Press On!

Please take your Bibles and let's open them up to the book of Philippians this morning.

Book of Philippians, once again, we're about halfway through chapter 3 this morning.

And so, if you would, take your Bibles, open them up to Philippians chapter 3,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

and we'll be in verse 12, all the way through chapter 4, verse 1.

So when you found that in your Bibles, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word today.

Paul says,

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own,

but one thing I do, 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.

Let those of us who are mature think this way,

and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Brothers, join in imitating me,

and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

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.

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for,

my joy and my crown,

stand firm thus in the Lord,

my beloved.

This is God's holy word.

Let's pray once more.

Father,

we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the promises contained here.

We thank you for the warnings contained here.

We pray now as we study this passage together,

Lord, would you help our ears and our minds and our hearts

to be attentive to what you would say to us this morning.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

We just sang one of my favorite Christmas hymns,

Joy to the World,

The Lord Has Come.

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare him room,

and heaven and nature sing.

This is my, again, annual petition.

I do this every year.

Annual petition to sing this hymn year round,

not just at Christmas time,

because in pinning those words,

the author of Joy to the World

wasn't thinking about the first coming of Christ.

He was actually writing about the second coming of Christ.

When the Lord, the King, would return and come home

and reign as King over all the earth,

and the earth would be filled with joy

at the arrival of King Jesus.

I, once again, request that we sing Joy to the World year round.

Whether or not you realize it,

you and I, we live in an incredibly unique period of human history.

We live in between the two advents of Christ Jesus.

Here at Christmas time, we celebrate the first coming of Christ,

the first advent of Christ,

and his coming as a baby, being born in a manger,

but also his perfect life,

and then his sacrificial death,

and then his victorious resurrection,

and then his ascension into heaven.

All of that is in the first coming of Christ.

That's past.

But we also, we look forward to the second coming of Christ.

There is an advent yet to come,

when we will sing with fullness of joy,

joy to the world,

the Lord has come.

And so my question for us this morning is,

what is life meant to look like for Christians

in between the two comings of Christ?

What is life meant to look like for you and I

in the in between?

And the Apostle Paul, here in our passage this morning,

he speaks to that question,

and here's what he says.

He says the faithful Christian life in the in between,

it looks like working,

and it looks like waiting.

Faithfully, Christians in between the two comings of Christ

are called to work hard,

and to wait eagerly.

Paul wants to make sure,

especially after what he's just said

in the first half of chapter three,

that we understand that how you live

in between the two comings of Christ,

it truly, actually, really matters.

You may have noticed this,

as I read this morning,

our passage,

that our passage this morning,

it picks up in the middle of Paul's train of thought.

He's continuing a line of reasoning for us,

and so we really need to zoom out

and understand the context here

of what he's saying.

If you were here last week,

then you heard Treg explain

from verses two through 11,

some of these incredible claims

that Paul is making here

in the first half of chapter three.

He has said some pretty shocking things

to the Philippians,

and these are things that if you're just hearing this

for the first time,

it may be easy to misunderstand.

These are things that you don't want to just skip right by

and not really grasp the meat

of what Paul has given to us.

Maybe you're here,

and you wouldn't necessarily even call yourself

a Christian,

or maybe this is all kind of new information to you.

I want to encourage you this morning

to pay close attention

to what Paul is saying here in these verses,

because if we misunderstand the gospel,

then we can wind up in some pretty dangerous ditches

here on either side of the road.

So let's recap what he said last week.

Think about this with me.

Paul said up in verse three,

chapter three, verse three,

he said,

we put no confidence in the flesh,

none,

no confidence in the flesh.

You take all of your goodness,

you take all of your obedience,

you take all of your pride,

and you toss it out the window.

We put no confidence in the flesh.

Not only this,

he says to this Gentile church here in Philippi,

he says,

we are the circumcision,

not those who are Jewish by birth only.

We are the true heirs of the promises of God.

We are the circumcision,

not those who have kept the law of circumcision,

and not those who insist that we keep the law of circumcision.

