Transcription
[Music] If you have a Bible, and I hope that you or someone around you does, would you turn with me? We are going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 9:es 24-27 this morning.
And what we've seen in the past couple of chapters is that the Apostle Paul has been writing to these Corinthian Christians and addressing some of their questions, some of their concerns, some problems that have been um arising in their church. And so Paul has been answering these questions, specifically focusing in on the topic about Christian liberty and how they are to first and foremost and that everything else takes a backseat to our calling.
And so this morning what we see is that now Paul with this conversation being ongoing about how he has suffered, he has served, he is advancing the gospel, he is laying down his rights so that others would know Christ. He is putting the gospel above all else. He now uses an athletic metaphor here to encourage these Christians to live their faith out with intentionality and discipline.
And so the the title of this message is disciplined or disqualified. And I want us to think about those two words this morning and ask us which of these better fits our lifestyle. Are we more characterized being described as someone who is disciplined or are we living as someone who would be considered disqualified from the race of faith? And that word disqualified in the text it actually means like disapproved of.
And so in the text, what I I first want to draw from it is I think that Paul reminds us that we as the church, we as Christ followers must discipline our bodies daily. We are called to discipline our bodies daily. In verse 24 it says, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it."
So Paul has been talking about how he has been so intentional. He has been so disciplined. He has he has denied himself so many privileges and rights for the sake of serving Christ. He then now wants them to take a look at their own lives. And he's wanting them to consider themselves and say, "What type of race are they running?" And we likewise need to ask ourselves, what type of race are we running spiritually? Are you running with purpose and self-control? Are you running aimlessly? Are you running without purpose, without focus day by day?
And it's interesting because Paul, he seems to actually love athletic metaphors. He probably would have been that pastor that like every week he's going to have like, you know, an analogy of something like that everyone like the Super Bowl. He's probably going to let you know and connect it to this because he he knew what the culture was like. He knew what what drew people's attention. And so he's actually doing that most likely here as he's talking about running a race. He actually talks about boxing, like punching the air. So like maybe like shadow boxing he's mentioning here in the text.
But there's other passages in scripture in the New Testament where he's writing and he uses these athletic metaphors. But for the Corinthians specifically, what's interesting is that they would have been aware of something that maybe some of you are aware of known as the Olympic Games. Because in Greece, that's where the Olympics came from. And the Corinthians, they would have known all about the Olympics and that would have been a huge thing that they would be excited for. And in fact, many of them would would have valued and respected those prime athletes of their day, similar to like how our culture kind of prioritizes and sometimes exalts un um maybe not rightly exalts some some um athletes in our own culture.
And so, not only did they have the Olympics, but second to the Olympics, they also had specifically right in the city of Corinth is the Ismian Games. Now, it's not as well known, but it would have been a very similar type of sporting event that would have been right outside of the city of Corinth. And so, the Corinthians are probably thinking, he's using these athletic these sports analogies. They're probably thinking the Olympics or the Ispian games. And so, they're probably thinking about these things. And so he's using that as a metaphor to remind us of how intentional we must be when we are thinking about living out the Christian life.
And so once again, the key theme here is is discipline. And discipline as we think about that word, we're not talking about like, you know, a parent disciplining a child, but more so how we discipline ourselves. And I think discipline can be defined as consistently doing what's right even when it is hard. Discipline is consistently doing what is right even when it's hard.
So I just want to camp out and just really kind of just break that apart for a moment. So you notice how discipline is consistent because the thing is we all can do some good things some of the time. It's not hard to do one good thing every once in a while. That doesn't take a lot of discipline. You might get bored. You might be like, "Oh, I feel like it today. Maybe you got pressured to do something and so you do a good thing." But discipline is that is who you are becoming. That is your general character. It is consistent. It is something you can depend on. Are you someone that people can depend on? that are they are consistent in what they do, say, produce. But more than that, are they consistent in doing what is right? Because that's the other thing. It's it's it's one thing to be consistently bad. You don't want to be consistently bad. That wouldn't require much discipline, but it's being consistently in doing and striving for what is good, what is right, what is what is beautiful.
And then that final part, even when it's hard. And that's the final thing about discipline is discipline is not easy. Discipline takes effort. Once again, intentionality, focus, self control is what discipline requires. And so when we are called to the Christian race of faith, it says you must have discipline. You must have self-control. You must be willing to consistently do what is right even when it is hard. That is meaning that the Christian life is not meant to be all comfort. If you're looking for a comfortable religion where everything just is easy and you don't ever have to get out of your comfort zone, you don't ever have to do anything that you don't want to do, then that's not following Christ. Christian living requires discipline.
And so, what I think he's wanting us to do is build daily spiritual habits. And I want you to think about your daily habits in your own life. How often would you say that when you get up in in the morning, the first thing that you are thinking about is how can I study the scriptures? How can I seek the Lord in prayer and worship? When's the last time that you fasted before the Lord? And whenever you go out into the world, are you intentionally looking at these other human beings recognizing that they are imagebearers made in the likeness of God, have an eternal soul, and are either going to heaven or hell, and if they do not know Jesus, then they are on their way to damnation. Does your daily life reflect these things? Scripture, prayer, worship, fasting, evangelism. Are you regularly prioritizing the local body of believers? Whether that's on a Sunday service, through small groups, through Bible studies, through just regularly doing life together. Is that what you are seeing consistently in your life? Because that is what discipline is like. That is per um performing these spiritual disciplines.
And so in 25, he specifically then draws in on he's already kind of alluding to this analogy of of athletics, but he he really zero in on the athlete in verse 25 where he says, "And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown."
So what he's saying here is that these athletes who are running these races that they who compete they are temperate that they are they are self-controlled and I think if we just look at our own athletes in our day we will see and we probably many of you are probably aware of I know that many of you are probably sports fans out there but but athletes are meticulous with their schedule and routine. I'm not sure if you've ever followed and heard some of the crazy things that some of these athletes do to get to peak performance, but like I've heard like LeBron James apparently sleeps 12 hours a day. Now, you might that doesn't sound like discipline. Well, actually what you find out is that he gets his normal eight hours of sleep that is like is basically supposed to be the the prime amount of sleep to get you get your rim cycle. But then he'll go and wake up. He'll train and he'll train so extensively that then he needs to sleep for another couple of hours every single day and then he goes and trains usually around three times a day. And so you have this guy who is so specific in his schedule, his timing, his work, how many calories he's burning, how much sleep he must get every single day for his peak physical performance.
Or you think of Michael Phelps who had to eat 8,000 calories a day to be performing at the level that he was doing to win these gold medals in the Olympics. And to put that in perspective, I know at one point I looked at a large Domino's um pizza is around 2,000 calories. Now, they may have changed it since last time I looked. So if you're just imagining if if Michael Phelps has to be, you know, consuming 8,000, that would be like four large Domino's pieces. Now, of course, he's eating much cleaner, much healthier than that. His his calories aren't the same as the Domino's pizza. But if you can just imagine in in the sake of calories, he is every single day, it's not just like occasionally on the weekend, it's every single day, 8,000 calories. And likewise, every single day, he is in the water for six hours swimming. Do you know how much time that would take to eat 8,000 calories and be in the water six hours every single day and get the sleep you must need to do these things that he is doing at this level? And I've even heard how these athletes, they give up holidays. You know, there's times where we're like, "Oh, we're going on vacation. We're going to, you know, we're going to have our cheat diet on the vacation." Or, you know what? Oh, it's Christmas. I mean, I'm going to take today off, spend time with family. Not these athletes. these athletes. Guess what? Michael Phelps on Christmas, he's in the water. You see on these holidays where you're enjoying eating of the food and and being lazy, relaxing, you watch the TV, you see all these athletes, they're playing that day. Their families are either at the stadium watching or they're not with them. We see how intentional, how meticulous athletes are to be at peak performance.
But then we ask ourselves, how much more important is the race of faith? How much more important is our walk with Christ? Is our mission as a church? Because they're throwing a ball in a hoop. They're swimming back and forth in water. My four-year-old literally is starting to swim half the pool length right now underwater. and I'm proud of him, but I'm not going to be, you know, calling the news station and saying, "Everyone needs to praise my child because look, he can swim fast in the water." It's cool. It's impressive, but ultimately we know when it comes to the eternal matters, this isn't that important. But these people spend their entire lives, every single day, making sure that they are in prime condition. So if we ask ourselves as the church, are we disciplined? See, Christians should be the most disciplined in all of the world. And I'm talking about physically and spiritually, by the way, because they work together. And I think fasting is a perfect example of that because you notice how the physical and the spiritual, they aren't separate. They are interconnected.
