Take Two in the Morning: Philippians 3, Proverbs 21

In Philippians 3, Paul appeals to his readers (as he has already done), to beware of those who would tell them to trust in anything for their salvation except the finished work of Christ on the cross. The very hear of the gospel is that Christ alone provides salvation. Christ's work...plus anything....is no longer Christ alone.

The very essence of the gospel is that God, through Christ, did what no one else could. He provided righteous standing for man. Since the beginning (of humanity...as recorded from Genesis forward), man has sought to find something other than God's provision to place his confidence in. Adam and Eve desired knowledge (as though God had short changed them). The Israelites sought protection from a King and got Saul. Man has worshipped statues of gods rather than trusting in the God who stated that He would remain as He is, because to make an image would be to greatly reduce Him to something less.

In Phil 3:2-6, Paul states that if anyone should be able to make the boasts of having confidence in his own efforts...it is Paul. As Jewish religious activity goes, Paul gave the ultimate resume here. In Phil 3:7-11, Paul states that in order to experience true fellowship with Christ, he had to put off any trust he had in his own efforts TOWARD righteousness and rely only on who God is. In v.8, he said that he counted all of his accomplishments as "rubbish" (literally, "dung") so that he may gain Christ.

From this, we know that not discounting personal efforts in this way, would prevent us from gaining Christ. For Paul, this was not a "wishy-washy" thing. He states over and again that He put off his confidence in any personal effort to BECOME RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES in order to become righteous in God's eyes through faith in Christ's finished work.

Phil 3:12 reminds us that this is a constant battle in the mind and heart of a believer. We actually have to continually put off confidence in the flesh and renew our minds to affirm that our only true confidence is in God. Why? Because we have a natural bent in our human nature to drift back toward relying on ourselves. (Like a car with bad alignment!)

In Phil 3:17-21, he challenges the readers (and us) to follow his example in these things. There are many examples of people who pursue other ideas and approaches. Paul says to follow his example...because it alone is the pattern that leads to salvation.

Proverbs 21:31 is my takeaway today. "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord." We are called to do what is within our power in order to provide for our needs. It would be crazy for a General to not train his soldiers and then ask God to grant him victory. It would be crazy to never prepare for retirement and then expect that God miraculously would provide an inheritance to keep you from losing your house.

Some people think that preparation...somhow is a demonstration of lacking faith. This is not so. Preparation is simply using what God has given to us in a way that reflects good stewardship of resources. At the end of the day, when we see our actions as good stewardship, then "victory belongs to the Lord." We would have nothing had God not given and had we not managed well.

Be blessed.