sermon: Knowing Christ (Part 4)
Pursuing Perfection Through Sacrifice
John W. Ritenbaugh
Given 01-Feb-97; Tape #275; 76 minutes
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Would you please open your bibles to Hebrews the 6th chapter and in verse 1.
Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.
Going on to perfection, or maturity, or completion, might just be the unspoken subject of virtually every sermon that is given. I say "unspoken," because the minister doesn't usually say at the beginning of his sermon, "Well today we're going to speak about ‘going on to perfection'; but on the other hand each sermon is intended to move us in that direction. The Greek word translated here perfection can be translated either of those three ways. It can be translated maturity, it can be translated completion, or as the King James translators decided, they were going to translate it perfection. In this context, maturity is probably the best, because of the things that Paul wrote in the previous four or five verses – those that are at the tail-end of chapter 5. But even that, -- I mean what he wrote at the tail-end of chapter 5, leaves us without a right understanding, because the immaturity of these people was not due to the fact that they were young in the church, and neither did the problem lay in ignorance, because this letter [Hebrews] shows elsewhere that there was a time when they had done much better than they had been doing at the time the letter was written. So they didn't lack theological knowledge. The problem lay in the fact that they were making poor decisions – immature decisions, in order to avoid the suffering that a right decision would have brought upon them. It wasn't that they didn't know. They were neglecting to make the right decisions, as Paul made very clear at the beginning of the letter. They were resisting God's guidance.
Now there's another interesting thing in this verse, and that is, that it doesn't say what it says in the King James, -- "Let us go on . . .," it says, "Let us be carried forward to perfection." Now this was intended by Paul to be an admonishment. It's also intended to be an encouragement and an exhortation, all at the same time. It indicates that they are to be carried forward, i.e., moved along by an overwhelming power, if they gave it permission to do so. This is very interesting because we're beginning to see a responsibility developing here, like other responsibilities that are laid upon us, -- like circumcision. You might recall when we went through the series on the covenants we showed you that circumcision was partly a responsibility of God and partly a responsibility of us. There are places that God says that He is going to circumcise our hearts. On the other hand, He tell us, "Circumcise your heart." Now we're beginning to see something like that developing here in the context of becoming mature, of the context of becoming complete, in the context of becoming perfect. "Let us be carried forward to perfection." In other words, Paul is implying that there is going to be a power, if we do the right thing, that is going to carry us along toward that destination that we want. We're going to see a contrast of this in the next scripture that we're going to turn to, to show very clearly that we are also involved in this process of moving us toward perfection, -- a process in which the major work is done by God; but we have a part to play in this that is very important. These people were resisting being carried forward probably out of fear, and so the force of this instruction that is given here in Hebrews 6 and in verse 1 is that it is not personal effort that Paul is talking about here, but rather the responsibility to surrender to this overwhelming power, and it is also indicating that this surrendering is not something that is done one time, but is continuous. Hang onto that. You can see that, right from something that I said just a little bit earlier, that there was a time when these people had done better, and their surrendering to this power was not continuous. Now they were neglecting, and they weren't surrendering, and they weren't being carried on to maturity.
Now let's go back to that section in Philippians 3 once again, [from where] I guess you might say I've milked or drawn at least three or four sermons from Philippians 3:10 and 11, and we're going to begin today in Philippians 3 and verse 12. You can see that this follows right on the heels of verse 10, from which I've drawn this present series on suffering and sacrifice and the part that it plays in our coming to know God. I think that we can see from this series that Paul was writing that we are involved in a process leading to what he calls "perfect." Now let's read verses 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Philippians 3:12-15 - Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded.
Now he's included us in what he's saying.
V15 - And if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Now he says in verse 13 that he's not apprehended or attained, or grasped hold of to the fullness of the reason for why he was apprehended or grasped, or hold on by Christ, but that he was pressing on to the end, in verse 14; then of course in verse 15 he urges us to be of the same mind.
Now back to verse 12 and the word apprehend. It's a word that we don't use very much these days, but the Greek word there is drawn from athletic games, -- actually a running race, and it has the idea here of eager and strenuous exertion to grasp, or seize upon something. We do use apprehend occasionally, and usually it's in something having to do with authorities of some kind, usually the police, when we say the police apprehended the criminal, meaning that the police seized him and he is now in their power. Paul says that he's not yet apprehended what he was apprehended for, and so he has not grasped onto yet that for which Christ grasped hold of him. So Christ had firm hold of him, but Paul had not yet gotten a firm grip on what it was that he was striving for.
Okay. Again perfect, the same verse, means to complete, to accomplish a full end by reaching the intended goal. Again the allusion here is to a foot race. Now there's a very close similarity to this series of verses – 12 through 15, to 1st Corinthians 9 and verses 24 through 27. Let us go back now to 1st Corinthians 9 and verse 24.
I Corinthians 9:24 - Know you not that they which run in a race . . .
Philippians 3, verses 12 through 15 is drawn from a race circumstance, and so is this series of verses here.
V24 - Know you not that they which run in a race run all [they go all out], but one receives the prize?
Prize is also mentioned in Philippians 3.
V24 - So run, that you may obtain. 25 And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate [self-controlled, governs himself, or disciplines himself] in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, [that's the way Paul runs], not as uncertainly.
He doesn't stagger all over the place. He's saying that when he started this race up, he headed right toward the goal, and nothing was going to deter him. He was not going to be distracted in any way and wander off the course.
V26 - So fight I, not as one that beats the air.
Paul didn't shadow-box. He was deadly serious about his responsibility about running this race.
V27 - But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
These words beat my body have the same implication as to give somebody a black eye, or to bruise. He is using very vivid language to show you how hard he disciplined himself, even to the point of like buffeting or bruising. Now both of these word pictures are drawn from the ? games, very similar to the Olympian games, and I have to take it from that, that Paul must have viewed them on occasions. The only difference between 1st Corinthians 9 and Philippians 3 is the emphasis. In I Corinthians 9 the emphasis is on the discipline that Paul applied to himself as he runs the race. In Philippians 3 the focus is on his exertions, where he is straining every fiber as he runs the race. He's trying to get to the finish line. In either case Paul makes sure that we understand that we are to be persistently concentrated on reaching the goal, not only once the race starts, but even he draws it back to the preparations for the race as well. So, we're not to allow anything to divert our attention from having a specific and well-defined aim. Paul undoubtedly had a unity of purpose. He was single-minded in that sense, that characterized his entire life, once he was called. His aim was to gain Christ and perfection in Him, and here he is showing his total concentration and expending of effort to reach that goal.
Now just reading his words, I think that we can get the picture that this must have caused him a great deal of sacrifice of things that he would have much rather have done. 2nd Corinthians 11 gives us a pretty good idea of some of the things he had to endure as part of his carrying out his responsibility. I know that even in reading them it's rather daunting to me to think of the things that he went through, -- that he was beaten with stripes so many times. I think it was five times. And one time he was stoned and left for dead. Another time he spent, it says a day and a half, or something like that, a night and a day in the deep – floating around on a piece of ? and jetsam from a wreck, and constantly in peril in the travels that he made, -- from robbers and burglars, people who would rob him and whatever else. But he knowingly put up with it and kept right on toward the goal that God had given him in his life.
Now this is important in regard to something else. Turn to Hebrews the 5th chapter and I just want to pick out one verse here to connect it to Christ, so that we can understand that the suffering that God requires of us has a purpose in mind, that it is not haphazard, as we might think it is, and that we have to understand it's important to our perfection, our being complete, our being mature.
Hebrews 5:7 - Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard, in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
From that we can understand that there is more to obedience than merely submitting. There are implications of suffering here in Philippians 3, and being perfected through the suffering of a race by being tested against the course. Feed yourself into that. God has required everyone of us to run a course, which we'll see in just a little bit. Before we go any further, and so that we don't get too discouraged, understand that the word perfect, or perfected does not mean or imply being absolutely faultless, the way we normally think of being perfect. It rather means being completed, or qualified, or fit. All those words that I have given you are synonyms for this one Greek word perfect. I think an illustration might be something like this, as to how this word fits us, and why it's important that we each understand that we're running our own race, we're running our own course, and we are not to compare ourselves with the course that another person is running. We might say that a Phillip's head screwdriver is perfect for use with a Phillip's head screw, but that does not imply that the screwdriver isn't dinged up, or doesn't have some kind of rust on it. Rather, we might say that the screwdriver was prepared to carry out that function, and so it works perfectly.
Okay now. We're all not being prepared for God's kingdom for exactly the same thing. There are generalities. We're going to be kings and priests, but we're going to be in a government, and a government has very many bureaus and offices within it. Christ said that He would prepare a place for us. Obviously we're not going to be kings in the same sense as the original twelve. Those offices are already gone. David's office is gone. I'm sure that Abraham's office is gone, and Moses' office is gone, and the prophets of the past, that their offices are gone as well, and Paul's office is gone as well, and so there are overlappings in what we are being prepared for. There are generalities, but everybody runs his own race. That's very important that you understand that.
In this same book of Philippians God says that He will finish what He starts. But don't forget what it says in Hebrews 6:1 – "Let us be carried forward." We have to give God the permission for Him to do His creative works, and that wonderful book of Hebrews was written to get that lesson across. These people were regressing because, whatever the circumstances were, they were failing now to make the right decisions, because I am sure they were afraid to make the sacrifices [which] the right decisions they knew were going to cost, and they were in danger of not being prepared for God's kingdom. So they were acting child-like. All you parents know the way kids work. They usually don't work at something very well, and we associate the way they work at something with their being immature, and that was the immaturity of the Hebrews that Paul was writing. They were losing their focus, and the world was becoming bigger and bigger to them.
Again let's go to Hebrews 12 and verses 1 through 4.
Hebrews 12:1-4 - Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Okay. Here we have another running metaphor. The difference here is that this metaphor is drawn from a much longer race – a marathon type.
V2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Now do you think that the cross is an allusion to suffering? Do you think the cross being mentioned here is an allusion to sacrificing? Yes it is. Anybody who is running a race is going to have to sacrifice if he wants to win – win his own race. In this race, it's not a race against other people, it's a race to finish yourself.
V3 - For consider him [think about Him] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Paul really pokes their bubble there. They thought that they were putting up with a lot, and he said no, they haven't. Okay. The major difference here between this and Philippians 3 and 1st Corinthians 9 is that the foot race is a longer race requiring perseverance, whereas Philippians 3 is on concentrated effort and exertion, and I Corinthians 9 is on disciplining the body. So we have a pretty complete picture from what Paul is drawing for us here verbally. So we have discipline, we have concentrated effort, and perseverance. Now all of them somewhat overlapping as to meaning and application, but everyone of them has distinct differences as well in meaning and application, but all of them are used by Paul to point toward the same cause, -- and that is, to rise above what we are and to become perfect, to be become like Christ – to know Him.
Okay. Back to Philippians 3. We're going to go through this again – those verses, but this time I want us to see more clearly what his mind-set was when he wrote Philippians 3. I want us to see this in context with this fellowship, or sharing, or participating in Christ's sufferings. I also want us to see this in the light of something else, and that is the cry or the teaching that is out there against what is called "a work religion." Now anybody who's running a race knows that they have to work at it. Here we have the apostle, who is accused by the world, [Maybe accused is the wrong word] . . . who was used by the world, associating his name and his teachings with "no works." That doesn't sound like they're interpreting Paul correctly to me, just from what we've seen – just from what we've seen that he does. He disciplined himself, he concentrated his effort, and he ran with perseverance. Verse 12 is important in regard to seeing his mind-set. He says in the middle of that verse, "But I follow after." This word means that he pursues. Follow after doesn't give us the right picture. It's not strong enough. Paul was chasing. See, he wasn't just dawdling around behind; he was pursuing after it. He was chasing, he was pressing on, or as the Living Bible says, . . . [and I think that this is rather ironic, because if there is ever a bible that is "anti-works," it's this one.] . . . "I work towards…" I think that's rather amusing.
Now I think we can see that the Apostle Paul was surrendered to the power that was carrying him forward. That requires making the right choice, and then expending time and energy. In the light of running-a-race metaphor with its picture of people straining toward a goal, -- a great deal of time and energy – "work" is expended. Professional athletes work. In that regard, if they want to hold their position on a professional team, --I don't care whether it's football, or whether it's basketball, those men have to really put out, because their is somebody on their tail all the time, either the coach or some other guy who's coming there to take his place on the team, unless he really puts out.
The reason that Paul was working toward this goal is so that he may apprehend, or grasp, or lay hold of the very thing that Christ had grasped, or laid hold of him for. Again he identified this as being perfect; but he also says in verse 13 that he was not yet perfect.
Now there's hardly a clearer statement given by Paul, that he understood that God desires, and is doing more than merely saving us. If all God was trying to do was save us, why would Paul, one of the primary teachers in the new church, -- why would he write things like this about how much effort he was making? It just doesn't make any sense, that he would give all this teaching on works, and show not that he was merely working, but he was showing what many people would consider to be an extremism. I feel certain that if modern-day Protestants were able to observe the Apostle Paul, they would accuse him of being a man who believed in "a works religion." I just feel absolutely certain of that.
Now Philippians was written about 25 years after Paul was converted, or as the world would say, after he was saved; and yet he was still not perfect. And at the time that he was writing this, he was still straining for it. That ought to tell us something. Not only was he straining for it, he said that he hadn't even grasped onto it yet. Now let me clarify something. Paul was not making a statement here that he was not assured of salvation, but rather acknowledging that after God has called us, brought us to repentance, forgiven our sin by Christ's blood, and granted us His spirit, -- there is still human responsibility to work toward the completion of God's purpose; and as Paul saw it, to work hard. At the time that God does those things, -- justification has been accomplished, but sanctification unto holiness has just begun, and it is sanctification unto holiness that occupies the longest period timewise, and for the overwhelming majority of us, the most difficult part of God's creative works in us. It is in this period that most of the suffering and sacrifice occurs as well. Now remember what I said on many occasions that this is a cooperative effort involving both God and us, and it does not come without cost to us. In fact I think we can say that in one sense it is the most costly thing that we will ever purchase. Now consider the works, the energy costs, and the sacrifice that was involved just in those three metaphors that are given at the beginning of this sermon. It is the striving to lay hold on to perfection that is going to be the cause of the suffering and sacrifice. But at the same time, it has also to be kept in mind that without it, there will be no prize, no reward; not salvation, -- no reward in this high calling in Christ Jesus.
Let's go to a scripture that I think you'll be surprised has the word perfect in it, back in Matthew 19, in verses 21 through 29. Now this is a time the rich young ruler came to Christ and said, "What must I do to have life?"
Matthew 19:21-29 - Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.
Now I want you to notice. Let's read this very carefully. I'll go slow. I won't expound yet, but I want you to notice, -- "If you will be perfect, go and sell that you have…[sacrifice, be willing to suffer] and you shall have treasure…"
The suffering and sacrifice is tied to giving to the treasure, -- not salvation, as we're going to see.
V22 - But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven, 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. 27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, [given up, sacrificed] and followed you; what shall we have therefore? 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That you which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
"If you will be perfect…" The young man viewed the cost of being perfect too great of a sacrifice. Well Jesus then expounded on the fact that wealth has the proclivity of influencing us to be less inclined to sacrifice it for qualities of greater value. The proverb says that "a rich man's wealth is his high wall;" that is, -- that's where his security is.
The disciples knew enough to understand that sacrifice played a major role in what Jesus was teaching at this time, and it spurred their concern as to whether there would be any compensation for the sacrifices that they were making. That's why they said, "We have forsaken all, and followed you." Well Jesus came right back to show that God is exceedingly generous. But He also makes it clear that the sacrifice is not for everlasting life, but rather is tied to reward. Now in this teaching right here, sacrifice is seen as an investment for future reward. The offices that Jesus said that these men would receive was tied to forsaking all. Everlasting life is added. You see, "… and shall receive everlasting life. Salvation is by grace. It is not earned. But the offices, which were a reward, were tied to forsaking all.
