Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy holy word hast called us into Thy vineyard: Send, we beseech Thee, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Thy vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Thy word and do Thy will, and put our whole and only trust in Thy grace, which Thou hast bestowed upon us so plenteously through Thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Background for the Sermon
The Corinthians knew all about races. We think about the Olympian games, but there were many smaller competitions. Cities might be at war but they put their weapons down for the games and went back to war later. The Olympic games had only one prize - first - for a particular sport, but the smaller ones allowed for multiple prizes, according to Lenski.
The 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 should be considered in light of winning that one great prize. Whether the competition was for running, the javelin, or another sport, the Olympic winner won with no one in second or third place. Therefore, the prize was treasured and sought after.
Alexander the Great, three centuries before, spread the Greek culture and the games. Most of what we prize today comes from Greece because the Romans coveted those achievements and spread them in their later and larger empire. The Romans had the drains, but the Greeks had the brains - as they say.
We have literature, history, drama, comedy, poetry, sculpting, painting, law, the democratic republic, science, architecture, professional engineering and warfare, and math - all from the Greek city states.
Paul is saying - look at the example of the Olympic winner in his sport. He practiced self-control and discipline in every possible way to gain that prize. Those who get side-lined by other concerns and by their vanity do not win the prize.
It is ironic that 2,000 years later, the sports analogy is just as true now as it was then. My high school classmate Lawrence Eyre was recognized for his success as a tennis coach - by
Sports Illustrated magazine. As we all know, to win requires years of teaching, exercise, practice, and coaching.
So Paul is not commending sport as such but "do thus" - all those things they do to win first prize - "do thus" with the same dedication and discipline and humility. We knew many athletes at Moline in the 1960s. Teams - even the band - went to the state contests. Some individuals were perfect in the eyes of the family and could do not wrong, which led to some sad outcomes. Others maintained the discipline and focus, achieved the prize and the recognition. That is easier to teach when it has been practiced so long.
Pilgrim's Progress is an extended analogy of that thought. The road Christian takes is full of distractions, pitfalls, delusions, and traps. He is on his way to the Heavenly City, which he seeks with such ardor that he finds his way out of each mistake with teaching from the Scriptures. The author's favorite book after the Bible was Luther's
Galatians Lectures.
1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
The first part of this lesson is the warning or admonition. This could be named the Superbowl example of the New Testament. Paul used the biggest athletic event in his time to provide a comparison to the Christian life, followed by Old Testament example.
The Olympics were held every four years. Among many athletic events, this was the biggest and most important. Significantly, there was only one prize for each event, so that is why Paul wrote about "the prize" rather than prizes. In addition, the event already had a long and famous past, going back to the glory days of the Greek city-states, the golden age of Athens, when our entire Western heritage came into existence, including non-political games.
We still admire those who win foot-races, whether long distance (named after the Marathon run) or short distance sprints. Paul is writing here about an Olympic run with one prize, first. Everyone runs, but only one earns the prize. His comparison made to the dedication and discipline needed to win that prize among many who are part of that race.
"So run." Paul is saying, So run the race as a Christian, that with faith, self-control, and discipline, you will win that prize - eternal life. Here the notion of Christianity being other-worldly is completely refuted. Two extremely talented quarterbacks were in the Superbowl, and we judge teams by the quarterback. One was victorious and the other, though second among all the teams, is largely forgotten. A member from long ago got me interested in the Bengals, and we watched an Augustana College classmate, Ken Anderson, go all the way to the Superbowl - where they lost, for whatever reasons.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
Paul gives this analogy a lot of space because people from all times and cultures can understand it. "The Bible is so out-of-date," the skeptics declare. So the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is clothed in the uniform of the runner. God is not simply the One who speaks the Truth - He is Truth. As I pointed out to one reader, God created light before He created (by the Logos, the Son) the sun and stars. We tend to think - light comes from the sun, stars, and fire. But the Bible teaches us that the true Light is the Son of God. Jesus does not illustrate what ignition and solar power are - they illustrate what He is - the source of all Truth and Light.