See, have you ever had something where you were sick or not feeling well, and you notice how sometimes that can affect your mood? that can maybe actually make you a little bit harsher to your friends, to your spouse, because you're just not feeling good and so you you take it out on people. That's that's the physical affecting the spiritual. Or likewise, have there has there ever been a point where you just were not feeling good about yourself? Maybe you were bitter about something and then you actually or maybe you're stressed about something and then you start feeling sick to your stomach and you actually maybe can't even eat. That is showing you that you are both physical and spiritual. You are body and soul. And so whenever we see that Paul says, "I discipline my body," he's saying the whole person. Are you someone who is disciplining yourself physically and spiritually? We already mentioned the things about scripture, prayer, fasting, evangelism, surrounding yourself in in in corporate worship settings, but also, are you taking care of yourself physically? Are you exercising? Are you taking care of your body? I'm not saying you have to eat 8,000 calories to be a prime swimmer like M Michael Phelps, but are you eating a balanced diet? Now, once again, I'm not saying that everyone has to be a superfood person, but are you at least taking care of yourself physically by eating, by sleeping, by working out, these different areas of your life? Because once again, we should be the prime example of discipline because we know who Christ is. We know what our mission is. It is so much more important.
But I think the reason that we see so many who aren't disciplined in the church and once again and we can go back to h having self-control for temptation, for addiction, for anxiety, so many different areas being, you know, not showing up for work, showing up for the things that we've committed to, lack of discipline. I think it's because we are not truly allin for pursuing God. The reason that you if you are experiencing lack of discipline in your life is because you are not allin. You might say, "Well, I'd like to be a decent swimmer. I'd like to throw up a couple of shots and I'd like to be a decent three-point shooter." But you're not all in. You're not really wanting to go to the pro level. You don't you're not looking for the gold medal. But what Paul is saying here spiritually speaking, we should all be aiming for the highest level. Not just say, "Oh, well, the pastor, he's going to be really deep theologically. He's going to really, really care about these things, but I'm going to do bare minimum over here." Every single saint is called to the highest level. Are you allin?
Because once again, when Jesus calls his disciples in Luke 9:23, what does he say? If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. That's not comfortable. That requires discipline, self-control, focus that you must deny yourself, deny your own proclivities, pleasures, comforts. You are denying what you want and you are saying, "I am giving my whole life to the cause of Christ. that I will take up the cross. That is dying to self. And it also says, by the way, daily. That's that consistency. It's not a, yeah, I like to follow Christ sometimes when it's convenient. I like to come to church on Sunday, get an encouraging message, but are you daily submitting to the lordship of Christ? Are you disciplining your body every single day?
And and the final thing on this point is that as I say this, I don't want you to think that this is all your own willpower. Discipline spiritually speaking is not just about your own might, your own valition, but we have something the world doesn't have. We have the Holy Spirit in us. And so what the reason that we can be the most disciplined physically, spiritually in this world is because we have something that is supernatural, something that is beyond this world. You, if you are in Christ, have the gift of the Holy Spirit. And every day, what you are called to do every day, every moment is yield to the spirit. Say, God, I want your spirit to speak to me. I want your spirit to lead me. I want your spirit to convict me, to encourage me, to guide me, to teach me in all things that that concern you. That is how we can actually succeed in this mission. It's not just that we desire it, but that we actually submit to the power of God. And in Romans 8:13, it says, "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. See, this is a choice that we can make. We can either live according to the flesh or we actually can live and submit to the spirit in our lives. And the spirit will enable and empower us to live a disciplined life. But you have to choose the spirit every day. you have to submit to his leadership.
So we see that Paul the main the key thing that he's wanting to get across is that we must discipline our bodies daily. But to to continue in this thought we also must think about what we are chasing. And in verse 25 it once again it says that now they do it to obtain the perishable crown but we for an imperishable crown.
