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Righteous in Christ

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  1. We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch.

  2. This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch.

  3. Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristchurchEastBay.org.

  4. Hello, I'm John and I'm in the youth group and also the Alameda community group here at Christchurch.

  5. So today's reading is from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 1, verses 1 to 2, and then also chapter 3, verses 1 to 14.

    Philippians 1:1–2

  6. Yeah.

  7. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and the deacons, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  8. Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

  9. It is no trouble for me to write the same thing to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

  10. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.

  11. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.

  12. Though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

  13. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.

  14. Circumcision on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.

  15. In regard to the law, a Pharisee.

  16. As for zeal, persecuting the church.

  17. As for righteousness, based on the law, faultless.

  18. But whoever were gains, to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

  19. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,

  20. for whose sake I have lost all things.

  21. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.

  22. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.

  23. The righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

  24. I want to know Christ, yes.

  25. To know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings.

  26. Becoming like him in his death.

  27. And so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

  28. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal.

  29. But I press on and take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

  30. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

  31. But one thing I do.

  32. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

  33. I press on toward the goal to win the prize of which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

  34. This is the word of the Lord.

  35. Thanks be to God.

  36. Good morning, Christ Church.

  37. I want to thank you for many of you who have so warmly welcomed me back.

  38. We were traveling as a family to all kind of places in June.

  39. New York City, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia.

  40. Visiting for two family weddings, college trips for my daughter.

  41. Our family got to see the nation's capital for the first time.

  42. And it was an amazing trip.

  43. But I'm really glad to be back here with my Christ Church family.

  44. And I was reminded that there are many great churches out there.

  45. But this one is the best.

  46. And so, you know, back in May, we started preaching the Apostle Paul.

  47. And to do that, we began to look at this amazing book in the New Testament called The Acts of the Apostles.

  48. And we turned and we looked at one of the places, one of the three places that Paul talks about his whole life transformation.

  49. And we looked in Acts chapter 9 where Saul of Tarsus became the Apostle Paul by encountering Jesus.

    Acts 9 chapter mention

  50. Right?

  51. Jesus whose people Paul was persecuting.

  52. And on that Damascus road, Paul was, he was absolutely transformed.

  53. Not only into a Christian, not only into a follower of Jesus, but into a messenger.

  54. Into somebody that would go out and spread the gospel and begin to plant churches all over the Roman Empire.

  55. And Paul would go on to write 13 of the letters that we have in the New Testament.

  56. And then we looked not just at Paul's transformation, but the transformation that began to happen through Paul.

  57. In Acts chapter 16, we saw how the Lord called Paul further and further away from ground zero.

    Acts 16 chapter mention

  58. And he called Paul deeper and deeper into Greco-Roman pagan territory where people had never heard the name of Jesus.

  59. And Paul went and began to spread the message of Jesus.

  60. And one of the first cities that he entered in, when he went to Greece, when he went onto European soil for the first time,

  61. one of the first cities he went into was Philippi.

  62. And maybe you remember that story how Paul went there and he encountered in that city a woman named Lydia.

  63. She was a successful businesswoman.

  64. And she was converted when she heard the gospel truth.

  65. And then Paul encountered this other woman.

  66. And she was this enslaved girl.

  67. And she was converted when she encountered gospel power.

  68. And then there was that jailer.

  69. When Paul was thrown in jail with his friend Silas, there was that city jailer.

  70. And he was converted when he saw gospel life in Jesus' people and how they were living.

  71. And we're told there that in the city of Philippi, these three people plus their friends and family members that they shared the gospel with,

  72. they were baptized as the first members of that church plant in the city of Philippi.

  73. Well, having started that church in around 52 AD, fast forward a little bit to 60, 61, 62 AD,

  74. Paul is writing this letter of affection, this letter of friendship.

  75. And he's writing it from a prison cell to this church in Philippi.

  76. And I want to encourage you as we open it up this morning that I think there's something here for everyone.

  77. If you are here and you do not identify as a Christian, but you're exploring Christianity,

  78. this is an amazing opportunity for you to engage with the primary sources,

  79. to encounter for yourself what the greatest Christian theologian has to say to this multicultural church in this Greco-Roman city of Philippi.

