“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, 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 is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Philippians 3:8-9 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul's testimony in these verses holds a wonderful promise for us. There is also an important lesson in what our daily motivation should be in our walk with Christ. Our goal is to gain Christ and be found in Him. The righteousness we have is not earned by our effort. That which we have acquired on our own, by being good enough before God is worthless to save us. In Paul's time obedience to the Hebrew law was still believed to be the path to a righteousness. But that kind of righteousness was temporary and ultimately would fail him. He was a blameless law-follower but he recognized that his best effort left him short of attaining the righteousness of God. So it is for us, and we are promised that through faith in Christ, and belief in what He accomplished for us on the cross, we are given the gift of righteousness from God our Father. He is the only one who can make us righteous in His eyes. Now, let's live according to it today.
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