In the 1930s, over 1.3 million people filed for bankruptcy during the Great Depression. Every investment vanished in a moment. Everything considered as gain was brought to a drastic loss. Though we are no longer in the Great Depression, there is another kind of depression that plagues our culture. We live in a culture that is obsessed with performance, yet, apart from Christ, all we see is loss. We find a culture facing a spiritual depression, a burnout of the soul. The only remedy is Jesus Christ.

This article will seek to encourage pastors to preach Sola Fide in a culture obsessed with performance and burnout. To do so, we will first consider the spiritual bankruptcy that the Apostle Paul describes in Philippians 3. After that, we will consider the great treasure who is the only remedy. And finally, we will conclude with implications for pastors.

Spiritual Bankruptcy

First, consider the spiritual bankruptcy that Paul faced prior to his conversion to Jesus Christ. It was infinitely more serious. If we tremble at the loss of earthly wealth, how much more should we tremble at the loss of our souls in Hell for all eternity?

Paul uses the business language of his day to describe what he once treasured and thought secured his standing before God. Before his conversion, Paul thought his spiritual résumé was gain (Philippians 3:4–6). Paul genuinely believed that his Jewish heritage, his achievements and zeal as a Pharisee somehow placed spiritual stock into his heavenly account.

Essentially, Paul thought that his good works and his impressive family would somehow put him in a right standing with God. For example, Paul wrote:

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for 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; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4–6).

But when Christ opened his eyes, he saw it all for what it was: not gain, but total loss. Paul realized that he was living in the Bank of Self that only brought God’s holy wrath.

The Bank of Self is described as loss in verses 7 and 8. To have loss can be understood as having an unsuccessful business transaction that has led to a great penalty. So, it is not only an unsuccessful transaction, but you are actually getting fined for your actions.

Do you see what Paul is saying? All of our efforts before God have achieved only God’s wrath. Not only was it unsuccessful in bringing a righteousness that we need to stand before God, but we have also incurred a great penalty with that unsuccessful business transaction in the bank of heaven.

What is the penalty? By our own efforts before God, we each have only reaped the fine of God’s eternal, holy, and just wrath. That is what the Bank of Self brings: spiritual bankruptcy.

What failed bank have you gone to or are you going to right now? I want you to pretend that you have come across two banks in your city.

There is The Bank of External Cleansing. You say, “Well, what is that?” Maybe your outer life looks great and religious, but your inner life is full of sin. If that is you, that will only lead you to the wrath to come.

Maybe The Bank of External Cleansing is not what you frequently go to. Maybe you go to The Bank of Better-Than-The-Next-Guy. You believe that as long as you are better than the next guy, you will be okay before God. The word Paul would have for you is loss—eternal loss in Hell for your sins.

We live in a culture obsessed with performance, and yet, our culture is in a state of spiritual bankruptcy without Jesus Christ. What is the remedy?

The Great Treasure

Second, now that we have seen that the Bank of Self brings spiritual bankruptcy, let us consider the great treasure who is the only remedy.

In verse 8, Paul has told us why he has counted all as loss. It is found in that word “because.” “I view all as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (v.8).

What is Paul saying? He has told us that he has beheld the great treasure. He is my Lord! He has bought me with His own blood! I have seen His glory and the beauty of His righteousness.

I am no longer trying to bring my own unrighteousness to God as if it were righteousness in His court. I have seen the all-surpassing righteousness of God outside of myself (Romans 1:16–17).

It comes from the God above. It comes from the One who came down into this world to offer a perfect righteous life that mankind could never live. I have looked away from the Bank of Self. I refuse to believe that anything in my life will bring me into a right-standing with God.

Why? Because I have beheld the righteous One, Jesus Christ, by the eye of faith.

In Philippians 3:8–11, Paul clearly laid out the heart of the gospel—namely, double imputation to all who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16–17; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

When a sinner comes to Jesus Christ, double imputation occurs. All of our loss accounts, all of our unrighteousness and dirty sin-filled rags have been imputed to Jesus Christ’s account, as if it were His own, though committing no sin. All of Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to your account, as if it were your own.

Beloved Christian, He paid for your sin-debt in full on the cross. The Father’s wrath against your sin has been satisfied. You have been fully clothed in His righteous robe and given His clean record in the courts of heaven.

That is good news.

In 1937, theologian J. Gresham Machen sent a telegram shortly before his death that read: “I’m so thankful for the act of obedience of Jesus Christ. No hope without it.”

Implications for Pastors

To conclude, in a culture obsessed with performance and burnout, Sola Fide must be preached in every corner. It is the hope of the nations and the sustaining fuel to keep Christ’s people plodding along in the strength that He supplies.

• Home: Preach the gospel to your own soul daily. Rehearse the gospel with your family. Read Scripture and sing the great hymns of the faith.
• Church: Preach the gospel in the pulpit, the lobby, and the counseling room—for believers and unbelievers alike.
• World: Strategically plan how your church will bring the gospel to the unreached, for faith comes by hearing.

As John Paton once said, “The best thing to do for your church is to put it on a missionary diet.”