I Count All Things to be Loss

Introduction: The Importance of Logical Connections in Scripture

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, September 27th, 1981, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now, will you follow, please, in your own Bibles, not only as I read from Philippians chapter 3, but then as we further examine the teaching of this portion of the Word of God, I trust you will keep your Bibles open before you and seek to have, as it were, the Bible itself as the final commentary upon itself.

0:37 Philippians chapter 3, and I shall read this morning as we've done in several previous Lord's Day mornings, verses 1 through 11.

0:48 Finally, or furthermore, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed, is not irksome, but for you it is safe. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the flesh mutilators, for we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if any other man seems to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more.

1:31 Circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee, as touching zeal, persecuting the church, as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. Howbeit, what things were gains to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea, verily, and I count all things, to be loss for the excellency, or literally, the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things,

2:14 and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God, by God, by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death, if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead. Let us again unite our hearts in prayer, and ask God by the Spirit to give us understanding in his holy word.

3:03 We come to you, you, eternal God, giver of this your own word to us, and we pray that out of your perfect knowledge of your own mind and will, you will help us this morning, that as we consider together a portion of this your word, your Holy Spirit, who originally indicted the words through the apostle, may in this hour illuminate our minds, to a proper understanding of these words, and a proper application of them to our hearts. Hear us, and answer us,

3:46 we pray through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. A certain preacher of another generation, in giving advice to his younger brethren in the ministry, stated that the logical connections of scriptural thought are the ones that are most important to us. Are no less the product of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit than are the statements of scripture themselves.

4:20 Now do you see the point he was making? I have read many statements of the word of God in your hearing this morning. And there is such a collection of statements because God the Holy Spirit moved the apostle Paul to pen these statements. But the point is, that if there is a logical connection between the statements, that logical connection is as much the product of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as are the statements themselves.

4:57 And whenever we come to examine a passage that has the words of logical connection stamped all over it, therefore, in order that, so then, if by any means, we know immediately that we cannot properly understand any one of the individual statements if we are indifferent to the logical connection of those statements with those that precede and those that follow. In other words, if each statement is a link, it is the point at which the links come together that we properly understand the chain of the revelation of the mind and the will of God.

5:41 It is for this reason that when we study such passages as these, we often indulge in a careful review and frequently a preview or an overview. We stand, as it were, at this point along the road of understanding the contents of Philippians chapter 3. We will stand particularly this morning on verse 8. But because verse 8, has vital connections with what preceded it, we must look back and take notice of those connections if we are properly to understand verse 8.

6:20 That's the necessity of review. But verse 8 also leads to something without which we cannot properly understand verse 8. And so there must be preview and overview of what lies ahead upon this road that God has given us. And the Christian, who is indifferent to review and to preview, is indifferent to an accurate understanding of the Word of God.

Review and Overview of Philippians 3:1-7

6:47 The congregation that grows weary of exposition that has review and preview and overview is the congregation that has become vulnerable to manipulators of the Word of God. And so I urge you this morning to think with me as I briefly review and then, give a very brief overview of what lies before and then we shall concentrate our attention upon verse 8. The Apostle has warned the Philippians concerning the influence, the insidious, destructive influence of the Judaizers. Those whom he calls in verse 2, the dogs,

7:32 who are ravenous, who would tear and devour them by their false teaching. These people, who came along telling Christians Christ was not enough. If you are to be full-blown Christians, you must have circumcision and all the trappings of the Mosaic ritual and the Mosaic system. Now having warned them, the Apostle then, by way of a masterful stroke of contrast, says in verse 3, we are the true circumcision.

8:04 These people come along telling you unless you're circumcised and keep the law of Moses, you're not full-blown. You're full-blown Christians. They're just flesh mutilators. We are the true circumcision.

8:14 And then he gives the three marks of the true people of God, who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and then the third one, who put no confidence in the flesh. Now having stated that third mark, it then introduces the subject that follows. And Paul then gives us a bit of spiritual autobiography saying, now if there's anyone who can legitimately, legitimately boast in fleshly advantages and who would think that if one has fleshly advantages either inherited or attained by personal effort, that these can help him to find acceptance with God. He said, I above all people should have such confidence.

