The last several weeks we have talked about justification and how justification or how one is made right with God, how that relates to knowing Jesus Christ. Remember, we said that union with Christ always results in communion with Christ. So being united to Christ through justification, through being saved, that leads to communion or a relationship with God in Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Paul has encouraged us with those words, hasn't he? He's used deep theological terms, and we've delved into deep theological subjects, but as we've done that, it's been for the purpose of encouragement, as Paul wants us to know Christ, and as Paul wants us to press on with that relationship with Christ that is the result of being a Christian. We're made right with God through faith in Christ, through his finished work of active and passive obedience, as we've said. And this has implications for our life as we know Christ. As we know Christ, we we grow as a Christian. Now, from that discussion, the Apostle Paul moves further along in encouraging us And he gives us an analogy today. He says that we are like runners in a race. And Paul uses that elsewhere. It's not something that he just uses in Philippians, but that is a common New Testament way to talk about the Christian life. And Paul uses that here. He says that we are runners in a race. Now, we've just finished a discussion about what it means to be made right with God and how being made right with God is the result of Christ's work. And now, Paul tells us that we are to run because of that work of Christ. We run. Now, some in the church of Jesus Christ in Philippi were saying, You have Jesus. You have grace, Paul. You want to trust in Jesus, this finished work. You want to trust in grace. That's fine, Paul. But we are already perfect. We've already done what needs to be done. And there were those there in Philippi that were saying that they have been made perfect through obedience. These are the Judaizers. These are those that he calls the dogs. Beware of the concision. And here Paul says, I need to address that. I need to address those in the church that say they have attained, that they have been made perfect. Because that is a problem. If one thinks that this side of glory, he or she, is perfect. And look at the first words of verse 12. Paul says, Paul connects this discussion of the race with the discussion of imputed righteousness that we've just left. He talks about justification. He talks about knowing Christ. And he says, not that. He's connecting this running of the race to the salvation discussion that we have just had. Paul is saying to the church in Philippi, I've not been made perfect. I'm justified. I'm right before God. But that doesn't mean that I'm perfect. Remember, we we talked about how are the doctrine of imputed righteousness is very important in the way that we use. our terminology, and this is true of all theology, is that we need to be careful about our words. And I said a number of weeks ago that when we talk about imputed righteousness or the righteousness of Christ being placed upon us, I said it's very important that we say that we are declared righteous, not made righteous. And some of you probably wrote in the margins where you're taking notes. Pastor talking about something that probably isn't too important. Here, Paul says, I'm not made righteous. I've been declared righteous. I'm not perfect. I sin in this life. But my righteousness and that hope that I have, that which I'm trusting in, is the finished work of Christ. And he has declared me righteous in the great tribunal of God. And yet I still sin. Paul confesses to not being perfect. He says it twice. He says, not that I have already obtained, not that I am already perfect. Friends, that in itself could be an encouragement. We could say amen right there. We are not made perfect if we are in Christ. We are in a process of being made perfect. And then Paul contrasts that fact with saying that he's not perfect by saying that he presses on in the Christian life. And the reason that he presses on is that Jesus Christ has made Paul his own. Jesus takes ownership of Paul. And that leads to Paul looking to Christ and pressing on. Paul continues to encourage us. He presses on towards Christ. We're looking this morning at Philippians 3, verses 12 through 14, and he gives us three ways that we ought to press on as we live this life and as we run this race that is the Christian life. The first way that we press on is by not being distracted by the things around you. Not being distracted by the things around you. Look at verse 13. