October 24, 2009 THE RACE SET BEFORE US by Russell S. Miller Printer Friendly Version It is always wise to give the Scriptures our careful attention so as to please the One who paid the ultimate sacrifice on account of our sins at Calvary, our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is not that we merely wish to please Him, but our gratitude should manifest itself in the lives we live for Him. It was indeed for this reason that the Apostle Paul has so much to say about "the race set before us." "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb.12:1). As I opened my Bible in the study of this subject I discovered that the word "race" [agon], here, is only found in the following verses, having to do with the athlete in the race, rather than the course itself: Philippians 1:30: "Having the same conflict which ye saw in me...." Colossians 2:1: "...what great conflict I have for you...." I Thessalonians 2:2: "...we were bold in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much contention". I Timothy 6:12: "Fight the good fight of faith...." II Timothy 4:7: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith". Hebrews 12:1: "...the race that is set before us". On the other hand, the Greek word stadion, "they which run in a race", is translated "furlongs" (the 220 yard dash), five times in our Bibles (Luke 24:13; John 6:19; 11:18; Rev. 14:20; 21:16) and, surprisingly only once in Paul's epistles where it is rendered "race" (ICor. 9:24). The Apostle does not refer to the course, here, which the contestants ran in their Greeks games, but to the Christian life. "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain" (ICor.9:24). To the Reader: Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface: "It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles." We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.