What Is Christianity Really All About? (Philippians 3:7-11)

What is Christianity really all about? For some people it is nothing more than an ethical code of conduct—a list of dos and don’ts. For others, it is a means to some social or political goal. For many it is a cultural tradition. But none of these things get at the heart of the Christian message. Philippians 3:7-11 is a passage that dispells all the fog and clarifies the gospel:

(7) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ( Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

According to the Apostle Paul, the gospel essentially revolves around three big ideas: righteousness, relationship, and resurrection.

1. Righteousness.

For Paul, the gospel is about righteousness. And by “righteousness,” Paul does not mean something he does, but rather, something God has done. It is not “a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,” but “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v. 9).

It has been observed that so many modern day gospel presentations are built upon the question, Will you accept God? But the question the Bible is wrestling with and that the gospel seeks to answer is not, Will you accept God? but Will God accept you? That is a very different question, but it is the one the life, death, and resurrection and Jesus is seeking to address.

If anyone had a reason to put confidence in himself for salvation, it was Paul. He had the pedigree, the passion, and the perfection (vs. 4-6) that made for quite the religious résumé. But he tore it up and trashed it in exchange for the righteousness of Jesus that comes through the gospel (vs. 7-9).

And so to the religious, the question is posed: Have you repented of your righteousness? Have you repented of thinking there is anything you can bring to the table to negotiate your salvation from God?

Salvation is a gift. Imagine a young woman who is poor and destitute. Creditors are breathing down her neck. She has a father of no reputation. She has nothing to her name. Then along comes a kind and wealthy young man who takes pity on her and loves her, and wants to take her for his own in marriage. When she is united to him, her debt becomes his, and his wealth is credited to her. In the same way, when we are united to Christ in faith, he takes upon himself our debt of sin, and all the riches of his righteousness (his life, death, and resurrection) are credited to our account.

2. Relationship

Secondly, the gospel is about relationship. Why does Paul want to have this gifted righteousness credited to his account? It is so that he might know Christ (v. 10). We are reminded here that justification is not an end in and of itself, but a means to an end. We are justified so that we might truly know God.

To know God is to know the power of his resurrection (v. 10). Indeed, we have died to sin and been made alive to God in Christ. We have been raised with him. This is the basis for all Christian living. To know God is to obey God. But obedience to God can never be separated from the truth of what God has done in Christ. To walk with him is to walk as those who have been raised from the dead.

Of course, there are many times when we look into our own hearts and we see so many areas where it does not seem that we have died to sin and been raised to life. But why are we looking at our hearts? We must look to the gospel for such resurrection power.

Knowing Christ also means knowing the fellowship of his sufferings, “becoming like him in his death” (v. 10). Jesus knew what it was to suffer. He knew what it was to be betrayed by friends. He knew what it was to be treated unjustly. He knew what it was to suffer physically, in his body. And if he knew that, and if we know him, we will know something of those things as well.

But this is not coming from the hand of a distant or uncaring God, but from a God who is making us into the image of his son.

3. Resurrection

Finally, the gospel is about resurrection (v. 11). It is true that when we die, though our body be in the ground, our spirit goes to be with the Lord. But this is the not the end. The hope of the Christian is not that we will spend eternity floating around in disembodied spirits on clouds in the sky. The hope of the Christian is the redemption of the whole person, body and soul, and even the redemption of the whole creation.

Just as the biblical story begins with God creating the heavens and the earth, so it ends with a new heavens and a new earth, where God dwells with his people forever.

Do you know the hope of the resurrection? Are you confident that you will be raised to life because you presently know him? Have you come to know him through casting off your own righteousness and trusting in the righteousness of Christ?