Shiloh Bible Church
Introduction
America is a sports-crazed society. And various cities in the US vie for the honor of being known as the sports city.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Ron Rapoport writes: “The thing I like most about writing sports in Chicago is that there is no off season. Wake up in the morning and stick your head out the window, and you almost can hear the wailing: Cubs! Sox! Bears! Bulls! Irish! And all the rest. Let me just put it this way: Writer’s block is the least of our problems. But I’ve been in and out of Boston a few times lately and have come away feeling almost lazy. We work hard in this town keeping up with all the craziness, don’t get me wrong. But to be a sports fan—or a member of the media—in Boston these days is to be something close to insane. The last time I was there, I watched the Red Sox lose three consecutive playoff games to the Yankees, and you never heard such wailing. The shame. The embarrassment. The curse. Then the whole thing turned on a dime. It was the greatest case of civic whiplash I ever saw.”
Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh—there are many sports-crazed cities in the U.S. But that’s nothing new. Even back in ancient times there were sports-crazed cities in sports-crazed societies.
When you think of athletics in ancient times, what nation immediately comes to mind? What nation do you associate with ancient athletic competition? Greece, right?—With the Olympic games?
The ancient Olympic games date as far back as 776 BC. And they were held every four years in the city of Olympia. But Olympia wasn’t the only sports-crazed city in Greece. Second only to the Olympic games were the Isthmian games that were held every two years in the city of Corinth.
The Isthmian games drew thousands of spectators and participants from all over the empire. It was one of the great festivals of the ancient world. One historian comments, “Corinth played host to the athletes and visitors at the Isthmian Games celebrated every other year. Next to the Olympic Games, which were held every four years, the celebrations at the Isthmia were the most splendid and best attended of all the national festivals of Greece. Preparation for these events occupied the attention of the citizens several months in advance, and when the throngs arrived to view the contests in the Isthmian stadium, the vendors and entertainers from Corinth were on hand to reap profit from the occasion.”
Corinth was a sports-crazed city. And Paul knew that, because he ministered there for a year and a half. So in writing to the Corinthians, Paul uses athletic metaphors to drive home his message to them. One passage where this is evident is the last 4 verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 9.
You’ll remember that in 1 Corinthians 8-10, Paul is dealing with the topic of Christian liberty. And particularly in chapter 9, Paul mentions how he didn’t exercise his right of financial support from the Corinthians. Nor did he flaunt his personal liberty so as to offend those he sought to win for Christ. Rather, Paul conducted his Christian life in the same way that a Greek athlete conducted himself in competition. And he encourages the Corinthians—as well as you and me—to do the same. Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
Paul begins with a question in verse 24 … “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?”
And the Corinthians would have answered that question with a “yes.” The Corinthians did know that. They knew all about the foot races at the Isthmian games. The races took place in an enclosure of about 600 feet in length. The place was called a “stadion” from which we get our English word stadium. Now, three kinds of races were held in the stadium: the first was called the stade-race. Competitors raced a single length of the stadium—a 200-yard dash. The second race was a middle distance race in which they ran twice the length of the stadium—once in each direction—which was a 400-yard dash. The last foot race required the athletes to run 24 lengths of the stadium—a distance of about 3 miles.
But unlike our modern Olympics, which award a second and third place prize, the ancient games only recognized one winner—the person who came in first place. That’s why Paul says in verse 24, “but only one gets the prize.” But unlike the ancient games where there was only one winner, Paul says in the race of the Christian life every believer can be a winner and receive the prize. That’s why Paul encourages us in verse 24 to “Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Well, how do you do this? How do you run the race of the Christian life in such a way as to win? The answer? By fulfilling 4 demands. Paul says there are four demands placed on you in order to win the race of the Christian life.
So, successful Christian living demands, first of all …
1. DETERMINATION TO WIN
Look at verse 25. Paul states, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.”
Note that word “competes.” Paul views the Christian life as a competition. But you’re not competing against other Christians. You say, “Well, Doug, then who am I competing against?”
You’re competing against yourself—your flesh. That inward tug that pulls at you to follow its lusts rather than to follow God. You’re competing against the world—that which is opposed to God. The system that entices you to view life from a secular, humanistic perspective rather than a biblical, Christian perspective. You’re competing against Satan and his demons—evil spirits who tempt you to live a life of sin rather than a life of godliness.
You’re competing against the world, the flesh, and the devil. And this competition isn’t easy. It’s tough—it’s hard work. And Paul knows that. The word “compete” in verse 25 is the Greek term “agonizomai” from which we get our English word agony.
The first-century Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “In the Olympic Games you cannot just be beaten and then depart, but first of all, you will be disgraced not only before the people of Athens or Sparta or Nikopolis but before the whole world. In the second place, if you withdraw without sufficient reason you will be whipped. And this whipping comes after your training which involves thirst and broiling heat and swallowing handfuls of sand.”
The training and competition in Greek games was tough. It was a serious matter. And it took determination to win.
How about you this morning? Are you determined to win your spiritual race? Or do you take a casual, “who cares” attitude about your Christian life?
The Christian life takes place in an arena, not on a playground. And it takes determination to win. You “gotta wanna” in order to succeed spiritually.
Successful Christian living demands a Determination To Win. Secondly, it also demands …
2. OBEDIENCE TO THE RULES
Look at verse 25 again. Paul states, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.”
Paul also says in 2 Timothy 2:5 that “if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”
And there were very strict rules that the athlete had to adhere to both in training and in competition.
Athletes in Greek games had to first qualify on the local level. They were selected by elimination trials. But that didn’t guarantee them a spot in the official games. After they were chosen to represent their city, the athletes would submit themselves to ten months of rigorous training in their hometown under the supervision of professional trainers. When they arrived at the training camp, the officials examined them and then they had to take an oath swearing to obey all the rules of training. If an athlete left the training camp even once during those ten months, he was disqualified. He couldn’t participate in the games. During those ten months he was on a strict diet consisting mainly of cheese, figs, and dried meat. He couldn’t drink any wine. And if he was caught violating the diet, he was disqualified. Every morning at the training camp there were two trumpet calls. The first was the warning trumpet. When it blew, the athlete’s personal trainer came and rubbed him down with oil. The second trumpet was the signal to begin the daily workout. If he missed just one trumpet call during the entire ten months of training, he was disqualified from the games. Everyday as the athlete worked out, he was watched by people called “marshals” who would observe his effort. If he was caught loafing around or goofing off just once during the entire ten months, he was disqualified.
After the ten months of training in his hometown, the athlete would then travel to the city where the games would take place. And he would go there for another month of training. When all the athletes arrived they would have a swearing in ceremony. There they would swear another oath stating that they had obeyed the training rules of the past ten months, and that they would obey the training rules for the next month, and that they would also obey the rules for the competition itself.
So, whether in training or in actual competition, the athlete had to obey the rules. Likewise, Paul emphasizes to believers the necessity of obeying the rules in the race of the Christian life.
And what is our rulebook? Where do we go to discover the rules for Christian living? (The Bible—God’s Rulebook.) That’s why it is so important to read and study the Bible—to discover God’s rules for Christian living. We must obey the teachings of the Word of God in order to run the race of the Christian life successfully.
So, successful Christian living demands Determination To Win, Obedience To The Rules and thirdly, it demands …
3. FOCUSING ON THE GOAL
Paul makes this point in verse 26. “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air.”
In addition to foot races, the Isthmian games also included horse races, chariot contests, jumping, wrestling, boxing, and throwing the discus and javelin. But whatever games they were competing in, every athlete knew that in order to win he must have focus—he must have the goal in mind.
Runners don’t run aimlessly. They don’t run on the track in a zigzag pattern like a chicken with its head cut off! They focus their attention on the finish line and they run straight for it.
And boxers don’t swing their arms aimlessly. No, boxers are deliberate in their punches. They focus and make every blow count in beating their opponent.
