Introduction:

1.      If you were to take a poll, asking people if they have a relationship with God, most would say, “Yes, I am alright with the man upstairs, I am cool with him, we have our own sort of relationship.”

2.      Othertimes, people lack assurance & confidence that they please God enough to be acceptable to Him.

3.      These are the feelings that have influenced the religions of the world.

a.       They want God to look after them, comfort them, & receive them when they die.

b.      This is why they set out to do what they feel will make good enough to be accepted by God.

c.       They try to do what pleases their god

4.      This kind of religion is

Ø      Of good works

Ø      Of doing good

Ø      Of securing God’s favor

Ø      Of making oneself acceptable to God

5.      This is the religion of Self-righteousness

a.       There are only two religions - The one of divine righteousness by grace or human righteousness - The one of humility and poverty of spirit, brokenness and that of pride and self-dependence

b.      God's standard has been revealed in Matthew 5:48 and our righteousness needs to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees

1.      Self-righteousness – “outward obedience”

Ø      Luke 18:9-14 – cf. do not think more highly of yourself – Romans 12:3 cf. Phil. 2:3-4

Ø      V. 10-12 the word “I” is not good, used 5 times

Ø      V.13 cf. Romans 3:23

2.      Human righteousness – they compare themselves to others; relatively better than other people

Ø      Matt. 22:1-14

Ø      Jewish response & nation of Israel to Christ

Ø      V. 11 – the king would supply you with clothes but this man rejected this trying in his own effort. The end for the unsaved will be “speechless.”

Ø      V. 13 – hell

6.      Remember, imperfection can never become perfection by the efforts of human flesh

7.      God accepts men through His Son, through the love and grace of His Son – Ephesians 1:6

There are three points that I want to make today

#1 Paul had attained the height of self-righteousness (3:4-6)

#2 Paul sought to win Christ-His righteousness-His perfection (3:7-11)

#3 Paul did not count himself as having apprehended-he was not yet perfect (3:12-16)

I.                   Paul Had Attained The Height Of Self-Righteousness (3:4-6)

1.      If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so – v.4

a.       If anybody could have been saved by religion it was Saul of Tarsus.

Paul goes on to list seven privileges and achievements, which show the total inadequacy of man to save himself.  I have divided them up under the two categories of

Ø      “Advantages of Birth”

Ø      “Accomplishments by Self-Effort”

A.       Paul’s Advantages of Birth have three in particular to see (3:5)

1.      Circumcised the eight day – v.5

He had the birth

This is what the  Judaizers contended most of all

a.       A true Jewish family always had its make child circumcised eight days after birth

Ø      Jesus - Luke 2:21; Isaac – Genesis 21:4

b.      This could probably not been said of every Judaizer

c.       Some were proselytes (gentile convert-) from the Gentile world, being circumcised as adults

d.      This was a sign of believing in God and his promises

e.       Paul was claiming to be a true Jewish believer who had the privilege of believing parents.

Thought-how many people think they are acceptable to God because they –

Ø      Have been raised in a Christian home

Ø      Have godly parents – Example of Franklin Graham \ my daughter Brittany

Ø      Have a godly spouse

Ø      Have godly friends

Ø      Have kept religions rituals and religious ceremonies

Ø      Do you expect the godliness of others to rub off onto you?

Note: John 1:12

2.      Of the stock of Israel – v.5

He had the heritage

a.       Paul’s parents were not from a mixed tribe or nation

b.      Paul was a direct descendent of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob; he belonged to the chosen people of God –Genesis 32:28; Exodus 19:5,6; Numbers 23:9; Amos 3:2; Romans 3:1,2; 9:4-5

c.       When a Jew wanted to stress his special relationship with God, he called himself an Israelite

d.      The Judaizers could not truthfully have such a claim

Thought-righteousness is not found in ancestors nor in social status.

Ø      Does being born in the United States make you a Christian?

Ø      Does living in a once called Christian nation make you more acceptable to God?

Note: 1Peter 1:23

3.      Of the tribe of Benjamin – v.5

He had the social status

Why does Paul mention this?

a.       Benjamin was considered the aristocratic (noble) tribe of Israel because of the tribes’ loyalty when so many were disloyal – 1Kings 12:1.

b.      Also because of the tribes courageous acts throughout history – Judges 5:14; 20:26; Hosea 5:8

c.       Paul was saying he was of the highest aristocracy, most noble tribe of Israel

Thought-does God accept you more because you belong to a

Ø      Upper-class family-having more money than others?

Ø      Family that has celebrities in it?  Michael Jordan’s kids are not Christian because he is popular

Ø      Family whose dad is a Senior Pastor of the Local Church?

Ø      Church who has active ministries in it?

Ø      A Church that has more attendants on Sunday Service?

B.       Paul’s Attainments By Self-Effort Have 4 Listings (3:5-6)

1.      A Hebrew of the Hebrews – v.5

He had the faithfulness & knowledge

a.       A believing Jew refused to give up his Jewish language and customs.

b.      He continued using Hebrew and continued to practice Jewish customs

c.       Not every Jew did this, but Paul says he and his family did

Thought- How many people think that they are accepted by God because they

Ø      Do well & are faithful?

Ø      Faithful in studying their religion, the Bible, and the great Doctrines of the faith?

Ø      Know & use religious spiritual terms, Christianese –Praise the Lord, washed in the blood, etc.

2.      Concerning the Law, a Pharisee – v.5

He had the religion

a.       Meaning—The Separated Ones

b.      Paul had devoted his life to the most separated and demanding religion ever known to man.

c.       Pharisees made their mistake when they legalistically interpreted the law making it a heavy load Mark 7:13

d.      What did Jesus say about the Pharisees in Matthew 6:2,16; 23:1ff; 27:18?

Thought-How many people think they have achieved goodness and righteousness thinking

Ø      They are the only ones?

Ø      They are more righteous than others?

Ø      They will get into heaven when in reality they will not?

3.      Concerning zeal, persecuting the church – v.6

He had the religious zeal

a.       Paul had zealously stood & fought for his religion

b.      He devotedly persecuted the Christians, seeking to wipe out any cause different from his

c.       Acts 9:1-2; 22:2-21; 26:4-33; 1Corinthians 15:8-10; Galatians 1:13

Thought-Few have ever been committed, devoted, for his religion as Paul. 

Ø      Paul was zealous as one could get

Ø      If persecuting zeal could ever have opened the gates of heaven, Paul would have walked right in!

Ø      Paul had been a persecutor even unto death

4.      Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless – v.6

He had the morality

a.       Paul is not claiming to be perfectly sinless.

b.      When Paul sinned, he obeyed the law & took his sacrifice to the temple.

c.       Paul obeyed all the commandments, rituals, & ceremonies as the Scripture said.

d.      Paul was blameless ritually, & ceremonially.

e.       Paul’s outward conduct had been irreproachable—Philippians 2:15

Thought-Integrity & righteousness are not & cannot be found in keeping all the ritual, ceremonies, and even all the commandments of Scripture

1.      Yet, how many people have you talked to say they live by the Sermon on the Mount?

2.      Or how many people think that God judges on some sort of curve?

—    "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20 NKJV)

—    "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'   "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:22-23 NKJV)

3.      Or measuring themselves against others?

—    For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

—    There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. (Proverbs 30:12 NKJV)

—    Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man? (Proverbs 20:6 NKJV)

II.                Paul Sought To Win Christ-His Righteousness-His Perfection (3:7-11)

A.       Paul Had Counted His Own Righteousness A Loss (3:7)

1.      But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ – v.7

a.       A past experience – v.7

1)      A once for all experience

2)      Paul had given up his own self-righteousness & works to become acceptable before God

3)      Paul had to trust the love of God, knowing that; 

4)      God loved him enough to cover him with the righteousness & perfection of Christ

b.      Did Paul say, “Well I have fire insurance so now I can cruise through life waiting to die”?– v.7

1)      No!  Paul tried more diligently than ever to live for God, because his motives had changed.

2)      Paul was now, living for & totally committed to Jesus Christ

Loss—no where else in Paul’s epistle & only occurs one other time in New Testament

1.      Occurs in Acts 27:10, 21—indicating how gain may become loss.

Ø      The cargo on the ship had potential gain for the merchants, owner of the ship & hungry people.

Ø      If the wheat had not been thrown into the sea, there would have been loss of the ship & those on board.

2.      Therefore, with respect to money, college education, growing up in a Christian home etc. becomes a disadvantage when viewed as the basis for ones hope for eternity.

3.      If Paul had not have given up these things he mentions he would have not gained Christ!

Thought-Real saving faith makes a total commitment to Jesus Christ.

A person who genuinely believes in Jesus Christ will give all he or she has and is to Christ, counting his or her own efforts, righteousness, & works a loss in order to gain Christ.

