Opening Prayer

Pray with me. Lord, we have this time set apart that we could serve you through listening to your word preached, through singing songs to you, through interacting with each other. Lord, we acknowledge it’s a lofty goal that creatures would do things down here that would be pleasing to the creator. But Lord, we know that this goal is accomplishable. We know that we can do this not because we ourselves are good people, but because you’ve given us your Spirit who empowers us to do things that please you. And so I pray that you would bless our efforts tonight, that you would bless our efforts to be more like your Son. I pray that the students would look attentively to your word tonight and listen to what is said, not because there’s anything glorious in the messenger, but because there is glory and majesty in your word. I pray too that the leaders would be thoughtful and engage with what’s said tonight, that they would be able to have profitable discussions with the students, to love them and speak wisely into their lives. Lord, lastly, I pray for myself tonight that I would accurately handle your word. If any error comes out of my mouth, let it be forgotten, that only your precepts would stand. Thank you for your Spirit who intercedes for us. Thank you for your Son, who paid for us, who redeemed us, and gives us the ability to stand before your throne in prayer. It’s in his name we pray. Amen.

Introduction & Reading Proverbs

Open up your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9, starting in verse 19. As you flip there, I’m going to read a couple of Proverbs. I want you to listen to the Proverbs that I read and try to identify a central idea that they are communicating.

First, we’re looking at Proverbs 21:25 that says, “The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hand refuses to labor.”

Next is Proverbs 12:11, “Whoever works his hand will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”

Next, Proverbs 20:4, “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”

Lastly, Proverbs 24, verses 30-34: “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns. The ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Proverbs Theme: Discipline vs. Lack of Discipline

The common idea these proverbs thread together is that discipline, self-control *now*, will lead to prosperity *later*. And a lack of discipline, a lack of self-control now, means that in the future, you can expect destruction. Destruction is waiting for you.

Cultural Contrast to Proverbs’ Wisdom

Our culture loves to kick against this wisdom, loves to challenge this idea that diligent self-control now brings value in the future. The thinking goes: if you weren’t diligent in school and you never labored to hone a profitable skill, then you should make just as much money as someone who did, like your manager. If you don’t perfect any kind of skill, you don’t bring value to anybody because you were lazy, a sluggard, because you lacked self-control, then you can bet you won’t receive a reward in the future.

That’s not the message the culture preaches. The lifestyle the culture envies is one where you can live for yourself, where you can “do you,” where your free time is entirely for yourself. You don’t have to work, you don’t have to practice self-control, but you somehow land a high-paying job. And so you can lay back, live at ease, be comfortable, kick your feet up, and get all the pleasures life has to offer. “Take a break. You deserve it. You only live once. Work smarter, not harder.” You don’t have to work hard. Live for yourself. Don’t labor. Don’t toil. Resist the urge for much comfort and ease. Rest, slumber, fold your hands, and it will all be okay. There’s no danger in the future if you do that.

Recap: Corinthian Self-Indulgence & Misuse of Freedom (1 Cor 9:19-23)

If you were here last time I went through 1 Corinthians 9, a little over a month ago, you might remember that the Corinthian culture was plagued with similar messaging. It was evident in their self-indulgence in food. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul talked about when the Corinthians were taking the Lord’s table; some members of the church were starving while other believers saw the starving and decided to have their own private meal, treating it like a Thanksgiving dinner, eating until their stomachs were full and they couldn’t eat anymore. When it came to spiritual gifting, everyone wanted the gifts that got all the attention. They were self-seeking; they wanted to exalt their own name.

And in their use of freedoms, they had this saying repeated three times through the book: “All things are lawful for me.” What they meant by that was, “If I want to do it and it’s not technically sin, I won’t even consider how it might affect someone else. Will it make me more Christlike? I’m not even going to think about that. It’s not sin and I can do it, so I’m going to do it.” Their use of freedoms—actions not inherently sinful—was done in sinful ways. They lived for themselves. Their kingdom was for themselves. They didn’t realize that destruction awaited them for the way they lived.

