This post is written by Leslie Hudson as a companion for Unit 35, Session 6 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 12: From This World to the World to Come (Summer 2024).
In this week’s Scripture, Paul is writing a letter to some Christians whose congregation has been influenced by some Judaizers, which is exactly what it sounds like: people who practice Judaism. In the book of Esther (8:17), the term referred to Gentiles in Persia who had adopted Jewish practices. In Galatians 2:14, it points to people who followed Jewish customs or lived by Jewish law. On the surface, that may not seem like a bad thing; these believers were choosing some wholesome living, right? Well, not really. You see, it had become the “Jesus and” type of teaching; faith in Christ required Jesus and living according to Jewish custom. But that’s not what Jesus taught. Salvation is found in Jesus alone, not Jesus and something else, including the Jewish law.
So to prove it, Paul’s letter includes a little diatribe that I actually find humorous. It’s almost like when a famous person gets arrested for drunk driving and asks the officer, “Do you know who I am?” In writing to the Philippian Christians, Paul carries out the “Do you know who I am?” question in order to prove the opposite results. Paul’s list of accomplishments stacks up against those of anyone else; few if any Jews could have stood toe-to-toe with him in terms of accolades.
But that’s exactly why his next words seem so powerful. In the next paragraph he declares all of his high accomplishments as “loss” and “dung” (Phil. 3:8), not only because they gave him absolutely zero benefit in his salvation through faith but because those great achievements actually pulled him away from the only thing that really counts—the righteousness of Christ. Self-righteousness is a deadly poison, and the Judaizers were spreading it throughout Christian churches.
Unwittingly, I’ve been telling my own version of Paul’s testimony for years. I was a studious, overachieving child and always found myself on the receiving end of scholastic awards and advanced classes in school. With every accolade I’d think, “This is going to change everything,” but by that afternoon I’d realize that I was still the same me; only with a paper-stock certificate for something else. I didn’t feel any different on the inside.
In high school and college, I was still studious and overachieving and walked out of those two institutions as valedictorian and summa cum laude. Yet again, by the next day, I’d feel a little disappointed because I didn’t feel any different. My parents and grandparents (love them) were far more excited for my achievements than I was.
But then I got engaged and I thought, “Okay, this will change everything!” I’d grown up watching all the movies; I knew that putting on that gown would be magical. And on the day of my wedding, I was careful not to look in a mirror until everything was ready: dress, veil, makeup, hair. And when that moment happened and I stared at my completely-decked-out self, I honestly felt silly: here was the same old me, only with hair that was too big and makeup that looked cartoonish.
Who was I, really? And did anything even matter?
Though the look at myself at the wedding was not magical, I did enjoy my new grown-up life and found myself signing up for a very grown-up thing: enrolling in a Women’s Bible Study at my church. Through my weekly time with those women and God’s Word, something changed with me on the inside for the first time ever. I was being renewed, not through accolades or a white dress but through the truth of the Word and the regeneration that came from the Spirit living inside me.
Living and breathing Jesus was the magical, life-transforming element I’d been waiting for all my life. But I’d been looking for it in all the wrong places. Everything that I thought would be a benefit to my life, that society had placed so much value upon, just left me feeling lacking and exposed. But when Jesus became my goal and my focus, my world was rocked and my faith was bolstered.
So as you read Paul’s words this week, take a moment to think about your own similar story. And if you find you’re still clinging to those achievements and dresses and accolades, let Philippians 3 challenge you to let go and pursue knowing Jesus as your only gain.
Leslie Hudson loves her mornings of silence, coffee, and Jesus—not in that order. She lives with her husband and kids in White Bluff, Tennessee, where they raise blueberries, figs, and bees. She loves to spend her free time reading, writing, journaling, and helping others know and follow Jesus.
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