When Christopher Columbus started out, he didn’t know where he was going. When he got there, he didn’t know where he was, and when he got back, he didn’t knew where he had been. It occurs to me that in terms of our purposes and our goals as Christians, it would be well for us to think about that today. Where are we going, anyway? The more I think about it, the more it boils down to just one thing. I’m excited about boiling our whole purpose for existence down to one thing. Let’s turn to Philippians and discover that one thing.

This is the great apostle Paul speaking. He’s comparing himself with others who have been comparing themselves with themselves, which is not wise, but the apostle Paul resorted to it on occasion to make a point. In this instance he said, “If any one else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless“ (Philippians 3:4).

Paul had a pretty good track record, wouldn’t you say? But then he went to the crux of the matter—something that had dawned on him on the road to Damascus:

Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [Here is the apostle Paul’s profit and loss statement.] What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ (verses 7-10, NIV).

I would like to propose that this is the goal—should be the goal—of every Christian church. It is my personal goal as a pastor to know Him myself and to help as many other people as possible to know Him, both within the church and outside the church. To know Him one to one, to come into close relationship with Him personally—that is what it’s all about!

Now I’d like to point out that there are good, solid reasons for this being the goal, and why everything boils down to this. In the first place, when Jesus comes again, that’s the only thing that’s going to count. There will be nothing else important at all—houses, lands, names in lights, achievements, success, nothing. Track record, morality, good deeds—nothing. There will be nothing that counts except this one thing: Do I know Him?

Another reason why knowing Him is all that matters, is that this is the whole issue in the problem of sin and salvation in the first place. Sin came into the universe, not because of immoral behavior, but because someone thought he was big enough to separate from a relationship with God. That’s the whole origin of sin. Isn’t that true? Lucifer chose to go it alone, to depend on himself separate from that close relationship with God. Of all the stupid things, to separate from his Maker, the One who kept his heart beating—and the One who’s kept his heart beating ever since.

Let’s not forget that the wages of sin is not what we call death. If that were true, then the devil should have been dead a long time ago. He should have died of cancer and hardening of the arteries and kidney problems and all the rest of it. His teeth should all be decayed out of his head. God has kept his heart beating for some purpose, and He’s let us sleep, because probably threescore years and ten is about all we can stand of planet Earth.

So when it comes to the question of salvation, a Christian is someone who knows Jesus. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent“ (John 17:3). Remember why they called them Christians in the first place. Because that’s all they could talk and think about.

Another reason why knowing Jesus is the bottom line is that that’s the basis of faith. The better New Testament definition for faith is trust. You have to know somebody to trust them, which makes knowing Jesus the basis for faith in Jesus.

Another reason why knowing God is the bottom line is that it’s the basis of assurance in the Christian life. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life“ (1 John 5:11, 12). Lack of assurance is one of the biggest problems in the Christian church, and it has devastated the Adventist Church. One of the main reasons why there are so many uncertain Advent- ists is that our primary emphasis has been on morality and behavior, and anyone with his right mind knows you can’t behave well enough to merit entrance to the kingdom of God.

The only track record that counts is the one Jesus laid down. When we look at ourselves, there’s not a chance in the world for us to be saved, but when we look at Jesus, we can take courage. So knowing Jesus is the basis of assurance.

Another reason why knowing Jesus is the bottom line is He’s the source of righteousness. When we talk about knowing God, it doesn’t mean we are against righteousness. The only person who is in favor of righteousness is the one who knows God, because that’s where righteousness comes from. Knowing Jesus on a daily basis is the way we accept His grace, and again, accepting His grace is the entire basis of salvation. But it must happen more than once, more than a first time. Something as equally important is to stay with Him.

So, we have righteousness in two ways—first of all His righteousness for us—what we call justification, and second, His righteousness in us, worked out in our lives—what we call sanctification. Knowing Jesus is the source of both kinds of righteousness.

Knowing Jesus is the bottom line, because this was Jesus’ own example. He knew the Father in such an intimate way that it was His Father who did the works in His life (see John 14:10). Jesus promises to do the same for us so that, as Paul says, it is no longer we but He that lives. Can you explain it? The apostle Paul couldn’t even explain it, though he tried. But it’s still the truth, even if it lacks explanation. Jesus’ works were done by His Father through Him. His words came from His Father. His beautiful life was the result of the working of His Father. We have the same option available to us through the Holy Spirit.

And finally, the bottom line, knowing Jesus is the motivation for service. It’s the motivation for stewardship of our time, talent, and money. Here is a comment that impressed me. It came from one of our pioneers. “When the light and love of Jesus illuminate the hearts of His followers, there will be no occasion for urging or begging their money or their service.“ So, if we have to get up and spend time begging and urging people’s money or service, we are admitting defeat, just like that. “When they become one with Jesus they will, with cheerful hearts and unswerving fidelity, render the things that are His.“ I like that. And that is my personal goal for the motives that prompt my stewardship and service.

Now we have a problem that we need to consider—the mystery of conversion. The evidence in the Christian church today is that only the minority have been converted. I wish that it weren’t true, but it is a major problem. It is one of the reasons why I continue personally to be disturbed and frustrated, to study and search and think and pray concerning this topic. There is no way that anybody can really know God and know Jesus until he has been converted. He doesn’t have the resources to do it. Why have we neglected this topic and gone on with other substitutes in place of knowing Jesus? We’d better get down to the bottom line as to what is the beginning point in knowing God. It is conversion.

