>> Jen: Good morning, faith listeners. I hope you all have had a wonderful week so far. Today we're going to be talking about the Olympics and Olympic Games and how Paul uses the analogy of the Olympics to talk about our faith. Stay tuned for that. I do have an update on Bandit before we begin today's episode. I asked you guys last week to pray for my little puppet Bandit, um, because he wasn't doing very well. He was very, very sick. He was super dizzy, he was throwing up all over the place.
He was walking into walls, walking in circles and just very unsteady, constantly falling over, which is a really bad thing for a 13 year old dog. And so I took him to the vet and they gave him some medicine and did a, uh, full physical on him. They didn't find anything wrong. They looked in his ears, didn't see any problems. And it was a really rough going this past weekend for Bandit and for actually me and Garett as well because we hate seeing our dog, like in
pain. And so we didn't think he was getting much better. But yesterday he has had a marked improvement. It almost seems like his world just isn't spinning anymore, which is wonderful. He's still kind of shaky and still, um, a little bit dizzy looking, but it's been significantly better. And he's eating food, he's drinking water. He just seems a little bit more, more chipper than he was, especially with the past week. And he even played a little bit with us last night.
So that's really exciting. So thank you guys for the prayers for little Bandit. And of course, if you ever have a prayer request, feel free to email me, which my email is listed in the description of this episode. And I will read your prayer request and write you down in my little prayer journal and pray for you for this week. Guys, let's go ahead and read First uh, 1 Corinthians 9, 19-27 And let's get into this whole analogy of the Olympics and
running the race with endurance. I'll be reading from the web as I always do.
For though I was free from all I brought myself under bondage, to all that I might gain, the more to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law that I might gain those who are under the law to those who are without the law, as without the law, not being without law toward god, but under law toward Christ, that I might win those who are without the law to the weak I became as weak that I might gain the weak I
have become all things to all men that I may by all means save some. Now, I do this for the sake of the good news that I might be a joint partaker of it. Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Every man who strives in the games exercises self control in all things. They do it to receive a corruptible crown. But we an incorruptible. I therefore run like that,
not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air, but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected. So this passage of scripture actually, um, throughout the ages, caused certain Christians to believe that they needed to torture themselves in order to get closer to Christ. Christians are crazy sometimes.
We'll get into that in a second. But to start in verse 19, Paul is saying, for though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all that I might gain, the more meaning. Paul was born as a free man. He was not a slave. At any point in his entire life, he was a free man. In fact, he was a Roman citizen, which was something that pretty much everybody in Paul's day strived to be, because a Roman citizen had tons of benefits.
But though Paul was a Roman citizen and a free man, like kind of the upper echelon of society, he was also a Pharisee for a while. He chose to become a slave to everybody so that some people would be more likely to accept the Gospel message from him. He says, to the Jews, I became as a Jew that I might gain Jews, and to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law. When Paul was in front of Jews, his language would change a little
bit. He would refrain from certain foods when he was with the Jews, he wouldn't eat anything that was considered unclean. He would follow all of the Old Testament laws to a T. He would do everything that the Jews did so that he could spread the Gospel message to the Jews and that they would look at his lifestyle and be like, wow, you know this guy, he's like a proper Jew. I should listen to what he has to say. He was a Pharisee at one point,
so. So Paul would change his tune a little bit when he was in front of other Jews so that he would gain the respect of those Jews and potentially be able to minister to them and guide them to Jesus more effectively. He says, to those who are without the law I became as one without the law not being. And then he qualifies it, not being without law toward God but under law toward Christ.
So he, uh, corrects that very quickly. He's like, not that I am lawless, not that I think that the Old Testament laws are nothing and nobody should ever follow them. But when I was in front of Greeks, I would become more like a Greek. I would exercise the grace that god has given me. I would eat food with them. I wouldn't demand for them to be circumcised. I would treat them as my brothers. And then the Greeks would look at Paul and they'd be like, wow, you know, this Pharisee,
he's really cool. He's. He's eating with us. He doesn't seem, like, uptight or stuck up. Maybe I should listen to what he has to say. Then he says to the weak, I became as weak that I might gain the weak. Now who is Paul talking about here when he says the weak? He's not talking about physically weak. He's talking about the people who are weak in conscience. We talked about all of that in First uh, 1 Corinthians 8,
the previous chapter. People who are weak in conscience are those who are a little bit more legalistic. You know, they think that they have to follow certain rules and do certain things and certain actions in order to get closer to Christ. For example, in the previous chapter, 1 uh, 1 Corinthians 8, Paul talked about, um, eating meat that was dedicated to idols. Paul said, it's fine for a Christian to eat meat that is dedicated to idols because we know that those
idols are nothing. It has no significance to us Christians. But then he said, but to some people who are weaker in conscience, it does have significance. And I will not eat that meat in front of those people because their consciences are a, uh, little bit weaker. They don't understand that that blessed meat is just meat without any significance whatsoever. So Paul said, I would rather never eat meat for the rest of my life. You'd rather refrain from eating meat? I
would die. I, uh, love meat so much, I would die if I had to refrain from meat. Especially on my current diet right now, where all I can really eat is meat and vegetables. If I could only eat vegetables, I'd die. Like, that would be the end of me. There'd be no podcast tomorrow. But Paul was willing to give up something as delicious as meat in order to not cause somebody to sin who has a weaker conscience. So Paul says, to those who were weak, I became as weak as well.
