Reaching for the Prize

Now, why were you saved? Why did God choose you and then save you? In order to make you like what? His Son, what's the goal of your Christian life then? It's the same thing for which you were saved. He saved you to make you like his Son and that purpose for which he saves you becomes the purpose for which you live. The Bible Teaching Ministry of John MacArthur Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. When a runner places his feet in the starting blocks and waits for the gun to sound, he's not wondering where the finish line is. He knows the goal and he keeps his eyes on the prize. What about you? As you're living the Christian life, are you pursuing the right prize? Are you focused on what truly matters? Consider that today as John MacArthur begins a study titled, Reaching for the Prize. But before today's lesson with the idea of reaching for the prize in mind, one thing that comes to my mind is a story that I've heard John MacArthur tell from his days as a college athlete. I think it's a perfect introduction to this study. So let's hear how John told the story a few years ago. I was a sprinter in college and I ran the 100 and the 200 and occasionally the 400. But I also ran in what would be the 4x400 relay with three other guys. We were in a big meet, a multi-university meet and we came to that race. Usually toward the end of the day. We had a good lead leg and I ran second man. I wasn't the fastest at that distance so I could give you two guys to make up whatever I might lose. So I'll never forget I ran a really good leg, got a good hand off for the baton after the first leg and I ran probably the best leg I'd run and I came in holding first place and we had really a strong third and a real blur for a fourth. So we were thinking we were in great shape. So I remember handing the baton to the third leg and watching him go down around the curve and go to the other side of the track and stop and walk off the track and sit down. And that was it. Obviously everybody kept running. We were done. Our anchor never ever got the baton because he was sitting on the other side of the track in the grass. I thought he must have pulled a hamstring or torn his Achilles or something to do that. So I ran across the grass and I said, what happened? What happened? He said, I don't know, I just didn't feel like running. I was incredulous. What are you doing? You're not in this alone. There's a lot at stake. What about all the rest of us? You can't do that. Of all the experiences I had in college athletics and I had a lot of them in football and baseball and track and all that. None is as vivid as that one in my memory. You're still frustrated about it. I still. And if I saw him today, I'd have a hard time dealing with the guy because it was such a terrible thing to do. But at the same time, it was a great lesson. Oh, what a profound lesson. You don't do that. I think about what the apostle Paul said, the things you've heard from me, the same commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So that's a relay. Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others also. That's four generations. You pass the baton to the next one. I thought about that so often. None of us as believers can step off the track. We have to continue to run. We have to run to win. We have to run to reach the prize. That's right, friend. This series gets very practical, showing you what your main goal is as a Christian and how you can pursue that goal with endurance. So let's get to the lesson. Here's John to kick off his series titled, Reaching for the Prize. Let's open our Bibles now as we come to the study of God's Word to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. We're going to be looking at a great, great portion of Scripture. Verses 12 through 16, I am sure in many ways the most familiar portion in this whole epistle. Now, obviously, the heart of this passage is the very familiar 14th verse. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The theme here then is pursuing the prize. The analogy is that of a runner who is running to win in order that he might gain the prize. The spiritual point here is the matter of pursuing the spiritual prize. If you will, Paul is talking about Christian effort toward growth. Now, he has just given his personal testimony of the experience of his own conversion from his viewpoint from verses 4 to 11. We have studied those passages there in some detail. You'll remember that he had lived as a Jew and he recites his credentials in verses 5 and 6, circumcised the eighth day of the nation Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law found blameless. And as he lived as a God-fearing, law-abiding Jew, he had learned to put his trust in those achievements for his salvation. So he had this prophet column in which he assumed that all of these things made him right with God. Then on the Damascus road, he was confronted with the living Christ. And he saw that all of those works and all of those achievements not only did not make him right with God, they hindered him from being right with God, and that he would have to abandon them all and receive Christ. And so in effect, in verses 4 through 11, he says, When I saw the value of Christ and when I saw that salvation was only in Christ, I took everything that once was gained and counted at loss, and I abandoned it all for Christ. And so you had then in verses 4 through 11 an insight into the hard attitude of Paul at the time of his conversion when he discounted all of those things once precious, put them all aside to embrace Christ. In verses 8 through 11, then, he began to recite what he gained in Christ. Verses 4 through 7, what was lost, verses 8 through 11, what was gained. And what did he gain in Christ? The knowledge of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, the power of Christ, the fellowship of Christ, and the glory of Christ. Frankly, a quite amazing list of spiritual benedictions. Now, saying