Sermon Tone Analysis

I Corinthians 9:24-10:5

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Introduction

Do interviews with athletes.

1.

What sport are you involved in and where?

\\ 2. What preparation and discipline is required to play the sport?

\\ 3. What is the reward for playing?

The greatest sporting event in the world today is probably the Olympics.

The first modern Olympic games were held in 1896, but the history goes way back to the ancient Olympic Games which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 5th century AD.

The primary events at those games were running and boxing.

The Olympic Games were, however, not the only games held in ancient Greece.

Second to the Olympic games were the Isthmian games which were held every three years in years when the Olympics were not held.

The Isthmian games were held in the Isthmus of Corinth and it may have been the year for these games when Paul was writing his first letter to the Corinthians.

That may be the reason for his use of the images which he uses in I Corinthians 9:24-10:13 to teach the Corinthian Christians some important lessons about what it means to follow Jesus.

Let’s read the text and listen to what God’s Word has to say to us.

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I.                   The Challenge to Discipline

!! A.                 The Goal We Strive For

When we are involved in any sport there is always a goal we are striving for.

I have spoken with people who run and even if they have no hope of winning the race, they usually have a goal of a personal best.

For hockey players, the goal is the Stanley Cup.

For football players the goal is the Grey Cup.

For high school basketball players it is winning the provincial banner.

For anyone who competed in the Isthmian games the prize was a pine wreath.

It is obvious that a pine wreath would not last very long.

But I have to confess that I had to look up who won the Grey Cup last November.

The reality is that although we may remember some victories for a while, most of these things are eventually forgotten or surpassed by other events.

So when Paul says that the athletes who run in a race get a crown that will not last he is absolutely correct.

He raises this to remind us that the prize we as Christians are looking towards is infinitely better than any prize which could come from any sporting event.

Paul says, “…we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

We don’t always think in those terms and so it is important for us to be reminded of this eternal perspective.

What does that eternal perspective look like?

You may have heard people say, “In a perfect world” and then describe their wishes.”

Well what we are looking forward to is in fact a perfect world.

Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

In that perfect world, it will also be our privilege to be able to see God face to face.

Furthermore, the assurance is that it will last for all eternity.

This is one of the most amazing things about heaven which we can hardly fathom now because our whole world is one in which everything ends.

The football season ends, summer ends, childhood ends and life ends, but the reward we are looking forward to will never end.

That is the prize we are looking forward to and what a wonderful prize it is!

Therefore Paul indicates that his whole life is dedicated to the purposeful pursuit of this eternal prize.

He uses the imagery of running declaring that he is not running aimlessly but has a goal towards which he is running in his Christian life.

He also uses the imagery of boxing and suggests that he is not missing with his blows, but is aiming his blows to strike the target of this eternal prize.

With our eyes firmly fixed on the physical world our strongest motivation often comes from what we need to make life in this world pleasant.

The reminder of the eternal prize which we as Christians are looking forward to motivates us to look beyond the present and configure our lives with this eternal perspective in mind.

!! B.                 Self Discipline

And so Paul calls us as Christians to discipline ourselves to live towards eternity.

The athletes I interviewed earlier all indicated that in order for them to be able to achieve the goal they are striving towards took preparation and self discipline so that they could play their game well and have the strength and stamina to make it to the final.

For the ancient Olympic games and also for the Isthmian games it was required that any athlete who intended to compete in these games would dedicate themselves to 10 months of strict training and preparation.

In a similar way, Paul speaks of exercising self discipline.

In verse 24 he says, “…run in such a way as to get the prize.”

In other words, we can’t take our Christian life casually.

Training and diligence is required.

In verse 25 he says, "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training."

If an athlete wants to win the prize they must prepare themselves with diligence.

So also a Christian who is striving towards the eternal reward cannot take their Christian walk casually.

They also need to train themselves towards obedience and faithfulness.

In verse 27 we read, “I beat my body and make it my slave.”

This is strong imagery of diligent preparation and is a very strong call to self discipline.

Paul was willing to undergo hardships so that he would learn how to live in holiness and how to be faithful to God.

This is probably a little hard for us to swallow.

Everything in our world is designed to make things easier.

Why shovel when you can use a snow blower?

Why kneed bread by hand when you can use a bread making machine?

Why paddle a canoe when you can put a motor on it?

Yet physical activity is the perfect arena in which to point out that since we started using motors and machines we have had to deliberately design ways in which our body can get exercise in order to be healthy.

Why would we think that as Christians we can just coast?

The prize is much greater.

What is at stake is much more significant.

Morris says, “The strenuous self-denial of the athlete in training for his fleeting reward is a rebuke to all half-hearted, flabby Christian service.”

I hope that the images have convinced us that we cannot grow in our Christian life and be healthy in it without self discipline but what does spiritual discipline look like?

Spiritual disciplines include, from the positive side, doing whatever we can to make sure that we are well conditioned to face any challenge.

A basketball player will spend hours shooting hoops from every place on the floor.

Positive exercises for us as Christians that are essential elements of self discipline include daily reading the Word of God, regularly attending church, spending time nurturing our relationship with God, thinking theologically about our life, praying and seeking to let other people know about the love we have for Jesus.

On the other hand, spiritual disciplines also involve avoiding those things that will hinder top performance.

Anything in our life that prevents us from following Jesus must be removed from our life.

So, for example, if lust is preventing us from having a holy mind, then we need to remove whatever is provoking that lust.

Sometimes even good things need to be set aside in order to discipline ourselves.

Sleep is a good thing and we know that a healthy person needs a certain amount of sleep in order to function well.

While Carla was in training for the marathon, she was willing to give up a certain amount of sleep and get up sometimes as early as 4:30 in order to get in the training runs that would allow her to finish the marathon.

Sometimes giving up good things will help us to grow and develop in our relationship with Jesus.

For example, there is nothing wrong with having things in this world.

A new ipod or a better TV, if we can afford them, are OK things.

But perhaps it would be good for us to decide that for a period of time we will not purchase any new thing so that we diminish the pull of consumerism in us and so that we can donate more money to those who are poor.

Perhaps some other kind of fast like giving up some sleep or some TV watching in order to spend time with God are what we need in order to train ourselves for godliness.

These are just a few suggestions about what it means to go into strict training.

I suggest these few recognizing that there are many more things and that each of us needs to look at our own life and with a view to the great eternal reward and ask ourselves how we need to train ourselves for eternity.

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II.

The Danger of Carelessness

If you have followed the text you will have noticed a rather curious phrase in verse 24 which says that “only one gets the prize.”

Of course we understand that this pertains only to the imagery being used of a runner.

In any foot race there is only one person who crosses the finish line first.

When it comes to the Christian life, we know that God’s grace assures us that all who believe in Jesus will receive the prize.

Since that is the case, we may wonder, “then why do we need to strive for it?”

If we emphasize striving for the prize, aren’t we in danger of working for our salvation or falling into legalism?

As we go into chapter 10, Paul uses an illustration from the Old Testament to remind us of the danger of carelessness.

It is unique that he refers to this Old Testament example by speaking about the experience of “our forefathers” while writing to a Gentile audience.

This means that the experience of Israel way back then has a lesson for us today as well.

Gordon Fee writes, “…just as God did not tolerate Israel’s idolatry, so he will not tolerate the Corinthians’.

We deceive ourselves if we think he will tolerate ours.”

!! A.                 Resting on Confidence