Note that the occult forces, which all work in darkness and evil, try to claim the light for themselves. They say, "Come to us and find light, truth, wisdom." Someone involved in the occult was making strange faces as me when I talked at a meeting. My wife asked about it. I said, "Oh, she was sending me light. She told me she would." Someone can be outwardly Christian, yet inwardly so warped in understanding that occult magic is understood as powerful and under our control. Demonic power is great, but it belongs to their Father Below, something the false teachers do not like to hear.
We live in an age where the horrors of the occult are being practiced by the great, the wise, the powerful. They will not give up their human sacrifices easily. Abortion is just one aspect of all that they protect and practice, disguised as a right though condemned by common law and the Scriptures.
striving for mastery - temperate in all things.
The athlete who wants to obtain that prize will be self-controlled in every aspect of his life, from diet to sleep to exercise. The athlete who wins is not someone who decides spontaneously to try, but spends a long time in training. At the very least, a sudden plunge into competitive racing is going to lead to physical injuries and an inability to continue the race (dehydration, loss of electrolytes).
obtain the crown - the crown, or stephanos. Many of us believe the references to the crown or the crown of life are intended to remind people of the first martyr - Stephan, whose name means crown in Greek. The corruptible crown was laurel leaves worn on the head, a great honor but one that faded quickly. The incorruptible is eternal life.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
Paul used himself as an example because he had special duties as an apostle. He represented the message of the risen Lord, as a witness of the resurrection. That gave him enormous power to exploit if he wished. As I mentioned to one reader this week, he made a point of dealing gently with the congregations, even though their failings were enough to make him explode in anger. He was very fierce and immediate with the Galatians, but note that he pleaded with them to remember the true Gospel which they first heard and how he himself as an apostle would damn himself for departing from Justification by Faith.
For 20 centuries that has been known as his short, clear testimony about Justification by Faith. But people now use their synodical authority to say just the opposite, disguising their falsehoods in various lies and diversions. Now we are to understand, based on the essay (not Epistle) by Uncle Fritz that Paul taught Objective Justification, universal forgiveness without faith.
An uncertain runner is a funny image. How many of us have put our feet down wrong and started to stumble? - lucky if we could catch ourselves before a complete tumble? The gait of the runner must be certain and measured so he is strong enough to sprint at the end. The Christian life, therefore, is not impulsive for a few months or years, but a long, measured, disciplined journey.
Beating the air - My father used to say, "I am not just beating my gums when I say that." Today we might say "shadow boxing," pretending but doing no damage.
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Paul's personal example is the opposite of today's wisdom, where we are to obey our impulses, because impulses are natural. That is true but in the wrong sense of the word. There are many examples of athletes trying something impulsively and paying a big price for it. One soccer player decided to fake an injury (apparently they test players for acting ability first). He was lying down in front of the goal he was supposed to protect when the ball went in. That looks very bad in replay.
Fear is an impulse, when faith flies out the window and impulses take over. Acting on fear is a bad idea (unless it is based on safety, as a utility engineer would say). Fearful Christians think about the worst results of doing the right thing instead of trusting God in all matters. One bad experience may prove to be the door that opens the way to new and better things for the believer's life.
I have talked to pastors when they looked around fearfully lest someone hear that they were about to question the infallibility of the synod. I had so many "private!" letters sent that I had a red ink stamp that read "BURN THIS LETTER!" Before email, I used that red ink stamp on all correspondence to challenge their fears and make them laugh.
Part II -The Scriptural Reminder for All of Us
10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
The next part warns people that not everyone who starts the journey as a Christian completes it. I can think of many examples, stemming from the desire to be very big, important, and treated to the best things in life. Paul's point was that he needed to suppress his ambition and desires to remain faithful.
Later on in the chapter (verses 11-12) Paul explains this fact, saying: “Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition... wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” The design of these dealings of God with Israel is to terrify the pride, false wisdom and self-will; to deter men from despising their fellows and from seeking to make the Word of God minister to their own honor or profit in preference to the honor and profit of others. The intent is to have each individual put himself on an equality with others, each to bear with his fellow, the weak enduring the strong, and so on, as enjoined in the four chapters.
The biggest names among the Evangelicals have tumbled in recent years - Hybels, Schaap, Hyles, Schuller, Driscoll, and another one in the Chicago area. They are known for thousands of followers each and a dictatorial style that seemed to work so well - until it did not. In each case, they decided the race course belonged to them, and they made the rules. The profile of each one is alarmingly similar. But they were blind to it. As one from Canada said, some years ago, "I owned Toronto, religiously speaking." He became an atheist because the inerrancy of the Scriptures gnawed at him and his ambitions (I imagine) kept him from understand the Gospel he manipulated so well.
