“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 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, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11 ESV)
Paul, who wrote this, was a Pharisee, a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” who kept the Old Covenant Jewish law. But he (then Saul) was a persecutor of followers of Jesus Christ. So Jesus visited him in a vision on a road to Damascus where Saul/Paul was headed to persecute even more Christians, and there the Lord Jesus called Saul/Paul to his service, “…to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (see Acts 26:16-18).
So, this was now his calling of God, to believe in Jesus, and to serve the Lord as one of his messengers to the people. So, he left his former life behind him, including all the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, including the requirement for circumcision, and now his aim in life was to follow Jesus Christ and to do his will, and to live a life pleasing to the Lord in his service in sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people – both Jew and Gentile.
And when we come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So, whatever we believed that we had gained in life up to the point to where we now believed in Jesus, it was now to be put to death. We must count as loss all things gained in the flesh, and now we must dedicate our lives to serving our Lord and to doing what pleases him, too. For what is of the flesh counts nothing toward our eternal salvation.
Now our righteousness does not come from the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws, either. And it doesn’t come from deeds done in the flesh. It only comes through genuine faith in Jesus Christ – a faith which comes from God, is perfected of Christ, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man, lest we should boast. So we don’t get to choose what that faith looks like. God does. And he said we must die with him to sin and now live to his righteousness in obedience to his commands if we want eternal life in him.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
And this is why Paul stated what he did when he said, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” For our faith must be continuous faith in walks of holiness and in righteousness, and not in sin, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands until the day we die, or until the day he comes to take us to be with him for eternity, if indeed we continue in him until the end. For our salvation will not be complete until Jesus returns for us.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Video Talk
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Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody
“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
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