Runners and Boxers

Summer Olympics July 26-August 11 2024

What is it that I will have to do to be ready? What is it that I will have to do to win?

2 Timothy 4:8 ESV

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

What is the Reason

Sake of the Gospel

United by the Gospel

Sharing in the Blessings+salvation

1 Timothy 4:16 ESV

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 ESV

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

imperishable wreath=salvation

Philippians 3:10–15 ESV

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus 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 to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999) Olympic Spirituality, Part 1

The best evidence perhaps that this is what Paul means is the use of the word “disqualified” (adokimos) in 2 Corinthians 13:5. Paul says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are disqualified.” The word is exactly the same one from 1 Corinthians 9:27.

Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999) Olympic Spirituality, Part 1

the Christian life is an awesomely serious affair and the stakes are infinitely high. What you do with your life—the way you run your race and fight your fight—will make the difference between sharing in the promises of the gospel or being disqualified. It will make the difference between attaining the prize of the upward call of God in Christ, or not. It will make the difference between receiving the unfading crown of righteousness or not. Life is serious business