Do you have a shelf of trophies at home, or awards of honor that you achieved by being the best, or top notch at something? Maybe you achieved excellence in some sport or in an artistic ability, or perhaps some special recognition for outstanding work at your job. There is nothing wrong with being reasonably proud of one’s achievements. However, in our Scripture passage for today, the Apostle Paul speaks of how he felt about all of the spiritual achievements he had attained and reached before coming to faith in the Lord Jesus.
If awards and medals were given out for religious achievements, Paul would have had a trophy case full of them during the years he was a Pharisee in the Jewish faith. He was a student of the great Jewish teacher and scholar Gamaliel, and was a scholar himself. Paul was a very zealous Pharisee, who devoutly kept the law. He also, with the full support and approval of the Jewish religious leaders, persecuted the followers of Jesus and the new Christian faith. These were achievements that any devout Jewish man at that time would have been quite proud of. However, as we read our Scripture verses, Paul said that he counted them as nothing, as garbage, compared to knowing the Lord Jesus as Savior (vs. 8).
A person’s relationship with Jesus is more important than anything else. Since becoming a Christian, Paul lost many things, some things that many people might have thought important, such as his standing and position in Jewish society, his former friends, his wealth, family, etc. However, he didn’t mind. He counted all of that as garbage compared to what he had in Jesus. Paul willingly renounced all of his earthly advantages and the religious privileges in order to attain salvation. He knew that he could not trust in those accomplishments to be saved, and neither can we. Any moral or spiritual achievements we might have attained will not bring salvation.
Paul described the righteousness he had before faith in Jesus as the “righteousness of the law”, which is proud self-righteousness of external morality, religious rituals and ceremonies, and good works. These are produced by the flesh, and cannot save us. Many people are sadly trusting in their religious rituals and good works to get them to heaven. However, as the Bible tells us, only faith in Jesus and His righteousness can save us (vs. 9). The righteousness which is by faith is made possible by the Cross, and is given to us by God as we trust what Jesus did on that Cross for us.
Paul knew that he wasn’t perfect. None of us are. We still sin and make mistakes, and will continue to do so until we reach heaven. Paul, though, had a goal, and he pressed on towards that goal (vs. 12-14). He knew he would never become completely Christ-like in this life, but that was his goal, to become more and more each day. Just like a runner sees the end of the track, and pushes on towards it. Or an archer continues to aim for the bull’s eye, we push on for the goal of becoming like Jesus. We should not let anything take our eyes off of our goal of becoming more like Jesus. We must lay aside everything harmful, and forsake anything that may distract us from being an effective Christian.
There are some things that can hinder us in pursuing this goal, and that is looking back. A runner shouldn’t look back if they want to win the race. They need to look forward. As believers we can be tempted to look back at two different things. One is past achievements and spiritual victories. The other would be past mistakes, particularly big ones. Paul had both. He had established many churches, and led many to the Lord. He also had some sins he could have let weigh him down, such as persecuting the early Church and even contributing to the death of some Christians, such as Stephen. Paul said to forget those things that are behind (vs. 13), and instead press on. Because our hope is in Jesus, we can let go of past guilt, and instead look forward to what God will help us become. Also, believers should stop relying on past virtuous deeds and achievements. God has more for you to do for Him today and tomorrow.
Like Paul, we need to press on towards the goal of the prize of becoming more like Jesus (vs. 14). As we study these verses, we should ask ourselves whether we are putting anything above our relationship with Jesus. Are our priorities correct or off? What are we willing to give up in order to know Jesus better? Paul counted all he had achieved before as rubbish, something he cast out of his life. He also was not going to be burdened by the past, either the mistakes or resting on his past laurels. Let’s keep pressing on!
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