12:3
Jesus endured extreme opposition “from sinners”. In John 15 Jesus says that if they hate us we should remember that they also hated Him. Jesus showed us how to respond to opposition. We should also remember the prize at the end of the race. The consideration of Jesus is not simply a thinking about how He lived, but if we do we will share in His sufferings, and He will be close to us. This will help us to “not grow weary”, and to not “lose heart”.
12:4
“In your struggle against sin ....” In 12:1 the “sin that so easily entangles” is referring to personal sin. Peterson takes the “sin” in this verse, and therefore in the section 12:4-13, as the sin of those who were opposing the gospel and the church. This would seem very reasonable, especially given the latter part of this verse, “resisted to the point of shedding your blood”, which makes sense in the context of resisting persecution, but hardly with dealing with our personal sin. The opposition which a faithful church experiences (sometimes from unfaithful churches!) is a result of sin, and is part of the battle of sin against the gospel.
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