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Misplaced Confidence

By Jared Warner

Willow Creek Friends Church

October 04, 2026

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Philippians 3:4–14 (ESV)

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:”

We meet Paul again in his letter to the Philippians. Remember that this is a group of people that is passionate about their faith. They are actively participating, they are supporting the ministries within their own community and are even enabling the ministry of other, like Paul, in their missionary journeys. This is important to remember. Even early in the church, within the first church of Europe, which would eventually grow into what is known as Christian-dom, or the Western church, people were actively praying for and providing resources toward the expansion of the gospel.

Paul did not have a single thing to say to this church that was negative. You might think, if there was nothing negative, what was all that last week? There were some things within their cultural framework that could potentially limit the progression of the growing Kingdom influence.

By most standards, Philippi was a comfortable, potentially considered wealthy, community. They were situated near the coast, but not on the coast. This gave them access to regional trade, without the problems that having a port might bring in. And this was a community that was settled by retire soldiers. Soldiers honorably discharged were given a sizable parting income, which throughout much of the empirical period included a parcel of land. And a community that had a significant population consisting of these retired soldiers, would have an upper middle class to wealthy economy. They had financial means, they had land to grow their own wealth, and they had one more thing that many that populated the empire did not have, citizenship.

This word is a hot topic in our contemporary era. We think of it being extremely important and for most of us we did nothing to gain that label. Citizenship in Rome was different. There was birthright citizenship, but this was not common. This was something that was largely only for those that were born into the ruling class of people, the elites. These were the people that served in the government, were representatives in the senate, and occupied the various governor residences within the territories. This would represent, what today would be the top one percent of the population. What about the rest of the people? The vast majority were slaves. One could become a slave in a variety of ways. You could have been a captured enemy combatant. Maybe, you were in financial ruin and the only option was to sell yourself in to slavery, or maybe you were just born that way. Slave were a significant part of the population, but there was another group, the merchants, or the freemen. This was a group of people that caused the ruling class to worry. They were not citizen and they were not slaves. They were not allowed to participate in society outside of trade, yet much of the laws that were enacted were instituted to manage and control them. They would give these freemen just enough liberty to keep them happy, just enough financial assistance to keep them quiet, and just enough opportunity to keep them occupied. But they did not want them to get any ideas that might threaten the status quo.

Philippi was a town that had a high number of citizens. It was basically a community of citizens and slaves. Not much in between, because the merchants lived around the ports, or were skilled tradesmen that worked in the markets. This community was filled with people that had the one thing most other comminutes lacked, it was a community of citizens.

Paul writes to this community of people, and he reminds them that they must do nothing out of selfishness, or conceit. That we should regard others better than ourselves. He reminds them of this because it is easy to forget that there is a human life at the other end of our policies. It is too easy to regard people as a faceless group instead of them as unique image bearers like ourselves. And when we dehumanize and marginalize humanity, it becomes easy to make decisions that only benefit the group we consider most important. Paul is warning them, not because it is happening right now. No he is warning them because it can happen, he has seen it happen before, and he earnestly prays that it will not happen with this community.

Yet they are prideful. And according to the standards of the world they have every right to have that pride. In their culture they have it all, but Paul is telling them that their confidence is misplaced.

I think, at times, we do not realize the unique aspects of our spiritual heritage. In most ancient cultures, their identities seem to get swallowed up within the cultural mainstream. The things that once made them unique tend to almost vanish. Little things might remain. Language is one aspect of culture that might remain within certain regions, perhaps some skilled art in weaving or pottery. But it is often difficult to distinguish a clear division between one culture and another. If you were to ask most people what the difference between a Russian and Ukrainian were they would be unable to tell you. Or what is the difference between an American and someone from Canada? And for most of us, we could not begin to distinguish the differences between the peoples of Asia, unless they happen to have snacks and Pokémon. But the Hebrew people were able to maintain some cultural heritage even while living in exile.

There are many factors to this. The largest is that God promised that a remnant would remain to the end. But there is something more. The Greek culture found them to be a curiosity. They were so different from the Greek people, and yet they held respect for them. They for centuries held this manner of thinking that had survived where so many other systems of thought disappeared beneath the sands of time. How many of us know who the gods of Nineveh are? The only reason we know of the Egyptian pantheon is because of the Rosetta Stone, and we know of Roman and Greek thought because they sort of merged into one. The Romans and the Greeks had similarities that just seem to fit well together, we often consider Greek and Roman mythology as the same thing with different names. But the people of Israel did not get swallowed by the surrounding culture. Its amazing if you think about it.

