WITNESSES AND RUNNING " . . . let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us . . . " -- Tomorrow:
"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, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." (Heb 12:1-4)
Devotion 6 of 13
We are also to "lay aside . . . the sin which doth so easily besets us." The NKJV reads "the sin which so easily ENSNARES us." The RSV reads, "sin which CLINGS so closely," while the NIV says "and the sin that so easily ENTANGLES." While it is true that sin in general "easily entangles," this text is speaking more specifically. Each of us have areas of especial vulnerability – areas where Satan can more easily make inroads into our thinking. For Achan, it was the sin of covetousness (Josh 7). For Ananias and Sapphira, it appeared to be pride and misrepresentation (Acts 5). From the etymological viewpoint, the word Greek word used here "means standing around, i.e. a competitor, thwarting in every direction." The picture is that of a lion, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting. The imagery is extended in Peter's solemn warning about Satan. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5:8).
Our "adversary" finds those he can devour through open doors, moral weaknesses, areas of indecision, and insensitivity to God. The child of God is charged with closing off all areas of approach. In the words of the Spirit, "Neither give place to the devil" (Eph 4:27). From another inspired viewpoint, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Rom 13:14). We are never to give the flesh the advantage, for that increases Satan's power against us.
The person who insists on taking fire into his bosom will surely be burned (Prov 6:27). For some, this is the area of money, for others, indulgence, and for others prestige. Each one has areas of weakness created by our former lives, when they lived in the flesh. We more easily succumb in this areas, and are thus to cast them away from us in preference of eternal life.
The language of this verse is arresting. It is the sin itself that is to be thrown off, aggressively cast away from us. We are not to allow it expression, suffocating it with the love of the truth and the shield of faith. Peter said it this way, "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord" (1 Pet 2:1-3). Your "flesh," or sinful nature, is like the "daughters" of the "horseleach" which cry "GIVE, GIVE" (Prov 30:15). It demands attention, but you must close your ears to its cries. Unless the flesh is crucified, it will take heaven from you!
You throw off the sin that "so easily besets" you by starving it, so to speak. You refuse to feed it, and you will not allow it to express itself – even in the areas where it is especially easy for it to do so. James put it this way. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). The word "superfluity" comes from a word that means "surplusage, i.e. superabundance: --abundance. 2 prevalence, and excessive amount." The picture is of a spring of water overflowing – a contaminated spring. It also might be likened to a boiling pot, which eventually overflows. Sin is like that. It is first contemplated within. The lower nature is fed by exposure to the things it craves. After a time, sin begins to fester in the soul, and eventually overflows in expression. How do we stop this from happening? How can the abundance of sin NOT overflow in our words and deeds, thereby hindering us in the race that has been set before us?
The corrupt fountain of nature must not be allowed to boil. It must be removed from the fire of preference, and smothered by an affection set on things above, and not on things on the earth (Col 3:1-3). This is HOW we put off the "sin that so easily besets us."As long as we allow our affection to be prostituted by the things of this world, sin WILL cling to us like an impeding weight, forbidding us to make progress to glory.
Throw it off by saying "'NO! to ungodliness and worldly passions" (Tit 2:12, NIV). Grace will "teach" you to do this by giving you insight into "so great salvation" (Heb 2:3). How many I have seen who started the "race" with a burst of energy. They appeared to grasp great Kingdom truth rapidly, and soon put a distance between themselves and those who chose spiritual mediocrity. But, alas, after a time, they were "beset" in their race. Soon, "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:19, NKJV). It all happened so "easily," because they did not "cast off" the weight and sin which so easily beset them. Take the admonition seriously!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to abort the expression of sin by crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts.