Finishing the race according to Paul was when he reached the end of his temporal life, whilst keeping the faith.
Jesus said in his Revelation to......
be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Rev 2:10)
Finishing the race of faith, in context to what Paul, Jesus and John said, is to migrate from this temporal sinful state, that continually requires the cross of salvation, to proceed to the permanent sinless state and to be forever present with the Lord, in his Father's Heavenly house. The permanent dwelling results in no more sin and therefore no longer requires the redemptive works of the cross, rather that God will be all in all and it is at this point and in this eternal realm that the glorified will be declared as righteous.
now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and
unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:26-29)
So the second time for the Apostles who had seen the Lord the first time, when he was on Earth, he will appear the second time (second coming) to them, after their temporal earthly bodies die, where this time they no longer are presented before him as sinners, but rather as sinless saints, who are the many Holy Ones that accompany him (Zechariah 14:5)
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
The post resurrection state is a glorified sinless state, where the resurrected will be clothed with righteousness.
Death changes the realm of existence, where our earthly tent is laid to rest and we are clothed with a heavenly tent, which prevents the past from coming into play, because the power of the cross had absolved the past, through the reconditioning of the heart of stone to a heart of flesh, whilst the believer lived in the earthly tent.
◄ 2 Corinthians 5
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New International Version
Awaiting the New Body
1For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,
3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
7For we live by faith, not by sight.
8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Sola Scripture becomes the primary witness, to why we ought not claim righteousness whilst we live in the earth dirt body, because we have yet to sign out with our own blood and cannot recieve our eternal inheritance, until we die and are judged and are counted worthy by the rigtheous Judge, to receive our crown of righteousness.
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16For where a testament
is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator/witness.
17For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. (Hebrews 9)
