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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 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.
-Philippians 3:1-3
Where is your
confidence when it comes to the assurance of your right
relationship with God? Is it in your performance? Do you ever
“feel” like what makes you acceptable to Him is when you have
jumped through enough of His hoops? On the other hand, do you ever
“feel” unacceptable before Him when you have not? If these
feelings of uncertainty and performance- based acceptance tend to
plague you, it may be an indication that you still have some
degree of confidence in your actions and deeds to keep you in
right standing with God.
In case you have not
noticed, the world system we live in here on planet earth is
completely performance-based for rewards. ‘There ain’t no free
lunch’ rings true time and again. We are constantly bombarded
with the message that he who performs the best will receive the
greatest reward. It’s true in business, politics, education,
and, oh yes, religion! He who works the hardest, does the most,
and keeps the busiest is paid off with praise and honor from men.
He who shows himself to be the best performer is the most admired
and he who proves himself to be otherwise is seen as less than. So
be it in business, so be it in the religious system.
The problem,
however, is when we drag the wisdom of the world over into the
gospel of Jesus Christ. And I do not know about you, but I am
convinced that performance-based Christianity is not something new
but something that has been attacking the minds of men since God
raised up the apostle Paul to preach the cross of Jesus Christ
over 1,950 years ago. This self-made religion enslaved the saints
of Paul’s day and it still continues its relentless assault on
the confidence of those who long to rest in the finality of the
cross today. It was evil then, and it’s evil now.
There was nothing
that Paul had to fight harder against than the religious world
system of his day and its constant undermining of the true gospel
that he was chosen to proclaim. In almost every letter that he
wrote, Paul had a warning to the body of Christ to watch out for
those who would try to deceive them. Deceive them into thinking
what? That sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll was the only way to go?
No, rather that righteous with God was something that man could
either attain through his good works or lose through his bad
works. Given the religious culture of that day, this philosophy
probably sounded quite logical. Perform well and God, like those
in the world, will pay you off with love and acceptance. Perform
poorly and God, equally like those in the world, will reward you
with condemnation and punishment. That was the philosophy of the
world then and it is no less so today…and religion leads the
way!
The question for
many is, can anything that originates in and from man (flesh)
achieve the righteousness of God? If you spoke with many in our
churches today and with equally as many who stand behind their
pulpits, you might find that most would argue until they are blue
in the face that being right with God is at least partly our
responsibility. God does His part, but we must do ours. It sounds
very noble and, from a worldly perspective, very logical but as
pertains to truth it is a lie. It is another gospel which is no
gospel at all and serves to do nothing but confuse and torment the
minds of so many dear people who yearn for the day when they can
finally rest from their endless works. Paul called it witchcraft
(Gal. 3:1-5) because it is the most evil deception ever devised by
the one who is both the deceiver and the accuser of the brethren.
If you are not
already on alert to the schemes of your enemy, it is time for you
to prepare your mind for the battle. The call for us to stand firm
in the faith is no less urgent today than it was for the
Philippians of the first century. Consider perhaps how Paul might
drive home his point to you and me today as he did in Philippians
3:1-9:
-
I cannot tell
you enough that our rejoicing is to be exclusively in the
Person and work of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in Him, not in your
flesh. Rejoice in what Christ has already done, not in
anything you can do to gain or maintain your justification
before Him. He has done it all! For me to remind you of this
is a safeguard for your mind against the attacks that are
coming from those preaching another gospel (Phil. 3:1).
-
Beware of those
preaching the gospel that says you must do something to attain
or maintain right standing with the Lord. These men are false
teachers seeking their own rewards. They are evil. They tell
you that righteousness is earned through the outward
activities of your flesh. The gospel tells you that
righteousness is a gift through the inward work of the Spirit
(Phil. 3:2).
-
Those who glory
in what Christ has done are those who put no (zero, nada, zip)
confidence in what they can do. They have given up on trying
to achieve justification through the works of law and have
instead trusted in the work of Christ. Hey, take a clue from
me. I will always be known as the best performer ever. You
cannot out perform me. Nevertheless, I tell you now that all
those deeds of the flesh were a bunch of cow ka-ka. It will
never be about your performance but always about His! Anything
that you believe is scoring points for you with God is
actually putting up goose-eggs on the scoreboard. And when you
see the shut-out that the Law is actually pitching against
you, you will see those base hits you thought you were getting
for what they truly are…strikeouts! Oh, what a happy day
that is for a child of God. There is nothing that surpasses
the value of just knowing Him and resting in what He has
already done to make me His! (Phil. 3:3-8).
-
The only
righteousness a man needs is the righteousness that comes
through the obedience of Jesus Christ. His obedience, not
yours or mine, has secured our righteousness once and for all.
This kind of righteousness is not gained through the works of
the Law. It is received on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:9).
So where is your
confidence today with God? It is in your works, good or bad? Is it
in how you “feel” about the status of your relationship with
Him based on your performance? Are you falling for a lie instead
of standing firm in the truth? Friend, your flesh can never
achieve the righteousness that God requires. It is too weak. It is
a loser. And yet the power of sin would have you believe that if
you will just keep trying and keep trying someday you will make it
through all the hoops and then God will reluctantly accept you.
Don’t take the bait! It is a hook you will struggle and strain
to free yourself from for many years.
There
is no arguing that the world and all the systems that are part of
it reward the one who works the hardest, the longest, and the
best. And to the natural mind, this is quite logical. But the
gospel of Jesus Christ did not come from this world. It came from
the heart and the wisdom of God. It not only contradicts and
confounds the wisdom of man, it actually nullifies the performance
of all men, except for One. It is in Him that we are urged to
place our trust, because in Him alone is found the joy, the peace,
and the rest we have always wanted. Friend, there is no rest, no
peace, and no joy if our confidence is in our flesh. The only
confidence we can have is in Jesus Christ…and He alone is
worthy!
Grace and peace,
John
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