They were this curiosity, they presented a philosophy that was similar in part yet vastly different to that of the Greeks. Why did the Greeks allow them to persist? They were curious. They saw the ancient history, the long held ritualistic heritage, and the intense discipline, and the Greek thinkers invited them to the discussion. They did not necessarily agree, but they enjoyed the conversation. This is the whole idea of the university, that was championed by the Greek culture. The sharing of ideas, the debate among the details, and the liberty to make an informed decision. That is as much our heritage as anything else. That is the culture democracy and the republic was crafted upon.

But there was another idea in the mix also. One of dominance and power. The idea that might is right. This was also present in aspects of Greek culture, because there was many little city states, and at times different ones held the power. And for that time, the voice of the victor carried the most weight within the discussion. Philippi was a city in the Greek provinces, dominated by Rome yet still holding parts of that Greek culture. It is in this unique and slightly confusing place we find Paul today.

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.”

Paul is pulling at the ideas of might is right. He is capitalizing on the Greek romance with ancient thinking as part of the debate, and he is at the same time teaching them the early theology of Christ.

“[C]ircumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.” He is letting them know his story. He is of this ancient group that has had strict traditions that were ancient even to their contemporary era. He was circumcised in those customs. And he was of the tribe of Benjamin.

The mention of this tribe has always made me wonder. Why did it matter? Saul the first king of Israel was of the line of Benjamin. And Benjamin’s tribe, because of the grace David showed to Johnathan’s offspring, became the most zealous defenders of David’s Dynasty. Think for a moment about the various special operation forces we have in our defense department, the rangers, seals, marines. Each has their own specialty and skill. In Israel, they had Benjamin, the sole tribe that remained loyal to Judah even when all the others rebelled against them and divided the kingdom.

Paul is saying, I am part of that elite group. I am a member of the special force, the loyal tribe, the tribe that held the first royal line, and fierce defended the second royal family because David was gracious. But that heritage was not the only thing that was important. “As to the law,” Paul says, “a Pharisee”. This meets the Greek university thinkers. He is not merely someone with ancient roots, he has an education, he has learning. He can hold his own in a debate, and he brings with him the citations to prove his point.

“As to zeal,” he continues, “a persecutor of the church.” He was not only educated he was willing to defend his stance and take down anyone that opposed it. He was given a mandate to seek out and hunt those that participated and spread the teachings of the church, and he did it gladly. “As to righteousness under the law, blameless.” Again this reaches across the cultural barrier and confronts the teachings of not only the righteous among the people of Hebrew, but also to the Greek philosophers. The people of Israel were not the only people who sought to live ethical and moral lifestyles. Greek writers composed volumes on ethics. They created schools promoting stoicism, they created cults dedicated to the study of geometry and finding the fingerprints of God in the created order. Paul was blameless. He no matter which way you looked or which school of philosophical discipline you held, you could not look at Paul’s life and lifestyle and find fault.

Paul was a good man. He had every right to think of himself as good, and to top it all off he too was a citizen of Rome, just like them. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

Our English translations have softened Paul’s words at this point. Paul calls all the things that he has confidence in. All the things that the world has confidence in waste. It is literally manure, or fecal material left in the stable after the horses eat their daily oats.

Everything we hold as important is the same. What lasting value is the title of manager after I retire? It is great until that store goes bankrupt. As long as we have power our status remains relevant but the moment we lose power, we are just an irrelevant footnote in history. How many Pharoses are honored in Egypt? We know a few but they are not honored, they are paraded around for tourists to raise money, the once great living gods of the Nile, are nothing more than a street corner act. Their greatness is muck in the stalls of history. What about the kings of Europe? We only know of a couple, and are not all that impressed.

But who is remembered? We remember even after the sands of history the leaders and saints that did not regard status. When Christmas comes we sing of good king Wenceslas that went walking on the feast of Stephen. The funny thing about that is he was not even a king, but a duke. We remember him because he went out in the winter snows to make sure the people of his duchy had supplies. We remember with cheer the leaders, the ministers, the saints and ordinary people the took time for us. We remember the people that made sacrifices so that we could move forward.

