Philippians 3:12-21
Holman
Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Reaching
Forward to God’s Goal
12 Not that
I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every
effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ
Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not[a] consider
myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue
as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly[b] call
in Christ Jesus.15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this
way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this
also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth
we have attained.17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe
those who live according to the example you have in us.18 For I
have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of
the cross of Christ. 19 Their end
is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame.
They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body
of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by
the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.
Questions:
1.
When Paul says we need to forget what is behind and reach forward
to what is ahead, what does he mean?
A. To forget
about all the sins of the past and to ask Jesus for a clean heart and start
again. We can’t be depressed about our
sins, we need to keep going and repent of our sins.
2.
What is the stomach of the world?
A. It’s the
desire to consume anything and everything.
We want stuff just like the stomach isn’t satisfied.
