Just this Once -- Philippians 3:13-14

Philippians 3:13-14

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (NKJV)


"Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." Paul wasn’t just talking about the past and the future. He was talking about sin and spiritual growth. How do I know this? Because he starts by saying that he doesn’t count himself to have apprehended. What hasn’t he apprehended? The "prize of the upward call of God" which literally means the benefits of salvation. Paul clearly is stating that while we cannot earn the gift of salvation, once we have received the gift, there are things that we must do in order to continue in that gift.

We are either moving toward God or moving away from Him.

Our relationship with God cannot be static; it cannot ever remain the same. We cannot think that we have matured spiritually to the point where we can rest on past experiences or fully live for Him based on what we learned yesterday. We are either moving toward Him or away from Him. Each day, each moment is an opportunity to decide whose we are. Do we belong to ourselves? Then we may choose to indulge our flesh, to do something which is neither physically nor spiritually healthy. "Well, it’s just this once," you say. One candy bar . . . one order of fries . . . one R-rated movie . . . one sexually-charged date . . . one pencil taken off someone else’s desk. "No one is really hurt. It was just this once."

"Just this once." Is there such a thing? I don’t think so. We are either moving toward God or moving away from Him. There is no such thing as "just one sin" because even that one sin moves us away from God and once we are moving in that direction, changing directions becomes difficult. Think about it. Have you ever driven in San Francisco with its horribly-inclined streets? It’s almost impossible to stop mid-block because the slope is so severe. And, many times, if you do take a chance and stop (or have to stop due to traffic), you find the car sliding backwards even if that’s not what you want it to do.

In our relationship with God, there is no static motion. We cannot stand still spiritually. We are either moving toward God or moving away from Him. We are either choosing righteousness or choosing sin. We are either pressing toward the goal of the upward call or we are disqualifying ourselves. Paul wrote:

"So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:26-27NKJV).

"So that I should not be disqualified." The word here is adokimos which translates also as "reprobate." It is the same word used in 2 Corinthians 13:5 where Paul says, " Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine" (NLT). It is the marker between being truly saved and simply thinking you are. It is literally the difference between heaven and hell. Rather than believe that, because of God’s mercy and grace, we can sin over and over and still serve Him, we need to begin to live our lives as if we couldn’t even do the sin "just this once." In this fight between God and Satan, between good and evil, between righteousness and the lust of our flesh, there is no "just this once." We are either moving toward God or moving away from Him. This needs to become the litany of our lives, the decision of each moment. Are we moving toward God? Each moment needs to be lived pressing upward to His high calling.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. 

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

1 Peter 1:13-16

“Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (NRSV)

We have dogs. Currently, we have one dog, but often we have more than one. People know that we rescue poodles, and we are often called to see if we will give a poodle a home. In the past two years, the “yard” that our dogs have enjoyed has changed considerably. First, it was the portable yard that we use for our RV. We bought two units and attached them together, so it was about 6x4 feet. Not very big, but for small dogs, large enough to walk around. Last year, when we moved into the trailer, the yard was considerably larger. There was room to run and play a bit, certainly lots of room to nose around and smell (which the dogs loved to do). In this house, the yard is huge in comparison to anything we’ve had previously. It’s a big lot and the back yard goes from edge to edge. It’s possible not to be able to see our little poodle just looking out the back door; the yard is that big.

One thing every yard had in common was some kind of a fence. The fence is both a protection from at least some of the predators getting in (though there are still those, like snakes, that can get in under the fence) and a protection from the dogs getting out of the yard and being at risk of being hit by cars or stolen by thieves.

The fence is a protection.

As people, we also have a protection. It’s called a conscience. It’s both something we are born with and something we should have been taught as children. Unfortunately, many parents are not good at teaching their children right from wrong and so many children now don’t know that certain things (stealing, physical violence, emotional violence, bullying, etc.) are wrong.

When Peter talks about us preparing our minds for action (and then follows that up with a command for us to discipline ourselves), I believe he is talking, at least in part, about training our consciences how to respond. He is commanding us to learn what is right and what is wrong and to choose what is right.

There are two dynamics to this. First, when we finally have become disciplined—when our consciences are trained to distinguish right from wrong—it is a sign of spiritual maturity. And second, it is a process of training. “Solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14 NRSV).

Why am I suddenly so concerned about this? It’s not a sudden concern, actually. Those of you who have followed my spiritual path for a number of years know that I wrote and conducted seminars called “Renovation Living” several years ago which dealt specifically with the idea that the morality of the American Church has deteriorated over the past century, that what we used to condemn is now simply ignored. And we have done it under the guise of “refusing to judge.” The scripture that refers to this has been so misused (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37). As usual, Satan has taken a godly truth and twisted it for his own purposes. And we, as a Church, are the weaker for it.

The fact is that the Bible isn’t tolerant and it does establish specific behavioral boundaries. We are told how to think, how to act, how to make choices and if we are believers, we are expected to stay within those boundaries, those fences. Just as I have fences to protect my dogs, the Bible establishes fences to protect us from sin. Even though my sins are forgiven by His grace, I am commanded not to sin: “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 NRSV).

This week, one of the men from our church called the pastor. He wanted pastor to know that he had been in a physical altercation (yes, a fist fight) with another man and was asking what he should do about it. Pastor told us that this man loved the Lord, but just couldn’t control his temper. I was appalled. How can you love the Lord and beat the stuffing out of another human being (for whom Christ died)? But then, I have gossiped this week and that’s just as bad. How can I hurt someone for whom Christ died if I truly love the Lord?

We need boundaries! We need fences!

I know that I need much more training in distinguishing good from evil, not only to learn where the fence is, but to train my heart to respond to the good and, if I slip, to feel guilt and shame about my sin so that I won’t do it again. Yes, I’m forgiven, but the guilt and shame works to my advantage, to teach me what is wrong and to train me in righteous living. And, probably more than anyone else, I need that!

© 2012 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.