THE VERSE
For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and 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.~Philippians 3:8-9
THE THOUGHT
Here we have one of the central verses in Scripture about justification (which is a big Bible word that means “to be made righteous”). Justification means that when we come to faith in Christ, God counts our sin as having been punished in Christ on the cross, and counts Christ’s perfect life as having been lived in our place. It is the great exchange— Christ is counted as having my sin, and I am counted as having His righteousness. This is some of the best news of the gospel, for it means that I am now free to approach God, not on the basis of my own “good” deeds, but solely on the basis of what Christ has done for me.Romans 5 and Philippians 3 explain that this exchange takes place because of our union with Christ. God views believers as being united to Christ—that’s why there is so much talk in the New Testament of being “crucified with Christ” and “found in Him.”
A good way to describe it is like getting married. In marriage, a husband and wife are united and become one flesh, and suddenly everything that was his is also hers, and everything that was hers is also his. The wife’s credit card debts are now the husband’s credit card debts, and everything that was in the husband’s bank account now jointly belongs to the wife. God has decreed that our union with Christ means that everything that was ours (namely, our sin, shame, rebellion, and death) is His, and everything that was His (namely, His perfect obedience, death on the cross, resurrection life, and eternal inheritance) are ours. No wonder He is described as the Bridegroom and the church is described as the Bride!
THE PRAYER
Jesus, What love You must have for Your Bride! You have taken all my debt, and in exchange You have clothed me in Your perfect righteousness, so that I can stand beloved and accepted and forgiven, all because of what You have done. Help me to never trust the filthy rags of my own self-righteousness, but to cling to Your blood and righteousness as the sole basis of my acceptance before God.EXTENDED READING
Philippians 3:7-11Romans 3:21-26
Romans 5:12-21
THE QUOTE
"Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops down is grace." ~Donald BarnhouseTHROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Review/Catch-Up
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