Philippians 3:7-16
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 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— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Sermon Quotes and References:
Paul’s ‘forgetting what lies behind’ is a special kind of forgetfulness that does not turn & glance back from the goal to indulge in the complacency of past achievements. That would have been easy for Paul to do if he yielded to it … But Paul chose not to look back on his accomplishments lest they diminish his focus or lull him into complacency or indifference. And we must also understand that he did not allow his failures to turn his head to the fatal backward look. To be sure, there were many sad episodes there for Paul to recollect if he let himself. But there was none of this. As Paul ran, he shifted into the high gear of forgetfulness – forgetting his achievements & his failures. Paul ran in the liberating freedom of his ‘one thing’ (v13). He was flying in his forgetfulness. – Peter O’ Brien, Notes on Philippians
God never reveals our hearts to discourage us. Convicting us of sin is one of the most profound ways He demonstrates His love for us. – Paul David Tripp, The Power of Words