Every race has a starting and finishing line. Those who begin the race of true Christianity begin it in the faith of Christ and will finish it in that faith. Having entered this race we know that the prize goes not necessarily to the winner but to the ones that finish. God makes this point very clear in Hebrews 10:38, “…But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews was not only written as an encouragement to persecuted believers, but also as a warning to those who were contemplating giving up the race. Walking with God in this age may be compared with Enoch walking with God in his age. These are very difficult times. We meet with opposition, trials are heavy, temptations grow stronger every day, but we must push on, never give in nor give up. Only those that finish the race will gain the prize. We may not move as swiftly as some, but we must move on, keeping our eyes straight ahead. Solomon gives words of wisdom in the Proverbs when he says, “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established, Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil” (4:25-27). Determine my fellow Christian, to let neither the frowns nor smiles of this sin cursed world hinder you. Let no fondness of friends or families turn you aside. Keep your eyes straight on, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...” (Hebrews 12:2). And let those who have turned back, and do turn back be a warning to presumption. It could happen to you! The Apostle Paul admonished believers in his letter to the Philippians to press forward saying, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Trifling with the faith of true Christianity is a dangerous business. The writer to the Hebrews gives us a very sharp warning using Esau as an example. “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:15-17). I say to you again, those who are so foolish as to allow anything in this life to cause them to renounce their faith and duty as children of the living God will, like Esau, some day weep with bitter tears when it is beyond their power to recover what is lost!
Older
Top
