It's the story of Paul...
And before you tune out I want you to know that this is a really powerful story.
...Now Paul (known as Saul in those times) was a big shot Pharisee, I mean he was top dog. He brags about how if there was to be a competition of who is more holy or faultless he would have won by a long-shot. In man's eyes he was the most righteous of them all, but in God's eyes he was the most lost of them all. Because God sees Saul broken and longing to be made righteous He meets him on his way to Damascus (Saul was headed to Damascus in hopes to receive signatures from the high priest to arrest more Christians). God appears to Saul as a bright light and asks Saul: "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"
Pause. I thought Saul was killing and persecuting Christians, why does God say, "Why are you persecuting me"? Well, a few years before this experience the day of Pentecost took place. Meaning, the Holy Spirit entered the world and filled those who live in the knowledge that Christ lived and died for us. And because of that, we understand that when God says why are you persecuting me, He literally means why are you persecuting Me. The trinity. The Holy Spirit, The Son, The Father. All inside those who believe, aka the Christians whom Saul was persecuting. That goes back to 1 John 4:17 "As he is so also are we in this world."
Resume. So Saul is clearly freaked out at what is happening. He responds with "Who are you, Lord?" I find that funny because he obviously knows it's the Lord that he is experiencing. Anyway. God explains to Saul that He is Jesus and He has some great things up His sleeve for Saul.
Time goes on and Saul becomes Paul, Paul creates a great reputation for himself within the church and also puts a pretty large bounty on his head within the government.
I tell you all this so that you can have background for who Paul is and understand his writings more clearly in Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians.
I want to talk for a second about Philippians 3, Paul is writing from a jail cell to one of his churches in Philippi.
Recently I have been involved in this ministry called Cru (formerly Campus Crusades). It legit has been the most beneficial thing I have been involved in since I came to Lee. God does a lot when a community of believers gather to discuss the word.
Back to Phil. 3.
In Cru we have been talking about verses 1-11:
"Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" First I want to point out the orange highlighted section. The fact that he uses the words "dogs" and "mutilators" is great. But he says don't let them fool you by thinking you must be circumcised to be saved. It always gets a little awky-gawk when people start talking about circumcision, but know that Paul isn't just talking about the act of circumcision, he is talking about doing good works, our effort, fulfilling the law on our own. He goes on to say that we (as Christ followers) are truly circumcised because we rely on what Christ has done.
That's awesome. Don't know about you but that takes a huge weight off my shoulders.
He then goes on and talks about how he was a real Hebrew if there ever was one! How he was a great Pharisee, he brags about how he obeyed the Jewish law without a single fault. I think a lot of us, without knowledge of it, act like Saul. Obsessive rule followers, prideful law keepers.
Paul then goes on to say, (in the green) that he considers everything he did as Saul loss because he did not understand the value of Christ in his life.
I do not say this for you to evaluate your life and see if what you are doing is for Christ's sake. No, I tell you this so you can see, through Paul's experience, that true righteousness comes only from understanding the value of what Christ did on the cross. When we understand the value of the sacrifice all our actions will be to glorify God. Do not make a list of "10 things I am doing that's not honoring to God" all that does is bring condemnation. Make one list and title it "Things I am because of Christ". You will begin to view yourself the way God views you. And you know as well as I do that God does not view you as anything less than perfection.
This last part (yellow highlighted) is most definitely my favorite. He starts off by saying, "I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ". He again is just reminding us that all the things he worked so hard for as Saul don't matter anymore because he has realized who he is in Christ. The ultimate source of pure righteousness.
I can't tell you how many times, having grown up in Christian environments, I have heard "Frances, you need to get right with God. That sin in your life is what is creating a stumbling block in your walk. You're struggling in your quiet-times to feel God because you're not right with Him...ect, ect, ect". All that has ever done for me is to over-analyze everything in my life and make me feel as though I needed to do something to "get right with God". I'm sorry, but that's...
Poo-poo.
Right there plain as day Paul explains that "God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith."
Faith.
Faith in Christ. Faith. That's all it takes. It's not a reoccurring thing. It's a one time deal. When we have faith in Christ and what He has done and promised us through that we are forever right with God until the day we meet Him.
Once we have that faith, crazy things start to happen. Paul finishes that passage by explaining those things. We will experience the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. We will experience miracles, we will experience revelation in our day to day lives. God will be so tangible to us. All it takes is faith. All it takes is you believing what Christ did on the cross is true and He did it for you! No alter-call, no revival service, no pastor. You and God. The most powerful, tangible, beautiful relationship there is.
