Text: Philippians 3v8 "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ"
I think it's true to say that, up until now, you have never heard me swear. With certain exceptions, you've probably never heard any Methodist preacher use a four-letter word from the pulpit. Keep listening.
I wonder if you've ever turned up anywhere with the wrong ticket for the event? When I was travelling in America over Christmas 1985 a woman got on the plane for an internal flight at 00.15am on 24th. December. When there was a shortage of seats the tickets were checked, and she was found to have a ticket for the flight 24 hours previously, 00.15am on 23rd. December. She had the wrong ticket for the event/for what she wanted.
I have a tract here. The front page reads: "If you were standing at the gate of heaven and God were to ask you, 'Why should I let you in?' what would you tell him?" In other words, what are you relying on as your ticket into heaven? And so into Philippians 3.
Paul was one of the Jews, one of God's people. He'd been circumcised on the eighth day, just as the rules said; he belonged to the favourite tribe of Benjamin; he kept the law with Pharisaical strictness; he was keen, committed, zealous etc. etc. etc. And then - he met Jesus! When he came to write to the Christians at Philippi, he tells them that all those credentials he used to rely on as his ticket into heaven, he now counts as rubbish. What are you relying on as your ticket into heaven? What makes you 'important'?
What about me? Born and brought up in Methodism; baptized as a baby by a future Chairman of District; attended church 3 times a day; went through Sunday School and Youth Club; served as Organist, Choirmaster, Sunday School teacher, Local Preacher and Minister. My mother a Sunday School Superintendent and Circuit Steward, my father a substantial benefactor of the Church... All rubbish; ALL JUNK! St. Peter won't be interested if I turn up at the gates of heaven quoting that lot as my qualifications! It's the wrong ticket for the event. He's going to say, "Did you accept Jesus and give your life to him?"
Notice how James and John wanted VIP seats at the right hand and left hand of Jesus, in that reading from Mark 10. Jesus declines even to negotiate with them about it. In the Kingdom of God, there's no seniority: we're all worth zero - except that God chooses to love us and adopt us as His children. And so we are all of equal worth; the words 'senior' and 'seniority' don't appear in the Bible.
So let me draw your attention a little more closely to the text of Philippians 3v8. Paul has been reeling off some of the things he used to think made him important. And then he says (in the NRSV), 'I regard them as Rubbish'. But the Greek word is skubalon, which is more than just rubbish. Here the AV scores over the modern translations [Read it]: it says 'I do count them but dung'. The Message [read it] says, "everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant - dog dung".
Even 'dung' is, in the context, a rather mild translation, upon which if you were to go into the average school playground you would hear lots of modern variations - mostly also with four letters. I'm sure you can think of one or two yourself... Somehow I need to put this sufficiently delicately so as not to give offence, and yet try to retain the force of what Paul is saying, the disgust he is trying to convey for... what? What are we talking about? The disgust he feels for any attempt to claim status/to enter heaven through who we are and what we've done.
What am I talking about? What kind of things do I mean? I mean the attitudes that try to claim rank or status with phrases such as:
"I've been a Methodist all my life"Jesus isn't interested in accepting what you've done - he's interested in you accepting what he's done!
"My grandfather helped build this church"
"We've been members here 35 years"
"If it wasn't for us, this place would have closed long ago"
That mentality of getting gold stars and scoring Brownie points is what Paul used to have - but now he's seen the light: he says it's all dung - skubalon. And skubalon is not just what is thrown away when you clean up and the dustbin men take away - that is perikatharma (as in 1 Corinthians 4v13): skubalon is what you flush down the toilet. It's a strong word to use in the Bible; the word is not used anywhere else in the whole of the New Testament - just here. Basing his commentary upon the AV ("I do account them but dung"), John Wesley writes about this verse, "dung is cast away with abhorrence. The Greek word signifies the vilest refuse of things, the dross of metals, the dregs of liquor, the excrement of animals..."
That is how Paul regards this Brownie-point mentality. We have no points, no gold stars at all, except by our surrendering ourself to Jesus, and accepting credit from him. In his Notes on the New Testament, Albert Barnes writes, "No language could express a more deep sense of the utter worthlessness of all that external advantages could confer in the matter of salvation... such were Paul's views; and we may remark, that if this was so in his case, it should be in ours. Such things can no more avail for our salvation than they could for his."
"Ooh", you say, "no other Minister has talked to us like this before. Mostly they tell us God loves us and we're all going to heaven" No! Well, maybe other Ministers didn't understand this in the fullness of its meaning. Or if they did, maybe they decided not to tell you about it because it's not very nice. And, no, it's not nice; but it's the Truth. And it's the Truth that sets you free - being nice just keeps you happy. Well, I'm not interested in keeping you happy - I'm interested in you being set free.
Jesus didn't "regard the position of men" - Mark 12v14. If some of you are banking on your 50 years of Methodist service to get you into heaven, you'd better forget it: St Peter isn't interested. We can't earn it; we don't deserve it. "Lord, I am worthless, but thank you that you love me anyway and died for me." That's what gives us worth: the price Jesus paid for us. So we all have the same worth as each other.
I want you to imagine that you've gone to Buckingham Palace... you're in the presence of HM the Queen... in a splendidly elegant drawing room... and you suddenly realize you've got dog-muck all over your shoes and you're treading it in to her pure white carpet.
In the presence of the King of kings, in the purity of His throne room, your religious justification is like dog-muck on His carpet. These are not my words: they're the words of Holy Scripture.
So what are you relying on as your ticket into heaven? Jesus said, "You call me Lord and Master, but I am among you as one who serves." True Seniority means Service. Status; Standing; Privilege; Rank - it's all skubalon. Let's give it a break - and start to become 'great' in the way that Jesus intends.
AMEN