Training to win

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

In today’s Epistle reading, Saint Paul compares our earthly journey as Christians to the kind of training that athletes put themselves through. But we must be careful that we do not misunderstand this analogy which Paul uses, so today we will look at ways that this passage could be misunderstood, and at the important message that Paul wants us to hear clearly.

Paul compares his training regimen to that of someone who competes in track or boxing. Both of these sports put an athlete in competition with another athlete; although both are excellent competitors, only one can win the prize. In Paul’s day, the winning athlete received a crown of laurel leaves—today, the champion gets a trophy or medal.

Should we conclude from this that God only lets the best people into heaven, that we have to compete with each other for God’s approval? The Jehovah’s Witnesses seem to believe this. They teach that only 144,000 people will get to live in heaven for eternity—these are the ones who were the best Jehovah’s Witnesses in life. The rest of the believers will get to live eternally on the new earth after the final judgment; while this will be a wonderful existence, it is not as wonderful as being in God’s presence in heaven. These teachings suggest that if you can live a better life than your fellow man, you can achieve greater eternal rewards.

But is this what the Scriptures teach? Does God grade us on a bell curve, and only "A" Christians get into heaven? No—Paul isclear that none of us are "A" Christians; he writes, There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22-24). Paul tells us that we are all alike in two ways: first, we are all alike in that we have failed to live our lives according to God’s standards; second, we are all forgiven and declared acceptable to God freely by our Lord’s loving mercy. And everyone who believes in Jesus’ mercy gets to go to heaven; Saint John writes in Revelation 7:9, 13-17, After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes... Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst...For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." From this passage it is apparent that all believers, all those who have had their sins washed away by the blood of Christ, will enjoy heaven together.

You may have heard some athletes say that they are more concerned with achieving their personal best than with defeating someone else in a contest. It might be helpful to think of Paul’s words in this way. Paul’s concern isn’t in being better than every other Christian; at one point he wrote, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst (1 Timothy 1:15). No, Paul’s concern was that he not end up excluded from the kingdom of God; I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Paul does not see himself in competition with others, but in competition with himself.

But all this talk of competition raises another possible misinterpretation: is Paul teaching that we earn heaven by how well we live our lives? Absolutely not! Paul is adamant in his writings that we can in no way earn heaven through leading holy lives. In Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 he says: it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Much of the book of Romans is dedicated to this subject.

Scripture is very clear—the only way that we can merit heaven is through Jesus’ merits. Our Savior came down from heaven to live a life perfect in thought, word and deed. Jesus is the only one who has ever lived a perfect life, and He lived that life for us—Jesus’ perfect life is His gift to us through faith. When we believe that Jesus has kept all of God’s laws and expectations for us so that we don’t have to be perfect, our heavenly Father credits us with Jesus’ perfect obedience. By faith, we have access to a life that is pleasing to God and leads to heaven.

Jesus not only came down from heaven to live, He also came down to die. Jesus not only came to give His life to us, He also came to take away our death and make it His own. Sin is disobedience to God; sin is ignoring what God wants us to do, thereby violating His perfect laws. We have all sinned, and the God who made an ordered universe cannot tolerate the disorder that disobedient behavior brings about. Our sins had merited God’s punishment of eternal death in hell. But out of His great love for us, Jesus gave us His life in exchange for our death. Jesus took the responsibility for our disobedience and suffered all His Father’s holy anger that we had deserved. Because Jesus suffered and died on our behalf, we can be forgiven for every sin when we trust in Jesus’ loving mercy, and we can look forward to eternal, sinless life with God.

In his explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther writes "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." Our faith, our ability to believe, does not come from within us—it is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Faith is what allows us to ask for forgiveness and trust that Jesus will give it; faith is what allows us to ask for eternal life in heaven and trust that our heavenly Father will welcome us in. Faith gives us access to heaven; faith alone, not works.

All of which raises a third question: if heaven is ours for free, purely by God’s loving mercy and His gift of faith to us, why does Paul emphasize the importance of training? If God does all the work of saving us from ourselves, why do I need to ‘keep in spiritual shape’? Once again we turn to Scripture. In Jeremiah chapter 9, God said of His stubborn people: See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? Although they were God’s children by faith, the Israelites still sinned every day (as we do), and God still hates sin. So God told them through Jeremiah that they would go through a period of refinement and testing, so that in the end they would sin less.

When metals are refined, they go through great heat so that impurities can be removed. When materials are tested, they go through a stress that makes them stronger. This is not much different than exercise—the more you put strain on your muscles, the stronger they will become. Now what God refined and tested in the Israelites is the same thing that Paul recommends that we exercise: faith. When we first become Christians, our faith is a small, weak thing; Paul told the church members in Corinth, Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). Over time, as we feed on God’s Word and Sacraments, our faith grows, becoming stronger and more mature.

Any faith, no matter how weak, does save—the thief on the cross next to Jesus was assured of heaven, and he only received the gift of faith a few hours before his death (Luke 23:39-43). But a stronger faith is something that every Christian should want. Saint Peter warns us, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Peter 5:8-9). The way that we stand up to our enemy the devil is through our faith. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, Jesus withstood temptation by putting His trust in the word of God as His defense (Matthew 4:1-11). When Satan comes after us, he is not concerned with hurting our bodies or minds, he wants to get us to give up our faith. Without faith, there is no forgiveness of sins, no eternity in heaven; if you don’t believe that Jesus will forgive you or that He can raise you from the dead on the last day, you will see no reason to ask for these things. Forgiveness and eternal life are ours for the asking, but if we do not ask, they remain beyond our reach. Without faith we are lost and condemned creatures, condemned to the same hell as the devil is.

A strong faith is needed to withstand the temptation to doubt. Satan whispers in our ears, trying to make us doubt our God and His love for us. "The church doesn’t know what you need to be happy; how dare they tell you that the things which give you pleasure are sins!" "God doesn’t love you—if He did, He wouldn’t let these bad things happen to you." "God could never forgive that sin." At the heart of them all, every temptation from Satan is basically this: "You are not loved by God." And because you are not loved by God, you’d just as well go out and love yourself, indulging in anything that makes you feel good today.

It takes a strengthened faith to spot the devil’s lies. It takes an experienced faith to accept the truth that many of the things that we enjoy get between us and God. It takes a mature faith to see how God brings about growth in us through the tough times. It takes an established faith to remain assured of God’s love and forgiveness even after we have committed a terrible sin. God has promised to help us through every temptation, but if we let the devil mislead us we can lose our way and end up racing down the wrong path. If we let Satan distract us into lowering our guard, we leave ourselves open to a hellish sucker punch.

Our Lord gives us many ways to exercise and train our faith. We have weekly church services where we hear the Word and receive the holy Sacraments, causing us to grow in the faith together. We have Sunday School and adult Bible class, where we receive intensive training on different facets of the holy Scriptures. We have our daily devotional time at home, where we shut away the distractions of the world and devote all our attention to the work that our Lord seeks to accomplish within us. Anywhere that there is a Bible, there is an opportunity to be in God’s word and to grow in the faith.

Faith is acting with trust. Satan counters this with his temptation to be suspicious, cynical, or sarcastic. Paul advises you to train yourself. Train yourself to be trusting, not suspicious. Train yourself to assume the best, not the worst. Design a training regimen that includes a healthy daily dose of God’s Word, and excludes time spent on activities that distract from heaven. Run in such a way that you will receive a crown that lasts forever, the crown of righteousness, the crown that declares you a member of God’s royal priesthood that will serve Him in joy forever.