September 15
Isaiah 20-22
Psalm 104:27-35
Proverbs 22:26-27
Philippians 3:1-11
P & L
“But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.” Philippians 3:7-9 HCSB
Our daughter, Hannah, just graduated from college with her degree in accounting. She is currently in school getting her masters and studying for the CPA exam. Profit and Loss Statements (P&L) have been a topic of conversation in our house recently. The terms used here are accounting terms referring to business dealings. Paul is doing the math. The losses are the kind that would occur when goods were lost at sea. They signify a total loss. In the verses preceding these, he examines all the things in his life that he had accomplished. When he became acquainted with the truth of the gospel found in Jesus, he realized that none of the things that he believed gave himself value and which he had relied on to give him acceptance by God were of any value at all. He is saying that when presented with salvation in Jesus through faith alone, he chose to toss all those other things overboard because they were of no value in purchasing salvation. He was no longer relying on the advantages of his birth, his education, or conformity to the law. Not only were those things not sufficient in providing salvation, but they were also a disadvantage or hindrance because they gave him a false sense of security.
The profit and loss statement (P&L) summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses of a company. The purpose is to help you evaluate how you can end up with more money or profit than you are spending. When you set up a spreadsheet comparing a life lived in the righteousness from God based on faith compared to the life lived based on the law or a life lived to fulfill the desires of the flesh, there is no comparison. The joy, peace, freedom, and security found in Christ are eternal and far surpass the temporary satisfaction of material possessions, power, and indulgence in sinful behavior. Whatever we may desire that is contrary to the life we have in Christ can never satisfy us and will fail to meet our needs. Paul figured this out by counting the cost. We would do well to do a P&L of our lives and determine if we are relying on things that have no lasting value or if the things we are pursuing are based on the truth of God’s Word.
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