8:57 And then he gives a list of all of these fleshly confidences, both inherited and acquired. And then he gives his classic evaluation of them in verse 7. How be it? What things were gains to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.

9:17 And in this very succinct, almost verbal shorthand statement, he tells us that there came a point in his spiritual experience where he underwent this radical, this disruptive introduction to new spiritual mathematics. He looked at his ledger, on which he had, listed all of his inherited advantages, all of his acquired advantages, and he said, at one time, I regarded them all as plus signs, but there came a point in my experience where I totaled them all up and they added up to nothing other than one big minus. And he says, the key to that radical,

10:02 that disruptive new spiritual math was my introduction to Christ, Christ himself. Now then, what he does in verse 8 is to amplify and expand upon the verbal shorthand of verse 7. And if you had been sitting there in Philippi the first day one of the elders read this letter, you would have known from the opening words of verse 8, a very strange construction, in which you have a number of words brought together showing that there was both intimate connection as well as anticipated amplification of the statement of verse 7.

10:46 And so, in verse 8, what is set before us is a present reaffirmation and expansion of verse 7. And then, in verses 9 and 10, we are given a detailed explanation of what this knowledge of Christ means. He refers in verse 8 to the surpassing, the greatness of the knowledge of Christ. Now, in verses 9 and 10, he tells us what that knowledge means in terms of objective privileges, verse 9, in terms of subjective experience, verse 10, and then he gives us the ultimate expectation of the knowledge of Christ in verse 11, if by any means I may attain

11:31 to the resurrection from the dead. So, I trust you see something of the road. Where we've been, he has warned against the influence of the Judaizers. He has asserted that the marks of the true people of God are three, and the third one is they put no confidence in the flesh.

11:49 Now, he introduces personal spiritual biography to illustrate that truth by his own experience and tells us, though he had all those advantages, he repudiated them. That brings us to verse 7. Now, we take another step onto verse 8. Do you see the connection?

Analogy: The Confirmed Bachelor and Mary Ellen

12:05 Having stated, in very succinct form in verse 7, he counted all these gains as loss for Christ, he will now amplify, reaffirm, and expand that statement. In the midst of it, he says that for Christ, I mean for the knowledge of Christ, and now he's going to expand that in verses 9 and 10 and tell us what the knowledge of Christ means to him objectively and subjectively, and then, it's as though someone says, and what's the great end to which all of this leads? And he answers that question in verse 11. Perhaps by using an extended analogy, I can help you to remember

12:49 the logical links in this passage. Imagine with me, if you will, please, a man who is happily married. In fact, he's been happily married for 30 years. But he never married until he was 35.

13:06 And up until age 35, he was what people would call a confirmed bachelor. He was so convinced of the advantages of bachelorhood that he not only remained in the bachelor state, he was nothing less than almost repulsively aggressive and evangelistic about the benefits of the bachelor state. Whenever he found a single person, he tried to confirm that single person in his or her single state. And he was forever talking about the pluses of bachelorhood.

13:43 Independence can do what I want, when I want, freedom, etc. And he had all of these advantages for 35 years. But then, at age 35, all was reversed by the introduction of one whom we'll call Mary. We'll name our man John.

14:01 All right? And now, some 30 years after marriage, he hears, that there is a group of single people in his acquaintance who are being bombarded by an aggressive bachelor such as he was in his early days. And these young men are being told again and again, if you really want to live, if you want life in its fullness, avoid the married state. Bachelorhood is the essence of living.

14:35 Well, upon hearing this, he writes a letter to one of the, I'm sorry, to this group of men to be circulated amongst them. And in the course of writing his letter, he says, if anyone knew the advantages of bachelorhood, I knew them. And then he lists them all. Then he says in his letter the following words, I too once counted the distinct advantages of bachelorhood as gains.

