We Must Press On
Philippians 3:3 – 14
I have a story to tell you. A man dreamed he had died and was standing in front of the gates of Heaven, and he came face to face with St. Peter, who was holding a big book and was ready to decide if this man, was going to be allowed into heaven. St. Peter gave him a surprise announcement. “You’re going to need 100 points to get inside the gates.” “Well,” said the man proudly, “I have gone to church all of my life”.” “That’s nice,” answered Peter. “That gets you one point.”
“One point?! That’s all I get? Well I have been an affirmed Christian for 40 years.” “Great” Peter said “you get another point!” “Just one point for all those years?” “Yes, that’s correct,” said Peter. Instantly the man was concerned at the scoring system. He tried to think of other things he had done in life. “Well,” he said, “I visited shut-ins and the sick every chance I got.” “One point” Saint Peter said. ” I worked with the church’s ministries, a number of recovery and accountability programs, and I took part in many civic groups in our city. I freely gave money to this and to that, I had respect, people loved me!” Again Peter said “One point. Now you’ve got 4 points.”
“Well, I worked with youth. I taught Sunday school for 20 years” said the man, “and you know what that’s like!” “One more point,” said Peter, “and that makes five. You still need 95 more points.” “Oh no!” the man cried out in panic. “I feel so helpless, so inadequate. Except for the grace of God, I don’t have a chance. “Ah” St. Peter said with a big smile, “the grace of God! That’s good for all 100 points. Come on in!”
In our lesson today we see the Apostle Paul telling the Philippians how he came to a similar understanding on what was important to a life of holiness, what isn’t important and how he gained a new perspective on faith. Paul was once a persecutor of Christians, but as he is writing to the Philippians, as he sits in a Roman jail, for evangelizing to the world by the way, he is now joyful to be part of those persecuted for His faith in Jesus. It was, in fact, his encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus that had so profoundly changed him and put a new perspective, a new understanding on everything in his life.
He is telling them as Christians, unlike the Jews, there can be no confidence in the works of the flesh, the trappings of worldly things like living in the right places, having best things, eating the right things, studying the right things, wearing the right things, speaking the right language, making the right offerings and sacrifices and adhering to the right signs and symbols. These things cannot make you a good Christian or set you on the path of Holiness. In fact Paul uses his own life as the example of that.
He says if it is good to have great confidence and pride in such fleshy things then no one would have more than him! Then he lists off his resume which made him the model Jew. A resume that made him among the most respected Jews of his time. A resume that he at the time believed left him in great eyes of God himself as a Jew among Jews!
Before meeting Christ on the Road to Damascus, Paul had confidence that his background, education and occupation made him one of the elite Jews of his time and the fact of the matter was that was true. Paul was considered one of the most impressive Pharisees and he was on the fast track to become a member of the ruling Sanhedrin and maybe more.
Yet now Paul is telling the Christians at Philippi that all of that was worthless, none of it matters, it was all wasted effort and misguided confidence in the flesh rather than the spirit, whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
He says it is all worthless, it is all insignificant. What he thought would be to his spiritual credit was actually of no value to him. Those things that he thought would make him a “spiritual millionaire” actually contributed to making him spiritually bankrupt in the eyes of God. What might have made him a good Jew actually made him a bad Christian!
Before he thought that he was on his way to spiritual holiness and righteousness but that suddenly changed for him and in the eyes of God. Now he realized that he wasn’t even on the path to holiness. What he thought would bring him acceptance from God actually, brought him condemnation from the risen Christ. Paul, after his “Lenten” season in Damascus, came to realize that all he believed would make him holy was in fact worthless compared to the value of truly knowing Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
He might have bemoaned the fact that he lost everything important to him and society, most of us would if we were in his shoes, I did when I went through dark times, but instead Paul came to understand that there were new goals to attain. We see that in verse 14, as Paul writes, despite what has happened I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. He may have lost everything worldly and fleshy that he had, but he also had gained a path to righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, and through the grace of God he has gained eternity!