We who know Christ Jesus by faith,

we are the circumcision.

In fact,

he says that all of that,

all of my confidence in the flesh,

you remember,

tribe of Benjamin,

circumcised on the eighth day,

Hebrew of Hebrews,

Pharisee,

as to the law,

blameless under the law,

all of it,

Paul says,

all of those trophies on my shelf,

he calls it rubbish,

compared to knowing Christ Jesus,

my Lord.

Here's the point.

Paul says,

the only thing that matters is knowing Christ Jesus by faith.

The only thing that matters is knowing Christ Jesus by faith.

And this is good news for us,

church,

isn't it?

Because what this means for us is that ultimately,

it doesn't matter ultimately what family you were born into.

It doesn't matter ultimately how sinful you've been up to this point,

or even how obedient you've been up to this point.

It doesn't matter if you would consider yourself religious,

or if you would classify yourself as rebellious.

Rebellious,

the only thing that matters is knowing the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.

Of course,

this is at the very heart of the gospel.

We need to understand this.

By grace,

you have been saved by faith,

Paul says in Ephesians 2.

And this is not your own doing.

Read that again,

and again,

and again,

and again,

until we get it.

That is not your own doing.

It's not your own doing.

It's a gift of God,

not by work,

so that no man may boast.

You all know how gifts work,

right?

If not,

you got maybe 17 days to figure it out,

okay?

Gifts,

you can't earn a gift.

If you earn a gift,

it's no longer a gift.

What is it?

It's a payment.

It's a wage for works done.

Paul says salvation is given by God

to sinners who are bankrupt

and couldn't afford it

if they tried.

It's given as a free gift

of God's grace

through the gift of faith

in a Savior

who has lived in your place,

died in your place,

risen in your place,

so that by faith in Him,

everything He's earned by right

is now given to you by grace.

This is the gospel.

So Paul says,

I want you to understand that

because there's two ditches here

that we need to avoid.

Two ditches.

Ditch number one

on one side of the road.

Paul,

if that's true,

if you already have

Jesus' perfection

credited to your account,

and Paul,

if you already know

the power of His resurrection,

well,

then you can just

take it easy.

Relax.

Coast your way to glory.

You're already perfect in Christ.

Paul,

you said so,

so relax.

Why are you working so hard?

That's ditch number one.

Ditch number two

on the other side of the road.

Paul,

if we're done with the law,

if we're done with this whole system

of works

and earning

and doing,

if we're covered by grace,

we're people of grace,

we're saved by grace,

we live in God's grace,

well,

then we're free to just live

however we want to live,

right?

We can do whatever

we want to do

and live however

we want to live.

Paul wants to keep

the Philippian church

and us this morning,

Siwe Bay,

right in the middle

of the road.

And so he says,

again,

faithful Christian life

here in the in-between,

it looks like working

and it looks like waiting.

Let's see it in our passage

here.

First,

here in the in-between,

we are to be working.

Look there with me

to verse 12

in our passage.

Verse 12.

Paul wants to make sure

to avoid ditch number one

and so he clarifies

here in verse 12.

He says,

not that I have already

obtained this

or that I'm already perfect,

but I press on

to make it my own

because Christ Jesus

has made me

his own.

Brothers,

I do not consider

that I have made it

my own,

but one thing I do,

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.

That doesn't sound

like Paul is taking it easy,

does it?

Paul wants to make it

abundantly clear,

doesn't he,

that grace

doesn't produce

lazy Christians.

And not if you understand

it correctly.

Paul says,

yes,

we are legally,

objectively righteous

in the sight of God.

We are perfect

in the sight of God.

We are justified,

declared righteous

in the sight of God

by faith in Christ.

Yes,

we are spiritually speaking,

we are raised up

with Christ,

raised to walk

in newness of life

and yet,

are you perfect,

Christian?

Do you still struggle

with sin,

Christian?

Be honest.

Do you still wrestle

with temptation,

Christian?

Do you still struggle

with anger,

Christian?

Do you still struggle

with the sins

of the flesh?

Do you still struggle

with weakness?