15:02 But the things which were gains, I counted loss. For the sake of Mary. That's verse 7 of Philippians 3. Now verse 8 is this.

15:15 In fact, I furthermore affirm that after 30 years of marriage, I still regard all the so-called advantages of bachelorhood as loss for the surpassingness of knowing and dwelling with Mary Ellen, my dear wife. For whose sake, I suffered the loss of all of the so-called advantages of bachelorhood, and I regard them at this very hour as a refuse in order that I may continue in union with my wife, enjoying all the objective and subjective privileges,

15:59 joys and burdens of the married state. And that's verses 9 and 10. So you see the connection? And I hope that simple little analogy and parallel parable will help you to fix it in your mind.

16:13 He's writing to his friend and he tells him in a terse statement, I too once had all the so-called advantages you have, but I counted them as loss for the sake of Mary. He's got his attention. Now he says, let me expand upon it. And furthermore, I affirm that after 30 years of marriage, I do regard all the advantages of marriage.

16:39 All of the so-called advantages of bachelorhood that your friend is pressing upon you, I still regard them as loss for the surpassingness of knowing and dwelling, not just with Mary in the simple, but he gives her her full name, with Mary Ellen, and not just in a detached way, but he speaks of her as his dear wife. Look at the language of the text. Yea, verily, I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things 30 years ago, yes, and to this very hour

The Present Reckoning of Paul's Loss (Philippians 3:8a)

17:24 I do count them, but refuse that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Now this morning, God helping us, we want to lay hold of the five simple lines of truth that are set before us in verse 8, Paul's present reaffirmation and expansion of the truth of verse 7. He has told us in verse 7 all his gains were counted loss for Christ, verbal shorthand. Now he will expand it.

18:00 The first line of thought is what we may call the present reckoning of his loss. And here he uses a different tense of the verb. He used the form of the verb in verse 7, which speaks of action in the past that continues into the present. But it's as though someone said, Paul, perhaps there was just a slip of thought.

18:26 You're looking back and you say you counted all the so-called advantages you had by birth and by personal attainment. You regarded them as loss for the sake of Christ. Paul, do you really mean that? Thirty years have passed.

18:42 Have you looked back over your shoulder with any regrets, with any afterthoughts, with any second thoughts? Paul says, let me answer your question. And by using a simple present but the same root verb, he says, is surely as I counted in the past, as I reckoned all to be loss in the past, so I presently reckon all things to be loss for the sake of Christ. I continue to count all things loss.

19:19 And there's an expansion even in the way he constructs his language. All things. It goes beyond a mere reference to the specific things listed in the previous verses. And he says, with reference to anything, whatsoever, that would become the slightest resting place of my confidence for acceptance with God.

19:47 Thirty years after I renounced all the privileges of my birth and my background, I renounced all of my religious attainments and pursuits and accomplishments. Thirty years later, my present reckoning of all those things is exactly the same. I haven't changed my principles of spiritualism. I haven't changed my spiritual mathematics.

20:10 You ask me to go back to that ledger book and I will not only put down there all the things I had born a Hebrew of the Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin, my zeal in persecuting the church. You can put down there all that I've done as a missionary, all that I've accomplished as a preacher, all that I've performed as a servant of Christ, anything I have done or anything that has been done in me, and you ask me to add it all up with reference to this question. How much can it help you to find pardon and acceptance with God? And Paul says it's still add it all up.

The Glorious Cause of Paul's Loss (Philippians 3:8b)

20:50 One big minus. I count it, but loss. That's his present reckoning of all of that. But then he moves on to give us the glorious cause of his loss.

21:07 He had said in verse 7, the things that were gained to me I counted loss on account of or for the sake of Christ. Now he uses a similar construction. He says, yes, and I continue to count all things but loss. Now notice the expanded description.

21:28 It's no longer just Mary, but it is Mary Ellen, my beloved wife. He said, I count all things to be loss for, the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. It was on account of the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, His Lord, that He continued the reckoning of everything as loss. And each word is pregnant with significance.

