Disregard Your Achievements To Find Your Acceptance

Philippians 3:1-11

Though I’m not a big racing fan when Dale Earnhardt was killed at Daytona last year, I felt a sense of loss. I never knew the man nor was I a fan, but I guess like all public figures it felt like I was acquainted with him. Anytime I hear of someone dying the first question that goes through my mind is, "I wonder if they trusted in Jesus Christ? I wonder if they’re in heaven now or separated from God forever?" After Earnhardt’s death I listened to see if anyone knew about his spiritual condition. I never heard one way or the other, but I did find out one interesting and maybe even disturbing fact about his life. Dale Earnhardt had a theme song. The song he applied to his own life was "I Wanna Be Somebody" by Travis Tritt.

Could the desire to be somebody have fueled Earnhardt’s insatiable need to win? Was that the reason he was considered a "look out for number one" kind of guy? He risked his life and ultimately lost it because he simply wanted acceptance.

I can’t sit in judgment over his life and neither can you. In some measure we all have this desire to gain notoriety and approval and some sense of self-esteem through our accomplishments. I have to constantly ask myself why I’m doing what I’m doing. Am I leading this church just for numbers - to be validated and receive the applause of my peers? Or am I genuinely seeking to reach lost people for Christ? Sometimes I know I’m merely going after achievement for the sake of approval.

Achievement isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can be good if we go about it for the right reasons. The trap that we often fall into is the tendency to base our self-worth on it. We do it when we try to impress people. We do it when we try to prove to God that we’re good enough. Achievement holds out the promise of joy, but often fails to deliver. Even when it does give us some satisfaction, the happiness of achievement is temporary and we move on to another project. Here’s the rub, true acceptance never comes through achievement - not with other people or with God. If you have to constantly perform or give to the people in your life to keep them happy and in a relationship with you, that’s not acceptance or love. It’s bribery. The Bible tells us that we absolutely cannot impress God with how good we are. In the light of his purity, our noblest deeds are filthy rags.

No, achievement ever brings genuine or lasting acceptance. Acceptance, with the joy and peace that it brings, can only happen when we disregard our achievements.

From his prison cell in Rome, Paul included this theme in his letter to the church at Philippi. This section begins with a warning:

1. Beware of the achievement approach toward God. Philippians 3:1-2…

In the church of Paul’s day there was a self-appointed group of reformers known as the Judaizers. These were Jewish Christians who believed that faith in Jesus Christ alone was not enough to make a person right with God. They said that to truly be forgiven of sin and put in a right relationship with God you had to have faith plus circumcision. In other words, you had to do something to earn God’s favor.

Did you notice the caustic words Paul used to describe them? He called them dogs. In those days people typically didn’t keep dogs for pets. They were vicious and roamed free in packs. The Jews considered them unclean. Ironically, devout Jews often called non Jews dogs. Paul turns the table by calling these men dogs. He said they were evil workmen and mutilators. If circumcision has no redeeming value then it’s imposition on Christians was no more than mutilation of the flesh.

Paul had encountered these people before. They actually infiltrated and nearly destroyed one of the churches at Galatia. The members there accepted their teaching and submitted themselves to circumcision. Listen to the harsh words Paul has for them. “If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ cannot help you. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:2,4 (NLT)

They turned away from God’s free acceptance through faith and began trying to earn their way. The whole atmosphere at Galatia changed. Notice the attitude that vanished: “What has happened to all your joy?” Gal. 4:15 (NIV)

We see the same thing happen in our day. You’ll find churches and denominations that say it takes more than faith to gain God’s acceptance. Some believe that you must be baptized or there is no forgiveness and reconciliation to God. Some believe that you have to take communion or do good deeds. One group says that if you’re really saved and the Holy Spirit is in you that at some point it must be evident by your speaking in unknown tongues. That’s all nonsense. Faith in Jesus Christ plus nothing else brings God’s acceptance.

2. God’s free gift is superior to human achievement.

A. It’s do, versus done. That’s the defining characteristic of Christianity. The thing that distinguishes us from every other religion is that Jesus Christ achieved our salvation. There’s nothing we can do. It’s al ready been done. Philippians 3:3…

Paul pressed this point home in his letter to the Romans: “…a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people. Romans 2:29 (NLT)

A husband and wife didn’t really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his "do’s and don’ts" indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done.

After several long years, the husband died. As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her. Soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as she was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn’t given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband’s list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, obligation.

B. Meet the ultimate high-achiever, Paul. My guess is that most everyone here has had to construct a resume at some time or another. When you’re inexperienced you write down every scrap of credential you can find, type it up and to your horror, you find that your resume is on only 5 lines long.

Paul had no trouble with his resume. He had impeccable credentials. He surpassed most people in intelligence and achievement. If anybody had what it takes to be right with God certainly it was Paul. Listen to his description of his pedigree and accomplishments.

Philippians 3:4-6… If forgiveness and a right relationship with God was based and your achievements and you and Paul both submitted your resumes, guess who’d be selected? He would, hands down. But because God doesn’t base salvation on accomplishments, such qualifications can actually be a hindrance.

