The Disciplined Christian

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, and welcome again to First Christian Church. I am so glad you joined us this morning. Would you go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 19 with me?

A few years ago, I signed up for my first and so far only 5K race. We were living in Lynchburg, VA, and there was a yearly 5K that was run to support a ministry that worked to rescue women out of sex trafficking all around the world. I get the idea to sign up, and I take a couple of months and train for this race. My training consisted of running around the neighborhood or at a local track each day. And in case you are wondering, running is not my spiritual gift.

The day of the race, I line up to start and get a good pace going. I think I really am doing great. How this race would work is you would run to about the halfway point, make a turn, and run back to the starting line, that was now the finish. I’m like a quarter of the way through, and I see a four-wheeler coming toward me, and just behind this four-wheeler that seemed to be going real fast was the leader of the race. In that moment, I realized that what I did for training and what that guy did were very different.

I was just a casual runner. I did it for some exercise and something to do on a Saturday morning. This guy clearly had done what was needed to discipline his body to be at peak performance for this, and probably many other races.

In today’s passage in 1 Corinthians, Paul is going to make a connection between the work an athlete does to discipline his body, and what we as Christians should do in our walk with Jesus. And at the end, we will line up and have a quick race out in the yard. Just kidding. Would you join me in prayer this morning?

PRAY

Paul Will Do Whatever It Takes

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:19–23.

We have talked a lot about our Christian freedom over the course of this series. And we have because Paul did. Paul is going to talk again here about our freedoms and liberty. And he starts out by again saying that he is free from all, but he is willing to make himself a servant to all.

Becoming a servant to all sounds great to Paul, but what about me? Paul is willing to do whatever it takes to push forward the Gospel, willing to put aside his freedom. Our American, Western culture would push back against this. Why?

In American culture, really any western country, but we live in America, so I am focusing specifically on us, there is an underlying belief in what we would call hedonism. Hedonism is defined as the prioritization of pleasure and immediate gratification at the expense of other values and without concern for long-term consequences. We see this in the way that the average person will ultimately be “me” focused. What does this do for me? How does this make me happy? How do I avoid things I don’t like?

Because this is what we see happening all around us, when we are not on guard, this same mindset can creep into the thinking of the church as well. Suddenly, we start treating the church, and all that goes along with it, as simply consumers. I want everything to be something that gratifies me. I want it to be what makes me happy and feel good. Don’t talk about anything that might upset me. Or even worse, do say or do anything that would make an unbeliever uncomfortable.

This so-called American Hedonism is a dangerous way of thinking outside the doors of the church and is entirely contradictory to the mission of the Church. 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 is the perfect proof text for this. Paul does not say, “I am free from all, so I seek out only what I find to be pleasurable and gratifying.” He says, “I am free from all, and have made myself a servant to all.” Do you hear the difference? He has set aside his freedom to see the Gospel propelled forward. He is willing to become a servant in order to make sure people hear the Gospel.

What are you willing to set aside for the sake of the Gospel? What freedom or liberty are you willing to say no to? Paul was willing to be a Jew if he needed to. He was willing to be like one under the law or one outside the law, while never being willing to break the moral law of God. He would be like one who was weak, all to see that some would come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Why would he do this? Because Paul understood that his freedom was not more important than the Gospel. His liberty to be free from all did not mean that he was willing to sacrifice the power of the Gospel. He understands that his freedom does not mean he should be the one who inhibits someone from believing. Paul understood the words that Jesus said in Mark:

and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:44–45.

What Motivates Us?

Paul understands that to be first where it matters, we must be willing to be a slave to all. Why? Because that is exactly how Christ acted when He was on earth. Jesus came to be a servant, not to be served. Paul knew what Proverbs 11:30:

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30.

Paul knew that whoever captures souls is wise. Some versions translate that to “whoever wins souls is wise.” When we talk about soul winning, we mean casting out that net of the gospel into the world. And we know, because of what Paul says in verse 23, that this is his motivating factor in all he does:

“I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

1 Corinthians 9:23

What should be the motivation for what we do? What should motivate us to set aside freedom to see the Gospel flourish? The answer is simple: the Gospel! If I want to see the Gospel be set loose on the world, I have to be willing to understand that it is not all about me. I have to be willing to step back and recognize that the Gospel is more important than the freedom I feel I have.

This takes discipline. It is not natural, nor is it culturally normal, for us to put others before ourselves. Let to his own devices, mortal man cares for himself. When we come to know Christ, though, things change. The Holy Spirit starts to work in us and change us to be more and more like Jesus. As this happens, we start to grow. This growth will include us looking more to others than ourselves. When I know Jesus, my desire should now be for others to know Christ, which means I am willing to take the effort to discipline myself to see that happen.

Something motivates all of us. This morning, something motivated you to come here and join us. Maybe it is because you have a deep devotion to the Gospel and the word of God, and look forward to the gathering of the saints each week. Maybe it is some type of guilt that you unfortunately learned along the way, and you don’t want to feel that guilt, so you come to church.

