Pressing Toward the Goal

Good morning Church! If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me Philippians 3. Today we’re talking about how to press on. You see, it’s one thing for Christ to take hold of our lives but it’s a whole other thing to to pursue Jesus with tremendous passion. To abandon our personal pursuits for the sake of Jesus Christ until we get to the Lord.

Martin Luther described Christians as simul justus et peccator which is Latin for simultaneously righteous and yet also battling the sinful nature that threatens to dissuade us from our pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s going to talk about that today and the hazards that await us as Christians.

Let’s stand together in honor of God’s Word as we read Philippians 3:12-21

Philippians 3:12–21 ESV

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 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. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 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.

Last time week, Paul showed us that everything in life is garbage compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. He wanted to be found in Him, not with a righteousness of his own, but with the righteousness that comes by faith. His great desire was to know Christ more deeply and to share in His resurrection life.

But Paul quickly reminds us—he hasn’t arrived yet. He hasn’t finished the race. Salvation is secure, but the Christian life is a pursuit of the Lord. In this passage, Paul shows us what it looks like to press on toward the goal, to live as citizens of heaven while waiting for Christ’s return.

So if 3:1–11 asked, “What do you value most?” then the passage today asks, “How do you live in light of that value?”

Paul is the first to admit that he is not a perfect person. Last week he said if anyone thinks he was good enough for salvation, I was better. But spiritually dead is still spiritually dead. Christ first “laid hold” of Paul. You might hear the question from an evangelist “Have you found Jesus?” but the truth is that we don’t find Jesus, Jesus finds us floating in the deep ocean of our sin. We are crushed by the severe weight of our own depravity and sickness, drowned in the frothy liquid of depravity and God by His grace reaches down to us in the depths, brings us out of those waters, and breathes new life by His Holy Spirit into our hearts.

If you’re not a Christian, you might think, “Cody, I don’t feel any crushing weight! I kind of actually like my sin!” Listen, how much weight does a corpse feel? None. Dead things do not feel. If you put a living man into the water, he doesn’t even feel the weight of water pressing around him, but if you take him out of the water and put a big tub of water on his head, he will definitely feel the weight.

But you might be wondering Cody, if I’m saved, then why do I still struggle with sin? Well look at what Paul says here. He’s not perfect. He hasn’t arrived yet. In fact, struggling against sin isn’t proof you’re lost, its evidence you’re alive in Christ. RC Sproul said, We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Grace changes our nature and status instantly by being justified— made righteous, but grace also changes who we are progressively through sanctification.

So why should we pursue growth in Christ if our salvation is secure? Well, the Christian walk is a marathon race, not a sprint. We are pilgrims on a long journey to the Celestial City, the City of God. And as we are on that journey, we are called to glorify the Lord and we do this through confirming the new birth in our lives.

The first step of obedience for a Christian is baptism after salvation. If you are a Christian and you haven’t been baptized or you need to be baptized then let me or another person know because we have a baptism taking place on October 5th. We already have one, so I hope you can be one as well.

But also our pursuit of Christ and growth in Him brings us assurance of our salvation. When we walk with Christ, we walk in bold confidence that God has us secure. It’s when we begin to wander that we begin to wonder and despair similar to the prodigal son. Are you a child of God? Then you can come to the Father! Why do you come to the Father? Because of your tremendous need to be saved! Without the Father you will perish, but when you come to the Father you say “I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me a servant!” And God welcomes you in not as a slave, but a son!

Pursuing Christ as the goal also guards Christ’s name! There are many so called Christians that cause lost people to blaspheme God. They say, “If that’s Christianity, then I don’t want anything to do with it.”

Pursuing Christ also brings joy to your soul and usefulness to the Kingdom!

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 ESV

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

When we live our lives in this fashion if gives us deep assurance of our salvation and that assurance does not breed apathy in our hearts, but become a source of effort from a confident assurance in our salvation. I don’t pastor in order to be saved. I am saved and called therefore I pastor. You don’t do mission work to be saved, you are saved and called therefore you work as a missionary. And it’s this motivation that allows us to run the runners race.

The Runner’s Race

You see, our goal is now Christlikeness.

1 John 3:2 ESV

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

But what is the prize?

Philippians 3:13–14 ESV

13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Sinclair Ferguson often says “The pattern of the Christian life is the cross before the crown.” This is exactly true. We have our cross to bear on the path God has for us, but what awaits us? Glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, and eternal life in His presence.

