When we read the third chapter of the Book of Philippians we realize what is being preached today as the Christian Gospel is not the same message presented by the Apostle Paul. We of today treat belief in Christ as a ticket that insures our entrance into Heaven when we die. Paul treated belief in Christ as a lifelong struggle to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Obviously, there is a critical difference between the two plans of salvation.

Paul was a seasoned Christian when writing the above words. He had written several epistles and had founded many churches. He was in prison at the time. Yet, in this chapter he is striving toward a greater knowledge of Christ. He was seeking to gain Christ.

When we compare Paul's attitude with the current Evangelical teaching we note that the two approaches to salvation are quite different. What we present today is a kind of ticket. The idea is to confess that we are a sinner, we cannot save ourselves, Christ died for us, and if we accept Him as our personal Savior we will go to Heaven when we die.

The "ticket" approach is compatible with the background of theology that it often represents: the individual has been saved by a sovereign action of God independently of his subsequent behavior and therefore can never be denied admittance to Heaven when he dies.

Salvation is seen as deliverance from Hell and acceptance into Heaven.

When we read the third chapter of Philippians, and then think about the "four steps of salvation" that today are considered to be the way to be "saved," we can see that we really have wandered from the truth.

Before God saw fit to reach down from Heaven and reveal Christ to Paul, Paul had been a Jew of the Jews. He had achieved a high status as a Pharisee. His goal in life was to be righteous in the sight of God. For this reason we Gentiles have a difficult time interpreting Paul correctly. We think of the Gospel as a ticket to Heaven. Paul thought of the Gospel as God's way of making him righteous apart from a strict observance of the Law of Moses. There is enough difference here to prevent our perceiving what Paul was teaching.

Paul never presented the Gospel as a means of going to Heaven. Paul's message had to do with attaining to the resurrection of the righteous, and with inheriting the Kingdom of God. Until we keep Paul's goal firmly in mind we will not understand his letters to the churches.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:7—NIV)

The above statement reveals that Paul had renounced his original, adamic nature as being worthless. Whatever good had accrued to Paul as a result of his extensive religious background as a Pharisee he now viewed as loss. It was loss because it had not been gained through Christ.

To be continued.