Okay, well this morning we are continuing our study in Philippians chapter 3 and Paul's testimony of salvation as well. What we're gonna look at this morning is his new life in Christ. This is really an intensely practical instructive passage for us and our understanding not only of justification but also sanctification and even glorification.

I talked to my good friend and brother Guy Folsom yesterday, and he's always such an encouragement to me. He's been studying in the book of 1st John for some time now and he's now in chapter 5 and has been pondering in particular verse 13, which says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." He was so excited and inspired by the truth that we can know that we have eternal life, and in fact, God wants us to know. He wants us to reckon the truth that we have been born again through faith in Jesus and all the promises in him are yes. 

We do not doubt, we do not think; we know that we have eternal life because we believe Jesus. Guy was telling me about how it is that when a man knows that he is saved, that he is secure in Christ, how this can free him up to now walk in the Spirit, abide in Christ, live for Jesus, and experience the joy and hope and confidence that we have in him. 

I was thinking about this and how much different this is than a works-based, man-centered religion, in such a system where you can never know that you have eternal life because we're always trying to be good enough to work enough to participate in enough rites and rituals. Our focus is forever more on ourselves, on our performance, on fear and doubt that we will fall short. In a religious system, I hope, I think that God will let me into his heaven, but we who believe Jesus, we know. 

And because we know and are secure and are saved by grace through faith in Jesus alone and what he accomplished on our behalf, because the basis of our justification is not ourselves and our works, but is dependent solely on what Jesus has done, this security, this knowledge frees us up to pursue holiness, to pursue Jesus, to think of others and their needs, and it takes the focus off of ourselves and puts it on God and others as servants, living a life of thankfulness and dependence on Jesus and his life in and through us.

This is still a life of pressing toward the goal of striving, of agonizing as Paul sometimes puts it, but not striving to establish our own righteousness, but seeking to abide in him, to keep our eyes on him, to know him, to make him known as we walk in the spirit, as we abide in Christ, as our life is and becomes even evermore only Jesus. What a joy and a privilege to live such a life, to have such a knowledge to be confident in him and put our whole trust in God, not in ourselves, but to live by the grace of God, by the Spirit, and not by the letter. 

This is the life that Paul describes in our text this morning and the life that I hope that each of us in Christ will seek to live as we follow his example. 

Let's begin at verse 7 in Philippians 3 just to set the context here and remember where we are. Philippians 3, 7, Paul writes, "But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness, which is from God by faith."

"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

"Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things."

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

I've given you four points on your outline: first, justification by faith; second, lay hold; third, press toward the goal; fourth, same mind, same walk. 

First in our text, by way of reminder, we see justification by faith in verses 7 to 9. This is the most important lesson that we can possibly learn: how it is that a man is saved, saved from the wrath of God for his sins. Paul was a zealot, a fervent religious man who spent his life pursuing religion, self-righteousness, status, and the praise of men. But he writes that he cast all that away when he met Jesus and he turned from, he repented of his religion and his self-righteousness and turned to Jesus in faith alone. In this he gained Christ, and verse 9 explains that so clearly: "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."

Jesus made it clear in his teaching that a man must be righteous in order to enter God's heaven. But the problem is that no man is righteous and cannot obtain righteousness by his own works. And so God conceived the plan of salvation whereby Jesus would become an innocent man without sin, would die a substitutionary death in my place for my sins, taking the wrath that I deserved. In this sacrifice, God would be satisfied, the debt would be paid, my sins would be atoned for. Jesus accomplished this at the cross and in his death, burial, and resurrection, and now I can obtain the righteousness of God by faith apart from the works of the law. I can receive the very righteousness of God, have it imputed to my account by faith in Jesus alone, and this is the only way that I can become righteous, that I can be redeemed and made fit for heaven. 

It's by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works. Such a clear truth we find in the scriptures and such good news for sinners like me. And so we see sanctification by faith: Christ's righteousness imputed to me, my sins imputed to him at the cross, by grace through faith. But this good news is only the beginning of the story of salvation, of God's perfect plan in saving me. 