22:09 We can only look at it for a moment. Paul loved superlatives, but he didn't use them carelessly. Now it's interesting how in the use of language certain superlatives become the in-word. Back a few years ago, especially amongst our friends in the UK, everything was fantastic, fantastic.

22:28 And when I'd make a trip to the UK, if I heard the word fantastic once in the course of a fortnight or two weeks, I'd hear it a hundred times. In the States, about the same time, it was the word terrific. Everything was terrific and fantastic. And I'd hear it a hundred times.

22:41 And I'd hear it a hundred times. And I'd hear it a hundred times. And I'd hear it a hundred times. And I'd hear it a hundred times.

22:42 And then there's that big word that Mary Poppins used and I couldn't remember how to pronounce it. I meant to ask my kids and write it down. But you know which one I mean. Some of you kids do.

22:50 You can tell me. Not at the door today, but at the door next week. But when the apostle used the superlative, he didn't use it carelessly or because it was a present linguistic fad. He used it because he felt the frustration of human language.

23:05 And as he contemplated the glorious cause of counting everything but loss, not only in the past, but in the future, not only in the future, but in the future, but even in the present moment, he calls it the surpassing-ness of the knowledge that is the saving acquaintance of Jesus Christ. And then he says words that must have caused him to pause and break out in doxology. My Lord. He had just reminded his readers that his zeal as a Pharisee, which was one of his big plus signs before he died, before he was a Christian, his zeal was manifested in persecuting the church of Christ.

23:48 And as we saw several Lord's days ago, that was the persecuting of Christ himself. For when the Lord arrested him on the Damascus road, he did so with these words, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He wanted to get his hands on Christ. And since he couldn't get his hands on Christ, he did the next best thing.

24:07 He put them on his people. And imagine what it must have meant for Paul to pen the words, the surpassingness of saving acquaintance with Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Messiah, but who is supremely my Lord. I cannot imagine the Apostle penning those words without stopping and breaking out lost in wonder, love, and praise. That he should call Jesus of Nazareth the true Messiah and his, his Lord.

24:44 And so the glorious cause of his loss is nothing less than God's gracious revelation of Christ to Paul, which not only introduced him to the new spiritual math, but kept him thinking and reckoning and living in the light of that new spiritual math. So you have the present reckoning of his loss. I continue to count all things but loss. The glorious cause for the sake of, on account of, the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

The Totality of Paul's Loss (Philippians 3:8c)

25:19 And then thirdly, he tells us something about the totality of his loss. Look at the text. For whom I suffered the loss of all things. For the sake of this Christ and the saving knowledge of him, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things.

25:48 Now is he here referring to those privations and losses which he experienced as a disciple and as a servant of Christ? That would be a truth with respect to Paul, but it's not the truth he's emphasizing here. Remember the context is these Judaizers who are saying Christ is not enough. You need Christ plus circumcision.

26:12 You need Christ plus. The whole Mosaic structure. You need to become full-blown Jews before you can become full-blown Christians. And Paul says, no, this loss for this glorious cause was a total loss.

26:29 For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Everything that these Judaizers press upon you as being necessary to help you to be full-blown Christians, I have counted every one of them plus more to be nothing but loss. John Stone in his excellent commentary, I believe, is struck at the very heart of the meaning of the passage when he says this. We might indeed understand the word all things in a wider sense at this point for an allusion to the fact which no doubt the Philippians knew that for Christ, Paul had given up his early friendships and associations

27:13 and most brilliant prospects of rising to distinction among his countrymen would not be at all unnatural as showing the intensity of his feelings regarding the Savior. But the course of thought, you see the connecting links, the logical links, leads us rather to take the more limited reference. The apostle you observe keeps still somewhat to the mercantile representation which he has already used. But loss comes in now in a different way.

27:45 Feeling what I was wont to deem my gains to be in truth, loss, in that they kept me back from the Savior, hearing God declare that all other trust must be put away by those who would be saved through his Son, I was constrained by sound calculation to lose everything. Sound calculation it was. True wisdom, as when the captain of a ship of war in hot pursuit of a prize of the highest value does not hesitate to lighten his vessel and thus secure the capture by casting overboard much that is valuable in itself. For observe how he goes on,

28:29 I was constrained to lose all that I might win Christ. So there was the totality of his loss. Paul understood what I trust each of us understands. Understands.

