My Richest Gain I Count But Loss
September 28, 2025
Preached by Noah Gwinn
Scripture Reading
Philippians 3:1-11
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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.
In 1962, a pastor from Fort Lauderdale, Florida named D. James Kennedy started a program designed to share the message of Christianity that he called “Evangelism Explosion.” In the 60+ years since then, this program has become widely popular, particularly for its two famous diagnostic questions it teaches you to ask another person. Those of you who are familiar with Evangelism Explosion may even be able to recite them. They are, 1) “Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you can say you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven?” and, 2) “Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God and he were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?”
While we could certainly have a healthy discussion about the merits and weaknesses of this style of evangelism for today, I do want us to consider the second question together. “Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God and he were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?” This is precisely the question the apostle Paul answers in our passage today. Before we look at his answer together, let’s pray.
Heavenly Father…
INTRODUCTION – THE SETUP
This week marks the halfway point in our sermon series through the New Testament letter of Philippians. Which is kind of funny given that this passage in the middle of the book begins with the phrase, “Finally, my brothers.” Somehow Paul gets away with that. Maybe I’ll try that when I’m halfway through the sermon. Anyway, we’ve called this series Joy in the Living Jesus because the theme of joy is all over the place in this letter. You may have even noticed joy right at the beginning of our passage today. “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”
So why in this passage does Paul tell us to rejoice? We’ll see in our text today that although our hearts are desperate to try to justify ourselves by the strength of our own resources, we can rejoice in the fact that God supplies everything we need for a future with him though faith in Christ.
And this idea is what Paul is getting at in verses 2 and 3. He’s trying to set up a contrast between two groups of people that will serve us well as framework for our time together this morning. Let’s look at those verses before we dive into the rest of the passage. Starting in verse 2:
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh
Who are these two groups of people he’s contrasting? On one hand is this group of people Paul identifies by calling dogs, evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh. These are all clever jabs Paul was taking at a group of people that have become known as the Judaizers. These were people who believed and taught that in order to really be saved, you don’t just need Jesus, you need Jesus PLUS all the Jewish laws and customs, most especially the Jewish practice of circumcision. And he calls them dogs not as a general insult, but because that was a common insult used by Jewish people to refer to gentiles. And here, Paul is saying that the real dogs aren’t the gentiles, but these Judaizers who are trying to say that to be a real Christian, you must believe in Jesus plus circumcision.
So that’s the one group. But on the other hand, Paul identifies the second group of people as “the circumcision.” And at this point we could be very confused without some context. Wasn’t Paul just saying that the other group is all about circumcision? Now he’s contrasting that group with another group called the circumcision? Let me explain.
Under the old covenant prior to Jesus’ death, God had commanded that among his people, boys would be circumcised as infants as a sign of the fact that they belong to the covenant people of God. Jewish people still practice circumcision for the same reason today. But throughout the Old Testament, most especially in the books of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah (Jer. 4:4; cf. 6:10; 9:25; Deut. 10:16; 30:6), God makes it very clear that the outward physical sign of circumcision is supposed to be a symbolic representation of the orientation of our heart toward God. He doesn’t just long for his people to have physical signs, the church is made up of those who have circumcised hearts.
So, when Paul tells the Philippians to look out for people who are pushing Jesus plus circumcision, and then immediately after that calls the Christian church “the circumcision,” he is making quite a statement. He’s saying that Christians, whether circumcised or not, are truly the people of God because they are the ones with the right heart posture toward God. This is confirmed when he fills out the rest of the description of this group. He says that they “worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”
What Paul is doing in these first few verses is saying to the Philippian believers, “hey, remember who you are, and look out for anyone who tries to preach to you a gospel of anything that involves anything that you do. Look out for a false gospel of ‘Jesus plus.’”