You see, God's plan is not only to give me his righteousness, to make me positionally righteous in Christ, but also to conform me to the likeness of Christ, to work out practical righteousness in my life for my good and his glory, to make me a witness to the transforming power of the gospel in order that I might lead others to him. This sanctification, this outward conforming to the reality of who I am inwardly because of God's salvation work in me, is what Paul's talking about in the rest of our text.

If you look at verse 10 again, he says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

We talked about the words of verses 10 and 11 last week, but they are so encouraging. He says that I may know him. This is the essence of eternal life, of the Christian life, to know Jesus. In John 17, Jesus said this is eternal life: to know the Father and the one whom he sent, Jesus Christ. Our goal, our purpose, our great desire is to know Jesus. 

And we know him through his word, God's revelation of his Son to us through the written word. We experience the power of his resurrection life in and through us as we seek to know him more. And in this abiding relationship, this focus on Jesus, this dependence on him and his life and power in us through faith, this striving to know him, we see his life and fruit produced through us as we live new lives out from among the dead. We no longer are who we were in Adam, and therefore we no longer live as we did in Adam. If we do, there's something wrong.

Well, let's look at that Ephesians 4 passage again, we looked at last week, verse 17. Now Paul has just laid out the great doctrines of salvation in the first three chapters. In chapter 4, he's implored us, based on those truths of who we are and what we have in Christ, to walk in equal way, to be consistent in how we live outwardly with the truth of who we are inwardly. In verse 17, he says this: 

"I say therefore, testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness. You have not so learned Christ."

"If indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you have put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, that you're being renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you have put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness."

We no longer walk like who we were, but now walk out who we are, having been made new, having put off the old man and put on the new. And we are now being renewed in the spirit of our minds by the Word of God, and we see the manifestation of this in the rest of that text. 

Verse 25: "Therefore putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers."

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you."

Bobby and I were talking the other day about people we've known in our families and other families who've held long grudges, who did not talk to each other for years, sometimes even to the grave over small things: a misunderstanding, an unkind word, some offense or argument, and they just quit talking to one another and spent a great deal of time, sometimes years, without that relationship. Perhaps you've experienced that as well. 

My friends, that's not how we are. We make mistakes, we do unkind things, we say unkind words, and sometimes we sin against one another. But we forgive each other even as Christ in God forgave us. We have a different mind than the man in Adam, and therefore we live a different life because of who we are in Him.

We seek to lay hold of that for which Jesus has laid hold of us. What a wonderful word picture we see here in verse 12: "Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but the goal of my life, the passion of my life, the desire, the effort of my life is to press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." 

Jesus laid hold of you to make you like Himself, to show His love and grace and mercy through you. Paul says, "I'm pressing on, I'm agonizing, I'm reaching forward toward that goal." That's what my life is about. Paul's seeking to know Jesus in his Christian life, his present experience, having been justified by faith. 

And I want to stop there for a second with that wonderful truth to illustrate. In Romans 5 verse 1, it says, "therefore having been justified by faith." And Paul goes on in chapters 5 to 8 to say some wonderful things, to tell us some great truths about our death to sin and to the law and release from the very fear of death, about our security in Christ, our new life in Him by the Spirit. 

But have you ever noticed that he prefaces this entire section with this phrase in 5:1, "having been justified by faith." All of the wonderful truths of salvation are only true for those who have been justified by faith, but they are absolutely true for everyone who has been justified by faith. He goes on in 5:1: "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Only those who have been justified by faith. 

"Through Him also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. Perseverance, character, and character, hope; and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

All of the promises, all of the great doctrine, the truths of who we are in Christ are only for those who have been justified by faith, as Paul explains was his experience in the first part of our text. And Paul in our text begins to talk about his life in Christ now, having been justified by faith. 

You see, after coming to Christ, believing Him, justification is done. Regeneration has happened. We have put off the old man, we have put on the new man, and now our life is one of seeking to know Jesus, to live by His grace, to walk in the Spirit, to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly so that we might fully experience this new life outwardly in how we walk in this world and see God's will fully accomplished in and through us for His purposes and His glory. 

