The Goal of the Christian Life
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Here’s the big idea:
The Goal of the Christian Life is to Know Christ
The Goal of the Christian Life is to Know Christ
There are two reasons that the Holy Spirit—through Paul—tells us that knowing Christ is the ultimate goal in life:
Knowing Christ Changes our Values:
Knowing Christ Changes our Values:
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Philippians 3:3-
Philippians 3:3-
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:2-
philippians 3:2-
I love this passage because I imagine that this was like Paul’s version of a twitter rant.
Paul says, “watch out for religious people” he calls them dogs, evil doers, and genitalia mutilators...
These were not nice things Paul was saying. Like we love dogs in our culture, like they become apart of our family photos and sleep in your bed, and some of you weirdos even kiss them on the lips and stuff…but in this culture dogs were the lowest thing on the totem pole. Then he goes on to say that they are evil—like they are bad people…and the worst thing he says is that they mutilate their flesh—this is a reference to circumcision—the most important act of obedience in the Jewish religion…Paul says that they are genitalia mutilators.
And then he continues…He says, “And oh…by the way…just in case you think I am criticizing your religion because I don’t understand it…just know this…in every regard to your religion…not only did I understand it…but I was one of you…and I was better than you in every way possible.”
He is essentially saying, “I used to think that what you guys are doing and teaching was valuable…but not anymore.”
Look now at verses 7-9
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
phillipians 3:7-9
Here is what Paul says, “my old life…my old accolades…my old religious resume…compared to knowing Christ…it was worthless.”
The word that Paul uses here to describe just how worthless his old life in Judaism was is a greek word that is literally translated as “dung” or “excrement.” Do I need to keep finding words or are you following me?
You see, here’s what Paul found when Jesus saved him on the road to damascus…he realized that all of his striving, all of his religious discipline, all of his good works for God—they were a vain attempt to earn God’s love and God’s favor…but when Paul encountered Christ…he realized that all of his best efforts to earn his way into God’s good graces were what Isaiah called “filthy rags.”
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After Christ Paul Valued: Relationship with God through Jesus, he valued the good news,
So I want us to do some active participation together this morning: are you willing to do this with me? It isnt crazy…but I think that it will help us identify what Paul is getting at here in this passage. I want you to close your eyes and imagine something with me…imagine that you have passed away and you are standing before the gates of heaven and God walks up to you and asks you this question...I dont want you to answer this question out loud right now, but I want everyone in the room to have their answer in their head. Imagine that God asks you this, “Why should I let you in heaven?” Not out loud…but how would you answer that question?
When I was in the 10th grade I remember being in books-a-million in Columbus, MS, looking for a new bible.... and this elderly woman came up to me and asked me that very question. She said, “Why do you think that God should let you in heaven when you die?” So I started giving her my resume...”Well I go to church every week, I serve in the youth choir, I try to read my Bible and pray, I ask God to forgive me when I sin...” on and on and on I went…and this woman very graciously, but very pointedly said, “Son…that’s all good, but it’s the wrong answer…the answer is Jesus.” and she was right.
See here is what I want to say if the answer to that question in your head right now is anything other than, “Jesus is the only reason that you should let me in heaven, God.”
How you answer that question tells you exactly what it is that you actually value…if you answered that question with a list…than what you actually value this morning is your religious performance history, your resume. And your not valuing the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Knowing Jesus was what transformed Paul’s life
One thing that I know to be true this morning is that there are a lot of us in here right now thinking that God is in heaven just to keep score of our religious performance. We think he is like Santa Claus making his list and checking it twice, going to find out who’s naughty or nice…and know this from personal experience…trying to keep up with the score is totally exhausting and this morning I want to encourage you to agree with the apostle Paul that the score we try to keep on our religious performance is worthless.
Here’s why…and I pray this is an encouragement to you if you believe in Jesus this morning:
When we finally begin to understand the gospel we recognize that all of the work that we had been doing for God, in hopes that it would make us worthy of his approval, is avaliable to us in Jesus Christ. And in the moment that we believe, our values totally change. We realize that our works are worthless, and that knowing Christ and following Him is the most fundamental goal of the Christian life.