But what will it take for us to successfully run in pursuit of the prize?

Holy Dissatisfaction. We must forget what lies behind and press on. Christian, do you think back to your Christian glory days of 10, 20, or 30 years ago? You shouldn’t. You should be looking ahead and looking to Christ! In Christ, your past is not what we are to look for, but rather our Savior!

As a pastor I’ve had the misfortune of meeting some people that make loud professions of holiness and superiority. They’re almost super-Christian in their words. There’s lots of Christianese and I find myself very intimidated because I’m not on their level at all. They’re way above the rest of us and seem to be above human frailties. But the more I’ve gotten to know some of these people, the more I see the rottenness in their person. Because they acknowledge the lofty spiritual ideals while simultaneously refusing basic Christian principles of love, goodwill, fellowship, and forgiveness.

2. Maximum effort. Paul says “I press on”. This means that we give our best effort in pursuing Jesus. Onward we go, not thinking of ourselves as good enough, but always seeking the grace of Christ.

3. Focused concentration. That’s “one thing”, forget what lies behind, the sin and success and reaching forward. This is “full stretch” in the Greek. We’ve all seen those videos of runners celebrating too early only to stumble at the line. If they had focused on the finish line, they would have won the prize and finished the race. The way for the Christian to run is to not look back, but to look ahead to the goal line and our goal in Jesus.

4. Strong motivation- Its the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We talk about high callings when it comes to professions, but the truth is that if you are in Christ your calling is a high holy calling.

5. Dependence on the Lord- Paul says that the mature think this way and that God will reveal the truth to you. For some of us, it may take a bit longer than others. But God doesn’t let His sheep do their own thing. This mature thinking is Gospel formed and Gospel focused.

6. Consistent obedience. This phrase in verse 16 “let us hold true” is the Greek word “stoicheo” which means to be in a formation in war. It’s like soldiers holding a line in battle. We don’t break ranks. We don’t falter. We stand in Christ and the blades of the enemy, nor the fiery arrows can ultimately do anything to us.

So how do we keep running the marathon of the Christian life?

How Can I Keep Running?

Paul gives us three tips on how we can keep running: imitate examples, avoid enemies, await the Savior.

Follow Good Examples

Paul says “Join in imitating me”, this is not arrogance, but embodied, local discipleship. Paul had personally invested in Timothy and Epaphroditus. Today, you can look to your elders here and seasoned Christian whose pattern you can watch and imitate.

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV

12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

I get asked by younger believers who they should look to as a model of faith? My immediate response is to typically find someone who has walked faithfully with the Lord for at least a decade. Find someone that is doing ministry in the local church, is loving and prays faithfully, and will share biblical truth and wisdom. Look for someone that wants to minister to you. Find a runner who runs toward Christ—and become someone that others can imitate as well.

You see, Christians are called to imitate Christ. If someone says they’re a Christian but they aren’t trying to imitate Jesus, then they’re not what they think they are.

Flee From Enemies

Paul weeps as he warns the Philippians about “enemies of the cross”. Church, it’s been a while since I’ve warned you about enemies of the cross but they are out there. They’re on your TV, they’re on Youtube, they’re all over CBN and TBN. They are wealthy, give in to their desires, have no shame in their preaching, and think about this world and what it offers. When a pastor wears outfits that are as valuable as a month’s salary for most people then there’s a problem and it happens everywhere!

Paul says, their eternal destiny is destruction. Don’t follow people like this. Don’t imitate them. They’re personable, likeable, probably funny and their lifestyle appeals to our fleshly nature. Don’t be charmed into destruction!

Their god is their belly. Their desires. Not just gluttony, although that’s included obviously. It stems to every single area of life where your desires lead you. As a Christian, our goal is not our happiness. It’s not our retirement. It’s Christ. It’s God. But what happens when we’re driven by our desires and our motivations are all about our wants? We better take caution and repent.

These people glory in their shame, what does that mean? It means that they boast in their sin.

Romans 1:32 ESV

32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

It’s a badge of honor that people wear for their sin. And this can be any sin, not just the obvious ones or popular ones to put down in our culture.

Their minds are set on earthly things. That means they’re not living like citizens of heaven, setting their minds on things above, but are thinking in terms of how everyone else thinks.

