I
read of a man
who asked Billy Graham what it was that made him so different. Dr.
Graham said, "I don't have anything on anybody. I just try a little harder
than most Christians."
Paul's words call us to become more serious in our Christian walk than we have in the past. He urges us to throw ourselves into the task of living the Christian life with all the zeal, discipline, focus and effort of a world-class athlete. God, through His servant Paul, calls us to make an authentic walk with Jesus in every area of life.
Paul
is saying that professing Christians who are not concerned with themselves, who
aren't willing to make personal sacrifices, who are not willing to suffer
inconveniences in order to advance the cause of Christ in others, and who are
not being earnest enough about their Christian walk are like athletes who are
competing in a race, but who don't want to suffer any pain or discomfort, or
make any personal sacrifices in order to win.
1.
Must have a passion to win (v.24)
In
Paul's day, as in ours, a professional athlete didn't enter a race simply
because he or she enjoyed the process; or counted it a privilege merely to be
qualified to run. He or she entered the race with the intention of winning it.
Not all who entered the race actually won and walk away with the prize, of
course; but they all ran with the intention of doing so. If they didn't have
such an attitude, they wouldn't have pushed themselves or made the sacrifices
necessary to win. They all had to enter the race with a passion to win it, or
else it wouldn't have made any sense to have entered it at all.
2.
Must be willing to sacrifice.
When
an athlete trained for the race, he did so with his or her eyes on the prize. In
fact, in ancient athletic games, the prize was usually set in plain view of all
the runners -- sitting at the top a pillar on the other side of the finish line.
It was usually a wreath -- a crown made out of leaves, or even of celery greens.
It would usually already have begun wilting before the race began; but the
runner wasn't running simply to have a semi-circle of celery on his head as his
main goal. Rather, he wanted the honor and esteem and the privileges that the
wreath represented. Those things were temporal too; but they usually lasted
longer than the wreath itself.
3.
Must live Christian life with intentionality
Paul
knew that he was in the race to win; and that winning involved sacrifice. And
so, he lived his Christian life with intentionality. He watched were he put his
feet, and critically examined each step that he took. There was purpose in what
he did. [e.g. several different kinds of sports, he wasn't particular about
which one he used as an analogy for the Christian life. He says, in verse 26,
"Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who
beats the air."]
How
can we live with such intentionality in our actions?
In
Eph. 5:15-17) the apostle Paul said,
" See then that you walk circumspectly [that is, carefully -- with your eyes wide open, and with attention to where you're going], not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
4.
With a mastery over the flesh. (v27)
Paul
didn't run in circles or shadow box in an aimless way. Quite the opposite. He
said, in verse 27, "but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection,
lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
Literally, Paul used a word that means "to strike under the eye" or
"to blacken the eye". He's saying that he beat his own body black and
blue in order to make it serve his wishes. "I beat my body and make it my
slave".
He acted to keep the body as a slave to the soul, not
permitting the soul to be the slave of the body.
Moral combat with the body to keep it under control by
Self-denial, abstinence, etc. See
Roman 8: 10-13; Col. 3:5-10
Summary:
What
are the requirements to win the race?
Be as earnest to make heaven, as men are to win a
race
Be temperate in all things (v.25)
Fight with absolute confidence in victory (v.26).
Purpose
Persistence
Discipline
Self Denial
Patience (Heb 12: 1-3)
Confidence
Adapted
partially from a message Delivered at Bethany Bible Church on Sunday, July 30,
2000.