  80. And if you are a Christian, you're probably aware that the text that John just read for us, Philippians chapter 3,

    Philippians 3 chapter mention

  81. is considered by most people to be one of Paul's greatest passages.

  82. And that's why we're going to look at it not just today.

  83. We're going to look up to verse 9 today, and then next week we're going to look at it again.

  84. From verse 10 and following.

  85. But what I want to suggest to you is that Paul is, he's posing three questions in this text.

  86. Paul is asking us, where is your joy and your confidence?

  87. That's question number one.

  88. Where is your joy and your confidence?

  89. And the second question he's asking us is, what radically redefines our values?

  90. What radically redefines our values?

  91. And then the third question is, what are the implications of living by faith?

  92. If you're going to live by faith, what are the implications of living by faith?

  93. So let's just explore each of these for a moment.

  94. Where is your joy and your confidence?

  95. That's the first question.

  96. Where is your joy and your confidence?

  97. Look at what Paul says in verse 1.

  98. He says, further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

  99. And Paul exhorts the church to ask themselves the question, what is the source of our joy?

  100. What is the source of our rejoicing?

  101. Right?

  102. Like how would you fill in the blank?

  103. If we said rejoice in blank, what would go in that blank?

  104. And some of us might say, well, I rejoice in my summer vacation.

  105. I rejoice in my career success.

  106. I rejoice in this romantic relationship.

  107. I rejoice in the well-being of my kids.

  108. I rejoice in my bank account and my 401k.

  109. And these are all really, really good things.

  110. But Paul is telling us there's something of greater worth.

  111. And what is that?

  112. He says, well, rejoice most deeply, rejoice in the Lord.

  113. That's what should go in that blank.

  114. Rejoice in the resurrected and living Lord Jesus.

  115. Paul says, make him your source of deepest joy.

  116. Let him be the one that causes you to sing and to pray with joy.

  117. To love other people with joy.

  118. To work hard at your job with joy.

  119. And what compels Paul to say this to the church?

  120. To rejoice in the Lord.

  121. Well, because there are these false teachers.

  122. False teachers who are seeking to pull the church to rejoice in something else.

  123. And what is that something else that we're being invited to rejoice in?

  124. Well, Paul says in verse 2, he says, watch out for those dogs.

  125. And in the Greek, again, it says, watch out for those evildoers.

  126. And then again, it says, watch out for those mutilators of the flesh.

  127. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by the Spirit, we boast, who boast in Christ Jesus.

  128. And who put no confidence in the flesh.

  129. Though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

  130. If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.

  131. So did you hear what Paul is saying there?

  132. He says confidence, confidence, confidence.

  133. Three times.

  134. These false teachers are influencing the church to put their confidence, to put their trust in, well, not in the Lord Jesus.

  135. But to put their confidence rather in their own flesh.

  136. To make that the source of their joy.

  137. To put their confidence and to take pride in themselves.

  138. To boast in their own resume and their own righteousness.

  139. And this is such a serious danger that Paul uses the strongest language possible.

  140. And in the Greek, again, he says three times, watch out, watch out, watch out.

  141. Even as he says confidence, confidence, confidence.

  142. And hopefully he's getting our attention and prompting us to ask the question,

  143. what is my source of joy and confidence before God?

  144. How might I be putting confidence in myself and in my flesh?

  145. Because these false teachers are trying to convince the church that, look, if you want to be confident in your relationship with God,

  146. if you want to be confident that you belong to God and belong to the people of God,

  147. if you want to be confident that your faith is real,

  148. and you want to be confident that you are a genuine child of God,

  149. and you want to be confident that you are an authentic servant of God,

  150. then you need to look at your own performance.

  151. You need to look at your own righteousness.

  152. You need to look at how well are you living out the laws that God has commanded in his word.

  153. These false teachers, they've come into this church that's predominantly full of Gentiles,

  154. former pagans from all over the empire.