This isn’t just an ancient problem. It is very contemporary to need to be on the lookout for people preaching a false gospel of “Jesus plus.” And the particularly scary thing about this kind of false gospel is that it often sounds like it could be true. I mean they aren’t outright saying that Jesus is not the way, they’re saying that he is! Just with a little extra seasoning. You know you’re hearing these messages when someone says something like “You can’t be a real Christian unless…” and they finish that statement with something other than simply “unless you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). Take, for example, one of the most widely propagated false gospels in our country: the false gospel of “Jesus plus my political party,” a false gospel believed and taught on both sides of the political aisle. This would be to say, “You can’t be a real Christian unless you’re a (insert your choice political party here).” Or to say it in a way it's often weaponized, “You can’t be a real Christian and be a (insert party of your political opponents here).” What this is doing is elevating something that is not gospel into the place of the gospel. It doesn’t mean that Christianity doesn’t have something to say about our politics, but it does mean that we cannot force someone to be a part of a certain party or else conclude they cannot be a Christian. And if that makes you a little uncomfortable, I think we need to take a step back and hear Paul’s warnings. Perhaps we too are in danger of placing something that is not gospel in place of the gospel.
But that’s just one example. And maybe not your struggle. But what additions to Jesus himself are you adding to the list of requirements to be saved? Maybe for you it’s as simple as feeling like you need to clean yourself up first, or stop sinning entirely before coming to Jesus. A Jesus plus ‘clean me’ false gospel. Or maybe it’s the feeling that you need to have every spiritual question answered before you can be certain you’re saved. No doubts allowed. A Jesus plus certainty false gospel. I could go on. But do you see how easy it is for us to put a heavy load on ourselves when it comes to salvation?
There is a quote that often gets attributed to Jonathan Edwards or others that says, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” In other words, you will never do enough good things or get your ducks in a neat enough row to make yourself look more appealing to God to be saved. No, he saves us to make us lovely. He saves us so that he can mend our broken pieces together, because he’s the only one who can. Do you believe that? Do you actually believe that Jesus is the one that does all the work to save you or do you not? That is what Paul is at pains for the Philippians, and for us, to understand. And believing that is the first step to be free from the exhaustion of trying to claw your way to peace and security and holiness and salvation.
But all of that is just the setup to the rest of the passage. We’ll look at the rest of our text today under just two headings: the great reversal and the right resources.
THE GREAT REVERSAL
Just after Paul tells the Philippians to look out for those who preach a message of Jesus plus our efforts, he shows them what it would look like to have confidence in the flesh, to have confidence in ourselves and what we think we bring to the table. I’ll start reading back in verse 2 and read through verse 6.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Comedian Brian Regan has a funny bit where he talks about people at dinner parties that always try to one-up one another’s stories and how competitive and greasy that can be. And he says that it must be great to be one of the 12 astronauts who has walked on the moon because you can calmly wait out any story and know that you’ve got a story to top theirs. Someone is talking about a vacation they took, and all that they did and the food they ate and the people they met, and the astronaut can just wait for them to finish and reply, “Oh yeah? I walked on the moon.” In some ways that’s kind of what Paul is doing here. He's listing all of his accolades. And they are impressive. More impressive than almost anyone else in his day. According to status in the early Jewish world, Paul’s resumé is pristine. He has the outward covenant sign of God’s people, he belongs to ethnic Israel, and followed the law so closely that if you tried to inspect his life and point out an Old Testament law that he had broken, you wouldn’t be able to. In our terms, he comes from a well-respected family, from a great part of town in a great part of the country, has degrees from Harvard, got a great job out of college, rose up the ranks, has a clean record, volunteers on the weekends, and discovered the cure for cancer. A real stand-up guy.
