Jump Start # 1338

1 Corinthians 9:27 “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

  In our verse today, Paul lets us inside his mind and heart to help us understand how he does things. It’s a very revealing insight and helpful for us in our walk with the Lord. In this section of Corinthians, Paul references several sporting events. He talks about running a race. He talks about boxing. The goal is to win the prize. For the Christian the prize was not a wreath of garland to be worn on the head, it was the prize of Heaven. Paul refers to exercising self control. Our verse uses the expression, “discipline my body.”

There are some great lessons from our verse today.

1. It is easier to preach a lesson than it is to live the lesson. Talk can be cheap. It’s making those life choices that are hard. Out of the pulpit, the preacher must apply the very things he taught others to himself. Often many eyes are upon the preacher. He said it, now he must live it. That’s hard. It’s hard for any, but especially for the one who has been trying to show others how to walk by faith and live righteously. The preacher must apply the lesson to himself.

2. Preaching a lesson doesn’t automatically grant you a special place in the line going to Heaven. Paul had to exercise self control and discipline himself, otherwise he would be disqualified. The preacher isn’t excluded from having to grow, learn and become. He needs those traits in his life as well.

3. How terrible it would be for some to have heard the preacher and be saved, while the preacher was lost. That was a possibility. When Paul used the expression, ‘disqualified,’ it was intended to mean from Heaven. Without self control and discipline, the preacher who helped saved others would be lost himself. What a strange twist that would be.

4. We are to be in control of our minds, body and passions. This is what self control means. It is the control of self. Included in this list would be our anger, our words, our passions and our emotions. Someone who is out of control is likely to say anything. Like a volcano, no one knows when he might explode and spew his hot lava upon all who are near by. A meeting a work, a drive home, a messy house, a dinner that is not on time, are just a few of the things that can set off one who isn’t at the wheel of his thoughts, words or emotions. He makes a wreck of disaster around him only to later apologize over and over. Get control of yourself is the answer. Paul disciplined himself. Paul was in control of himself. Paul was at the wheel of his life. He wasn’t going for a ride, he was turning the wheel where he wanted to go.

5. This passage reminds us that even the apostles could have lost their souls. It was not guaranteed that the apostles were absolutely going to Heaven. They had to walk by faith and be righteous men as the rest of us do. Paul understood that. He didn’t take anything for granted. His love for the Lord had to be real. He had to make daily choices that reflected his faith in the Lord.

6. Paul shared all of this with us to help us understand that we must do the same. We are not going to Heaven without a proper faith, choices and love for the Lord. We too, must use self control. We too must run in such a way, keeping focused, lest we get side tracked and lose the race. The Boston Marathon was just completed a few days ago. Every year, a few show up dressed in outfits to get attention. There will be customs like Halloween. There will be a few in tuxedos. They make the pictures. They get a few laughs. But you don’t see them winning. They are not dressed to win. They are not serious about winning. They just want some limelight and that’s all they will get. The same happens in our faith. Some talk a good show. Some want the limelight. But there are those who are serious about making Heaven. They work at it. They take the Lord seriously. They dress the part and discipline the body.

All of this makes us ask ourselves, ‘How hard are we trying?’ Are we truly doing our best? Do we get side tracked and lose our focus much too easily?

Paul did not want to be disqualified. Neither should we.

Roger