that I set all of this aside, received Christ, and in Christ I gained all of this, might lead someone to assume that Paul had reached spiritual perfection. It might lead someone to assume that the beginning for him was also the end, or that the start was also the finish, that having come to Christ, he was instantaneously made perfect. Nothing more to become, nothing more to seek, nothing more to pursue he had arrived. It is also quite possible that the Judaizers, the Jewish teachers who were plaguing the Philippian church, were telling the Philippians that spiritual perfection was available if they would be circumcised and keep the law. It is also true that there were heretics floating around at that time who believed you could reach a certain level of knowledge in which you attained perfection. So to answer the Gnostics who thought they had reached that level, to answer the Judaizers who thought they had reached that level through circumcision and law keeping, and to answer anybody else who might assume that because he had the knowledge, the righteousness, the power, the fellowship and the glory of Christ, he was therefore perfect, he quickly in verse 12 launches into a passage which is a total disclaimer of any spiritual perfection. That's his intent in this passage. He has not arrived. He is not perfect. He is still temptable. He is still the possessor of his unredeemed flesh. He is still a sinner. Thus, any thought of perfection must be set aside in favor of pursuing the perfection that every believer must recognize he doesn't have. That's the point. Peter understood it when Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3, 18, grow in grace. And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he was saying the same thing Paul is saying here. There is a growing process. When you are saved, yes, you receive the knowledge of Christ. Yes, you receive the righteousness of Christ positionally imputed to your account. Yes, you receive the power of Christ in your life. Yes, you receive the fellowship of Christ in communion with him. Yes, you receive the glory of Christ, but not in perfection. And so there must be growth. There must be the pursuit of the goal. There must be the running of the race. That's his point. The pressing toward the mark. You say, well, why? Why should I bother? I mean, if I'm already entitled to heaven and I already have these things guaranteed to me and promised to me and I will someday enter into the fullness of them in the presence of God, why bother to grow? Well, in one sense, it's kind of a moot point. Because if you're a new creation in Jesus Christ, you will desire to grow. So it's not as if you're going to stand there and say, well, now that I'm a Christian, I think I'll have to debate whether I want to grow or not. Having been born into the family of God, you are born with a hunger. In fact, in many cases, an almost insatiable hunger. There is a built in desire and drive and longing for growth. But apart from that, there are some very important reasons why you should grow. Reasons why you should pursue the prize and run the race. First of all, it glorifies God. And that's what a Christian is supposed to do with his life is bring glory to God. Secondly, it verifies regeneration. It makes demonstrable the fact that you are truly changed because you're in the progress of making it visible that your life is being changed. Thirdly, it adorns the truth. It lets you literally wear the truth of God so others can see it. Fourthly, it grants you assurance. When there is spiritual progress in your life, there is the sense that you belong to God because you can see his work and your calling in election becomes sure. Not only that, it preserves you from the sorrows and the tragedies of spiritual weakness, which are not enjoyable to any believer anytime. Furthermore, pursuing the prize, running the race, seeking the goal, protects the cause of Christ from reproach. Because when you live a godly life and you pursue the goal, your life is consistent with the character of Christ and the character he upholds in Scripture and thus you're not a reproach to him. Seventh, when you pursue the prize and run the race and grow spiritually, it produces joy and usefulness in your life and thus you can minister capably to the church. And finally, it enhances your witness to the lost world. There are myriad reasons why then to run the race pursuing the prize. So Paul, like a runner in a race, is doing just that. Now, let me add another footnote here. The apostle Paul is trying to show the readers in Philippi that because he is a Christian, does not mean he has attained perfection. But beyond that, I believe he is trying to teach all of us and all generations that perfection in this life is a goal, not an achievement. It is something you pursue but never reach. I think this attacks effectively the false doctrine of perfectionism. Or as it was called, total sanctification or complete sanctification. That is that a believer in this life, on this earth, before death, can reach a place of spiritual, moral perfection. And in fact, some have gone so far as to say it encompasses the eradication of the sin nature. That's perfectionism. It basically goes back to Pelagianism, to Arminianism, was crystallized in more modern times by John Wesley and became a very important part of Wesleyan tradition, Wesleyan theology. The apostle Paul deals a devastating blow to this doctrine of perfectionism. Now, verse 12 launches his thought. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. There is an instantaneous disclaimer. Paul is saying, I have knowledge in Christ, the righteousness, power, fellowship, glory of Christ. I have all the great benedictions that God can give in Christ, but I have not attained moral, spiritual perfection in my own life. That's the disclaimer. And then he goes on in verses 13 through 16 to talk about how we must pursue that. Now, the basic thrust of the passage then is a call to pursue the prize. It's a call to pursue the goal, the prize, which is spiritual perfection. We are to give our whole life to this. That's what he's saying in verse 14. I press toward that. The word press meaning I pursue. I chase it. I run after it. Now, in this passage, we have six principles for pursuing the prize, and I want to share them with you. Six necessary elements if we are to effectively pursue the prize. Number one, an awareness of the need to pursue a better condition. Please note, I didn't say a better position. Your position in Christ is fixed by God's grace through Christ, but your condition must be improved. You are not what you should be. You are not what you can be. You are not what you will be someday when you see the Lord. So there must be, beginningly, an awareness of the need to pursue a better condition. It all starts with a dissatisfaction. Please note verse 12. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect. And that's where he starts. An awareness that he hasn't arrived. Paul the apostle, 30 years after his conversion, is saying, I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I ought to be. I can stand here and echo that testimony after all the years of walking with the Lord and all the years of ministry. I am not what I ought to be. I haven't arrived. I'm not spiritually perfect. I'm not morally perfect. I haven't reached Christlikeness. I have not reached God's perfect standard. I am not what I ought to be. I am still in process. There is still a pursuit in my life as there is in the life of every believer. And as F. B. Meyer said, self-dissatisfaction lies at the root of our noblest achievements. Whatever we achieve spiritually begins with dissatisfaction. I am not pleased with where I am in my spiritual life. I am not content with my spiritual condition. If you are content, you have reached a very dangerous point. It is a point at which you will find yourself insensitive to sin and defending yourself when you ought to be admitting your weakness and pursuing spiritual strength. So spiritual growth, this whole pursuing starts with the recognition that you're not where you ought to be. It's a runner at the beginning of the race saying the whole idea is to get to the end of this thing. I'm not there. I've got to run this course. So Paul saw it right. He knew what he had in Christ, but he knew also that he wasn't perfect. So he says, notice the first two words in verse 12, not that. That's an instant disclaimer to correct any erroneous impression that may have come from his words when he recited everything he had in Christ. He says, not that I have already obtained it. The word here means to receive, to grasp, to seize, to acquire, to attain, to obtain. I don't have it is what he's saying. I don't have it yet. What is it? Keep reading. Or have already become perfect. That's what it is. I haven't become perfect. I have not already perfect passive with continuing present results become perfect. Become complete, become morally, spiritually like Christ. He uses the word already twice. And he's emphasizing that now, that's what already means, now I haven't attained it. I haven't attained it yet. It's still future. I'm not yet perfect. You say, Paul, but you have the knowledge of Christ. Yes. But 1 Corinthians 13, he says, now we know in what? In part. Then someday shall we be known as we are known. But Paul, don't you have the complete righteousness of Christ? Yes. Put to my account I do because I put my faith in Christ. But practically, 2 Corinthians 7-1, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh perfecting holiness in the fear of God. And he includes himself with the sinful Corinthians as one who needs to perfect his flesh. Yes, he had righteousness, but not perfect practical outworking of that. You say, but Paul, don't you have the perfect power of Christ? Yes, I have the power of Christ, but I don't have it so perfectly in my life that I never sin and never fail. That's why God, 2 Corinthians 12, has put a thorn in my flesh and allowed me to be debilitated to keep my ego in check because if I didn't have this, my ego would run away with me because of my many revelations. So I do not yet know in my flesh how to perfectly work with the power of Christ. Well, Paul, don't you have the fellowship of Christ? Yes. But it isn't a perfect fellowship. I don't even know how to pray as I ought to pray. So the spirit has to make intercession for me with groanings which cannot be uttered because of my ignorance. So how can my fellowship be perfect if I can't understand the things that the Lord understands? But Paul, don't you have the glory of Christ? Yes, in me is the indwelling spirit, but I am waiting, verse 20 of Philippians 3. I am waiting for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. I haven't yet attained that full glory. That's yet to come. So he says, look, I have all these things, but not in perfection in my own life. I must grow. I must pursue the prize. Beloved, that's where it starts with an awareness that you're not there, an awareness that you haven't arrived, that you've got a lot to learn and a lot to perfect in your life and a lot to yield over to the power of the Spirit of God and a lot more to know than you already know. And if you have gotten to the place where you feel satisfied, that's a very dangerous place to be, very dangerous. If you've had enough prayer and enough church and enough teaching of the Word of God and enough of the Bible and enough of Christian fellowship to satisfy you, you are in a very dangerous condition. For if not theological perfectionism, you have arrived at a sort of pragmatic perfectionism where you're as perfect as you care to be and that assumes that you're as perfect as God cares you to be when the truth is, if you're not pursuing the prize with all your might, you're misjudging your present condition. Awareness of the need to pursue a better condition is where all spiritual progress starts. You start out of blessed discontent, blessed