Reformed Baptist Church in O'Fallon, Missouri
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Run the Race

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Opening Prayer

Let’s pray, God, we thank you that we have the opportunity to hear about the work that you’re doing across the world. We thank you for the privilege that we have opportunities to partake in it. And God, we pray now as your word goes forth here that it would do its work. Be with our kids as they head back to the Catechism classes. Thank you for the faithfulness of the teachers. It’s our heart that they, as, as well as us, would receive your word and bear much fruit. I pray this in your name.

The Race

Alright, well let’s turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 starting in verse 24. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. Well, in just under two weeks, the Olympics are starting. Who’s going to be watching the Olympics? OK, growing up in my household, at that time, it was every four years, and then they switched things up. We didn’t watch a ton of TV, but we watched the Olympics. The Olympics were on, and that’s probably the only reason my mom has a TV in her current house, is to watch the Olympics, because that will be the only TV she watches this year. It’s a tradition that actually dates back to the 8th century B.C. That’s how far the Olympics go back. They went on until about 393 A.D. when one of the emperors basically squashed all the time. squashed all pagan festivals, including the Olympics. And then it began to pick up roughly 1896, is when we had kind of the next round of the Olympics. During the era of the New Testament, they had the Olympics, but they also had three other sets of Olympic-type games, Greek athletic contests, if you will. And the Istmian Games were one of these festivals, and it ranked only second to the Olympics. When Paul references this section here about running in a race, he’s referencing these games. These games took place in Corinth, where he’s writing to. And the Istmian Games date back to about the 6th century BC, went on until about 146 BC. when the Romans ended up sacking Corinth and leveling the city. But it picked back up in 44 BC and continued on for quite some time, even to the part of the New Testament era. It’s very probable that Paul was in Corinth when the games were taking place.

And then as he’s likely at Ephesus writing to the Corinthians, he’s reflecting back and using the analogy of the games that all the Corinthians would be familiar with to draw the analogy to the Christian life. So I’d like us to see three key points in this passage.

Run with Focus

The first is run with focus. Run with focus. In verse 26, he says, I do not run aimlessly. Now these Greek athletes, much like today, they trained intensely for months and months and months leading up to these games. Only the best of the best of the best athletes were allowed to compete. And they had to train under judges who were very strict and made sure that they stuck to the training. It was hard training. It wasn’t easy. It was thorough training. It covered all sorts of areas. And they had a strict diet, and they couldn’t drink wine, which was the common drink of the day. So they made these sacrifices so that they could compete to their ability. and they put themselves in position to do their best, they put themselves under trainers so that they could perform at their peak. Sacrifice and dedication was required. Their focus was on what? A perishable wreath. What’s our focus? It says our focus is the prize, which is the imperishable wreath. If you look at the verse, this is what he says. They do it to receive a perishable wreath. Now your version might say crown. It’s the same Greek word you could translate it either way. The wreath that they would receive would be much like our gold, silver, and bronze medal. Now back then, though, it was a wreath that would be placed upon their head. Depending on which of the four Olympic, or excuse me, Greek games you were at, it would be a different type of wreath. The wreath that would be in this contest was made out of pine. Some were made out of barley or parsley or laurel, but this particular one was made out of a pine that they kind of plastered together. Well, that thing is gonna rot away, right? It’s gonna wilt, it’s gonna fall apart. That’s why he’s comparing what these athletic winners got, a perishable wreath. That thing’s gonna fall apart, it’s gone. It’s nowhere to be found. And he compares it to what we get in Imperishable, the Imperishable wreath or crown, if we will. So what are we competing for? I mean, that’s what it says we’re doing, right? It says we’re running after something. We’re competing for something. What is that? I mean, at its base, it’s eternal life. That’s what we’re running towards. It’s the heavenly inheritance. We don’t seek a worldly honor, we shouldn’t, but rather a heavenly acclaim from our God. And the heavenly inheritance is that which He gives us, eternal life with Him. But here’s the thing, it’s not a selfish focus, because sometimes we can read different verses like this, and we’re running towards eternal life, and that’s what we’re aiming to win. But when we talk about eternal life, you can talk about it in the narrow sense of each of you individually having someday to stand before God and account for your life. And if you know Christ, you receive the imperishable wreath. If you don’t, you don’t receive the gift. We can look at it in a narrow sense like that, but we can also look at it in a broader context. Because when you talk about eternal life, eternal life is much more encompassing than just you or me. It is the bride of Christ when we talk about eternal life. It is everything that heaven contains for us.

The Imperishable Prize

Look at Colossians 3 to see an example of this.

In Colossians 3 verse 1, Paul says this, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Alright, so we’re supposed to seek the things that are above. And he goes on in verse 2, Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Alright, so we seek the things above. We set our mind on those things. Basically we’re more heavenly focused. We’re focused on eternal things, on things that truly matter. So we need to get our focus on what matters, the things above. That’s what our focus is. That’s what we’re running for. We see something similar in Philippians 3. In Philippians 3, starting in verse 12, Paul says this, Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect. Now that word obtained is the same word that we just read in 1 Corinthians 9, where he says, Run to obtain it. Same Greek word. He’s echoing the same thought here. Not that I have already obtained it, or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Jesus Christ has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do. Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward for what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

That’s what he’s doing. The same thing that we see in 1 Corinthians 9. He’s straining toward what lies in front of him. He hasn’t yet obtained it, he says. He’s running the race. He hasn’t finished. Neither have we. He’s going to keep going for what? The upward call of God and Christ Jesus. So we run with that focus. Jesus. That’s the focus. The things of eternity, our inheritance, that’s the focus. Second we need to run to win. He says run so that you may obtain it. Now the Greek sports were highly competitive, just like the Olympics today. And the athletes were there to do what? Win. Right? They’re there to win. None of the athletes at the Olympics are there to finish second. They’re all there to finish first. They’re all going for the gold. But I think sometimes as believers, we end up settling for silver.

