Throughout the writings of Paul
the Apostle, one clear message shines out in all that he preached
and taught. He was completely centered on
this one subject that is itself the very basis of the gospel,
and in fact without which no true gospel can be proclaimed.
He summed it up to the Corinthians saying, For I determined not
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Over the years many have come
along and sought to add to that simplistic message all types
of forms, traditions, and various beauties for the sons of God.
Yet anything which is added to that plain message does not serve
to empower the gospel or to strengthen the sons of God, but rather to
dilute the message and to avert the eyes of the hearers from
the one source of their hope and confidence, to a system of
fleshly works. Throughout his writings he sets
forth many exhortations unto the children of God, yet in every
instance his purpose in doing so is to bring the mind of those
he has exhorted back to the very basis of his message rather than
to lay a burden upon their backs. He instructs the Philippians
about the humility and single-mindedness of Christ when he says, Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. He instructs
the Romans about the finished work of Christ in satisfying
the law when he exhorts them to reckon ye yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Likewise, he instructs the Colossians
of the all-sufficiency of Christ when he exhorts them to lie not
one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with
his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him. But Christ
is all and in all. Quite often parents try to instill
their values into their children by instruction, only to see those
children disregard those values as they reach maturity. The truth
is that a parent cannot cause their children to adopt their
values or believe what the parent believes. What they can do, however,
is set forth a clear example that leaves no doubt in their
children's minds of those things which they, the parents, believe
and are committed to walk in. This is what Paul does as he
uses the illustration of running a race with the intention of
winning, regardless of the cost or amount of effort involved.
Paul clearly understood that he had no power in and of himself
to perform this as he testified, By the grace of God I am what
I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me. So here he is not primarily trying to stir them up to some
action, but is rather indicating the commitment that the Lord
had given him to run and fight with that incorruptible crown
which fadeth not away clearly in sight. He did this knowing
that Christ, who is our example, rejoiced as a strong man to run
a race, and did in fact triumph in the contest which he gladly
entered for the sake of all those who were hidden in him. That
victory which he obtained was for their sakes, and he has come
forth as their champion, crowned with many crowns. The sons of
God are thus called to triumph in that victory which he has
won for them. He has thus set for us an example that we should
follow in his steps. In order to win a fight, one
must identify his opponent, which is clearly identified as the
flesh. For the flesh lusteth against
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. This is a spiritual
battle which is waged completely by the Spirit of God in our sinful
flesh, which would oppose the truth at every turn. We rejoice
that this particular battle is waged by our champion, and the
outcome is not in doubt. Yet he manifests this battle
in our body, and Paul recognizes that if his body is not subdued,
it will ultimately harm him and the cause which he seeks to maintain.
Thus he exhorts Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ. He recognizes that our flesh
is not our friend and must be fought against lest it cause
us to be entangled in matters which could bring dishonor to
the very cause we desire to see set forth. May we be given a
heart such as Paul who said, I have fought a good fight, I
have kept the faith, and the mind to know that the victory
is the Lord's. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.