“Press On Toward the Goal”Philippians 3:12-14

It’s always a good idea to have at least one goal in life. Whether that goal is how to get ahead financially, how to be a better person or how to win at tiddlywinks, it never hurts to have a goal.

Goals are a good way to gauge where we are in our walk in life, whether it’s career, relationships or personal growth. If we have a goal, we can see where we are, how we’re doing in achieving the goal and what steps we may need to take to move further up the path toward our goal.

In today’s passage, Paul writes about his primary goal in life: to press on forward in his relationship with God through Christ Jesus.

Background

As we’ve mentioned before, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one of his most uplifting letters. There is a genuine love for the small church and a real appreciation for all that they do.

Even so, there are problems, and Paul deals with the problems gently and encouragingly. Unlike the letter to the Galatians, this letter is filled with exhortations and thanksgiving. Paul encourages the church to maintain a thankful heart and a sense of grace and acceptance in Christ.

In the immediately preceding verses, Paul has reminded the readers of his past life before coming to Christ. He was a high achiever in matters of religion, but he considers his past achievements as trash to be thrown away in comparison to his relationship with Jesus. He no longer seeks to pursue a life of accomplishment through works, instead focusing on strengthening and growing his relationship with his Savior. He states that he is in a continual assessment of his past and strives instead to know Christ more fully in order to become constantly more like Him “and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (v. 11).

Central Truth: Following Jesus means we continue walking in faith.

Pressing toward the goal means:

We have a realistic understanding of what it means to follow Jesus (12)

Apparently, there was some confusion in the Philippian church about what it means to be in Christ. It would seem that there were some who had come to believe that accepting Christ as Savior then made that believer perfect in every sense of the word. That’s one of the reason Paul had written earlier in the letter, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (2:12-13). This was one of Paul’s ways of letting them know that there is always a need to work on our faith and to come to a better understanding of what it means to be in Christ.

In this verse, Paul is explicit in this idea of perfection. “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect” (v. 13a). “All this” refers to the passage immediately before this verse. He still strives to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, because he still has a long way to go in his relationship with Christ.

He says that he presses on—the Greek word indicates it is an on-going effort, “I keep pressing on.” The word comes from hunting and from racing, and it means an intense effort in pursuit and chasing toward the goal of getting the prey or crossing the finish line. The thing Paul keeps pressing toward is getting a better grasp on what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Nowhere in these verses does Paul state or even hint at the idea of losing his salvation. He knows he belongs to Christ and is secure in Him (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12). What he is saying is that he has not yet achieved the perfection that awaits him, because that perfection does not become real until we are glorified, either through death or Christ’s second coming. Paul understands that to follow Jesus in this life is a constant work in progress, and that awareness gives Paul the goal to press on to take hold of his relationship with Christ.

If we are to follow Jesus, we need to be realistic in our understanding of what it really means to follow Him.

We put the past behind us (13)

One of the major hindrances in following Jesus is Satan’s constant effort to remind us of our failings in following Christ. Satan likes to remind us that we messed up more often than we can really count. If there is a big sin in our past, the devil will use it to tell us that we can’t really follow Jesus. This verse shows us how wrong Satan is, how he once again lies to us.

Paul repeats his claim that he has not yet grasped perfection. He is aware of his shortcomings and his past. He knows how he has sinned against Christ (remembers Romans 7). But one thing that Paul doesn’t do is dwell on his past mistakes and sins. Paul writes very simply: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”

Life is filled with disappointments and setbacks, whether in spiritual matters or other matters. Things break, detours crop up, plans go awry. The person who dwells on the setbacks will eventually give up trying. Paul reminds us that the follower of Christ does not give up. We don’t ignore our past—only a fool fails to learn from his or her past mistakes—but we instead keep our face on Christ, our mind and heart committed to the task of following the One who gave His life for us. We move on; we step forward, we continue the pursuit of the goal of achieving a closer walk with Him, trusting Christ to reach out to us and lead us forward. As our advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One cleanses us and purifies us and restores our fellowship.

When it comes to following Jesus, we cannot live in the past; Jesus calls us to live for Him today.

We move forward in Christ (14)

Paul writes to us that forgetting the past enables him to press on toward the goal of achieving God’s calling in his life.

Again, Paul isn’t saying there is a danger of falling short of God’s calling and thus losing his salvation. He is saying that God has a plan for us, and if we will only give ourselves to Him, we can always come closer in our walk with Him.

How do we do this? We confess our sins, we seek His direction through prayer and Bible study. We fellowship with other believers, sharing our experiences with one another and lifting each other up in prayers. We minister and we listen to God through His word, through prayer and through the counsel of other believers. And we move forward in Him, always in pursuit, always focused on the task before us.

Not to earn God’s love or approval, but to better understand Him and His ways. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling, letting Him work in us to will and to act according to His good purpose.

There is no reason to stop following; there is no reason to live in the past. If we are to follow Jesus, we must go where He leads us, moving forward in Him and with Him as we live our lives in obedience to Him.

Conclusion

Everyone should have at least one goal in life. For the person who professes Christ as Savior and Lord, one of those goals should be to walk closer with Him each day. Forgetting the things that may have hindered your walk in the past, learn from them and move forward. The Righteous One walks with us.

All we need to do is follow.