  155. They're basically Greek and Turkish.

  156. They're Egyptian.

  157. They're Ethiopian.

  158. They're German.

  159. They're Persian.

  160. They've come from everywhere.

  161. They're all different kinds of cultures, races, ethnicities, languages.

  162. And these teachers are saying to them, look, if you are not circumcised,

  163. if you are not eating kosher foods,

  164. if you are not practicing the Sabbath to the fullest degree,

  165. if you're not following the rituals and holy days that we find in the law of Moses,

  166. if you're basically a Gentile but not living Jewish,

  167. then how can you really be confident before God?

  168. And Paul says, okay, to these false teachers, he says, okay,

  169. if you want to play the confidence in the flesh game, I'll play it with you.

  170. And he says, not only can I match you with confidence in the flesh,

  171. but I can outrun you and beat you every time.

  172. And here's what he says in verse 4.

  173. He says, if others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.

  174. Now this is a list of seven items,

  175. and you're probably aware that seven is the biblical number for wholeness and completion and perfection.

  176. And in this list, the first half of the list,

  177. Paul gives us his inherited privileges and all of his orthodox upbringing and his amazing pedigree.

  178. And in the second half of the list, he gives us all of his personal successes,

  179. all the achievements that he has performed both religiously and morally.

  180. And he says, these were my grounds for confidence in the flesh, confidence before God.

  181. He says, look, I was circumcised on the eighth day according to God's law.

  182. I received that sacrament of initiation.

  183. I received that symbol of God's covenant with Abraham,

  184. and I received it within the first week of my life.

  185. And then he goes on, he says, look, out of all the great mass of humanity

  186. and out of all the many people in the race of Israel,

  187. God chose to put me in the tribe of Benjamin.

  188. Benjamin was Jacob's youngest son.

  189. He was the only son to be born inside the promised land.

  190. It says in Deuteronomy 33 that Benjamin is the beloved of the Lord.

  191. It's from the tribe of Benjamin that the first king of Israel came.

  192. If you looked at the boundaries of the tribe of Benjamin,

  193. you would find this holy city of Jerusalem and the holy temple itself.

  194. This one tribe, along with the tribe of Judah,

  195. they were the only people to be true to God's covenant

  196. with the line and the house and the throne of King David.

  197. Paul says, I'm not only from the right race, I'm from the right tribe.

  198. And then he goes on, he says, I'm a Hebrew son of Hebrew parents

  199. because, you know, there's all these Hellenistic Jews who speak Greek

  200. and they've basically been assimilated into Greek culture, but not me.

  201. My Hebrew parents made sure that my mother tongue is Hebrew

  202. and that we maintained our distinctive Hebrew way of life among the pagans.

  203. And having described his orthodox pedigree and upbringing,

  204. he now focuses us on the second half of his list on all of his achievements.

  205. He says, look, I was part of the most scholarly group of Hebrews.

  206. I was a Pharisee.

  207. Pharisees take the authority and the inspiration of the Bible incredibly seriously.

  208. They study God's revelation day and night.

  209. They're scrupulous about living out God's commandments

  210. and walking in the way of holiness.

  211. That was me.

  212. He says, as a measure of my great zeal for God

  213. and my fervent devotion to his word,

  214. I took action against anything that would dilute or distort

  215. or derail Israel's faith.

  216. And so, therefore, I persecuted the church,

  217. this little group of people who said that a crucified man

  218. was Israel's Messiah and the world's Lord.

  219. He said, I basically stamped that out.

  220. And finally, Paul says, as the culmination and the climax of these achievements

  221. that give me confidence in my flesh,

  222. he says, as for my righteousness,

  223. as for my right relationship with God

  224. and my right relationship with other people,

  225. he says, I was outwardly obedient

  226. to God's specific ritual and moral requirements.

  227. And my record was absolutely faultless.

  228. You can go ask anybody.

  229. I was completely blameless.

  230. Now, if LinkedIn had existed in Paul's day,

  231. he would have had the most incredible resume you could imagine.

  232. And what would a modern resume like this sound like,

  233. a modern kind of confidence in the flesh list sound like?

  234. I think it would sound a little bit maybe like this.

  235. If anyone thinks they have reason to put confidence in their righteousness,

  236. I have more.

  237. I was born in the United States of America.

  238. To hardworking parents,

  239. my first words were personal responsibility.