This is what Paul's talking about in our text. "Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." Wiest comments on this idea of not already having attained, and this would be true for each one of us as well. He says the word attained in this verse is from a different Greek word than that in the preceding verse. In the latter instance, we found that it meant to arrive at as at a goal. Here, the Greek verb speaks of an active appropriation, that which Paul says has not yet appropriated in an absolute sense. 

He mentions in verse 10, he has come to experience in some degree at least the power of God surging through his being. He has entered into a joint participation with Christ in suffering for righteousness sake, the stoning at Lystra is an example of that. He's been brought to the place in his experience where he radiates to some degree the selflessness and self-abnegation of the Lord Jesus, but he has not appropriated these, laid hold upon these in the fullest measure. There is much room for improvement and advance in this respect. I think we all would agree to that for ourselves as well. 

So from justification to glorification, we are in a process, a battle if you will, to keep our eyes on Christ, to press toward the goal of Christlikeness, to be outwardly transformed to the inward reality of who we are because of God's salvation working in us, Christ's life in us, the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. And Paul describes this process as striving to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. I'm so thankful that Jesus laid hold of me. Aren't you, my brother, my sister in Christ, thankful that Jesus laid hold of you? 

And now I want to see his will accomplished in my life for his glory, and that's why with Paul I want to be ever pressing toward the goal. Not that I've already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on. Paul says, "Not that I've attained." This word speaks of spiritual maturity brought to completion. He's saying I'm still growing, I'm still maturing, I'm still in this process, as all of us are, my friends. The process never ends until glorification. 

We are to be pressing toward the goal. We are to be setting our mind on the prize, looking for the blessed hope, His glory disappearing. Paul says something very important in verse 13. He writes, "I have not apprehended," that is, come to full spiritual maturity where there's no more room for growth. It may be that there were those in the Philippian church who believed this about themselves, that they were complete, that they were mature, even sinless, but Paul makes clear that we never reach the goal of Christ's likeness in this life, but continue growing, pressing, reaching forward toward the prize.

He gives us an illustration here, one common to his teaching, that of a runner running a race. And he says this: "I stretch ever forward toward the prize, the finish." And in so doing, I forget all that is behind. Like the runners behind the leader of a race, Paul pays no mind to his past life, his past religion, his sins, his failures, and disappointments. These things only inhibit our running, our growth, our pressing toward the mark. Forgetting that which is behind and reaching forward, striving, driving, always pressing forward toward the goal, that for which Christ laid hold of me: sanctification, holiness, witness, Christ's likeness. 

This is the mind we are to have, the passion, the purpose for our lives. In verse 13, he says, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do." Now if you were going to say that, what would you have to say? When you look at your life, when you look at your day, when you look at this week, if you're going to say, "One thing I do," what is the thing that you do? Paul says, "One thing I do, I forget those things which are behind, and I reach forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God, and I'm looking forward to glorification. I'm looking forward to when Jesus is going to come and take me to be with him, and in the meantime, I'm pressing toward that mark." 

Then he says, "Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind." You think you're mature? Then you better have this mind, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we've already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Join in following my example, and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. 

Paul's been imploring the believers in Philippi throughout this letter to have the same mind, to walk in unity, to think the same thoughts, to have the same goal and passion, to have the mind of Christ, a self-sacrificial servant, a willingness to submit my will to the Father's, a great driving purpose in my life to be like Jesus, to bring God glory and to see men saved through the faithful witness in word and deed. This is the mind they were to have, this is the mind we are to have, and apparently there were those who were not in unity of mind and purpose, who were not walking this way, not following the example of Paul and ultimately Jesus, as Paul laid out in chapter 2. 

He implores them to have this same mind, to let their life be about Christ, to let their goal be about pursuing holiness, abiding, reckoning, believing, and living more and more in fellowship with who they are in Christ. And he says the most interesting thing in verse 15. He says, "And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you." 