See what was happening in these races is that they would compete and many times they would compete for 10 months maybe years for these races for the for this competition and at the end of this race if you do everything you do the absolute best and you actually win the race what do you get a wreath? you get a a perishable crown made out of twigs or flowers and then it only looks good for, you know, a few months because eventually it starts to wither and, you know, fade. And we know that ultimately it's something that you could collect in the backyard or in the woods and you could make yourself a wreath of your own. It's it's a perishable crown. But that's what these people are training for for months, for years, for a lifetime. that's what they are focusing on. But Paul reminds us that that's not what we are chasing.
But really, and the thing is, and we know that they're not really chasing the the crown itself. They're chasing the praise of men. That's what they really want. That's why because it's the respect. It's the glory. It's the honor of I won the Olympics. I have the crown. But what he is saying is, I want you to chase the imperishable crown. A crown that does not rust, that does not de decay, that does not fall away. A crown that is everlasting.
And here's the thing. I know that there are many even in the church sometimes we are deceived into living for what will not last. And in fact, Paul's already addressed this some in this letter about thinking about the eternal over the temporal. There are some people that you may have as you're driving to church today saw on the sidewalks running, exercising, shaping their bodies. And I'm not saying none of them go to church, but I I would say that the odds are that there are many who on their Sunday mornings are enjoying the sunlight, getting the fresh air, going on a jog. They are they are shaping their body. They're wanting to have a a long healthy life physically and that's all they're going to get because we know that life is a vapor. And eventually, no matter how good you train your body, no matter how many times you go on a walk or run or enjoy the sunlight, eventually every single person is going to die. But if you live your life for Christ, if you are chasing the crown that is imperishable, that when you breathe your last breath here, we see that there is a greater glory that is to come.
But we even as Christians, once again, we are living so often focusing, fixating on the promotion, on the status, on the material things, on what's going on in the news today. we can get so fixated on these things rather than saying what is the most important what will last forever and so I think what Paul is saying is live with your eyes fixed on the crown of life I think that's what Paul is actually getting at here when he talks about this crown that we are to pursue.
Now there is a thought that it could mainly or potentially the crown could be representing um eternal rewards for faithful service and I think that's a very plausible interpretation But just the way that I seem to look at it, it seems that Paul is a little bit more broad here. I think what he's actually describing is that the crown is the culmination of a Christ-c centered life. The crown, I think, is meant to be what we ultimately are living for. And that is eternal life in the presence of the risen Christ. I think that's the crown. That's what we are to keep our eyes on. And in fact, we see other passages that say, "Keep your eyes fixed on Christ because he is our prize." I think that's what Paul is getting at.
And and when you look at Paul's other writings and some other New Testament scriptures, just listen to the way that they describe this race or the crown. In 2 Timothy 4:es 7 and 8, it says, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing." See, I think what he's saying here is that this is him at the end of his life, and he's saying, "I have fought the good fight." Once again, physical, athletic language here. I have finished the race. Very similar to what he's describing here in this text. And he says, "I have kept the faith. I have continued. I have persevered in the faith. And because of that, he is going to receive a crown. And it says here, the crown of righteousness. And he says this is available to all those who have loved his appearing. That is those who have kept their eyes fixated on Christ and his return.
And so we see Paul using this language in second Timothy, but also in James 1:12. It says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved." Approved there once again is the difference from being disapproved or disqualified. He will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. So he is promising this to those who love him. It's the crown of life for those who persevere, for those who endure temptation, tribulation, they keep their eyes fixed on the prize. And then finally, Revelation 2:10 says, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."
Is that what you are fixating on? Every day when you get up and you say, "I want to discipline my body. I'm going to do everything I can to yield to the spirit to glorify Christ. Are you doing it because you're regularly reminding yourself, I am running this race of faith and I want the crown of life. You can get the crown that the world offers you. You can get these praise. You can get these trophies. You can get all these things that are not going to last. Or you can live a life persevering seeking the crown of life. What are you chasing after?
