Since they have suffered, the writer encourages his readers not to throw away what they have done thus far. Compared to their suffering, their reward is great! To continue the athletic metaphor, only the one who competes to the end of the race wins the prize. There is no “participation” award for those who quit the race early.
There are many examples of great endurance under extreme persecution. This is the point of chapter 11 – all of the individuals listed are examples of people who suffered for their faith in God. Even though they did not fully understand at that point in history what God was doing in his overall plan, they understood that they possessed something that was greater than life. In fact, most of the people listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews suffered greatly for their convictions and in some cases lost their lives. They were looking…
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