Philippians 3:4-14
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 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 on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Christ Is My Confidence
I grew up as the youngest of 6 children in my family. Literally from the day I was born, one of my siblings was in high school every year until I graduated from grade 12. I had my entire life to look forward to high school and everything that it would entail. But after 14 years of watching my siblings sing in choir, play sports, try out for plays, take their college exams, there was one thing that I wanted more than anything else - a varsity letter jacket with more pins and medals than any of my siblings had earned.
Now, that was high school and a lot longer ago than I like to think about. But what if there was an equivalent for a Christian – a letter jacket that God would give believers who excel in their faith? Well, in that case, the Apostle Paul would have had one so full of medals and pins that you would have been able to hear him jingle his way down the hall before you ever saw him. He gives us a list:
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.[1]
Paul starts this sentence with an “if,” but there was nothing iffy about it. There were people in Philippi who put their confidence in the flesh. We call them “Judaizers.” They were Jewish converts to Christianity, which ordinarily would be a good thing, except in this case they had taken it upon themselves to insist that everyone in their faith community act like them, that there were certain standards, certain benchmarks that you’d have to clear to be a “good Christian,” and they were the prime examples.
The Judaizers felt that because of their lifestyle and resume their entrance into heaven was a mere formality. They were practically guaranteed a spot in God’s house because they were obviously such good people.
Paul, on the other hand, chimes in with this list of credentials to shame the Judaizers. If they thought they were good, Paul was better. If they thought they had all the qualifications to enter heaven, Paul had more. He was more faithful, more zealous. He even came from a better family.
If anyone could have earned his way into heaven based on pedigree, performance and personal achievement, it would have been Paul. If God gave out letter jackets with pins and medals based on how good we are, Paul’s could have been melted down and recast into the Colossus of Rhodes.
But then Paul says something interesting:
Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord… I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.[2]
Paul would have rather crumpled up this entire list of accolades and tossed it in the bin – he would have rather thrown his letter, pins, and medals into the trash than let his pride for them stand in the way of his trust in Jesus.
Here’s the thing, most of what Paul listed wasn’t evil – apart from murdering innocent people, of course. Most of those things were objectively good. He was a law-abiding and conscientious Christian. But Paul was willing to throw good things in the garbage if he began to value them more than he valued God.
For the Judaizers in Philippi, their confidence came from what they did for God, not from what God did for them. Their confidence came from their own righteousness. They felt that they were good enough as they were and that they didn’t need to change anything, that they didn’t need to try harder or get better. They felt that they had already met all the qualifications necessary to go to heaven, and that God should be happy to have someone as good as them in heaven.
It sounds pretty cocky when you put it that way, but that kind of mentality is more common and current than you might think. It’s important for us to realize that some of the things we consider to be advantages and blessings can actually be loss and garbage if they stand in the way of knowing and trusting in Jesus.
Maybe you were born into a Christian family. You put your time in in Sunday School and Confirmation Class. You’ve been a lifelong member of a Christian congregation. Those things can all be incredibly great blessings that some of us wish we could claim. But not one of them is a ticket to eternal life.
Maybe the things that you consider to be your advantages are your intelligence, your education, your success, your happiness, your unimpeachable virtue and personal moral victories. Again, those things can all be incredible assets that some of us wish we could claim. But not one of them is a ticket to eternal life. God does not owe you heaven because of who you are or what you’ve done.
In fact, there’s even a scenario where all those advantages and assets can become worse than worthless. They can even become curses for us. When we put our confidence in our own accomplishments, we not only deny and reject the sacrifice of Jesus as unnecessary and pointless, but we bank our eternal life on our own righteousness.
Are you such a good person that under God’s microscope you would be found faultless? Are God’s commands so easy for you to keep perfectly that you’ve invented more and more difficult ones? Can you say that you are even enthusiastic in your faith, let alone zealous to the point that your faith guides every single action in your life?
If your answer to any of those questions is anything less than 100% yes, then you probably shouldn’t bank your eternal life on your own righteousness. If you are anything less than faultless, perfect, righteous in every single way to the utmost degree then you will not earn heaven for yourself. You’ll actually earn God’s judgment and condemnation.
That was the problem that the Philippian Christians faced. It’s a problem in our hearts too. But that’s why Paul took all his gains and advantages – his varsity letter with all its pins and medals – and threw them in the garbage. Because as good as his righteousness was, it could not earn heaven for him. But it didn’t have to, because he could bank his eternal life on a righteousness that wasn’t his own – the righteousness of Christ that was his by faith.
I consider them garbage, 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 on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.[3]
Jesus is the only person who has ever been perfect. He is the only one who has ever done everything commanded in the law of God. He was faultless and zealous and faithful in every way to the utmost degree. There is only one person in the history of this planet that has ever earned his way to heaven, and it was Jesus.
But in his incredible love for you, Jesus gave up every advantage and asset he had – he came down from heaven, became a man, lived a truly perfect life but surrendered the right to be considered righteous. He willingly allowed himself to be condemned for crimes he did not commit, so that he could cover your unrighteousness with his perfect faultlessness. The sinless one paid the punishment for the sins of the whole world, so that you could live, so that heaven could be open to you, not because you are so good, but because he was perfect for you.
That’s where Paul’s confidence came from, and where ours comes from too. That’s why he was willing to give up every other advantage and asset, and consider them garbage. All our pins and medals, personal accomplishments and prideful boasts pale in comparison to the priceless gift of life through Christ. Our hope for heaven is not based on who we are or what we’ve done. It’s based on who Jesus is and what he’s done for us.
Our eternal life has nothing to do with how good we are or how much good we do. But that doesn’t mean we stop trying to be or to do good. It actually means we try even harder. Paul says:
One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.[4]
Forget what is behind. Don’t let your past make you too proud to do good now. I don’t mean to be flippant, but who cares if you’ve been a good mother to your children for the past 18 years, or if you served on the church council for 20. Just because you’ve put time in doesn’t mean you’ve earned time off. There is still good for you to do as a parent, as a member of a congregation, as a neighbour and friend for the rest of your life. Strain toward what is ahead. You only have one life to live. What are you saving your energy and effort for?
Forget what is behind. Don’t let your past mistakes make you too embarrassed to try hard now. You’re not a lost cause. You’re not worthless. God valued you so much that he sacrificed his Son for you. You are loved and forgiven. You’ve been given not only eternal life in heaven, but this life to live in thankfulness and love. Press on toward the goal. God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus and none of your past mistakes can keep you from winning that prize.
I only ended up with one pin on this letter (and three more on another). It’s not nearly what I had dreamed of or planned for, but this isn’t what I value anymore. I don’t wear this letter on my jacket or deck myself out with pins and medals to celebrate past accomplishments. I tuck those things away in a drawer somewhere.
As Christians, we wear Christ on our hearts and in our lives. He is our pride and confidence. May we always be willing to lose all our advantages and consider all our assets garbage if it means gaining Christ and being found in him. Amen.
[1] Philippians 3:4-6
[2] Philippians 3:7-9
[3] Philippians 3:8-11
[4] Philippians 3:13,14