Introduction
In the 1730’ s in England, a young man named George Whitefield desperately wanted to be right before God. As a student at Oxford, he was part of the Holy Club, along with John and Charles Wesley. The members of that club rose early every day for lengthy devotions. They disciplined themselves so as not to waste a minute of the day. They wrote a diary every night in which they examined and condemned themselves for any fault during that day. They fasted each Wednesday and Friday and set aside Saturday as a sabbath to prepare for the Lord’s Day on Sunday. They took communion each Sunday. They tried to persuade others to attend church and to refrain from evil. They visited the prisons and gave money to help the inmates and to provide for the education of their children. Whitefield nearly ruined his health by going out in cold weather and lying prostrate before God for hours, crying out for deliverance from sin and Satan. For seven weeks he was sick in bed, confessing his sins and spending hours praying and reading his Greek New Testament. Yet, by his own admission, he was not saved, because he was trusting in all these things to save him. Finally, “in a sense of utter desperation, in rejection of all self-trust, he cast his soul on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ, and a ray of faith, granted him from above, assured him he would not be cast out” The burden of his sins was lifted, he was filled with joy, and he went on to become the great evangelist used of God in the First Great Awakening.
Thankfully we do not all have to go through the agony of soul that George Whitefield went through. But we must all come to the same place he did, where we throw overboard as worthless all trust in human merit and cling to the Lord Jesus Christ as our only basis for acceptance with God. If we lose all our pride and self-trust in exchange for Christ and His grace, we gain everything!
That is what Paul is saying in this passage. Trusting in Christ and our good works for salvation is not trusting in Christ at all. We have to give everything up as far as our good works, our religion, our morality in order to receive Christ as our Savior.
If ever there was a person who could be right with God on the basis of keeping the Jewish law, it was Paul himself. He had the credentials by birth; he had the track record by experience. But on the Damascus Road he came to realize that all those things he was counting on for right standing with God were worthless. He threw them all on the trash heap and laid hold of Christ through faith.
What Paul lost
In verses 4-6, Paul talks about the things he must not put confidence in. This list is strikingly relevant today as many continue to put confidence in these areas to earn favor with God. Paul had an even better pedigree than the Judaizers and seems to be challenging them to a showdown, saying that he can match and even excel any human goodness they want to glory in as the basis for right standing with God.
First, Paul mentions ritual. Paul had been circumcised as a child eight days after his birth, which was in accordance with the Jewish law. The Judaizers were teaching that one must be circumcised to be saved, but Paul’s argument is that no one can put confidence in any religious ritual to earn favor with God.
Secondly, Paul mentions his rank, he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a blood-born citizen of the covenant nation of Israel, specifically of the tribe of Benjamin, in whose territory was the holy city Jerusalem. This was the tribe that provided the first king (which Paul was named after apparently) and later remained with the tribe of Judah in the southern kingdom when the northern tribes broke away. However, Paul concludes that this didn’t help him gain salvation.
Thirdly, Paul mentions his race - Hebrew of the Hebrews. This term points both to his lineage and language. Both of his parents were thoroughly Jewish and Paul had not began to speak the Greek language as so many Jews had begun to do. He was still speaking Hebrew.
Fourthly, Paul mentions his religion. Paul had become a Pharisee, the strictest sect of Judaism. They sought to obey the Law in the most scrupulous manner possible, down to tithing even their table spices (Matt. 23: 23). Also, as a Pharisee, Paul was zealous to persecute the Christians, whom he viewed as rejecting the Mosaic Law.
Fifthly, Paul mentions his righteousness. As to the righteousness which is in the Law, that is, outward obedience, you couldn’t have found any violation with Paul.
It might seem like Paul is bragging in this list, but actually, he is doing the opposite. He is showing that all these things had to be given up to come to Christ. He couldn’t trust in any of them. He threw all this in the trash for what he would gain in Jesus. Philippians 3:7–8, “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.”
Even after our salvation, we all struggle with pride. It can sneak up on us in many ways. We can take pride in our moral purity, in our faithfulness, in our devotional life, in our doctrinal correctness, in thinking that we are somehow better than other Christians. We must constantly put self to death by counting whatever we think is gain due to our efforts as loss so that we can more fully become like Christ. True Christians count all human merit as loss.