We settle for mediocrity. We settle for second best. We settle for the silver. We’re not running to win. We’re just running, if we’re even doing that. But we are to run the race to win it. Run the race to win it. Not just to finish, but to win. And in Colossians 3, Paul says, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. Well, you know, we’re not center stage and a billion people across the globe are going to be watching us in a couple weeks. No, we have an even better audience. We have the creator of the universe. And that’s who we are living for. That’s who we are performing for. That’s the one that sees. That sees what we do. You know, top musicians and athletes, whatever it might be they play, I mean, they’ll study and they’ll practice four to eight hours a day, whatever their particular specialty is. Every day, four to eight hours. I mean, think about the Super Bowl coming up, right? What are those guys doing this week? Besides a bunch of interviews. They’re running drills. They’re going over plays. They’re probably coming up with new plays to catch the other side off guard. They’re watching tape on the other team. It’s a busy week for them. Why? They want to win. That’s what they’re honed in on. That’s what they’re focused on. They want to win the big game. What about you?

How Are You Running?

How are you guys running? You guys running to win? Because it takes discipline. Back in 1 Corinthians he says in verse 25, every athlete exercises self-control in all things. Every athlete exercises self-control on all things. They make great sacrifices, athletes do back then and today, to try and win a fading crown, something that will not last into the next life. How much more should we do it for a crown that lasts? How much more should we run with focus to win the race for something that we get to keep? So what discipline and sacrifice and self-control are we exercising in order to win the race? What are we doing to be the refined athlete? Well, we need to do whatever it takes to run the race in such a way to win. Whatever it takes. Self-control, discipline of self, focus, that’s what we have to do. . Anyone who’s a believer is part of the race. And you’re in the race. And you’re all running at some speed.

Keep Running

Let me encourage you with something. Keep running. Keep running the race. This whole section, Paul’s telling us how to run and keep running. The idea that comes across is don’t stop. Keep going. Keep running the race. Look what it says in Galatians chapter 5. He says in verse 7, you were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? See something happened to the Galatians. They got tripped up. They were running the race well. They got off track. And they were no longer running well. And notice here that he says you were running well. And he links it with obedience to the truth. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? So our running the race well, our running to win, rests on how we are being obedient to the gospel. How we are living our lives. Look, I’m concerned, I’m concerned for some of you. I’m concerned that you’re just kind of puttering along and you’re not even running.

You’re just hoping somehow to make it across that finish line. Let’s not putter across that finish line. Let’s not give up. Let’s not slow down. Let’s run strong and hard. But the enthusiasm and the excitement and the spiritfulness we had when we first got saved, should be just as strong, if not stronger today in us. It might show itself in different forms. There might be maturity and wisdom hopefully there, but we should be running even faster than when we first began. But are we doing that? Listen to me. You don’t just drift towards holiness. You know, if you just kind of are just going about your day and really aren’t focused and aren’t really focused on something, aiming at something, going towards it, and And you’re just kind of out there drifting. Guess what? You don’t end up at holiness. You end up in sin. We don’t drift towards holiness. Growth doesn’t just happen. We have to pursue it. Look at 1 Timothy 6. In verse 11 he says, But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. We flee sin, we pursue holiness. We flee evil, we pursue righteousness. He wanted to make sure Timothy got the point. He says a similar thing in 2 Timothy, chapter 2. Look at it. Verse 22 of chapter 2, So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. We have to pursue righteousness. We don’t drift towards it. We have to pursue holiness. We don’t drift towards it. Listen to these words I read earlier this week. You’re gonna see them on the screen behind me. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance. We drift towards disobedience and call it freedom. We drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation. We slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism. We slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated. We have to stop drifting. and start running again. Do you know what the athlete does? He surrenders lesser goods in order to attain the higher goal. He makes sacrifices. Look at Philippians 2. I’m going to wrap up. Some of you are tired, some of you are weary, some of you want to give up. This is the key verse for you. He says in verse 14 of chapter 2 in Philippians, Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain, or labor in vain. What’s the key here? Holding fast to the Word of Life. Holding fast to the Word of Life. There’s really two aspects to the Word of Life. There’s this Word of Life and then there’s Jesus the Word of Life. That’s what we hold fast to. This is only possible at the foot of the cross. This is only possible if we will surrender. This is only possible if we will humble ourselves, if we will acknowledge to the Lord that we need Him. But it is possible. Hold fast to the word of life. Let’s run to win.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray. Lord, I pray against a spirit of discouragement among any of the members and people here. You are a mighty God. You are mighty to save. There is nothing beyond your power to do. You can do all things. I pray for those Lord that maybe have been stumbling, that have just been kind of puttering along, renewing them, your spirit. Remind them Lord of what they have in you. It’s already there for the taking. They have the strength of the Lord residing in them, in your spirit. and let us be humble enough, Lord

[audio unclear]

Amen.