Introduction:
A. When life goes well for people who do not know the Lord they feel elated.
1. When hard times come they sink into despair.
2. But true joy enables us to rise above the rolling waves of circumstance.
3. Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ.
4. When our lives are intertwined with Jesus, he is available to help us to walk above adversity without permanently sinking into debilitating lows and Jesus helps to manage the good times without moving into deceptive highs.
B. But joy can be disrupted by life’s trials and our own sinful tendencies.
1. One of those tendencies is the tendency to define our worth in terms of our own efforts and achievements.
2. The 19th-century Bible scholar G. S. Bowes pointed out the ultimate futility of ambition that isn’t accompanied by dedication to God.
3. Citing four powerful world rulers of the past, he wrote: “Alexander the Great was not satisfied, even when he had completely subdued the nations. He wept because there were no more worlds to conquer, and he died at an early age in a state of debauchery. Hannibal, who filled three bushels with the gold rings taken from the knights he had slaughtered, committed suicide by swallowing poison. Few noted his passing, and he left this earth completely unmourned. Julius Caesar, ‘staining his garments in the blood of one million of his foes,’ conquered 800 cities, only to be stabbed by his best friends at the scene of his greatest triumph. Napoleon, the feared conqueror, after being the scourge of Europe, spent his last years, in banishment.” No wonder Solomon warned of the poor prospects for anyone who strives to succeed without relying on God.” – [ H.G.B. Our Daily Bread, January 31 -//www.bible.org/illus/a/a-17.htm]
C. Charles Swindoll offers some advice in this area when he says, “Something within all of us warms up to human strokes. We are motivated to do more when our efforts are noticed and rewarded. That is why they make things like impressive trophies and silver platters and bronze plaques and gold medals…What does it do? It drives us to do more, to gain greater recognition, to achieve more valuable rewards, better pay, or higher promotions….But how easy it is to forget that not one of those accomplishments gives a person what he or she may lack deep within – that’s why they can’t bring lasting satisfaction. And much more importantly, none of them earns God’s favor.” [Charles Swindoll. Laugh Again: Experience Outrageous Joy. (Dallas: Word, 1991) pp. 126-127]
D. Today we are going to take note of one of the chief joy stealers of our day – the demands of human achievement.
1. This is a philosophy that is glorified in our day, the type A Personality – the workaholic.
2. As damaging as it may be in the work place and in society in general, it is spiritually deadly when it is applied to our relationship with God.
E. Two weeks ago, as we moved into chapter three of our study in Philippians, we explored the subject of learning what counts in our standing with God.
1. I explained that we would need two sermons to properly address the subject, and that the first sermon would be about works righteousness, and the second would be about faith righteousness.
2. In that first sermon, I began with a couple of stories that illustrated the danger of putting your confidence in something untrustworthy – like a non-existent parachute of the skydiving photographer, or the shady investments of Bernie Madoff.
3. We make the same mistake when we trust in something to save us that cannot save us.
F. The apostle Paul had found himself in that situation before he was a Christian.
1. Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road and three days later he learned how to become a Christian, and so he put his trust in Jesus and was baptized into Christ.
2. A great transaction of the grace of God took place in Paul’s life, the kind that still takes place today whenever sinners admit their need and turn to their Savior by faith in repentance and baptism.
3. During Paul’s encounter with Jesus, he realized how futile were his good works, and how sinful were his claims of works righteousness.
4. Paul came to understand that we are saved not by our works (works righteousness), but by God’s grace through faith (faith righteousness).
5. In that wonderful transaction that took place when Paul became a Christian, he lost some things, but he gained much more than he lost!
FAITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
I. Paul’s Losses (Phil. 3:7)
A. Paul wrote: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (3:7)
1. To begin with, Paul had to give up depending on whatever he had trusted in to improve his standing with God.
a. Previously, Paul had a great reputation as a religious scholar and a religious leader.
b. Previously, Pau was very proud of his Jewish heritage and his religious achievements.
c. Previously, Paul had many friends who admired his zeal and his power.
2. All of those things were valuable to Paul and he could and did profit from them.
3. But Paul evaluated those “treasures” against what Jesus Christ had to offer, and he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but “refuse” (dung, garbage) compared to what he could have in Christ.
4. Paul “treasures” had brought him personal, earthly glory, but they did not bring glory and standing from God.
B. Therefore, Paul counted those old things as a loss, and gave them up.
1. Paul’s old position, his old profession, his old world view, and his old associates all had to be changed or abandoned.