Everything I have done, the degrees I obtained, the positions I held. No one really cares. Except for the people that where watching, or received some act of service. I have had several teachers from school, I only remember a few well. And it is not because they were easy, in fact they were some of the teachers I hated at the time. Mr. Boyd that always pushed me to do more. Mr. Douglas because he would never let me go one week without having to spell everything right. Mr. Ginther and his weird mannerisms yet passion for science. These teachers invested their life into mine.

Paul says everything I have done for my own benefit is manure, its waste sitting in the stable. It is chewed up, digested, and expelled. Except those things that brought him closer to Christ.

Why do we even know Paul? Is it because of his zeal for persecuting the church? Or his heritage? No we only know of him because he traveled the Roman Empire, planted churches, and wrote a bunch of letters? He sacrificed his reputation, his career, his very life for what? We know Stephen, we know James the brother of Jesus. We know Francis even outside of Catholic circles, why? They gave up all they had, and they invested it all into the lives of people for the sake of Christ.

Here Paul is, saying everything he has ever worked for is a stinking pile of rubbish, and we are reading one of his letters over a thousand years later.

What would drive a man like this, if he does not gain anything for himself? “That I may know him and the power of the resurrection, and may share his suffering, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of from the dead.” He wants to know Christ.

He wants to know Christ because there is something about Jesus that crosses cultural barriers and challenges everything we thought we knew. If you were to sit down and read the words of Jesus’ teaching honestly, how many of us can say we meet the standard? Love your enemy? Do good to those that persecute you? Welcoming the stranger?

Paul tells this group of believers, this group of well-to-do, citizens of Rome, that he is just like them. And he knows none of that matters. Where we were born does not matter. Our political party does not matter. Our degree, our marital status, our career. It does not matter unless we devote it to Christ and use what is available to us to encourage those around us open up to the whispers of God’s Spirit in their lives. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and staining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

To Paul, the only thing to strive toward is the thing that brought you to the feet of Christ. It is our weakness, our passions, our hopes, and our sorrows. Why do I stand here today? It is probably because I prayed at one time that God would give me the strength to speak once twenty-five years ago, when I had to stand before the class and give a speech. He met me in my weakness, and in him, I found the strength. Or it might be that I prayed once for comfort when my soul was crying out, why! The night twenty-nine years ago when my little sister was laying in a hospital be with machines keeping her alive. I remember that night praying for comfort and strength, I prayed for knowledge if she was going to have earthly healing or if she would go to his arms. And I felt comfort within my chest, knowing that she was with him and I did not need to fear.

I can list many stories, I could list people, and places. I can list many things, but still to this day I do not know why I am here. I can tell you why I should not be easier than why I should. And that is the point Paul is making. It is not about what I have done. Yes, I still strive to know God more deeply, but everything I do is like a blunder that somehow landed right side up. Do not think I am perfect, Paul says. Do not think for a moment that I have it all together. But if you do look at me, know this. I am seeking Christ and I will press on toward that with everything that I have because that is all that matters. Jesus saw Paul within the righteousness and zeal of Saul, and Jesus called that out. Jesus heard a voice in a boy that barely spoke a word, and now that voice speaks weakly, or weekly depending on the day. Press on to that prize, the prize of Christ, who did not believe that equality with God was something that could be taken or forced, but became obedient, submitting himself even unto death. He submitted so that we could rise with him. And he is calling out to each of us.

Where or in what are we putting our confidence in? And is it something you would like to step into?

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Being of the Same Mind

By Jared Warner

Willow Creek Friends Church

September 27, 2026

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Philippians 2:1–13 (ESV)

¹ So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Last week we began looking at Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we continue with that letter today. While studying the past few weeks, I learned a few things I did not know before. Philippi was not like many of the other communities that received letters from Paul. They were not facing some crisis or living within some moral failing. Instead, they were encouraged and praised for their devotion. They were not being persecuted, but were freely living their faith and were in a position to enable Paul and others to extend the ministry. This however does not come without warnings. The people of Philippi although faithful, have something that is concerning. It has not yet made itself evident in the expression of their faith, but it is lurking in the background.

