Stop Living Backwards | Clay Scroggins

Paul’s words in Philippians 3 confront the war that happens in the mind when the past keeps getting picked up again. The past can hold people in regret over what they did, resentment over what others did to them, or former glory over the things that once made them feel valuable. Regret keeps replaying the mistake as though beating oneself up could somehow make it right. Resentment keeps the receipts because letting go can feel like letting somebody get away with it. Former glory keeps building confidence on old degrees, old jobs, old accolades, old seasons, and old versions of life that may never come back.

Paul brings out his own resume first. Paul had the right background, the right tribe, the right language, the right religious credentials, the right zeal, and a righteousness by the law that appeared faultless. The resume shows that Paul had more reason than most to count his past as gain. Paul then makes a massive pivot: whatever was gain, he now counts as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord.

Christ changes the whole way the past gets counted. Paul does not say the past disappears or that spiritual amnesia takes over. Paul says the past no longer gets to be counted as gain, identity, worth, punishment, or proof that life was once better. Paul calls even his best stuff rubbish, trash, garbage, dung, compared to the joy of knowing Jesus. The contrast does not minimize what happened, whether good or bad. Christ simply becomes so weighty, so beautiful, and so full of glory that the old things lose their power to define a person.

Righteousness in Christ replaces righteousness built on a personal resume. Paul refuses to find his worth in what he did right, what he avoided doing wrong, or how he compares to somebody else. Faith receives a righteousness that comes from God, based on what Christ has done rather than what a person has done.

Paul then gives one clear direction: forget what is behind, strain toward what is ahead, and press on. Forgetting does not mean never remembering; it means the regret, resentment, and former glory no longer own space in the mind or rent space for free. God is not finished with His people, and the prize ahead is knowing Him, becoming more whole, and not missing what He has for today. God’s grace gives people the strength to set the thing down again and again, until the past no longer robs them of joy, intimacy, and a future.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Count the past differently [14:37] Paul does not deny his history or pretend it never happened. Paul refuses to let his history become the measure of his worth. Christ changes the value system, so even the strongest resume becomes small beside knowing Him. [14:37]
• 2. Regret cannot make wrong things right [19:12] Regret often feels like a payment plan for past failure. Regret promises that enough replaying and self-punishment might neutralize what happened. Christ offers something regret cannot produce: a new identity not built on the worst thing a person has done. [19:12]
• 3. Resentment keeps old wounds alive [19:44] Resentment can feel like justice because it refuses to let the offender disappear from the story. Resentment also keeps the injured person tied to the moment of injury. God’s grace does not call evil good, but it frees the heart from carrying the offense forever. [19:44]
• 4. Find worth in Christ alone [20:47] Righteousness built on personal performance always creates comparison, pride, or shame. Righteousness received through faith rests on what Christ has done. Christ gives a worth that neither failure can erase nor success can inflate. [20:47]
• 5. Set it down and press on [30:12] The past may still show up through a place, a person, a memory, or an old feeling. God’s grace makes it possible to refuse the familiar mental loop and set the thing down again. Paul’s call is not passive: forgetting what is behind includes straining forward toward the prize of knowing Christ.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:11] - You Cannot Move Forward Living Backward
• [03:21] - Inside the Ropes and Stuck in the Past
• [05:45] - Regret, Resentment, and Former Glory
• [09:34] - Paul’s Joyful Letter From Prison
• [10:43] - Paul’s Impressive Resume
• [14:37] - Counting Gain as Loss
• [17:23] - Knowing Jesus Changes Everything
• [20:47] - Finding Righteousness in Christ
• [25:17] - Forgetting What Is Behind
• [27:44] - God Is Not Finished With You
• [29:13] - Setting Down What Keeps Getting Picked Up
• [31:36] - Letting Go by God’s Grace
• [33:40] - The Glory of Knowing Christ

Bible Reading

Philippians 3:4-14
“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. 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.” [10:43] [14:37] [20:47] [25:17]

Philippians 3:7-8
“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” [14:37] [16:03] [16:09] [16:10]

Philippians 3:9
“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—” [20:47] [21:24]

Philippians 3:13-14
“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.” [25:17] [25:30] [25:32] [25:41]

Observation questions

1. What parts of Paul’s background and religious resume does he list in Philippians 3:4-6, and what do those details show about the kind of confidence he once had? [10:43]
2. What words does Paul use to describe his former “gains” once he compares them with knowing Christ, and what is his stated purpose for counting them this way? [14:37]
3. What three kinds of past experiences can keep taking up space in a person’s mind: regret, resentment, and former glory? What does each one tend to replay? [06:16]
4. In Philippians 3:13-14, what active words does Paul use to describe moving forward, and what is he moving toward? [25:17]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul does not pretend his past never happened, but he changes how he counts it. What is the difference between remembering the past and allowing the past to define a person’s worth, identity, or future? [18:39]
2. Paul says righteousness comes from God through faith in Christ rather than from his own record of law-keeping. How does this truth challenge both pride over doing well and shame over past failure? [21:24]
3. Paul’s call to “forget” what lies behind does not mean that painful memories are erased. What might it mean for a memory, offense, or old accomplishment to no longer “own” space in someone’s mind? [25:45]
4. Paul presses on because Christ Jesus has already made him His own. Why is that order important—being received by Christ first, then pressing on in faith? [28:29]

Application questions

1. Which kind of past is most likely to pull you backward right now: regret over something you did, resentment over something done to you, or former glory that has become part of your identity? What usually brings that mental loop back? [29:19]
2. Is there a past failure you keep replaying as though self-punishment could somehow make it right? What would it look like to bring that failure honestly to Christ and receive your worth from Him instead? [19:15]
3. Is there an offense you continue to carry because letting go feels like letting the other person “get away with it”? What could it look like to release the burden to God without calling what happened good or pretending it did not matter? [19:44]
4. What achievement, role, relationship, season, or reputation has become part of your personal “resume”? How might that good thing become unhealthy when it becomes the main source of confidence or value? [20:11]
5. When an old memory gets triggered by a place, person, feeling, or conversation, what practical way could help you “set it down” rather than go through the familiar mental loop? [30:12]
6. Where might God be inviting you to strain forward right now—through a next step of faith, a needed conversation, forgiveness, counseling, serving, or renewed time with Christ? What would pressing on look like this week? [26:46]
7. God is not finished with His people. Where have you been tempted to believe that your best days, deepest growth, or usefulness to God are behind you? What hope does Philippians 3 offer for today and what lies ahead? [27:50]