The Baptist Digest

Athletic Image Of Discipleship

April 2006

In this article, we continue our discussion of the biblical images of the Christian life (i.e. discipleship) we started a few months ago. So far, we described a disciple as an apprentice, a servant, a steward, and a soldier.  Already, an image is emerging that would challenge any easy believism that may exist in the church. Today, we add to the portrait of discipleship the image of an athlete. In the Christian life there should not be spectators or “pew potatoes”, but only participants; no one sidelined, but all in the game.

If Paul is any model of Christian living, his words should not go unnoticed: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). The Christian life is here likened to athletics. This is not the only place in the New Testament athletic images are used as metaphors for discipleship.

Paul, in 2 Tim 2:5, uses the word athleo meaning “to compete” as a metaphor for the Christ life. Followers of Christ take life seriously just like athletes do the sport they compete in. There are lions seeking to devour, there are temptations needing resistance and fleeing, there are mountains of faith to climb. Because life with God is a competition with rules for holiness, the athlete must muster all diligence in order to compete well. I wonder if your church has a plan that enables you to fully enter into the competition fully prepared and to succeed.

In 1 Tim 4:8, Paul chooses the word gumnesia meaning “training” or “discipline” to describe the process of godliness or Christian living. Godliness apparently does not just happen without participation in godly activities. It demands training or discipline. Just as athletes exercise to compete, so the follower of Christ must live a disciplined life. The athlete, day in and day out, repeats the movements he is attempting to master for his sport. In like manner the Christian disciple must repeat or rehearse for Christian living. There is no competing without training; there is no winning without discipline. I wonder if your church has a training process whereby Christ followers learn the disciplines that will help them succeed in living for Christ.

The word stadion (“race”) is used in 1 Cor 9:25 to possibly designate a chariot race. Paul depicts life in Christ as a competitive race. Those who do life in conformity to Christ realize that the race is not an isolated event. All of life is the race. Too many consider the race as church attendance, or a small group meeting, or serving on a church committee or team. The Christian life happens where life happens and that is all the time and in all places. I wonder if your church takes seriously intentionally training every one for godly living in all life settings.

So as to avoid stretching the image too far we should add here that in the Christian life we are not competing against others but only to top our personal best. Were we able to go an extra mile this time when duty demanded it, the next time perhaps will see us go two? Were we able to forgive after a few days of wallowing in self pity, the next time forgiveness will come sooner? In our relationships with God and with others, the goal is not competition but connection.

These three athletic images paint a picture of Christian living as a complete regime to compete and to win at being Christ like. Our coach is Christ, the event is the Christian life, and our team is the community of believers.

A movie that illustrates the athletic image of Christian living well is “The Karate Kid.” In the movie, a teenage boy desires to win a Karate competition. He comes to a master trainer and asks him to prepare him for the competition. So the wise master has him scrubbing floors, painting a house with up and down strokes, polishing a car, and painting a fence with sideways strokes. Day after day the training goes on. Finally, the boy gets frustrated since he believes he has not learned anything that would enable him to compete and win in the upcoming Karate tournament. In order to prove that his training methods accomplished their design, the master suddenly tries to strike the boy who automatically responds by blocking the strike with the same motion that he practiced while painting the fence. The light finally dawns on the boy when the master tried several other moves and the boy rebuffed them all with the same success as the first strike. Indirect training helped him with direct competition. 

Christian living is akin to this kind of training. We read the Scripture daily, we fast occasionally, we take time to be alone with God regularly in order that when life demands our all we rise to the occasion and successfully walk with the master.

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I thought you might like this column I read at baptistdigest.com. "Athletic Image Of Discipleship" In this article, we continue our discussion of the biblical images of the Christian life (i.e. discipleship) we started a few months ago. So far, we described a disciple as an apprentice, a servant, a steward, and a soldier.  Already, an image is emerging that would challenge any easy believism that may exist in the church. Today, we add to the portrait of discipleship the image of an athlete. In the Christian life there should not be spectators or “pew potatoes”, but only participants; no one sidelined, but all in the game. If Paul is any model of Christian living, his words should not go unnoticed: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). The Christian life is here likened to athletics. This is not the only place in the New Testament athletic images are used as metaphors for discipleship. You can read the rest here: http://www.baptistdigest.com/archive/column/athletic_image_of_discipleship/