Attitudes That Belong to the Spiritually Mature - Part 2

About this sermon

In our verses today, Paul gives voice to an insatiable desire to pursue Christ in a way that keeps looking forward (vs.13-16). In the 15th verse he makes clear that this is a mature mindset. This is how spiritual maturity thinks. In fact, the entire section gives voice to the attitudes that are found in spiritually mature people. One of those attitudes we saw this morning. The attitude can be expressed this way: “Nothing is worth more than knowing Christ.” We begin tonight with a second attitude on display in our verses. NOTHING IS WORTH MORE THAN KNOWING CHRIST (vs.7-8a) NOTHING IS CHERISHED THAT WOULD KEEP ME FROM CHRIST (vs.8b) Counting what he had once gloried in as loss, was not theoretical for Paul. He didn’t just COUNT it loss in his mind, he actually suffered loss. Everything that once made Paul a somebody in the eyes of his world, he walked away from to follow Christ. He willingly counted those things as nothing, when he embraced the truth of the gospel — when he trusted in Christ. At that moment there was a mutual sentence of death passed on Paul’s old life. ESV Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to boast aexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which1 the world bhas been crucified to me, and I to the world. By the cross of Christ, Paul’s relationship to the world was forever changed. That was true on both sides of the equation. Paul walked away from worldly acclaim, and the way he had once thought about achieving righteousness, and the world ceased to look upon him with favor. But here is the additional thing. All those things that Paul has suffered the loss of, how does he now regard them? How does he think about those things that he now considers to be in the loss column? He counts them as worthless. He uses a very strong word. σκύβαλον, ου, τό useless or undesirable material that is subject to disposal, refuse, garbage (in var. senses, ‘excrement, manure, garbage, kitchen scraps’… consider everything garbage/crud Phil 3:8 This is real repentance. This is a real change in one’s mind. When you can lose (either in your thinking, or in your relationship to this world) everything that you once gloried in, found your boasting in, and you don’t miss it. It isn’t cherished by you. In fact, when you consider what holding on to it would mean for your relationship with Christ, when you consider what those things are IN FACT, IN TRUTH, you count them as garbage. You don’t long for the old days, you loath them. ESV 2 Corinthians 7:10 For agodly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas bworldly grief produces death. NOTHING IS CHERISHED THAT WOULD KEEP ME FROM CHRIST.