  240. I grew up in a multicultural environment.

  241. I was educated at elite universities.

  242. My peers and my mentors are published in The New Yorker and Nature Magazine.

  243. I work for a Nobel Prize winner.

  244. I advocate for the oppressed and for the marginalized.

  245. I regularly volunteer to serve the poor.

  246. I shop local.

  247. I recycle and compost.

  248. I only ride a bike.

  249. I have not used a plastic straw since 2018.

  250. I always vote, donate, march, and I post about it all on social media.

  251. My family and my friends say that I'm authentic,

  252. that I'm trustworthy,

  253. that I'm empathetic and creative and passionate.

  254. I start my day in prayer.

  255. I tithe off the gross of my income.

  256. I serve my church regularly.

  257. It's an impressive list.

  258. An impressive list of identity markers,

  259. of cultural symbols, of personal credentials.

  260. And Paul has it all.

  261. In fact, there's another guy in the New Testament,

  262. very much like Paul.

  263. His name is Nicodemus.

  264. He was a Pharisee like Paul.

  265. He had the exact same resume, basically, as Paul.

  266. And when Jesus entered into a dialogue with Nicodemus,

  267. in the Gospel of John, chapter 3,

    John 3 chapter mention

  268. Jesus said to Nicodemus,

  269. he said,

  270. to this man who had great confidence in his flesh,

  271. he said,

  272. you cannot enter into the kingdom of God with the resume that you have.

  273. You have to be born again from above.

  274. You have to be born again of the Spirit of God.

  275. He says to Nicodemus,

  276. you cannot rely on all those identity markers of your resume,

  277. your birth,

  278. your country,

  279. your race,

  280. your language,

  281. your upbringing.

  282. You can't rely on your gender.

  283. You can't rely on your sexuality.

  284. You can't rely on your financial status.

  285. You cannot rely on your social power.

  286. You can't rely on your intellect and your understanding.

  287. You cannot rely on your zeal,

  288. or your sincerity,

  289. or all of your goodness.

  290. Jesus said to him,

  291. you must be reborn.

  292. You have to be regenerated.

  293. Something has to happen where the life of God comes into your soul,

  294. and you become a new creation.

  295. Nicodemus,

  296. it's not just that you need to have something added on to you,

  297. a new thing in your impressive resume just tacked on at the end.

  298. It's not that you need to be modified here,

  299. or changed a little bit over there.

  300. He says,

  301. you need to become a new creation.

  302. None of your confidence in the flesh

  303. is going to enable you to see the kingdom of God

  304. or to enter into the kingdom of God.

  305. That's very much what Paul is teaching us in Philippians 3.

  306. He's asking us,

  307. where exactly is your joy,

  308. and where exactly is your confidence?

  309. Is it in your flesh and in yourself,

  310. or is it in something else?

  311. And then Paul goes on.

  312. Here's the second question.

  313. What radically redefines your values?

  314. What radically redefines what you value?

  315. And Paul says this in verse 7.

  316. Verse 7.

  317. After his confidence in the flesh list,

  318. he says,

  319. but whatever were gains to me,

  320. I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

  321. You see,

  322. Paul's thinking about the life that he had

  323. before his encounter with the resurrected and living Lord Jesus

  324. on that road to Damascus.

  325. And he's using the language of economics.

  326. He's using the language of the marketplace

  327. and of accounting,

  328. of losses and gains,

  329. of credits and debits.

  330. And he says,

  331. look,

  332. all of my privileges that I inherited,

  333. all the achievements that I accomplished,

  334. they used to be for me on the gain side of the ledger.

  335. That is where I found all of my confidence.

  336. But then he says in verse 8,

  337. he says,

  338. what is more,

  339. I consider everything a loss

  340. because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,

  341. for whose sake I have lost all things.

  342. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ.

  343. Now maybe you remember back in Acts chapter 9,

    Acts 9 chapter mention

  344. on the road to Damascus,

  345. Paul sees that brilliant and blinding light

  346. and he hears that commanding and probing voice

  347. and Paul says,

  348. who are you Lord?

