running the race

¹Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us.

²⁴Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve. ²⁵And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible. ²⁶And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air. ²⁷Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.

²⁴Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve.

³¹But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.

⁷I have fought the good fight. I have completed the course. I have preserved the faith.

¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have already attained this. Instead, I do one thing: forgetting those things that are behind, and extending myself toward those things that are ahead, ¹⁴I pursue the destination, the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus.

¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

¹Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us. ²Let us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

⁷You have run well. So what has impeded you, that you would not obey the truth?

¹Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us. ²Let us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. ³So then, meditate upon him who endured such adversity from sinners against himself, so that you may not become weary, failing in your souls. ⁴For you have not yet resisted unto blood, while striving against sin. ⁵And you have forgotten the consolation which speaks to you like sons, saying: “My son, do not be willing to neglect the discipline of the Lord. Neither should you become weary, while being rebuked by him.” ⁶For whomever the Lord loves, he chastises. And every son whom he accepts, he scourges.

¹⁴I pursue the destination, the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus.

²⁴But I dread none of these things. Neither do I consider my life to be more precious because it is my own, provided that in some way I may complete my own course and that of the ministry of the Word, which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.

¹Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not apparent. ²For this reason, the ancients were given testimony. ³By faith, we understand the world to be fashioned by the Word of God, so that the visible might be made by the invisible. ⁴By faith, Abel offered to God a much better sacrifice than that of Cain, through which he obtained testimony that he was just, in that God offered testimony to his gifts. And through that sacrifice, he still speaks to us, though he is dead. ⁵By faith, Enoch was transferred, so that he would not see death, and he was not found because God had transferred him. For before he was transferred, he had testimony that he pleased God. ⁶But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹³But whoever will have persevered until the end, the same shall be saved.

²⁶And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air.

²Let us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

⁷I have fought the good fight. I have completed the course. I have preserved the faith. ⁸As for the remainder, a crown of justice has been reserved for me, one which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day, and not only to me, but also to those who look forward to his return. Hurry to return to me soon. ⁹For Demas has abandoned me, out of love for this age, and he has departed for Thessalonica.