While studying, I learned about the demographics of this community. This community was near the sea but situated inland. It was not a major port, but it was close enough to the port to have access to it. We do not think too much about that as most of us do not live near a port city either. But there are things that go on in ports that do not happen in other communities. There is a constant flow of people boarding and disembarking ships. Cargo is being loaded and unloaded. Money is changing hands, and money is being spent. And the sailors that have been living without comforts of home often overindulge. The over indulgence is something that is often spoken about in Paul’s other letters, and the activities associated with meeting those indulgent demands. Philippi is not on the coast, but it is near. They do not face the crime nor the immoral binges. But there is something they must watch out for, comfort.

This city became an ideal place for retired soldiers to open the next chapters of their lives. They have citizenship, they have estates, they have comfortable economic status, and they have a voice. They are near enough to the Empirical capital to participate in governance if they are needed, but they are also far enough away to avoid much of it. But these are people of means, living within communities of means. This does not mean that there are not poor among them. Jesus said that the poor will always be among us. The poor are not necessarily economically poor, instead to be poor means that there is a lack. A lack of influence, a lack of opportunity, a lack of security, as well as a lack of wealth. There are poor among the people of Philippi, the poor of Philippi may not look like the poor in Israel, or some other region because by in large this is a prosperous community. But there are still people that lack something, as the poor are always among us. The question is if we are willing or able to see it.

Paul says, “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

I want us to let those words percolate in our minds for a bit. I want the words to slowly filter through our minds. What is Paul speaking about? Empathy.

I sat with these verses, I have considered the demographics of Philippi, and I began to see some parallels. Philippi is very similar to many placed we might call first world nations. They had access to everything they wanted, yet they did not necessarily have to see what was behind the scenes of getting it there. Philippi is like the suburbs. They have access but do not experience the full toll of human cost to obtain the goods and services they desire. We could easily replace the name of their city, with Kansas City, the United States, London, or Germany nearly all of these first world places also have a similar experience. Do we know what is required to really get our morning coffee from Starbucks? We complain about the need to tip those that serve the cup, because it forces us to consider a bleak reality. The need for tips means that the cost of our cup of coffee does not fully cover the needed wages for an individual to survive. But that is just one small window into the lack within that Starbucks cup.

Do we know what it costs to grow the beans that are ground and roasted for our morning brew? Do we know if the people that grow those beans are being paid fair market value, or are the processing corporations using some exploitative practice to maximize their profits while keeping the price per cup low? The reality is that we are not paying full price, we know we are not paying full price because of the need for a tip, and we complain because we are paying more for things.

Our cell phones are another great example, our clothing, even the gas we put in our cars. All of these things have some aspect of poor or lack attached to them, and we often cannot or do not want to see it.

I speak in economic terms because that is often my understanding of things. Before I became a pastor, I loved science and economic. In my mind these things could explain just about everything I needed to know. I majored in crop science with the hopes that I would someday get a job working in some genetic research facility. As I went through school, I also took nearly every economics class I could. I will honestly say there is a lack of economic understanding. And that lack of understanding is frequently seen in the lack of empathy we have for people.

The world sees economics as the buying and selling of goods and services. But there is more to it than that. Economics is a tool people can use to understand those around us. When John the Baptist was preaching on the river banks, he cried out to the crowd if any of you have two shirts, give one to the person that lacks. We might just see that as charity, but it is economics. One person has a surplus and the other is lacking, the transfer provides equilibrium within the community. When homeostasis is lacking within a system, something will eventually break. When the ones with a surplus continue to hold the surplus and the lack begins to multiply eventually markets are forced to change. Usually the price rises, but there are times where things become more drastic. Riots, labor strikes, the invention of an alternative, or maybe a boycott.

People start to blame others for their problems, they want to pin their lack on someone or something, because clearly the system is not working.

Paul saw this brewing in the people of Philippi. It was just something small, but there was something there. If they did not start to make changes, it would eventually grow into a problem. He was seeing empathy diminishing.

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit. If this is what you say you are, if this is what you experienced and claim in faith, “complete my joy by being of the same mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition of conceit, but in humility count others more significant they yourselves.”

