Things. A wealthy man was moving into his mansion, and his Quaker neighbor, who believed in simplicity of life, was watching the activities carefully. The neighbor counted the number of chairs and tables and the vast amount of bric-a-brac that was being carried into the house. Finally, he said to the lord of the mansion: “Neighbor, if thou dost need anything, come to see me and I will tell thee how to get along without it.”

Things! What thieves they can be! Yet Jesus said (Luke 12:15 (ESV) “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Abraham Lincoln was walking down the street with his two sons, who were crying and fighting. “What’s the matter with the boys?” a friend asked. Lincoln’s response: “The same thing that’s wrong with the whole world…I have three walnuts and each of the boys wants two!”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against laying up treasures on earth: they are not safe, they do not last, and they never satisfy. Yet most people think that joy comes from the things that they own. In reality, things can rob us of the only kind of joy that really lasts.

It is easy for us to get wrapped up in “things,” not only the tangible things that we can see, but also the intangibles such as reputation, fame, achievement.

Paul writes about things in Philippians 3:7 (ESV) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (3:13) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

In Paul’s case, some of these “things” were intangible, such as religious achievements (Gal. 1:14), a feeling of self-satisfaction, morality. We today can be snared both by tangibles and intangibles, and as a result lose our joy.

But the tangible things are not in themselves sinful. God made things, and the Bible declares that these things are good (Gen. 1:31). God knows that we need certain things in order to live (Matt. 6:31–34).

In fact, He “giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

But Jesus warns us that our lives do not consist in the abundance of the things that we possess (Luke 12:15).

In Paul’s case, the “things” he was living for before he knew Christ seemed to be very commendable: a righteous life, obedience to the Law, the defense of the religion of his fathers. But none of these things satisfied him or gave him acceptance with God.

It was not bad things that kept Paul away from Jesus—it was good things! He had to lose his “religion” to find salvation.

One day, Saul of Tarsus, the rabbi, met Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and on that day Saul’s values changed (Acts 9:1–31).

When Saul opened his books to evaluate his wealth, his ‘life gains,’ he discovered that apart from Jesus Christ, everything he lived for was only refuse.

He explains in this section that there are only two kinds of righteousness (or spiritual wealth)—works righteousness and faith righteousness—and only faith righteousness is acceptable to God.

The example (Philippians 3:4-6 (ESV) …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.

Paul was not speaking from an ivory tower; he personally knew the futility of trying to attain salvation by means of good works.

As a young student, he had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the great rabbi (Acts 22:3). His career as a Jewish religious leader was a promising one (Gal. 1:13–14); and yet Paul gave it all up—to become a hated member of the “Christian sect” and a preacher of the Gospel!

In this intensely autobiographical section, Paul examines his own life. He becomes an “auditor” who opens the books to see what wealth he has, and he discovers that he is bankrupt!

Paul’s relationship to the nation. He was born into a pure Hebrew family and entered into a covenantal relationship when he was circumcised.

He was not a proselyte, nor was he descended from Ishmael (Abraham’s other son) or Esau (Isaac’s other son).

Paul’s human heritage was something to be proud of! When measured by this standard, he passed with flying colors.

Paul’s relationship to the Law. (Phil. 3:5-6 (ESV) “…as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

To the Jews of Paul’s day, a Pharisee had reached the very summit of religious experience, the highest ideal a Jew could ever hope to attain. If anybody was going to heaven, it was the Pharisee!

He held to orthodox doctrine (see Acts 23:6–9) and tried to fulfill the religious duties faithfully (Luke 18:10–14).

While we today are accustomed to use the word “Pharisee” as the equivalent of “hypocrite,” this usage was not prevalent in Paul’s day. Measured by the righteousness of the Law, Paul was blameless. He kept the Law and the traditions perfectly.

Paul’s relationship to Israel’s enemies. But it is not enough to believe the truth; a man must also oppose lies. Paul defended his orthodox faith by persecuting the followers of “that pretender,” Jesus (Matt. 27:62–66). He assisted at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), and after that he led the attack against the church in general (Acts 8:1–3).

Even in later years, Paul admitted his role in persecuting the church (Acts 22:; 26; 1 Tim. 1:12–16).

At this point we might ask: “How could a sincere man like Saul of Tarsus be so wrong?” The answer is: he was using the wrong measuring stick!

He saw himself as compared with Jesus Christ! It was then that he changed his evaluations and values, and abandoned “works righteousness” for the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Saul of Tarsus was looking at the outside and not the inside. He was comparing himself with standards set by men, not by God.

As far as obeying outwardly the demands of the Law, Paul was a success, but he did not stop to consider the inward sins he was committing.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear that there are sinful attitudes and appetites as well as sinful actions (Matt. 5:21–48).

Paul’s losses (But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.). To begin with, he lost whatever was gain to him personally apart from God.

All of these things were valuable to him; he could profit from them. He certainly had many friends who admired his zeal. But he measured these “treasures” against what Jesus Christ had to offer, and he realized that all he held dear was really nothing but “refuse” compared to what he had in Christ.

Paul’s gains (v. 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).

Jim Elliot’s words: “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

This is what Paul experienced: he lost his religion and his reputation, but he gained far more than he lost.

The knowledge of Christ (v. 8).

To “know Christ” means to have a personal relationship with Him through faith.

The righteousness of Christ (vs 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).

Righteousness was the great goal of Paul’s life when he was a Pharisee, but it was a self-righteousness, a works righteousness, that he never really could attain.

Paul looked at his own record and discovered that he was spiritually bankrupt. He looked at Christ’s record and saw that He was perfect.

When Paul trusted Christ, he saw God put Christ’s righteousness to his own account! More than that, Paul discovered that his sins had been put on Christ’s account on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21).

The fellowship of Christ (vv. 10–11) “…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.

When he became a Christian, it was not the end for Paul, but the beginning. His experience with Christ was so tremendous that it transformed his life.

And this experience continued in the years to follow. It was a personal experience (“That I may know Him”) as Paul walked with Christ, prayed, obeyed His will, and sought to glorify His name.

When he was living under Law, all Paul had was a set of rules. But now he had a Friend, a Master, a constant Companion! It was also a powerful experience (“and the power of His resurrection”), as the resurrection power of Christ went to work in Paul’s life.

It was also a painful experience (“and the fellowship of His sufferings”). Paul knew that it was a privilege to suffer for Christ (Phil. 1:29–30). In fact, suffering had been a part of his experience from the very beginning (Acts 9:16).

Walking with Christ was also a practical experience (“being made conformable unto His death”).

Yes, Paul gained far more than he lost. In fact, the gains were so thrilling that Paul considered all other “things” nothing but garbage in comparison!

No wonder he had joy—his life did not depend on the cheap “things” of the world but on the eternal values found in Christ.

Paul had the “spiritual mind” and looked at the “things” of earth from heaven’s point of view. People who live for “things” are never really happy, because they must constantly protect their treasures and worry lest they lose their value.

Not so the believer with the spiritual mind; his treasures in Christ can never be stolen and they never lose their value.

Maybe now is a good time for you to become an accountant and evaluate in your life the “things” that matter most to you.