  349. And the answer he gets back is,

  350. I am Jesus.

  351. Now not all conversions are that dramatic,

  352. okay?

  353. But they all have the same effect

  354. that Paul is describing here.

  355. And what he says is,

  356. the moment I discovered something,

  357. the moment I discovered someone

  358. of such surpassing worth,

  359. such incalculable value,

  360. that someone completely revised my balance sheet.

  361. He says,

  362. that moment that I met King Jesus raised from the dead,

  363. he totally reversed all of my gains into loss.

  364. He says,

  365. what I discovered,

  366. that precious and beautiful treasure

  367. that I discovered in Jesus,

  368. he says,

  369. when I compare that

  370. to the best that this world has to offer me,

  371. it all amounts to a loss.

  372. In fact,

  373. he gets even more intense than that.

  374. He says,

  375. the relative value of all else

  376. in relationship to Jesus

  377. is,

  378. in the Greek,

  379. it's skubula.

  380. It's garbage.

  381. Paul says,

  382. it's refuge.

  383. It's excrement.

  384. It's foul-smelling,

  385. revolting filth.

  386. What makes Jesus,

  387. the eternally beloved Son of God the Father,

  388. so great,

  389. so valuable,

  390. so precious,

  391. that everything else,

  392. in comparison with him,

  393. Paul calls abhorrent garbage.

  394. Well, Paul gives us the answer in verse 9,

  395. when he's talking about

  396. two different kinds of righteousness.

  397. What are the two different kinds of righteousness?

  398. He says in verse 9,

  399. I consider them garbage

  400. that I may gain Christ

  401. and be found in him,

  402. not having a righteousness of my own

  403. that comes from the law,

  404. but that which is through faith in Christ,

  405. the righteousness that comes from God

  406. on the basis of faith.

  407. You see,

  408. this first kind of righteousness,

  409. he says,

  410. it's righteousness,

  411. quote unquote,

  412. of my own.

  413. It's about who I am.

  414. It's about what I have.

  415. It's about what I do

  416. and how I perform

  417. and that gives me confidence in the flesh,

  418. that causes me to rejoice

  419. in myself

  420. and boast in my position

  421. and my accomplishments.

  422. And he says,

  423. this first kind of righteousness

  424. compared to the second kind

  425. is dramatically inferior

  426. and it's woefully insufficient

  427. to give you the confidence

  428. you need before God.

  429. But he says,

  430. look at this second kind of righteousness.

  431. The second kind of righteousness,

  432. he says,

  433. it comes not,

  434. it's not of my own,

  435. it comes from God.

  436. It's a righteousness

  437. that's in Christ.

  438. And compared to that first

  439. kind of righteousness,

  440. this righteousness

  441. is infinitely superior

  442. and it's wonderfully sufficient

  443. to save us,

  444. to put us into a reconciled

  445. and a right relationship

  446. with God.

  447. You see,

  448. none of us,

  449. had we tried

  450. our absolute hardest

  451. could have produced

  452. a greater righteousness

  453. of my own

  454. than that which

  455. the Apostle Paul

  456. accomplished.

  457. I mean,

  458. he's a truly

  459. impressive person.

  460. But,

  461. Paul says,

  462. when he compares

  463. what he did,

  464. when he compares

  465. the righteousness

  466. of my own

  467. with the righteousness

  468. that God has provided

  469. for us

  470. in Jesus Christ,

  471. he says,

  472. it amounts to

  473. a pile of

  474. something I cannot

  475. say in church.

  476. Scubala.

  477. Garbage.

  478. Excrement.

  479. That's what my own

  480. righteousness

  481. is worth.

  482. See,

  483. the wonder

  484. and the beauty

  485. of this God-given

  486. righteousness

  487. is that it comes

  488. not from inside of us,

  489. but it comes from

  490. outside of us.

  491. righteousness.

  492. It's a righteousness

  493. that's not waiting

  494. to be lived out

  495. perfectly

  496. and consistently

  497. by us,

  498. but it's a righteousness

  499. that has,

  500. in fact,

  501. already been lived out

  502. perfectly

  503. and faithfully

  504. in the life

  505. of someone

  506. better than us.