These people were not immoral people in the eyes of the world. The people within their society would probably call them good people. Just as most within our society would call themselves good. Yet they were not good. They were selfish, some might call them grifters. They were looking out for themselves with little to no regard to the people around them. As long as they had what they needed, that is all that mattered. But there is lack within the society. If we cannot see the disequilibrium eventually the system will break.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…”

This community is filled with retired soldiers. When a soldier was honorably discharged they would get paid, they were given a plot of land, and legal status. This is an honorable thing to provide to those that dedicated their lives to the empire. They served and they have been rewarded. They served, and because of that service they desire and demand some honor from those whose livelihood they protected.

This points to another aspect of imbalance within the system. Those that served and those that did not. Those that have that status and those that lack it. This status is something that Paul also speaks of. He is telling the former soldiers do not think too highly of yourselves. Instead, have within you the same mind as Jesus.

Jesus, at this point in time, had already been seen as more than a mere man within the Christian community. Paul says, that he was in the form or the essence of God. Jesus had the greatest status of any being. Yet Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

The last time I spoke out of this passage, I mentioned that the word grasped, could be seen as taken or even stolen. It is to take by force. Jesus cannot take equality with God by force, because he is the essence of God. What this points to is the demand of recognition.

We have all had managers or supervisors at work that demand respect, but have done very little to deserve that respect. They walk around with a clip board, bark out orders, but everyone knows that they really do not know anything. I have been reprimanded by managers like that. This particular manager was not a bad manager, but he was a manager that did not understand, and could not retrain when error occurred. Many of you know that I am hearing impaired, and within one of my annual reviews I said that I had trouble communicating with people that had heavy accents. This manager did not take the time to ask why, he simply determined that my trouble with accents was discrimination. The reason is I cannot hear, I need a hearing aid, but I cannot afford one that will actually assist with my form of hearing loss. But since I did not have a hearing aid, he deemed it prejudice. I was given a written action plan and for the next six months, every action of every day was scrutinized till eventually I got tired of it and found a different job.

That manager, demanded recognition. And if it was not given he found a way to make sure it happened. Might is right, is the colloquial term. If you have the strength and the authority to force, you have the right to do so. This is often how the world works. We see it between nations, within the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and our own foreign policies. We assume we have the might so everything we demand should be what everyone else submits to.

Jesus has the power and the authority. Jesus fed the five thousand, he walked on water, he raised Lazarus from the grave. These are miracles yes, but Jesus did these things to show the world that he had the power, and they loved the power. Imagine if Jesus led the armies of Israel, the only war with no casualties because Jesus would simply heal the wounded and raise the dead. Imagine an army where the supply chain was not necessary to protect because Jesus could simply make all the bread the army needed out of thin air. This is what the world was thinking when they saw the power of Jesus. If he could only use that for us to gain power over those we see as enemies.

Jesus did not use his power for that cause though. Instead, Jesus humbled himself. He being the essence of God, was born in the likeness or the essence of man. He took on our flesh, and he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Not just death, he suffered the humiliation of the cross.

These former soldiers were trained to be mighty. They were commanded to use that might to compel obedience. “The rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,” Jesus taught us. (Matthew 20:25) They lord it over, they demand allegiance to their authority, because might is right. It shall not be so among you.

Jesus had the power, but he did not use it for himself or to extract loyalty. Jesus became a servant, even though he was the almighty God through whom all things that were created were made. He willingly served, he bent down to wash the feet of his own disciples. Our faith is not just words we say, it must be a life lived. Our focus should be encouraging everyone, to empower those around us to strive for something better. We should do this not for our own good, but for theirs.

Paul saw within the people of Philippi something that could eventually pose a problem if it was left unchecked. Friends, we also have the same concern around us. We are comfortable, and in that comfort we begin to see anything that poses the slighted inconvenience as being oppression. We complain about the tipping culture, yet we should be demanding that fair wages are paid so that tipping can go away. There was another culture that was in a similar place a century ago. That nation was an engineering powerhouse, filled with technological innovation, and industrial precision. That nation was predicted to become the greatest nation of the 20^th century. The nation being spoken of at the dawn of the 20^th century was Germany. It went from being the most innovative with unprecedented economic potential to something else. Germany was not only the leader in technology at that time, it was also a leader in other academic areas, including theology. Today Germany remains one of the most important voices in theology, and if you were to obtain a doctoral degree in theology you are required to learn German because many of the leading academic journals are published in German.