I do.

And Paul says,

I do.

And so he says,

no, no, no,

I don't coast my way

to glory,

I press on

to make this perfection

my own.

See,

the Christian life

is one of active pursuit

of what is already

yours in Christ.

You hear that?

And so we're called

to put off the old man

and to put on

the new man,

as we're told

in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And this is the tension

between the already

and the not yet,

isn't it?

In Christ,

if you're in Christ,

you are already

a new creation.

The old is gone,

behold,

the new has come.

And yet,

not yet,

we await the time

when we will finally

be a new creation.

In Christ,

if you know Christ Jesus

by faith,

you are already

declared perfect

in the sight of God.

And yet,

who here is perfect?

And yet,

we await

a final perfection.

If you are in Christ

by faith,

your salvation is secure,

you are saved

by the grace of God,

and yet,

not yet,

we await a final,

perfect,

complete salvation

at the day of Christ

when He returns.

We're here in the already

and the not yet

in between the two

comings of Christ.

We look backwards

to see what's already done

and we look forwards

to see

not yet.

And here in the in between,

Paul says,

I press on

to make the not yet

my own right now.

And he gives us

two images here,

two images here

to drive that message home.

The first is

of a soldier in battle.

A soldier in battle.

Look to verse 12.

The language here

in verse 12

is military language.

He says,

I press on

to make it my own,

verse 12.

Another way to say that

is I pursue it

and I overtake it.

This is wartime language.

And Paul understands

that the view

from the air,

okay,

the view from the air

is that the city

has been taken,

the victory is secured,

but he also knows

that as a soldier

on the ground,

it's not time

to put away his gun yet.

There's still a battle

to be fought.

There's still dangers

out there

to be avoided.

The soldier on the ground

still has to fight

even though the view

from the air,

the battle has been won.

So in the same way,

Paul can say

in the same breath,

he says,

Christian,

the fight's been won already

and yet,

not yet.

Go fight.

Go press on.

Go make it your own

until he comes again.

Image number two

is of an athlete

in competition.

Look there

to verse 13.

He says,

one thing I do,

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.

This straining forward,

pressing on

toward a goal,

pursuing a prize,

that's athlete language,

isn't it?

Paul knows

that the Christian life

is a little bit

like a race.

Now,

I'm not a runner

at all.

You won't see me

running laps anywhere,

anytime soon,

but I know this,

I know you don't ease up

after just a few laps

of a race,

do you?

You don't slow down

to look behind you.

If you do,

you're going to get overtaken.

If you slow down

and think about

the last ten steps,

that's not what

a good runner does.

The good runner

doesn't think about

the steps he's already taken.

He thinks about

the next step

and the next step

and the next step

and ultimately

he's thinking about

the prize

of completing the race

and running that race

as fast

and as hard

and as diligently

as he possibly can.

Paul is giving us

this image to say,

I'm not resting

in what I've already done.

I press on

toward the prize

of the goal

of the upward call

of God

in Christ Jesus.

Paul also knows

he's smart

like a good coach.

He knows that

the only way

to really motivate

Christians

like you and me

to get up

and to work

and to press on

and to pursue

in this way

is not just to yell

at them to do better.

He gives us

both the prize

to pursue

and the power

to pursue it.

What's the prize?

What's the prize?

It's the upward

call of God

in Christ Jesus.

How is that

for a goal?

New Year's

is just around

the corner.

Some of y'all

make some

New Year's resolutions.

It's a good time

to make some goals

to evaluate your life

and to make a few goals

that you might

be ambitious towards

over the new year.

Let's add this one

to the list.

I want to hear

God say to me,

well done,

good and faithful servant.

I want to run

the race

that's set before me

so that at the return

of Christ

I will hear

the voice of the Lord

say,

this one is mine.

Come into the joy

of your master.

I want to press on

towards glory.

I want to press on

towards perfection.

I want to press on

towards resurrection.

I want to press on

towards Christ.

I don't want to coast

my way to glory.

I want to make mine

what Christ has already

purchased for me.

