A Loser For Christ
Philippians 3:8-14
It’s no secret that I enjoy golf. I like to play golf. I like to watch golf. I like to read about golf. Those who follow professional golf even casually know that there are certain pros who are easily identified by just their first name. There is Tiger and Phil that most people know. Then the real fan knows about Sergio and Bubba. Sports play a big role in our society today. But ours is not the only time in history when sports were an important part of life. The media helps by bringing all the major sports into our homes on TV but competitions of one kind or another have been around for centuries. From the writings of St. Paul, we get the impression that he had some interest in sports. Our Epistle lesson for today is one example of how he used the idea of running a race and winning and losing to speak about the Christian life. As we move closer now in this Lenten season to the cross and the open tomb, may we be encouraged by Paul’s message to count everything as loss, in a sense, to be a loser for Christ as we press on toward the goal the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In these verses Paul talks about winning and losing. In fact he actually makes the point that by our losing we become winners. In the verse just before our text begins, Paul was speaking about the spiritual dangers of putting too much emphasis on your own accomplishments. He uses himself as a good example of what he means. If you want to talk about accomplishments particularly in your religious life there wouldn’t be many people who could match Paul. In verse four he writes, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.” He then lists things that he formerly saw as valuable in his spiritual journey. He was circumcised on the eighth day; of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
Then he adds, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” All of what he mentioned before that gave him status and recognition in the eyes of his fellow Pharisees and in the temple he considered it a loss. It made him a loser. It makes anyone who seeks worldly acceptance a loser. If your only concern is for the opinions of others in the world, you have lost the real focus of your life.
The religious lives of the Jews had become a show of accomplishments. This shouldn’t be surprise to anyone because that is the way your human nature operates. You like to receive recognition. You like to know that you can at least count on yourself. You like to think that you can be responsible for earning your place in God’s kingdom. The reality of all this is that if you think you can earn the approval of God through your works, you are the real loser. You are a loser because God has made it clear to you that all have sinned and come short of His glory. No one can achieve the perfection that God demands because you are sinful from the beginning. To think that you can satisfy God’s righteous demands though your own merits is a sad deception.
This was not just a problem for the Jews of Paul’s day. This is still a problem that touches human beings of all time and the temptation to base your salvation on your righteous accomplishments is still around.
Just ask someone the old evangelism question, “ If you died tonight and were at the gates of heaven, on what basis would you hope to get in?” Often the answer to that question starts out with something to do with earthly accomplishments. You will hear things like, “I went the church often. I helped take care of people. I was confirmed. I prayed a lot. I tried to live by the Ten Commandments or the Golden Rule. I was a Christian among Christians. I’ve earned my place.” Paul would say, “I count all of that as loss. Those things don’t make you a winner. In the opening verse of the text we hear the words, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ 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 and be found in Him.” What you have then is a case of winning through losing. Earthly things lose their importance in your life, compared with the greatness of knowing Christ.
A college chaplain told of a young Japanese student who had been a Christian for only a few years. He encountered another foreign student who said to him, “You must have a very wealthy father back home. You are always smiling and seem so very happy.” The young Christian student told the chaplain, “He did not know that when I became a Christian, I lost my family and friends; my father cut me off from our family because I had left the religion of my ancestors.” He thought a minute and then went on, “I told him that the only wealthy father I have was my Father who is in heaven, and the riches of His grace alone have made it possible for me to be a Christian in spite of all the loneliness I have suffered since being cut off from my relatives.”
He was someone who really understood what it means to win through losing. Too often you are tempted to think that you can be a winner in the sense that you are Christian without having to leave behind any of your earthly ideas about salvation. The history of the Christian Church has been littered with false teachers who wanted to look to Jesus Christ for salvation but could not let go of the ideas that you somehow have to earn your salvation by your works, that you have to cooperate with God through your decision, or that you must abide by certain human restrictions. The plain truth the Scripture teaches is that you are saved from the eternal punishment that you deserve because of sin by faith in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior. Paul writes in our text, “I count them (referring to his earthly accomplishments) as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 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.” When you are found in Him, then you become one with Him. You share all the blessings that He has prepared for you. Through His suffering and death, your debt was paid. The price required to set you free from sin, death and the power of the devil was paid. Through His death, you become like Him in His death. That is, you are dead to sin and made alive to righteousness. Through His resurrection, you too have the hope of the resurrection to eternal life. By faith, you win. You are assured of victory through His suffering, death and resurrection.
That makes a difference in the way you live your life. You are still going to have to face the temptations and trials of life but you can continue on because you know the final outcome. Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own.” Christ has made you His own! Therefore you live your life with that confidence. You are not struggling against the devil, the world and your sinful nature alone. Jesus already has you by the hand and is leading you to your heavenly home. With Him by your side, you can press on. “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” God had called you to be a winner. He has the prize ready for you. Jesus has assured that it will be yours. With that in mind, you can press on toward the goal. You press on only through the power that He gives you.
All your earthly accomplishments, while they may gain you status and recognition among your co-workers and friends, don’t really mean very much when it come to the race that has been set before you which leads to your heavenly goal. It is only through Christ that you win the prize. Now that you know that you have that prize you can live with new confidence and joy. There is no need to worry about whether you
have done enough to receive the prize. It is yours by faith. There is no reason to suffer guilt because of past sins because they have been washed away. You have been set free from all that would drag you down and hold you back from that upward call. You are set free to serve the Lord and His church and answer the call to be His faithful and faith-filled people.
You are a winner. You win because the victory has been won for you. Like Paul, you count all other accomplishments as loss in this world compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. May this winning attitude be with you every day as you wait for the time when the final prize will be yours in heaven. Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
March 17,2013
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