Whatever that motivation this morning, I want to encourage us to reorient our lives to make sure that we are being motivated by the Gospel. Maybe we need to check our own hearts and ask, “Am I doing this because it is what I do?” Or am I doing this because I love what the Gospel does in the lives of people? Do I love to see the transformation of lives through the power of Jesus? Do I want to see that happen within our forever family at FCC?

I am not telling you that if you look inside of your heart today and realize the dial is off on your why that you walk away from this. I am asking us all, myself included, to take the time and effort to push more into Christ. To push more into the effort here. To be willing to sacrifice some things. To do what it takes to grow more and more in love with Jesus and trust the Holy Spirit to prune and clear out dead branches in our lives.

I am not asking you to walk away; I am asking you to walk closer to each other. When we struggle in our faith, when we recognize our motivation is off, when we may feel in the rut of life, it is not time to seclude and cut ourselves off from the family. In those times, we need to come closer to the family.

The Disciplined Life

The idea that Paul is talking about is the idea that we must be disciplined in our lives as believers.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27.

Paul wraps up this section by giving us this analogy of the athlete and the Christian. Two big sporting competitions took place in the ancient world. We are all aware of the Olympic Games. They, of course, still take place today. But at the time that Paul is writing this letter, there was also another set of games that took place. The Isthmian Games were held in Corinth every two years.

Tradition would tell us that amateur athletes would train for a year to be able to compete in these competitions. These trainings would be monitored, and the athletes were essentially proving that they were eligible to compete in these games. The people at the church in Corinth would have very much understood what Paul was talking about here.

We still understand this today. If we were to watch a race today, we understand that all the competitors are running, but only one would receive the prize. In the times of this letter, that prize was a wreath made of pine and possibly even a statue or ode written for the winner. They all competed for a prize that Paul reminds us is perishable. A wreath would eventually be gone. An ode could be forgotten, and a statue can be removed. These athletes would submit themselves to great discipline to obtain a prize that certainly would perish. I mean, how many of us know the names of the winners of the Isthmian Games?

Top athletes of today are no different. They subject their bodies to great discipline in order to compete at the highest levels. To be a champion of their sport, they are willing to set aside things they may want in order to discipline their body. They set aside sleep to be up early to work out. They set aside food cravings in order to eat what best fuels their body. They sacrifice even relationships with others in order to make sure they can work out, study plans, recover, and eat well. All of this is done to still receive a perishable prize.

This week, I watched the new documentary on the life of Dale Earnhardt on Amazon Prime. Many of us probably knew “The Intimidator” for his success in NASCAR. You may remember that black #3 GM Goodwrench car flying around the track. You may even remember the crash that took his life in 2001. While watching that documentary, something struck me: one of Dale’s friends said that Dale was so focused on being a driver, on being successful, that everything else took a back seat to it. He was willing to sacrifice everything else to be the best. That meant even family was sacrificed.

In life, so many people are willing to sacrifice so much for something that, in the long run, is perishable. Yet, when it comes to something that is not perishable. When it comes to something eternal, what discipline are we willing to do? We are not racing to obtain a plain wreath of pine. Paul speaks about this prize throughout his other writings. Let’s look at what he says:

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. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12–14.

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.

2 Timothy 4:8.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you

1 Peter 1:3–4.

What is different about our striving? We are running the race together, striving not for a perishable prize, but an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading prize that is set out before us. And unlike a race here on earth, there is not one winner. We all are striving for this prize, we all are striving to finish our race and hear from our creator, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” There is no earthly prize that can compare to the prize that God has laid out before us.

The Gospel motivates us to discipline our bodies, to run the race, to strive for the prize. There is no riding the bench in the Christian life. You do not get to stand on the sidelines and have a clean uniform when the buzzer sounds. If we can discipline our bodies to strive for an earthly prize, how much more should we be willing to be disciplined in our Christian walk?

What are we striving toward? Paul says he is not running aimlessly, he is not simply shadow boxing. He is discipling his body to keep it under control. He does not want to be disqualified. This is pointing back to the training the athletes would do for the Isthmian Games. Paul is saying that he is not training his body simply to be disqualified before he can compete. He is disciplining his body, keeping it under control, pursuing holiness in his own life.

This pursuit of holiness is the discipline that we too are to undertake. What is this holiness? It is our sanctification, our growth in Christ, it is our maturity. It is our daily walk with Jesus, at times it is the moment-by-moment walk with Jesus. It is us daily denying ourselves, picking up our cross, and following Jesus.

Discipline is not easy work. Pursuing personal holiness with Christ is not always easy. But we are not called to be “me-centered,” pursuing only what makes me happy and gives me pleasure. Our call is to press on toward the prize for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Why? Because that is the most important thing. What motivates us? The good news of Jesus does. And what is that good news? That while we were sinners, all of us, Christ came to earth and died for our sins. The good news of Jesus is that a way has been made back to God. There is hope and life found in Jesus. There is transformation that comes through Jesus, and the great news is that it is available to all. No one has strayed too far from God. This morning, if you have never repented of your sin and followed Jesus, I would love to talk with you.