So that I might gain the weak meaning that he might lead those people to potential salvation. I have become all things to all men that I may by all means save some. Now, this doesn't mean that Paul is flip flopping on critical issues. This doesn't mean that Paul is teaching one thing to one group and teaching another to another group. Absolutely not. All Paul is saying is that he himself is willing to basically become a slave of
whoever he is in front of. And he is also willing to live their lifestyles so that he can befriend them and have an intimate conversation with them. We actually see Paul do this quite a lot in the book of Acts, actually. For example, when he was teaching in front of the philosophers, the Greek philosophers, you'll see that his entire language changed.
When he was in front of the philosophers. He simplified the Gospel message because they had never heard it before, but he spoke very intelligently as well to them. And then when he was in front of the Jews, we see that he changes his language then as well. He becomes more focused on the Old Testament laws because that was what the Jews understood. But moving forward, in verse 23, he says, Now I do this for the sake of the good news, that I might be a joint
partaker of it. And then he gives this illustration as to what we are supposed to do with the Gospel message. Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Now, of course, in Paul's day, you know that the Olympics were a big thing. Games and sport were a very big part of Roman and Greek culture. And actually Corinth also was pretty prestigious in their games. The Isthmian Games were like second in
popularity to the Olympic Games. And they were similar to the Olympics, but they would be held every two years in the spring in Corinth, specifically on the Isthmus of Corinth, which was like a little land bridge thing. And the Isthmian Games were specifically held in honor of the sea god Poseidon. So the uh, 1 Corinthians, who Paul is writing to would have been very well versed in their Olympics and their Isthmian Games and also athletes who are participating in these games.
So Paul gives that example. And you'll actually see that Paul often will use the example of games or running a race or building up your body, something like that, because it was just so popular in the days of Paul. If Paul were alive nowadays, he'd probably use the example of like football, American football, not soccer. But I Guess he might use the example of soccer or baseball maybe, because that's the kind
of sports that are popular nowadays. But in Paul's day, it was the Olympics and it was the Ispian Games. So now, now using that example in verse 24, he says, don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? So you also must run like that that you may win. Now what is Paul talking about here? He's not talking about salvation, because we know that salvation is not earned. It is something that is freely given to us. So this entire passage is not talking about
salvation. Instead it's talking about receiving a prize, standing before god, and god giving us a reward for all of the hard work that we did here on earth, instead of standing before god and watching all of our works get burned up, which is, uh, something that Paul talked about a few chapters ago. Someday are we going to stand in front of Christ and be ashamed of the work we did here on Earth, or are we going to be blessed for that work and receive a prize
for it in the end? So Paul says, run the race as if you are trying to win. He says, every man who strives in the games exercises self control in all things, and they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible crown. So there you go. It's not talking about salvation, but the crown that we are going to receive, the prize for all of the hard work that we did here on earth. And he's like, look, athletes are running in the Olympic Games or whatever so that they can receive
this prestige and honor. And they are so focused and so dedicated on winning that prize that they train themselves in every single possible way. They refrain from eating certain foods, they get up early and they exercise. I mean, even nowadays, like, look at these Olympic athletes that we see on tv. They are the best of the best, other than the breakdancing thing that happened this year. But we won't talk about that.
