Pursuing Perfection - Philippians 3:12–16

Years ago I worked in a fabrication shop where we built things out of steel and other metals. My job was to do tasks like measuring and cutting steel, grinding edges, drilling holes, and getting things ready for the welders. My two older cousins, who owned the business, would always come behind me to check my work when I was finished. 

And they had a saying. They would review my work and check my measurements, and if they were not exact but close enough, they might say, “Well, we aren’t building a Timex.” In other words, things didn’t always have to be as precise as the painstakingly-delicate insides of an analog wrist watch. If a wristwatch, with its many tiny gears and springs, is not put together perfectly, it won’t work.

Living our lives can sometimes feel like assembling a Timex. We have a sense of what perfection looks like, but it’s very difficult to achieve. Have you ever been working on some project, perhaps you were building something or making something, or doing some kind of improvements, and you wanted to get it just right? You had an idea in your mind of how it was supposed to be. Maybe you were trying to make yours look like the one on YouTube or Pinterest.

Did you ever have to throw up your hands, and say, “Close enough!” That’s often the case with life as well, isn’t it? Pursuing perfection seems unreasonable, and in some cases, it probably is. But interestingly, in this passage of Philippians, the apostle Paul talks about pursuing perfection. 

What he has in mind is the moral and ethical perfection that reflects the character and ways of the one true God. Of course, the Scriptures tell us that only God is morally and ethically perfect. But we’re sinners, and our moral imperfections - our sins - are glaring. 

And so as we go through our lives, we naturally do one of two things: when we fall short of God’s standard of moral perfection, we either beat ourselves up mercilessly, or we let ourselves off the hook easily. In fact, you may bounce back and forth between the two.

But neither of those is appropriate for the Christian life. You don’t have to live that way. The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us how to view and pursue the moral perfection that God desires in his people without becoming discouraged or apathetic. The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in our place. And he transfers His perfect record to those who vow to turn from sin and trust that His righteousness alone is enough to make us right with God.

Now, in Matthew 5 in the NT, Jesus famously stated, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” God can settle for no less than moral perfection. Those who have faith in Jesus should rest in the perfect record credited to them by Jesus and then make every effort to forsake sin and live righteously. 

But how do we pursue perfection? How do you approach a seemingly impossible task? Well, rather than falling into guilt or giving up the fight against sin, we should consider what Paul says here. You can find an outline provided on page 6 in the WG.

I was recently given some good advice by a pastoral mentor regarding my own struggles. He said that what I need when I’m anxious or discouraged is a “set play,” a kind of “go-to” set of truths to remember and embrace when I struggle. What we find here in Philippians 3 could be “set play” in our efforts to live for the glory of God. We must pursue perfection with three things: 

the belief that in Jesus we are sinless in God’s sight, the comfort that through Jesus we are free from our past, and the hope that with Jesus we are increasingly closer to the finish.

Now last week, we saw how Paul realized that his birthright and religious accomplishments, things he had counted as advantages or “gain” only tempted him to trust in those things to make him right with God, and so, he counted them instead as disadvantages or “loss.” Those things were liabilities to his faith and he considered them of zero value so he could have the one and only advantage in God’s sight, which is Jesus Christ, whom Paul received by faith alone. 

Paul wanted to follow Christ and suffer faithfully when necessary and persevere in faithfulness until the end of his life as he looked forward to the future resurrection for all who trust in Christ.

That future glory, that eternal life with God, finally freed forever from sin and death, was what Paul longed for. That is the prize awaiting the Christian at the end of his or her life. That glorified state will be one of perfection, of utter holiness in the presence of the triune God. That will be the completion of Jesus’ saving work.

Paul communicates that by faith in Jesus believers are positionally perfect before God now. The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us. However, Paul clearly says here, in these verses, that practically-speaking, as he lived his life each day, he was not yet perfect. Though he was saved and secure in Christ, he still struggled against sin during his life. 

Some folks, even today, mistakenly believe that a Christian can achieve absolute moral perfection while still in the physical body. But the Scriptures explain that such a thing is not possible. Notice verse 12, Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained this” - “this” meaning “the perfection of that glorified state” - Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own.” He makes every effort to pursue that prize. Why? “because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” 

You could also translate this something like: “I reach for this, because I have already been reached by Christ Jesus.” Paul uses this word twice which can mean “reach” or “overtake.” He strains to overtake a God-glorifying life because Jesus has overtaken him. 

Hebrews chapter 10 in the NT says that Jesus, by a single offering, which was his death on the cross, “has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Jesus reached us so we could reach for holiness. Earlier in Philippians, in chapter 1, Paul tells the church that he prays that they would “be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.” 

Elsewhere in Scripture, Paul says, “put to death what is earthly in you.” In other words, put to death what is sinful in you with the knowledge that in Christ you are righteous in the eyes of God.

Do you understand this about the gospel, and do you see the implications? This finished work of Jesus addresses your struggle, whether you are too hard on yourself about your sin, or if you’re too easy on yourself. What habitual sin to struggle with; what keeps coming back with persistent difficulty? If you would fight it, you must do with the assurance that you have the righteousness of Jesus. Do you know Him in this way? Can you say that Jesus has made you His own?

Also, if we would pursue the perfection God desires, we must do so with the comfort that through Jesus we are free from our past. Look at verse [13], Paul says, “Brothers,” and this could be overlooked, but he addresses them this way because he speaks from the heart. This mattered deeply to Paul, that these regular folks understand that a big-time church planter and preacher like Paul was not perfect.

