Chapter 3, Verse 8 “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…”
Listen to what Paul is saying. “I made a choice,” is Paul’s message. It’s one or the other. Law or Christ. Whether you are a Jew, as was Paul, or a Gentile, there is only Jesus. All the things that the law attempted to do are actually done by the Christ. The law made nothing perfect but Christ made all things perfect. The law could not remove the penalty of sin but Christ did. The law could not make mankind righteous but Christ could. To Paul, knowing Christ as Lord, surpassed any consideration the law ever provided.
When Paul says he counts his Jewish accomplishments as rubbish, he reduces its value to less than zero. There was no boasting in Christ as he had found in the law. None of the former claims he had under the law had any meaning in his relationship with Christ. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
Task for Today: It’s a no brainer. Grace and truth can’t be matched by any aspect of the law of Moses. Today, if you haven’t already, give yourself up to Jesus the Christ. Confess him before mankind, repent of your sins, be buried with him in baptism and arise to begin a new life in Christ, not under a law but under grace.
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