⁷ I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.^(A)

¹² Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made^[a] the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.^(A)

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.^{(A) 25} Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.^{(B) 26} So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air, ²⁷ but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.^(C)

The Example of Jesus

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,^[a] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,^{(A) 2} looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of^[b] the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.^(B)

²⁴ But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.^(A)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold^[a] of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,^{(A) 14} I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly^[b] call of God in Christ Jesus.^(B)

⁸ “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.^(A)

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.^(A)

²⁸ But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”^(A)

¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,^(A)