Tonight, we’re going to see how Paul corrects that, because there’s a lot wrong with that thinking. One thing wrong is that some things they claimed they were free to do (“all things are lawful for me”) were actually *not* lawful. There was sexual immorality, envy, jealousy, discontentment, and gluttony among the Corinthians. Those things are not lawful. Yet, regarding these things (as seen in 1 Corinthians 6 and 10), they would say “all things are lawful.” They claimed they could do these things.

They didn’t view their freedoms as something to use to benefit others, to be an instrument of blessing. They saw their freedoms as a way to bless themselves, to love themselves. So in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul corrects this thinking. What was happening there was that a new believer, fresh out of worshiping idols at a temple, would see an older, more mature believer buy meat sacrificed to those same idols at that temple and then eat it. This would be a stumbling block to the new believer, making them question, “Wait, can I still eat meat sacrificed to those idols? No, that’s worshiping them. I can’t do that anymore.” It would violate their conscience, shatter it, and lead to the destruction of their brother. Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 8 is that you are *not* free to do that. You don’t have the freedom; you can’t use your freedoms that way when it leads to your brother’s destruction.

Then, in 1 Corinthians 9, the whole chapter features Paul pointing to himself as an example. “Do you want to know how you should use your freedoms, Corinthians? This is how.”

Last time, we looked at verses 19-23. Let’s do a quick flyover starting at verse 19:

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jew 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. 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. 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. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Why did Paul become like the Jew to win the Jew? Like the weak to win the weak? Why did he become all things to all people? Wouldn’t it have been more comfortable for Paul just to be himself, not worrying about accommodating others with his freedoms? He was certainly free to do so. Paul had no teacher, parent, or boss forcing him. He, of his own volition, subjected himself to other people, trying to become like them, using his freedoms to serve them, making himself a slave to them to serve them. And why did he do it? Read verse 23 again: “I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share with them in its blessing.”

His motivation was the people outside of Christ whom he could win by using his freedoms. He resolved to do that because he knew all the blessings he possessed in the gospel: reconciliation and peace with God, freedom from sin (now in part, soon completely), wisdom for living life today, adoption into God’s household, a sure hope in future promises of glorification. Paul knew all the benefits, all the blessings of being saved. And he said that with all his freedoms, he made himself a slave to others for the gospel’s sake because he wanted to share the blessings of the gospel with other people. That was his motivation. It wasn’t Paul-centered. This was the thinking he developed through the chapter, the kind of thinking he was trying to correct in the Corinthians.

Main Passage Introduction (1 Cor 9:24-27)

It’s on the heels of this passage that we come to the text we’re looking at tonight, verses 24-27. Look at verse 24 with me:

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. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

In this passage, we see three illustrations promoting self-enslavement to win some to Christ.

Illustration 1: The Disciplined Athlete (vv. 24-25a)

The first illustration, in verse 24 through the first half of verse 25, is that of a disciplined athlete. He starts in verse 24 by stating a fairly obvious fact: in a race, all runners run, but only one receives a prize. But then he follows it with a command that might sound confusing at first: “Run that you may obtain it.” You might read that and think, “Wait, there’s only one winner in a race. Is there only one winner in the Christian life? If the prize he’s talking about is salvation, is only one person getting saved? I hope it’s me!” That’s not what he’s talking about at all.

Paul’s emphasis isn’t on the *number* of people who will win a prize; rather, his emphasis is on the *intensity* with which the believer should strive.

Intensity of the Runner (Football Sprint Example)

I used to play football when I was around your age—middle school, not high school; I wasn’t good enough for high school. At the end of one practice, my coach lined us all up, which was pretty common, to run 10 sprints. If you’ve been in sports, you know when you’re going to run 10 sprints, you don’t put everything into the first one because you have nine more after that. So I lined up thinking, “Okay, it’s not really a race. I’m just trying to get through the exercise. I’ll give maybe 80% effort on this first one, just fast enough that my coach doesn’t yell at me, and then get through the other nine similarly.” But then the coach made an announcement right before blowing the whistle: “Whoever wins the first race, the first sprint, doesn’t have to run the other nine.”

