Paul's Greatest Asset; Phil. 3:4-8

Delivered during the Evenfall; Sunday Evening Worship, 8/4/2024. As part of his warning to the church of Philippi concerning the false teachers within their midst, Paul cuts to the heart of the matter by using accounting terms to describe the "surpassing value" of knowing Christ compared to anything else he might have considered to be an asset. He speaks of a balance sheet of sorts to list and add up assets and liabilities. The issue is whether it is possible for righteousness to be gained through means of the flesh, (any attempt at self-justification). If the righteousness of the flesh is to be counted, Paul argues that his impressive list of assets would surpass anything the false teachers had to boast about. But once the assets are all listed, Paul reveals that compared to the surpassing value of knowing and being known by Christ-- his old assets have no more value than "rubbish". We will make our way through his list of assets and then celebrate the preeminence of Christ as Paul's only and greatest asset.