Run Strong with Jesus! (preaching resource for 4/6/25, Lent #5)
This post exegetes Philippians 3:12-16, offering context for the RCL Epistle reading on the fifth Sunday in Lent (4/6/25). Insights are drawn from Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Exposition Commentary") and Francis Foulkes ("New Bible Commentary").
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| "Footrace" (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) |
Introduction
In Philippians chapter 3, Paul examines our life with Jesus and sees our Savior at work redeeming our past (verses 1-11) and securing our future (verses 17-21). In verses 12-16, he looks at the present where we are invited to participate with Jesus as he ministers in our world. Paul compares this participation with running a race; and the goal is to run strong!
Paul does NOT use this metaphor to speak of earning salvation. Rather, he uses it to urge us to share actively in Jesus’ ministry because we are saved. In Paul’s day, only citizens were allowed to enter the Greek games. Athletes did not compete to gain citizenship—they competed because they were citizens. In like manner, Paul declares that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20), and as citizens, we are invited to run strong with Jesus. As believers, we have joined the race—and to each of us has been granted a lane (a calling) in which to run. If we run strong the way God has planned for us, a reward is ours. But if we drop out, or get out of our assigned lane, we lose the reward, though we keep our salvation. Paul addresses five keys for running strong with Jesus: dissatisfaction, devotion, direction, determination and discipline.
Dissatisfaction
Philippians 3:12–13a
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it…
Despite his considerable achievements as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul was not resting on his laurels. Unfortunately, many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare their “running” with that of other believers. Had Paul compared himself with others, he would have been tempted to be proud and perhaps to let up. But Paul did not compare himself with others; he compared himself with himself and with the perfection of Jesus! That led him to an appropriate “divine dissatisfaction” with his progress that is highly motivating. Mature Christians honestly evaluate themselves and then “press on.”
The Bible often warns against a false estimate of one’s spiritual condition. The church at Sardis had “a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Rev 3:1). They had reputation without reality. The church at Laodicea boasted that it was rich, when in God’s sight it was “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev 3:17). Self-evaluation can be dangerous, because we can err by making ourselves better than we are, or we can err by making ourselves worse than we are. Paul had no illusions about himself; he knew he still had to “press on” in order “to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold” of him (Phil 3:12b). A humble self-appraisal leading to a divine dissatisfaction is key one for running strong with Jesus.
Devotion
Philippians 3:13b
…But one thing I do…
Paul understood the power of being focused on “one thing.” “Only one thing is needed,” Jesus explained to busy Martha when she criticized her sister Mary for her devotion to Jesus (Luke 10:42). “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek” testified the devoted psalmist (Psa 27:4). The “one thing” for us is to fulfill our calling in Jesus’ service. An athlete succeeds by specializing in one event—they keep their eyes on this one goal and let nothing distract them. Like Nehemiah the wall-building governor, they reply to distracting invitations, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down” (Neh 6:3). “A double-minded man [is] unstable in all he does” (James 1:8). It’s a matter of values and priorities, running with devotion in our assigned lane with Jesus. That is key two, and then there is a third key:
Direction
Philippians 3:13c
…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
It’s easy to get bogged down in our past. But running strong with Jesus requires that we have a clear since of direction forward. Imagine what would happen on the race course if a runner started looking behind them! As believers, we are called to be future-oriented, “forgetting what is behind.” In Bible terminology, “to forget” does not mean “to fail to remember.” Rather, it means “no longer to be influenced by or affected by.” When God promises, "their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more" (Heb 10:17), he is not suggesting that he will conveniently have a bad memory! What God is saying is, “I will no longer hold their sins against them. Their sins can no longer affect their standing with me or influence my attitude toward them.”
So, “forgetting what is behind” does not suggest an impossible feat of mental gymnastics by which we try to erase the memory of our past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change its meaning. There were things in Paul’s past that could have weighed him down (1Tim 1:12–17), but they became inspirations to propel him forward. The events did not change, but his understanding of them changed.
