Standing Firm and Pressing On

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Standing Firm and Pressing On</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id618.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How To Live, Whatever Happens"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id620.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Values That Make A Difference"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"Standing Firm and Pressing On" Philippians 3:1-4:1</B></div> <div> <B> Berean Bible Church, June 25, 2006</B></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.stanbaker.org/audio/Sermon-2006-06-25-Stan_Baker.mp3" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.stanbaker.org/audio/Sermon-20"><U><B>audio</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div>      Brian McLaren wrote, in <I>The Church on the Other Side</I> (p. 60-61) "... many of us grew up in the old-world church where the moral sun rose and set on what now seems trivial: Should women wear headcoverings over their hair? Can they have short hair, and men long? Can guitars be used in worship? Drums? Can one watch television on Sunday? Eat red meat on Friday? Can a man worship without a tie? Can a woman speak in a public service, and if so, when, where, and how? (Meanwhile, Mr Jones hasn't spoken to Mr. Nelson since their wives had that spat seventeen years ago. And meanwhile, when blacks showed up at our all-white church, they were referred to a "colored" church in our denomination downtown. And meanwhile ..."</div> <div>      "In the new church, we won't have the luxury of these kinds of moral mousehunts. I believe we will be a little more basic: Can we please stay out of bed with people we aren't married to? Can the Christians of the world agree to stop killing each other over petty political issues? Could our faith by chance overcome our racism? Might we actually make friends with a needy neighbor of another cultural or demographic background, Good Samaritan-style? Husbands, will you stop beating (or browbeating) your wives-now? And parents ... And about forgiveness ..."</div> <div>      Please read <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Phil 3:1-4:1&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>Philippians 3:1-4:1</U></A>. There are two key extremes that have challenged the church and Christians in every generation: 1) that our good works, such as they are, make us acceptable before God, to be able to get into his family and his heaven, and 2) that if we have been forgiven of our sin, then our behavior doesn't matter.</div> <div>      The question Paul deals with in Philippians 3 is, how can we live our lives in such a way that when Christ comes again or calls us home, we are all that he wants us to be. In essence, how do we navigate between these two extremes, so that we live in a way that pleases Christ in every way.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. Avoid having confidence in your own good works. Instead, stand firm in your faith and confidence in Christ (4:1, 3:1-11).</B></div> <div>      Paul says, beware of (don't be shaken by) those who tell you to put confidence in the flesh, which means, <I>human effort</I> to be pleasing to God (vs. 2). He is referring to confidence in your “good deeds,” in your baptism, in your church attendance, in your race, or in your family background. Paul did everything required as a good Jew (vss.4-6). If that were a valid pathway to God, Paul had all kinds of reasons to have confidence in his own good works, his racial and family background.</div> <div>      But those things that Paul at one time thought were gain or profit, he realized they were actually losses or liabilities. There is no middle ground. It is like thinking you have a $1 million, only to found out the next day you don't have $1million, instead you <I>owe</I> $1 million. What you thought was an asset turns out to be a liability. If you think you can be right before God on the basis of your good works, you sacrifice the opportunity to be right before God the only way he excepts – by faith and confidence in what Jesus had done for us at the cross.</div> <div>      Being right before God is first and foremost a matter of the <I>heart</I>. The Jewish act of circumcision (which is the issue to which Paul refers) was intended by God as a matter of the heart, a physical sign (though private) of a reality of the heart, that one belonged to God and the people of God; in that way Paul could say those who believe in Jesus are the “circumcision”  (vs. 3).</div> <div>      On the day when Christ comes again, Paul wanted to be found clinging to his confidence in <I>Christ</I>, not clinging to his own good works (vs. 9). God regarded and punished Jesus as a sinner, even though he wasn't, so that we could be regarded as right before God, even though we are sinners  (Thielmen, p. 172). We cannot improve on that. Put your confidence in <I>Christ</I> for salvation, and leave it there.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Avoid thinking that as a forgiven Christian, good behavior is optional. Instead, press ahead to live for Christ (3:12-21). </B></div> <div>      Vss. 18-19 describe people for whom behavior and morality did not matter, even though they might have called themselves “Christian.” They may have thought, “I've been forgiven of my sins, so whether I sin or not doesn't matter.”</div> <div>      On the contrary, Paul pressed on to become all that Christ intended for him to be (vs. 12). He pursued the things described earlier (vss. 8-11): “the knowledge of Christ, his sufferings, his resurrection power, and union with him at the final day” (Thielman, p. 196).</div> <div>      “Forgetting what is behind” (vs. 13) is a way of saying Paul did not rest on his past successes, as though the past was the pinnacle of his spiritual growth. Instead he pressed on to live a life pleasing to Christ in every way (vs. 14). What is the the prize, the “heavenward call” to which Paul was called? It is the call to be a fully-functioning part of the family of Christ, to be like Christ, and to be with Christ for eternity, based on his faith in Christ.</div> <div>      What is needed for us to be able to press on like Paul?</div> <div>      1. We must realize that we haven't arrived yet. Those who are truly “mature” realize they haven't arrived yet (vs. 15). There is a gap between what we are today and what Christ is transforming us to be.</div> <div>      2. If you are trying to grow and gain ground as a follower and servant of Jesus Christ, don't go backwards (vs. 16). Live out the basics that you already know and are convinced of. Maintain the fundamental beliefs and habits of a follower of Jesus. That is, spend time in the Word and in prayer, listen to God, say yes to God and no to temptation, love and serve and be kind to other people, confess your sins quickly.</div> <div>      3. Follow the right examples, of those who live by heavenly, godly values (3:17-21; Paul also held up Timothy and Epaphroditus in ch. 2 as good models to follow). Just like when you travel overseas, you retain your citizenship as an American, and you live out your values as an American citizen in another culture, for a period of time. Our key value is that we belong to Jesus Christ, that we are citizens of heaven more than of earth. Thus our values on earth are to be shaped by the things that matter to <I>God</I>.</div> <bR> <div>      Where do we get the motivation to obey Christ, when all our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven because of his grace? 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 <I>first</I> husband... [wanted] anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation. (Bible.org).</div> <div>      Jesus loves us so much, and he through his love motivates us to please him and serve him in every way, every day of our lives. Stand firm in your confidence in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and press on to live for Jesus Christ and please him in everything you do.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2006, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>