When you go to work, are you thinking the reason you go to work is for a paycheck? When you go to school, are you going just because you want to just get the degree? The reason that you are doing the things that you do, are you doing them primarily for yourself, for status, for money? Or are you doing these for the eternal state? Are you doing this that you might be a Christian where you are? Because by the way, you are not a doctor, a nurse, a custodian, a lawyer, a student. You are a Christian who happens to be these other things. Do you understand that? That is who you are. That's what Paul's been saying this whole letter is your identity is Christ first. These other things, they're accidental. They can change. Ultimately, you're fixating on Christ and that everlasting crown of life.
So we are called to discipline our bodies. We are to chase the imperishable crown. And then finally in verse 27 we are reminded don't allow the distractions in life to disqualify you. In verse 27 it says but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified.
I think Paul is saying here as we are thinking about these things about being disciplined, chasing the imperishable crown that we cannot settle spiritually. There are so many that have gotten their ticket to heaven and then we see that there is not much fruit in their lives, very little growth. We see so many that are staying and living on the spiritual milk. And I speak especially want to speak to those who have been in Christ for a long time because it can be so tempting to be like I've read first Corinthians. It can be so tempting to be like I know more than that pastor. I know so much more than these people in in the church pews beside me. But if you have that mindset, if you think that you just know everything that there is to know, if you think that you have grown as much you can possibly grow, if you can never be corrected at this point, then you are missing out and you are allowing distractions. You are allowing deception to keep you from being truly disciplined. Every Christ follower must be a perpetual student. You should be seeking the Lord and learning every single day, always trying to get better, to improve, to train yourself.
In Philippians 2:12, it says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." We need to have weight and honor for this gift of salvation that God has given us. We do not take it lightly. Do not settle spiritually. Don't ever be satisfied with where you're at. No, no, don't condemn yourself, but you should always be looking to improve. Because I think what Paul is showing us here is that we all as we run this race, we can start our race well and finish very poorly. Have you ever seen someone starting the race and they seem like they're doing really well? Or maybe a a specific team is winning and it's like I I think about one of the Super Bowls where this team was literally killing one team the entire time and at the very end of the Super Bowl they lose. See, you can start well and finish very poorly. And I think Paul even recognized this because he himself recognized that he could have become disqualified. Is that not alarming to us a little bit? The one who wrote majority of the New Testament, the one who formed this church, the one that we would say he is like one of the spiritual elites. He says, "I'm preaching to you, but I'm watching out for myself, disciplining myself so that making sure I myself am not disqualified, disapproved of."
I think it's so important that we see that the Christian life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. And if you are not thinking about it in that way, and if you're just thinking, I just I said this prayer at the altar. I got baptized when I was seven and there's nothing else for you to do, you're missing out on this warning in this passage. Now, as I say that, I understand that there there could be a concern that maybe the disqualification here is in reference to maybe effective ministry. Either way, if this is whether if this is talking about eternal salvation or if this is talking about effective ministry, either way, it displeases the Lord. You fall short of your calling in Christ if you find yourself disqualified. How embarrassing is that to think of yourself running this race and they say, "Oh, by the way, get off the track. You're done. You don't even need to keep running. You disqualified yourself." He says that he himself could be disqualified.
Now, for those who are saying, "Well, wait, are we not saved by grace through faith in Christ?" I'd say absolutely. But we also see all of these passages calling us to persevere. And what discipline does, it doesn't save us. But what discipline does is it fuels perseverance. When you do good things, when you spend time with Christ, you continue to grow spiritually. your faith increases and this produces perseverance. So don't think of discipline as discipline saves you. Discipline fuels perseverance. And so that's why when we see passages like Matthew 24:13, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. Or Romans 2:7, eternal life to those who by patient continuence in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immorality. And finally, Hebrews 12:1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight or take distraction and the sin which so easily ens snares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
See, we are called here to persevere. We are called to do everything in our power to not be distracted in this life because there are going to be idols. There are going to be these hurdles in life that are going to want to slow you down and maybe even disqualify you from this race. But my challenge, my encouragement for you is to not be distracted. Keep your eyes fixed on the prize of Christ and you will do well in this life. Once again, the spirit is with you. You have something the world doesn't. The spirit will empower you. He will be with you. He will enable you to do these great, wondrous, holy things. But there's one thing that he won't do for you. He won't run the race for you. The Holy Spirit is not He's not just racing himself. He is calling you to run the race with him. So you must choose discipline if you want to run to win. And my prayer is that we all would finish well.