I know many people like to throw around comments comparing our contemporary era to the mid 20^th century German experience. Germany was a leader not only in the economy and technology, but they were a leader in theology. They went from leading, from being a beacon of hope, to something dire and evil. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this in his book Cost of Discipleship.

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

(https://joshbenner.org/2018/05/02/dietrich-bonhoeffer-cheap-grace-vs-costly-grace/)

Germany fell from grace. They had everything, yet they failed to see. They failed to see the poor, because they were seeking their own good. They failed to encourage and empower, because they were seeking their own ambition. They failed to understand true discipleship, because they did not want to humble themselves. Jesus came, he was born, lived, taught, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again not so we can be comfortable. He did this so that we could understand that all humanity bear the image of God, and are loved by him. Jesus experienced, and humbled himself not so everyone can go to heaven, but so we could recognize the areas of lack and abundance within our society. And he is calling us to make the abundance available to those that lack. We are called to bring equilibrium into our system. Or in the economy of God, we are to bring justice. This is work, it is a sacrifice, it is not something that will come easy or be widely praised, but it is what a disciple of Christ is, that is what a Friend of Jesus is. Someone who loves God, embraces the Holy Spirit, and lives the love of Christ with others. I pray that we will make his joy complete by being of the same mind.

Transformed in Grace

By Jared Warner

Willow Creek Friends Church

August 23, 2026

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Click to read in Swahili

Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili

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The past few weeks I have made a point to encourage us to use context as we read scripture. To observe more than the mere words within the passage, but to also consider the rest of the book, and even scriptures outside the book. Not just scripture, but also culture and history. It is even important to understand science, contemporary spiritual practices both inside and outside Hebrew influence. We need to do this because the writers of scripture were inspired to write within a historic and cultural context. The words were written to encourage and inspire those of their age, as well as us today.

This is significant when we consider the passages associated with eschatology. Imagine for a moment if the prophets of ancient times were only speaking of events that were to occur 3 to 4 thousand years in the future. Would the people of that age be able to recognize them as sacred texts, or would they only see them as the ravings of a mad man? The words were primarily for their time and place, but also allude to something more. But this something more, these future events, were understandable within their context.

I bring eschatology up not because this passage speaks of it, but because sometimes our thoughts on eschatology permeate through our lives to such a degree that our primary focus is on the end instead of the present. We are not called to merely prepare for that great day, but as we prepare we are to live today. We are to work, teach, serve, and share now.

Before we move on we do need to consider the context of our passage. When we look at the letter to the Romans we often assume that this was a letter written to the people of Rome. We are not wrong, but we sometimes forget what Rome was. Rome was the capital of an empire. There were people from every corner of the empire living within this city. There were representatives from the provinces of Africa, from the Central Europe, from Spain, and from across the lands surrounding the Mediterranean basin. There were also envoys from other lands. Envoys from the Persian remnant, diplomats from Ethiopia, merchants from the Far East, and even traders traveling down the rivers of Eastern Europe and Russia across the seas. Rome was not a homogeneous community but diverse.

The church within Rome was also diverse. There was a large Jewish population within Rome and many of them responded to the gospel along with those from the gentile nations. This is why Paul exerted such energy and thought to explain the reality of the grace of God. The church at this time did not have the scriptures that we have today. What they did have were the writings of the Old Testament, but they did not have the Hebrew scripture, they had the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. And because they had only the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, those are the scriptures that were used and recognized within the ancient churches.

When I was a child I was often taught that the Catholic Church added books to the bible. They are not wrong in that teaching, but they are not correct either. The Catholic Church added the New Testament, but they were not the only church that did so. The Church of Antioch, Ethiopia, Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Alexandria also added the New Testament. These however are not the book we are speaking of. Protestants frequently say that the Church of Rome added the Apocrypha, or the deuterocanonical books. These book were part of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, so they were not added, instead they were already part of the Jewish community that lived outside Judea. The reason they are not included in our Protestant bibles is because during the reformation the leaders of the Protestant churches wanted only the books that were represented in the accepted Hebrew text. The texts they used, the Masoretic text, was only accepted around the 7^th century of our current age, seven hundred years after the church began. One could argue that the Masoretic texts, could have been made in opposition to the church just as much as one could argue that the text was the Hebrew Bible used within Jerusalem.