How do you think that changed my thinking? Instantly, it went from “it’s not a race, I’ll run maybe 80%” to “this *is* a race. I’m running 100%, and the rest of you are going to lose because I’m not running nine more!” Though I didn’t win, the way I ran that sprint—with such intensity and effort—is something I remember to this day.

What Paul’s saying in this verse is, in your attempt to win people to Christ, run with that kind of intensity. Run like there’s only one winner and it’s going to be you. Run that you may obtain people. Now, I might have just tipped my hand about what I think the prize is—winning people outside of Christ. We’ll get there in the next verse, but look down at verse 25a first. The first half of verse 25 says, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.”

All-Encompassing Self-Control of the Athlete

This running to win isn’t like a single sprint. It’s like the day-in, day-out, constant, intense training of a professional athlete. Last time, we mentioned how Usain Bolt trained for about four to six hours, six days a week, eating twice the calories of average adult males because he trained so hard he burned them all off. It’s common for professional athletes’ lives to revolve around their sport—their diet, exercise, sleep, social lives, even where they live, are all dictated by their sport.

Their entire life is affected by their athletic pursuit. If they want to stay at that level, it has to continue that way. Imagine a professional athlete halfway through the season deciding, “You know what? I’m world-class. I don’t need to train like this anymore. I’ll sleep when I want, eat when I want, and train only when I feel like it.” It wouldn’t take long for that athlete to no longer be world-class. They might reach the playoffs or a qualifying race and find they don’t even qualify for the world stage anymore, despite once being among the best.

So when Paul says “every athlete exercises self-control in all things,” he’s highlighting the all-encompassing self-control required of professional athletes. He’s pointing to us, saying that Christians need to practice the same kind of comprehensive self-control in their lives when pursuing people outside of Christ.

Application: Our Pursuit of the Lost

The Corinthians lacked that kind of self-control. They didn’t pursue others with this intensity. Their self-indulgence at the Lord’s table while others starved, their desire for the spotlight with spiritual gifts, their use of freedoms solely for themselves—all stemmed from a lack of self-control.

They believed the lie that rejecting self-control and discipline now, using everything for their own kingdom, would bring no future destruction. They thought, “I don’t have to worry about that costing me something later.”

Is your pursuit of those outside of Christ marked by this kind of intensity and self-control? Is your use of freedoms more like selfless Paul or the selfish Corinthians?

Illustration 2: The Worthy Prize (v. 25b)

The second illustration promoting self-enslavement to win some to Christ concerns a worthy prize. Look at the second half of verse 25: “They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

Here, Paul shifts from the athlete’s required self-control to the athlete’s motivation. The motivation for those competing in the ancient games was a crown, a wreath that was perishable. It was made from some kind of plant life, likely celery foliage. They fashioned a crown from it and awarded it to winners of the Isthmian games—competitions similar to the Olympics and very popular in Corinth. The Corinthians would have known exactly what he meant by the perishable wreath runners pursued.

Two Possibilities for the Imperishable Crown

Then Paul speaks of what ought to motivate the Christian. Why should Christians undertake such a radical pursuit of those outside Christ, like a runner sprinting at 110%, leaving nothing behind? He points to an imperishable crown.

There are multiple possibilities for what this imperishable crown represents. First, it could be the crown of life given by God after death to all who love him. This use of “crown” appears twice in John, once in Peter, once in James, and once elsewhere by Paul. If this were the motivation, the logic would be: “You will die one day, and a crown awaits all who die faithful in Christ. The fact that your life here is finite should motivate you to pursue the infinite. Since there is a God and a coming judgment, look to the future where a crown is stored up for the faithful. Therefore, run with self-control now for future glory.”

