“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11 NASB1995)
Paul, before he became the apostle Paul, was Saul, a Pharisee
who was persecuting and approving of the deaths of Christians. He was outwardly
very religious, but he was a persecutor of the church. So all that he did in
the flesh, as a Pharisee, he now counted as loss, now that he was a follower of
Jesus Christ. For he counted all that he did in the flesh as rubbish so that he
could now gain Christ and know him intimately, through faith in Christ.
But now please read the rest of this in the context of all
of Paul’s teachings, and in the context of all of what he taught to the
Philippians. For I believe this whole subject of Law and Grace is one of the
most confusing subjects in the Scriptures for those who did not grow up as Jews
under the Old Covenant Law, and who were not there when, by faith in Jesus
Christ, they transitioned from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant of faith
and grace.
But go back to what Paul described as to what he was giving
up. He was giving up putting confidence in the flesh via circumcision, being of
the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the
Law, a Pharisee, etc. This was all based in pride, based on him keeping a set
of rules. This was all of the flesh and not of the Spirit of God. And this is
the basis of his statement of not now having a righteousness of his own derived
from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ on the basis of faith.
Now, many people are taking this passage of Scripture out of
context and they are teaching that faith in Jesus Christ makes no requirements
of us to obey the commandments of God and to forsake our sinful practices, for
they equate that with “Law” and not with faith, and not with grace. But if we
read all of Paul’s writings, I believe it will become obvious to us that he is
speaking of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification,
dietary, circumcision and Sabbath laws that he was giving up.
For read Romans 6 where he says, “What shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How
shall we who died to sin still live in it?” For then he went on to teach that,
by faith in Jesus, our old self was crucified with Christ in order that our
body of sin might be done away with, so we would no longer be slaves to sin. So
we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, for if sin is what we obey,
it leads to death, but if obedience to God is what we obey, its end is eternal
life.
And in Galatians 5 he reminded the Christians that they were
not to turn their freedom from the Old Covenant Law into an opportunity for the
flesh. And he told them to walk by the Spirit so that they would not carry out
the desire of the flesh. But then he said that the deeds of the flesh are evident,
which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, drunkenness, and things
like these, “of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those
who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
So, Paul stressed very much the necessity of us obeying God
and his New Covenant commandments and of us putting sin to death in our lives,
by the Spirit, and us no longer walking in sin but now in holiness,
righteousness, and in obedience to our Lord, in practice, living to please our
Lord in all that we are and do and think and say, for the glory and praise of
God. So, not being under the Old Covenant Law does not translate to us being
free from having to obey God and his commandments under the New Covenant.
For to love God is to obey him. To know him intimately is to
obey him. And to be in fellowship with him is to put sin to death in our lives
and to now walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. But this is not of the
flesh. We can only die to sin and obey God via God’s grace and salvation, and
in his power and strength and wisdom, under his guidance and direction. For
even the faith to believe in Jesus is not of the flesh, but it is gifted to us
by God, and it is persuaded of God that we must die to sin and obey his
commands.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
My Sheep
Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
My sheep hear me.
They know me.
They listen to my
voice and obey.
I call them and lead
them.
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
They will never
follow strangers.
They will run away
from them.
The voice of a
stranger they know not;
They do not follow
him.
So, I tell you the
truth that
I am the gate, so
you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find
forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever
enters
Not by the gate;
other way,
He is the thief and
a robber.
Listen not, the
sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good
Shepherd,
Who laid his own
life down for the sheep.
I know them. They
know me.
They will live with
me eternally.
The thief only comes
to steal and
Kill and to destroy
the church.
I have come to give
you life that
You may have it to
the full…
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
Being Conformed to Christ’s Death
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