Many Christians are shackled by regrets concerning past failures and disappointments. They are trying to run forward while looking backward! Some are distracted by past successes; and this is just as distracting. “What is behind”—whether good or bad—must be set aside so that we can focus on “straining toward what is ahead.”
So to run strong with Jesus we need dissatisfaction, devotion, and direction. And then there is a fourth key:
Determination
Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
“I press on!” carries the idea of intense endeavor. A person does not become a winning athlete by listening to lectures, watching movies, reading books, or cheering at games. They become a winning athlete by getting into the game with a strong determination to win! The same zeal that Paul employed when he persecuted the church (Phil 3:6), he displayed in serving Christ.
In this race running with Jesus, there are two extremes to avoid: (1) “I must do it all” and (2) “Jesus must do it all!” Both positions overlook the stunning truth that Jesus includes us in his life and in his ministry. “Let go and let God!” is a clever slogan, but it does not fully describe the truth of our life shared with Jesus. What quarterback would say to his team, “OK, men, just let go and let the coach do it all!” On the other hand, no quarterback would say, “Listen to me and forget what the coach says!” Both extremes are wrong. The Christian runner realizes that Jesus must work in and through them if they are going to win (Phil 2:12–13). “Apart from me you can do nothing” said Jesus (John 15:5). God works in us that he might work through us. As we apply ourselves to the life we share with Jesus, the Holy Spirit matures us and strengthens us for the race. “Train yourself to be godly” was Paul’s exhortation to Timothy (1Tim 4:7b).
Toward what goal is the Christian pressing and struggling with such determination? “The prize for which God has called me heavenward [upward] in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). When the winner in the Greek games reached “the goal” (the marker at the end of the race course), they were “called up” to the winner’s platform and given their reward.
Paul is not suggesting with this metaphor that we attain heaven by our works. He is simply saying that just as an athlete is rewarded for their performance, so the faithful believer will be rewarded when Jesus returns (see 1Cor 9:24–27 for a parallel, and note that while only one athlete receives the reward, all Christians may receive a reward). We don’t know a lot about the nature of the Christian’s reward—it may be that Paul sees Jesus himself as the reward; but what we do know is that we will be rewarded if we “take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of [us]” (Phil 3:12).
So determination is the fourth key for running strong with Jesus. And there is one more key:
Discipline
Philippians 3:15–16
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
In order to win, the runner must compete according to the rules. In the Greek games, the judges were very strict about this. Any infringement of the rules disqualified the athlete. That did not mean being stripped of citizenship, but it did mean losing the prize. In Phil 3:15–16, Paul emphasizes that we must remember the “spiritual rules” laid down by Jesus, our judge. Paul makes a similar point in writing to Timothy: “If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules” (2Tim 2:5). One day each of us will stand before God’s “judgment seat”(Rom 14:10). The Greek word for “judgment seat” is the same word used to describe the place where the Olympic judges gave out the prizes to the winners. If we have disciplined ourselves to run strong with Jesus, we will receive great reward at the final judgment.
Bible history is filled with people who began the race but failed at the end because they disregarded God’s rules. It happened to Lot (Gen 19), Samson (Judges 16), King Saul (1Sam 28; 31), and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). And it can happen to any of us. This does not mean that God expects perfection—but we are to “live up to” what we have been given already.
It’s an exciting experience to run the race daily with our eyes fixed on Jesus (Heb 12:1–2). It will be even more exciting when we stand before Jesus at his return and experience the full reward that is ours! This prospect of future reward was motivation to Paul to discipline himself now in order to run strong to the finish. It can be our motivation as well.
Conclusion
So these are the five keys for running strong with Jesus: divine dissatisfaction, deep devotion, clear direction, dogged determination, and consistent discipline. It’s about actively participating with Jesus’ as he ministers in our world. We are all included in that ministry! So, let’s get about it: Run strong with Jesus!