In the same way Paul says that successful Christian living demands focus—we must have the goal in mind. Author Joseph Dillow writes, “For a runner to run ‘aimlessly’ is to run without focusing on the goal. Paul says that our lives must be run with a clear view of the final accounting we will all face. All decisions must be made in view of this coming event. A Christian who lacks this perspective or who ignores it is simply living life without purpose.”
So Paul tells you to focus—to keep your eye on the goal of receiving Christ’s approval when you stand before Him at His Judgment Seat. Live your life with eternity in mind. Make decisions in view of Christ’s Judgment Seat.
Successful Christian living demands Determination To Win, Obedience To The Rules, Focusing On The Goal, and finally, it demands …
4. DISCIPLINE OF THE BODY
Verse 27 reads, “No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Paul here again is alluding to boxing. When Paul says, “I beat my body,” he uses a Greek word that means “to give a black eye.” It’s as if Paul was boxing against himself, punching himself in the eye.
It’s possible that Paul chose this metaphor because of how rough the sport of boxing was. Boxers would wrap leather straps around their knuckles in order to make their punches more punishing.
One historian writes, “Many of the contestants left the stadium with broken teeth, swollen ears and squashed noses; many sustained serious injuries to their eyes, ears and even their skulls.” One of the reasons for this is because there were no rounds in Greek boxing. You wouldn’t stop and go to your corner for a break between rounds. Now, sometimes boxers would stop for a breather by mutual consent. But most of the time they would fight and punch each other until one of them couldn’t fight anymore or acknowledged defeat by holding up his hand.
Greek boxing in Corinth was brutal. And that’s how Paul treated his body. Now, that doesn’t mean Paul was a masochist. Paul isn’t saying that he physically abused or tortured himself. Rather, Paul is vividly describing his self-discipline. Paul wasn’t a slave to his desires. He exercised self-control. And we need to do the same.
What does it take to succeed in the Christian life? It demands Determination To Win, Obedience To The Rules, Focusing On The Goal, and Discipline of The Body.
Conclusion
I want to remind you that verses 24-27 is set in the context of 1 Corinthians 9. And in this chapter Paul is dealing with spiritual rights. You’ll remember that Paul demonstrates in verses 1-23 how he curtailed his rights in order to win others to Christ. And that holds true as well in verses 24-27.
Dr. Harry Ironside was pastor of Moody Church in Chicago for many years. He recalls a time when he was at a picnic with other Christians. And there was a man there who converted from Islam to Christianity. His name was Mohammed Ali—not the boxer Mohammed Ali, but rather, another man named Mohammed Ali. Well, a young lady brought a basket of sandwiches up to this man and asked if he would like some. He said, “What kind do you have?” “Oh,” she said, “I’m afraid all we have left are ham or pork.” He said, “Don’t you have any beef?” She replied, “No, they are all gone.” “Well,” he said, “then I won’t have any.” Now, the young lady knew that this man was a Christian. And so she said to him, “Well, sir, I am really surprised. Don’t you know that, as a Christian, you are freed from all these food restrictions, and that you can eat pork or ham or whatever, if you like?” The man looked at the young lady, smiled and then replied in these words: “Yes, I know that. I know I am free to eat pork, but I am also free not to eat it. I’m still involved with my family back in the Near East, and I know that when I go home once a year, and I come up to my father’s door, the first question he will ask me is, ‘Have those infidels taught you to eat the filthy hog meat yet?’ If I have to say to him, ‘Yes, father,’ I will be banished from that home and have no further witness in it. But if I can say, as I have always been able to say, ‘No, father, no pork has ever passed my lips,’ then I have admittance to the family circle and I am free to tell them of the joy I have found in Jesus Christ. Therefore I am free to eat, or I am free not to eat, as the case may be.”
That story sets this whole issue in proper perspective. As a Christian, you have rights. But you also have the right not to exercise your rights for the sake of winning others to Christ and winning the race of the Christian life.
Let’s pray.
