Philippians 3:4-11

Introduction

Resumes are important. They give a brief summary as to why you should be hired over someone else. Usually people put their successes on the resume. A hopeful, future employee is not going to include how they had an absentee problem, refused to do work, or punched their supervisor in the face; nor, would they write that their teams success was in spite of their efforts. instead, they will use language that highlights their dependability, cooperativeness, creativity, assertiveness and importance to the overall success of the company.

This morning, I want to focus on Paul’s resume. The reason was importnat for Paul and is important to us is everyone has a life-resume. Our life-resume is not being typed on a laptop but is seen and evidenced by our lives. Even though there may be different templates on how to write a resume (Chronological, functional, or combination) or styles that can bring attention to your resume, God is focused on the substance.

I read this recently: “I interviewed a kid one time who had worked at Wal-Mart. His resume was just riddled with spelling errors and under Job Title at Wal-Mart he had put, “Night Stalker.” Needless to say he wasn’t hired, but we kept an eye out for him…” God is less worried about the style and more concerned about truth.

The resume that counts with God is the involvement Jesus has in a persons life. You cannot overstate the importance Jesus had in a person like Charlie Kirk. I recently heard an atheist or agnostic conservative eulogize Charlie Kirk’s life. His main emphasis was how he struggled with connecting to Charlie Kirk. It was not about his politics but how he integrated his faith into politics. This was off-putting for him because of how many people shamelessly use the name of Jesus Christ but are hypocrites with their lives. He concluded in his eulogy by saying in “Charlie’s death his faith was unbelievable.” The points he made about Charlie Kirk’s virtue was not driven by his politics but his faith.

Jesus is the only person that matters in our life-resume. It does not matter if we have been a good father or mother, brother or sister, co-worker, philanthropist, or inventor; it does matter the role and importance Jesus has in our life. Jesus said in John 14:6 “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Paul’s resume without Christ

Philippians 3:4–6: “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

The word “Confidence” means “reliance” and “trust.” Paul used the same word that has been translated as “trust” in 2 Corinthians 3:4: “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward.” Paul’s trust, reliance and fall-back were his ethnicity and accomplishments. In the first part of Philippians 3:7 Paul views his ethnicity and accomplishments as gain: “But what things were gain to me…” Paul’s philosophy in his resume without Christ was “gain.” The word “gain”, which is attached to “things” means assets. His assets before God were ethnicity and a works saturated religion that put all the emphasis on his actions and functions. Therefore, he says, “if anyone had any reason to have confidence in their resume outside of Christ, it was me.”

Religion is about affections. Regardless of the kind of religion; it is always about affections. In any persons religion, there affections will be toward them or God. This includes Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Atheism, Humanism, Pluralism, and any other kind is “ism.” If your affections and devotion are toward God then you will embrace grace, otherwise it is toward your works. Paul writes in Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Consider two examples: “In the Islamic hadith corpus and Quran, the way to atone for sins is called tawba (or tawbah), which requires one to complete a series of steps to receive forgiveness from Allah (God). Jihadist terrorist organizations use primarily Quranic scripture to recruit and employ suicide bombers who may have a guilty conscience for their past sins. It is said that martyrdom, or istishadi, will automatically save Muslims from hell and grant access to paradise no matter the sin committed. One of the understudied reasons for istishadi suicide bombings in jihadist groups is the concept of atonement.” They want to go to paradise for self-preservation reasons of not going to Hell but not because they love Allah.

Years ago, I heard a Baptist pastor say that in his evangelism he often compares Hell with Heaven to help people rationalize why they should follow Jesus. He would say: would not you rather go to Heaven and not Hell.” He gets converts to choose Jesus because of how awful Hell is. A person who chooses Jesus because they do not want to go to Hell loves themselves more than Jesus. Jesus is just a means for them to escape Hell. Contrast this with Paul in Philippians 1:23–24: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” The only reason he wanted Heaven was to be with the one he loved the most, Jesus.

