It is only natural for one to be well-pleased or proud of the accomplishments they have achieved in their life. When we write up a resume for ourselves, we are careful to put in all of our past achievements. The more great or noteworthy things we can list, the better we look to others, particularly future employers or those we seek to impress. There were things in the life of the Apostle Paul that he could rightfully be proud of, and some things that he was ashamed of, as well. Rather than get all puffed up with pride, or on the other hand, hang his head in shame and give up, let’s look into today’s Scripture and see how Paul looked at his past.
If Paul had wanted to, he could have been very proud of his spiritual credentials, his “Jewish resume”. He had been a very observant Pharisee, following the Law to the letter. Paul had also been educated at the best school under Gamaliel, the greatest Jewish teacher of the day. All of Paul’s religious credentials, all of his achievements that he had at one time thought was a profit, were actually worthless. He now knew that all of this was nothing, was a loss, since coming to know Jesus (vs. 7-8). When he thought of all that he had accomplished in his life, he counted it all “a loss” when compared with the greatness of knowing Jesus. A person’s relationship with Jesus is more important than anything else. Knowing Jesus, as Paul was referring to here, is not just an intellectual knowledge of Him, but to know Him personally through salvation, a shared life with Christ.
Paul had come to know that all of the religious and holy deeds that he had performed while a Pharisee did not amount to anything, nor make him right with God. Nothing we do, no matter how good or holy the deeds are, will ever make us right with God. Our righteousness comes only from Jesus (vs. 9). Paul’s own righteousness was the proud self-righteousness of external religious rituals and good works. That is produced by the flesh, and cannot save us from sin. Faith in Christ is depending on and trusting Jesus. When we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we die to sin and His crucifixion puts to death our old sinful nature. Jesus’ resurrection gives us the power to live for Him, morally renewed and regenerated lives (vs. 10-11). When we apply His crucifixion to our life, we can know the victory of His resurrection.
There was one single-minded goal that Paul had in his life, and that was to know Christ more, to be more like Him, and to be all Jesus had in mind for his life (vs. 12-14). Paul pursued this goal like an athlete preparing to win the gold medal, laying aside everything that would distract him. Several times throughout his various epistles, the Apostle Paul compared the Christian life to running a race. He pressed on like a runner trying to achieve the goal, which to him was to be more like Jesus.
There were things in Paul’s past that he was ashamed of and felt bad over, particularly his hunting down and persecuting Christians. However, Paul knew that God had forgiven him for it all, and he was not going to let past guilt stand in the way (vs. 13). He let it go, and looked forward to what God would help him do. We should never dwell on the past, either celebrating our spiritual victories, or mourning our defeats. We must press on forward with Jesus.
Christ has guaranteed our position with God through faith alone, not by anything good or spectacular we have done. As we grow in our knowledge of Jesus, we see how insignificant our worldly treasures and achievements are. Never let past achievements get in the way from completely relying on faith and trust in Jesus alone. Paul gave up everything, having a family, old friendships, and often his freedom, in order to know Jesus. What are we willing to give up in order to know Him better?
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