So when Paul was writing to the church of Rome, everyone present only knew the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The understanding that both the Jews and the Gentiles had of scripture was from those first century era of history. They believed that the nations were divided among lessor deities, under the leadership of the one true God. And that the entire purpose of the Messiah was to bring all people back to that one true God. As we saw within Psalm 138. “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.”

Paul wanted both the Jews and the Gentiles of Rome to know the reality of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. It was not merely to make all people Jewish. It was to bring all people, all religions, all of humanity back to the place they were created to be. Restored to an Edenic existence, where all humanity lived as image bearers of that one true God.

The context is important. The people were reading the Greek translations. Books like Tobit, where a righteous man living in exile was given a quest by the angel Raphael. Or the book of Judith where a Jewish widow interacts and saves her people from the invading Assyrian army. These book gave those people living in exile hope, they provided direction and identity to people of faith living in exile. They often provided a bridge between the various cultures and allowed the righteous to live their faith in a problematic time. This is what Paul is getting at. All of humanity is in exile. All of humanity is living lives of faith as outsiders within an immoral worldly based context. Not only the people of Hebrew heritage but all people. And some of these people have been in exile even longer.

God does not repent of his calling of Israel, he needed them as the one people through whom he would reveal himself, but the ultimate goal was not merely Israel but everyone. And everyone that calls upon the name of Jesus will be shown mercy and grace.

He spent eleven chapters building up to this point. Drawing on language of the Law, or the teachings of God, to unify the church. We are not Jews and Greeks, but we are a spiritual family united under the one true God. And because we are one people, present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

I want us to slow down and consider this for a moment. I have just presented a bunch of historical context that we may not have been aware of. But what Paul is telling us is that everything we do should be devoted to honoring God. Every word we speak should be laced with encouragement and grace. Every time we go to work our actions should be reflecting the devotion we have to God. When we interact with people around us our mind should not be focused on the things our world focus on, instead our thoughts should be devoted to bringing honor to God.

We are to be living. But not just living, we are also to be sacrifices. I want you to consider this. Most sacrifices are not living. Instead, their life is given to bring honor and signify devotion to the deity being worshiped. Our life is to be given. It is not our own everything we do, and every aspect of who we are should be directed to give honor to God. If you call on the name of Jesus, you are no longer living to yourself. You belong to God. You are set apart for a different purpose.

Paul then continues, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

As I was studying this week, I opened a translation of the New Testament I forgot I purchased. It is called the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament. This translation was formulated by a group of pastors ministering to various native cultures throughout North America. They wanted to present a translation of scripture into the context of their people. At first, we might think this is heretical, but I want us to consider how we learned about God. Very few of us know Greek, each of us listen from our own cultural context. We explain the gospel to children in language they understand. We do not use words they are unaware of like, “propitiation.” because most adults do not even understand that word to mean atonement. It goes over our heads.

This team of translators present it like this:

“So then, my sacred family members, because Creator has shown us such mercy and kindness, I now call on you to offer your whole beings, heart, mind, and strength, to the Great Spirit as a living sacrifice. Do this in a sacred and spiritual manner that will make his heart glad. Do not permit the ways of this world to mold and shape you. Instead, let Creator change you from the inside out, in the way a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. He will do this by giving you a new way of thinking, seeing, and walking. Then you will know for sure what the Great Spirit wants for you, things that are good, that make the heart glad, and that help you to walk the path of becoming a mature and true human being.”

(Romans 12:1-2 FNV)

I sat reflecting on this passage from that perspective. I then considered what I knew of the various indigenous people groups. Their culture was not always like the cultures of European people, and neither are the cultures of Africa or Asia. I might not understand their culture, but that does not mean that they do not have some understanding that I do not have. I looked at these words from that perspective. And I was no longer looking at it systematically. Often European minded cultures look at everything from the rule of law perspective. We have hierarchies, departments, economies, and philosophies. We interpret everything from that western perspective. But that is not how everyone lives. The indigenous people of North America had a different rhythm of life. Their focus was on different aspects. Often their life revolved around survival of the community instead of individuality. They look at their place within a larger creation, and instead of conquest they instead strive to be a true human.

My understanding of their various cultures is lacking for sure, but this gave me pause. It challenged me to consider the words of Paul from a perspective that I was not used to. And I found it encouraging.