Now it's becoming obvious I think, that Paul is not going to run his race like the hare in The Tortoise and the Hare fable. Paul didn't take the approach to his responsibility that he was a sure winner no matter what he did. If you remember, the hare took a nap during the race. He was so confident, so sure, -- that he lay down and took a nap. While he was taking a nap, the tortoise passed him up and went across the finish line. Now there's a moral to that story, and so I have to ask this question, -- I wonder how many of us have run our spiritual race like the hare? Well brethren, all of us have! Every single one of us has run our race like that, and I can say that on the authority of the Bible, because God shows in that parable in Matthew 25, that at the time of the end, everyone of the virgins went to sleep! At the most critical time of history, we went to sleep! How are you running your race? Now here's a bridegroom, just about ready to come, and at least half of them hear the cry [that the bridegroom comes], and they do wake themselves up. Surely brethren, it ought to be time for us to awake out of sleep, just like Paul said there in Romans the 13th chapter, because the time is later than it was before when we were first converted.
Now back to Philippians 3. Paul says in verse 13, "This one thing I do…" I think that we, as we counted, would count them as two, that he links them both together as parts of one operation. Here is advice from God's word of one or two factors one must do in order to win his spiritual race. These are things which must be done if we're going to have the same kind of dedication toward the completion of God's purpose, as Paul did. "Forgetting those things which are behind, and eagerly straining forward to what lies ahead." Now understand this in context with the concentration that is being taught here. In every-day life, distractions can be disastrous. I'll tell you, I was almost forcibly reminded of this being back in Los Angeles for the first time in a year, and being on those crowded freeways out there, where there are three and four lanes of traffic all traveling, almost bumper to bumper, at 65 miles an hour. On the freeways in L.A. you can go 65 miles an hour, and all it takes is a momentary distraction for you to wander out of your lane, and wham! -- five, ten, fifteen automobiles can be piled up in a matter of five seconds; and for somebody it might be all she wrote, to just be momentarily distracted by something that catches the eye out of the corner, or catches their attention in the automobile, and they turn their head, they drift, and crash. Parts of automobile are all over the place, and maybe parts of people as well.
When I worked in the steelmill we were frequently told, -- I mean frequently, that the highest percentage of dangerous accidents took place at two times during the day; -- just before lunch, and just before quitting time. The reason is obvious, because the men would take their mind off their job because they were looking forward to lunchtime, looking forward to a little bit of rest, looking forward to going home. They would take their mind off the job, and sometimes in a steelmill, all it took was just like on the freeway, -- and you were chopped liver, buddy. And so they were constantly reminding us not to allow ourselves to do that, because they didn't want to see us dead. Maybe their reason was monetary, but nonetheless it was good to take their advice, and pay attention just before lunchtime, and just before going home. They attributed this to being distracted. There are all kinds of distractions out there for us. Most of them aren't momentary things, but sometimes momentary things can draw out attention for long periods of time, -- things like Jesus pointed out in places, like the pursuit of wealth, or the pursuit of things. We can add to this modern-day things, like over-emphasis on sports, on clothing, on physical charm. Jesus called these things all kinds of evil desires that rise up and choke the word. He didn't mean that the things were inherently sin, but if we allow them to divert our attention, they become evil because they are aiding us in missing the mark. Remember what Paul said there in Hebrews 12:1 where he said, "Let us lay aside every weight that does so easily beset us." Now it's interesting that Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9, verse 24, "So run, that you may obtain. Don't run, speculating about what others will do, or will not do, but see to your own running, because you're running your own race." It's just another way of saying, to discipline yourself, to concentrate on your course, because distraction hinders you. Don't allow yourself to get distracted by anybody else who's in the race.
Now the other part of Paul's charge here is, to forget those things which are behind. It's a way of saying don't look back at what might have been, or had been. He says don't look back at the part of the race that you've already covered. Now think of a runner in a race. If a runner looks back, he's undoubtedly going to lose speed, he may wander out of his lane, he might bump into another runner. There are all kinds of things that can happen when the runner takes his eyes off the goal that he is trying to reach for. So, don't look back! Now Jesus said, "No man putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." He also said . . . [probably the outstanding example in all of the Bible of someone who looked back] . . . "Remember Lot's wife." The past is past. There is nothing that can be done about it. It can't be improved. It can't be changed. Nothing about it can enhance what has already occurred. We live in the present, always looking toward the future, and when we look back, that hinders us.