The second possibility is that the imperishable crown represents people, specifically God’s elect. Paul uses “crown” this way twice, in Philippians 4 and 1 Thessalonians 2, referring to the believers in Philippi and Thessalonica—God’s elect—as his crown and glory, his reason for boasting: those in Christ whom God used him to save. If this is the intended meaning, then running with self-control and intensity is inherently evangelistic. The motivation is the redemption of God’s elect: “Though you are free, practice self-control and discipline now, and be used by God now as an instrument of salvation for those outside of Christ.”

Considering verse 23, where Paul explicitly says, “I make myself a slave… like a Jew to the Jew… like the weak to the weak so that I may share with them in its blessings,” this second interpretation seems more likely in context. He desires to be used by God to save people and then enjoy the gospel’s blessings *with* them. Thus, the imperishable crown likely represents God’s elect who are not yet redeemed, who haven’t heard and believed the gospel. What motivates the believer to pursue people? What motivates running with 110% intensity, as if in a race? The motivation should be evangelistic: to win some to Christ.

Argument: Greater Motivation for Greater Prize

Paul’s argument in verse 25 becomes simple: If athletes train rigorously, shaping their whole lives around obtaining something that will perish and fade away (like a celery wreath rotting in the fridge), then believers should practice *even more* self-control. Believers should pursue *even harder* that which will *not* perish: the souls of the lost.

Cost of Pursuing the Lost

Think about what he’s saying. God places significant emphasis here on the effort we should exert in saving people. Imagine the resources this would cost: time, energy, possibly money, in pursuing people. Think of the people in your classrooms, on your sports teams. Pursuing them this way would cost you something. You would have to use your freedoms not for yourself, but in pursuit of others. It would be life-altering, not just some small addition to your routine. He’s saying your life should intensely pursue those outside of Christ. It’s not the *only* thing your life is about, but it’s something it *should* be about.

God’s Zeal for Redemption (The Trinity’s Involvement)

Why does God place such a strong emphasis on this? The answer is simple: God is zealous for the redemption of his people. Redemption is a central theme throughout the Bible. God is writing a story of redeeming a defiant people, generation after generation. He is so zealous that he sent his own Son to live a perfect life and be slain by humans. When Christ was crucified, the physical death wasn’t his primary concern. In Gethsemane, he agonized, sweating drops of blood. Why? Was crucifixion that bad? While horrific, he agonized more over drinking the cup of God’s wrath for all who would believe. Behind the human death, he absorbed the punishment for all believers—past, present, and future. That’s why he agonized.

And if that weren’t enough, God, zealous to redeem his elect, poured out his Spirit on the apostles to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, and the ends of the earth. God the Father orchestrates history. God the Son pays the debt we accrued with our sin. God the Spirit empowers us to carry the gospel to all nations as his witnesses. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that in this passage, God desires believers to be equally invested in pursuing the redemption of his people. Believers, *we* are the means by which God brings his people to himself. Scripture doesn’t mention a Plan B. God declared that people *will* come to him, gathered from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and this happens through the believers’ pursuit of those outside Christ.

God’s glory in redeeming his people is at stake. The eternal destiny of unredeemed individuals is at stake.

Address to those Unsure of their Standing with God

If you’re here tonight unsure of where you stand with God, listen carefully. It’s okay to be uncertain; there’s nothing sinful about that state itself. However, it’s *not* okay to remain comfortable there, thinking it’s somehow noble. “It’s good that I’m sort of lost and lack clarity about Christ.” That’s not a good thing. If that describes you, while it’s okay to be in that place temporarily—many of us in Christ have been there—you must strive to figure it out. Strive for confidence about your standing with God. Are you his enemy or his friend?

You already know this, but remember: there isn’t Heaven, Hell, and some third place for people who were merely interested or still thinking about it. God doesn’t categorize people as enemies, friends, and a neutral third party trying to figure things out. That’s not his definition. So, determine where you stand. Talk to your parents, talk to leaders, pray to the Lord for clarity. Strive to add to your faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, and love. By God’s power, work out your faith with fear and trembling so you can have assurance of where you stand with him.

Address to Enemies of God

If you *know* you stand as God’s enemy, listen as well. A day is coming when God will sweep away all his foes and their idols in judgment. His patience with sin will end. There won’t be another day to get right with God, another day to consider the gospel and perhaps accept it after enjoying all the earthly pleasures you desire. There won’t be another day. We don’t know when he will return. Tomorrow isn’t promised.

The gospel message—Christ crucified and poured out as payment for sin—will be of no benefit to you when you stand before God if you’ve rejected it your entire life. There are no second chances after that. But there is time *now*. Think about these things. If you know you stand as God’s enemy now, run to the shelter found in Christ.

Address to Believers: Be Zealous like God

If you have been saved by the blood of the Son of God, listen as well. God is zealous for the redemption of his people. He presents the imperishable wreath as something we should pursue, invest in, and pour our efforts into obtaining. God is zealous for redeeming his people. Does that same zeal characterize you? Are you zealous for the redemption of God’s people? Do you give yourself to the intense pursuit of them?

Scripture gives us multiple ways to do this. But first, I want to say, as someone who has failed often in this—missing opportunities to share the gospel out of fear, choosing comfort over using freedoms to pursue the lost—God is gracious to those of us in Christ who haven’t pursued others as intensely as we ought. God forgives. However, his forgiveness is never an excuse to overlook his commands.

The same grace that saves us also supplies us and trains us to grow in these areas—to pursue godliness, self-sacrifice, self-control, and self-enslavement, excelling still more.

Pursuing the Lost: Without Words (Holy Conduct – 1 Peter)

Scripture gives us two primary ways we should pursue winning people to Christ. One is without words. First Peter instructs us to keep our conduct among unbelievers honorable, holy, and unstained by sin, so that when they observe our good deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits them. The message is clear: pure and upright conduct can be instrumental in some people’s salvation. Seeing the way you live a holy life can be a reason God uses to reconcile his enemies to himself.

Pursuing the Lost: With Words (Gospel Proclamation – Ephesians 1)

The second way Scripture indicates God uses us to reconcile people is not just without words, but *with* words. Ephesians 1 says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Notice, being sealed happened *after* hearing the word of truth, *after* hearing the gospel.

No one will be saved simply by looking at your holy life. No one will say, “Wow, that person never cheats on tests or homework, speaks kindly about their siblings and parents while everyone else complains,” and then get saved without hearing the gospel. Salvation *never* comes apart from hearing the gospel message. Therefore, our holy and upright living must be matched with a clear articulation of the gospel.

So, for those in Christ who know the blessing it is—sins forgiven, a sure hope not built on the sinking sand of this world’s promises—pursue those outside of Christ like you want to win an imperishable wreath.

Illustration 3: The Imitable Example (vv. 26-27)

The final illustration promoting self-enslavement to win some to Christ is Paul’s own imitable example. Look at verses 26 and 27: “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

After giving the analogy of the self-controlled athlete pursuing a prize, Paul applies it to himself. He likewise does the same. He doesn’t run aimlessly; he is self-controlled and runs with purpose. He doesn’t box like someone shadowboxing, merely beating the air; he trains and boxes with intensity.

Paul’s Discipline: “Beat my body,” “Make it my slave”

I appreciate the wording in verse 27: “I discipline my body.” The Greek word here for “discipline” isn’t the usual term. It’s a stronger word meaning to beat until bruised and bleeding, black and blue; to pummel, subdue, subjugate; to strike a heavy blow.