  507. Right?

  508. It's been secured

  509. by the obedience

  510. of Jesus

  511. who righteously

  512. obeyed God

  513. his whole life

  514. all the way

  515. to and through

  516. his obedience

  517. to God

  518. on the cross.

  519. And friends,

  520. what Paul is saying

  521. here is that

  522. you can spend

  523. your whole life

  524. searching high

  525. and searching low

  526. and you are never

  527. going to find

  528. a better righteousness

  529. in all the philosophies,

  530. in all the systems

  531. of life,

  532. in all the religions

  533. of the world

  534. than the righteousness

  535. that comes

  536. through Jesus Christ.

  537. You see,

  538. if you sit down

  539. and you read

  540. the Gospels

  541. and you see

  542. the way that

  543. Jesus is healing

  544. the sick,

  545. the way he's

  546. feeding the hungry,

  547. forgiving people

  548. who just royally

  549. screwed up,

  550. the way he's

  551. raising up the poor

  552. and welcoming

  553. the marginalized

  554. and liberating

  555. the oppressed,

  556. when you see

  557. Jesus showing

  558. and telling people

  559. how to really

  560. be truly human,

  561. right,

  562. how to love

  563. and worship

  564. and pray to God

  565. with all your heart,

  566. how to give yourself

  567. in love

  568. for your neighbor,

  569. for other people.

  570. Jesus shows people

  571. how to do that

  572. by giving up

  573. his body to death,

  574. right,

  575. putting himself

  576. in the place

  577. of sinners

  578. on the cross.

  579. When you see that,

  580. when you see

  581. the righteousness

  582. that God has provided

  583. for us

  584. in Jesus Christ,

  585. it's so surpassingly

  586. more worthy,

  587. it's so incomparably

  588. more valuable

  589. than any righteousness,

  590. not only that any of us

  591. could have achieved

  592. or performed,

  593. but of all of our

  594. righteousness put together.

  595. So the robe

  596. of righteousness

  597. that God has provided

  598. for us in Jesus

  599. makes all the righteousness

  600. that we are trying

  601. to weave around ourselves

  602. look like tattered

  603. and pitiful rags.

  604. And this is why

  605. Paul says that

  606. all the ways

  607. that I put confidence

  608. in my flesh,

  609. my birth,

  610. my upbringing,

  611. my country,

  612. my race,

  613. my intellect,

  614. my understanding,

  615. my zeal,

  616. my goodness,

  617. it's scubala.

  618. It's just rank

  619. and rancid garbage

  620. in comparison

  621. with what God

  622. has provided in Christ.

  623. He says,

  624. everything the world

  625. could offer me,

  626. whatever advantages

  627. or status

  628. or benefits

  629. or honors

  630. or comforts

  631. that might possibly

  632. come my way

  633. in the future

  634. and that I might

  635. put my confidence in,

  636. he says,

  637. it's scubala.

  638. It's revolting refuse

  639. compared to

  640. gaining Jesus

  641. personally

  642. and knowing

  643. Jesus relationally

  644. and being found

  645. in Jesus

  646. positionally

  647. before God

  648. because Paul says

  649. when I have Christ,

  650. his resume

  651. is now my resume.

  652. His portfolio

  653. is my portfolio

  654. and that's why

  655. Paul defines

  656. a Christian

  657. in verse 3.

  658. He says,

  659. a Christian is someone

  660. who puts no confidence

  661. in the flesh

  662. but rather they boast

  663. in Jesus Christ.

  664. That's what a Christian

  665. is.

  666. So where's your joy

  667. and your confidence?

  668. What radically

  669. redefines your values?

  670. And the last question

  671. briefly is,

  672. what are the implications

  673. of living by faith?

  674. What are the implications

  675. of living by faith?

  676. So just to review,

  677. what does it cost God

  678. to provide this righteousness

  679. for us?

  680. Will it cost Him

  681. everything?

  682. It cost Him the life

  683. and death

  684. of His beloved Son?

  685. He's done everything

  686. that's needed

  687. for our righteousness.

  688. And what does it cost

  689. us to receive

  690. this righteousness?

