Press On

It was January 17th, 1988

It was 2nd down and the Browns were on the Denver 8 yard line.

Trailing by 7 points and moving the ball well, the Browns called handoff to Ernest Byner

His running lane was full of Broncos defenders, so Byner turned left and saw a lane

With only two defensive backs between Byner and the end zone, he turned an to avoid direct contact

When the first defender hit Byner he bounced off and his momentum carried him into the end zone, unfortunately, he left the ball on the 3rd yard line.

This play is known through the entire football world as “The Fumble”

This is something most if not all of you already know

what you may not know is that in 2016 ESPN released a 30 For 30 Documentary episode on Cleveland Sport history specifically detailing all the bad breaks we’ve had and the fans ability to continue to love and believe in their team.

Dubbed “Believeland”, one of the interviews was with Ernest Byner.

28 years later, being recorded for national television, Ernest Byner cried and apologized to every Cleveland Browns fan saying “I messed it up for everybody”

What get’s lost in this story is Ernest Byners stat line:

15 carries fro 67 yards and 1 touchdown

7 receptions on 9 targets for 120 yards and 1 touchdown tor a total of:

22 touches, 187 yards and 2 touchdowns

But here he is on National TV apologizing for his only bad play during a stellar game

This story is a story we all know, but also a version of the story we are all living

We have accomplishments, victories, people who love us, but we dwell on and obsess over our errors

Last week we saw Paul speak about his pedigree and how it wasn’t of any benefit in Christ

Now we see Paul transition to a discussion on dealing with our failures.

How do we respond to our imperfection

We are not complete

v12a

Verse 10 and 11 leave us looking forward to the resurrection

Verse 12 points out that we have not yet obtained the resurrection

While we have hope in Christ today, our ultimate hope in him is to come

Paul specifically points out his imperfection in stating that he is not already perfect

Paul’s humility her is in sharp contrast to his pedigree above

This makes it clear that Paul’s statement “blameless”, he was not speaking about being without sin because her he is directly telling us he still struggles with sin

It agrees with his description of himeself in Romans 7:13–20 “13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

John also agrees that even as believers we still sin

1 John 1:6–8 “6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

John points out that living in darkeness, or sin, separates us from God

He then calls us out, saying if we say we don’t have sin we are lying

But he doesn’t leave us with this terrible news, he tells us

1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

There are two ways verses 12-13 are used

Some say this passage gives us freedom to sin

This is not so

It acknowledges we continue to struggle with sin, but it does not condone or affirm our sin

Instead, a proper application of this passage is to recognize both the weight of our sin and grave of the God who forgives

As John tells us, our sin has serious consequences, but our God is faithful to forgive

We should learn from this that even though we still struggle with sin, we have a God that still loves us and still forgives

Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

But we press on

v12b-14

So what do we do in light of our imperfection? We press on

We strive and work toward perfection

The theological term for this is sanctification

Sanctification: the process of being more like Christ

As we progress through life we should continue to strive toward both perfection

Not that we strive for perfect because we believe we have an obligation or even the ability, but because of what Jesus has done for us

When Paul says “I press on to make it my own” he is saying, he continues to work hard to make the resurrection evident in his life

He describes this in athletic terms

Goal, prize and upward call in verse 14 all reference the Roman athletic games

The word goal is a reference to the finish line

Prize is a reference to the olive wreath

The upward call is a reference to winner being called up to receive the prize

Likewise Paul describes his life in ways a runner would run a race

forgetting what lies behind

straining forward to what lies ahead

But Paul doesn’t tell us to do this in our own power or by ourselves

He roots this effort in the works of Christ

In 12b Paul draws our attention to the works of Christ

Pointing us toward remembering his conversion and how Christ “made me his own”

This is maturity in Christ

v15-16

If we are mature,

The more we approach perfection, the more we become aware of our imperfection