The Race You Can’t Afford to Lose

Life isn’t about chasing trophies, it’s about pressing on to the prize of Christ (Philippians 3:4–21).

Paul had the resume. The titles. The accolades. You know the type of person I mean. The one who walks into the room and people immediately start bobbing their heads in acknowledgment. He had it all. In Philippians 3 he boasts about his impressive background. “circumcised the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless”. If anyone had bragging rights, it was Paul.

Paul is at the end of his rope. But now he looks at everything he has done, everything he has earned, and he throws it in the trash. He calls it garbage. He says, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ”. Can you imagine a CEO, throwing away his diploma, stock portfolio, and corner office and saying none of this makes me right with God.

Paul discovered something more valuable: “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. Knowing Christ became the most important thing in his life. The word knowing refers to relationship, not just head knowledge. He knew Christ. Intimately.

In fact, Paul says he wants to “know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death”. Talk about living upside down. Paul is getting so caught up in Christ, his life is defined by grace and a willingness to suffer in the same way His did.

Now this is the part I love. Paul doesn’t put on an “I’ve arrived” air. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect,” he admits, “but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (v. 12). Pressing on Paul’s pursuit isn’t to earn Christ, it’s because he already belongs to Christ. Pressing on, not to gain salvation, but because salvation has gripped him.

But this is where I have to ask the hard question: Are we pressing on or are we standing still while culture pulls us backward? Paul says, “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”. Passive Christianity won’t do. Shallow, half-hearted religion will get you so far. But pressing on, no turning back living, Jesus focused living is the key to following Jesus well.

Notice the exhortation as well. Paul speaks about people living as “enemies of the cross of Christ”. Destruction awaits them; their god is their belly; their glory is their shame; and their minds are on earthly things. This is a picture of the world living for the next meal, the next high, the next round of applause. But Paul turns it on its head: “Our citizenship is in heaven”.

Meaning your passport doesn’t ultimately say, “USA” or “Great Britain” or any other nation, it says “Kingdom of God.” One day, our Savior will return and “transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body”. This is the hope that fuels the press.

The bottom line: Don’t get caught polishing trophies that won’t make it into eternity. Don’t let the world tell you where your treasure is. Don’t anchor your identity in credentials, career, or applause. Count it loss. Gain Christ. And then press on. When the road gets hard and culture pulls backward, keep straining forward. Because the finish line is real. The prize is eternal. And the Savior is waiting at the end.

A desire only for the things in this world

Paul continues to describe those people against whom he warned Philippi’s Christians so strongly (3:18). He does not describe them by their beliefs, opinions or leaders, because these things may differ. Instead, he describes them by their future punishment, their wrong desires and their thoughts:

Isaiah 66:1-24
Philippians 3:4-21
Psalm 74:1-23
Proverbs 24:15-16

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New Testament: Philippians 3:4-21

Summary:
Righteousness Through Faith in Christ
Straining Toward the Goal

 

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
~ Philippians 3:18-21

(1) Their future punishment is hell, unless they truly turn back to God. That is so because they serve themselves – their own selfish and evil desires, ambition and profit – and not God. They might be in the churches, but they oppose the message of Christ and his death. They might consider themselves Christians, but they love their own wrong and evil deeds and attitudes.

 

(2) Their desire is to please themselves and not to please God. That desire can be so strong that people make it into a kind of false god. They truly love the things that please them; so they cannot love God (Matthew 6:24). As the stomach constantly desires more food, so they can never satisfy their wrong desires (Proverbs 30:15-16).

 

That desire seems the greatest thing in the world to them. They give their whole lives to satisfy it (contrast Matthew 4:4). However, such things truly satisfy nobody (John 6:47-59). In the end, such greedy and selfish desires only bring shame and disappointment (Mark 8:36; James 5:1-5).

 

(3) These people give their attention to the things in this world. Of course, we must all think about the things in this world – but we must not neglect to think about the most important matters: God, heaven, and our relationship with God. The things that these people think about may be money, fashion and possessions. Or, they may think mainly about themselves: their emotions, importance or ambitions. Or they may even think about religion: its rules, customs and traditions. All these things belong in this world, and in these people’s minds, these things take the place of thoughts about God, about Christ, and about heaven. By their thoughts, these people show that they belong to this world, and not to heaven.

 

From: usefulbible.com  – by Keith Simons

 

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Overview: Philippians  –  Click Here

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