  691. Well, it costs us nothing.

  692. It's a free gift

  693. of God's grace.

  694. All we need

  695. is our need.

  696. All we need

  697. is what Paul calls

  698. faith in Christ.

  699. Just to have open

  700. and empty hands

  701. by faith

  702. to receive righteousness

  703. from Jesus

  704. with gratitude.

  705. Just to by faith

  706. allow God

  707. to put the robe

  708. of Christ's righteousness

  709. on us.

  710. Here's the question.

  711. What are the implications?

  712. What are the consequences

  713. for receiving

  714. God's free grace?

  715. If by faith

  716. I take hold

  717. of the righteousness

  718. that God has provided

  719. for me,

  720. what will happen

  721. to my life?

  722. And the answer is,

  723. it will cost you

  724. the loss

  725. of all things.

  726. That's what Paul says

  727. in verse 8.

  728. He says,

  729. he talks about

  730. the surpassing worth

  731. of knowing Jesus my Lord

  732. for whose sake

  733. I have lost

  734. all things.

  735. What does Paul mean?

  736. What is the loss

  737. that comes to him

  738. from putting his faith

  739. in Jesus Christ?

  740. Well, let me just see

  741. if I can draw this out

  742. for you as we close.

  743. What Paul is saying here

  744. is he's saying

  745. Jesus is surpassingly

  746. great

  747. and worthy

  748. and valuable

  749. in himself

  750. no matter

  751. what anyone

  752. thinks about him.

  753. He just is that.

  754. He's great.

  755. But Paul says

  756. it's not enough

  757. to just stand back

  758. and to marvel

  759. at the objective

  760. beauty

  761. and excellencies

  762. of Jesus.

  763. Paul says

  764. what we need to do

  765. is enter into

  766. a subjective

  767. knowing of Jesus

  768. not as the Lord

  769. but as what Paul

  770. calls him

  771. my Lord.

  772. Jesus has to become

  773. for you

  774. my Lord

  775. who loved me

  776. and gave himself

  777. for me.

  778. This critical

  779. and essential move

  780. from objective

  781. knowledge about Jesus

  782. to subjective

  783. knowing

  784. of Jesus

  785. what Paul is telling us

  786. is that when you

  787. make that move

  788. you're going to lose

  789. things that are

  790. extremely valuable

  791. to you.

  792. Think about what

  793. the Apostle Paul

  794. lost.

  795. By placing his faith

  796. in Jesus there

  797. on that Damascus road

  798. he lost

  799. all of his

  800. former sources

  801. of identity

  802. and belonging

  803. and meaning

  804. and purpose.

  805. He lost

  806. his social status

  807. his reputation

  808. and his standing

  809. before his community.

  810. Paul lost

  811. many many

  812. of his cherished

  813. relationships.

  814. He lost

  815. financial support.

  816. He lost

  817. his personal comfort

  818. and security.

  819. He's writing

  820. this letter

  821. from jail

  822. and a few years

  823. he's going to

  824. lose his head.

  825. What Paul is saying

  826. here is if you

  827. put your faith

  828. in Jesus

  829. you're going to

  830. lose something

  831. that's really

  832. really valuable

  833. to you.

  834. For us

  835. that probably

  836. means your

  837. independence

  838. your autonomy

  839. you no longer

  840. if Jesus is

  841. my Lord

  842. you no longer

  843. belong to yourself

  844. you're no longer

  845. your Lord

  846. you have a Lord

  847. that you have

  848. to listen

  849. to

  850. and follow

  851. and obey

  852. and surrender

  853. to

  854. and submit

  855. to

  856. you're going

  857. to lose

  858. your independence

  859. and your

  860. autonomy

  861. but what Paul

  862. is saying

  863. is that these

  864. losses

  865. actually will

  866. not feel

  867. like losses

  868. to you.

