Saturday, May 3, 2014
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6:17 KJV).
Today’s Scripture is the key to being delivered from and guarded against today’s apostate Christendom.
Religion—that is, ceremonies, rites, rituals, et cetera—is very appealing to our flesh—that is, our natural tendency to rebel against God’s Word and will. Israel was guilty of “being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness” and having “not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3). The Apostle Paul knew this firsthand. When he was a Jewish religious leader—and a lost man!—he had done more religious works than probably anyone else in his day. Read his “worthless religious résumé” found in Philippians 3:4-6. If anyone could brag about all his achievements in religion, it was Saul of Tarsus!
Now, writing as a saved man—that is, saved from himself, his useless religion, his sins, eternal hellfire, and Satan’s policy of evil—the Apostle Paul informed: “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” (verses 7-11).
On the road to Damascus, in Acts chapter 9, Saul of Tarsus had died to self, and he submitted to God’s righteousness. Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Saul from heaven, and he relied exclusively on the Gospel of Grace revealed to him there. Over 30 years later (the context of Philippians), Paul was still attempting to fathom Christ’s resurrection life given him….