There's one more thing that I want to pick out here. Now spiritually, this is a deliberate discarding of what lies in the past. This word discarding is kind of interesting, because one author of a commentary went so far as to say that this does not merely mean pushing the past into the background, but obliterating it. Do you know where he got that? From the Sodom and Gomorrah thing. God obliterated [Sodom and Gomorrah]. Lot [was spared] but Lot's wife [looked back and was changed into a pillar of salt.] I thought that was really a vivid illustration. So the overall picture here is one of Paul striving for unwavering progression toward perfection, and I think Paul shows an artier here that virtually none of all those called into Christianity would have a hard time imitating. I have no doubt that this man really pleased God, and especially those of us who live here in the time of the end, especially in this Protestant society. We have been so brain-washed by the false teaching that all God is trying to do is save us, that we become very easily distracted. We take salvation just as a matter of course, -- it's already in the bank, it's for us, -- and we forget all about the fact that God's creation of us is not complete, and it requires our cooperation, and we have to submit to Him in order for that creation to take place. And so the works have nothing to do with salvation; it has everything to do with God's creative work to complete His creation of us so that we will be prepared for His kingdom, for the job that He wants us to perform in His family. Now was Paul foolish for straining so hard, for being so focused, to reach a state of living that he could never attain to? Why should we do the same? Well there are too basic reasons, and number 1 is -- God expects it.
Now let's go back to 2nd Peter 3 and in verses 14, 17, and 18
II Peter 3:14 - Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things [the return of Christ], be diligent that you may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
It sounds to me like Peter agreed with Paul.
V17 - You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before.
We've been warned about the return of Christ, the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
V17 - You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked [this Protestant society that is around us], fall from your own stedfastness [in running the race]. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever.
To be at peace means with the secure feeling, the contentment that comes from knowing that you put forth effort; to be diligent.
Without spot means without dissipation or carousing, [which is] so common in the world around us; to be irreproachable.
So Peter wants us to make intense efforts to be morally pure.
Beware means to be on guard. Avoid being distracted and carried away. Don't wander away.
Now the emphasis through this whole chapter is on stability. Be steadfast.
Then he says "grow."
Did you ever look at it this way, [that] that is a command from God? It doesn't say grow if you can. God expects us to grow. He commands us, and brethren, it doesn't happen like magic in Christianity anymore than it does in secular life. One commentator said that Christianity is like riding a bicycle. If you don't keep moving, you fall off. I did hear Mr. Armstrong say [that] there is no such thing as "standing still" in Christianity. If you aren't going forward, you're going to be swept backwards. Even standing still, he said, you are going to fall behind everybody else if you just try to keep even with where you've been. And then I heard another minister say one time that if you evaluated yourself fifteen years ago, and then fifteen years later, -- right now, you evaluated yourself again, according to the same way you evaluated yourself fifteen years ago, i.e., against the world – if you measured yourself in the world, you've actually gone backwards, because the world has gone backwards. There is no such thing as "standing still" in Christianity and winning the race. Is God too hard? Are you too hard on your children if you expect them to grow in going to school – growing in knowledge, growing in understanding, growing in wisdom, growing in maturity? Do you parents consider yourselves too hard because you expect your children to grow? No, God isn't too hard. He expects us to grow. But just like your children have to make effort in school, so do we have to make effort in this school to be prepared for what God wants us to do in His kingdom. He isn't being hard on us. So Point No. 1 is: We're commanded to grow, and God expects it. No. 2 is equally important, and that is, that the prize that Paul spoke of there in Philippians 3 only goes to those who do it. Now this is so logical, it's easy to understand. Does the kid who goes to school and doesn't do anything get the diploma? He doesn't get the reward. He doesn't get the prize. It's the same way with God. God isn't being hard on us. The running of our course may be difficult for us, but boy! the prize is so great! We ought to be thankful that it's hard like that, that He put so much trust in us that He's willing to put us on a route there that is very very difficult; and for us, it's like we're in a steeple chase, not just a run around some kind of an oval.
