look at paul's list again but in the niv, philippians 3.4-6, though i myself have reason for such confidence. if anyone else thinks he has reason to put confidence in the flesh, i have more. circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of israel, of the tribe of benjamin, a hebrew of the hebrews. in regard to the law, a pharisee. as for zeal, persecuting the church. as for legalistic righteousness, flawless.
paul says here if you want to compare lists, i’ve got you beat by a long shot. he was a super legalist who found out it didn't work and he gives us five examples of legalism that we need to run from today.
1. you begin to trust in rituals. he said, i was circumcised on the eighth day. we have our own rituals today. baptism, communion, catechism, baby dedicated. if you fall into this trap of trusting these for your salvation, you're in trouble.
2. you trust in race. i was of the people of israel, of the tribe of benjamin. benjamin was the purest tribe. paul was named after the first king, saul, who was a benjaminite. paul says he used to trust in his heritage.
have you ever heard anyone say, "daddy's a CHRISTian... my mom was a believer... my uncle was a pastor." you can get religion by osmosis but you can't get CHRIST by osmosis.
3. you trust in religion. i was a hebrew of the hebrews. paul was a religious person.
JESUS has nothing to do with religion except HE's 100% opposed to it. religion is man's attempt to get to GOD. works. JESUS CHRIST is GOD's attempt to get to man. that's a relationship and that's a big difference. no denomination has a copyright on truth or a patent on GOD.
4. you trust in rules. in regard to the law, a pharisee. paul was a pharasee. he kept all the rules
we think of the pharisees as hypocrites but there were some genuine, sincere ones. they were the spiritually elite of that age. they took the ten commandments and expanded them into 619 other commandments. and they were legalists!
a pharisee would not even eat an egg if it were laid on the sabbath, because that was considered work. if he got bit by a mosquito on the sabbath, he would not scratch because that was considered work. a pharisee would not allow a woman to look in a mirror on the sabbath because she might see a grey hair and pull it and that would be considered work. they were pros at rules and regulations.
5. you trust in reputation. as for zeal and legalistic righteousness, faultless.
today we have people saying, "i read the bible, i witness, i go to church..." that's legalism.
the point is there is nothing wrong with any of these things. the problem is thinking that they give me points with GOD. and they don't. HE loves you unconditionally.
romans 14.17 (ms) GOD's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. it's what GOD does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.
paul said CHRISTianity is not a matter of rules, rituals and regulations. if the CHRISTian life were a bunch of "don'ts" anybody that was dead would qualify as a CHRISTian, because they don't do anything.
just a thought from the front porch...
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