I Corinthians 9:24

1. Intro.
1. we preach that salvation is not of works, but of grace
1. we believe that this is one of the most important teachings of the gospel – Eph. 2:8-9
1. "not of works, lest any man should boast"
2. "by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God"
2. although we know that men are not save by their works, we also know that no man shall be saved without them
1. he who leads an unholy life, and neglects so great salvation, can never inherit the crown of life
2. true faith is wholly the work of God, but there is a sense in which we must strive to enter into the strait gate
3. we must run a race, we must fight a battle, before we can inherit the crown of life
2. in our text the religious life is set forth as a race
1. there are many who enter a profession of faith with very false motives
2. the apostle warns that all who run in a race do not receive the prize
3. Paul’s exhortation is to run so that we may obtain the prize
4. unless we are winners, it would have been better not to be runners at all
5. he that is not a winner is a loser
6. he that makes a profession of religion, but in the end does not obtain the prize, is a loser
1. his profession was hypocrisy
2. he would have been better off to not have made a profession
2. why are we to run [that ye may obtain]
1. in order to be respectable
1. many people go to church for this very reason
2. they want people to say that such-an such is a good man; his is very regular at his church
3. if this is what a person seeks after in his religion, he shall get it
4. the Pharisees sought for the praise of men, and Jesus said, "they have their reward"
5. the esteem of men is not worth looking for, because it has no value in eternity
2. in order to be known as a chief among saints
3. for what they can get by it
1. for personal, social, and business contacts
2. man has found that there is something to get from religion
3. the church does not like to think that a man is so base that he would pretend religion for the sake of what he can get, so we let them slide through
4. these may deceive the servant of God, but in the end they must deal directly with God
4. to quit their conscience
1. many people live like the devil all week long, and then ease their conscience by going to church on Sunday
2. many people want the outward forms of religion to keep the conscience quit
3. a guilty conscience is one of the worst curses in the world
4. for a man with a guilty conscience nothing is beautiful, and everything accuses him
5. no wonder they seek to quit their conscience
5. why are we to run the race
1. heaven, eternal life, justification, pardon of sin, acceptance in the Beloved, and glory everlasting
2. if we run for any other reason than salvation, what we win will not be worth running for
3. make sure of eternity, never be content with anything less than a living faith in a living Savior
3. the mode of running [so run]
1. some will not win the prize, because they have never enter the race
2. some will not win the prize, because they did not start right
1. there never was a true new birth without much spiritual suffering
2. no man has ever had a changed heart without first having a miserable heart
3. we must pass through the dark tunnel of conviction before we can come to the high ground of holy joy
4. no conviction = no repentance = no salvation
3. some will not win the prize because they carry to much weight
1. they carry the weight of the world (gold, silver, and pleasure)
2. they say they must live, and forget that they must die
3. they have little time for devotions or prayer, because of their business
4. it is good to cast everything away except the one thing that is needful: to know and serve God
1. "seek ye first the kingdom of God" – Matthew 6:33
2. "blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord" – Psalm 34:8
4. some will not win the prize, even after starting well, because they begin to loiter and drop out
1. "he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved"
2. stopping and loitering before the race is ended is the worst mistake that could possible occur
3. until we arrive at our tomb, we have not come to the place where we may cry "halt"
4. "ever onward to the prize before us" is the runners motto
5. some will not win the prize because they have left the course altogether
1. "they go out from us, because they were not of us, for had they been of us, doubtless they would have continued with us" – I John 2:19
2. those whom God saves never do this, because they are preserved in Christ Jesus
3. they are like the sow that was washed, and then returned to her wallowing in the mire
4. reasons for moving onward in the heavenly race
1. we are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses – Hebrews 12:1
1. saints in heaven cheering us on
2. the world around us looking for our faults
3. Satan is accusing us night and day before the throne of God
2. our race is a win or lose, life or death, heaven or hell situation
1. are you running for your life
2. if we had eyes to see, and knew who it was that was pursuing us every day of our life, we would run
3. sin , Satan, and hell are all pursuing us
3. run and always remember who is standing at the winning post – Hebrews 12:2
1. run onward, always looking unto Jesus
2. always look forward, and never backwards
3. see His bleeding hands, and let our devotion be strengthened