Paul’s religion before Jesus and his resume without Christ places the emphasis of his affections on himself. The centerpiece word in understanding his resume is “I:” “I” was circumcised on the eighth day (according to the law); “I” am of the stock of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob); “I” am of the tribe of Benjamin (David Guzik wrote: “a distinguished tribe. Benjamin was distinguished by the fact that it gave Israel her first king, Saul (1Sa 9:1-2). It was the tribe that aligned itself with faithful Judah when Israel divided into two nations at the time of Rehoboam (1Ki 12:21). It was also the tribe that had the city of Jerusalem within its boundaries (Jdg 1:21);” “I” am a Jew amongst Jews (he did not embrace Greek culture as many other Jews did); “I” am zealous for Judaism so much that I persecuted the arch nemesis to “I” theology, the Lord’s churches; “I” am a Pharisee (unlike the Sadducees, I view all the OT as God’s word. There were no very many Pharisees - 6000 - they were the spiritual athletes of Judaism); “I” had an irreproachable righteousness based on my testimony regarding the law.

His resume was built upon who he was and what he did. If you were a Jew looking for a rabbi or looking for someone to be part of the synagogue that will uphold Jewish religious values, Paul was your man. However, the I" statements are problematic because they are rooted in our limited, prideful, and fallen nature. They put the focus on self rather than God or others. An example is President Trump: he said on a Fox News morning show "Fox & Friends regarding his push to end the Russia-Ukrainian War: “I want to try and get to heaven if possible," “ He says: “I hear I'm not doing well -- I hear I'm really at the bottom of the totem pole! But if I can get to heaven this will be one of the reasons." His work and accomplishments and not God’s grace is his resume.

He is not the exception to the rule but the rule. “A 2020 Arizona Christian University poll found that nearly half of U.S. adults (48%) believe that a person can "earn" a place in heaven by being generally good or doing enough good things in life. In contrast, only 35% of American adults held the traditional biblical view that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, according to the American Worldview Inventory 2020.” I am assuming this poll took into consideration only those people who believed in an after-life based on a Pew Research Center poll the following year that found 26% of people did not believe in a Heaven and Hell. The percent is larger of those who do not believe in Hell at 38%.

This means that Trump’s resume for the afterlife and Paul’s resume before conversion have mainstream support within religion as a whole.

Resume with Christ

Philippians 3:7–11 “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

Before we can examine Paul’s resume with Christ, we need to understand what Paul’s resume with Christ means in relation to his resume without Christ. Paul gives us two answers: his resume without Christ is a “loss” and “dung.” In Philippians 3:7–8, Paul writes: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,”

The word “loss” means to “damage” or “forfeit.” His point is: “the things that I counted on as an advantage has been damaged to the point of forfeiting it.” How could Paul, who put so much effort into his resume without Christ forfeit this resume? I read this illustration that helps make Paul’s point: “The airline had mangled Debbie's luggage. Then her purse disappeared. Instead of entering the airport through an enclosed corridor, she stumbled off the plane in the pouring rain. She was drenched, far from home with no money, no identification, and no dry clothes.

“Under normal conditions Debbie would have been furious, but that night it didn't matter. She had just survived the crash of Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas. ‘When I walked off that plane,’ Debbie said, ‘I walked off with nothing, then I stopped and thought, I have everything.’ She had suddenly realized that her life was more important than all she had lost.” In the same vein, Paul suddenly realized Christ was more important than everything he lost.

In Philippians 3:8, he references his past victories without Christ as dung: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” the word “dung” means “refuse” or “the worthless or useless part of something.”

When I was 7 or 8 years old, my dad took me and my younger brother to look for aluminum cans so that we can turn in for some money. He took us to Gray Road, which was just a couple blocks from our house. A mile or so down the road there was a hill filled with garbage bags. Evidently, it was a landfill in the 1970’s. There were hundreds, if not thousands of garbage bags. The plan was to open as many bags as we can to see if they had aluminum cans. Back in the 70’s they were still transitioning from steel cans to aluminum cans. Steel cans were worthless. We were able to differentiate between steel and aluminum cans by looking at the bottom. “(A)n aluminum can will have a concave, domed bottom, while a steel can will have a flat, even bottom.” If we found a steel can, we threw the can back into the garbage area because it was worthless, useless, and had no value. Paul realized his assets without Christ were worthless, useless and had no value with God.

I mentioned last week how that to have the righteousness of Christ two things are necessary. The first of the two things is to know you are ungodly. It was easy to view his resume as loss and dung once he understood the extent of sin cuased him to be ungodly through and through.

Why was Christ the central theme in Paul’s resume? He gives two answers in Philippians 3:7–8: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ:” who He is and how He is viewed.

First, who is He? Paul says that He is the Christ and the Lord. “Christ” means anointed one, Messiah, and by application conqueror. Jesus came conquer sin. 1 Corinthians 15:56–57 “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Throughout Paul’s life, he believed the best way to conquer sin was through his ethnicity and passion for Judaism. In this sense, he was his own messiah, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

He is the Lord. Jesus was more than a conqueror of sin for Paul; Jesus was his Lord. The Lordship of Jesus that so may today want to dismiss or under-appreciate was importnat for Paul. Paul’s first affirmative statement about Jesus upon meeting Him on that road dealt with Jesus’ Lordship. Paul says in Acts 9:6: “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

One last point to make regarding Paul’s resume with Christ. In a resume, you may include your objectives or pursuits in life. Often, when a person is being interviewed, one of the questions is, “where do you see yourself in five years?” With that in mid, consider Paul’s pursuit and objective. He writes in Philippians 3:9–11: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

Paul has three objectives: Faith of Christ, conformable unto Jesus’ death, and being resurrected from the dead. Why was the faith of Christ his pursuit? Philippians 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” So that he could trade in his own righteousness for the righteousness of Christ “through the faith of Christ.” The faith of Christ is the appropriate source for righteousness.

There is a difference between appropriate and approved. Appropriate" means something is suitable, fitting, or right for a specific situation. “Approved" means something has been officially allowed or accepted by an authority. The law of God was an approved source for righteousness; however, it was not appropriate source to use because no one could keep the law of God; especially, Paul. 1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Paul says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” therefore, Paul’s righteousness which was by the law was unrighteous. We looked at his resume without Christ. The reason it was ineffective was sin. The only way to have righteousness is through faith in Christ. James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

Paul understood the faith of Christ comes from the knowledge of Christ, which has an unparalleled excellence. Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” The word “excellence” means “superior.” The knowledge of Christ was the most superior knowledge to have. knowledge gained by astronomy, biology, auto-mechanic, cardiology, and electrician are important but they are not in the same sphere as the knowledge of Christ. Astronomy may help us to know our universe better; biology may help us to know may help us to know organisms better; auto-mechanic may help us keep our cars running; cardiology may help keep our heart ticking; but, Jesus will help us to conquer sin and death.

His second pursuit was being conformable unto Jesus’ death. Paul writes in Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” The word for “know” means to experience the “excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” It was not just head knowledge that Paul wanted; he wanted head knowledge to transcend into experiential knowledge.

Let me explain the difference: I know if you run into a telephone pole it is going to hurt and damage your face. The reason I know this is when I was 8-9 years old and ran head first and full speed into a telephone pole, which was first base. I ended up on the ground, bloodied and bruised. The telephone pole did not budge.

So, how can you “know Jesus, when, unlike his disciples, you’ve never seen him with your own eyes, or touched him with your own hands, or heard his human voice with your own ears? How do you know a person who is at present physically inaccessible? How can you know him?” The answer is when the knowledge of Christ transforms your life. Then you will know the transformative power of the knowledge of Christ. For what purpose? As the “power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” transforms us, we are “made conformable unto His death.”

In other words, it is important to be transformed so that we are sold out no matter the cost. After landing at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 (the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez) was so intent on conquest that to assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships! With no means of retreat Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior. Cortez understood the price of commitment—and he was willing to pay it for a temporal, earthly treasure. Paul in contrast was willing to give up the earthly for the heavenly.”

His third pursuit was the resurrection. There are two resurrections. John writes of the two resurrections in Revelation 20:4–6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” There is a resurrection unto life where death has no power and a resurrection unto death where life has no power. Paul wanted to first resurrection. He writes in Philippians 3:11: “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

The resurrection of the dead will occur when Jesus comes to rapture His saints. Paul writes of this event in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” So, for Paul, it did not matter that he was imprisoned in Rome, with the possibility of being martyred for his faith. His life and resume was about Christ and not health or wealth, or peace, or long life. Because, the real living, where it is your best life, now, happens at the rapture.

Conclusion

This afternoon, we will be observing the Lord’s table. The Lord’s table is for those whose resume is with Christ. The bread represents Jesus’ broken body, the blood represents His bloodied body on the cross. The reason Paul had the righteousness of Christ that came through the faith of Christ was the battered and bloodied body of Jesus on the cross. And the reason we are not concerned with the temporality of this life is we know that Jesus is coming back for us. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:24–26 “And when he (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” The table speaks of our resume with Christ.