How's that for a goal?

How will we do it?

What's the power?

He says in verse 12.

Look there again.

I wonder if you caught this.

Verse 12.

He says,

I press on

to make it my own

because

Christ Jesus

has made me

his own.

Do you hear that?

The power

for your pursuit

of Christ

lies entirely

in the power

of Christ's pursuit

of you.

This is the only power

that we have

to run the race

that's set before us.

You and I have

zero power

to pursue Christ

apart from

Christ's pursuit

of us.

We got to get this

order correct

because we don't

pursue Christ

in order for Christ

to make us his own.

No, no, no.

Paul says,

we press on

because

Christ Jesus

has made me

his own.

We put on

what belongs

to us

in Christ.

We pursue

Christ with our lives

because Christ

has already

pursued us

with his.

And so,

Christian,

are you pursuing?

Are you

pressing forward?

Are you

straining

forward?

Are you

striving to know

more and more

and more

of the Lord?

Not to earn

his favor

but because

he has come

and he has

pursued you

by the grace

of God.

The Christian

life is to be

characterized

by working.

Paul says

in verse 15,

let those of us

who are mature

think this way.

And if

in anything

you think

otherwise,

God will

reveal that

also to you.

Do you

think this

way?

It's

interesting

how he

says,

let those

of us

who are

mature

think this

way.

Literally,

you know

what it

says,

literally,

the word

there for

mature?

It's

perfect.

Let

those of

us

who are

perfect

think this

way.

It's a

wordplay.

It's the

same wording

as in

Matthew 5

48,

where Jesus

says,

you therefore

must be

perfect,

as your

heavenly

father is

perfect.

Let those

of us

who are

mature,

perfect,

think this

way.

So let

me sum

up

point one

like this.

Paul says,

if you

are perfect,

you will

know that

you're not

perfect.

So because

Christ has

made you

perfect,

you press

on until

you are

made

perfect at

the day

of Christ.

That's the

Christian

life here

in the

in-between.

Not only

this,

second,

second,

here in

the in-between

the Christian

life is

one of

waiting.

One of

waiting.

You remember

ditch number

two,

don't you?

Ditch number

two,

I am

righteous,

objectively

righteous,

and so I

can live

however I

want.

I am

covered by

the grace

of God.

We are

grace people.

We live

in grace,

not by

works,

and so it

doesn't really

ultimately matter

how I

live,

right?

Paul?

Paul says,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no.

Here in

the in-between,

you are

called to

live a life

of holy

waiting.

Holy

waiting.

You are a

servant

waiting on

your master

to return.

As you

wait,

you are,

we've already

seen this,

you're called

to work out

your salvation

with fear

and trembling

because it's

God who

works in

you to

will and

to work

for his

good

pleasure.

We're

to live

lives

worthy

of the

gospel

of

Christ.

Again,

not to

earn

his

favor,

but because

he's

come and

purchased

this for

you in

Christ.

Look there

with me

starting in

verse 17

because

Paul contrasts

two groups

of people

here in

verses 17

through 21.

There's

one group

here that

walk as

enemies of

the cross

of Christ

he says

verse 18.

And then

there's

those who

walk according

to the

example of

Paul

and

Timothy

verse 17.

You see the

contrast there.

He says,

brothers join

in imitating

me and keep

your eyes

on those

who walk

according

to the

example

that you

have in

us.

That's one

way of

walking

here in

the in

between.

for many

verse 18

of whom

I've often

told you

and now

tell you

even with

tears

walk

as enemies

of the

cross

of Christ.

That's another

way of

walking

here in

the in

between.

And he

says,

be like

this group

not like

this group.

You see

the contrast.

Be like

those who

are waiting

for the

return of

Christ

not like

those who

are rebelling.

Don't

walk like

them.

Don't use

grace as

an excuse

to walk

in sin.

Don't walk

like them.

Why?

Well,

look at how

he describes

this first

group of

people here.

And I

want you

to ask

yourself

as we

walk

through

this,

ask

yourself,

does

any of

this

describe

me?

