What’s Trash and What’s Treasure?

5th Sunday in Lent, 4/6/25 Philippians 3:4b-14 What’s Trash and What’s Treasure? Surely, you’ve heard this statement more than once in your life: One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. And I’m reminded of that statement during the opening days of every May here in warm and cheerful Centerville. During those days, the City of Centerville Public Works Department will pick up any amount of trash that homeowners put at the curb in front of their houses, excluding batteries and construction debris. And it’s quite the sight to see. The residential streets are busy with people in pickup trucks and vans cruising the piles of discarded items to see if there’s anything valuable. And I have no problem with that. If someone else can make use of or recycle some of the things I no longer want or need, that’s a win-win situation. It doesn’t end up in the solid waste landfill and someone can make use of it. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. So, that means any particular item of trash might be disputed as being treasure. I might bid farewell to my old, worn-out, slightly odorous easy chair, but a college student might look at it as his throne for the next school year. So be it. Perhaps the only item which doesn’t get disputed is something that’s toxic, something that could cause you immediate or latent harm, a known carcinogen, or a substance that could leach into the ground water and contaminate it. To any thinking person, that’s only trash and it must be disposed of properly. But you didn’t come to worship this morning to hear your pastor talk on and on about worldly trash and worldly treasure and the differences of opinion that exist regarding both. At least I hope you didn’t. Instead, you came to be spiritually edified, spiritually strengthened, spiritually nurtured. And that’s where this trash-treasure discussion is appropriate, even vital. Think about it. It’s bad enough if you mistake toxic trash for worldly treasure. It can do you great physical harm. But it’s even worse when that mix-up between trash and treasure is in the realm of your spiritual life. What do I mean? It’s the difference between spiritual truth and spiritual lies. It can mean the difference between spiritual life and spiritual death. It might end up being the difference between heaven and hell. Am I exaggerating? Not a bit. Why do I say that? Because we’re living in a toxic spiritual dump. Too often people don’t even realize the spiritual trash that surrounds them. They’ve become so accustomed to living in it that they don’t realize the crisis. And it can happen to us. To me. To you. Really? Indeed. It’s nothing new. It’s been happening ever since Adam and Eve believed that Satan’s trash was treasure—something to be desired, something that would make them be like God. We’re happy to know that they repented of their sin. But sadly, one of their sons—Cain—fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and died in unbelief. Think about that. Cain spoke with God on more than one occasion, and he still lived in unbelief. How could that be? He knew who God was, he simply refused to trust that he needed a Savior whom God had promised him. Bottom line—he expected God to accept him for who he was. So, today we hear one of the accounts of Jesus dealing with the spiritual offspring of Cain—the Pharisees. They were the epitome of people who claimed to be God’s people but felt no need for a Savior, just as Cain did. Cain’s unbelief was blatantly obvious. The Pharisee’s unbelief was more subtle. After all, the Pharisees were leaders in the Jewish church during the days when Jesus was on earth. No one was foolish enough to think that there were not members of God’s kingdom. They looked every bit like a child of God. They lived more like a child of God than most other Jews did. But their problem? Self-righteousness to the core. They were certain they never sinned; therefore, they were certain they didn’t need a Savior from sin. They had nothing to be saved from. Their outwardly holy lives were their tickets to heaven, and they were going to ride that horse called “Sinful Pride” all the way up to and through heaven’s gates. Sad. Even sadder…they were emulated by the rest of the Jewish people. Can you hear the common Jewish person say, “If only I could be more like a Pharisee”? After Jesus ascended into heaven, this pharisaic attitude crept into the Christian church. During the time that the apostles were sharing the good news of Jesus with the known world, a group of “Christians” began believing and teaching that you had to believe in Jesus and live like a good Jewish person if you wanted to go to heaven. Theologians call them Judaizers. And the Apostle Paul delt with them extensively. And that’s where this morning’s sermon text from Philippians 3 comes in. Remember the trash/treasure distinction? Too many people were thinking that the teaching of the Judaizers was treasure. Paul calls it trash in no uncertain terms. Listen to Paul’s “trash-talk” once again, “If someone else thinks they have 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 righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage.” If you can get to heaven by being a good Jewish person, then Paul is at the head of the line. Did you hear his list of “accomplishments”? They might not mean much to you, but they were impressive to any and every Jewish person. If anyone could get to heaven by the good things they do, then Paul is it. It sounds like spiritual treasure. And yet what’s Paul’s opinion of it all? Garbage. Trash. Spiritually deadly. How could that be? For the first few decades of his life, Paul thought he had spiritual gold in his hands. He was sure he was filthy rich before God. But at this point in his life, he calls it garbage. Trash. What happened? Jesus happened. Jesus happened in his life. Recall the day. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians—what he thought was more of his spiritual treasure—when the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him in his risen body and confronted Paul. In effect, Jesus informed Paul that his treasure was really trash. In what respect? All of Paul’s efforts to attain his own holiness before God were useless. He could not earn his way to heaven. No amount of his goodness could get him there. His efforts were trash! But that’s where Jesus comes is. He took our trash—our sins—with him to the cross. There he suffered the hell that my sins, your sins, the world’s sins deserve. He took our condemnation on himself. And gives us life with him—life with him now as his dear children and life with him in heaven forever. And that, my dear friends is priceless treasure. That’s eternal treasure. And it’s all yours by faith in Jesus as your Savior from sin. And that’s why we’re here this morning. We came to worship our Savior. We’re here to acknowledge the damning reality of our sins. That’s what we confessed at the start of worship. I hope your confession of sins isn’t some trite Sunday worship formality. I pray it’s sincere, from your heart. It’s a “come to Jesus moment” each Sunday, not so unlike the one Paul experienced on his way to Damascus. And there Jesus meets with us, announcing our forgiveness and the power of his love in our lives. We go from this place in the certainty that all is well with our God through Jesus. And we’ll come back in seven days to do it all over again. Why? Listen to what Paul states, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” There’s spiritual treasure. We press on each day to attain the goal of heaven. Are you pressing on or just relaxing? Is your spiritual goal in life—heaven—clear, or is your route there littered with distractions and other points of interest? To put it into sharper contrast…Is your spiritual treasure gleaming in front of you, or is the trash of life scattered here and there, obstructing your view? Realize what you’re up against. There’s a world out there that thinks you’re wasting your precious time right now. The word’s smartest people consider this discussion we’re having right now to be utter foolishness. And realize, as well, that your sinful nature loves to hear that. But all that’s trash! How can you be sure? Jesus not only died for you, he also rose again and lives forever. When all the world’s wisdom comes to nothing, only Jesus and his saving wisdom will endure. You already possess that treasure. Hold it with all your might by faith in Jesus! Amen.