Dwell in the Word Philippians 3:12-16

Consider these questions as you dwell in Philippians 3:12-16:

1. How does Paul's pursuit of righteousness differ from claiming to have already obtained perfection? What does this reveal about the ongoing nature of the Christian journey, and how can believers apply this perspective in their own lives?

2. Paul emphasizes the importance of "forgetting what lies behind" and pressing forward toward the goal in Christ. What are some practical steps believers can take to leave behind unhelpful or hindering aspects of their past, and how can they maintain a focus on Christ in their daily lives?

3. Pastor Mark underscores the idea of living a holy life not as a means to attain personal perfection, but out of gratitude for Christ's sacrifice. How can believers strike a balance between striving for holiness and recognizing their complete dependence on Christ's work for salvation? What are some practical ways to cultivate this mindset?

Transcript:

So, we arrive here in verse 12 of chapter 3, and we see Paul talking about how he hasn't already obtained the perfection that he has been talking about, this righteousness. He's not perfectly righteous in this life. He's not already perfect, as he says here, but he presses on for it. He's not saying that he's not saved. He's not saying that he needs to do this. He's saying that he's striving for this righteousness in this life, that the struggles that he has, he knows that Christ Jesus has made him his own. And so he strives to live his life in such a way that brings glory to God. He strives to have this holy life. So how does he do that? It says here, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straightening forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What amazing words here from the apostle Paul. What is he saying? He's saying that, I'm going to press forward. He's going to forget what's behind him, and he is going to press forward. He's going to keep on moving forward that all these things, these things that he had talked about, these rules that he'd followed, these religious things that he had done, even though they didn't make him righteous.

He still strived with those things. He's going to forget all of that. He's going to forget any righteousness of his own and keep moving forward towards Christ. He's going to press on. He's going to struggle. He hasn't obtained this perfection yet, but he's going to press on toward the goal, toward this upward call in Christ Jesus. That's what he is going to do. So as we think about this passage today, this is an important passage. I know that we've heard this before, but how do we press on? Well, we have to do what Paul says here, right? We have to forget what lies behind it. What is that for us? Is it us trying to attain religious perfection on our own? Is it us trying to make our way to God on our own? We have to leave those things behind, and we have to submit ourselves to Christ and acknowledge that if we are going to be saved, it's not going to be because of anything that you or I have done, but it's going to be because of the work of Christ for us. We're going to continue to move forward to having that be our only hope, continuing to strive towards that.

And what does that mean? That means that we continue to live in gratitude. It means that we strive to live a holy life, not because we think it's going to make us perfect, but because Christ has died for us. He has done this. We want to live a life worthy of what He has done for us. I think it's a good thing. It will do us well to think about what are the things that we have to make sure we don't look back to. Because if we can understand that those things aren't worth looking at, maybe we will continue to press on. Maybe we'll be able to move forward. What are the things in your life that you need to make sure you don't look back at? As I mentioned a couple of times, is it that belief that you can make yourself righteous? Is it a sin that is pesky that you have trouble moving away from? Is that what it is? You need to realize that that is behind you because you are in Christ. How do we do this? Well, we have to make sure that we keep our eyes on Christ, because if we're keeping our eyes on Him, what's behind us isn't going to matter, because we're going to understand that He is better.

And so, may that be our striving today and this week and every week, every day, that we're going to keep our focus on Christ, striving towards Him, striving towards the goal because He has called us to it, and He deserves to be obeyed because He has done everything for us. He has suffered and died and rose from the dead that we might be saved. So, may we live in gratitude and press on towards the goal in Christ Jesus.

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