But think of all the substitutes. Paul had substitutes until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Let’s look again at the text quoted at the beginning of this chapter. The first substitute Paul lists in this passage is his heritage. He came from good stock. But what did he call it after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus? He called it rubbish. Rubbish isn’t actually the word. There are some other words that Paul used. You are familiar with the one from the King James {dung), and some of the modern translations have gotten even more racy. But I’m going to stay with the word that is more discreet. I didn’t know Paul was quite that racy, but he was pretty strong. He says that even good heritage, apart from knowing Jesus, is rubbish.

The second substitute we notice in this passage has to do with rites and ceremonies, i.e., circumcision. I don’t know how much time we spend thinking about that these days. I would like to preach a sermon about it sometime, because it is a very significant topic. It goes back to Abraham, where you have a symbol of cutting off the whole manner by which he could produce a son through his own efforts. The rite of circumcision, far from being primarily a health and cleanliness item, was a symbol of something far greater. In his natural state, Abraham was able to produce a son, but it was the wrong son. Salvation had to come totally from God, not from his own flesh. That is why God chose circumcision as a symbol of righteousness by faith.

Paul had the right kind of stock, the right heritage, and the right kind of ceremony too. What’s the modern counterpart? Baptism. “I’ve been baptized.“ If I don’t know Jesus, it’s rubbish. “I have a certificate to prove that I was baptized.“ Rubbish. “I was confirmed. I went through the system.“ Rubbish!

Then Paul lists something else. He says, “Concerning the law, a Pharisee.“ There were two kinds of people in the days of Christ, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were both legalists, because they both lived apart from God. They didn’t even recognize His Son. Here we need to get something straight. There are two kinds of legalists—black legalists and red legalists. The black legalist was the Pharisee who got his security in the standards and rules and regulations of the church he upheld. The red legalist was the Sadducee, represented by the woman in scarlet and jewels described in Revelation.

The red legalist was the Sadducee in the days of Christ who found his security in the rules and regulations and standards of the church he abandoned. You see, the red legalist, or the Sadducee, is the one who is sure he is not a legalist, but he wears the jewels, and he drinks this, and he goes there, and he eats that. And he says he’s not a legalist? He’s just a legalist of another color, that’s all. And it’s surprising how many “liberal“ people today could be advertising a new kind of legalism. Why? Because both the Pharisees and the Sadducees have their attention on the rules and regulations. One upholds them, and the other abandons them. The person who lives his life apart from Jesus, whether he is red or black, is still a legalist.

Do you follow me at all? If more people will think carefully instead of simply reacting to some rules they got tired of, they would discover how obvious they might be by their behavior.

The apostle Paul was not a red legalist. He was not a Sadducee. He makes it clear that, when it came to Pharisaism and the law, he was one of the best. He was a rigid legalist of the deepest black dye. But it was all rubbish apart from Jesus.

Paul lists something else. He had zeal. Sure, it is possible to be zealous apart from Christ. There are people today who are so zealous that they are doing everything they can to destroy the church. When it comes to zeal, they are persecuting the church. False zeal didn’t begin and end with the apostle Paul. Zealous people put to death a hundred million martyrs. And it can happen within our church as well.

Paul mentions outward righteousness, and he says that zeal and outward righteousness are also rubbish again. Good works, if they do not come from knowing Jesus, are so much rubbish as far as God is concerned.

I’d like to add a few substitutes of my own, if you don’t mind, because I think they are inherent in Scripture. Trusting Christ for salvation, where “trusting“ is nothing more than words or mental assent and does not result from a personal, daily relationship with Jesus, is a substitute for knowing God.

Are you a Christian?

Yes.

What basis do you have for salvation?

I trust Jesus for my salvation.

Do you spend time with Him?

Oh, I don’t have to do that. That’s legalistic.

No! Something that sounds so good—“I’m trusting Jesus for salvation“—is nothing more than rubbish if I don’t know Him. Just words, that’s all. Just words.

Praising God. Now I’m on sensitive ground. But it’s true. Praising God, or celebration worship—working up an emotional high—if I don’t know Him on a regular basis, is rubbish.

Intellectual religion, like Paul dialoguing with the Athenians on Mars Hill, is rubbish. Paul went to Corinth after that and said, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified“ (1 Corinthians 2:2).

What do we mean by knowing God? The Bible makes it clear that we have the privilege and are invited to spend as much time, day by day, alone with Jesus, as we do eating our meals. That’s what we are talking about. We are not talking in terms of simply getting up in the morning and saying I believe in Jesus. No, we’re talking about spending quality time—at least as much time as we spend eating our meals— alone with Jesus, personally, privately, day by day. Just because we do this doesn’t mean we’ll know Him, but we certainly won’t if we don’t.

May I conclude with the apostle Paul’s impassioned appeal, which is very clear? “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord“ (Philippians 3:7, 8, NIV). And then he says it again: “I want to know Christ“ (verse 10). Not just know about Christ, but know Christ. That’s my desire. Is it yours? I need it more than anyone else, and I want it more than anything else, for you and for me.

One of these days soon the heavens will open and we will see Jesus coming at the right hand of God. He will be surrounded by millions of angels among whom will be the one that has followed you from your earliest moments. As you look into the face of Jesus, won’t it be wonderful to be able to say, “I know You!“… But greater yet will be the thrill as He looks into your eyes and responds, “I know you too!“

In that day, that will be the only thing of importance. Everything else will be nothing without that experience … but it is also true for today as well.