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It Doesn't Work - I've tried it! Philippians 3:4-7)
There is a point when zeal for God tips over into
legalism. When well-intentioned people mistake religion for faith, rules
for devotion form for substance. You see it in groups like the Albeginsians,
or Cathars. Calling themselves Bons Chretiens (Good Christians) this medieval
French heretical sect divided adherents into two classes; the 'perfect'
(parfait), who were baptised by the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands
and adhered to a more strict lifestyle, and 'believers' (credentes), who
led normal lives but vowed to receive the baptism when death was threatened.
Further back in history there were the Essenes a Jewish sect that existed
from about 165 BC to 68 AD. They were an ascetic group that lived in isolation
from the rest of Israel and keeping the law more rigorously even than
the Pharisees. They, too, were divided into two broad classes. There were
those who lived a totally monastic lifestyle, keeping themselves isolated,
and other adherents who mixed to some degree with the world and formed
a lower class of believer.
Then there were the Pharisees, the group to whom Paul had belonged. These,
too, were religious purists, totally committed to preserving and promoting
the keeping of the law in every particular. These were model Jews, widely
respected, but relatively few in number (no more than around 6,000). 'Pharisee'
means 'Separated Ones' and their conduct toward others certainly set them
apart. But then some people like the idea that they are - special.
Paul here is more or less saying, "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt."
"If anyone else thinks he has reason to put confidence in the flesh, I
have more."
Paul had put his confidence in three things:
His race: Paul was a Jew (v.5), of the tribe of Benjamin, who had
been circumcised when he was eight days old according to God's instruction
to Abraham.
His religion: Paul was a Pharisee (v.5), who were considered the
'spiritual athletes' of the Jewish faith. He had studied under the great
Jewish teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He so valued his religion that he
persecuted the church in order to keep its purity (v.6).
His righteousness: Paul's verdict on himself was, "As for legalistic
righteousness, faultless" (v.6). Paul is not here claiming to be perfect
but insisting that no one kept the Pharisee's legalistic code better than
he did. If there had been a 'Pharisee of the Year' award Paul would have
won it - most years.
Paul was telling the believers in Philippi that he had tried it all and
found it woefully inadequate. He had trusted in the flesh, in his own
efforts, and discovered that, "No one will be declared righteous in his
sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious
of sin" (Ro.3:20).
For some this news comes as a terrible shock. The Essenes lived at just
the right time but missed Jesus. The Pharisees saw and heard Jesus but
it did most of them no good since they continued to trust in their own
efforts. The Albeginsians are in many ways representative of groups down
the ages that have moved from faith to religion, trust to dogma, substance
to form.
Who will you put your trust in this week? How will you live in light of
that trust? Paul called himself "a Hebrew of Hebrews" (v.5). Are you "a
Christian of Christians" because of your knowledge, practice, or religion?
Or can you say with Paul:
"But whatsoever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ"
(v.7)