dissatisfaction, a recognition you're not what you ought to be. Number two principle. If you are going to pursue the prize effectively, you must give maximum effort to pursue that better condition. First to know you need it, secondly to pursue it. There must be maximum effort to pursue that better condition. Look at verse 12 again. So he says, I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. I press on, Dioko, I run, I follow after, I pursue, I chase. It's used of a sprinter and the word means aggressive energetic endeavor. He says, I'm running after this thing with all my might. There's no quietism here. There's no crucify yourself, let go and let God kind of theology here. This is the straining of every spiritual muscle. This is running to win 1 Corinthians 9. This is pursuing the prize with all your might. This is fighting the good fight 1 Timothy 6, 12, 2 Timothy 4, 7. This is running the race to win Hebrews 12, 1, and 2, laying aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith who is the one before us. Paul is saying, I run, I pursue, I chase, I haven't arrived. Maximum effort. And beloved, that's what it takes. It takes maximum effort using the means of grace provided to you by God to pursue spiritual perfection. You say, well, what's he after? Now follow, marvelous, verse 12. I am pursuing in order that I may lay hold of. Now, oh, he's after a prize. He's after something specific. That's right. He wants to get a hold of something. The verb means to seize or grasp. I'm after something. What are you running after, Paul? Well, here it is. I'm after that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Now that is a fascinating statement. You see what he's saying? He's saying, I'm pursuing the prize so that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. What do you mean by that, Paul? I mean that I'm pursuing the very thing that was the reason Christ pursued me. Did you get that? In other words, my goal in life is consistent with Christ's goal for my salvation. He saved me for a purpose. That purpose of His in saving me has become my purpose in my spiritual progress. You see? That's a very, very significant truth. The reason Christ redeemed me has become the goal of my life. My will is now His will. I want for me what He wanted for me and save me to accomplish. You say, what was it? What is it? Look at Romans 8, Romans chapter 8, verse 28. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, talking about Christians. Now follow this. For whom He foreknew or chose, that's all believers, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of whom? His Son. Now why were you saved? Why did God choose you and then save you? In order to make you like what? His Son, what's the goal of your Christian life then? It's the same thing for which you were saved. He saved you to make you like His Son and that purpose for which He saves you becomes the purpose for which you live. You see? That's what we're all about. We're all in a lifelong pursuit of Christ's likeness. And you may think that you have arrived at some point of spiritual perfection, but I think if you put yourself against Christ, you're going to be a little more realistic. Christ's likeness is the goal. Christ's likeness is the issue here. And it is that for which we were redeemed, that we might be made like His Son. That's the point. Beloved, is that a marvelous truth? In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 2,14, it says, we've been saved in order to gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a statement. So Paul says, look, I make a maximum effort. I make a maximum effort. I am pursuing with all my might that very thing for which Christ pursued me. Why did Christ pursue? Paul slammed him into the dirt on the Damascus Road and redeemed him in order to make him like Christ. He says that goal of Christ has become my goal, my goal. Is that a worthy goal, would you say? Does it require a life's commitment? Is it worthy of that? Of course, of course. So he says, I run. I run to win. I run with all my might. I pursue hard after this goal for which I was saved. What is necessary then in pursuing the prize? Number one is the awareness that there is a better condition. Number two is the maximum effort required in moving toward that better condition. It demands all of me, all I have to give. You're listening to Grace T.U., the Bible Teaching Ministry of John MacArthur. Today John showed you how to strive for Christlikeness and avoid anything that could keep you from reaching for the prize. That's the title of John's study, Reaching for the Prize. Keep in mind, if you'd like to review today's lesson at your own pace, you can download it for free in mp3 and transcript format from our website, gty.org. In fact, you can get this whole series for free, so get in touch today. Our web address again is gty.org. And remember, besides the lessons from John's current study, Reaching for the Prize, you can download more than 3,600 other sermons by John, free of charge at gty.org. So dive into the sermon archive and start listening today. And when you visit gty.org, be sure to take advantage of all the other free resources you'll find there. That includes multiple daily devotionals by John. And also remember the Grace T.U. blog with timely articles on issues that affect the church. And there's also Grace Stream. That's a continuous broadcast of John's preaching from Matthew through Revelation, verse by verse. And then it starts all over again. All of those free Bible study tools are available at gty.org. Now for the entire Grace T.U. staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for making this broadcast part of your day. Make sure you're here tomorrow when John looks at a truth every Christian needs to embrace in order to become more like Christ. See what I'm talking about when John continues his look at Reaching for the Prize with another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth One Verse at a Time on Grace to You.