He

says,

they are

enemies

of the

cross

of Christ.

This

is the

dividing

line

between

all

people.

Which

side

of the

cross

of

Christ

are

you

on?

Do you

look at

the

cross

of

Christ

where

Jesus

paid

for

the

sins

of

his

people?

Where

Jesus

bore

the wrath

of God

against

our

sin?

Where

the

perfect

son

of

God

was

made

sin

for

us

so

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God?

Do

you

look

at

the

cross

of

Christ

and

say,

yes,

that's

my

only

hope.

That's

my

only

hope

for

good

standing

and

salvation

and

righteousness.

That's

my

only

hope

to

know

God.

That's

my

only

hope

to

be

washed

clean

of

my

sin.

Do

you

look

at

that

and

cling

to

the

cross

and

say,

that's

life

for

me?

Or

do

you

look

at

the

cross

of

Christ

and

say,

it's

not

for

me.

I

could

take

it

or

leave

it.

It's

nothing

special

to

me.

It's

just

some

religious

stuff.

I've

heard

it

before.

I'm

not

impressed.

You

need to

know

that if

that's

how you

feel,

you are

not

neutral.

Paul

says,

you are

an

enemy

of

the

cross

of

Christ.

And

as

an

enemy

of

the

cross

of

Christ,

you

are

an

enemy

of

the

living

God.

Paul

says,

many

are

walking

this

way.

And

he

says

it

with

tears.

Don't

walk

this

way.

Don't

walk

this

way.

I'm

begging

you,

if you

are

here

as

an

enemy

of

the

cross

of

Christ,

do

not

leave

here

thinking

that

you

are

neutral

and

all

is

well.

Do

not

walk

this

way.

He

says

this

first

group

of

people

has

their

minds

set

on

earthly

things.

They're

consumed

with

earthly

things.

And

you

and I

know

this

as

well

as

I

do.

It's

far

too

easy

as

we

wait

on

the

return

of

Christ

that

we

can't

see,

that

we

don't

know

when

it's

coming,

it's

mysterious,

it's

invisible

to us,

it's

far

too

easy

for us

to be

distracted

by

things

that

we

can

see,

that

we

can

taste,

and

that

we

can

touch

with

our

hands,

that's

visible

and

tangible

here.

Waiting

on

his

return,

it

means

fixing

your

eyes

there

on

him,

not

on

things

here

on

the

earth.

Set

your

mind

on

Christ,

where

Christ

is,

seated

at the

right

hand

of

God.

Take

your

eyes

off

of

earthly

things

and

fix

your

eyes

on

Christ.

Don't

consume

yourself

with

stress

and

with

worry

about

things

that

are

just

going

to be

burned

up

like

chaff

on

the

last

day.

This

is

why

Paul

calls

us

in

chapter

4

verse

8.

Whatever

is

true,

whatever

is

honorable,

whatever

is

just,

whatever

is

pure,

whatever

is

lovely,

whatever

is

commendable,

if there's

any

excellence,

if there's

anything

worthy

of

praise,

think

about

these

things.

Don't

think so

much

about

money.

Don't

think so

much

about

sex.

Don't

think so

much

about

pleasure.

Don't

think so

much

about

entertainment.

Don't

think so

much

about

earthly

things.

Fix

your

mind

on

Christ.

Not

only this,

Paul says

also,

that they

glory in

their shame.

The things

that they

ought to be

ashamed of,

they celebrate.

How many

beers can I

drink?

How many

women can I

sleep with?

How much

money can I

hide from

the tax

man?

what are

you glorying

in now

that you

will be

ashamed

of at

the day

of

Christ?

And he

says here,

their God

is their

belly.

Now he

didn't have

to do

this right

at the

holiday

season.

I

didn't

plan this.

But in

God's

providence,

here we

are,

right?

Here's

the idea.

They

give their

appetite

whatever it

wants.

They

serve their

appetite and

feed it

whatever it

wants.

That belly

rules their

life.

They are

slaves to

their physical

cravings.

It makes

it a God.

The end

of all of

this,

Paul says

again with

tears,

with tears,

he says the

end of all

of this is

destruction.

Friend,

I'll ask you

again.

Are you

headed for

destruction?

Don't

leave this

place headed

for destruction.

temptation.

Here in

between we

live in a

time of

God's

mercy and

grace towards

sinners.

This invitation

of the cross

of Christ is

for you.

Praise God

that you're

here to hear

it this

morning.

God says

turn from

your sin,

repent and

put your

faith in

Christ and

you too

will live.

Don't

walk this

way.

Don't

walk this

way.

Instead,

Paul says,

instead walk

like this.

Walk like

those who are

waiting.

for his

return.

Walk like

those who

know the

king is

coming soon.

Walk like

those who

know that

the Lord is

coming and

with him.

He's

wrath for

his enemies

and life

for his

people.

He says

in verse

17,

he says,

walk like

me.

Now that's

a bold

thing to

say.

For

somebody who

just says,

no,

I'm not

perfect.

He's not

saying I'm

perfect,

so imitate

me completely.

He says,

I am

trying my

darndest to

follow Christ.

I'm

pursuing it

with everything

I have.

Don't look

at me as

a savior,

but look

at me as

an example.

Walk like

me and keep

your eyes on

those who

walk according

to our

example.

Look how

I'm living.

I believe

in grace.

Don't you

think Paul

knows a

thing or two

about grace?

He says,

I believe

that I am

totally

justified.

I believe

that I have

Christ's

righteousness

in full

right now,

that I am

objectively

perfect,

and yet

look at

me.

I am

straining

forwards

towards this

perfection

ahead of

me.

I am

pressing

on to

know the

Lord.

Look at

me and

imitate my

example.

Live

waiting on

the return

of Christ.

This first

group of

people belongs

to the world.

They're headed

for destruction,

but he says,

here's the

contrast.

You,

Christian,

look there

to verse

20.

Here's the

contrast.

But our

citizenship is

in heaven,

and from

it we

await a

Savior,

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.

Church,

would you

just do one

thing for me

this week?

Would you

memorize that

verse?

Would you

commit this

verse to

memory?

Would you

meditate on

it and

think on

it?

Because in

this verse,

Paul,

he gives us

a picture of

what we are

waiting for.

He says,

here in the

in-between,

we are

waiting for

home.

However good

your earthly

home is on

this side of

eternity,

listen,

there is a

much better,

more permanent,

more lasting,

more glorious

home ahead of

you.

However

difficult your

home life is,

maybe your

family is

difficult,

maybe there's

tensions in

the home,

maybe you

grew up in

a broken

home,

put your

faith and

your hope

in a

coming,

permanent

home for

all those

who know

the Lord.

Paul says

your citizenship

in Philippi,

your citizenship

in America,

all of that

is very,

very temporary,

it's fading

away,

it's momentary,

you are

citizens and

saints of

an eternal

kingdom of

glory to

come.

It's hard

to imagine

anything like

this,

isn't it?

A home

that's

imperishable,

undefiled,

unfading,

kept in

heaven for

you,

Peter says.

A home

that's free

from the

shackles of

sin and

death,

but Paul

says it's

ahead of you

and in

order for

you to

receive it,

guess what?

You too

must be

made

imperishable,

undefiled,

unfading,

and you too

must be

freed from

the shackles

of sin

and death.

And so

Paul says

ahead of you

Christian,

guess what?

We're waiting

for the

transformation

of our

bodies.

We're waiting

for

transformation.

I heard

a conversation,

overheard a

conversation the

other day

between two

children,

I won't tell

you again

which children

they were,

and one

asked the

other,

if you

could only

have one

thing for

Christmas,

for the rest

of your

life,

what would

it be?

And the

kid thought

about it and

then he

said,

I want to

be able to

drive,

and then I

want a

cyber truck.

He understood

something very

important that

we need to

understand,

church,

which is this,

just a

cyber truck,

that's no

good for a

kid,

is it?

He has to

be made

fit,

has to be

made capable