Paul contrasts this in another book to talk about who we are to live

Colossians 3:1–11 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

So don’t listen to people this. Don’t imitate them. Look to Christ. Look to your elders. Look to godly Christians that have a proven track record of faithfulness to Christ.

Fixate on Gospel Truth

So if we are to follow good examples, and avoid bad ones, what are some principles we should use to help us along the way? First, Paul marks out our identity: “our citizenship is in heaven”. Paul was writing to Philippi, a Roman colony filled with pride in their Roman citizenship. Citizenship offered many privileges, protections, and responsibilities. Its very similar to America where we have rights as citizens that others do not have. But Paul calls the Christians at Philippi to understand that we are citizens of heaven and that is a powerful identity truth when it comes to living for the Lord Jesus Christ. It allows us to persevere during persecutions and heartaches. It allows us to overcome temptations and trials.

Paul also refers to our eternal hope. He writes “we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body”. One day our bodies here on earth will be changed. Transformed! Our final home is not heaven, it’s the new heaven and new earth. We don’t have bodies in heaven, our bodies on earth will be resurrected and transformed into glorious new bodies. Our hope is not some spiritual state of unity with God, but is spiritual and physical where we will be with God in new glorified bodies.

And what is the reward? It’s heaven. Is it secure? Yes, it’s paid for by Jesus Christ. Is it something to strive for? Yes, with all our effort. Why? To pursue Christ and be found in Him. The point here is that God Himself is our hope and He will raise us to enjoy Him forever.

What is the Pathway?

So let’s put all this together for us: what is our aim? To know Christ and become more like Him. We can call this Christlikeness. This is our goal.

How do we get there? It’s by abiding in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

It also comes through imitating faithful models, being watchful of enemies, and having a heavenly citizen mindset.

What is our attitude? It’s Holy dissatisfaction + maximum effort + focused concentration+ strong motivation + divine dependence + steady consistency= pressing on to Christ until perfected in glory.

You see if you remove that holy dissatisfaction you will be complacent. You think you have arrived and grow stagnant or proud. You settle for yesterday’s growth instead of becoming more like Jesus today.

If you take out maximum effort you are at risk for spiritual laziness. God’s grace never cancels out our effort, but it empowers it. When we stop straining or pressing we are at risk of drifting. So “strain forward” as Paul says. Remember without effort, your good intentions will never go anywhere and you make no progress in personal holiness.

If you take our focused concentration then you get distraction. You have to keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. “Forgetting what lies behind”. Your sins do not define you and neither do your successes. So don’t cling to either, rather cling to Christ.

It you remove strong motivation then you get aimlessness. If you lose sight of the prize, the race feels pointless and Christians may run without direction or endurance or may cease running altogether. Paul says “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Without strong motivation, effort becomes drudgery, focus drifts toward earthly prizes, and consistency collapses under pressure. You either quit the race or chase the wrong finish line.

If you remove divine dependence you are left with self reliance. If you’re relying on yourself then all your effort becomes moralism. You can run hard, but you’re not running in His power and strength. Paul firmly grounds his walk in “Because Christ Jesus has made me His own”. So depend on Him, not yourself.

If you take out steady consistency then you get fits and starts. You rededicate here and stumble there, you don’t persevere and without perseverance you don’t finish the race. Paul says “Only let us hold true to what we have attained”. So remain consistent. Show up. Don’t have zeal one day and apathy the next. Endure in Christ.

So what is your motivation? Going back to 1 John 3:2

1 John 3:2 ESV

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

You are not called to be a spectator in the stands of the race toward Christ. You are called to get fit in the Word of God and prayer. You are called to run to Christ by loving, serving, trusting, hoping, and pouring ourselves out as Christ poured Himself out for us. We must press on

So what does this mean for you? Don’t look to your past, but look to Christ. Don’t be reassured by accomplishments and don’t despair because of your shortcomings. The question is, are you running toward Christ? If you’re not, why not? Make today the day that you pursue Christ with all your heart.

Head: God wants you to know that your salvation is secure but your sanctification requires effort.

So put your hand to the plow and don’t look back. Look to the Savior and glory in Christ Jesus.

Heart: God wants you to know that Christ has made you His own, therefore you can run with joy.

Because of your salvation, you can run.

Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hand: God wants you to forget what lies behind, imitate godly examples, and fix your eyes on Jesus.

Pray and invite Steve up for communion.