  869. I was reading

  870. in my Bible

  871. reading plan

  872. earlier this week

  873. and it took me

  874. to Jesus'

  875. parables

  876. in Matthew 13

  877. and here's

  878. what Jesus

  879. says

  880. he says

  881. Jesus is telling

  882. us about people

  883. whose lives

  884. were changed

  885. by the joy

  886. of discovering

  887. an object

  888. of such

  889. surpassing

  890. value

  891. a new

  892. precious

  893. reality

  894. that was

  895. there

  896. for the

  897. taking

  898. and they

  899. didn't just

  900. stand back

  901. and say

  902. wow

  903. that is

  904. objectively

  905. a hidden

  906. treasure

  907. that is

  908. objectively

  909. a pearl

  910. of great

  911. price

  912. no

  913. they

  914. subjectively

  915. renounced

  916. everything

  917. that they

  918. had

  919. they

  920. subjectively

  921. sold

  922. absolutely

  923. everything

  924. they had

  925. to go

  926. get the

  927. thing

  928. of great

  929. value

  930. and that's

  931. what Paul

  932. means

  933. when he

  934. says

  935. for Jesus

  936. sake

  937. I've

  938. lost

  939. all

  940. things

  941. but when

  942. he says

  943. that

  944. he doesn't

  945. think

  946. that he's

  947. made any

  948. sacrifice

  949. at all

  950. Paul says

  951. I really

  952. haven't lost

  953. anything

  954. in fact

  955. everything

  956. I've gotten

  957. through Jesus

  958. has been a

  959. gain to me

  960. Paul would

  961. write in

  962. Colossians 2

  963. 3

  964. he says

  965. when I

  966. discovered

  967. Jesus

  968. when I

  969. discovered

  970. the king

  971. of God's

  972. kingdom

  973. I found

  974. the one

  975. in whom

  976. are hidden

  977. all the

  978. treasures

  979. of wisdom

  980. and of

  981. knowledge

  982. and Jesus

  983. has consistently

  984. down the

  985. last 2,000

  986. years

  987. been moving

  988. men and

  989. women

  990. into large

  991. life changing

  992. decisions

  993. that may

  994. seem to

  995. other people

  996. like great

  997. hacks of

  998. renunciation

  999. but for

  1000. Paul

  1001. and for

  1002. me

  1003. and maybe

  1004. for you

  1005. knowing

  1006. Jesus

  1007. personally

  1008. and relationally

  1009. knowing

  1010. Jesus

  1011. intimately

  1012. and

  1013. experientially

  1014. as

  1015. my

  1016. Lord

  1017. who

  1018. loved

  1019. me

  1020. and who

  1021. gave

  1022. himself

  1023. for

  1024. me

  1025. that

  1026. so

  1027. far

  1028. surpasses

  1029. all

  1030. other

  1031. things

  1032. that

  1033. losing

  1034. all

  1035. to get

  1036. him

  1037. is actually

  1038. a gain

  1039. and what

  1040. you'll find

  1041. is that

  1042. you actually

  1043. get back

  1044. everything

  1045. that you

  1046. thought

  1047. you lost

  1048. your identity

  1049. your belonging

  1050. your meaning

  1051. your purpose

  1052. your relationships

  1053. your freedom

  1054. everything

  1055. comes back

  1056. to you

  1057. in Jesus

  1058. friends

  1059. it's only as

  1060. you look

  1061. upon

  1062. the treasure

  1063. of who

  1064. Jesus is

  1065. that pearl

  1066. of great

  1067. price

  1068. that you

  1069. too will be

  1070. carried away

  1071. by joy

  1072. and by the

  1073. power of

  1074. God's free

  1075. grace

  1076. to go

  1077. sell

  1078. absolutely

  1079. everything

  1080. you have

  1081. to get

  1082. it

  1083. and to

  1084. say with

  1085. Paul

  1086. I have

  1087. lost

  1088. all things

  1089. for the

  1090. sake

  1091. of the

  1092. surpassing

  1093. worth

  1094. of knowing

  1095. Christ

  1096. Jesus

  1097. as my

  1098. Lord

  1099. let's take a

  1100. moment to

  1101. just reflect

  1102. on that

  1103. as we come

  1104. to the table

  1105. of our

  1106. king

  1107. in the name

  1108. of the

  1109. Father

  1110. Son

  1111. and Holy

  1112. Spirit

  1113. Amen