THE KING’S BUSINESS
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a runner). The thought is that every sin is likely to trip us, is like an ill-fitting gar ment on a racer, a garment that impedes his progress. So the colored man who read this the “ sin which doth so easily upset us,” was not so far out o f the way after all. Trip us up is exactly what any sin does, and unless we put away every sin we are bound to have a tumble in the race and thus be left behind. The third part o f our duty is to “ run with patience the race that is set before us." It is not enough to put aside every weight; it is not enough to put aside every sin; we should actually run the race. True Christianity is not a negative thing, it is a positive thing, but we should not only run, we should run " with patience." Patience means steadfast endurance, per sistent continuancevunder trial and tempta tion. To run with patience is to never give up, to keep pegging through to th e - end, no matter what obstacles lie in the way. Here is where many come short of the goal, they run, they run well for a time, they run swiftly, but they do not endure, when confronted by obstacles that seem very great they give up. The world is full o f people today who once- started to run the race, but who have not continued to run, they have not run with patience. v. 2. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher ( perfecter ) o f our faith, who fo r the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the (omit, the) shame, and is set down ( hath sat down ) at the right hand o f the throne o f God." Here we see our fourth duty to “look unto Jesus.” W e are to keep our eyes upon Him. W e are to keep our eyes upon Him because He is the author and finisher o f our faith. The word translated “ author” really means “ file leader,” or “chief leader,” or “prince.” The thought is that Jesus is the supreme example o f faith. The-word translated “ finisher” conveys the thought that Jesus is the one who raises faith to its perfection, i. e., He is the One who has shown in His own life what perfect faitn is. The word “our” is in italics because it is not in the Greek,~~and it should not be in the English in italics or in any other way. .
here draws a practical lesson for us from this long list o f heroes o f faith and their achievements. He tells us that the reason why He has mentioned this role o f heroes is to stir us up who are »still living to do our full duty. The thought o f verse 1 is not that those who have gone before into the eternal world are looking at us today, and therefore that we, because these heroes are watching us, should lay aside every weight, etc. This is the way the verse is frequently interpreted, but there is abso lutely no warrant for it in what is said. There is no place in the Bible where we are taught that those- who have passed into the eternal world are watching those who are still upon earth. This wrong interpre tation comes from a wrong understanding o f the word “witnesses.” A witness in the Bible never means a looker on, an observer, as we often use it in modern English. The uniform Bible usage o f the word “ witness” is one who testifies. So the thought is not at all that these heroes o f the past are looking upon us, but that they witnessed to the truth when they were here on earth. Their witness does not consist at all in looking at us today, but in their testifying to God and the truth o f His W ord in the past. On the ground o f the testimony o f this great cloud o f testifiers to the truth o f God in the past who now surrounds us, our duty is plain. The first part o f that duty is to " lay aside every weight." No runner ever carries any extra burden, he does not even wear any superfluous gar ments, and so in the Christian race we should lay aside every unnecessary burden, we should carry no unnecessary weight. There are many things which it might be impossible to prove were sins, but which certainly are “weights” in the Christian race. Everything, no matter how innocent in itself, that would be an unnecessary weight in the Christian race, should be laid aside. The second part o f our duty is to "lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us." The Greek word translated “ so easily beset” is a peculiar word, it means, “winds itself around us (as an ill-fitting garment winds itself around and trips up
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