Press on Toward the Goal

Philippians 3:8-12 is a stunning passage!  The way Paul writes about salvation by faith here may sound quite foreign to modern Christians.  We do not often hear or read about salvation in these terms.  The apostle presents salvation by faith as a goal that will be attained only by the most intense and  persevering effort.  Does this contradict the truth that we are not saved by our own good works?  Paul seems to have no trouble accepting both.  He affirms them both many times throughout his letters.  Salvation by faith is both a gift and a reward, both a blessing given freely and a prize that is won.  Consider what Paul says he will do for the prize: “I press on in order that I may lay hold of... forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.”  He could rest assured he would reach the goal, and yet Paul actively labored with all his might, as if anything less would prevent him attaining it.  He commands us all to think the same way (Phil 3:15).