Untitled Sermon

Do You Have a Goal In Life?

Key Verses:

I. Paul Was Always a Man of Purpose

A. In his unbelief he was sincere. He thought of Christ as an impostor and therefore set out to Damascus with the purpose of imprisoning Christians in order to silence the voice of this Nazarene.

B. But instead of succeeding in his goal, Paul was converted by Christ Himself (; ; , ).

C. In writing to the Philippians he gives his testimony succinctly: “I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (). The NASB translates the Greek verb katelḗmphthēn, “I was laid hold of” and the NIV as Christ Jesus “took hold of me.” This is what every believer can truly say, “I was taken possession of; I was seized.” The verb is in the aorist passive which means that at a certain time in the past I was seized by a power greater than myself. That power was the risen Christ who appeared to Saul the persecutor and changed him into Paul the fervent saint. Saul did not seek God in Christ, but God sought Paul and changed him.

D. The reverse could not happen. Saul could not catch Christ to put Him out of commission, even though he earnestly tried.

II. Paul Responded Fervently to Christ’s Call

A. In , Paul states, “… I follow after, if that I may apprehend.…” (NASB has a better translation, “in order that I may lay hold of.”) What is Paul saying to us here?

B. First of all, being seized by Christ is not the goal of the Christian life. That is just the beginning of the march down the road that stretches before us.

C. Secondly, Paul’s statement indicates that there is constant effort required on the part of the believer. The Christian life is not passive but full of activity. “I follow after,” or “I strive,” diṓkō, is in the present continuous tense meaning that I strive until such time as I shall reach the goal. The verb katalábō, “that I may lay hold” (v. 12), is in the subjunctive aorist, which means at a particular time once and for all.

III. Is the Goal the Same for Every Christian’s Life?

A. In one sense it is. In , Paul says that his goal is to “attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” All Christians at the end of their earthly lives will obtain a resurrected body (; , ) and will be in heaven with Christ (; ).

B. But in another sense believers will experience different rewards in heaven according to how successful they were in reaching the goal set for each by God (). God has made an investment in each one of us (; ), and we have a responsibility to set our goals in accordance with the expectations of us. In and , Paul refers to a prize, brabeíon, to be won. Observe that he calls it “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The Greek adverb ánō should be translated “the heavenly call of God,” and not as if it means the direction toward which we move (NASB “upward call” and NIV “heavenward”). The prize at the end of the road for each of us will be in accordance with our heavenly calling and how eagerly we have pursued it.

IV. At No Time Must We Think That We Have Reached the Goal

A. Observe that Paul says in verse 12, “Not as though I had already attained …”

B. Then the second phrase augments the first, “… either were already perfect.” The verb translated “were perfect” is teteleíōmai, the perfect indicative passive with middle meaning of teleióō, “to complete.” In other words, Paul is saying that he has not brought to completion his heavenly calling. He only continues to strive toward it.

V. A Christian’s Life Must Have Purpose

A. Verse 14 begins in the Greek katá skopón diṓkō, “with a target in front of me, I pursue with intent.” In the phrase “I press toward the mark” the Greek for “mark” is skopós and is only found here. It is derived from sképtomai, to think, to figure out. Skopós is an object set up in the distance at which one looks and aims.

B. As Christians, we must intelligently assess and pursue our God-given endowments. In so doing we need both purpose and perseverance.