The Intrinsic Value of Knowing Christ Jesus

More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

What does it take for any man to say that he counts all things a loss for the sake of knowing Christ? In order for Paul to say such a thing would imply that he knows that there is extraordinary value in knowing Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul gives us an insight into his own life prior to meeting Christ on that road to Damascus.

circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. Philippians 3:5-6

By Paul’s own confidence in the flesh, it would be very clear to say that not many would be able to match the same values as what Paul had attained. Paul was a man who by the Pharisee’s, would have been upright and blameless in his ways. Paul had celebrity status, power and wealth. This was a man who knew the Mosaic Law greater than any one of us today. A Hebrew of Hebrews! Paul was a legitimate Jew and not a half Jew like the Hellenistic kind. Paul had zeal; he had passion for his service toward God and the law! He persecuted the church and approved the killing of Stephen that we see in Acts 7:58.

There’s no doubt about it! Paul was a religious man with much zeal, so much zeal that the death of Stephen was validated in his own eyes prior to meeting Christ on the road to Damascus. And even then, Paul was on a crusade to divide the church! (Acts 9:1-2). Friends I can say this with great confidence, there was no desire in Paul to join the church whilst he walked that road other than by a revelation from Christ Himself! And so for Paul to say that he considers all that he has done, his contribution to the Pharisaic community, means that he knows an eternal source of greater value!

And so I want to ask you personally (and I reflect this on myself as well) do you know Christ, the eternal source of greater value? Are we like Paul willing to say “it’s true, I once put my confidence in the arm of the flesh, considering my status and power as something to lean on. But I count it all at a loss, in knowing Christ my Lord!” Paul gave up his life by a revelation of knowing Christ! Paul gave up confidence in the flesh, boasting no longer in the works that he had achieved for himself and for the Pharisaic community. It takes a work of God to do this to anyone, to no longer see value in the identity of what we used to be! Do we truly believe this friends? Do we consider everything that we have worked towards prior to knowing Christ as a loss? I guarantee that like Paul if we continue to strive on and press forward into greater maturity, we too will see the eternal value that Paul saw in Christ and say with great confidence “amen Paul, I too consider all things at a loss for the sake of knowing Christ!”

Be Imitators of God

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. ² And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

Brothers and sisters I want to start this blog entry by apologising for not being faithful in the ministry as I should. I’ve become lukewarm and I have not been ‘fighting the good fight’ as I should. Part of the reason (and I’m not saying this as an excuse) is that I have torn a ligament in my shoulder at work and have been off work for almost four weeks. It seems rather irrational to be off work for so long, but I work as a labourer in construction, so not many builders would want someone who is limited to light duties. Thankfully my boss has decided to keep me on despite the fact that they continue to pay out workers compensation. So I’ve been feeling like my place has felt like the constraints of a prison over the last four weeks and I’ve been in and out of depressive stages by not working regardless of having an income.

 I was watching a video last night with Sola church and there was something in the video that struck me. The video was about a Christian professor who gave insight into how worldviews are established and its purpose in everyone’s lives. He mentioned that as a Christian, we resume a Christian worldview, whereby our entire presuppositions are formed solely for the purpose of glorifying God. The second we wake up and consider anything outside of glorifying our Lord, than we have essentially given in to alternate presuppositions, much like giving into our fleshly desires (Romans 8:13).

Many of you might think that I’m a legalist in saying that our presuppositions need also to be focused on Christ and need alteration from our Lord as well. But that’s simply not the case at all! In fact the very reason why Christ died on the cross for us, gives us reason to be radically transformed in such a way that our thinking, actions and the way we speak are no longer a service for ourselves, but rather to glorify the Lord. This is synonymous with what Christ teaches us in Matthew 7:24-27, having our lives concreted on the Rock (that is Christ). And for the very reason why the apostle Paul gives us this command to be imitators of God! I don’t know of any greater command that is given in scripture than to be imitators of God.

Often we see scriptural reference to love mentioned on these almost motivational Christian posters, sometimes you might see them on social networking websites like Facebook within Christian circles. But here, Paul reiterates the meaning of love in the second verse. “Gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” Without this perfect and pure action of our Lord Jesus Christ, none of us would know what true love is! And this in itself is true, if we know that all knowledge, wisdom and understanding of love comes from our great God! Without the demonstration of what Christ did for us on the cross, we would never have such a great command for us to follow. We wouldn’t know how to love, nor could anyone be able to love. We know love, as it was first given to us by our Lord “but God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8).

Our lives should reflect that we follow Christ who opposed culture radically! We follow the powerful and mighty God who gave us a command to love as Christ has loved us sacrificially. And we should likewise be imitators of our great Lord. This doesn’t mean that you will be perfect at doing this, but our daily focus should be to imitate our Lord knowing the depth of what He has done to redeem a people for Himself! Everything we have; thoughts, actions, words, resources and skills/abilities are all for Christ’ service. This is something that we as Christians should pay very careful attention to, that our lives to honour Christ do not end up like two hours to a week. Sunday church is not a place where you can fool God into presuming your Christianity, either you’re there to serve God and to hear the word preached to your soul, or you’re not there at all. Let us all love like our Lord has demonstrated and press on to ‘fight the good fight!’  

The Sword of Conviction

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” Acts 2:36

Often I’ve heard in some Christian circles that we are often better off to make friends prior to sharing the gospel. That somehow our friendship outweighs the sharpness of the word of God! I want to tell you brothers and sisters, that this just isn’t so! This is why I love the above verse which was preached in my church today. The apostle Peter makes no haste to tell the Israelites that they have essentially committed the most vial crime in the history of mankind.

Imagine for a minute, that you’re in Peter’s shoes and you’ve just spoken these very words “you crucified the Christ!” What does it take to say this? What does Peter’s life hinge on when in fact the man is practically offending EVERYONE in Israel. What kind of faith does Peter have?? Is this madness or some kind of insanity? No, it is neither madness nor insanity friends and the following verses prove the living faith that Peter has!

When they heard this, they came under deep conviction and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?” Acts 2:37

The house of Israel fell under deep conviction! They saw with open eyes the sin that had been dwelling in. The mockery against the Christ! The castings of slander “crucify Him!” They saw the vial hatred toward Jesus Christ and in a moment, their eyes were open. “What must we do?” They saw their conviction, and it led them to one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind “what must we do to be right with the Lord?” I could only imagine that at this stage the apostle Peter would have been holding back tears of joy!

“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Peter finishes by telling the Israelites to rest on Christ. Yes they had hated the Lord, yes they were under conviction but by the grace of our Lord they understood by a revelation. Friends this is what it means when unbelievers hear the true gospel! I’m not saying it will happen on the spot, but that we should abandon the idea that we need to make friends first in order to share the gospel! We should be trusting our Lord like Peter did. He brought such an offensive word to the Israelites; I would not have been surprised to read that he was the first martyr instead of Steven! Alas though, it is God who opens the eyes of the blind, and this is why we need not rest on the arm of our flesh but on Christ. Let us be convicted of scripture and be bold like Peter, humbling ourselves under the word of God and exalting our Lord by sharing the gospel! Let us be open about it, not confining the Lord’s word to our friends but to anyone and everyone who needs to hear this beautiful message! Let us have an unshakable faith like Peter, strong in the Lord with a firm trust in the risen Christ!