Now let's go to 2nd Timothy 4, and verses 6 through 8.
II Timothy 4:6-8 - For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.
Paul ran the race successfully, -- and he knew it!
V7 - I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown [not eternal life, but a reward] of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
It's interesting here because Paul says, "I'm now ready to be offered." It's interesting in the Greek, because what Paul is doing there, is he is picturing himself as a drink offering. Every burnt offering that was made was accompanied by a meal offering, and also a drink offering, -- just like a meal was being presented to God; so there was grain, there was meat, and there was wine. The drink offering was wine. The drink offering consisted of about a quart of wine, and it was poured out at the base of the altar as part of the burnt offering. As a matter of fact, it was the last act of the offering, -- just like you and I usually drink our drink – coffee, tea, or milk, whatever it happens to be, at the end of the meal. Now it wasn't done in one large pouring, but gradually. A little bit here, a little bit there, during the course of the offering; but the very last part, the very last act that concluded everything was the pouring out of the remainder that was in the cup or the jar that they were using at the time. There's a beautiful picture here. Paul was the drink offering, and it pictures a living sacrifice being given gradually over a person's life, and then finally gradually ebbing away, just like in a cup the final drips go down, -- and he is then completely consumed on the altar. Now when Paul said "henceforth," do you know what that means? It means only one thing remains, or as a result of this; and the only thing that remained was the giving of the crown, because he had fought a good fight, he had finished the race, he guarded the faith. Now I'm going to read this to you from the West Translation, and it's kind of interesting because he puts it into English in much the same way as the sequence of words appear in the Greek. Now think about the beginning of the sermon and the straining and so forth, because this series of verses begins like this:
"The desperate straining, agonizing contest marked by its beauty of technique, I, like a wrestler have fought to the finish, and at present am resting in its victory. My race, I like a runner, have finished, and at present am resting at the goal. The faith committed to my care, I like a soldier, have kept safely through everlasting vigilance, and have delivered it again to my Captain; and henceforth there is reserved for me the victor's laurel wreath of righteousness which the Lord will award me on that day, the just Umpire; and not only to me, but also to all those that have loved His appearing, and as a result have their love fixed on it."
What do you do with people or things that you love? You consume your life on them. Did you notice those words desperate, agonizing, straining, wrestler, fought, runner, finished, soldier, everlasting vigilance, as a result? Every one of them an energy-packed word, and attached to reward – the crown of righteousness. And he was content because he knew that he had made the effort.
Now back to Matthew 25. You can forget about Philippians 3. We're done there now.
Matthew 25:24-30 - Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you that you are an hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, [Hebrews – out of fear. They were making bad decisions.] and went and hid your talent in the earth: lo, there you have that is yours. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 You ought therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which has ten talents. 29 For unto every one that has [accomplished, that is; run the race, finished it] shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. 30 And cast you the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Does God expect it? You'd better believe that He expects us to make effort. Now there's every reason to strive as hard as we can, and maybe even try to match the Apostle Paul, as he urges us to do. So remember those two factors. 1) God expects us to make the effort, and 2) the prize goes to those who do.
Now let's go to a couple very familiar scriptures, as we begin to draw this to a close. In Romans 12 and verses 1 and 2, and we're also going to go to Ephesians 5 and verses 1 and 2.
Romans 12:1-2 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [spiritual] service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 - Be you therefore followers of God as dear children: 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
The standard is to walk in life [ love], as Christ also has loved us, and given himself for us.
We're involved in a way of life whose guiding principle, once we are called and converted, is the seeking of perfection. Salvation is assured, because of Christ's work; but God's creative efforts on us have really just gotten in gear and really under earnest. It requires that we seek perfection. All the way back in Amos the 4th chapter God urges us to seek Him and live! Live, because, as He sees us in our sins, we're as good as dead, because that's what the wages of sin is, and He desires us to come out of what has produced death, -- as far as we possibly can. Sin produces death, and He wants us to come out of it. That's what the seeking of the perfection is. It's coming out of sin. And whether we ever reach perfection is not the point. Maybe it's even immaterial, because we're going to run out of time. Either Christ is going to return, or we're going to die. But even more importantly, if we do this, the mind-set that is developed pursuing perfection ensures that when we are changed at the resurrection, we will continue living in that manner because the mind will have been trained to think and act that way.