2. Many Christians today, even some in this church have had to give up what many would call valuable to follow Christ.
3. Many have had to give up former “religious” teachings or rituals, former occupations, former popular or prestigious positions, former beliefs and goals, former activities and entertainment, and even former family and friends.
4. And all of us have had to give up our very selves and any ways that we were trying to save ourselves in order to receive faith righteousness through Jesus.
5. But Paul discovered what most of us discover that whatever we must give up to follow Christ is well worth it.
6. We discover the truth that Jesus explained to Peter, “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mk. 10:29-30)
7. Paul had truly lost a lot when he became a Christian, but let’s notice what he gained.
II. Paul’s Gains (Phil. 3:8-11)
A. First of all, Paul says that he gained a knowledge of Christ (vs. 8a)
1. Paul wrote: What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. (3:8a)
2. All that Paul had to give up was nothing compared with the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.
3. This “knowing” means much more than knowledge about Christ, because surely Paul had knowledge about Jesus before his conversion.
a. Paul had been persecuting followers of Jesus, so he knew about Jesus and His claims.
4. This surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus means to have a personal relationship with Jesus through faith.
a. The most intimate expression of human relationship is conveyed in Scripture by the word “know” when the Bible says that “Adam knew Eve” (Gen. 4:1).
5. Did you know that the past feared Soviet leader Khrushchev knew a lot about Jesus and the Bible?
a. As a boy, Khrushchev won many prizes at church because of his remarkable ability to quote Scripture.
b. Yet anyone familiar with his life and leadership in the Soviet system knows that Khrushchev did not believe nor did he follow the very words he could quote.
c. So it is one thing to know the facts about Jesus, and it’s another thing to truly know Christ.
6. But how do we really come to know Christ in the way Paul described?
a. It comes through putting our trust in Christ every day in practical ways.
b. Here is a good explanation: “More knowledge of God is gained from one ‘inch’ of obedience to God’s will than can be gained from ‘acres’ of argument about God.”
c. Truly knowing God is a wonderful blessing, but it only comes through faithful practice.
B. Second, Paul said that he gained the righteousness of Christ (vs. 8b-9).
1. Paul wrote: I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (3:8b-9)
2. Righteousness (which we might understand as right standing with God, or spiritual wealth) had been the great goal of Paul’s life when he was a Pharisee, but it was a self-righteousness, a works-righteousness, that he could never truly attain.
3. But when Paul trusted in Christ, he gave up his own righteousness, a works-righteousness (which wasn’t sufficient), and received by faith the righteousness of Christ.
4. The technical term for this transaction is “imputation,” which means “to put into someone’s account.”
5. In reality, when Paul was trying to be righteous by works-righteousness, his account was empty, bankrupt.
a. But because the righteousness of Christ is an unlimited bank account, those who trust in Christ to save them receive a transfer from Christ’s account into their own.
6. What a fantastic experience of God’s grace is the transfer of the righteousness of Christ into the accounts of those who believe in Jesus and dedicate their lives to Him!
7. Paul trusted in Christ and gained the righteousness of God that comes through faith.
8. How foolish are the people who try to save themselves by their own good works!
C. Third, Paul said that he gained the fellowship of Christ (vs. 10-11)
1. Paul wrote: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (3:10-11)
2. When Paul became a Christian it was not the end, but was just the beginning of a wonderful fellowship with God.
3. That fellowship was experienced in several ways.
4. First, that fellowship was a personal experience.
a. Paul said, “I want to know Christ…” (vs. 10).
b. Paul came to know Jesus personally as he walked with him by faith.
c. Jesus was Paul’s master, his friend and constant companion.
5. Second, that fellowship was a powerful experience.
a. Being connected to Christ meant experiencing the resurrection power of Jesus, not simply as a past event in history, but as a present experience of empowerment.
b. To know Christ is to experience God’s power at work in our lives, doing more than we could ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
c. It is the resurrection power of God at work in us that transforms us, sanctifies us, and empowers us to accomplish God’s will.
6. Third, that fellowship was a painful experience.
a. Paul expressed his desire to share in the sufferings of Christ (vs. 10).
b. This hard, but essential truth, is that we do not know Christ completely until we know Him in the fellowship of His suffering.
c. Suffering for and with Christ is something we often try to avoid rather than accept, and see it as a penalty rather than a privilege.
d. Nina Hermann was serving as a chaplain at a children’s hospital and it was her job to minister to suffering children and their families.