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind. Paul says, Not perfect. I have been declared innocent, but that doesn't mean that I am perfect and I'm running a race and I'm forgetting that which is behind me. I'm not turning around to look at what is behind me. I'm running the race. See, Paul uses this illustration of running a race. And in essence, he says, if a runner is going to win the race, he's not going to be concerned with who's behind him or the things that have gone on that are behind him in order to win. If you've ever seen a foot race, maybe the summer Olympics or track and field at a high school or college, you never see a runner with his head back here looking behind him to see who is following him. He's not going to win. And Paul says, we've got to forget that that is behind us as we are running the Christian life, as we're running this race. Paul does not want to slow down. He doesn't want to turn around in the middle of the race. You see, as Christians, the first call to discipleship is that of self-denial. And that's something we forget. Jesus, the first thing He says about discipleship, if you ever disciple somebody, you say, this is the first thing. And this is never in discipleship books. I look for it all the time. Jesus says, if any man wants to follow after me, let him deny himself. See, we can't be looking back. We can't be concerned with that which is behind us. Think of the New Testament call again from Jesus Christ. He says, remember Lot's wife. Remember Lot's wife. Sodom and Gomorrah are going up in flames and they're told to go and to not look back. And Lot's wife, concerned with the things that she's leaving behind, she turns and she's consumed. And Jesus gives that as a warning. Do not look back. Remember Lot's wife. You see, as we seek Jesus Christ, and as we seek to run this Christian life that is this race, we're often in this battle, this battle to preserve our own kingdom. and to seek the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We're often desirous of picking up those things that we have left behind, which are struggles in the race, which are things that will weigh us down, Remember, Christian, in Pilgrim's Progress, the burden is keeping him from the journey. And it's not until that burden is removed and placed at the foot of the cross is Christian able to be on his journey. See, we don't look back. We do not regret that which we have thrown off. At times, people that have been converted look back as they long for the things they've left behind. Sometimes it's friends. Sometimes it's opportunities, career. Sometimes it's relationships. Sometimes it's even family members. The woman who led me to Christ was written off by her family, was told, as long as you profess Christ, you are not welcome here. She never looked back. Friends, we must not look back. We must not turn back, because turning back is that which causes the seed of the gospel to be choked. The cares of the world can press down on us as we look back. And this also means that we're not to turn around and concern ourselves with the other competitors and the hurdles that we've left behind, the trials and tribulations that we've left behind. And we need to be careful here that we don't find ourselves in this pietistic, me and Jesus, not concerned with other Christians mentality. But in the analogy, Paul is not concerned with those that are behind him. He's not concerned with whether they are keeping up. You see, there are many in the Christian life that will stumble. There are those that because of hypocrisies within the church, or because of sins in their life, or because of trials and temptations, there are those that will stumble and fall away. Paul does not want that to cause us to fall away. He does not want that to cause us to stumble. You see, if there are other Christians whose hypocrisies are making you stumble, don't look back. Keep running. If you struggle with the failings of other Christians, Or if you struggle with the false Christianity that is around you. Do not let that cause you to stumble. You don't look back. You don't stop. You don't turn around. See, Paul is confronting the Judaizers here. There's those that have stepped in and they're trying to undermine all that he's done in being a part of the building of the kingdom of God in Philippi. And the Judaizers are coming in and they're saying, Paul has said this, but we're telling you this. Paul says, grace, we tell you law. Paul says, don't circumcise. We tell you circumcise. And it would be easy for the church in Philippi to say, this guy's saying this and this guy's saying that. This guy will eat bacon on his cheeseburger. This guy won't eat bacon or a cheeseburger. I don't know what's going on. I'm done. And write it off. The failings of other Christians can lead to people throwing off Jesus Christ. Paul says, run. You don't look back. You run. And there's hurdles, and there's trials in this life, in this race. There would be things that Paul would have to jump over. There's things he would have to go around. And Paul says, Think of those things that have gone on behind you. Don't think of those hurdles. Do not think of those previous trials. Don't let them slow you down. You see, we we go through a lot as as Christians, we struggle as Christians, there's trials and there's temptations in our life that that as we're going through those temptations, we say, Lord, I don't know how I'm going to get through this. And there are those that as they come through the temptation or the trial, They say, I don't want that again. And they stop running. They leave Christianity behind because of hurdles and trials and temptations that have gone on behind them. Don't stop running because of things that have gone on in the past. Don't stop running because of trials that are behind you. Don't stop running because of trials and the frumblings and the shortcomings and the sins of others. You leave it behind and you run. You run without looking back, because there's a purpose. There's a purpose in running. In the second place, we see that as Paul encourages us to press on in the Christian life, he