⁷ I thought things like that were really something great. But now I consider them to be nothing because of Christ. ⁸ Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is worth much more than anything else. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can know Christ better. ⁹ I want to be joined to him. Being right with God does not come from my obeying the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God because of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ better. Yes, I want to know the power that raised him from the dead. I want to join him in his sufferings. I want to become like him by sharing in his death. ¹¹ Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.

¹² I have not yet received all these things. I have not yet reached my goal. Christ Jesus took hold of me so that I could reach that goal. So I keep pushing myself forward to reach it. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. ¹⁴ I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.

12 A huge cloud of witnesses is all around us. So let us throw off everything that stands in our way. Let us throw off any sin that holds on to us so tightly. And let us keep on running the race marked out for us. ² Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the one who started this journey of faith. And he is the one who completes the journey of faith. He paid no attention to the shame of the cross. He suffered there because of the joy he was looking forward to. Then he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ He made it through these attacks by sinners. So think about him. Then you won’t get tired. You won’t lose hope.

God Trains His Children

⁴ You struggle against sin. But you have not yet fought to the point of spilling your blood.

¹² So put your hands to work. Strengthen your legs for the journey. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet to walk on.” (Proverbs 4:26) Then those who have trouble walking won’t be disabled. Instead, they will be healed.

A Warning and an Appeal

¹⁴ Try your best to live in peace with everyone. Try hard to be holy. Without holiness no one will see the Lord.

²⁰ In a large house there are things made out of gold and silver. But there are also things made out of wood and clay. Some have special purposes. Others have common purposes. ²¹ Suppose someone stays away from what is common. Then the Master will be able to use them for special purposes. They will be made holy. They will be ready to do any good work.

²² Run away from the evil things that young people long for. Try hard to do what is right. Have faith, love and peace. Do these things together with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with arguing. It is dumb and foolish. You know it only leads to fights. ²⁴ Anyone who serves the Lord must not be hard to get along with. Instead, they must be kind to everyone. They must be able to teach. The one who serves must not hold anything against anyone. ²⁵ They must gently teach those who are against them. Maybe God will give a change of heart to those who are against you. That will lead them to know the truth. ²⁶ Maybe they will come to their senses. Maybe they will escape the devil’s trap. He has taken them as prisoners to do what he wanted.