Paul gladly threw all his accolades in the trash to be a Christian. In coming to Christ for salvation, Paul suffered the loss of everything. He was disinherited by his relatives. Disowned by his friends. Persecuted by his countrymen. He had been beaten and flogged, even left for dead. One day, Paul would be killed by Nero. He gave up everything to know Christ. And he didn’t feel as if he gave much up! Would we feel that we had lost much by taking out the trash? No! And Paul felt that way about what He had given up. Christ meant so much to Him it was nothing to give those things up.
Now, Paul turns to what he gained in being saved.
What Paul gained
First, he gained the ability to know Christ. “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.” Verse 10 says “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. What does “knowing Christ” mean? It means much more than just knowing “about” Christ. It means “to have a personal relationship with Christ.” You and I know about many people who we have studied in history but we did not have a relationship with those people. To have a relationship with Christ requires that we spend time with Him. We let Him speak to us through His Word and we speak to Him in prayer. We fellowship with Him and we develop a friendship with Him.
We all ought to strive to know Jesus like we know our spouse or like we know our best friend on this earth. We ought to think like He thinks and have His heart. But we have to make time to develop our closeness with Jesus. We have to submit to His Lordship in our lives and allow Him to lead us in all we do. We have to be quick to give Him glory and not seek the glory for ourselves. Before He was saved, Paul just had a set of rules to follow. Now, Paul had a relationship. He had a friend in Jesus. Jesus was his constant companion.
Secondly, he gained having Christ’s righteousness which is by faith (vs. 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.” To be “found in Christ” is to be positioned in Christ. It is to be in a position that when God looks at me, He sees Christ. And the same should be true when other people look at us - do they see Christ?
Righteousness was Paul’s goal when he was a Pharisee, but it was a self righteousness. He was like the rich young ruler that Jesus talked to and the rich young ruler said “He had kept all the commandments since his birth.” But when Paul trusted Christ, he lost his self righteousness and gained the righteousness of Christ. Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Thirdly, he gained experiencing Christ’s Power (vs. 10, 11). “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” What Paul is talking about here is the power to change. Christ went to work in Paul’s life transforming him into a whole new person. When we take time to know Christ, the same power that rose Christ from the dead works in us to set us free from sin.
Remember how Peter was changed by resurrection power? Before Jesus went to Gethsemane, Peter denied Christ by the fire. He went out from that place and wept bitterly because he felt a since of failure in himself. But after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter was a changed man. He was bold in his faith and preached powerfully at Pentecost. He became a stalwart in the early church. (Look at Ephesians 1:18-20 and Ephesians 3:14-20 for more on this resurrection power.)
Verse 10 continues “And may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” The work of making us like Christ is a painful work. We have to suffer (just as Christ had to suffer). Paul knew it was a privilege to suffer for Christ. He had made people suffer for Christ before he was saved, and now he was suffering for Christ. But God used his suffering to make Paul like Christ. He goes on to say in verse 11, “that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Like Jesus was risen, Paul wanted to be risen from spiritual death and become a new person in Christ. Like Romans 6:4 says, “4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Conclusion:
No wonder Paul had so much joy! He saw what he had gained in Christ as far more than what he had lost. In comparison to Christ, all his human achievements were garbage or waste. His life no longer was about himself and what he had done. It was about what Christ had done and wanted to do for others. Paul now looked at life from a heavenly perspective not an earthly one.
People who live for things, for money, for fame, and for themselves are never really happy. But when you live for Christ and He is your ultimate treasure, you know He can never be taken from you and His value will never decline.
This Christmas, let your joy be found in Christ. If you have never been saved, call on him now for your salvation. Tell him you are throwing all your good works and religion and human achievement in the trash and you are taking Him as your Savior. Repent of your sin and ask Him to save your soul.
If you are already a Christian, do not forget that your joy is not in things of this world. It is in Jesus. It is knowing Him and having a personal relationship with Him. It is in fellowship with Jesus through prayer and Bible intake. It is in having His righteousness and not your own. It is in experiencing his power at work in you to change you and make you like Christ.
