Sermon draft: Pressing On in the New Year
Main passage: Philippians 3:12–14
Big idea: Because Christ has taken hold of us, we can face the new year honestly, pursue him wholeheartedly, and keep moving toward the hope he has promised.
Introduction
A new year invites us to look in two directions at once. We look back over the months behind us, and we look ahead at the months we cannot yet see. We remember joys and sorrows, answered prayers and unanswered questions, progress and regret. We may feel hopeful about what is coming—or uncertain, tired, and unsure what to expect.
The turn of a calendar can make us think about fresh starts. We might set goals, make plans, or decide that this year will be different. Some of those plans may be very good. We may want to give more attention to prayer, Scripture, family, health, generosity, or service. But beneath all our plans is a deeper question: What does it mean to keep going with God?
The apostle Paul gives us an answer in Philippians 3:12–14. He writes:
“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 straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
These words are not a motivational slogan telling us that we can accomplish anything if we try hard enough. Paul is not promising that the coming year will be easy, or that every personal ambition will succeed. He is writing about the life of faith: knowing Christ, being found in him, and pressing on toward the future God has promised.
The verses immediately before this passage help us understand what Paul means. He has been speaking about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. His confidence is not in his own religious credentials or achievements. It is in Christ—in his righteousness, his death, and the power of his resurrection. Paul longs to know Christ more deeply, including the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings, and to be conformed to him.
Then Paul says, in effect, “I have not yet reached the finish line. I am still pressing on.” He is not complacent, but he is not hopeless either. His life has a direction because Christ has taken hold of him.
As we enter a new year, this passage helps us avoid two opposite mistakes. One mistake is to pretend we have already arrived: “I am doing fine; I do not need to grow.” The other is to believe that our past failures have made growth impossible: “I have fallen too far behind; there is no point in trying.” Paul gives us a better way. We can be honest about where we are, confident in the Christ who has claimed us, and determined to keep moving toward him.
Let’s consider the passage in three movements.
1. Be honest about where you are
Paul begins with a remarkable confession:
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect” (Philippians 3:12, ESV).
And he says it again in verse 13:
“I do not consider that I have made it my own” (Philippians 3:13, ESV).
Paul is not speaking as a new Christian who has barely begun. He has served Christ through hardships, opposition, and sacrifice. He has proclaimed the gospel and helped establish churches. Yet he does not describe himself as someone who has completed the Christian life. He has not reached the full experience of knowing Christ and being made like him that he longs for.
That matters because sometimes we imagine that spiritual maturity means never admitting weakness, never needing correction, or never feeling the struggle of temptation. But Paul teaches us something different. Mature faith is not pretending to be finished. It is knowing that we are not finished and continuing to depend on Christ.
There is a difference between saying, “I am not perfect,” as an excuse to remain unchanged, and saying it as a confession that sends us back to the grace of God. Paul does not use his unfinished condition to make peace with sin. He uses it as a reason to keep pursuing Christ.
We need that honesty at the start of a new year. Some of us may look back and see real growth. We have learned to pray more consistently, become more patient, reconciled with someone, or served in ways we had not served before. We should thank God for every sign of his grace. But we should not confuse progress with completion. We still need the Lord. We still need to grow in love, humility, courage, holiness, and faithfulness.
Others of us may be looking back with disappointment. Perhaps we began the previous year with good intentions and did not follow through. Perhaps we have returned to a sin we thought we had left behind. Perhaps we have been spiritually distracted, or we have carried resentment, fear, or grief for a long time. The passage does not ask us to pretend that none of that happened. Paul’s honesty gives us permission to name where we really are.
But honesty is not the same as despair. The truth that we have not arrived does not mean that God has abandoned us. In Philippians 1:6, Paul expresses confidence that the God who began a good work in believers “will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (ESV). Our growth is real, but it is not finished; and the one who began his work in us is faithful.
Think of a person learning a skill. At first, every step is difficult. With practice, there is real improvement. But even an experienced musician, athlete, or craftsperson still has more to learn. A good teacher does not tell the learner to pretend they have mastered everything. The teacher helps them see what is already improving, what still needs attention, and what the next faithful step should be.
That is a helpful picture of Christian growth, as long as we remember that Christ is more than a coach. He is our Savior and Lord. He does not merely point out our weaknesses from a distance. He gave himself for sinners, welcomes those who come to him, and works in his people by his Spirit. We can face the truth about ourselves because our hope does not depend on pretending to be flawless.
So, as you begin this year, ask God to help you look honestly at your life. Where have you grown? Give thanks. Where are you still struggling? Do not hide it from God. Where do you need to repent, seek help, make peace, or change direction? Bring that to the Lord and take the next faithful step.
Parents and grandparents, young people and children, those who are new to faith and those who have followed Jesus for many years: none of us has outgrown our need for Christ. The Christian life is not a ladder we climb until we can do without grace. It is a life of continuing dependence on the grace that first saved us.
