Faith alone....

I spent precious time in scripture and meditating on Philippians 3:1-11 yesterday.  I am seeking through the book of Philippians this summer with other ladies at Inspired by Action.  It actually is a 5 day week study, but I decided to peek into the next week.

The Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to me about the free gift of salvation. Honestly, I have never been convicted otherwise, but I find it mysterious why others believe that works is part of justification.  So I dug dipper into God's Holy Word.

The Holy Spirit revealed to me...

In Verse 2, Paul is diligently warning his brothers to use discernment because there are many false teachers out there. I believe he is talking about justification here.  Paul clearly states in verse 3, put no confidence in the flesh.  Paul is saying that true Christians do not trust in anything they do in order to earn their salvation.  My flesh provides nothing, zero.  Salvation is a gift of grace, Romans 6:23, Roman 3:24, and Titus 3:7.  Thank God for your mercy!  No one is righteous, no, not one!  Not even me.  Paul declares this in Romans 3:10.

Second, in verses 4-8, Paul is stressing that it is extremely foolish to boast in your religious credits or in your heritage.   Paul listed his impeccable Jewish credentials. He faithfully followed the Mosaic Law, yet he tells us in this verse that it is all rubbish when it comes to his salvation. I know that I can't earn my way to God by participating in any religious duty or ceremony. In verse 9, he tells his brother in Philippi that salvation is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God.  Paul also explains that justification comes by faith in Romans 5:1.

Please don't misunderstand my point here about works, I strongly believe that when I was justified by faith I was regenerated in Christ.  My life was changed.  My real faith in Christ Jesus produces good works because He lives in me.  I whole heartily believe Romans 11:6,  But it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.  Amen!  Thank you Lord for your grace because I so don't measure up to your righteousness.

How am I going to apply Paul's teaching to my life and teach the truth to my children?  Simply taking absolutely no credit for any thing I do.  I often get asked how on earth do I manage to stay sane while homeschooling my 6 children every day.  I 'm going to stress,  it's not me, it's Christ living within me.

I'm going to concentrate on my faith and not so much on the tedious things in life.  I am going to immerse my self  in God's Word daily. Whether or not, I wear a skirt or not, is rubbish!  Whether or not, I pop in a family friendly movie for my early risers while I complete my devotion each morning is rubbish!  Whether or not we worship to hymns or contemporary Christian music is rubbish to Him!  He wants us to have faith in Him!

I was highly encouraged by John MacArthurs teaching, Religious Credits Don't Impress God which pertains to the passages, Philippians 3:4-8. 

My prayer is that you will seek the truth in regards to justification by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His inspired word. It's all right there for you in His Word.