But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ…and be found in Him [Christ], not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that (righteousness) which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…
Philippians 3:1-11
The Judaizers thought that they had reason to boast of their success by obeying the commands of the Mosaic law and using it to make a claim upon God for salvation. But, Paul had an even greater basis for boasting as he points out that he lived a blameless, not sinless, life according to the Mosaic law. Paul continued that he was born into the tribe of Benjamin, the only Israelite clan besides Judah to remain loyal to the Davidic monarchy. Then he pointed to his dedication to the Law as being so great that he made the Law his chief end, persecuting other Jews who, in the name of their Messiah, did not force Gentiles to conform to the law of Moses. So, Paul persecuted the early church before encountering Christ on the Damascus Road. These pseudo-righteous things were righteousness that Paul believed “deserved citizenship” in the Lord’s kingdom. After meeting Jesus, Paul’s life and outlook changed in every way. He saw that perfection in this life is not the perfection by which God declares someone righteous. Paul realized that he was using the Law wrongly. Now, his chief goal would be the hope of knowing the One to whom the Law points. Anything Paul thought to be gain was actually loss and his only hope for redemption was the righteousness that “comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” Sinners are not able to “earn” righteousness observing the Law. So, Paul, and all sinners today, had to renounce his attempts to make himself right with God and rely only on Divine grace. The law of Moses pointed the Jews in this direction, anyway. The Law was given after the Lord saved the Israelites from Egypt as a means by which they could know Him, not a way to earn their own righteousness. Studying the Law in this way means that people come to know God in Christ and to see that there is nothing of greater worth than knowing the Savior who reconciles us to the Father. Not all of us tried to earn our way to God by the Mosaic law before knowing Christ. Probably, most of us just sought to do as much good as we could, hoping it would outweigh our bad deeds. But, we had to turn from our own attempts at “earning” a right status with God when we came to Jesus. Old habits die hard, so, we must daily turn from our own efforts to make ourselves right with the Lord and rest in Jesus alone.
Source: S C Ball February 17, 2024
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