Some of us might find it discouraging to hear that even Paul had not arrived. But it should encourage us. The apostle’s unfinishedness did not disqualify him from following Jesus. The fact that you still need to grow does not mean that the Lord has no future for you. It means you are still called to trust him and take the next step.
2. Press on because Christ has taken hold of you
Paul does not only tell us that he has not arrived. He explains why he keeps moving:
“I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12, ESV).
That word “because” carries the weight of the verse. Paul’s effort is grounded in Christ’s prior action. He presses on because Christ has taken hold of him.
The order is essential. Paul is not saying, “I keep trying so that Christ might accept me.” He is saying, “I keep pursuing Christ because Christ has already claimed me.” His confidence is not that his effort will persuade Jesus to love him. His confidence is that Jesus has loved him and made him his own.
That is the heart of the gospel. We are not saved by our moral achievements, religious performance, or ability to make a fresh start. We are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the righteous life we have not lived. He died on the cross for sinners and rose again. All who trust in him are forgiven and welcomed—not because they have earned a place, but because Christ has provided the way.
Earlier in this chapter, Paul describes the change that came when he encountered Christ. The things he once counted as gain, he came to regard as loss compared with knowing Christ. His hope was not in his own righteousness, but in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:7–9). Paul presses on, then, not to secure a standing with God by his own effort, but because he already belongs to Christ.
This gives us both comfort and direction. It gives comfort because our relationship with God does not rest on the strength of our grip on him. We are held by Christ. Our faith may feel weak at times. We may have seasons of confusion, sorrow, or spiritual weariness. Yet Christ is not fickle. His saving work does not depend on us having an impressive record.
At the same time, belonging to Christ gives direction. Grace is not permission to live without care for God. The one who rescues us also calls us to follow him. The love of Christ does not make obedience irrelevant; it makes obedience a response of gratitude and trust.
Picture a small child learning to walk while holding a parent’s hand. The child takes real steps. The child must move, learn, and sometimes stumble. But the security of the child’s progress is not based on the child having an unbreakable grip. The parent is holding the child. In a far deeper way, the Christian life is marked by real effort and real dependence. We walk, but we walk because Christ has first laid hold of us.
This truth can reshape our resolutions. It is not wrong to make plans for the year. But we should ask what kind of plans fit a life already claimed by Christ. Instead of asking only, “What do I want to accomplish?” we can ask, “How can I know and obey Christ more faithfully in the life he has given me?”
Maybe your next step is to establish a regular time in Scripture—not to earn God’s favor, but to hear his voice and learn his ways. Maybe it is to pray honestly about a struggle rather than covering it up. Maybe it is to seek wise Christian counsel. Maybe you need to ask someone’s forgiveness, or extend forgiveness without pretending that the wound did not matter. Perhaps you can serve someone who cannot repay you. Perhaps you need to rest and receive care rather than treating exhaustion as a badge of faithfulness.
These steps will look different for different people. A child’s next step may be telling the truth when it is hard. A teenager’s may be choosing friends and habits that help them follow Jesus. A parent’s may be practicing patience in the pressure of ordinary days. Someone who is lonely may need to take the courageous step of asking for fellowship. Someone carrying grief may need to let the church walk with them instead of suffering alone.
There is no single new-year plan that fits every Christian. But the direction is the same: toward Christ, in response to Christ’s grace.
And because Christ has taken hold of us, failure does not have to be the end of the story. If we stumble, we do not need to pretend we did not. We confess our sin, receive the mercy of God, and get up again with the help of the Lord. Repentance is not a way to repay Jesus for his grace. It is a return to the one who has already called us his own.
Perhaps someone is thinking, “I have tried before, and I failed.” That may be true. But the gospel does not say that salvation belongs to those who have never fallen. It announces that Christ died for sinners. Do not make your past failure your master. Bring it to Christ. Where there is sin, confess it. Where there is damage, seek to repair what you can. Where there is a repeated struggle, ask for help and do not fight alone. And then, trusting the grace of Jesus, take the next step.
We press on not to make Jesus ours by force of will, but because he has made us his own. That is where Christian effort begins—and where our hope rests.
3. Look forward to God’s promised goal
Paul continues:
“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:13–14, ESV).
The picture is of a runner reaching toward the finish line. Paul’s words are energetic: he presses on, strains forward, and keeps his attention on the goal. This is not a picture of someone drifting aimlessly. Paul’s life has a destination.
What is the goal? The same verse says it is “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, ESV). Paul is looking toward the future God has promised: the final fullness of life with Christ, when God’s work of making his people like Jesus will be complete. The passage points beyond this year and beyond our earthly lives. The ultimate goal is not a more comfortable calendar or a more impressive set of achievements. It is Christ himself and the life God calls us to in him.
That gives the new year its proper place. A year matters. The days we are given matter. The choices we make matter. But this year is not the whole story. Our hope is not finally that every problem will be solved by December, or that every plan will succeed. Our hope is that God is leading his people toward the day when they will be with Christ and made whole.
