Philippians 3:12: The Road to Perfection is Paved with Progress

"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." Philippians 3:12

Christ commanded us to "be perfect" even as our heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5:48). But how do we get there? Today, I want to encourage you that by looking at Paul's words in Philippians, we can find out how the road to perfection is paved with progress.

In Philippians 3:12, Paul is speaking of sinless perfection. He has mentioned in the verse prior that he seeks to become like Christ in his death (Phil. 3:10-11). Yet, Paul knows that he has not yet gotten there--he still has room to improve. This is encouraging to us, is it not? The man who many refer to as the holiest person in scripture (apart from Christ) himself admitted that he was not sinlessly perfect. Although he did all he could, he still had room to improve.

Yet, this was not discouraging to Paul, but rather encouraging. Knowing that he still made mistakes and had not attained true Christ-likeness didn't leave him weary, dry, and mourning, but rather motivated to work on the areas he needed to improve. Surely there is a lesson to be learned here. How often, after we are convicted of sin, do we sit on our hands and mourn, as if that helped? Paul certainly has a better answer for our convictions.

Paul states here that in light of his sinful condition, he "presses on to make it [that is, perfect Christlikeness] his own." Now, let's chat here real quick. Perfect sinlessness is not attainable on this side of eternity. That is not what Paul is advocating for here. Rather, Paul is stating how he will do anything possible to get as close as he can possibly get on this side of eternity. Not Paul's attitude here: he knows that he will someday be glorified (that is, be given a sinless body in heaven), but that doesn't cause him to give in to his sinfulness here on earth. Rather, it motivates him to "press on."

Paul's usage of "press on" here speaks of an athletic competition. Just as a runner has to push hard to win the race and obtain the prize (cf. 3:14), Paul says that that is what he does in order to pursue sinlessness, and implied that that is what we ought to do as well. Furthermore, note how Paul presses on: by "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead" (3:13). Have you ever seen a runner who constantly looks backward? No! He would trip and lose track of where he was going. Likewise, Paul commands us to keep our gaze forward in our striving for Christlikeness. Though I'd have to study it more deeply, I think that Paul's lack of defining what he means by "what lies behind" shows us that he here includes everything. Though there is certainly a time for helpful reflection and thankful memories, Paul's point here is this: don't linger upon your past mistakes, nor glory nor glory in your past accomplishments. Rather, focus on what is ahead. Don't let the past distract you, whether it be puffing you up because of successes or pulling you down because of failures. Look forward, not backward, that you might attain the prize.

In a nutshell, what Paul is trying to say is this: perfection is the goal, but progress is how we get there. Have you fully conquered every sin? Of course not. Do you seem to keep failing in one area over and over and over and over again? Perhaps. But Paul's point is this: keep pressing on. Realize that the goal is perfection, but don't be discouraged because you're not there yet. Rather, be encouraged to press on, realizing that you have much room to improve. Forget what lies behind (both successes and failures) and strive for what's ahead (Christlikeness). Perfection is the goal, but progress is how we get there. At the end of every day, don't ask yourself if you've attained sinless perfection--the answer will always be "no." Rather, ask yourself, "have I taken at least one step forward in my walk with Christ today?" or "Have I pressed on in my fight with sin, and become at least an ounce more like Christ today?" If the answer is "yes," guess what: you're closer to sinless perfection than you were when you woke up this morning.

I know that this devotional is rather long, but I have one more note of wisdom that I heard a mentor say once, and I have used many times in the past as well. I want you, right now, to stop reading this devotional and say the alphabet out loud (or at least in your head). I just did it, did you? Did you remember it all since kindergarten? Good. Now, I want to ask you a simple question: what was the letter after A? Was it Z? How about S? Maybe O? No! It was B! Here's the point: we often want sanctification (becoming like Christ) to go from A to Z without any of the letters in between. We want to wake up one day and be just like Jesus. But let me encourage you this morning: that's simply not how it works, in fact, that's not even how the alphabet works! Sanctification, like the alphabet, is one letter, one step at a time. It's a daily grind, an hourly "pressing on," and a minute-ly forgetting what is behind and striving towards what is ahead. Yet, let me encourage your further, that if you live each day trying to go from A to B, then from B to C, and so on, you'll be at T before you know it. Though you won't be able to see your sanctification in real-time, someday you will look back and be greatly encouraged at how much you've grown. Like a mighty oak tree, you don't be able to see its growth day by day, but someday you'll say: "I can't believe how big the tree is now!" And it is all by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!