TEXT: I Corinthians 9:24

SUBJECT: Bunyan on Perseverance #3

Tonight, with God’s blessing, we’ll move on in our study of John Bunyan’s little book, The Heavenly Footman. The topic is perseverance or running the Christian race. Jesus Christ once said,

Implying, of course, that those who don’t endure to the end won’t be saved. Are we saved by good works? No, not at all. But we are saved for good works. The good works not only glorify the Lord and help others, but they also promote our own salvation. If you want to go to heaven when you die, you must

Thus far, we’ve looked at a definition and some directions. Bunyan has told us what it means to run and how to do it. Now we come to the motives for running. Motives explain why you should run after God and holiness. The Puritan offers nine, but I think some of them should be combined. So, we’ll look at fiv reasons to run the Christian race and to run it for all you’re worth.

The first reason to run the race as hard as you can is because the stakes are so high. There’s a lot to be won—or lost—by how you run the race. Bunyan says,

Three things deserve special attention: first, the fact that everyone is in the race (whether he wants to be or not). Some of us would rather not race. We’d rather be spectators than participants. Like football fans, we get our thrills vicariously. We like to sit by and criticize the way others are running, but we’ve got no stomach for race itself. This is not an option. The person who professes faith in Christ has been put on the track by God and told to run with all he’s got—or else. Preaching from our text, most pastors would ask, "Are you in the race?" I say "You are in the race". The only question that remains, then, is "Are you running hard?"

The second thing to consider is the wonderful prize to be won. In sports, men train and compete to win big prizes—an Olympic medal, a world record, a Superbowl victory, a multi-million dollar contract. But these things are nothing compared to what you’re competing for. Christians are running for heaven, for eternal happiness, for the unending joy of God’s approval. Will men lift weights till they drop and run till their legs cramp or shoot baskets till they can’t see the backboard, to win the measly prizes offered in sports, and you won’t train and run hard…for heaven?

The third thing to think about is what we can lose by not running well. The runner who finishes last loses nothing but pride. Some, in fact, become somewhat endearing. Remember that British ski-jumper, Eddie the Eagle, they called him. He was so bad that he became a fan favorite. In baseball, the Chicago Cubs are called lovable losers.

But this is not the kind of game we’re in. We’re not skiers or baseball players. We’re gladiators. In this game, you win or you die. Those who do not run the Christian race—or don’t run it well—lose everything; they suffer eternal loss.

We have a hymn to this effect,

Underline the word, must. If you want to reign with Christ, you must fight the fight or run the race. No exceptions to the rule. Bunyan got it right,

Think long and hard of the stakes involved in running the race, and you’ll run it better. That’s Motive Number One.

The second reason to be serious in running your race is because your opposition is very serious.

The devil can be accused of many things, but silliness and sloth are not among them. He’s serious about keeping you out of heaven and he’s willing to work hard at it. Are you as willing to resist the devil as he is to resist you? And with equal effort and persistence? Old John says,

Because you can’t see the devil, it’s easy to forget he’s really there, that he’s clever, powerful, and extremely interested in ruining you forever. So, if you can’t remember the devil, just look around you and see how many of his servants are working day and night to damn your soul.

Here’s an ad for lipstick, but it’s selling fornication. There’s a TV preacher, speaking in the name of Christ, but drawing you away from the Lord. Here’s a nice kid at school, tempting you to think her way instead of the way you’ve been taught to think. Think of the bad examples people set for you. Think of the unclean jokes they tell in your hearing. Think of mammoth advertising campaign to link happiness with buying things. Think of the millions of things—though not wicked themselves, clamoring for all your time. Did you know there are only two days a year in which no football, baseball, or basketball game is played? With Cable TV, you can literally watch sports 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

When does MTV take a day off? When do the advertisers let up? When they stop running or slow down, you can too. But till then, you’ve not only got to run from them, but you’ve got to outrun them.

Remember how serious and stubborn the devil is in opposing your run for heaven, and you’ll run better. That’s Motive #2.

The third reason to run hard is because your opportunities to run are limited. If a woman wants to be a great gymnast, she has to start young. By her mid twenties, she’s washed up. A forty year old housewife may take a class in gymnastics, but she’ll never be great at it. In sports, the clock ticks fast.

The same is true in the Christian life. Thankfully, a person can be saved at any age. But no one has time to waste! The God who gives us today, promises tomorrow to no one. Nor does His Word ever command us to seek Him later or to follow after holiness when you get around to it.

In fact, the opposite is true: The Lord constantly warns people who delay, who hang back, who intend to run one of these days—but not now. The obvious danger is dying sooner than you thought you would. But this is not the only danger. Listen to Bunyan,

You know you can start running now, but who’s to say you can start running tomorrow? Even if you live another fifty years, who’s to say you can run in the future?

Preachers won’t generally tell you this, but the Bible is very plain: God can harden your heart—and does harden men. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart; He poured out a spirit of slumber on Israel; He even sent a strong delusion that men should believe a lie. The references are Exodus 4:21, Romans 11:8, and II Thessalonians 2:11. If your Bible is cross-referenced, look up the verses, and you’ll be surprised how often the Bible says things like these.

Maybe tonight you feel the truth of what I’m saying. There is no guarantee that you’ll feel it next week. Thus, you’d better act on it now.

You ought to run hard and run right away because your opportunities are limited. That’s Motive Number 3.

A fourth encouragement to run well is that others have already done it. I don’t know about you, but a lot of what Bunyan has said so far has left me feeling disheartened. How hard the race is! How many and powerful my enemies are! How little time I have! And so on. Maybe you’ve felt this way too.

But the good news is that others have already done it. And they were as weak as you are; their enemies were as strong as yours; their lives were probably shorter than yours will be. Yet they ran and they won! The Puritan says,

Thinking of the Bible characters who made it to heaven is very encouraging! If you read Hebrews 11, you’ll find a list of people full of faith. If all you knew about them was what you read there, you’d say, "But my faith is weak. I’ll never make it". But if you read their lives in the Old Testament, you’ll see a lot of yourself in them!

Gideon’s on the list—and it’s good to know that people who are not bold and brave can make it to heaven. Samson’s there too—he helps the men who may look a little too long at the girls. David had a stormy home life—but he made it. Jepthah shot off his mouth too much—and he’s in heaven. Barak clung to a woman for courage—and he’s there. On and on it goes.

You don’t have to be Superman to make it to heaven. You don’t need fantastic gifts or a perfect upbringing to run well. But you must have faith. And that faith has got to move you to daily obedience.

If only Paul made it to heaven or Joseph or a few others the Bible says nothing bad about, I’d be sunk. But when I think of a man like Jacob or Samson or Gideon or even Rahab the harlot, I’m ready to run.

You’ve all seen or read inspirational stories: how a severe asthmatic, for example, won a gold medal in track. Or how a man five foot-three played professional basketball. These stories give hope to the rest of us. You don’t have to be perfect to succeed in sports.

The men of the Bible prove the same thing about running the Christian race. It can be done; it has been done by people no more gifted than you are, and often in circumstances much harder than yours.

Others have done it is a fourth motive for you doing it.

I have to run the Christian race—and so do you. But we’re not alone in the race. There’s Someone there to help us and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ.

There’s nothing more encouraging than this: the Lord who commands me to run has promised to help me in it. "I will never leave you nor forsake you". You have to run. And because Christ is with you, you can run and you will run. And not just run, but win. Every true believer will win the victor’s crown. Not because I say so, but the Holy Spirit says so,

That’s John Bunyan on Running the Race. Now go do it. And the love of God be with you. Amen.