9. Philippians 3

(This is the second in a series of ten posts counting down my ten favorite chapters in the New Testament. My friend David is also counting down his ten favorite chapters in the New Testament. You can find the corresponding post on his blog by clicking here.)

Philippians 3 may soon move up in my top ten because I will be participating in a semester-long Philippians bible study once school starts. Paul gives a brief testimony in this chapter. Verses 4-6 explain his background as a circumcised Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, a strict follower of the law, and a zealous persecutor of the church. Paul was simultaneously a very good person in terms of following the law and a very evil person in terms of his treatment of the believers. He also had a most noble birth.

But in verse 8, Paul counts all these things, both the good and the bad, loss on account of Christ:

"But moreover, I count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse..."

The word refuse can also be translated as garbage, rubbish, or dung. Those are pretty strong words which show the absoluteness of Paul's conversion. And how can you not love a chapter that talks about fecal matter?

Verse 8 continues into verse 9 showing the turn in Paul's life. The things that were previously gain to Paul (the law, his own righteousness, etc.) were replaced by Christ:

"...that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ..."

But verses 13-14 show that Paul was never satisfied with the amount of Christ he had gained. Christ is unlimited, and Paul knew that there was always more Christ to stretch forward into and pursue after:

"...Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward."

This is a very good pattern of the way we should live, and in fact in verse 17, Paul encourages us to be imitators of his pattern. This is a great chapter for us as we enter a new year. Did you have a bad year in 2011? Forget about it. Did you have a good year in 2011? Forget about it. In the year 2012, pursue after new experiences of Christ, counting all other things as loss, to gain more of Him.

10. First Timothy 4

(This is the first in a series of ten posts counting down my ten favorite chapters in the New Testament. My friend David is also counting down his ten favorite chapters in the New Testament. You can find the corresponding post on his blog by clicking here.)

 
Three great verses do not necessarily a great chapter make, but in the case of First Timothy 4, the three verses have meant enough to my life as a Christian to squeak the chapter into my top ten.

The chapter begins on a negative note with a prediction of ones departing from the faith and being hypocrites in later times. Verse 6 marks the change, as Paul starts to explain the contrast from those mentioned in verses 1-5 to a good minister of Christ. That leads us to verse 8, which is the first of the three great verses:

"Exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and that which is to come."

Okay, I included the end of verse 7 for a little contextual help. This verse gave me some perspective in my days as a competitive runner. All of the hours I spent running were not wasted; they were bodily exercise that was profitable for a little. Running greatly benefited my physical health and gave me something useful to do with my time. But the benefits of running are not lasting, and they definitely will not carry over into the life which is to come. But spiritual exercise unto godliness is profitable for all things in this life and the next life! That's awesome, but exercise is not always fun. Just like I had to force myself to exercise physically, I continually have to force myself to exercise spiritually. But the benefits are always there.

The next great verse is verse 12:

"Let no one despise your youth, but be a pattern to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

When he received this letter from Paul, Timothy was a young man, probably in his early twenties like me. This verse helped me see that I do not have to be full-grown, physically or spiritually, to live a godly life as a pattern to others. Recently, I have also met several believers younger than me who have been definite patterns to me in their word, their conduct, and their love.

The third great verse is verse 16:

"Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things; for in doing this you save both yourself and those who hear you."

This verse revolutionized my gospel preaching. Through this verse, I realized that my speaking and teaching about the Lord was not only to save others, but also to save myself. Of course, I desire that others to hear and respond to the gospel, but it's up to the Lord whether or not their hearts are prepared to receive it. But now, each time I preach the gospel, at least one person gets saved - me!

Coming this Saturday...

To a blog near you...

More specifically, to "Come, see a man"...

The finalized, updated, and always entertaining top ten chapters in the New Testament!!

Mr. Fulton over at Sidekicks Anonymous and I are both big fans of rankings as well as the Bible. A few months, we decided to prepare personal lists of our ten favorite chapters as we read through a New Testament reading schedule with Christians on Campus. The reading schedule ends on Saturday, so that day we will each begin with a post about #10. From there, we will count down simultaneously to #1 by unveiling one chapter a day.

Both of us assembled a preliminary top ten at the halfway point through the schedule a few weeks ago. My preliminary list can be found here and his preliminary list can be found here.

By now, I know you can hardly wait for the first post to come out on Saturday, so here’s something to keep you busy until then. Look at the picture from an arm's length. Who do you see?

Then look at it from 10 feet away. Now who do you see?

We'll be back on Saturday!