28:43 That the one thing we retain, whether of inherited advantages or of acquired advantages, the one thing we retain upon which to rest any of our hopes is the one thing that will sink our souls to hell.

29:03 If ye be circumcised, Paul says, Christ shall profit you not something, but not as much as otherwise, he says, Christ will profit you. Nothing.

29:16 The one thing, the one thing of your inherited privileges or your acquired privileges and attainments upon which you rest for hope of acceptance with God, that thing will destroy and damn you.

29:36 And so the apostle underscores that principle by addressing our attention to the totality of the loss. He had found the pearl of great price. And to attain that pearl, he had sold all others. And Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant seeking goodly pearls, who when he hath found one pearl of great price, sells what?

30:07 Three quarters? Seven tenths? Ninety-nine and forty-four? One hundredth percent?

30:12 No. He sells all that he possesses that he may acquire that one pearl.

The Shocking Assessment of Paul's Loss (Philippians 3:8d)

30:21 Well, from his present reckoning of the loss to the glorious cause of the loss, the totality of the loss, in the fourth place he gives us what I'm calling the shocking assessment of his loss. It's as though he backs off and says, now do you want to understand more precisely my assessment of the loss? Look at his language. For whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do right now, in a calculated manner, with calm spiritual intelligence, I do count them but refuse.

31:01 Now, if you study those who give themselves to tracking down the meaning of Greek words, you will find that there is a division as to how this word should be translated. Some say the word should be translated literally manure.

31:18 And they cite incidents, particularly from medical journals, where this word is used in the ancient Greek world to describe excrement. And since the Bible is not at all fastidious to use such terminology, I'm not fastidious about mentioning it in the pulpit. On the other hand, authorities can be cited where this word was used in secular literature not to describe excrement or manure, but to describe the stuff you throw in the garbage at the end of a meal. The leftovers the scraps, the kind of things that go in the garbage pail or go to the dogs.

31:56 Now, in either case, the choice is not a very desirable one. Garbage or manure. I mean, one may be two degrees above the other, but in any case, garbage or manure, it's not a flattering description. It is a shocking description.

32:15 So I'm calling it Paul's shocking assessment of his loss. All of those things that he counted, counted gains, plus anything he could have acquired since that time, he said, I still regard it as one big minus with respect to the question on what grounds does a sinner find acceptance with God? Those things can give me nothing. They're a minus.

32:40 They're a hindrance. If I look to them, rest upon them. And furthermore, I regard them as manure, something foul, unclean, offensive. I regard them as nothing but garbage fit for the dogs or for the garbage bin.

33:00 And perhaps Lightfoot, the great scholar, comes closest to the meaning when he says this. He discusses both possibilities. And then he says, at all events, this meaning, considering it garbage, which is well supported by the passages quoted, and he quotes them from the secular writers, is especially appropriate here. The Judaizers spoke of garbage themselves as banqueters seated at the Father's table.

33:27 And Gentile Christians as dogs greedily snatching up the refuse meat which fell therefrom. St. Paul has reversed the image. The Judaizers, he calls dogs in verse 2, the meats served to the sons of God are spiritual meats.

33:48 Circumcision and all the trappings of the Jewish system which they, the Judaizers, valued so highly are the mere refuse of the feast.

34:01 Now, I would not press that with dogmatism, but I think Lightfoot has a point. And it may well be that the Apostle had that imagery in mind. Because you remember he turned table on the Judaizers in verse 3. He said, they're nothing but flesh mutilators.

34:16 We're the true circumcision. Now, he says, do you want to know my assessment of all of this that the Judaizers are pressing upon you? They are saying, if you really want a gourmet gospel feast, take the dainties of circumcision, all the mosaic ritual, all of the trappings of becoming full-blown Jews. Paul says, that's nothing but the garbage that's been swept off the table now that Jesus has come and spread the gospel feast.

