February 3
Shadow Boxing Christians
1Co 9:26… so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
The winter Olympics will start soon
in Russia. According to Olympic.org, the ancient Olympics were started about
776 BC in Greece on the plains of Olympia. They were developed to honor the
gods of Olympus, especially Zeus. The
games continued nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393
A.D. that all such "pagan cults" be banned. When Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth he
used metaphors taken from sporting events.
The Corinthians could easily identify with those sports and understand
what Paul was saying.
There were lots of problems in the divided church at
Corinth. Paul addressed those in 1st Corinthians and in chapter 9 gave
them some examples how he prepared himself for proper Christian living. Even
when Paul knew his execution was at hand he compared his life to sports.
2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of
my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Paul saw this life as a struggle
against ungodliness. Here he compares it
to a fight. He also knew it was a long
continual struggle when he says I have finished my course. And with all the fighting, and enduring he
assures the Corinthians he has kept the faith.
Few Corinthians could claim the same thing. Most of them were not
fighting against evil, but one another. Few,
if any, finished the course but stopped along the way. Other than their
salvation, many were not even in the race.
Faith was in short supply at the First Church of Faithfulness in Corinth.
Php
2:16 ..that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain.
When writing to the Philippians he
expresses hope that he has not run in vain. He wants them to get the idea that
the Christian life takes preparation, effort and has direction and a goal.
Ga 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you
that ye should
not obey the truth?
In Galatians he reminds the churches
of that region that they started well.
He asks what hindrance did they have that they could not continue
running well.
1Co 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.
Paul asks the people in Corinth if
they have forgotten how a race works. Did you forget that everyone in a race is
running. They are aware that only one
will come in first, but that doesn’t discourage them so they are satisfied with
being last. No, they have trained and
prepared and are doing their best to win. You Corinthians should all be running for the
spiritual prize.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery
is
temperate in all things.
The people who strive to win prepare
themselves. They watch what they eat, how they workout, what they do, and how
they spend their time. They are careful about everything all the time.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;
so fight
I, not as one that beateth the air:
Paul reminds them of
his running style. He is prepared and is not just running with neither purpose
or goal. He has both. His running is with certainty, not uncertainly. Then he describes how he fights. I don’t know
what kind of fights the ancient Olympics had but Paul tell the Corinthians that
when he fought the good fight of faith it was for real. He did not go through
the motions. He did not fight against shadows, or poke holes in the air. He was
engaged and the fight was real. Too many of the Christians in Corinth were
going through the motions without accomplishing anything. They were shadow boxing.
Heb
12:1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
In Hebrews 11, that great Faith chapter, some of the great
men of faith are listed; Able, Enoch, Adam etc.
In Hebrews 12 these men of great faith are the “great cloud of witnesses. Those who would run are encouraged to not
carry any weights with them. They are
cautioned not to let their feet get entangled in sin. Lastly they are told to
patiently continue running in the race God has set before them.
And one final sports related verse you will have no trouble
understanding. No blood, no Foul!
Heb 12:4 ¶ Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving
against sin.
The application from these sports related verses is not
difficult. How are you running the Christian
race? How do you prepare? Are you temperate in all things? Are you even in the race? Maybe you started strong and stopped along
the way? What hindered you? OH, maybe
you are trying to run with weights, like a heavy conscience, or bitterness, or
anger. Those will all slow you down or
even stop you from being faithful effective runners for God. Oh dear, are those sins that are tangled
around your feet? Shake them off and watch where you run.
Oh, by the way. I have a full box of band-aids if you have
gotten bloody resisting the sins of this world.
Oh, you don’t need any? Not many
Christians do. Bless you as you learn
to run better. Perhaps we all need to
spend more time in God’s gymnasium. I’ll meet you there. I’ll be the sweaty guy
on the treadmill, learning to walk.
Eph
5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as
children of light:
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