Scholars think that false teaching about “perfectionism” had creeped into the church. Again, this idea that by some additional means a person could stop sinning altogether. That is false. Look again at what Paul says: “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, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

It’s a race metaphor. He lists it last, but the upward call came first. The apostle Peter says he called you out of darkness into marvelous light. You were dead in sins. He made you alive. You were blinded by sin. He made you see. You would have never chosen Him, but He chose you. 

The call was effective, and now the goal is a holy life, straining forward to the prize, which is eternity with God, finally perfect as He is perfect. 

We can only be made perfect in Christ, but faith in Jesus is not permission to disregard holiness in our lives. We should desire to perfect as God is perfect, while understanding that in God’s sovereign will, we are not yet immune to sinful desire. A battle rages on within the Christian during this life. But notice again what Paul says here: “forgetting what lies behind.”

Some of you know I’m a big fan of Chris Stapleton. And he has a song on one of his albums called, “Drunkard’s Prayer.” The title probably says it all. It’s written from the perspective of someone addicted to alcohol who has ruined his life. And this line really struck me. He sings, “I wish that I could go to church but I'm too ashamed of me.” That’s just too real. Too tragically real. People are hounded by the things they’ve done. People are haunted by the things they haven’t done that they should’ve done.

In last week’s passage from Philippians, Paul referred to his zealous persecution of the church before Jesus reached him. Paul had gone so far as to kill Christians. You should understand, Paul did not magically forget the evil things he had done. But he knew that through Christ, he was free from his past. Leave it there. Every day. When it comes to mind, cling to Jesus. Hold your head up high, and live for Him.

Have you let yourself be hamstrung by your past? Christ redeems his people from our past. There is tremendous comfort in trusting that Jesus has set you free. In Christ, God is not holding those things against you anymore. If you think He is, then your pursuit of a holy life will be an useless effort to add to what Jesus has done. Don’t diminish the work of Jesus in that way. Don’t offend God by thinking you can work your way to Him. “In repentance and rest you will be saved.” 

Now let’s look at these last verses. [15] Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Very simply, this is the spiritually-mature way of viewing tension between what is sometimes called “the already and not yet.” True followers of Jesus are already redeemed in full, but the final result of that redemption has not yet been revealed or brought to pass. 

As I said before, when we are born again our position with God is locked and the righteousness of Jesus is ours in full. We are already perfect in that sense, though the practical out-working of it is not yet complete. And so we live with that tension. Both things are true. 

This is not entirely unlike the tension between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility that we see in the Scriptures. God is entirely in control of His creation. Salvation is of the Lord, completely. But what you do matters. How you live matters. The decisions you make each day matter. In all of these things, we have to be patient with folks as God brings them along in their thinking.

Again, Paul says, “if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” We live with the tension between our responsibility to speak the truth in love, and the reality that only God can change the hearts of people. 

But look finally at verse [16] Only let us hold true to what we have attained. We must pursue perfection with the hope that with Jesus we are increasingly closer to the finish. To use the race metaphor again, we have to take heart in how far we’ve come already. Sinless in Christ, forgetting the past, we rejoice in what Jesus has done in us, and we look forward to what is to come.

Yesterday, many folks came to help with our workday here. Of course, many more wanted to but could not for various reasons. It was such an encouraging sight to see, and the results were tremendous. 

However, I don’t know how much you really appreciate what was accomplished unless you saw what it looked like before. Without a doubt, this building and property has a long way to go. But we’ve seen something wildly inspiring. Do you know what it is? Progress. The LORD God Almighty is leading us. He is with us. He has sovereignly ordained our circumstances, and His providential working.

Multiple times yesterday, as I was asked questions about what to do next, and as I tried to give direction, I was reminded that this is a process. It won’t all happen in a day. Therefore, we need patience, perspective, and perseverance. Back in chapter 1 of Philippians, Paul told the church, Philippians 1:6, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Have you taken the time lately to reflect on how far Jesus has brought you? This is especially true if you feel discontent right now, or frustrated with yourself or disappointed. Others might not know how far you’ve come, but you know. What change have you experienced, change in which you can rejoice, change that gives you hope for the future? 

This is why it is so important to understand that we are sinless in God’s sight and that also, we must strain forward toward obedience. If we lose sight of these things, we beat ourselves up or let ourselves off the hook. Neither is right; neither is helpful; neither brings glory to God. But God is glorified as rejoice in His work in us and press on to live for Him. 

And I want to add, that in every situation, for the Christian, there is a real choice to make. Pastor and scholar R.C. Sproul wrote this: Can a person be perfect? Theoretically, the answer to that is yes. The New Testament tells us that with every temptation we meet, God gives us a way to escape that temptation. He always gives us enough grace to overcome sin. So sin in the Christian life...is inevitable because of our weakness and because of the multitude of opportunities we have to sin. But on a given occasion, it is never, ever necessary. So in that sense, we could theoretically be perfect, though none of us is. We must rest in Jesus’ righteousness, not our own.

As we come to this table today, the Lord Jesus’ table, we must come remembering all these things. This meal reminds us of all these things. The table is more than a symbol; we meet with Christ our Savior in a spiritual way as we practice what He instituted here. Jesus is the perfect One. His people can pursue perfection because He already pursued it, and achieved it, and has freely given it to those who come to him by faith.

Have you come to Jesus by faith? Let’s pray together.