The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-02-02

sRs where they
M N go thought and talked
=;---r--z ESszsas< about their run
ming races as much as we think and
talk about our baseball and football
games.
Knowing this, Paul uses an illustra-
ton that would attract their attention
and impress them with the great Chris
tan truth he wishes to teach. That
truth is the future reward those Chris
tians obtain who faithfully serve the
Lord Jesus Christ in this life.
The figure is that Of running race.
In a real race anyone may not run
just because he wishes to do so. He
must have certain qualifications and be
properly entered in the race.
And it is so In the Christian race
of which Paul writes. One must be
Christian before he can enter that
race, and all people are not Chris
tians.
But who is Christian? Some think
they are Christians because they are
not heathens, or because they live in
Christian land, or because their pa
rents were Christians, or because they
try to live q moral life, or because they
attend church or Sunday school.
But this is not right Paul teaches
in another place III Cor. SID, that
Christian is 8 new creature, or a new
creation altogether; and this agrees
with what Jesus Christ said: Except
q man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom Of God" (John 8 81.
And how may one be born again?
The gospel of John. IL, Is answers
that question when, speaking Of Jesus
Christ, it says: GAS many as received
him, to them gave he power to become
the sons Of God, even to them that be-
ieve on his name, which were born,
not Of blood, nor Of the will Of the
flesh, nor Of the will Of man, but Of
Cod
We see that to be born again is to re-
eeive Jesus Christ as our Savior. And
to receive him as our Savior is to be-
neve on him, to put our trust in him
to be saved, and pledge ourselves by
his grace to follow him as our Lord.
Have you done that as yet? If not.
why not do so as you listen to this mes
sage? Why not say in your heart. II
do now receive Jesus Christ as my Sa"
vfor, and henceforth / will confess him
as my Lord" This is to believe on
him, and to be born again and to be-
come q new creature.
III.
But if you have done this, what
then2 We come back to our text for
answer. Paul says. "Know ye not that
they which run in a race run all, but
one receiveth the price," In other
words. all Christians are running in
this race, but all will not win the
prize. That does not mean that all real
Christians are not saved or that all
such will not go to heaven.
But it means that it is one thing to
be saved and go to heaven and an
other thing to get the prize Paul talks
about. Just what that prize is he
touches on a little later, but here he
simply says, $50 run, that We may OBJ
tain
Is not that what we want to do! Do
we not want to run successfully? Do
we not want to obtain all that God
has so lovingly promised us in his
Son?
How may we do it? Here is a hint.
"And every man which striveth for the
mastery" says Paul, lis temperate In
all things" You know how it is if
you want to be a good au-round ath-
aete. You must take good care Of your
self. You must eat the right kind Of
food, and sleep well, and exercise reg
ularly and practice hard, and all that
kind of thing. You cannot afford to be
careless in anything if you would win
the prize. And so it is in the Chris
tian race. To be temperate in all
things" means that as Christians we
must keep a watch upon ourselves.
We must guard our eyes, and ears.
and tongue, and hands, and feet and
all our thoughts from sin. We must
seek every day to do the will of God
in all things. And that means that we
must read his Holy Word and ask him
to help us understand it by his Holy
Spirit, so that we may know his will
and love to do it, just as Jesus did.
And this is worth while, for Paul
says: They do it to obtain a corrupt
tble crown; but we an incorruptible."
! The winner in the Grecian game felt 1t
reward enough If he had q crown of
! laurel placed on his head in the pres
| ence Of the applauding throng. Such
! a crown would soon wither away, how
! ever, but not so the crown which God
! gives to the victorious soul. That is
| an incorruptible crown, there is no de-
| cay in it and it lasts forever.
What is the nature OF that crown?
| It is hard to express it in human Ian
! guage. Paul was once caught up into
! Paradise, he tells US, land heard IN
! speakable words which it is not pos
| sible for man TO utter" And this IL
| illustrates why we cannot understand
! much that we accept by faith OF the
! things God hath prepared for them
! that love him They are impossible
| to utter
Causes for Thanks.