Paul says he is “forgetting what lies behind.” He is not telling us to erase our memories or refuse to learn from the past. The Bible often calls us to remember God’s faithfulness, to confess sin, and to learn wisdom. “Forgetting” here is about refusing to let what is behind govern the direction of the race. Paul will not be held back by former achievements, as if he has already earned the prize. Nor will he be trapped by former failures, as if his past has the final word. He looks ahead and keeps moving toward Christ.
This is especially important as we enter a new year, because the past can pull us in more than one direction. Past successes can make us self-satisfied. We may think, “I have served enough; I have grown enough; I have done my part.” Past failures can make us ashamed and stuck. We may think, “I will always be this way; I have already ruined my chance.” And past griefs can make the future feel frightening or empty.
Paul does not say that the past is unimportant. He says it must not become our destination. We can remember with gratitude, confess with honesty, grieve with hope, and learn with humility, while still looking forward.
Imagine a runner in a race. The runner cannot run well while continually turning around to measure every step already taken. The ground behind matters: it is the distance already covered. But the finish line is ahead. The runner has to look where the race is going. Paul’s image is not an invitation to frantic activity; it is a call to keep the direction of our lives fixed on Christ.
What might that look like in practical terms? It may mean setting priorities according to the goal rather than according to every passing pressure. It may mean choosing faithfulness over applause. It may mean persevering in prayer when answers are slow, continuing to love a difficult person, or remaining steadfast in a hard season. It may mean resisting the temptation to measure your spiritual life by someone else’s progress. The race Christ has given you is not the race he has given to every other person.
For some, pressing forward this year may look like taking on new responsibilities. For others, it may mean being faithful in a quiet and ordinary season. A person who is ill may press on by trusting Christ through a day of pain. A caregiver may press on by serving with patience and accepting support. Someone who is grieving may press on one day at a time, holding onto the promise that death and sorrow will not have the final word. A child may press on by learning to pray and trust Jesus in the everyday things of childhood.
We should also remember that Paul’s picture of pressing on does not mean that Christians never need rest. The Bible does not teach that exhaustion is proof of devotion. A runner needs endurance, but faithful endurance is not the same as refusing to stop for breath. We receive our limits as creatures and seek help from God and his people. There are times when pressing on means continuing in obedience; there are times when the obedient next step is to ask for care, rest, or wise counsel.
The goal also gives us hope for each other. We do not run this race alone. The church is a community of people who help one another keep going. We can encourage the discouraged, pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, and speak the truth of the gospel to those who are tempted to give up. We can make room for children, young people, adults, and seniors to serve and learn together. No one is too young to begin following Jesus; no one is too old to need his grace.
And the direction of the race gives meaning to small acts of faithfulness. Some days, following Christ will not feel dramatic. It may be as ordinary as choosing patience instead of anger, speaking honestly, opening Scripture, showing kindness, returning to prayer, or asking for forgiveness. Those actions do not earn the prize. But they are part of a life that is being shaped by the Christ we love and toward whom we are running.
As you consider this year, you might ask: What would it look like for me to move one step nearer to Christ in the place where he has put me? Not, “How can I guarantee that nothing difficult will happen?” Not, “How can I become impressive?” But, “What is the next faithful step of trust and obedience?”
You may not know everything the coming year will bring. None of us does. But we know the one who holds our future. And we know the goal toward which he is leading his people. That is enough to keep pressing on.
Conclusion
Paul’s words give us a way to enter a new year without pretending and without despair.
We have not arrived. We still need to grow, repent, learn, and depend on God’s grace. But we are not abandoned on the road. Christ Jesus has made his people his own. And because he has taken hold of us, we press on toward the future God has promised.
So, at the beginning of this year, do not measure your hope by the strength of your resolutions. Do not believe that you must have a perfect record before you can come to Christ. Do not assume that past failure has the final word. And do not imagine that the Christian life is a race you must run alone.
Look honestly at where you are. Remember that your hope is Christ’s grace. Then take the next faithful step, looking toward the goal: life with Christ, in whom God calls us and completes his work.
Call to response
If you are a follower of Jesus, ask him to show you the next faithful step. It may be a step of repentance, a step of obedience, a step of service, a step toward reconciliation, or a step of receiving help. Take that step not to earn Christ’s love, but because he has already made you his own.
If you have never trusted Jesus, you do not need to make yourself worthy before coming to him. The good news is that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. Turn from sin and trust in him—not in your achievements, your intentions, or your ability to change yourself. In Christ, there is forgiveness and new life. Come to him, and begin following him today.
And as a church, let’s commit to helping one another press on: speaking the truth, offering encouragement, praying faithfully, and pointing one another back to Jesus.
Closing prayer
Father, thank you for your grace in Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the ways we have trusted in ourselves, become discouraged by the past, or lost sight of the goal. Help us to be honest about where we need to grow, confident that Christ has made his people his own, and faithful in the next steps you give us. Strengthen those who are weary, comfort those who are grieving, and draw those who do not yet know Jesus to trust in him. Keep us pressing on toward the hope you have promised. In Jesus’ name, amen.