encourages us in this race to use all of our might for the running of the race. Verse 13 goes on and it says, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. The King James says, reaching forth unto those things. You see the imagery here. If The New Testament were written today and not 2000 years ago. Paul could have said, you stretch for the photo finish. You stretch out so that you can hit the line first. This is a call for us to consider what matters in life. in what has our attention as Christians. There are many good things in this life that we can pour our energy into. You can think of Paul himself. Paul was a partaker of good things. He had a good education. good family upbringing. He was cultured in both a Hebrew context and a Hellenistic or a Greek context. He's a world traveler. Even if Paul wasn't a Christian, He would be the kind of person that you'd want to have coffee with and hear about his travels and have him talk about what it's like being a Jew in a Greek culture, and then when he's in the Jewish culture, being seen as Greek. These are the type of people that we would enjoy talking with, hearing about travels so much that Paul could have poured his energy into As a thinker and as a traveler and as a cultured man. And yet, where does Paul's energy go? What does he pour himself into? What is he straining to achieve and stretching himself for? What is he reaching for? What is that primary thing that he's desiring? You see, Paul lived his Christian life with a paradox that each one of us should be happy to live with. In this life, we will never be perfect. Tell yourself that. Tell yourself that in the morning when you wake up and you look in the mirror. I will never be perfect. But even though he will never be perfect, he stretches himself and reaches and strives for that perfection in Christ. And that's a paradox in Paul's life. I'll never be perfect. It's unattainable. And I'm going to stretch and I'm going to reach for it. Paul desires to be a sanctified man. He desires holiness. He desires to have the image of Christ restored within him. And he's going to stretch himself and he's going to pursue it with all of his might and with all of his energy, even though on this side of death, on this side of glory, it's never going to happen. Friends, is that your attitude? Sometimes I think as as reformed Christians, we say, you know, perfectionism is something that is not attainable in this life. Therefore, eat, drink and be merry. That's not the attitude of Paul. Paul says, we will never be perfect in this life. And I'm reaching and stretching to be perfect in this life. It's a paradox we should be happy to live with. And why does Paul say this? Why is Paul happy with this paradox? Well, in this life we will never be perfect, yet we strive for perfection because Jesus Christ has apprehended Paul, Paul's desire is to apprehend Christ. Let me say that again. In this life, we will never be perfect, yet we strive for perfection. And because Jesus has apprehended Paul, Paul's desire is to apprehend Christ. We need to love those little apparent contradictions in the Christian life. We need to love those little tensions that the Scriptures put forward. Because Jesus Christ is doing a work of sanctifying all of those who have been justified. Remember that this is connected to being justified. We don't run the Christian life unless we've been declared innocent already. And Paul saying, I've been declared innocent and I'm not perfect, but I'm running the Christian life and I'm seeking that sanctification. I'm seeking that perfection. This shows us the importance of the Christian life. It shows us that that all of this life, all of the Christian life, Everything we are, once we've been justified, once we trusted in Jesus for our salvation, it is to be a life of gratitude for what Christ has done. We run this race out of gratitude. It's a life of self-denial. It's a life of service. It's a life of discipleship. It's a life of obedience. It's a life of growth. And Paul says, pour your energy into that. All of your energy pour into the fact that you have been justified and now you are called to be sanctified. Jesus says, let the dead bury their dead and follow me. And you might say, well, Pastor, I'm called to love my husband. I've got to invest time into loving my husband. Or some of the men might say, Pastor, I need to love my wife and I need to pour energy into loving my wife. And many of you will say, Pastor, I have a career. I've got to pour my energy into my career, into my vocation. This is what God has called me to do, Pastor. Or some will say, Pastor, I need to love my kids. It takes so much energy to love my kids. I need to focus on loving my kids. And someone else will say, well, Pastor Eshelman, you're a hypocrite. How much time have you spent on pouring into your dissertation and writing and writing? That's all you talk about is your writing. Isn't this a double standard? Friends, all those things are good. We're called to love husbands. We're called to love wives. We're called to love kids. We're called to pursue our vocation. We're called to an education. All of these things are good things. And all of those things must be understood in their proper place. One application. You want a sermon with Application, not a theological sermon. Here's your application. If you want to love your husband more, don't look at yourself, and don't look at your husband, look to Christ. You want to love your wife more, don't look at your wife, don't look at yourself, look to Christ. Because Paul is saying, run this life, run this race, focus on Christ. Run the race that is set before you. You want to love your kids more? Good. I want to love my kids more. Run the race. You want to be a better citizen? You want to be a better employee? Run the race. Those things will fall into place as your eyes are fixed and as you're stretching forth, pursuing sanctification, pursuing this perfection, pursuing Jesus Christ. Jesus says, seek first the kingdom of God and all these things, insert all those good things, will be added unto you. We run The race. Where is your energy going? Is it directed in the right place as a Christian? Do you strain in prayer, seeking the face of the one who sweat blood praying for you? Do you strain in your scripture reading Seeking to understand the very words of the One who spoke. Do you strain and strive, not so that you can be saved, but because you're saved. Because we have been apprehended, do you want to apprehend? We run this race as a response to discipleship and growth. We use our energy for the race set before us. So we press on by not being distracted. And we press on by using our energy to run this race. And thirdly, we run this race keeping a single eye on Jesus Christ. Keeping a single eye on Jesus Christ. That means we're focused on Him. We're focused on Christ. You see, this race, the Christian life, it's not a lifestyle. Christianity is not something where we're called to focus on a lifestyle, or we're not called to focus on morality, or we're not called to focus on an attempt to be saved. We press on towards a goal, and that goal is Jesus Christ Himself. Our goal is that we would no longer see through a glass dimly, but we would see Him face to face, as the Scriptures say. The Apostle Paul has this goal as he runs the Christian life, keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus as he runs. Notice he calls this the prize of the upward calling or the upward price. Another way that you could translate upward or there is heavenly. You see, Paul has an eternal perspective on life and an eye fixed on Christ as he runs the race Friends, do you hear the call of God through Christ? Do you hear that call as a call to trust in His merits alone? Do you hear Him calling you to the cross for redemption? Do you hear Him calling for you to take up His cross as you run? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then run. With an eye set to eternity, with an eye set to Christ, run. Without looking back, run with an eye fixed on that Christ who is Jesus Christ seated in heavenly places. Run and do not stop running until you've entered eternity and hear, well done, good and faithful servant. Friends, we must live with eternity as our focus. We must live with Jesus Christ in eternal places as our finishing point. And this is the context here. We run this race focused on Christ, and when we do so, all of life is put in that proper perspective. The church, the family, school, Bible reading, prayers, even mundane things, doing the dishes, making your bed, caring for yourself. All of those things are put in a proper framework and a proper perspective as we're focused on Jesus Christ and as we're focused on eternity. You see, heavenly mindedness, as the Puritans called it, It prepares us not only for living in eternity with Christ, but it prepares us for living this life. You know the phrase, he is so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good. Remember that phrase being used about a friend of mine in college. Very bright, theologically minded man. And I remember some in the college saying, he is so heavenly minded, he's of no earthly good. Friends, that is an anti-biblical statement. We are 100% to be heavenly minded so that we can be of earthly good. Paul says, run the race with your eyes set on Christ, with your eyes set on eternity. That is the race set before us, and it's a race of eternal value. We are called today to press on in the Christian life, not being distracted by the things around us, using our energy for the race set before us, and keeping a single eye on Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate goal. I would like to close this morning with a quotation from Pilgrim's Progress that illustrates the end to this pilgrim journey, the goal of our life as we run this Christian race set before us. Bunyan says, now, while they were thus drawing towards the gate, behold, a company of heavenly hosts came to meet them, to whom it was said by the other two shining ones. These are the men that have loved our Lord when they were in the world and that have left all for his holy name and have sent us to fetch them. And we have brought them thus far on their desired journey, that they may go and look their Redeemer in the face with joy. When the heavenly host gave a great shout, saying, blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Congregation, we are pilgrims. We are running a race. called the Christian life. And it's a race with Jesus Christ as our finish line. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we pray that we would run the race, that we would press on in the race set before us of our very souls and for the honor of Jesus Christ. Amen.