for young people, kids if

00:02:08.720 | you can get this, but especially young teenagers and teenagers, but it applies to everybody.

00:02:16.200 | What this says is, don't just ask, "What's wrong with it?" in life.

00:02:27.600 | Don't just say about your music, about your movies, about your parties, about your habits,

00:02:36.480 | about your computer games.

00:02:39.440 | Don't just say, "Well what's wrong with it?"

00:02:43.320 | Don't just ask, "Is it a sin?"

00:02:47.080 | That's about the lowest question you can ask in life.

00:02:51.240 | I'm going to do it if it's not a sin.

00:02:53.840 | So tell me, is it a sin to do this?

00:02:56.680 | Well, not exactly.

00:02:58.440 | Okay, that's all I want to know.

00:03:00.600 | I'm going to have to do it.

00:03:04.920 | And the preacher said, and I'm the preacher now, saying, this text says, "Look to Jesus

00:03:11.760 | and lay aside sins for sure and lots of other stuff too."

00:03:19.280 | Now that's a different way to live.

00:03:21.400 | So what, well, preacher, what question as a 13 year old, 14 year old, should I ask if

00:03:26.960 | it's not, "Is it a sin?"

00:03:29.360 | And the answer is, "Does it help me run?"

00:03:32.680 | That's the answer.

00:03:34.280 | Does it get in my way when I'm trying to become more patient, more kind, more gentle, more

00:03:40.880 | loving, more holy, more pure, more self-controlled?

00:03:45.320 | Does it get in my way or does it help me run?

00:03:52.240 | That's the question to ask.

00:03:53.960 | Ask the maximal righteousness question, not the minimal righteousness question.

00:03:59.080 | That was the difference it made in my life.

00:04:01.240 | And I've been ever since then, I didn't always live up to this.

00:04:04.080 | I'm not making any claim that from age 12 on I did some great spiritual thing, but,

00:04:10.440 | oh, I had a trajectory that was so much better than the minimalist ethic that comes with,

00:04:18.520 | "Well, what's wrong with it?

00:04:21.160 | What's wrong with it?"

00:04:22.160 | "Well, I don't even want to talk about what's wrong with it.

00:04:26.640 | Let's talk about, does it help me run?"

00:04:30.120 | Now, you know why that question isn't very often asked?

00:04:34.840 | Because we're not passionate runners.

00:04:37.640 | We don't want to run.

00:04:38.760 | We don't get up in the morning saying, "What's the course today?

00:04:44.200 | What's the course of purity?

00:04:45.680 | What's the course of holiness?

00:04:47.120 | What's the course of humility?

00:04:48.720 | What's the course of justice?

00:04:50.120 | What's the course of righteousness?

00:04:51.760 | What's the course of love?

00:04:52.960 | What's the course of self-control?

00:04:54.920 | What's the course of courage and witness?

00:04:56.840 | Oh, God, I want to maximize my running today."

00:05:00.880 | If you have that mentality about your life, then you'll ask, not, "How many sins can I

00:05:07.240 | avoid, but how many weights can I lay down so that I am fleet-footed in the race of righteousness?"

00:05:18.880 | So good.

00:05:19.880 | That was from John Piper's sermon on August 17th, 1997, titled "Running with the Witnesses."

00:05:25.720 | It's one of many of his sermons we host in their entirety at DesiringGod.org.

00:05:30.880 | This sermon clip was sent in by podcast listener Alexander from the Ukraine.

00:05:35.320 | Thank you, Alexander, for this.

00:05:37.220 | We need your sermon clips.

00:05:38.280 | If you have a favorite section from a John Piper sermon, send us the name of the sermon

00:05:41.640 | and the timestamps of when and where the clip appears in the audio, and we'll share it on

00:05:45.960 | this podcast.

00:05:46.960 | And of course, we'll give you credit for it.

00:05:49.080 | Send us the details in an email to askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org, and put the word "clip" in the subject line.

00:05:56.000 | Well, we often struggle to read our Bibles, and the struggle is often with doubt and cynicism.

00:06:02.040 | It's a spiritual battle we face whenever we open our Bibles.

00:06:05.080 | And tomorrow, John Piper will explain this dynamic and what we can do to confront it.

00:06:09.520 | I'm your host, Tony Ranke.

00:06:10.840 | Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast.

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Holiness Is a Race, Not a Prohibition

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