And he says all of this not to puff himself up but to say, “Look, if anyone has reason to put trust in their own efforts, it’s me!” But what does he say next? Look at the great reversal in verses 7-8.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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
He has just listed out his stellar resumé and then goes on to say that he counted all of that as loss for the sake of Christ. And then doubles down on it by saying that all his accomplishments, all his accolades are nothing but rubbish. And to really drive home how radical of a point Paul is making here, let me explain this in a similar way to how I heard pastor Tim Keller explain it in a sermon I heard this week. He said that Bible translators often try to be far more polite than God in their translations, and that to really capture what Paul is saying here by this word rubbish is to say, “you know my degree from Harvard? You know my congressional medal of honor? You know my two Pulitzer Prizes? All crap.”[1] Paul uses intentionally provocative language to say that none of the good stuff matters at all. None of the accomplishments or accolades mean a single thing because on their own they don’t get us one inch closer to the salvation we long for. They don’t bring us any closer to actually being personally fulfilled. They don’t answer the deep longings of the human heart. In Paul’s own words, they were all loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. It’s as if he’s saying, “Yeah, I walked on the moon, but it doesn’t matter. Walking on the moon didn’t fix my deep insecurity, or my longing for peace, or any of the other things my soul groans for every day. What does walking on the moon have to do with anything? It’s nothing compared to knowing Jesus.”
I wonder what the accomplishments are in your life that you are most proud of? Maybe if you’re in school it’s been a sports performance. Or maybe you got accepted at the college you’ve been really hoping for after a lot of hard work. Or maybe your most proud accomplishment is a position at your job that you’ve worked really hard for, or maybe the kids you’ve raised, or the business you started and have successfully run for years, or maybe the nest egg you have set aside for retirement, or an award you’ve received. Church, none of those things on their own, as wonderful as they may be, can actually satisfy the deep longings of your heart. None of those things on their own bring you any closer to what your heart aches for. Can you say along with the apostle Paul that you count those accomplishments or accolades as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus? I think we often say that Jesus is the most important part of our lives but is that true at the deepest levels for you? If you could see a balancing scale with your most prized accomplishments on one side and Jesus on the other, what does that scale look like? Does knowing Jesus truly outweigh the other things? If everything else was taken away, would you still be satisfied? To see Jesus rightly, we echo the words of the hymn, “my richest gain, I count but loss.”
THE RIGHT RESOURCES
So we’ve looked at the great reversal of when we begin to see all our achievements and accolades as rubbish for the sake of Christ, but if our efforts and achievements don’t inch us any closer to God, what does? If our resources aren’t enough, what is? What are the right resources?
I’ll start at verse 8 and read through verse 11.
8 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.
Let me return to the question I posed at the beginning of the sermon. “Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God and he were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?” Would you say, “well, I was a pretty good person, you know, I think I helped more than I hurt.” Or would you list all the accomplishments you’ve done throughout your life? I hope at this point you see that’s not a viable option. Or maybe you would talk about how you went to church or prayed or read your Bible. But are those things on their own enough for God to accept you? Not even close. Friends, God demands absolute perfection. So, if you’ve sinned… ever, that’s it, you’re done. You and I have no hope. That’s the bad news.
Paul says it this way in another letter.
1 And you were dead (not sick, not limping along, not dying, dead) in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph. 2:1-3)
Again, this is the bad news. With this backdrop, talking about us as spiritually dead, do you think that our effort or accomplishments or Bible reading plan or church attendance are enough to breathe life into our dusty bones? No! So what can? Well, the good news shines so much brighter when the bad news is really bad. This is how that same passage continues:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:4-10)
Let me ask the question again. If our efforts and achievements don’t inch us any closer to God, what does? If our resources aren’t enough, what is? Here’s the answer: the resources of Jesus. Friends, although our hearts are desperate to try to justify ourselves by the strength of our own resources, we cannot. The resource of the righteousness of Jesus is the only thing that can justify us. And here’s the best part – we don’t need to work for it. We don’t need to curate the perfect resumé. We receive it as a gift! Here’s how that works.
God looked on you and I, helpless and dead in our sin, with love and grace and kindness and sent his Son Jesus to come to earth and live a perfect life so that he could be a perfect substitute for us. Jesus then stood in our place dying on the cross, bearing the punishment for sin that was meant for us. And in a great exchange, he trades his perfect righteousness for the sin of anyone who would come to him with open hands, knowing that he is the only way for us to have the perfect righteousness God requires. And because of that, we don’t just break even as though our punishment is taken and that’s it. Our future is not neutral. No, we are made alive and adopted into the family of God. A ring is put on our finger. Royal robes draped over our shoulders. Rather than being rejected, dead, and alone, in Christ we are chosen, made alive, and in fellowship with God and one another. And just as surely as God has made us alive, we can have confidence that God will not go back on his promises. This is a forever family. He never lets you go once he calls you his own. And day by day, he continues to make you more like himself until one day he will fully and finally transform us into the image of Jesus. And all of this is yours in Christ, given to you as a gift. This is the gospel. This is the good news. It is far better than the exhaustion of do-it-yourself righteousness. And what it produces in us is far more joy than if we were trying to earn everything on our own merits.
