Viewing the Past, Present and Future with Wisdom

Mark Dunagan
10/30/16 - Sunday Morning

Viewing the Past, Present & Future with Wisdom

The Past

When Paul reflected back upon his past so filled with many religious accomplishments (Philippians 3:5-6) that many people would have loved to possess and others would have even envied, he possessed a rare clarity and honest objectivity. Nothing in that illustrious past had saved him. It was the past of a lost man – the past of a man once in the darkness. Thus in the present in which he wrote, Paul was willing to lose or let go of many things because he had long ago realized that only a relationship with Jesus was of any value, because only a relationship with Jesus could save him (3:7-8). In fact, the prospect of seeing Jesus one day not only enabled Paul to let go of any pride related to his many achievements from his past, but in the letting go of them he experienced an incredible level of contentment and joy when He thought about the gain of seeing Christ in comparison to the sacrifices involved to do so.  Paul never says, "I appreciate being saved, but I really had to give up a lot". Rather, Paul views all those illustrious accomplishments as garbage (rubbish) compared to being saved (3:8). It is easy to read that statement without really considering what it encompassed. It would include his ancestry (3:5), all his attainments advancing as a Pharisee (3:5). It would take into account all the awards or recognitions he received, all the "A"'s , so to speak, that he had received on various assignments, and whatever respect or accolades he had received as a result of studying under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). And yet, next to being right with Jesus, nothing matters, nothing. If I don't have Jesus, then whatever I do have: property, prestige, accomplishments, mementos, family heirlooms, and so on, in comparison, all are rubbish.

Whose Righteousness?

"And may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Philippians 3:9).

As far as Jewish opinion was concerned, Paul was doing great, and as far as the Law was concerned, Paul was excelling (3:6), his only problem was that the Law could not save him. Paul, like the rich young ruler, was doing many things right according to the Law, but he was ignoring one invaluable truth: he had been refusing to take to heart the Lawgiver Moses had predicted (Jesus Christ) (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22-23), and thus found himself condemned.

How easy it is to formulate a righteousness of our own, to come up with our own list of things we must do or not do in order to get a false sense of security. Such lists will often include various things in the Bible, accompanied by a number of our own ideas and opinions too often influenced by the culture that surrounds us. Such an invented righteousness never saved anyone. We are only righteous when we conform to God's standard, the original Author of righteousness, a standard which includes wholeheartedly trusting and obeying His Son. 

Foolishly Using the Past

Someone has said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. Foolishly using the past would also includes believing that past failure means we can never succeed in serving God or that past faithfulness will cover us if we go back into sin (Ezekiel 18:23-29). Instead of changing ourselves in the present, we can waste time day dreaming what could have been if we could only magically go back and live our lives over again.

Wisely Using the Past

• Learning the lesson from past mistakes and accomplishments.
• Allowing the past to humble us, and to remind us how much we need God and His wisdom in the present (James 1:5).
• Remembering the depth of our forgiveness and what Jesus has done for us. Appreciating our great salvation  (2 Peter 1:9; 1 Corinthians 15:10).
• Seeing where God has protected us in the past, and using that experience to trust completely that He will be with us in the present. Acknowledging God's incredible track record of faithfulness, not only in Scripture, but in your own life as well.

The Present

"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on, so that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)

Foolishly Using the Present Sounds Like:

• "I have arrived. I don't need to pray and read my Bible as much as I once did".
• "I feel no urgency. I can always learn, grow, repent and give of myself later."

Wisely Using the Present Looks Like:

• Doing everything that I can do today to grow as a Christian. Redeeming every opportunity for the serving and loving those in the kingdom (Ephesians 5:16) and reaching out to those who are not.
• Being diligent to make the sacrifices necessary to grow every fruit of the spirit in my spiritual life (2 Peter 1:5).
• Courageously pressing hard for the eternal things God cares the most about.

Forgetting What Lies Behind

Of course, Paul is not saying here that he is choosing to forget everything about the past, for we are not created with that capacity, because the past is always so filled with countless valuable lessons. Rather, there are at least two things about the past that Paul refused to allow to impact his present:

1. He refused to believe that since he had persecuted Christians that he could not live the Christian life or that God did not want him saved (3:6).
2. He refused to rest on any of the accomplishments mentioned in 3:5-6. In addition, he refused to be content with his current level of spiritual growth and knowledge. He knew that he was not perfect and there was always more growth that was needed in his life. Be impressed that Paul did not say, "Well, if that level of growth was good enough for mom and dad, it is good enough for me."

The Future

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory." (Philippians 3:20-21)

Foolishly Viewing the Future

• God will somehow be different in the future from how He has revealed Himself in Scripture (3:19). Make no mistake. God is who He says He is.
• Trading a home with God for a mere earthly pleasure that will neither last very long nor is it really all that grand (3:19).
• Being so preoccupied with earthly things that we essentially ignore, or put on the backburner, our relationship to God (3:19).

Wisely Preparing for the Future

• Believing and fully trusting with all our hearts what God says to be true about the future.
• Making the one driving passion of our lives to be Christ and thus refusing to let any earthly desire or pleasure to become my god.
• Living presently like a peace-filled citizen of heaven, merely tenting as pilgrims temporarily in this world.

 

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net