August Passage: Philippians 3:1-11
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble for me and is safe for you.
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—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: 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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of know Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ 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
—that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead. (ESV)
Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text. Today we will discuss...
The Goal is Resurrection
Some not-yet-believers scoff at Christians and say we are simple-minded or deluded people who ignore the problems in our lives and the obvious wreckage of the world while setting our sights on the “Pie In the Sky.”
In other words, they think that Christianity is not much more than a blind trust in an unprovable future.
It’s More Than “Pie in the Sky”...
Now, we should spend time with anyone who will listen and explain that our faith is about more than Pie in the Sky in the Great By and By. Our faith is about more than a mansion in Heaven. Our faith is about more than a future hope for what we cannot yet see.
Our Faith transforms who we are RIGHT NOW.
It is true that we are looking forward to the day when our bodies will not be subjected to the decay of time or the impairments of illness and injury.
But even now, we who are giving our lives to the will of Jesus and the empowerment of the Spirit, are finding that our bodies are no longer tied to the slavery of addictions that used to control us. Some of us have experienced miraculous healing from disease. And all of us are finding ever-greater control over temptations. It’s slow growth sometimes, but we can honestly and tangibly point to the affects of faith on our mind, and body.
Our Faith also transforms what we do RIGHT NOW.
It is true that there will be a day when there will be no need for things like social justice, or giving assistance to the poor, or even missionary evangelism.
But even now, we who are giving our lives to the will of Jesus and the empowerment of the Spirit, are finding ways that we can bring the reality of Redemption and the “First Fruits” of the final Restoration into the broken reality all around us. We do so through our Good Works.
As we’ve made very clear up to this point in this month’s articles, our Good Works are no basis for our salvation or for our eternal security.
Instead, after coming to faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we GET To do Good works as a simple expression of gratitude to Him and as an expression of His love to others in our family (the Church) and as an expression of care and concern to and for the not-yet-believers around us.
If you are an unbeliever, please understand, we are not blind our unconcerned with the brokenness in our communities or in the world at large. But, we are also NOT without hope. All things will be made new. Every tear will be wiped away and mourning will be replaced with joy. We are not blind to the brokenness, we are simply living lives of restoration (forgive us when we don’t demonstrate this well. We are learning as we go).
...BUT, The Future Promise is the Goal
With all that said, The end is going to be pretty great. And even if it is TERRIBLE on this side of eternity, the best is always yet to come for those who are in Christ. Paul says at the end of this month’s passage, that he is defending on the righteousness of Jesus to cover him from his sins and the wrath to come so that, “…I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead.”
Paul knows that he is safe in Christ, and that knowledge of the present safety and the faith in the future Glory keeps Paul going through all the brokenness of the world around him.
Remember, Paul is writing from prison. He has posers trying to undermine him. He has legalists causing division and confusion. He is grieved by the idolatry that grips the hearts and lives of not-yet-believers in every city he has visited. He is troubled over some of the church plants he has started. He knows that his brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering persecution and martyrdom throughout the empire. And yet his constant command to Christians is, Rejoice.
Why? Because the present struggle is not the eternal reality. It gets better. In Christ, life in this broken world will be hard, but it will be worth it. We will one day have resurrection hearts that are capable of handling the overwhelming love of God which we cannot fathom right now. We will one day have resurrection eyes that will be capable of looking upon the glorious light and beauty of our King - a glory that is too bright for our feeble eyes to take in right now.
We will one day have resurrection bodies that will be capable of living forever in divine bliss and joy with our Jesus in a perfect new Heavens and New Earth.
Our faith is not JUST about the Pie in the Sky, but Oh! that will be a glorious day, worth anything that happens in between. Perhaps The Apostle Peter told Paul what Jesus told him before He went to the cross.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 16:24-27 ESV)
