Randy Alcorn tells the following story:
“In 1952, a young woman names Florence Chadwick stepped off Catalina Island, into the Pacific Ocean. Her goal was to swim to the shore of mainland California, 21 miles away.
It was foggy and chilly. She could barely see the boats alongside her. Florence swam for fifteen hours. She begged to be taken out of the water. Her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she could make it.
Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she gave up and stopped swimming. They pulled her out.
Then, when Florence Chadwick was on the boat she discovered the truth: the shore was less than half a mile away. She was 98% of the way home.
At a news conference the next day she said this: ‘All I could see was the fog…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.’”
In the first half of chapter three Paul talks about how he built up his resume to prove his worth. In verses 5 and 6, he speaks of his Jewish credentials. But he explains that those things no longer drive him. He counts all of it rubbish compared to gaining Christ (vv.7-8).
In this morning’s passage, Paul continues his thought. Those things that defined our identity in the past should be forgotten in light of the future.
The gospel compels us to press on toward the prize of heaven. Paul calls his readers to make heaven their aim. He longed to see their joy derive from a heavenly perspective.
Read https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Php3.12-4.1 (Philippians 3:12-4:1).
I. Forget the Past (12-16) Paul’s not trying to fool anyone (12-13a). He realizes that the goal of perfection will only be achieved in glory. Nevertheless, it is a goal worth pursuing. Maturity does not mean you have arrived! And the pursuit of godliness doesn’t mean you are trusting in your works for salvation (cf https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Php3.9 (Phil 3:9)).
Paul acknowledges that the Christian life is about continually pressing forward. Paul presses on toward righteousness, because Christ marked him as his own. In other words, he’s grateful for the work of redemption. Because he has been adopted, he now lives like a child of God.
Paul forgets what lies behind (13b). What does “forgetting” have to do with pressing on? Paul doesn’t mean that the Philippians should abandon what they have already started. He doesn’t mean they should forget their family and friends. When he tells them to forget the past he could mean several things...
1. Forget the things they used to live for. No longer find your value in worldly successes. He could simply be reminding them of what he just said in the previous section. The mature have an entirely new set of values.
2. Forget the sin and the shame of the past. Some of us—when we look upon our past—are filled with shame. To look back not only fills us with a desperate sense of helplessness, it also fills us with a sense of shame and unworthiness. Instead of a grateful heart, there is a sense of condemnation. If that is your tendency, hear the Apostle Paul’s words from https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Ro8.1 (Romans 8:1), “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
3. Forget the temporary ground that has been gained. Paul maintained a healthy sense of discontentment with is level of maturity.
The sprinter has a rule. He is never to look back. If he does, he can lose his stride. He could lose his direction and cross lanes. It is simply too dangerous to look back during a short race.
But the Christian life is more like a marathon. Why would Paul use logic that generally applies for a short period of time? He is “straining forward to what lies ahead” (13c). “Straining” means to stretch out to the uppermost.
How do sprinters cross the finish line? They extend their necks and push their shoulders forward. They stretch out as far as they can, to the point that many of them fall down in desperation trying to beat their...
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