Why do believers get their priorities mixed up?
Even believers remain tied to this world and blind to the glory out there, so their priorities become mixed up. Paul says to run to win the prize: not salvation, which they already have, but the reward that goes with salvation.
Les explains that even believers are so tied to this world and so blind to the glory that is out there that they get their priorities all mixed up. Paul therefore says to run to win the prize—not salvation, which believers already have, but the reward that will go with salvation. Les then points back to Genesis 15, where Abraham was already a believer, having believed when he left Ur of the Chaldees. God reminded Abraham that He had brought him out of Ur, saved him, and declared him righteous, yet still promised him the land as an inheritance. Abraham asked, “How shall I know that I shall inherit it?” Les notes that this whole concept of working for reward has been on believers’ minds from day one.