34:47 Christ has turned it into garbage to be swept off the table. While you can eat the choice dainties of the gourmet meal of free grace, why go back to the garbage and the refuse of Jewish trappings? There's the shocking assessment of his loss. And then finally, he gives us in verse 8 the purpose of the loss.

The Purpose of Paul's Loss: Gaining and Being Found in Christ (Philippians 3:8e)

35:14 And this is really the heart of the text. And oh, may God help us to lay hold of it. What is the purpose of all of this loss? Look at the language.

35:23 For whom I suffered, the loss of all things, and count them but refuse. In order that would be a more literal and forceful rendering. In order that. There's the logical connection.

35:38 All of this is true. In order that I may gain Christ and act as though the number nine was not there and be found in Him. That's a unit of thought. In order that I may gain Christ and be found.

35:55 In Him. What is the purpose of this loss? The purpose is one, but it's expressed in two ways. There are two aspects to the purpose.

36:07 He says all of this loss has to do on the one hand with the acquisition of Christ that I may gain Christ and secondly, incorporation into Christ that I may be found in Him. Now, that's the purpose of this loss. That was the purpose of this loss. The mentality behind this strange spiritual mathematics in which the apostle took all his pluses, totaled them up and called them one big minus thirty years before.

36:41 And now he says to the Philippians, I haven't changed my math. It's exactly the same. He reaffirms that he continues to regard them as loss. He even goes further and he says, I count them but refuse, but manure, but stuff for the garbage bin.

36:58 And the great purpose, he said, is to be found in my desire to have the acquisition of Christ and incorporation into Christ. Now, what do those words mean? Well, in a very real sense, they are a commentary on what the knowledge of Christ is to which he made reference earlier. He says that I count all things to be loss for the excesses or the excellency or the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ.

37:32 And what is a saving knowledge of Christ? It is nothing less than an acquisition of Christ and an incorporation into Christ. That's what a saving knowledge of Christ is. Now, let's look at these two phrases briefly.

37:49 An acquisition of Christ. And when a man as perceptive as John Stone quotes another servant of God, you better believe it's a choice quote. And so I want to quote his quote. To win Christ is in the exquisite language of good old Bishop Hall.

38:07 This is what it is. To lay fast hold upon Christ, to receive him inwardly into our bosoms, and so to make him ours and ourselves his, that we may be joined to him as our head, espoused to him as our heart, as our husband, incorporated into him as our nourishment, engrafted in him as our stock, and laid upon him as a sure foundation. To win such glory and blessedness as is summed up in words like these, and which can be attained only by those who renounce all grounds of confidence

38:50 for salvation except Christ. Is it not most reasonable, my brethren, that a man, should cast away everything wherein he trusted? Can he do other than wholly disesteem all his old gains, counting them but dung, that he may win Christ? What does it mean to come to the acquisition of Christ?

39:16 It means that we go beyond the mere mental acquaintance with the facts about him in the uniqueness of his person and the perfection of his work. It means that we go beyond the mere mental acceptance of those facts and confession of belief in them. Notice the language, in order that I may gain Christ Himself. In other words, the apostle recognized that the righteousness which alone could cause him to stand unashamed in the last day was a righteousness not offered to sinners apart from the person in whom that righteousness was effected.

40:00 The righteousness as well as every other blessing is bound up in Christ, and it is in the acquisition of Christ Himself that we have the blessings that God has stored up in Him. As many as received Him, not the truths about Him detached from His person, not the benefits offered through Him detached from His person, He said the great purpose of this loss was that I might know the acquisition of Christ. I recognize that all of the blessings of salvation were in Him, and the terms on which I could have Him were these. Are you prepared,

40:44 Saul of Tarsus, to renounce all confidence in your inherited fleshly privileges? Are you prepared to renounce all confidence in all of your acquired and attained religious performances? And he says I was brought by the Spirit of God to the place where acquiring Christ and a righteousness that could stand the scrutiny of the eye of God now and in the day of judgment, that became so burning a passion that I was willing to count all things but loss and regard them as refuse that I might acquire Christ. And in that phrase, acquiring Christ,

