My Richest Gain I Count But Loss

Philippians 3:4b-14

Isaac Watts wrote over 600 hymns in his lifetime, but perhaps one of the best loved is “When I Survey the Wond’rous Cross.” It begins: “When I survey the wond’rous cross/ on which the prince of glory died,/ my richest gain I count but loss/ and pour contempt on all my pride.” Gain as loss, contemptful pride? What do you make of these oxymorons? Sounds a lot like the 3rd chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians in which he describes all of his assets as a devout Jew and then says “but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. Even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Why does Paul list these assets? He says was circumcised on the 8th day (when it was customary for Jewish babies to be circumcised); he could trace his lineage back to one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin; he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, thoroughly and fully Jewish; he was Pharisee when it came to keeping the law of Moses (Pharisees were a group of Jewish laity, not priests, who were committed to applying Torah to all aspects of their lives); he had been a persecutor of the Christian church (proof of his devotion to the tradition); blameless under the Law. Paul paints a pretty pretentious picture of pious perfection, it’s a profile of which to be proud. Perhaps a little context would help us understand why Paul counts these gains as losses.

The early church was full of differing opinions on how to best practice the faith in worship and in life. Christianity, of course, is rooted in the Jewish tradition. It would be impossible to know what it means for Jesus to be “the Christ”, the messiach, without some mooring in the Hebrew scriptures. Despite its dependence upon the Jewish tradition, the Christian church, especially the early church, has always had a complicated relationship with its Jewish heritage. Paul’s mission, post-conversion, was one in which he sought to reconcile disagreements that divided the church. He famously describes the belief behind this mission in the 3rd chapter of his letter to the Church in Galatia: “There is no longer Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s aim is to unite, not to divide. His passion in this passage from Philippians comes from his perception of certain evangelists preaching to the church in ways that would threaten this unity. These preachers were seeking to convert Gentile Greeks to Christianity, but insisted that in order to become a full member of the church, converts must first become fully Jewish, adhering to all the Laws and upholding all the signs of the covenant. Including circumcision...of adult males. We won’t dwell on this too long, only to mention that Paul calls this “mutilation,” and finds it to be a highly problematic expectation, and one which is likely to sow discord among those who “were” and those who “weren’t.”

I’m really tempted to rewrite the words of Dr. Seuss’ The Sneeches to capture the community conflict which Paul was addressing. The Sneeches is a story about a community whose sense of worth (or worthlessness) is linked to the presence (or lack) of a star on their belly...the cause of the conflict, however, is not the star, but the felt need to have someone to look down upon in order to feel good about oneself. The “circumcision debate” created a similar culture of contempt: the very culture of haves and have-nots, more and less, in and out, us and them that Paul was trying to eliminate.

By listing his “assets” as a devout Jew, Paul is revealing a tummy full of stars. If anyone has any right to be proud, it’s Paul. But Paul cannot brag about these assets, not knowing what he knows about God through Christ. Nor can Paul endorse or affirm the message of those who would preach and teach that such things are required in order to belong to the church of Christ. So Paul writes off all of these would-be gains as a loss.

One of the things I want to be clear about this morning is that Paul is not rejecting the Jewish faith or equating the Torah to garbage. Paul is not saying that these things do not matter to him or that they are unimportant: they matter a lot and are a very important part of his identity. God’s upward call in Christ Jesus is over and above the immense value and importance of these things. “I consider everything a loss in comparison to the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” This is not rejecting or devaluing the Jewish heritage or power of the Law, but emphasizing the value of the righteousness we gain through the faithfulness of Christ. As preacher and bible scholar, Fred Craddock, puts it: “Paul does not toss away junk to gain Christ; he tosses away that which was of tremendous value to him.” [1]

“Salvation does not rest with us but with God.” [2] A church culture which praises “physical advantages” distorts grace. Paul isn’t speaking against Judaism in particular, but against any sort of religiosity that “puts the spotlight on human achievement.” [3] The “upward call in Christ Jesus” is not the same as a call to “upward mobility” religiously, writes Craddock; Christ “did not relinquish the low and base for something better, but gave up all claim to equality with God in exchange for obedient service.” [4] “Giving ourselves up to God is total trust, having no claims, seeking no advantage, but in service to one another leaving our status before God entirely in God’s hands.” [5]

It can be tempting, Craddock warns, to think of Christianity as a “better religion, and therefore attractive to anyone always on the lookout for improvement of one’s station, fortune, and peace of mind, not to mention prospects in the hereafter. Paul’s testimony as to the ‘surpassing worth’ of life in Christ has to do with abandoning such a search altogether, not having a righteousness of one’s own but trusting solely in the grace of God.” [6] The opposite can also be the case, rather than coming to Christianity out of a sense of pride and a desire for upward-mobility, there are those who come to Christianity out of a sense of pure contempt for themselves, those whose Christianity is simply a reinforcement of their own sense of worthlessness, whose faith allows them to continue in self-deprecation and self-loathing.

There is a tension and balance between thinking too highly of ourselves and thinking too little of ourselves that is resolved in the grace of God. An upward calling that leads to servitude. A humble confession that leads to new and everlasting life. A death that leads to resurrection. As Isaiah puts it in the 43rd chapter, there is a forgetfulness of the old things that leads to something new springing forth within us. Our riches gains counted as a loss, our pride extinguished with contempt. Not because our gains are bad, but because God’s grace is that good; not because we don’t have good, honorable accomplishments of which to be proud, but because we are called to boast about what is best: the love of God in Christ Jesus--that which unites us to one another without comparing ourselves to one another, regardless of race, religion, sex, gender, wealth, nationality, health, handicap, or anything else. Grace is that good. Thanks be to God.

[1-6] Craddock, Fred. "Philippians" from Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching