In The Word
Philippians 3:1-11
The Goal of Life
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation 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 the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
We see a warning and a safeguard when Paul tells the believers not to trust in themselves or their own righteousness. Paul reminded them that if anyone could have done that, certainly he could have. He was a Hebrew by birth, a Pharisee by training and study; he was a persecutor of those that did not follow tradition, found blameless by his religious system.
However, Paul realized that his own righteousness, the things that he used to think were important, were really only filthy rags because he did not know Christ. Paul laid all those things down when he had a personal encounter with Christ. He realized that true righteousness can only be found through true faith in Christ. We must let go of everything else when we grab hold of Him. When we truly know Him, we desire to spend time with Him, to fellowship with Him, to share in His suffering, and to be conformed to His image. We also share in the power of His resurrection.
Do you trust in yourself, your works, your resources, and your abilities, or have you realized that it is all about trusting Christ? In Matthew 19, Christ said there is only One who is good. He was speaking to a young man that thought he was good enough. When Christ put His finger on the fact that the young man trusted in his own resources and did not trust Christ, the young man sorrowfully walked away from Christ. Don’t be like that young man; don’t trust in yourself. Trust in Christ.