5 Sunday in Lent 3/25/07 Text: Philippians 3:1-14 Title: Past, Present, Future
5 Sunday in Lent
3/25/2007
Text: Philippians 3:1-14
Title: Past, Present, Future
As a pastor, I hear quite often, “Pastor I want you to tell us how to live our lives today. I want to please God and I need to know what to do. I hear that and it always troubles me. You see when you believe in God’s Word, it speaks to you on a daily basis. It is a wonderful guide and nothing needs to be added to it, for it is timeless.
Today’s Epistle is a good example of that. As you read it you would probably think, “What a wonderful story of Paul’s faith.” But it is more than that, for it speaks to us today, for we naturally are concerned about the past, present, and future. We are worried about those things that we should have done, or should not have done. We are worried about the present, what is happening right now, those things that we would like to control and cannot. We are worried about the future, for it holds the unknown and that really bothers us, because we do not like the unknown.
It is true that you will find in this reading the wonderful testimony of Saint Paul. As you read the text you see that Saint Paul was well educated. He more than likely came from a well-respected Jewish family, and probably had it all.
We see, starting in verse 4, that Paul, if anyone, had a good reason for believing he would be accepted by God. He lists off the proof of his self righteousness. He was circumcised on the 8th day, as an Israelite, just as the law required. He came from the tribe of Benjamin, a direct descendent of Abraham. You see where it says, “A Hebrew of Hebrews, that means that both of his parents were Hebrews, in other words he was a pure blood.
He was also a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the powerbrokers at the time, for the Jewish religion controlled the people’s lives. Pharisee, by the way means “detached ones.” They were a political party, a social movement, and a particular school of thought at the time of Paul. They were considered the pure ones. Or it might be better to say that they thought they were righteous. For the most part, they were far from pure. That is why Jesus was on them so much, going so far as calling them empty white washed tombs.
Paul goes on to mention that he was very good at protecting the church. He went after those who were changing the faith with a zeal that could not be matched.
He closes this section with the statement, “As to righteousness, under the law blameless.” In other words, he, Paul, had done everything that was demanded of him by the law. He crossed every T and dotted every I. He was keeping Jewish religion on a straight and narrow path. No sir, Paul was going to make sure that the Jewish religion did not change, especially with these people in the synagogue , preaching love your neighbor, and freedom from keeping the Law in order to be saved.
But in verse 7 he makes a statement that shocks us, as much as I am sure it shocked the people of his day. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
You see, Paul had lost everything. He had lost his status, his wealth, and his friends. I am not sure that even at this time that all of the Christian community really trusted him. Imagine, here was a man who had everything going for him, and he is saying that none of it was worth anything in comparison to being made righteous by Christ.
According to the Jewish faith he was righteous. He showed that by his actions, in the protecting of the religion, but Paul says that losing all those things was worth it, for he is truly righteous now, not because of his behavior, but because of Jesus.
He tells us that he knows that his righteousness is worth nothing, and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the faith, even if it means carrying his own cross of suffering, for he knows that he will be raised on the last day, when Jesus comes back.
He goes on to tell us that he knows he is not perfect, but that he will be made perfect in time, for that is the inheritance he has received from Christ.
Notice in verse13 that he tells us that he had nothing to do with his being made perfect. He has nothing to do with his salvation, but he does have something to do and he is doing it as he tells us that he is, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Notice he is forgetting the past, and what a past he has. An unbeliever, a murderer, if not directly, indirectly. But that is all in the past as he looks forward to the future of being with Christ.
He actively lives in the faith, as he works to achieve the prize that God has for him. Notice that it is God who is calling.
We happy for Paul, but after all he is special, for he is an Apostle. But what about us, our past? Times are different. Things have changed, and surely God would not demand that we give up all we have, would he?
That depends on how much you value your possessions. Paul had to give it all up, for him to become the great apostle he became. Other Christians thoughout history have had to give up all they had, before God could use them to do his work here on this earth.
It is possible that if your love for your job, or your goodies, or your family were keeping you away from being saved, God might have you give it all up, willingly or unwillingly. God will do whatever it takes to save you.
I don’t think that God would do that, that is, if you keep him number one in your life. Jesus died on that cross, so that you can be saved. If he was willing to die for you, someone who is living 2000 years later than he did, wouldn’t he want to do everything he could to keep you in the faith? Of course he would.
God will do whatever it takes to keep you in the faith, for his righteousness is now your righteousness. That does not give us liberty to live our lives any old way, or to put off really truly believing in his righteousness.
It means that we, just like Paul, and all the other saints that have gone on before us, are to work on our faith, and strive to live in our faith. Our faith is not about head knowledge, the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom of God, for you can know the Bible from front to back. You can study every theology book written. You can be the smartest individual on earth and still not be saved, for salvation only comes through faith, the true wisdom.
I say that because God tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
Don’t be fooled by your cognitive skills. You are not saved because you can recite the catechism or have parts of the Bible memorized, or know the confessions frontward’s and backwards.
You are not even saved because you are baptized or worship in a certain way, or give money toward the congregation’s work. You are not saved because you come to church on a regular basis.
As much as we would like to think that those things have, at least something to do with our salvation, they do not. You are saved because of Jesus Christ and him alone. And because you are saved by the grace of God you can know, just like Paul, that you have forgiveness for the past, a sure hope in the future, and the ability to live in the presence, under the guidance of Jesus Christ. Amen.
