Unbelievable

 October 10, 2024

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” —Philippians 3:7-10 

Sometimes it’s really hard to believe the Bible. That may sound strange coming from me, but it’s true. In the verses we’ve been considering, Paul states the unbelievable—that we can be righteous. I don’t know about you, but most of the time, I don’t feel very righteous. I don’t have to look very deeply into my heart to see judgmentalism, greed, lying, envy, pride…the list could go on and on. In spite of all I know is inside me, Paul says I possess righteousness, not from the law (ie. trying to do what’s right), but “through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

Hebrews tells us that faith is “the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith grabs hold of what I can’t see with my eyes, what I don’t see in my life now, and believes what God says about me instead of what I feel about me. I have to work at this kind of faith because what I feel and what I see are very real to me. I have to decide which is more real: my feelings and even sometimes my actions, or God’s promises in his Word. You must make that same decision if you want to experience grace, forgiveness, and life.