As we see throughout Paul’s writings, here in Philippians, in Hebrews and in 1 Timothy, we see that, Paul has a penchant for using race analogies, not sprints mind you but rather endurance races. Because of his transformation, his challenges, Paul has an affinity for the symbolism of lengthy races, long journeys. For not racing against others necessarily, but rather against ourselves and against the debilitating and disabling influences of the Great Deceiver, telling you that you cannot go the distance you don’t have the fortitude or the spiritual endurance, you cannot reach the goal. But in our lesson today, Paul tells us that in our lifelong journey, We Must Press On until we reach the goal and receive the prize that awaits us!
So, then what is the prize, what are the goals that Paul is talking about? We find those listed in throughout our lesson today, they are:
- The surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ.
- Gaining Christ in our life and to have us to be found in his.
- Having a righteousness, not of our own, but a righteousness which is found in faith in Christ.
- Knowing Christ personally and to know the power of the redeeming and restoring resurrection in our lives.
- Participating in his sufferings and becoming more and more like him every day.
Those are the things that Paul has come to understand are ultimately important to our lives, not the worldly, secular, cultural, societal things that Great Deceiver tells us that we all want and need. Yet even the great evangelist Paul finishes up our lesson today with this admission; “I have not yet obtained these. I have not already arrived at my goal. But through the grace of God, I press on to take up those things for which Jesus Christ took ahold of me, to change me, to restore me, to transform me!”
Paul continues: For now, my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness or purpose, because God the Father has given me that genuine righteousness and purpose which can only come from faith in Christ. How changed now are my ambitions! How my life has changed!
Paul learned that we cannot gain righteousness through our self-indulgent and self-aggrandizing works of the flesh. Holiness does not come from having the things that the world desires; money, power, prestige, possessions, and accolades. It comes only from the grace of God because of our willingness to Press On, to move forward in our faithfulness, in our desire to be more like Christ. Paul is telling the Philippians that his conversion brought about a new goals that gave him the overwhelming desire to know Christ ever more fully.
While Paul explains that his present life is now a pursuit in this new direction, he admits had he has not yet achieved all he longed for, nor has he been brought to that perfection to which he has aspired. Paul knows that he must continue to pursue the purposes Christ had chosen him for because spiritual progress is ever the goal that Christians must follow.
Hear the Good News my Friends……..
Life is a spiritual race; Lent is a microcosm of that race. Challenging ourselves to remember the goals, the challenges and the prize. To throw off that which hinders and distracts us, from slowing or stopping us from achieving, from receiving the prize, which is a transformed and transforming life, through and because of the grace and sacrifice of Jesus for us our race, our journey is our goal.
Paul closes out this lesson today with these words:
I Must Press On, I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal. My reward? The honor of being called by God in Christ for my purpose and my promise to serve God and mankind as He desires and requires.
My friends what are we willing to let go of so that with outstretched hands we can grasp the reward being called by God through Christ?
Like the man in the opening story will we cling to our past and our deeds, secular achievements, power, material possessions as our defining reasons for achieving the goal of being called? When we get to the Heavenly Gate and St. Peter asks us the question why should you to let in. Or maybe when we stand in the presence of our Father on our Judgment Day, what will be our answer? We need to be careful how we respond.
If we like the man, start our answer with all of our reasons being first person answers; I did this and I did that, I went to church almost every week, I gave until it almost hurt, I did this job and I did that job, I sang in the choir, I served in Sunday school, I taught the little ones, I worked on that committee or I worked in that mission then we have missed Paul’s point.
The answer needs to begin with the second person. He died for me, He loved me, He saved me, He redeemed my broken soul and I trust Him and I receive grace from him. Friends, as I have said before, have said to many nearing the end of a journey, God is not done with us until He is ready for us. Dear ones, despite our challenges, despite what we may have perceived as losses, know that what we have received in return is vastly more valuable than any worldly thing we may have lost. Friends, We Must Press On , we must stand on His promises and we will be assured of achieving the goal of being called into eternity by God through Christ. Dear ones, We Must Press On! Amen.