Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Philippians 3. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We see in our text, and elsewhere throughout Holy Scripture, that there are two kinds of “righteousness” when it comes to human beings. The one is perfect – but it is imputed, or accounted to us; the other is our own, but it is described in Scripture as “filthy rags,” or even “rubbish.”
- The first kind of righteousness is what we need – for our own “righteousness” is flimsy, weak, and flawed, no matter how hard we try. And the Scripture is clear that no one is going to saved or declared righteous on the basis of their own “righteousness” that which comes through our obedience to the Law. In the book of Romans Paul writes clearly: “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. . . . For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. [Romans 3:19,20,28]
- This same principle, the same reality, is affirmed clearly over and over again in Holy Scripture. In the book of Galatians Paul asserts: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” [Gal. 2:16]
- It is this “righteousness,” this justification by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ that Paul is interested in. He gives up everything to have it, and urges us all to do the same! For:
I. The Right Righteousness Is Not Of Law, Not Personal Righteousness – For This Is Rubbish, And Will Never Avail In God’s Sight
A. For All Sin, And All Are Guilty Of Breaking All Of The Law
Rom. 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
James 2:10 “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet offends in one point, is guilty of breaking all of it.”
B. All Sin, Any Sin, Results In Death
Rom. 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”
Ezek. 18:20 “The soul that sins, it shall die.”
Statement: It is certain that if anyone kept the entire law throughout his/her entire lifetime, that perfect righteousness would avail in the sight of God. However, this is impossible for human beings, for as the psalmist confessed: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” [ Psalm 51:5] So even before we have choice, and could perhaps choose to do good and never sin, it is already too late. We are sinful from conception onward! So Solomon observed: “There is not a just man upon the earth that does good and never sins.”
Application: Therefore it doesn’t really matter – in the issue of spiritual life and death, of salvation and damnation – how well we are doing keeping the commandments. It is too late for us to save ourselves by our own “goodness.” We cannot erase former sins – and they have already brought the sentence of death upon us. Nor can we perform perfectly from this time forward. We are already “guilty of breaking all of it,” all of the law.
Transition: This being the case, the only honest response to the law with its demands and requirements is despair. And Paul is aware of this. However, there is another way for us – but it is outside of and apart from God’s Law. Paul makes clear that:
II. God’s Righteousness Is What We Need
Text: “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 I 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.”
2 Cor. 5:21 “God made Him Who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
A. Christ’s Righteousness, Which Is Accounted To Us By Faith, Is Sinless And Perfect
Heb. 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest Who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have One Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet He never sinned.”
B. This “Righteousness” Of God Is Accounted To Us, Received And Acquired By Faith In God’s Merciful Love And Redemption
Eph. 2:8,9 “By grace you are saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”
1 John 2:2 “Jesus is the blood atonement for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Statement: This has been the way God has repaired man’s relationship with Him, and given us the gift of new life and hope. Already back in Genesis we read these words: “Abraham believed God, and God counted it to him as righteousness.” [Gen. 15:6] Jeremiah reminded his hearers that God is known as “the Lord is our righteousness.” [Jer. 23:6; 33:16] Since we have no real righteousness of our own, as Isaiah reminds us: “All of our righteousness are as filthy rags” [Is. 64:6], it should be obvious that we need “saving” and for God to supply us with a real and genuine “righteousness.”
Application: Thankfully, this is exactly what God has done for us. He so loved us, the whole world, every human being, that He sent His Son to die in our place, taking away the sin and guilt of the whole world. Now that His suffering, death, and glorious resurrection are accomplished, we are presented with this gift – so that we might know and believe this great love that God has for us, and receive His righteousness. This is His will – that all come to believe this truth of what He has done for us and for our salvation. He wills to be the “righteousness” for every human being!
Transition: And in this way:
III. God’s Righteousness Connects Us To Christ
A. Connecting Us To His Suffering, Death, And Resurrection
Text: “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 resurrect from the dead.”
B. Connecting Us Also To An Ascending Life With God, Eternal Life
Text: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own. . . . one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Statement: We are not only delivered from death and hell, we are joined to Christ and to God. Yes, this changes our life here and now – and not necessarily in a way that brings us greater ease and comfort. But our focus has shifted and changed. We forget the past and strain forward to the future blessings of God, which are sure and certain.
Application: Part of the joy of having God’s righteousness accounted to us is the freedom to pursue good and service to God in our lives. We no longer have to establish our own ”goodness” and “righteousness,” but because God has already accounted us as righteous in His sight, we serve Him because we love Him and want to!
Conclusion: Given that our own righteousness is sorely insufficient, thanks and praise be to God for His gracious love and His gift of His righteousness imposed upon us. May we always “count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.