What happens to a group of people migrating around the prairies of Kansas and Missouri if those within the tribe are self-centered instead of focusing on the community? They will die. It is not a question of if, but when. There are so many factors in life that we cannot possibly be completely self-sufficient. When one person begins to become selfish, another person goes hungry. When one person demands the skins from the hunt, someone is left without clothing. When we become selfish we leave within visible sight someone without. What will eventually happen if we allow this to continue? We become weak. We become fractured. We become greedy. If the tribe continues down that path, how will they survive the winter? How will they respond to other tribes seeking harm?

Present yourself as a living sacrifice, Paul says, give yourself to something greater, something beyond yourself. Do not be shaped or molded by the ways of this world. This world is often devoted to sin. If we go back to the lives of Cain and Abel we see this. Cain was not accepted and Abel was. Cain wanted to be accepted, but he wanted it on his own terms. And God said to Cain if you do well will you not be accepted? That is the way of the world. We want things on our terms. We want it our way. We could not care less what anyone else thinks or feels as long as I have what I want.

It is short-sighted. And leads to destruction. God’s teaching his law is not for that short-sighted life. A few months ago I came across a discussion on the kosher dietary laws. The one presenting stated that we are not given a reason as to why certain foods are considered clean and unclean. So he explored possible reasons. Many of the reasons mentioned I had thought of, but there was one take that made me stop what I was doing to think. He said could it be that pork was unclean because there was only one reason to raise pork? Pork did not have multiple uses throughout its life like other animals. Sheep produce wool every year. So there is value while they live as well as value at the end of their life. Cattle also have multiple uses. They can be used as draft animals, for their milk, and at the end of their life meat and leather. But what is the use of swine? They are raised for one purpose and that is to eat. The point the presenter was making is God’s law in many cases was focused on continued existence, and not merely for short-sighted survival.

We can then look at other teachings within the law. How was Israel encouraged to build their dwellings? How were they supposed to handle mildew, and skin diseases? How were they to interact with individuals from other nations? Each of these laws point to something greater. Some laws have scientific explanations. Where some show us how to effectively assimilate others within our culture. But each of them teach us how to be true human beings.

Are we thinking about that type of life. A life lived to bring honor and glory to God while we live in service and ministry to others? This is the life and lifestyle that Jesus taught. He made it his custom to worship with the community. He often withdrew to pray in isolated places. And he would minister to the needs of the people. Providing healing to those with various diseases, feeding those without food, and providing teachings to draw us into a deeper understanding of life with God.

In all of this Jesus was encouraging us to explore where we fit and how we can become a blessing to others instead of living a life of self-centered consumption. Paul then expands on that thought as he writes to the people living in Rome. “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

He then speaks of us being one part of a greater body. And how each of us have different skills and gifts to bring health and wellness to that body. The point is that we have been blessed with incomes, with skill, with abilities, ideas, and many other things. We have been blessed, but that blessing is to be shared. The blessing, gifts, and our abilities are only fully enjoyed if we utilized them to benefit those around us.

What good is a painting if it is locked away in a closet? What good is being able to bake the best bread if it is never shared with another? How are we to enjoy a song that is never sung? Or find a use for a technology invented if that technology is never built? And how do we help others whose lifestyles are changed when new technologies render their gifts less useful?

We must give and share our abilities. If we do not put ourselves out there for others, there is no nation, there is no economy, there is nothing of value, and we are no more than animals looking for our next meal. We are not true human beings unless we live for others.

“If your gift is to speak the heart and mind of the Great Spirit, in a prophecy, then let trust guide your words. If your gift is helping others, then give yourself to help others. If teaching is your gift, teach well. If your gift is to speak courage and strengthen the hearts of others, then speak bravely. The one whose gift is giving should not hold back. If your gift is leading, lead with honor. And the one whose gift is showing mercy and kindness to others should do so freely, with a glad heart!”

(Romans 12:6-8 FNV)

Let us be a people united in Christ. Let us encourage one another to use the things God has given us well. And let us become a blessing to the world around us. Let us live our lives in such a way that people see that there is a better way to live. One that give hope to the hopeless, help to the needy, and mercy to the afflicted. Let us become a people of blessing, instead of a nation of condemnation. Let us become living sacrifices devoted to the things of God and a people loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. Let us not seek the end but to live for Christ now and until we take our last breath.

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