Now let's look at a couple of scriptures back in Psalms. You'll see there's a pattern here.
Psalm 86:5 - For you Lord are good.
Psalm 100:5 - For the LORD is good.
Psalm 104:28 - That you give them they gather: you open your hand, they are filled with good.
Psalm 106:1 - Praise you the LORD, O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good.
Now this is a very often-repeated statement, especially in the Psalms, and it is this One that we are to imitate, into whose image we are being created, who is described as good.
Now what does this have to do with suffering and sacrifice, and the seeking of perfection? Well brethren, the seeking of perfection is derived from God's purpose. He is perfect, He is holy, He is transcendental in character, wisdom, love, mercy, anger, i.e., in every aspect of His person. He is good and He is creating man in His image, and Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." In other words, He was a perfect reflection, -- that if the Father became a man, He would live in the same way that Christ did, and we are to imitate them. We are to follow them as dear children, Paul said, and "He is good."
You might consider in a previous sermon, you might remember that I said that God does not require us to sacrifice anything that is not good. Now consider this. Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. The Hebrews did not have a word that corresponds to our word mind, so they used the heart as the symbol of man's cognitive, emotional center – his intellectual center. They put in their heart. We say mind. "The mind of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Now does a desperately wicked mind produce good, as God is good? It's an impossibility. In fact right in that series of verses, right in verse 9, that desperately wicked is even better translated incurably sick. In other words, even God can't do anything about it. It cannot be healed. He has to give us a new heart, a new mind. He has to give us one that is good, -- and that is the one we have to operate on and by. What I'm leading to here is where the sacrifice and the suffering comes in, because Galatians 5 shows us that these two are diametrically opposed to one another; that is, the human heart and the spirit of God are diametrically opposed to one another and they are at war with one another. They fight a battle, as it were, within us. We are put in the middle and we have to make the choice which way we're going to go, and Paul said we have the choice of choosing to be carried on by this great power that God has put in us – carried forward to perfection, or we can make the choice to give in to human nature. The suffering comes because human nature is being denied what it wants to do, and like a four-year old spoiled brat it fights tooth and toenail, it whines, it cries, it tries to make you feel as though this is the worse thing that has ever been done. It does everything on earth to try to get its way. Tell me something. Is sacrificing to be good as God is good, too hard to do? Is it asking us to give up something that is good? Impossible! Human nature thinks it's good, but God doesn't think it's good at all. It's something evil that is rising up to choke us. In any warfare there's going to be suffering, and the conflict of this war that is going on within us between choosing to submit to human nature or to surrender to God, continuously, is what causes the suffering. Ultimately it will cause persecution, because as we become more god-like, the world will hate us more and more. But it's the choosing to surrender to God that is ultimately the cause of the sacrificing, the suffering.
Now let's conclude in Romans the 7th chapter. Paul confirms this for me and for you.
Romans 7:15 - For that which I do I allow not; and what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I.
V18 - For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing.
Nothing. Zilch. Zero. And this is what God wants us to give up. He does not require of us that we give up things that are good.
V18 - For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
We're moving toward goodness, not away from it.
V21 - I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. [It was in his mind.]
V24 - O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The great power that Paul implied in Hebrews 6 when he said, "Let us be carried forward to perfection."
Our part in this is very small. In reality, all we have to do is make the right choice and take those first faltering steps toward doing it, -- and God supplies the rest. But human nature has to be sacrificed, and this brings forth suffering. So this process and its fruits of suffering and sacrifice is not at all unusual. Any great goal, any project worth its salt, is going to produce the same result, i.e., sacrifice and suffering. If we desire and do, or desire to be something greatly enough, we will make the commitment and pay the price for whatever stands in the way of our accomplishing it. Paul said in 1st Corinthians 9 [that] others do this for a worldly crown. We're to do it for the rewards that go with eternal life.
JWR/smp/
