TO KNOW CHRIST #8
Life Lessons from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians
KNOWING CHRIST ABOVE ALL
Phil 3:1-11
1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
Philippians 3:1 (NIV)
- REJECT LEGALISTIC ATTITUDES
2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
Philippians 3:2-4 (NIV)
SAFEGUARD #1: LIVE EACH DAY BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
4 …though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 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; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
Philippians 3:4-6 (NIV)
Some Common Features of Legalism:
1) Ritual.
2) Heritage.
3) Rules.
4) Sincerity.
5) Reputation.
- REASSESS MY PRIORITIES
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ…
Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV)
SAFEGUARD #2: LEARN WHAT MATTERS MOST
9 …and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Philippians 3:9 (NIV)
- REALIGN MY AMBITIONS
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)
SAFEGUARD #3: PURSUE CHRIST IN LIFE AND DEATH
How to Grow in My Knowledge of Christ:
1) Commune with him.
2) Follow him.
3) Trust in him.