Philippians 3:7-11
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Next in his letter, Paul sets himself up as an example to prove to his beloved Philippians that their righteousness is found in Christ alone. Paul describes his life before his conversion as one of strict obedience to the law, blameless before God in doing what he thought God wanted him to do. He was a master scholar and theologian, and he lived all of that out to the point of eventually persecuting Christians. But when he found himself on his face in the holy presence of the Lord, he realized he’d gotten it all wrong, and his own works had only gotten him so far, certainly not far enough to gain favor or righteousness in God’s eyes.

For Paul, all he was and all he did became meaningless and worthless, something to be cast aside, in order to know Christ—to know Him as Savior, to know eternal life, to know what it takes to truly die to self in order to truly live for Christ. That was his aim, his focus, his purpose, and all and only because faith in Christ brought him true righteousness. And to know that set him free—not only from sin and the failures of his own flesh, but that striving to attain something he could have never gotten on his own. Now he presses toward the mark to fulfill his purpose in Christ, to please Him, serve Him, and live fully for Him.

For all who choose this path comes a glorious end—a home in heaven, eternal life, a new body free from all sin and its effects that we deal with here, a future lived in the very presence of God. This is the expected end of faith in Christ because His righteousness becomes ours, our sin is gone, His work is sufficient, and His promises come to pass. It’s the hope Paul wanted this church to have, to know that they didn’t have to earn their own way and to know that no sin is too grievous that it can’t be forgiven by Christ’s all-sufficient sacrifice.

What about you? Are you trusting in Christ alone for salvation, or are you trying to strive to get there on your own? To cross that endless chasm in your own power and by your own works? It’ll never be enough, but it doesn’t have to be, because Christ made the way for us. And when our faith is in Christ, may we rest in Him for our salvation and continue moving forward so that His purposes and plans will be worked out through us. We have much to look forward to that He has prepared for us when our time here is done, so in the meantime, may we give Him our best and our all.