41:27 you see the objectivity of Christ presented in the Gospel is underscored. Christ is set before you here this morning. Every man, woman, boy or girl, every one of us, destitute of righteousness in ourselves, sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, sinners by practice, our best things as filthy rags, and God comes to us and presents Christ. And there is that beautiful objectivity of setting Christ before us, and God says renounce all hopes of righteousness in yourself, in your own works, performance, background, heritage, lay hold of Christ, acquire him.

42:08 But then you see there is another side, and he says that I may be incorporated into him. And that underscores what we might say the true mystical element of Christianity, the inwardness, the experiential element. And he is emphasizing of course, having less than union with Christ. First Corinthians 1.30,

42:31 But of God are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. So you see the nuance that is here, and I'm grateful for the order. With every true acquisition of Christ, the sinner conscious of his own undone-ness, consciously reputed, repudiating all trust in himself and in his performance, looking outside of himself to the objective offer of Christ in the gospel, whenever such a person lays hold of and acquires Christ, wonder of wonders by the Holy Spirit,

43:14 he is actually incorporated into Christ, so that the Bible says he becomes a part of Christ. He becomes part of his body. He becomes joined to him. The very language of Genesis, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, the very intimacy of the marriage union is picked up in Ephesians 5 and said to be illustrative of this great union between Christ and his people.

43:45 And Paul says, I know that there can be no union with Christ unless there is a divorce from all grounds of confidence in myself. There must be a divorce not only from bad sins but from good, quote, righteousnesses. We must not only repent of our evil deeds but of our best religious performances. The Bible says one of the foundation blocks of Christian doctrine is repentance from dead works as well as repentance from evil deeds.

44:24 And the apostle says this was my purpose for this repudiation. For this counting everything as loss, that I might have the acquisition of Christ, that I might be incorporated into Christ. Well I believe at least in a surface way we've been honest with the words of the text. We see its connection with the road that leads to it.

Application to Unbelievers: Abandon Self-Trust for Christ

44:49 I hope we can anticipate its connection with the part of the road that flows out of it. But now in the closing moments, let me bring it all home to your consciences sitting here this morning. We've been examining some spiritual biography of the apostle Paul. It's all been in the first person.

45:09 The things that were gained to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yes, and furthermore, I count all things to be loss for the surpassingness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and I do count them but refuse that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Now my question is this. Could you honestly pen those words?

45:45 Are they a transcript of where you are spiritually this morning? It's one thing to come as it were with the stethoscope of inspiration and listen to the heartbeat of the apostle. My friend, put the stethoscope of honesty and self-inquiry upon your own breast, and can you say this morning with judgment day honesty, yes, truly in addition to this, I here this morning with calm, sober, honest reflection regard everything but loss

46:27 for the surpassingness of a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have indeed joyfully suffered the loss of all things, and regard anything that would intrude itself between my soul and its naked need, and the plenitude of grace in my Savior. I regard anything that would come between as an object of trust. I regard it as scraps fit for the dogs. I regard it as awful fit for the dunghill.

47:05 Knowing that I can only acquire Christ and be found in Christ if I repudiate every other ground of hope but Christ. My friends, this is the heart, not a pinky or a limb or an ear or nose. This is the throbbing, pulsing heart of the gospel. Is it your experience?

47:36 If not, oh my dear deluded friend, trusting in your good breeding, trusting in your good upbringing, trusting in your moral religious life, all things good in themselves, and noble and helpful. But my friend, if you make them any part of the ground of your trust, they will damn you. You must repudiate them all or you will never gain Christ. You must come out of them as the ground of trust, or you will never come into Christ.