1. One cold night while she was reading by a cozy fire, she received a telephone call.
2. It was a call from a mother of a former patient who had just been re-admitted, and they wanted her to come to the hospital immediately because the child was doing poorly.
3. Nina had been through this same thing before with this family.
4. It was so cold out and she didn’t want to leave the warmth and comfort of her home.
5. But Nina went anyhow and when she arrived at the hospital, she discovered that the child was doing okay, it was a false alarm.
6. Nina stayed a while and ministered to the child and her family, and was blessed by the experience.
7. When Nina returned home that night, she wrote these words in her journal: “I had read about God and Jesus participating in the human experience, suffering, knowing rejection, aloneness, pain and fear, but it had never been something I understood. Until now. Do when you don’t want to do. Go when you don’t want to go. Plod through the snow. Wrestle with the cold and wind. And when you least expect, you may glimpse through an open door a revelation.”
8. What Nina was saying is that if you really want to know Christ, then suffer for Him and with Him, because when you do, then you will know and understand Christ more completely.
e. Paul really wanted to know Christ and fellowship with Him, but Paul knew that to do so, he had to share in the sufferings of Christ.
f. If we really want to know Christ and fellowship with Him, then we must not shrink back from suffering and sacrificing for Christ.
1. This includes going when we don’t want to, giving when we don’t want to, and doing when we don’t want to.
2. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he explained this process, saying: “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24)
7. Fourth, and finally, that fellowship was a purposeful experience.
a. Paul wanted to know Christ, becoming like him in his death so that he might become like him in his resurrection.
b. Just as Jesus had to pass through death in order to live, so must we.
c. This was certainly one of Paul’s favorite themes in his writings.
1. “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Gal. 2:20).
2. “You have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ…” (Col. 3:3).
3. “If we have been untied with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Rom. 6:5).
4. “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10).
d. The ultimate purpose of knowing Jesus, dying to self and suffering with Christ, is to be united with him in his resurrection.
e. When Paul said: “and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection…” (vs. 11), he was not expressing doubt, nor does he mean it is gained by self-achievement, rather he was expressing his wonder and amazement that God’s mercy would accomplish this incredible purpose – the believer’s resurrection with Christ.
f. This is our great hope and our blessed assurance!
Conclusion:
A. Philippians 3:1-11 is one of the most important passages in the NT in helping us understand what really counts in regard to righteousness and salvation.
1. What really counts is the righteousness that Jesus made possible by his life and through His death on the cross.
2. Other paths of righteousness do not lead to God’s salvation.
3. If Paul had been on a religious path that was acceptable, then God would not have changed his path.
4. But the truth of Paul’s condition before he met Jesus was that his path of works righteousness was the path to no righteousness.
5. Any path other than the one that places our trust and confidence in the righteousness of Jesus is meaningless.
B. How does a person receive the righteousness of Christ?
1. By believing in and trusting Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; Phil. 3:9).
2. By repenting from trust in our self-righteousness, and self-rule (Acts 3:19).
3. By putting on the righteousness of Christ in baptism – Gal. 3:26-27 – those who are baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ.
4. By remaining in Christ – Col. 2:6-7 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
5. What a joy it is to know Christ and to have a relationship with Him by faith that is face to face.
C. Poem by John R. Rice
“I have walked life’s path with an easy tread, Had followed where comfort and pleasure led;
And then by chance in a quiet place –I met my Master face to face.
With station and rank and wealth for goal, Much thought for body but none for soul,
I had entered to win this life’s mad race –When I met my Master face to face.
I had built my castles, reared them high, Till their towers had pierced the blue of the sky;
I had sworn to rule with an iron mace - When I met my Master face to face.
I met Him and Knew Him, and blushed to see, That His eyes full of sorrow were fixed on me;
And I faltered, and fell at His feet that day, While my castles vanished and melted away.
Melted and vanished; and in their place, I saw naught else but my Master’s face;
And I cried aloud: ‘Oh, make me meet, To follow the marks of Thy wounded feet.’
My thought is now for the souls of men; I have lost my life to find it again
Ever since alone in that holy place, My master and I stood face to face.”
D. When we truly see and know Jesus, nothing else matters except trusting Him for salvation, and serving Him to bring Him glory and to show our gratitude.
Resources:
The Bible Exposition Commentary, Philippians, by Warren Wiersbe, Victor Books, 1989
“Three Things We Must Do to Keep Our Joy” Sermon by John Hamby, SermonCentral.com
