To see other Nuggets, click here.
This is Nugget #11, submitted by yours truly...Tina. Please pray that God will give inspiration and revelation to all contributors, using them to His glory and for the edifying of every reader.
Nugget #11: Background Passage: Philippians 3 Focal Passage: Philippians 3:4-9
See also Acts 9
4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Having explained that it is the Spirit, the heart of man that makes Him a child of God, Paul makes sure that no man can qualify himself based on works by using his own life as an example. He basically says that if anyone has a right to boast and have faith in the flesh, it is he. No one was more “perfect” externally than Paul. He’d done everything man might look at as a sign of being saved. For those who say that it is by physical change, that what we do makes us righteous, or that being a part of a church body and under the covenant is all it takes, he’d physically undergone circumcision when he was eight days old, as God had commanded Abraham when they entered into covenant (Ge 17:9-15). For those who believe that who they are, who their family is, or the town or church or organization they come from makes them better than others, he was of the right lineage, came from the “right side of the tracks,” had “good blood,” was born into the family of families. Paul was an Israelite, from the tribe of Benjamin, a favored tribe, the tribe where the temple was. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a pure Jew, whose ancestors were all pure Jews. As for those who think that what they know and how much of the law or even the Word they can recite qualifies them for righteousness, he was a Pharisee. No one could top a Pharisee as far as knowing and following the law was concerned. Pharisees sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rituals and forms of piety, such as ceremonial washings, fasting, prayers, and alms giving. They took pride in their good works and extensive knowledge. For those who look only for a “charismatic experience” or feel that only those who are very zealous, maybe even militant, in their proclamation of Christianity are truly saved, Paul again topped them all. So convinced was he of his beliefs, so proud was he of his righteousness, that he persecuted the church. Now, you may think persecuting the church should prove you are NOT righteous. However, Paul was so convinced that his way of holiness, the way he’d been raised to believe, was the only right way that he was willing to do whatever it took to stop or oppose those who believed differently, even those who also professed the same holiness. He did not know Jesus as the Son of God, and as far as he was concerned, those who followed Jesus, or the church, were the true false prophets, and so he sought to personally get rid of them. Talk about zeal! Finally, he returns once again to those who base their righteousness on the law. He lived by the very letter of the law, and therefore should have been perfect. But we know this was not the case when he encountered Jesus on the road that day. (See also Acts 9; Acts 22:3-4; 26:5)
Yet, having all these things going for him, Paul recognizes that they are NOTHING if he has not the true giver of life, Jesus Christ. Paul had plenty to be confident in; he could stand up to any man-derived formula for righteousness. But all those things that he took pride in when living as a Pharisee, he saw as insufficient, waste, dung, nothing for Christ. Recognize that Jesus Christ is the true measuring stick of righteousness, and only in Him is true excellency found. Paul was willing to throw everything else away, flush it all down the toilet, in order that he might win Jesus Christ. One who appeared perfect in the eyesight of man, he realized that true excellency, true perfection, the perfection that leads to eternal life, was only found in Jesus. There is excellency in knowing Jesus! Want to walk upright and perfect? Get to know Jesus and walk as He did. We know that Jesus went through everything that we face, yet without sin. Paul purposed in his heart to know of THAT excellency, not the one based on tradition and law. What an example of how we should view our lives today! We, too, should run hard after Jesus, forsaking everything and everyone else. Can you imagine what it may have been like for Paul, the great Pharisee and persecutor of the church, to suddenly turn and leave everything he ever knew to follow Christ? We know that the saints feared him and would not accept him for a time, yet can you imagine how his family and friends treated him? What it did to his reputation and ego? Take a look at Acts 9:20-26. His own people tried to kill him! And when he went to the people who were supposed to be like him, they were afraid to give him a chance. Think losing a few friends is bad? Can it be worse that what Paul went through? Yet Paul understood that only what he did for Christ will last, and he fought against all odds to turn his life around. What are you holding on to today because you are afraid of what might await you if you count it loss for Christ? Are you afraid that friends will walk away? Afraid to put all your faith and reliance on another? Afraid to live without worldly pleasures or fortune? Think it’s just too hard? Well, are those things worth losing the excellency found in the knowledge of Jesus Christ? Can those friends or what ever is holding you up supply your needs or give the strength to fight on? Will they be able to prepare a place of eternal rest for you, or even send you to eternal damnation? Are they REALLY worth it? If you are not sure, take a look at Paul. If it keeps you from reaching the excellency found in knowing Jesus, then it’s worth the loss. Recognize that the very things you’re holding onto, if you hold too tightly, can become the very things that condemn you. Remember Paul. Paul lost EVERYTHING in order to know Jesus. He had much to lose, while many of us have very little, so what are we waiting on? Remember Paul. Saints, friends will come and go, jobs will begin and end, money will run out, and reputation can be ruined in moments. But if you go ahead and count them lost now for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, you have nothing to lose, but all to gain. |