C. Don’t let your qualifications disqualify you. Philippians 3:7-9… Imagine basing your entire life on accomplishments and then in an instant disregarding them all. Paul said that what used to look like a point in his favor was actually a liability. His achievements threatened to keep him from knowing Christ. After coming to faith in Christ and receiving free forgiveness he considered all of his qualifications rubbish. The Greek word is "skubala," which literally means dung. What do you do with dung? You disregard it.

If you want to be somebody in God’s sight, achievement is not the way to get there. In fact, it leads away from him. You spend your life driven by the anxiety of feeling that you haven’t done enough. You give. You serve. You sacrifice hoping to win God’s approval. There is never a sense of peace or joy, only a relentless, nagging impulse to try to measure up. This idea of achievement leads to one of two destinations: 1) we become proud of our accomplishments and feel we deserve something from God or 2) we give up faith out of frustration.

3. Get Past Achievement, Get On With Acceptance Philippians 3:10-11…

1.) Know Jesus Christ. Please note Paul didn’t say he wanted to know about Christ. He said he wanted to know him. It’s an interesting word in terms of relationship. When used in the Bible it refers to the intimate knowledge that a husband and wife have of each other. Paul’s desire is a level of intimacy with Christ. He wants to know Christ spiritually, the same way that spouses know one another physically and emotionally.

Let me ask you. Do you know Christ or merely know about him? Have you only read about him and heard other people talk about him or is he a present reality in your life? Have you had a personal experience with him? Has he revealed himself to you individually?

If you’ve said "yes" to him in faith, you’ve begun to know him. He revealed himself to you and showed you that you need him. You thought you were seeking him, but really he sought you first. That’s where knowing Christ begins. Achievement replaces the experience of Jesus Christ with ritual or religion or human effort.

Are you growing in your knowledge of him. I’m not talking about factual information. Although Bible study is vitally important, it really helps us to know him more than to know about him. Is he a present reality in your day to day living? Are you paying attention to what he’s doing in even the most trivial of circumstances? Understand that nothing that happens to you or that you experience, no relationship is accidental or insignificant. When you comprehend that God’s purpose encompasses the life of the believer you will look at life through the eyes of faith, constantly asking what you relationship to Christ means moment by moment. You’ll begin to see God’s plan at work and you’ll grow in knowing him.

2.) Rely on his power. Paul also desired to know the power of Christ’s resurrection. That sounds good, but what does it mean? What was the power of Jesus’ resurrection? The Holy Spirit was the source that enlivened Jesus’ crucified body. He shattered the bonds of death in the ultimately show of power.

That same power, which crushed the forces of darkness at the resurrection, resides within each of us. Because we have a right relationship to God, his Spirit indwells us.

When God enables you to overcome sin, you’ve experienced the power of Christ’s resurrection. I’m convinced that we have the potential to lives sinless lives. The power that overcame the grave is in us. Surely it can crush the sin in our lives. The reason we don’t experience that power more is our failure to consistently submit to the Holy Spirit. It feels too good to hold onto that twinge of lust. Verbal vengeance makes us feel like the winner. Resentment and bitterness are too savory just to empty ourselves of. Let’s not forget about our sins of omission, the things that we know we ought to do, but don’t. We’re too busy achieving to let God’s Spirit have his way. The power to overcome is there, but we won’t experience it if we can’t get past self.

God’s Spirit inside us also gives each believer the ability to do supernatural things. We’re all given these things called spiritual gifts. These are God-given-supernatural abilities. When we use them in service, the people we serve experience life-change. These gifts are many and varied: teaching, preaching, encouragement, giving, administration, leadership, creative communication, service, evangelism, deliverance, and the list goes on.

God wants to use you in a powerful way. You will never find or use your spiritual gifts until you disregard your own achievements. Here’s what I mean. Our achievements are always related to our agenda. Whether spoken or not we all have this destination where we’d like to arrive in life. Our achievements are rungs on that ladder. If you’re pursuing your own agenda you’ll constantly be on the wrong ladder. You dreams and goals and plans must give way to God’s dreams, goals and plans for you.

Surrender and submission to God is the only way to know the power of Christ’s resurrection.

3.) Follow his example. Paul also wanted to know the fellowship of sharing Christ’s sufferings. That’s another statement that makes you go, "Huh?" This wasn’t a morbid desire to feel the beating and crucifixion that Jesus endured. Instead its pointing to something all believers are called to do. Do the difficult thing. Do the unpleasant thing. Do the thing sacrificial thing because it’s right.

Here’s what I mean. When we put aside achievement for the sake of self and embark on an unselfish act it is a form of suffering. It is in those acts that we experience and come to know Christ to an even greater degree. Jesus didn’t want to suffer and die. I’m sure that he who knew no sin didn’t really want to become sin, but he did it for us. Sacrificing possessions and time and reputation for the sake of others gives us a way to gain the mind and attitude of Christ.

Be careful. Make sure your acts of sacrifice aren’t to win the approval of others. If you’ll achieve something you miss the point.

4.) Rest in his acceptance. Paul understood clearly that his efforts were to no avail when it came to the resurrection. He could not achieve an after life. Neither can we. All we can do is receive God’s acceptance by faith in Christ.

Do you want to be somebody? You can be and you don’t have to go down the neurotic road of achievement. By faith take hold of God’s acceptance. Take it not only for the life to come, but also for the present. God’s acceptance is the key to accepting yourself and not getting so hung up in the opinion of other people. Disregard achievement to find your acceptance.