Pressing On Toward Christlikeness: Running the Race

The Miracle Mile image sets the race in front of the church. John Landy looked back for just a fraction of a second, and Roger Bannister went right by him. That sideways glance becomes a picture of the Christian life, because distractions behind and beside a believer can pull the eyes off the goal, which is growing in faith, becoming more like Jesus, and fulfilling what the Father laid out before time began.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians speaks from prison, yet it carries joy. Paul urges spiritual progress by giving the right spiritual outlook. Philippians 3 starts with a warning: “Look out for the dogs.” The false teachers added works to Christ, especially the works of the law, and Paul has none of it. Circumcision without saving faith becomes mutilation, because it cannot save. True circumcision worships by the Spirit of God, glories in Christ Jesus, and puts no confidence in the flesh.

Paul’s own record proves the point. Paul had every religious credential that mattered: Israelite, Benjaminite, Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee, zealous persecutor, blameless under the law. Yet Paul counts all of it as loss because of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” The old gains are not just worthless compared to Christ, they become rubbish, offensive when they are used as a way to earn standing before God. Christ gives a righteousness that comes through faith, not a righteousness built out of human effort.

Knowing Christ means more than knowing facts about Christ. Paul wants the power of his resurrection, fellowship in his sufferings, and likeness to him in death. The Christian life centers on a personal, living, daily relationship with Jesus, in joy and in pain, in good times and in the hardest places.

Paul also knows he has not arrived. “One thing I do” becomes his strategy: forgetting what lies behind, straining forward to what lies ahead, and pressing on toward the goal. Past sins, past hurts, past resentments, and even past successes cannot be allowed to dictate the path forward. Christ Jesus has made Paul his own, and that ownership gives Paul a purpose: to keep pressing on in the work God prepared.

Paul ends by pointing to examples worth following and enemies of the cross worth avoiding. Earthly appetites and earthly glory end in destruction, but heavenly citizenship gives believers a different identity. Christ will transform lowly bodies to be like his glorious body, so the race keeps moving toward the finish line, fueled by the Holy Spirit and fixed on the prize.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Confidence belongs in Christ alone Paul strips away every false place of confidence and leaves only Jesus standing. Religious effort, moral record, and visible works cannot meet the standard of a holy God. The finished work of Jesus on the cross and from the tomb becomes the only safe ground beneath the believer’s feet. [43:30]
• 2. Old gains can become rubbish Paul’s best credentials were not evil in themselves, but they became loss when they functioned as a way to earn acceptance with God. The danger is not only in obvious sin, but also in respectable achievements that quietly become a substitute savior. Knowing Christ is so great that even the highest trophies of the flesh lose their shine. [44:21]
• 3. Maturity knows it has not arrived Paul’s maturity appears in his refusal to claim perfection. After decades of ministry, suffering, church planting, and faithfulness, Paul still presses on because Christlikeness remains ahead of him. Spiritual growth dies when a believer assumes the race is already finished. [53:27]
• 4. Heavenly citizenship should look different Paul’s language of citizenship would have landed hard in Philippi, where Roman identity mattered deeply. A citizen of heaven lives in the world, works in the world, and serves in the world, but does not finally belong to the world. The difference should be noticeable, because the believer is passing through as a sojourner and ambassador.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:07] - The Miracle Mile and Lost Focus
• [37:15] - Philippians 3 and Paul’s Race
• [39:36] - Joy From a Prison Cell
• [40:29] - No Confidence in the Flesh
• [43:30] - Paul’s Résumé Counted as Loss
• [46:49] - The Gain of Knowing Christ
• [50:24] - Pressing On Without Arriving
• [51:16] - Forgetting What Lies Behind
• [56:18] - Examples to Follow and Avoid
• [59:30] - Citizens of Heaven
• [62:36] - How the Race Begins
• [64:24] - Keep Eyes on the Finish Line
• [67:57] - Invitation to Respond

Bible Reading

Philippians 3:12-14
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [38:11]

Philippians 3:1-11
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” [40:29]

Philippians 3:17-21
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” [56:38]

Observation questions

1. In Philippians 3:1-11, what three descriptions does Paul use for the false teachers, and what are they trying to add to Christ? [40:29]
2. What are some of the specific things on Paul’s religious résumé that he once could have trusted in? [43:40]
3. In Philippians 3:12-14, what are the three actions Paul names in his “one thing I do” statement?
4. In Philippians 3:17-21, how does Paul describe those who are enemies of the cross, and how does he describe believers instead? [56:38]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says believers should “put no confidence in the flesh.” What does that mean in real life, and why is it so easy for people to drift back into trusting their own effort? [43:30]
2. Paul counts his greatest gains as loss and even rubbish compared to knowing Christ. Why can good and respectable things become spiritually dangerous when they start replacing faith in Jesus? [46:35]
3. Paul says he wants to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, and fellowship in his sufferings. What does that show about knowing Jesus as more than just knowing facts about him? [46:49]
4. Paul is spiritually mature, yet he still says he has not arrived. What does that reveal about true Christian maturity, and how might that challenge the idea that a believer can coast once saved? [53:27]

Application questions

1. Everyone is tempted to glance sideways or look back. What distractions right now are most likely to pull the eyes off Christ—past regret, present comparison, fear, success, comfort, or something else? [36:29]
2. Confidence belongs in Christ alone. When pressure rises in life, what is the heart most likely to trust in for worth or security—church involvement, morality, knowledge, reputation, work, family, or something else? [43:30]
3. Paul says forgetting what lies behind matters for pressing on. Is there something from the past—sin, shame, hurt, resentment, or even an old success—that still has too much power over the present? What would it look like to stop letting it dictate the path forward? [51:34]
4. Knowing Christ includes both resurrection power and fellowship in suffering. In a difficult season, how can a believer move from merely asking for relief to actually seeking Jesus in the middle of the pain? [49:50]
5. Mature believers know they have not arrived. Where might there be a quiet attitude of “I’m doing fine; I don’t really need to grow much more”? What would pressing on look like in that area this week? [54:01]
6. Citizens of heaven should be noticeable in the world without belonging to the world. In everyday life—work, school, neighborhood, online, family—where should that difference become more visible? [01:00:19]
7. Paul says to keep eyes on examples worth following. Who is one believer whose walk is worth imitating right now, and what specific part of that person’s life would be good to copy? [56:38]