Today's encouragement comes from Philippians 3:9, where we read these amazing words of Paul:
" . . . and [that I may] be found in Him [Christ], not having my own righteous-ness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righ-teousness which is from God by faith . . . "This is one of the sweetest verses in the whole Bible. Here, the former zeal-ous works-mongering pharisee (Paul), celebrates his liberation in his justifi-cation in Christ. The Apostle no longer regards his old (and false) "righteous-ness" to be anything other than "rubbish," (v. 8).
What an irony that God would make the one-time champion of works-righ-teousness the greatest proclaimer of free grace in Jesus (received by faith alone), that the church has ever known. If we have the "righteousness of Christ," we have everything we need. God the Father views every churchman clothed in Jesus' righteousness to be as perfectly holy (right now) as His Own Dear Son is.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Morality shoots short of heaven. It is only nature refined. A moral man is but old Adam dressed in fine clothes.” —Thomas Watson, in, "The Doctrine of Repentance"]
