In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul reminds the church in Corinth:
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
In our spiritual walk, there are stages we go through. Much like when we train for a race, we have to do things in the right order and meet the requirements, or risk being disqualified.
Step 1: decide you want to enter the race (salvation)
Step 2: learn what rules require (study)
Step 3: learn who your opponents are
Step 4: Run
Can I Be Disqualified?
According to Paul, yes. Does that mean you can lose salvation? I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. Paul says “After I have preached to others, I myself would not be disqualified.” Before this, in verses 16-23, he is talking about preaching the gospel as his primary mission. “I have become all things to all men, so that I might save some.”
So can you be disqualified from preaching the gospel? Yes. I think this is what Paul is addressing. You can contradict the gospel with your lifestyle, and thereby nullify anyone believing it.
“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” means he kept his fleshly lusts in control so that he would not become a hypocrite, and thus diminish the gospel being preached- his very reason for living.
Does this mean I can’t lose my salvation?
Whoah there, friend. I didn’t say that. Just because I think Paul’s addressing being disqualified from preaching the Gospel, doesn’t automatically mean you can’t lose salvation. But this question is a lot more complicated, and we might not do it justice with just a few hundred (or thousand) words.
But let’s assume, for the moment, that the act of preaching the Gospel is a crucial indicator for being saved. You wouldn’t want to be disqualified from either one, would you? That’s not to say you have to preach the gospel to be saved, or that lost people can’t preach the gospel. But the idea of being disqualified looks very similar in both cases, doesn’t it?
What then?
We run in such a way as to win the prize. Not aimlessly or lazily. It requires focus and dedication- not to secure salvation, but to solidify our walk.