We’ve been moving our way through the Bible (not in order) since January of 2012 and we looked at Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus in June so this morning I moved on to Paul’s letter to the Philippians. I have to admit that I was surprised when I came across the same call to holy living in this letter that we have heard every morning since Tuesday in both 2 Corinthians and Galatians.

Paul knows things have been rough for the church in Philippi, that they have suffered persecution for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. He too was in prison and understood what it meant to be mistreated for his faith. He encourages them to continue living for Christ and living like Christ.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God (Philippians 1:9-11).

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ (1:20-22a).

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ…standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith…Don’t be intimidated by your enemies…For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him (1:27-29).

Paul is encouraging them not only to live for Christ even while being persecuted, but to live like Christ by having the same attitude that He had (2:5). He goes on to explain that this is not our own human effort to live as Christ lived but it is a result of God working in us.

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (2:12b-13).

We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort…(3:3b).

Paul did not want the believers focused on their own list of accomplishments or good behavior. If that won us eternal life, Paul himself would have so much to brag about. But it’s not about our attempts at righteousness but about the righteousness of Christ.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection of the dead.

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling you (Philippians 3:7-14).

So those who answer this call to holy living aren’t saying that we are perfect or that we always get it right. It is more a devotion to allowing God to continue to do a work in me through my relationship with His Son. THAT IS HOLINESS. I don’t look back and see my past failures and sins and quit trying to live a holy life. I don’t look back and see what I have accomplished for His Kingdom and feel I have already arrived. No, I continue to look forward each day to what God wants me to do next and how He wants me to live – not by my own human efforts but as a result of His presence in my life. Each day pressing on, each day learning from my weaknesses and seeing His strengths, each day striving for spiritual maturity. I want to know Christ and experience His mighty power, having faith in the God who makes me right with Himself because His Son was willing to die on a cross for my sins.