From Saul to Paul: Make Much of Jesus

Philippians 3 speaks like a mirror that tells the truth. Paul shows that bearing witness starts with this confession, it is not about a name, it is about Jesus’ name. Saul’s Damascus Road encounter didn’t just give him a new job, it gave him a new identity. The text calls out the self righteous as “dogs” and “mutilators of the flesh,” because self worship hates humility and hates a God story where a nobody makes much of Jesus. Saul then stacks up seven reasons he once felt bulletproof, circumcised on the eighth day, stock of Israel, tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, blameless. The ledger looks impressive until Christ steps onto the page. What was “gain” flips to “loss,” and the word is not polite, it is dung. That old résumé, for witness work, is poop patrol and belongs on the fertilizer spreader, not on the platform.

Christ, not the law, gives righteousness. “To be found in him” means no boasting, no bartering, no earning. Grace saves the ungodly, and faith receives what effort can never produce. The new identity then runs on seven new gears. Gain Christ, which means lose self. Know him, not as trivia, but as intimacy, closer than a next breath. Share the fellowship of his sufferings, and discover that joy and pain can sit at the same table, because joy is not comfort, it is Christ. Walk in a righteousness that is not one’s own. Know the power of his resurrection, not only for the last day but for the thousand little dyings and raisings as God lifts a believer from despair back into hope again and again. Then press on. The rear view mirror is small and the windshield is big, so the call of God defines the race, not the past, whether confident or condemned.

Maturity takes this mind, y’all got nothing, he has everything. The church’s name does not change a city, Jesus’ name does. The stories of the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and Saul the persecutor sing the same song, do not let the past define the future. Consequences may remain, but the old man is crucified and the new man runs. Some only know about Jesus, but the Damascus Road still shines. Others know him and need to speak up. A faithful witness talks less about self and more about the Savior, so the world hears what actually saves.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Make much of Jesus, not you Self promotion smothers witness. The gospel grows where boasting dies and humility tells the truth, Jesus did it, not me. When the focus shifts from biography to Christ’s cross and empty tomb, conversations open and hearts listen. The more a believer shrinks, the more the Savior is seen. [03:33]
• 2. Self righteousness is dung, not gain Religious trophies make great compost and terrible saviors. Credentials can feed pride, but they cannot cleanse a conscience or raise the dead. Throw them on the field as fertilizer, then grow a harvest that smells like grace, not self. [04:32]
• 3. Know Christ with real intimacy Information about God does not carry a soul through midnight. Intimacy does, where his heart becomes home and his voice steadies the storm. That nearness deepens impact, because people sense a lived reality, not a sales pitch. [16:32]
• 4. Joy survives in suffering Comfort is thin ice, but joy in Christ is bedrock. Shared sufferings become a strange fellowship where weakness turns into witness and pain cannot cancel praise. That kind of joy makes a watching world ask for a reason. [19:40]
• 5. Press on, forget what’s behind Sanctification is a race, not a victory lap. Yesterday’s sins and yesterday’s medals both belong in the small mirror. Eyes forward, heart set on the upward call, steps measured by grace, not by regret. [25:28]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:05] - Identity shifts at conversion
• [02:21] - Beware the dogs and legalists
• [04:32] - Loss for Christ, counted dung
• [06:14] - Witness makes much of Jesus
• [07:07] - Saul’s seven confidences
• [10:35] - Portrait of Pharisaic legalism
• [13:05] - Manure field and fertilizer image
• [14:12] - Jesus meets Saul on the road
• [16:32] - Intimacy with God, real knowing
• [19:40] - Joy in suffering, not comfort
• [21:57] - Raised again and again
• [23:13] - Not perfected yet, press on
• [25:28] - Forget the past, race ahead
• [31:30] - Call to real conversion

1. What seven credentials or achievements did Paul list as reasons he once felt confident in his own righteousness? (See Philippians 3:5-6)
2. How does Paul describe his former accomplishments in verse 8, and what does the original Greek word for "rubbish" imply about his perspective? [04:32]
3. What metaphor does Paul use in verse 13 to emphasize focusing on the future over the past? How was this illustrated in the sermon with the imagery of a car’s mirrors? [25:28]

1. Why does Paul use such strong language (“dogs,” “mutilators of the flesh”) to describe self-righteous people, and how does this contrast with humility in bearing witness to Christ? [02:21]
2. How does “knowing Christ” (Philippians 3:8) differ from merely knowing about Him? What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between intimacy with God and effective witness? [16:32]
3. Paul says joy and suffering can coexist (Philippians 3:10). How does the sermon explain this paradox, and why might suffering deepen a believer’s testimony? [19:40]
4. What does it mean to “press on” (Philippians 3:14) in light of Paul’s admission that he is “not already perfect”? How does this challenge the idea of spiritual “arrival” or complacency?

1. What “credentials” or achievements in your life (e.g., family background, career, religious habits) might you be tempted to rely on instead of Christ? How could these become “fertilizer” for growth rather than sources of pride? [13:05]
2. Intimacy with God is described as “closer than a next breath.” What practical step could you take this week to move from knowing about God to truly knowing Him (e.g., prayer habits, Scripture engagement, repentance)? [16:32]
3. When have you experienced joy in the midst of suffering or hardship? How could sharing that story with someone this week point them to Christ’s power rather than your own strength? [19:40]
4. What “rearview mirror” moment (regret, sin, or even past success) is distracting you from focusing on Christ’s call ahead? What would it look like to “strain forward” instead this week? [25:28]
5. The sermon warns against making conversations about “your biography” instead of Christ’s work. How can you intentionally shift a conversation this week to highlight Jesus’ grace rather than your own story? [03:33]