In Christ, you are more than your religious resume.
In Christ, you are the salt of the earth, the light of the world and a child of God.
In Christ, you are part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life and a friend of God, chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
In Christ, you are resurrected to a new life, a slave
of righteousness enslaved to God and a son of God.
In Christ, you are a joint heir with Christ sharing in His inheritance and the dwelling place of God.
In Christ, you are united to the Lord and a member of Christ’s body.
In Christ, you are qualified to stand confidently before God because you are lavished in grace.
In Christ, you are a new creation reconciled to God and the seed of Abraham.
In Christ, you are a saint. In Christ, you are an heir of God since you are a son or daughter of God.
In Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing.
In Christ, you are God’s workmanship, made to do good works that he has already prepared for you.
In Christ, you are a fellow citizen of God’s family and a prisoner of Christ.
In Christ, You are righteous and holy, a citizen of heaven and hidden with Christ in God.
In Christ, you are the expression of the life of Christ.
In Christ, You are chosen of God, holy and dearly loved and a child of light, not of darkness.
In Christ, you are an heir to eternal life, a holy partaker of the heavenly calling and one of God’s living stones.
In Christ, you are a member of a chosen race, a holy nation, a royal priesthood.
In Christ, you are an alien and stranger to the world in which I live.
In Christ, you are an enemy of the devil.
In Christ, you are born of God, and the devil cannot touch you.
In Christ, you are participating in the divine nature of God himself.
That is who you are by faith Christ Jesus.
You are so much more than your religious religious resume…you are Christ’s, and he is yours…and that is enough...
If you know Jesus Christ this morning
When we know Christ…we can stop valuing our performance before God and we are free to start valuing the performance of Jesus given to us through faith.
Knowing Christ is the goal of the Christian life because it changes our values…first.
But knowing christ doesnt just change what we value…it also changes our vision
Knowing Christ Changes our Vision
Knowing Christ Changes our Vision
Look at what Paul says in v.8-11
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 8-11
Paul’s vision before he knew Jesus was wrapped up in his life in Judaism.
He spent his life trying to earn God’s approval. His rituals, his zealous obedience, his persecution of Christians, all of that was for the goal of gaining God’s approval...
Like we have already talked about, at the moment that Paul came to faith, he found that the approval of God wasnt found through his ritualistic obedience to the law but it was found through faith in Christ...
His life goal of gaining God’s approval was what he already had…but after he met Christ there was this radical transformation that happened in
There’s a reason why Paul uses such harsh language in describing people who are trying to earn build up a religious resume…if you just stop for a moment and think about it…what is a resume all about? It’s all about you....your works…your accomplishments…your worth…your value…your qualifications…
Jesus says that the greatest commandment is loving God and loving people…and when we keep track of our resume we essentially say to God…I know about all that love God and love others stuff....BUT WHAT ABOUT ME?!
What about
But when we recognize that we are approved already, not because of what we do for God, but because of what God did for us through Jesus…we are free to relentlessly pursue God’s vision for our life.
Here is the real danger when we are just trying to earn God’s approval through our obedience…we become incredibly self centered. Think about it…when you serve…and youre serving because you are hoping that God will notice and finally be pleased with your efforts for him…that isnt about God, it isnt about others....it’s about you…When we are looking for God’s approval
Listen, Paul’s words here are crazy…here is what Paul essentially says...
Just look at what Paul says in verse
“My goal in life now that I have God’s approval in life is to know Christ, to share in his sufferings, and to die for him...”
That right there…is a dude who is radically in love with Jesus…he’s like…take away my family, take away my fame, take away my possessions…its all rubbish anyways…I have Christ and that’s all I need…God is for me, who can be against me…nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus…so throw me in prison, take away all that I have, take my life…Im holding nothing back for God because I know that God in Christ has held nothing back from me.
This is the attitude we need church if we want to make an impact for the kingdom of God over this next decade…we need this type of vision…not where we are serving God in hopes of gaining his approval but serving him out of the overflow of reality that in Christ we are already approved...
Imagine what it might look like if all of us would do that