Just to illustrate how different the gospel is from do-it-yourself righteousness, let me compare and contrast this do-it-yourself mentality with the way the gospel works. This is borrowing heavily from Tim Keller’s book, Center Church.[2]
Do-it-yourself righteousness says, “I obey, therefore I’m accepted.” The gospel says, “I’m accepted, therefore I obey.”
In do-it-yourself righteousness, motivation is based on fear and insecurity. In the gospel, motivation is based on grateful joy.
In do-it-yourself righteousness, when circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life. In the gospel, when circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle, but I know that while God may allow this for my training, he will exercise his fatherly love within my trial.
In do-it-yourself righteousness, when I am criticized, I am furious or devastated because it is essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs. In the gospel, when I am criticized, I struggle, but it is not essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” My identity is not built on my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ.
In do-it-yourself righteousness, my self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but if and when I am not living up to my standards, I feel like a failure. In the gospel, my self-view is not based on myself as a moral achiever. In Christ I am at once sinful and lost, yet accepted. I am so bad he had to die for me, and so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper humility as well as deeper confidence and deeper joy, without either sniveling or swaggering.
In do-it-yourself righteousness, since I look to my pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols—talents, moral record, personal discipline, social status, and others. I absolutely have to have them, so they are my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I say I believe about God. In the gospel, I have many good things in my life—family, work, accomplishments… but none of these good things are ultimate things to me. I don’t absolutely have to have them, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despair they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.
Do you see how different these two are? Do-it-yourself righteousness is our default mode of operation, but it isn’t what’s best for us, and it’s wildly exhausting. Friends, if you have been laboring your whole life to have peace and security and joy based on your own performance and achievements, today is the day to rest in the living Jesus. He has done what you cannot, and all he asks of you is to collapse into his arms and let him carry you. To recognize that your own efforts will never be enough. He is the only way.
And I will tell you, whether for the first time or the thousandth time, surrendering to Jesus rarely feels easy. In fact, often it may feel a lot like death. But it’s only by feeling the sting of death that we can experience the resurrection power Paul talks about in this passage. And you can rest assured that through your pain you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ and becoming like him in his death so that you may become like him in his resurrection.
So to return to the opening question one more time, “Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God and he were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you say?” Here’s what you should say. “On my own, you really shouldn’t let me into heaven. Nothing I have ever done is enough. I have sinned and fall far short of the glory of God. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved me, sent Jesus to do what I could not. I trust that he has paid my penalty and given me his righteousness. I’ve died with him; I will be raised with him. I’m with him.”
Church, we have all the reason in the world to take great joy in the living Jesus today.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father…
[1] This is from Keller’s sermon, “Found in Him”
[2] See page 63.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What are some of the accomplishments in your life that you are most proud of? Do you find that you are ever temped to put more weight on them for your happiness and feelings of security than they are supposed to bear?
If you had to put your proudest accomplishment on one side of a scale and knowing Christ on the other, which side would weigh more heavily in your life right now? Why?
Why do you think it's so tempting for us to rely on our own efforts, accomplishments, or morality to feel secure with God?
Paul warns against a "Jesus plus" gospel (adding requirements beyond faith in Christ). What are some modern examples of "Jesus plus" messages we might encounter today?
How does knowing that Christ’s righteousness is a gift and not something we earn free us from exhaustion and striving?
What does it practically look like in your daily life to “put no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3) and to rest fully in Christ?
How might viewing your accomplishments as “loss” compared to Christ change the way you think about success, career, or reputation?
