In Philippians 3:1-11, Paul seeks to offer a word of warning to those in the Philippian church about false teachers who seek to trouble them. These false teachers are attempting to add extra requirements to the Gospel and to what it means to be a Christian. In so doing, they are encouraging “confidence in the flesh,” but Paul is clear that those who truly worship God aright “put no confidence in the flesh” (verse 3).
In our passage, Paul speaks about his former life as a Pharisee who had trusted in his own righteousness and makes it clear that it is of no saving value to him. He uses strong terms, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ…” (verses 8-9). Paul would have us trust, not in our own righteousness, but in Christ, the Savior who offers us His own righteousness.
Join us for worship this week at 9820 W Markham St (the sanctuary of Faith United Methodist Church) at 9 AM. For more information, click here, or contact us. You can also watch our service on YouTube with a link posted to our Facebook page.