Application to Believers: Beware of Returning to the Old Math

48:10 But oh, I speak to believers this morning, for remember Paul was writing this to believers. Have you gone back to the old math? Oh, how subtle it is. We can remember some of us when God undid us, when God stripped us, gave us a sight of what we were, and caused everything in which we had ever trusted to crumble as it were beneath our feet, and we felt ourselves naked and stripped and nowhere to hide.

48:42 And God said, God made the truth of a perfect righteousness in Christ precious to us through the preaching of the gospel, and oh, the rest, the peace, the joy we found when we regarded all things as loss for Christ's sake. We threw everything overboard. We dared to venture everything upon Christ. But now what's happened?

49:02 Along the way, as you've learned more and more of your duty and your responsibilities and more and more of the full-orb teaching of the word of God, you have subtly allowed, the level of your own attainments in grace and performance through grace to become woven into the fabric of the perfect righteousness of Christ. And your life has become unsettled, and your motivation to holiness has become greatly diminished. Why? Because, my friend, you've gone back to the old math, and next to what you are and what you've done, instead of a bold line and one big minus, at the bottom, you've begun to etch in little plus signs.

49:47 I've had victory over my besetting sin for three weeks. Therefore, I have a surer foundation to approach God in prayer. Oh, you mean there's some other foundation in addition to Christ? Then what happens?

50:05 In the fourth week, you fall before your besetting sin, and now what happens? Because you are weaving the measure of your victory into the grounds of your coming, that thread is taken out, your ground is shattered, and you don't come, and you get estranged from the place of prayer. And when you're estranged from the place of prayer, then you're vulnerable to sin. And you say, as long as I'm in this mess anyway, and out of communion with Christ, why bother to try?

50:31 And that attitude gives birth to more sin! And where did it all start? When you went back to...

50:38 And I don't care that I'm shouting about it! And that's why Paul said, Beware the dogs! Beware the dogs! Beware the dogs!

50:57 You strong language! Beware the flesh mutilators! They'll keep you from rejoicing in the Lord. And if the joy of the Lord is your strength, once you cease rejoicing in Him, you've had it.

51:12 Oh, my friends, let us learn ever to say, yea, doubtless, I shall, by the grace of God, throughout all my pilgrimage, continue to count everything as loss. For the surpassingness of the saving acquaintance of Jesus Christ, my Lord, and continue to count it all but refuse, that having acquired Him, I may continue in that acquisition of the naked hand of faith, and having been incorporated into Him,

51:53 and realizing that God treats me not as though I were, but because I actually am in Christ! And He treats me as one in Christ, because I am! And His death is my death, and His resurrection mine, and His acceptance at the right hand of the Father is mine. Oh, no wonder the apostle takes off and goes into orbit in Romans 8 and says, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?

52:21 Christ died, Christ was raised, Christ is seated, Christ intercedes, and I'm in Him. You're going to find any fault with me, you've got to get to me, through Him. Oh, what a place to be! To know that God and men and devils can't get to me, unless they get to me through my Savior.

Concluding Exhortation and Prayer

52:43 Oh, may God grant that if you're not in Him, you give your heart no rest until you are. And if you're in Him, pray God to make the glory of your privilege and your standing so real, that if there are no hallelujahs on your lips, there'll be a few bubbling up in your breast. And you will count Christ precious, because of all that you have in Him. Let us pray.

53:10 Our Father, what thanks can we render to You, that You have left us this spiritual biography of Your eminent servant, Paul, and through it we see mirrored to us the very heart of redemptive privilege and grace. How we bless You and praise You, that that grace is available, to all to whom the gospel comes. And we pray for any sitting here this morning who are strangers to that grace,

53:54 who are still living by the old math of human works and human merit. Oh, God, teach them. Teach them by the Spirit. Teach them in such a way that they'll count all their gains loss, and that nothing will seem worth anything if it deters from the acquisition of Christ, and incorporation into Christ.

54:18 Seal the word to our hearts, to the end that we with the apostle may in that last day be called out in the resurrection of the just, and become eternal monuments to all intelligent beings of the infinite grace and kindness extended to sinners in the person and work of Your Son. Seal then the word to our hearts, and to Your name be praise, and honor, and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.