Those are big, flashy, explosive examples that can be studied from dozens of Internet stories and lawsuits. Many more ordinary stories are just as tragic because they begin well with modesty and faith.
Our Old Adam does not like the cross, and it would not be the cross if we enjoyed the experience. The greatest of the apostles was mocked, hounded, and undermined among his own members, but that created Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, at the least. The troubles were universal and timeless, so his inspired wisdom is also universal and timeless.
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
This example is our warning, because the ancient Israelites were like us. They were figuratively baptized by Moses under the cloud (the Son) and the sea, which they passed through. Lenski like to point out that the only ones immersed in the Bible were those who drowned in the Flood and in the Egyptian Army in the Red Sea. Thus baptism shows the combination of water and the Word, not the necessity of immersion.
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
13. In other words, they believed in the same Christ in whom we believe, though he was yet to come in the flesh; and the sign of their faith was the material rock, from which they physically drank water, just as we in partaking of the material bread and wine at the altar spiritually eat and drink the true Christ. With the outward act of eating and drinking we exercise inward faith. Had the Israelites not possessed the word of God and faith as they drank from the rock, the act of drinking would not have benefited their souls. Neither would it profit us to receive bread and wine at the altar if we were without faith. Indeed, had not the Word of God come first, the rock would not have yielded water and command faith.
The Old Testament is not something from the distant past that we can ignore for being so ancient. The Old Testament prepares us for the Sacraments of the New Testament - the Promises of God associated with common earthly elements. The Israelites were motivated by the Gospel Promises and the hope of the Promised Land. God provided many different miracles so they would be strengthened in that journey.
The same helps are used today. Anniversaries of all types are celebrated to remind people of the past. Some anniversaries are warnings, others remind us to be thankful. I began noting 50th anniversaries in my high school class. In the process I found that a girl from a downtown business (near the Melo Cream Donut Shop) was not only a famous actress with a famous husband, but married
The Old Testament teaches us that all the events of that distant era are valid for us today and link us to the New Testament in more ways than we think at times. The foundation of Promises is there and is just as relevant today as it was before. If you think foundations are not significant, buy a luxury apartment in the high-rise built without a foundation on solid rock: The Millennium Tower, which continues to sink.
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
This Rock is very important, because it is not the small rock - Petros, but the Rockledge - Christ. The Church of Rome wants us to believe that Jesus said He would build His Church on Peter and so named him Rock.
However, it seems suspicious that Jesus would build a divine institution upon the merits of a human being - who rebuked Him for predicting the cross. Jesus was saying He would build the Church on Himself - not Peter and not Peter's confession of faith.
The Sacraments help us and they continue the Promises made by
God, but even so, many take them for granted, become indifferent, and drift away. Others see an instrument for power and wealth. So their own evil and avarice overthrows them. It must be this way, that the ones who follow the Prince of this World will prosper but only for a short time. Those who follow Christ will bear the cross, but see in the cross many blessings.
Luther goes on to say that when Moses struck the rock, when they needed fresh water, that was a miracle, like speaking the Word of God. If he had not struck the rock, the water would not have flowed from that rock.
This is compared to speaking the Word of God. If we do not let that flow, then there are no miraculous results. If we do, the Word will accomplish God's will.
I suggested to one reader that we should not be drawn into comparing Lutheran confessions with those of the Calvinists. The reason is that the Word of God always teaches, always has an effect. Doctrinal works are as good as the truth they convey, more easily resisted by foes and by friends.
The Lutheran Reformation drew all teaching directly from the Scriptures. Later, the dogmatics texts tended to become Talmudic, basing truth on layers and layers of traditional books, whether good or bad, but never having the power of the Scriptures themselves. If a Calvinist wanted to tell me the Spirit is not always present in the worship service and sacraments, I would quote Isaiah 55 and perhaps send a graphic along his way. "Never returns void" makes it impossible to find an exception.
"Nothing happened!" may be a favorite Lutheran cover-up, but no one can apply it to the rain, the snow, or the Word of God.
