Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
August 5, 1984
Status with God
Philippians 3:4-11, KJV
Status is important to many people. It's a natural human tendency to want to look good in the eyes of others. How about yourself? We may not like to admit it - we may not even be aware of it - but much of what we do is motivated by our desire for status. People judge us by the way we dress, the kind of job we have, the neighborhood we live in.
Certain kinds of status are beyond our control. For example, to be in the upper-upper crust of society you can't be a self-made millionaire. The upper crust inherit their money, they don't earn it. With other kinds of status you do have control. Look at the most status-conscious place in West Lafayette - Ridgewood High School. The young people there keep a close eye on the current fashions like designer jeans. They want to date the prettiest girl or most athletic guy. This gives you status and makes you feel more certain about yourself.
What place should status have in salvation? Does status affect your relationship with God? It certainly does but not in the way you may think. The apostle Paul had spiritual status. In verse 4 he says:
"If any other man thinketh that he hath (reasons) whereof he might trust in the flesh, I [have] more."
Paul had the kind of religious status that had to be inherited instead of earned. He says he was circumcised when he was eight days old. This means he was born Jewish and didn't have to convert later on. He was of the stock of Israel - he was pure Jewish, not 50-50. Both his parents were Jews. Paul could even trace his tribe which most Jews couldn't. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin which boasted the first king of Israel, Saul. When Israel went to war the tribe of Benjamin was the first in line. They were the elite. Then he says I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews. The way Paul uses it, Hebrew doesn't just mean Jewish. It refers to a Jew who could speak the original language. Like millions of Jews, Paul did not grow up in Israel but in what is now Turkey. Most of these Jews assimilated and forgot the Hebrew language but Paul's parents saw that he learned it. So, then, Paul claims that from birth he was a God-fearing, law-observing Jew. His ancestry was as pure as Jewish ancestry could be and he belonged to the most aristocratic tribe. All of this status came to him by birth.
Now Paul goes on to describe the achievements he can take credit for himself. He was a member of the Pharisees who were the spiritual athletes of Israel. There were never more than six thousand of them. Pharisees isolated themselves from normal life so they could study the tiniest details of the Old Testament. They knew what the Jewish religion was all about. In verse 6 Paul brags, "Concerning zeal, persecuting the church." Jews thought zeal was a great quality. Paul was so zealous he bordered on being a fanatic. He rounded up Christians in distant cities and did everything he could to destroy the church. As for the righteousness the Law could produce, he was blameless. This is quite a statement. Paul obeyed, to the letter, every law and commandment in the Old Testament. No one could point a finger at him.
In the eyes of Jews, Paul had a lot of spiritual status. I'm going to find out how much spiritual status you have. How many of you are Bible-believing Baptists? How many of you have parents who are Baptists? Grandparents? I haven't even touched on church attendance or tithing and already most of you have flunked. You lack status.
Paul did not lack status - he dumped it. When he met Christ he had to takes all his "pluses" and cancels them out. The things that he believed to be his glories were in fact quite useless. All human achievement had to be laid aside. In the end of verse 8 Paul says of his advantages,
"I count them but dung."
Dung isn't a common word anymore because fewer people live on farms. Most people do not have a high regard for dung. While driving through a scenic area in Montana last week, Celeste and I were caught behind a slow-moving truck. The back of this truck was loaded with Porta-Potties. It also had a large tank that must have been filled with dung. When it comes to being accepted by God we have to regard our own claims to spiritual status the way Celeste regarded that truck. Paul gives his new attitude in verse 9:
"I want to be found in Christ, not having mine own righteousness, which comes by the law but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
Going to church doesn't save. Being baptized doesn't save. Even believing in God exists isn't enough. Salvation is believing Jesus died for your sins and then living like a person who's not bound up in status-seeking.
Paul doesn't stop here. In verse 10 he says:
"That I may know Christ, and the power of his resurrection."
After a commitment is made to Christ it is supposed to become deeper. The phrase "that I may know him" is significant. Especially in the Old Testament, the word "know" means an intense personal relationship. Many times it is synonymous with a sexual relationship. Paul doesn't just want to know about Christ. He wants to personally know him. It is not supposed to be a static, boring thing.
To know the power of the resurrection is to experience God's dynamic power on a daily basis. Is God changing your life?
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Typed on October 30, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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