16 Bible Verses about Athletics

But now I count as nothing the sacrifice of my life, if only I can finish my race and render the service entrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of faithfully telling the good news of God's favor.

I went up under the guidance of a divine revelation. Now I laid before them the good news that I was in the habit of preaching among the heathen, but first I did so privately before the leaders, for fear that my course might be or might have been to no purpose.

You were running beautifully! Who was it that cut into your way and kept you from obeying the truth?

to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure.

This is the instruction which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, which is in accordance with the prophetic utterances formerly made about you, that you may, aided by them, continue to fight the good fight, by keeping your hold on faith and a good conscience; for some have thrust the latter aside and so have made shipwreck of their faith.

No soldier ever allows himself to be involved in the business affairs of life, so that he may please the officer who enlisted him. No contestant in the games is crowned, unless he competes according to the rules.

Do you not know that in a race the runners all run, but only one can get the prize? You must run in such a way that you can get the prize. Any man who enters an athletic contest practices rigid self-control in training, only to win a wreath that withers, but we are in to win a wreath that never withers. So that is the way I run, with no uncertainty as to winning. That is the way I box, not like one that punches the air.read more.
But I keep on beating and bruising my body and making it my slave, so that I, after I have summoned others to the race, may not myself become unfit to run.

Therefore, as we have so vast a crowd of spectators in the grandstands, let us throw off every impediment and the sin that easily entangles our feet, and run with endurance the race for which we are entered,

It is not a fact that I have already secured it or already reached perfection, but I am pressing on to see if I can capture it, the ideal for which I was captured by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not think that I have captured it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me, I am pressing onward toward the goal, to win the prize to which God through Jesus Christ is calling us upward.

Keep up the good fight for the faith. Keep your hold on eternal life, to which God called you, when before many witnesses you made the good profession of faith.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one may take away your crown.

I have fought the fight for the good, I have run my race, I have kept faith. Now the crown for doing right awaits me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day, and not only me but also all who have loved His appearing.

Any man who enters an athletic contest practices rigid self-control in training, only to win a wreath that withers, but we are in to win a wreath that never withers.

Blessed is the person who endures trial, for when he stands the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.

and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown that never fades.

Do not be so afraid of what you are to suffer. See! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested there and for ten days to suffer pressing troubles. Each one of you must prove to be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.