My Body: Sportsmanlike Conduct
1 Corinthians 9:19-27
1. Win! (By giving up)
v. 19 – “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.”
A. Win the religious
v. 20 – “To the Jews 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.”
B. Win the regular man
v. 21: “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.”
C. Win the weak man
v. 22: “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.”
1 Cor. 8:12: “if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again…”
1 Corinthians 9:12: Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
v. 23: I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
2. Run to win
(pictures for tomorrow)
A. Athletic awareness
verse 24: 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.
B. Self control
verse 25: “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”
verse 27: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
C. Aim for the prize
verses 25-26: “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.”
Questions:
- Do you run your rights through the filter of the Gospel? Or do you typically choose the most convenient option?
- How does the Gospel speak to the way you view your body?
- Besides self-control, what are other ways you could use your body as an instrument of worship for the Lord this week?
- How would your week look different if you ran solely focused on the reward from Jesus?