For the most part, Olympic athletes are like the tippy top of the human physique, right? When we think of an Olympic athlete, we think of somebody that is strong, that is coordinated, who is disciplined. And what are these Olympic athletes working for? A gold medal. Paul calls that the corruptible crown. Because that gold medal, ultimately we can't take that
with us into eternity. You know, it's something prestigious and something cool that you can have here on Earth, but you're not going to take that with you into eternity. But for us as Christians, we are Training hard for an eternal gift that will never be corrupted at any point in time. Paul says, look at the discipline that these athletes have. Why don't more Christians have that same level of commitment for a prize that is so much better than just a mere gold
medal? Especially when we claim to be followers of Christ. Like, can you imagine if an Olympic athlete was like, yeah, you know, I'm gonna go to the Olympics this year, and they cheated on their diet, they didn't wake up, they didn't train, they didn't really do what they were supposed to do in order to become the best of the best. Like, that would be unthinkable. No Olympic athlete would ever do that. So why are we Christians doing that same
thing? When we claim to be followers of Christ, we should instead train like Olympic athletes. He says, therefore, I run like that. Not aimlessly. I fight like that. Not beating at the air, but I beat my body and bring it into submission. Similarly, how the Olympic athletes would beat their body into submission. Not physically, not like they're punching themselves or torturing themselves or something like that. No, but they are beating
their body into submission. They are doing everything they possibly can to win that gold medal. And Paul says he is doing the exact same same thing. Not beating his body physically, not beating himself up, but he is running the race with a purpose. And what's really cool is at the end of Paul's life, he actually says, I have run the race and I have finished the course. So Paul, at the end of his life, was not ashamed of what he had done. He realized that for years and years and years, he
strived for this purpose. And he actually achieved it at the end of his life. And he knew he achieved it. He was proud of the work that he had done while he was alive. So as Christians, we should be doing the same thing. And it is very difficult. What's the old saying? If it's easy to do, it's not worth, uh, doing. Hard things are hard to do, but they are worth it in the long run. And, you know, here on Earth, we might never see a reward for all of our hard work. We probably won't, actually.
But, uh, this life is not about the here and now. When we believe in Jesus, our lives are for eternity. That when this body dies, our soul remains, and someday our souls, each and every one of us are going to go meet our maker. And what is he going to say to us at the end? Is he going to say, yeah, you claim to be a Christian, but your life and your actions don't really show it. In fact, you did a lot of damage to a lot of people.
Is that what god is going to say to you? Or are you going to be able to stand before god someday and he's going to say to you, well done, good and faithful servant, and then give you a reward better than you can ever possibly imagine? So Paul says the choice is yours. He says he beats his body and brings it into submission, lest by any means, after he has finished preaching to others, he himself should be rejected. So it's
not about the preaching. You know, a lot of people think that just because preachers are preaching that they can do no wrong, that they're really good people, that they just have it all together. You might think that about me. And I can tell you, I do not have it all together. I am pretty messed up. In fact, I was talking to my husband about this when he came on the podcast only a few episodes ago. I was joking with him and I was like, now people are going to think we have the perfect marriage
and we don't. We don't have the perfect marriage because every single one of us is a fallen individual. We are all fallen. And Paul was also a fallen individual. He was a human being, the same as you and I. So it's not about the preaching and the outward display of faith that other people can see. It's not about all that. What it's about is our heart and our personal faith and our personal walk with Jesus. And that is what god is going to
look at. In the Old Testament, when Samuel was trying to find the next king of Israel after Saul was corrupted, god told him to go to Jesse's household because one of Jesse's sons would be the next king. So Samuel goes to Jesse's household and he sees this strong, strapping young man, the oldest brother of all of the brothers. And Samuel's like, yeah, it's certainly this guy. This is definitely the guy God wants to anoint as the next king. And God came to Samuel and he's like, no,
I don't look at the outward appearance. I look at the heart. It is not this man. And then what do you know? Six year old David comes in. A nice looking boy is what the Bible calls him. And that was the king that God had chosen. It's about the heart and what our personal faith with Jesus looks like. So each of us must run this race with endurance, working on following and loving god and loving other people to the best of our heart's ability. Thank you so much, faithful listener for tuning in to
this episode. If you'd like to contact me, you will find my contact information listed in the description of this episode. Or you can go over to my website, which is p40ministries.com and contact me there and actually check out the website. I never tell you guys to do that, but it's probably a good thing to do if you want to see everything that's going on. I've got the blog, I've got the shop, I've got my statement of faith, I have pictures of Bandit,
which is very important. And I also have just links to my books and to the YouTube channel and everything else that I do as well. So go to P40 like the number P40Ministries.com so you can check everything out. Anyway, faithful listeners, I hope you have a fantastic and wonderful rest of your weekend. As you know, the podcast for tomorrow is for members
only. So if you're interested in becoming a member, you have to go over to Ko Fi, which is linked in the description of this episode, and sign up for the Ko Fi tier in order to gain access to the Friday podcast episodes. And right now we are going through the Book of Psalms and it's a really good time. But anyway, faithful listeners, I'll see you guys all on Monday. Happy listening, Happy weekend and God bless.