This reminds me of a college roommate whose family member was training as a professional fighter. This fighter would go into his backyard once a week, find a tree with a large, bark-covered trunk, and, wearing shorts, start kicking the tree with his shins until they were bloodied, black and blue. Once one shin was battered, he’d switch to the other. He said it hurt intensely. Afterward, he’d go inside, eat dinner, sleep, wake up, and train the next day, and the day after. A week later, he’d repeat the process. The purpose? So that when he was in the ring and an opponent struck his shins, he wouldn’t feel it. He had disciplined his body in a way that benefited his pursuit of the prize.

The application isn’t for us all to go home and kick trees. But we should seriously consider how we discipline ourselves to pursue people. That’s why Paul uses such strong language.

The second intriguing phrase in verse 27 is “keep it under control.” Some translations render this “make it my slave.” Paul says, “I beat my body black and blue and I make it my slave.” That’s intense language intended to communicate that he is not a slave to his body’s desires. If his body wanted sleep, food, rest, or ease—none of which are inherently bad, and some are necessary—he wasn’t ruled by those desires. His body didn’t command him as if he had no mastery over it. Instead, he made his body *his* slave. He wasn’t dominated by his desires. This is why he could use his freedoms not just for himself; he had enslaved his body to do what *he* willed.

Reason for Discipline: Avoiding Disqualification

Why does he do this? Why practice with such vigor? The reason is given in the latter half of verse 27: “lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Remember the world-class athlete who decided he didn’t need to train anymore? What happened? He ceased to be world-class. He failed to qualify for the main event because he stopped training, stopped practicing self-control.

Meaning of Disqualification (Unfit Instrument)

The word “disqualified” here means to be tested and fail the test; to be proven unfit for the purpose being tested. Paul disciplines his body, runs with purpose, boxes with intensity, and keeps his body enslaved so that he doesn’t become like that disqualified athlete who reaches the qualifying event but can no longer compete effectively.

Paul’s point is this: if he stops using his freedoms this way, if he doesn’t control his body, if he can’t die to himself to serve others, if he doesn’t become like a Jew to win Jews or like the weak to win the weak, if he doesn’t become all things to all people, he still becomes *something*: disqualified. He becomes an unfit instrument in God’s hand for winning people. If you aren’t training yourself in the discipline of dying to self, if you lack self-control, don’t be surprised if the Lord doesn’t use you to save people.

God doesn’t *need* you or me; he chooses to use us. Part of our responsibility in pursuing those outside Christ is dying to ourselves, becoming all things to all people, motivated to win them to him. When these things become our passion, when we genuinely desire to be qualified instruments used by God to save people, *that’s* when the Lord uses us. That’s when he used Paul. Paul didn’t want to become disqualified, so he became like the Jew, like those outside the law, for the sake of winning them.

Final Exhortation & Encouragement (Grace to Grow)

If what I’ve said tonight resonates—if you’re in Christ but realize you don’t pursue people with this intensity—that initial realization is okay. It’s not okay to *stay* there, but God gives grace. The same grace that saves is the grace that trains us to pursue godliness, self-sacrifice, self-control, and self-enslavement. So, as you return to your classrooms, sports teams, and other interactions with lost people, practice these things. Look for opportunities to die to your freedoms, even if it costs you a Tuesday night, some summer free time, money, time, or energy. This is part of what it means to be a Christian—using your freedoms to pursue others. So, grow in these things, excel in these things.

Closing Prayer

Pray with me. Lord, thank you for the clarity of your word and the fact that it holds nothing back; it tells it like it is. Lord, studying and reading this passage was deeply beneficial for my own heart, reading these truths and being convicted by them. Lord, I pray that we would all consider where we stand with you. If we are outside of you, may we be quick to consider the coming judgment and how we can keep nothing from this earth. May we repent, turn to you, and pursue you. And Lord, if we are redeemed by you, if we are blood-bought, then I pray that we pursue these things ever more earnestly as your day draws near. Thank you for your Spirit who builds these things up in us. Thank you for your Son who paid for us. It’s in his name we pray. Amen.