Pastor Miller walks us through the next section of Philippians.
Where is your confidence? > Philippians 3:1-11
3:1 The call to “rejoice” is one that is found in every chapter of Philippians. Here, it provides the bookends between rejoicing in what Christ is doing in the world and for His people (1:18), to now how we are to have confident joy in our Lord as we seek to follow after Him (2:17-18, 3:1). This sort of joy-filled gladness isn’t a “nice to have” in the Christian life – no, it’s at the root of our faith.
3:2-6 Both rejoicing and remembering cause us to see where we should not place our confidence: in ourselves, our accomplishments, our power and wealth. Paul had every reason to be confident in the faith – from a human perspective, he had done all that was necessary to earn God’s care and forgiveness. And yet, he could not be confident in himself because of his sin – and we can’t be either.
3:7-11 The problem with looking to ourselves as the standard is that none of us matches up. Instead, real confidence – spiritual safety – is found when you have full sureness in Jesus Christ. He has done the work and we benefit from it. Therefore, we trust not in our own righteousness, not in our own selves to become right with God, but instead we trust in Jesus as the One who has paid the price and offers to us the forgiveness that we so desperately need.
Be: You must prize what is eternal over every indicator of status, wealth, power, or prestige that this world has to offer. Count all that you have as loss in comparison to all that Christ offers. “’till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.”
Make: This sort of other-worldly confidence provides a testimony to a world desperately in need of hope. Let’s point to Him with our attitudes, actions, and words as the One in whom we have all trust.
