"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:7-9 NIV)
The part of the passage that really stuck out to me was the "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law." I understand that this is referring to the Old Testament law and all the rules that were to be followed. I think that we do that same thing even currently. We make our own little laws that are to be followed - must attend church every Sunday, must pray for at least 10 minutes must "get deep" with at least one person today, etc. I understand that we need to make certain priorities and set goals in order to stay in line, but as soon as we take the relational aspect out of our walk we begin to miss the whole purpose and intent. We serve a relational God not a legalistic God. He wants devoted hearts not a completed checklist.
Thoughts?
- Andrew
1 comment:
Well, we have to ask - why did Paul make such a statement?
Formerly known as Saul of Tarsus and as a persecutor of those “who belonged to The Way,” Paul became a believer after being given a vision of the resurrected and glorified Jesus. (Acts 9:1-19) For Paul, this experience on the road to Damascus proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah, or Christ, the future ruler of the promised Kingdom.
It also brought about a dramatic change in Paul’s life course, as indicated by his forceful statement noted above. In other words, being sincere and of honest heart, Paul repented.—Galatians 1:13-16.
In the Bible, the verb “repent” is often translated from a Greek word that literally means “afterknowing,” as opposed to “foreknowing.” Thus, repentance involves a change in one’s mind, attitude, or purpose, a rejection of one’s former ways as unsatisfactory. (Acts 3:19; Revelation 2:5) In Paul’s case, he did not let that momentous event on the road to Damascus remain simply an emotional or even a so-called spiritual experience. For him it was an awakening to the fact that his former way of life, in ignorance of Christ, was futile.
He realized, too, that in order to benefit from his newly found knowledge about the Christ, he must do something to rectify his life course.—Romans 2:4; Ephesians 4:24.
Previously, Paul’s knowledge of God came largely from the sect of the Pharisees. Their beliefs included much human philosophy and tradition. Because of religious prejudices, Paul’s zeal and efforts were misdirected. And as a student of Gamaliel, Saul of Tarsus might have become very prominent in Judaism and as a career.
By putting his career as a Pharisee behind him and becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, Paul was making practical application of his former teacher’s advice to guard against being “found fighters actually against God.” By ceasing his persecution of Jesus’ disciples, Paul stopped fighting against God. Instead, by becoming a follower of Christ, he became one of “God’s fellow workers.” —1 Corinthians 3:9.
After receiving accurate knowledge about the Christ and his role in God’s purpose, Paul could see that he was faced with a choice: Should he remain a Pharisee and continue to enjoy position and esteem, or should he change his life course and start to do whatever was necessary to gain God’s approval? Happily, Paul made the right choice, for he said: “I am not ashamed of the good news; it is, in fact, God’s power for salvation to everyone having faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) Paul became a zealous preacher of the good news about the Christ and the Kingdom.
Paul benefited from the good news because he willingly abandoned what had been steering him away from God and he wholeheartedly pursued goals that were in line with God’s purpose.
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