1.      Yet, how many people will try and bring their own luggage (works, self-righteousness) into heaven?

—    "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV)

—    Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. (Luke 9:23 NKJV)

B.       Paul Constantly Counted All Things As Loss & Waste In Order To Gain Christ (3:8)

1.      But indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord

a.       Key Word is Count—to evaluate, to assess—the present tense; it is a continuous action.

b.      Christians are to continue to seek after the knowledge of Christ, continuing to know Him more!

c.       Anybody who professes Christ as Savior & Lord, but

Ø      goes on living the same life style

Ø      doing his own thing, fulfilling the desires of the flesh & mind

Ø      turning and walking as he always had, has not truly made a decision to follow Christ!

d.      To know Christ means to have a personal relationship with Him.

e.       John 17:3—Jesus says this is eternal life!  To truly know the Father through the Son!

f.       According to these following passages, Christ is more that Paul’s Example or Friend

Ø      Philippians 1:21; 4:13; Romans 7:24,25; 2Corinthians 12:8-10; Galatians 1:15,16; 2:20

Ø      Galatians 6:14; Ephesians 5:1,2; Colossians 3:1-4:6; 1Timothy 1:5,16

Ø      2Timothy 1:12; 4:7,8

2.      For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

What are all the things Paul had lost?

Ø      Have suffered means—“to forfeit and to cast away”

Ø      All things includes—“pride of tradition & ancestry, outward conformity to the law, intellectual, political, financial, and social gains were all willingly cast away in order to gain Christ!

Question?  What or WHO is the real gain in your life?  WHAT or WHO are you trusting in?

Jesus said, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

—    For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (Philippians 1:21)

—    "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. (Luke 9:24 NKJV)

—    After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." (Luke 5:27 NKJV)

Jesus says to you today, “FOLLOW ME!”

WHO ARE YOU GOING TO FOLLOW WHEN YOU LEAVE THIS CLASS TODAY?

C.       Paul Sought  To Be Found In Christ (3:9)

1.      And be found in Him—v9 

Note: This righteousness is Christ’s righteousness—the righteousness of God is Christ Himself

2.      Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law – v.9

Note: Christ’s righteousness cannot be merited, earned or performed by good works

           God’s righteousness is given to the undeserving, it is a gift of God

—    But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.

3.      But that which is through faith in Christ – v.9

Note: God’s righteousness is appropriated by faith, it is a FREE GIFT!

           The only way to receive this free gift is to put your faith into the one who is giving it!

           Jesus Christ is the object of our faith

           Romans 1:16-17; 3;21; Galatians 2:20; 3:22; John 3:16

4.      The righteousness which is from God by faith – v.9

Note: Justification—This righteousness is Divine Righteousness

           It is provided by God and is accepted by God

           Romans 3:24-26; 8:3; 2Corinthians 5:19,21

Courtroom Illustration—Zechariah 3:1-5

D.       Paul Wanted To Deeply Know His Lord (3:10)

1.      That I may know Him – v.10

This is a knowledge not only of the mind but also of the heart

To know “experientially” or “personally”—John 10:27; 17:3; 2Corinthians 4:6; 1John 5:20

2.      And the power of His resurrection – v.10

When a believer really knows Christ, he experiences power-the power of God Himself!

a.       God wants us to experience the same power that raised Christ from the dead

The Point is this—when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He demonstrated three things:

Ø      That God has the power to conquer all the trials and temptations of life. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Ø      That God has the power to give man a new life and the power to live it before Him Romans 6:4

Ø      God has the power to raise men from the dead John 5:28-29

3.      And the fellowship of His sufferings – v.10

Paul wanted to share in the purpose for which Christ was suffering—for the same cause—suffer for proclaiming the righteousness and salvation of God

4.      Being conformed to His death – v.10

Paul put his own flesh & desires to death—he did only what God willed and desired

E.       Paul Desired That Eternal Experience With His Lord (3:11)

1.      If by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead – v.11

a.       That day will set in motion that day which will soon bring about the new heavens & earth – v.11

b.      That day believers will have earthly bodies transformed into perfect eternal bodies – v.11

III.             Paul Did Not Count Himself As Having Apprehended-He Was Not Yet Perfect (3:12-16)

A.       Paul Followed After Perfection, After His God-Given Purpose (3:12)

1.      Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on – v.12

2.      That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me – v.12

B.       Paul Worked At Forgetting The Past (3:13)

1.      Brethren, I do not count myself to having apprehended – v.13

2.      But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind – v.13

3.      And reaching forward to those things which are ahead – v.13

C.       Paul Pressed On Toward The Goal, Toward God’s Purpose In Christ Jesus (3:14)

1.      I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus – v.14

D.       Paul Kept His Mind On Growing, On Maturing In Christ (3:15)

1.      Therefore let us, as many are mature, have this mind – v.15

2.      And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you – v.15

E.       Paul Maintained The Growth He Had Already Achieved (3:16)

1.      Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained – v.16

2.      Let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind – v.16