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Guest (Male): This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. At Connect with Skip, we're passionate about helping you understand God's word and apply it to your everyday life through clear, practical Bible teaching. That's why we want to invite you to sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical encouragement, ministry updates, and information about upcoming resources, all delivered right to your inbox. Sign up today at connectwithskip.com. That's connectwithskip.com. Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them (all those things I just mentioned, my background, my pedigree) I count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ."

Notice in verse seven the words "gain" and "loss." You see that? Those are accounting terms. Gain and loss are accounting terms that speak of the profit and loss columns on a financial ledger. So Paul was doing the math, he was doing the counting, and he discovered one day he's been working in the wrong column.

All the things that he said were positive, plus, profit, profit were actually loss. And he moved them from one column to another column. He said all the things I bragged about I realize were not good. So what he's basically saying is, "Now that I'm saved, I've learned how to count." And "I counted them as loss," past tense.

And then verse eight, "Indeed I also count all things as loss." I made a decision thirty years ago to get rid of holding onto my religious background, hiding behind my religious experience, thinking that my religion was enough to make me go to heaven. All of that is in the loss column. I now know how to count. And what's gain is that I have a relationship with Christ.

You say, "Well, don't be so hard on people with religious backgrounds. Paul, you're being a little too hard on yourself. Why would you say all that?" Because though all of these things may be even good things (it's good to go through a ritual that speaks of God like circumcision, it's good to be raised in a religious background, a Hebrew background, it's good to be separated like a Pharisee was), but listen to this carefully.

Here's the big principle. A good thing becomes a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing. A good thing becomes a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing. And it kept Paul from the best thing. So he says, "I've learned how to count. All those things that I thought were good, they're all bad because I trusted in them. I hid behind them. And I now count them as loss like I did thirty years ago."

The validity of any choice is its longevity. I made a choice in 1973 to follow Christ. I'm here that many years later to tell you it's the best choice I ever made. What I counted then I still count today. And that's Paul's idea of "I counted" and "now I count." I count them as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, that personal knowledge, personal relationship, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as (it's a very strong word again) rubbish that I may gain Christ.

And be found in Him. Here it is. Here's the beautiful exchange. "Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law (trying to keep the law, trying to be right with God by my works), be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."

Now notice in verse nine the two little words "in Him." And I'm slowing down and drawing your attention to that because what you need to know is that one of Paul's favorite descriptions of a Christian, of Christianity, is that phrase "in Christ" or "in Him." 87 times in Paul's correspondence he uses this phrase "in Christ," "in Him." It's one of his favorite terms to describe our relationship with God.

It's a good description. But it's unique to Christianity. Jews don't speak of being in Moses. Buddhists don't say, "I'm in Buddha." Muslims don't talk about being in Muhammad. Mormons don't say, "I'm in Joseph Smith." But the New Testament says if you believe in Christ, you are in Christ Jesus.

What does that mean? God identifies you as being in Him. So when God looks at you, He sees Him. He identifies you, you are identified with the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's what it means to be in Christ.

If you and I walked together to the parking lot and I watched you get in your car, when I look at you, you are in your car. If I'm at your house and I go inside and I speak to you, when I look at you, I see your house around you. You are in your house. I see your house.

If you say goodbye to me and you say, "I'm leaving on the 5:15 PM flight to Los Angeles tomorrow on such and such an airline," if I look up in my binoculars, if I want to see you, I look up and I see a plane. You're in it, but I see a plane. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus Christ. Let that settle upon you. That's what it means to be in Christ. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus Christ.

Now, you can't go 60 miles an hour by yourself. But in a car, you can. You can't fly through the air at 500 miles per hour by yourself. But in a plane, you can. You can't get to heaven by yourself. But in Christ, you can. Do you understand now what it means to be in Christ?

When God looks at you, God has taken the sinless nature of Christ (He committed no sin, you and I commit a lot of them) and He exchanged it. So God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. You're in Christ. So don't take these little words, these little descriptions and go, "I don't know what that means. It's sort of an esoteric thing." No, it's not. You are in Christ. It's one of Paul's favorite descriptions for you.

"That I may know Him. And be found in Him," verse nine, "not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." Now you get what that is all about.