3/25/2007
Text: Philippians 3:1-14
Title: Past, Present, Future
As a pastor, I hear quite often, “Pastor I want you to tell us how to live our lives today. I want to please God and I need to know what to do. I hear that and it always troubles me. You see when you believe in God’s Word, it speaks to you on a daily basis. It is a wonderful guide and nothing needs to be added to it, for it is timeless.
Today’s Epistle is a good example of that. As you read it you would probably think, “What a wonderful story of Paul’s faith.” But it is more than that, for it speaks to us today, for we naturally are concerned about the past, present, and future. We are worried about those things that we should have done, or should not have done. We are worried about the present, what is happening right now, those things that we would like to control and cannot. We are worried about the future, for it holds the unknown and that really bothers us, because we do not like the unknown.
It is true that you will find in this reading the wonderful testimony of Saint Paul. As you read the text you see that Saint Paul was well educated. He more than likely came from a well-respected Jewish family, and probably had it all.
We see, starting in verse 4, that Paul, if anyone, had a good reason for believing he would be accepted by God. He lists off the proof of his self righteousness. He was circumcised on the 8th day, as an Israelite, just as the law required. He came from the tribe of Benjamin, a direct descendent of Abraham. You see where it says, “A Hebrew of Hebrews, that means that both of his parents were Hebrews, in other words he was a pure blood.
He was also a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the powerbrokers at the time, for the Jewish religion controlled the people’s lives. Pharisee, by the way means “detached ones.” They were a political party, a social movement, and a particular school of thought at the time of Paul. They were considered the pure ones. Or it might be better to say that they thought they were righteous. For the most part, they were far from pure. That is why Jesus was on them so much, going so far as calling them empty white washed tombs.
Paul goes on to mention that he was very good at protecting the church. He went after those who were changing the faith with a zeal that could not be matched.
He closes this section with the statement, “As to righteousness, under the law blameless.” In other words, he, Paul, had done everything that was demanded of him by the law. He crossed every T and dotted every I. He was keeping Jewish religion on a straight and narrow path. No sir, Paul was going to make sure that the Jewish religion did not change, especially with these people in the synagogue , preaching love your neighbor, and freedom from keeping the Law in order to be saved.
But in verse 7 he makes a statement that shocks us, as much as I am sure it shocked the people of his day. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
You see, Paul had lost everything. He had lost his status, his wealth, and his friends. I am not sure that even at this time that all of the Christian community really trusted him. Imagine, here was a man who had everything going for him, and he is saying that none of it was worth anything in comparison to being made righteous by Christ.
According to the Jewish faith he was righteous. He showed that by his actions, in the protecting of the religion, but Paul says that losing all those things was worth it, for he is truly righteous now, not because of his behavior, but because of Jesus.
He tells us that he knows that his righteousness is worth nothing, and that he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the faith, even if it means carrying his own cross of suffering, for he knows that he will be raised on the last day, when Jesus comes back.
He goes on to tell us that he knows he is not perfect, but that he will be made perfect in time, for that is the inheritance he has received from Christ.
Notice in verse13 that he tells us that he had nothing to do with his being made perfect. He has nothing to do with his salvation, but he does have something to do and he is doing it as he tells us that he is, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Notice he is forgetting the past, and what a past he has. An unbeliever, a murderer, if not directly, indirectly. But that is all in the past as he looks forward to the future of being with Christ.
He actively lives in the faith, as he works to achieve the prize that God has for him. Notice that it is God who is calling.
We happy for Paul, but after all he is special, for he is an Apostle. But what about us, our past? Times are different. Things have changed, and surely God would not demand that we give up all we have, would he?
That depends on how much you value your possessions. Paul had to give it all up, for him to become the great apostle he became. Other Christians thoughout history have had to give up all they had, before God could use them to do his work here on this earth.
It is possible that if your love for your job, or your goodies, or your family were keeping you away from being saved, God might have you give it all up, willingly or unwillingly. God will do whatever it takes to save you.
I don’t think that God would do that, that is, if you keep him number one in your life. Jesus died on that cross, so that you can be saved. If he was willing to die for you, someone who is living 2000 years later than he did, wouldn’t he want to do everything he could to keep you in the faith? Of course he would.
God will do whatever it takes to keep you in the faith, for his righteousness is now your righteousness. That does not give us liberty to live our lives any old way, or to put off really truly believing in his righteousness.
It means that we, just like Paul, and all the other saints that have gone on before us, are to work on our faith, and strive to live in our faith. Our faith is not about head knowledge, the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom of God, for you can know the Bible from front to back. You can study every theology book written. You can be the smartest individual on earth and still not be saved, for salvation only comes through faith, the true wisdom.
I say that because God tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
Don’t be fooled by your cognitive skills. You are not saved because you can recite the catechism or have parts of the Bible memorized, or know the confessions frontward’s and backwards.
You are not even saved because you are baptized or worship in a certain way, or give money toward the congregation’s work. You are not saved because you come to church on a regular basis.
As much as we would like to think that those things have, at least something to do with our salvation, they do not. You are saved because of Jesus Christ and him alone. And because you are saved by the grace of God you can know, just like Paul, that you have forgiveness for the past, a sure hope in the future, and the ability to live in the presence, under the guidance of Jesus Christ. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 7:36 PM
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