In 776 BC the first Olympics
games were held. These games took place
in Greece every four years without interruption until AD 393. That is 1169 years, so we can assume that many
people in the time of the New Testament knew of these games, and even without
ESPN being in existence conversation about the Olympic games would probably
have been common. In several places in
the New Testament the authors use the terminology of athletic competition as an
analogy of how those who lived in the aftermath of the resurrection of Jesus
were to live in honoring God. One of
these scriptural references is I Corinthians 9:24-27 which will be our central
text this coming Sunday. Paul uses
language of “running a race, winning a prize, exercising self-control,
receiving a wreath, not running aimlessly, not boxing as one beating in the
air, and disciplining your body.” Paul
would not have written words like this if the people of Corinth had no
understanding of what these words meant for athletic competition. I believe he was making an analogy from what
people knew to help understand what was a struggle in their lives - our responsibility
of following Jesus Christ on a daily basis.
And there are other places beside our I Corinthians passage where this
type of athletic language is used. But
we can be assured Paul did not write these words to be found on the sports
pages of life, but on the front pages of everyday living as a visible reminder
of what God has done in our lives through His Son Jesus.
The following are things we know
what God has done for us: We have been
obtained by God’s sovereign election before the foundation of the world (Eph.
1:4), we have been obtained by his predestination to adoption (Eph. 1:5), we
have been obtained by the reconciling death of His Son while we were still
sinners (Romans 5:6-10), we have been obtained by regeneration and calling (I
Cor. 1:24, I John 5:1), and we have been obtained by the indwelling work of the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). These are
foundational truths of God’s grace and mercy in our lives. God was the initiator in all of these
things.
And yet in I Corinthians 9:24 we
are commanded “to run so we may obtain it (the prize).” What does it mean to run to obtain that which
we know we already have? We will look at
this on Sunday, and if you have time look at the following items to help us
receive God’s Word to us.
- Read the following passages as we see how in various places God’s Word uses the athletic language to help describe how we are to live in honoring God. Philippians 3:12-14, I Timothy 6:12, Hebrews 12:1-2, II Timothy 2:5, Isaiah 40:28-31.
- What are the consequences of how we live our life as a follower of Jesus Christ? What’s at stake for us and for others in the way we live our lives?
- Hebrews 9:14 says, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” What does the term “dead works” mean, and in what way can these dead works become a part of our daily living?
- Martin Lloyd Jones writes: “We must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to talk to us!” What do you think he means, and how does what he say affect how we live our daily lives?