And then I love verse ten, one of my favorite verses, has been for many, many years: "That I may know Him." Now we read that and we might say, "Excuse me, Paul, you already do know Him. You've known Him for thirty years. I've read your story on the Damascus road. It's awesome. Why are you saying 'that I may know Him'?" Because Paul's initial decision is still his lifelong pursuit.

I made a decision thirty years ago. I came to know Him. I want to know Him more. It's like the song we sang a little while ago. I want to know You. That ongoing intimate deep personal relationship. "That I may know Him." A lifelong pursuit includes the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. I want to know Jesus Christ in every single one of life's experiences, good and bad, up and down, high and low.

"Being conformed to His death," a life of sacrifice. "If by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (and he'll get more to that at the end of this chapter). "Not that I have already attained nor were already perfected. But I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Now Paul says, "Not that I have already attained." I can't tell you how relieved I am to read this.

You say, "Why are you relieved?" Because this is Paul the Apostle, one of the greatest humans who has ever lived. I think the greatest Christian I've ever come across in my life in terms of what I've read or encountered. A man of great intellect, a man of great spiritual passion and spiritual depth, Paul the Apostle.

A man who performed miracles. A man who even was responsible for raising a young man named Eutychus from the dead. Anybody around here raise somebody from the dead lately? You know the story when he was in Troas and the kid fell asleep because it was hot and Paul kept going and going and going, kind of like me, and Eutychus fell out of the window onto the street dead and Paul raised him back to life and kept preaching.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, friends like you help connect people around the world to the life-changing truth of God's word through clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching. And this month, we'd like to thank you with a practical resource designed for the challenges of everyday life.

When you give, you'll receive Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Living, a collection of four lifestyle booklets from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Through Pray This Way, Technicolor Joy, Unforgiveness: Forgiveness vs. Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in Unsettling Times, you'll discover biblical wisdom for prayer, joy, forgiveness, and finding peace when life feels uncertain. We'll send this special collection as our thanks when you give $30 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/offer. Now, let's return to today's teaching.

Skip Heitzig: But what I'm relieved is here's a man who has known the Lord so intimately, so resplendently for 30 plus years and says, "I'm not there yet. I want to know Him more. I want to grow more. I have not already attained." There's something about a holy, let's call it a sanctified dissatisfaction.

What I love about this is it tells me again, it tells me a couple things. It tells me number one, we never reach perfection this side of heaven. Paul didn't. We never will. We'll never reach perfection this side of heaven. There's always room to grow.

And second, it is our imperfection, our lack of perfection that drives us onward and upward. It's a sense of "I've not arrived. I have more to do. I have more to see. I have more to grow in. I have more to learn," that drives us onward and upward.

And the analogy Paul goes into is that of an athlete. That's the idea here. "Forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forward to those things which are ahead." This is all athletic terminology. "I press toward the goal." It's that final burst of energy at the end of the race when the runner says, "Whatever's left in the tank, I'm giving it. It's pedal to the metal" as I reach forward to the finish line. "I press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

It's essential in a race that when you're running, you don't have thoughts like, "This is good enough." If that's your attitude, are you going to win? No, you have to have some sense of dissatisfaction. I've got to do better. I've got to beat that one person. I've got to beat the next person. There's a little more up you. You have to continually press on.

So you never reach perfection this side of heaven. It's that sense of dissatisfaction and lack of perfection that drives you onward and upward like a runner in a race and you press. Keep going, don't stop, don't quit. I press toward the goal of the prize. And again, I'm relieved that this is the great Apostle Paul.

"Therefore," we'll finish out the chapter, barely, but we'll finish it. "Therefore, let as many of us as are mature have this mind and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal this even to you." I love this about Paul.

Paul says, "Look, this whole thing that I'm talking about of not trusting in your righteousness but in Christ and moving forward and going onward and upward and not looking at your past religious experience but resting in the relationship, I trust that any of you who are mature will say amen to that. If some of you disagree with me, I'm going to leave that up to God to show you."

And I love that because some people get so animated about having to—no, wait a minute, we have to agree on this. You have to understand my viewpoint and we have to—well, let's agree to disagree. No, no, we have to—no, we don't. Here's the truth as I see it. And if you don't agree, I'll leave that up to God. Let God show you. Except when Paul's saying it, it's scriptural truth. God will reveal even this to you. But he trusts God for that.

"Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern." When Paul (and he doesn't just do this here) but whenever Paul says follow my example, he is not placing himself on a pedestal above people.

But he's placing himself on a pattern beside people. And he is saying, "I am walking, I am pressing, I am deciding, this is how I am living. I invite you to walk with me. I'm not on a pedestal above you." Verse 12, "I haven't attained. I haven't made it."

And now he says, "Join in following my example." In another place he says, "Follow me" or "Imitate me as I imitate the Lord." And he doesn't set himself as the only example because he says, notice this, "You have us for a pattern," in verse 17. You've got Timothy, you've got Epaphroditus, you've got me, you've got a number of good solid people you can pattern your life of.

"For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." You go, "Well, who's he speaking about now?" Dogs in verse two. We don't exactly know who he's speaking about in particular. We know generally. There were two basic movements in the early church, including Philippi at the time.

One was a movement toward legalism, one was a movement toward antinomianism. I'll explain that. Legalism, you know what that means. Antinomianism is careless living. Antinomian means "against law." "There is no law. I don't have to obey any laws. I can do whatever I want to."

So one was Judaism, Jewish legalism, other was Gnosticism. One was saying keep the law of Moses and get circumcised to be saved. The other movement was saying you don't have to keep any law. You just have to follow this weird spiritualistic esoteric set of experiences that we follow.

So there's two distinct movements and Paul says, "They're all dogs. And I tell you even weeping they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly (or their appetites) and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things."

Last two verses. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." When we started the book of Philippians, I used the first couple verses and I said there are two addresses every Christian has: physical address and spiritual address.

Physical address: to the saints who are in Philippi. Spiritual address: to the saints who are in Philippi in Christ Jesus. Physical address, spiritual address. But now I'm here to tell you you have not just two addresses but you have three addresses. You have a physical address in Albuquerque (or in Ohio). You have a spiritual address in Christ Jesus.

And you have an eventual address in heavenly places, in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven. You have a passport stamped "Admission to Heaven." Because you are in Christ Jesus, you will make it from Albuquerque or Ohio into heaven. "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Did you know that the word here for citizenship is the Greek word *politeuo*? We get our word politics from that word. I like that thought. My politics are in heaven. Before the election people were saying, "Now I'm not going to tell you who I voted for. I think you know and I'm happy to discuss anything about my politics privately, but I don't like to do it publicly and push a political agenda."

But people say, "Republican or Democrat?" And actually I personally am a registered independent. But here's my politics. I'm a theocrat. I am waiting for the Kingdom of God to come to this earth where Jesus Christ will rule and reign worldwide in perfect righteousness.

Now I know I cannot vote Jesus into office. So I will then vote for any imperfect person who holds to the most biblical policies in that platform. If that platform has one or two slightly biblical policies but all of the rest are not, I get rid of it. And I vote for the platform and the policies that represent my heavenly politics.

Because my citizenship is in heaven, from which I eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our—now I don't know what you think about your body. You say, "Well, I've been working out lately," or "Do you like my Botox or my hairdo? I look pretty good, don't I?"

Hold that thought. "Who will transform our lowly body." That's what it is. Your Botox looks good. It'll last a month. No, mine'll last three months. Your hairdo looks good. It'll last a night. Your muscles look good for a while. Your lowly body.

He will transform your lowly body that it might be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself. And we're done with the chapter. I'll probably pick up that thought a little bit next week as we get into chapter four to finish the book of Philippians.

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember your generosity helps share God's word with people around the world, bringing biblical truth, encouragement, and hope to those who need it most.

And this month, we'd love to thank you for your gift of $30 or more by sending you Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Living, a collection of four lifestyle booklets from Pastor Skip Heitzig: Pray This Way, Technicolor Joy, Unforgiveness: Forgiveness vs. Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in Unsettling Times. These practical resources will help you apply God's truth to everyday challenges and grow deeper in your walk with Christ. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig.