FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Philippians 3:12-16

Discipline

Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. – Philippians 3:15-16.

It is not enough to run hard and win the race; the runner must also obey the rules. In the Greek games, the judges were very strict about this. Any infringement of the rules disqualified the athlete. He did not lose his citizenship (though he disgraced it), but he did lose his privilege to participate and win a prize. In Philippians 3:15-16, Paul emphasizes the importance of the Christian remembering the “spiritual rules” laid down in the Word.

One of the greatest athletes ever to come out of the United States was Jim Thorpe. At the 1912 Olympics at Stockholm, he won the pentathlon and the decathlon, and was undoubtedly the hero of the games. But the next year officials found that Thorpe had played semiprofessional baseball and therefore had forfeited his amateur standing. This meant that he had to return his gold medals and his trophy, and that his Olympic achievements were erased from the records. It was a high price to pay for breaking the rules. (As a side note, Thorpe’s medals were reinstated in 1985 by the Olympic Committee.)

This is what Paul has in mind in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.” If the athlete breaks training, he is disqualified; if he breaks the rules of the game, he is disqualified. “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). The issue is not what he thinks or what the spectators think but what the judges say. One day each Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12). The Greek word for “judgment seat” is bema, the very same word used to describe the place where the Olympic judges gave out the prizes! If we have disciplined ourselves to obey the rules, we shall receive a prize.

Bible history is filled with people who began the race with great success but failed at the end because they disregarded God’s rules. It is sad but scriptural that those who break the rules lose their rewards (1 Corinthians 3:15). It happened to Lot (Genesis 19), Samson (Judges 16), Saul (1 Samuel 28; 31), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). It can most certainly happen to any of us! I don’t want to be one that has nothing to put at the feet of Jesus in honor of what He has done in our lives. It is an exciting experience to run the race daily. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). It will be even more exciting when we experience that “upward call” and Jesus returns to take us to heaven! Then we will stand before the bema to receive our rewards! It was this future prospect that motivated Paul, and it can and should also motivate us.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Philippians 3:12-16

Determination

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:14.

“I press on” uses the same verb that is found in Philippians 3:12 which is sometimes translated, “I follow after” and it carries the idea of intense endeavor. The Greeks used it to describe a hunter eagerly pursuing his prey. A man does not become a winning athlete by listening to lectures, watching movies, reading books, or cheering at the games. He becomes a winning athlete by getting into the game and determining to win! The same zeal that Paul employed when he persecuted the church (Philippians 3:6), he displayed in serving Christ. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians put as much determination into their spiritual life as they do their golfing, fishing, or bowling?

There are two extremes to avoid here:

1. “I must do it all,” and
2. “God must do it all!”

The first describes the activist, the second the quietist, and both are heading for failure. “Let go and let God!” is a clever slogan, but it does not fully describe the process of Christian living. What quarterback would say to his team, “OK, men, just let go and let the coach do it all!” On the other hand, no quarterback would say, “Listen to me and forget what the coach says!” Both extremes are wrong.

The Christian runner with the spiritual mind realizes that God must work in him if he is going to win the race (Philippians 2:12-13). “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). God works in us that He might work through us. As we apply ourselves to the things of the spiritual life, God is able to mature us and strengthen us for the race. “Rather train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7-8). Some Christians are so busy “dying to self” that they never come back to life again to run the race! And others are so sure they can make it on their own that they never stop to read the Word, pray, or ask for the power of the Lord.

Toward what goal is the runner pressing with such spiritual determination? “The prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). When he reaches the goal he will receive the reward! Again, Paul is not suggesting that we attain to heaven by our own efforts. He is simply saying that just as the athlete is rewarded for his performance, so the faithful believer will be crowned when Jesus Christ returns. (See 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 for a parallel, and note that while only one athlete may receive a prize, all Christians may receive the reward. Furthermore, the laurel wreath of the Olympic Games will fade, but the crown Christ gives will never fade.) The important thing is that we reach the goal He has established for us. No matter how successful we may be in the eyes of men, we cannot be rewarded unless we “press on to make it my [our] own, because Christ Jesus has made me [us] his own” (Philippians 3:12).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Philippians 3:12-16

Direction

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. – Philippians 3:13c.

The unsaved person is controlled by the past, but the Christian running the race looks toward the future. Imagine what would happen on the race course if the charioteers (or the runners) started looking behind them! It is bad enough for a plowman to look back (Luke 9:62), but for a charioteer to do so means a possible collision and serious injury.

We are accustomed to saying “past, present, future,” but we should view time as flowing from the future into the present and then into the past. At least, the believer should be future-oriented, “forgetting what lies behind.” Please keep in mind that in Bible terminology, “to forget” does not mean “to fail to remember.” Apart from senility, hypnosis, or a brain malfunction, no mature person can forget what has happened in the past. We may wish that we could erase certain bad memories, but we cannot. “To forget” in the Bible means “no longer to be influenced by or affected by.” When God promises, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Hebrews 10:17), He is not suggesting that He will conveniently have a bad memory! This is impossible with God. What God is saying is, “I will no longer hold their sins against them. Their sins can no longer affect their standing with Me or influence My attitude toward them.”

So, “forgetting what lies behind” does not suggest an impossible feat of mental and psychological gymnastics by which we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change the meaning of the past. There were things in Paul’s past that could have been weights to hold him back (1 Timothy 1:12-17), but they became inspirations to speed him ahead. The events did not change, but his understanding of them changed.

A good example of this principle is Joseph (Genesis 45:1-15). When he met his brothers the second time and revealed himself to them, he held no grudge against them. To be sure, they had mistreated him, but he saw the past from God’s point of view. As a result he was unable to hold anything against his brothers. Joseph knew that God had a plan for his life, a race for him to run, and in fulfilling that plan and looking ahead, he broke the power of the past.

Too many Christians are shackled by regrets of the past. They are trying to run the race by looking backward! No wonder they stumble and fall and get in the way of other Christians! Some Christian runners are being distracted by the successes of the past, not the failures; and this is just as bad. That which “lies behind” must be set aside and that which “lies ahead” must take their place.

It is possible to have dissatisfaction, devotion, and direction, and still lose the race and the reward. However, there is a fourth essential.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved