October 11, 2024
To emphasize his point that we should not boast about or rely on our own spiritual status or achievements, Paul starts listing all the ways he could easily do that, if that were the goal.
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
Philippians 3:5-9
As much as Paul’s important heritage and years of religious practice could be impressive, he rejects them with very strong language – calling them garbage. Why do you think he says this so strongly?
Do you ever find yourself thinking about your spiritual resume or performance like a report card? The Message paraphrase says: “I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.” Can you release the things that do not matter so that you have room to be closer to Jesus?
Practice: Think about how you would summarize your own story of faith in Jesus in 3 to 4 sentences. Write out how you used to view things versus how you see them now (trusting in Jesus as your Lord and Savior).
This is the final devotion for this week. We’ll resume on Monday, October 14. There are quite a few bonus resources for the Joy Rules series at
wschurch.org/joyrules – including a playlist of joyful songs. Spend time building and sharing joy this weekend, and we’ll see you on Sunday morning for worship!