Paul says, "I'm an example, Jesus is an example, follow our lives, have this same mind, a mind of striving toward the goal of living in dependence on Christ, on seeking Christ's likeness, knowing you've not yet arrived. But even if you have other thoughts, other ideas, even if you think differently, if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you." God will straighten you out one way or another. 

God will work in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure. He will keep his promise to make you like Christ if you are a believer. It's almost as if Paul is saying, you can do this the easy way or you can do this the hard way. If you are in Christ, then you will be like Christ, unto glorification. If you're an enemy of Christ, if you're a false convert, then you fit into the following verses. 

Verse 18: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things." The enemies of Christ are not humble. They are not dependent on Jesus one step at a time. They do not believe and obey what God says in his word. They do not reckon it to be so. They mock it. They are still in Adam. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, and what characterizes their life is hedonism, is self-satisfaction, is the practice of shameful things. And here's the key difference: they set their minds on earthly things. 

How easy it is for us to become distracted, to take our eyes off the prize, to look around and down and take our eyes off of Christ. It's so evident today. When I was talking to a guy last night, he was telling me all about his studies in 1 John, and he was so thankful and excited about the truth of who we are in Christ, of the fact that God wants us to know that we have eternal life and who we are in Jesus. He wants us to know that we are saved, not to think, but to know and to live a life of pursuit of knowing Jesus more and more. 

But then he pointed out the last verse of John's letter. Turn over to 1 John 5 with me. Beginning in verse 13, John says these most wonderful things: "I've written you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 

Look at verse 19: "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one, and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." The wonderful things he's saying. 

Then look at verse 21: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." You can know you have eternal life. You have Jesus. You are secure. You've been made new. You are new creations in Christ. You're no longer of the world; you are a true child of God with all the promises of Christ. Now keep yourselves from idols. 

Seems a strange way to end this section, this letter, but is the very admonition of Paul in our text. Don't be like those who set their mind on earthly things, who walk according to the course of this world. This is not who you are. Rather, set your mind on things above. Press toward the mark of Christ's likeness. Let your life be all about Jesus and His glory and His will and His purpose. 

Keep yourselves from idols. What are the dangerous idols in your life? Work, business, family, sports, hobbies, money, status? Who is at the center of your life? And how would we know? Keep yourselves from idols. Know that you are saved. Understand who you are in Christ. Look to Him. Believe Him. Set your mind on things above. 

Keep yourselves from idols. Put Jesus first, my brothers and sisters, with time, with money, with passion, and purpose. Look at the last two verses of our text with me as we close in Philippians 3, 20 and 21. He says, "...for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." 

Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait. We are seated in the heaven with Jesus. We are citizens of heaven. We look for the heavenly Jerusalem. Don't set your mind on earthly things. Don't be consumed with earthly things. Don't make yourself the center. Press toward the goal of Christ-likeness. Set your mind on the prize. Set your hope fully on the glory which shall be revealed. 

This is our hope. This is our calling. The upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. Ultimately, glorification. To go and be with Him. My friends, we have confidence in Him. We have a privileged life, eternal life. The privilege is to live for Him, to know Him, to experience the joy and assurance and the great work that He has for us here. 

And all the sufferings of this time, all the pursuits of this time, all the earthly things are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Press toward the mark. Set your mind on Christ. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we're so thankful. So thankful for Your grace, Your mercy. Thankful that You've justified us by grace through faith in Jesus alone, that He has accomplished our salvation at the cross and paid our sin debt so that we might have Your righteousness through faith. 

And thank You for dealing with the sin that dwells in us and our relationship to that sin. Recreating us. Causing us to be born again. That we've now died to sin, died to the law. We no longer fear death. We are citizens of heaven. We have eternal life and You want us to know that. Help us to be thankful. Help us to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave us. Help us to be kind to one another, to speak words necessary for edification that we might impart grace to the hearer. 

Help us to have our life and our pursuit and our passion be about Jesus, to know him so that we might live a life worthy of our calling. In Jesus' name, Amen.