“Though I might also have
confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might
trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a
Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted
loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:4-7).
Introduction
This section of the epistle to the
Philippians offers us some great insights into what governed the life and
ministry of Paul. Religion is man’s way of trying to please God; and because
he knows that there is something wrong with his soul, he seeks to gain eternal
life through good works and religious practices, yet he rejects God’s way of
salvation through faith alone. Therefore the religious man can never be
confident that his sins are forgiven or that he is fully accepted by God. He
will speak of “hoping to go to Heaven.” All his effort to make himself
acceptable to God is only as good as if he had done nothing at all, for they
will land him in Hell at the end of his life.
Confidence
As we saw in our previous study a
believer must not place any importance in or on the flesh, that is, all of our
so-called accomplishments are futile if we think they have any merit with God.
This includes all ceremonies, rituals and religious observances, for the flesh
will brag about their worth and how particularly they are put into action. Now
we read Paul’s feelings about his pre-Christian life and upbringing. He
reveals that, despite his Jewish background and training, he did not understand
God’s plan of salvation until he met Jesus Christ. With his immense knowledge
of Judaism he had completely missed the point of what the Scriptures taught. His
religion, with all its feasts, rules and duties failed to bring peace to his
soul. Peace reigned in his soul the moment he accepted that Jesus was the
Saviour. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). His confidence was now in
Christ rather than the religious efforts and works of the flesh.
If Paul achieved anything through
his religious practices it was only the badge of self-righteousness. There were
few men of that era that could have be elevated and put on a pedestal as a good
example of what a good Jew was. Paul considered himself to be a spiritual person
and had certain privileges simply because he was born a Jew. A brief list
follows which he uses to reveal the areas where he thought he had it made with
God.
Circumcision
Was Paul a real Jew because he was
circumcised as a baby as the Law of Moses required? Circumcision proved that he
was a member of the ‘Covenant People’ or in other words ‘the elect of
God.’ He believed that this ceremony made him a true child of God. The
religious churches have a similar notion; they think that infant baptism makes
the child a Christian and dismiss what the Bible says on the issue. At his
circumcision he was given the name Saul. This was a sign of his Jewish heritage,
but it is possible that he was also called Paul at the same time because of his
future interaction with the Greek world.
Culture
It is interesting that there are two
Sauls mentioned in Scripture, though there are variations of the name, and both
come from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel. Was he
named Saul in honour of Israel’s first king?
He remained a true Hebrew despite
the fact that his family moved to Tarsus, whereas many Jews ‘Hellenised’ by
mixing their Jewishness with the culture of the Greeks. It seems that his family
refused to do this but held firmly to their language and customs, nevertheless
because of his interaction within that cosmopolitan city, Paul could speak
Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He makes it abundantly clear that he saw himself as
racially superior and religiously head and shoulders over everyone else. He
considered himself to one of the elite and on that basis he thought that his
salvation was secure.
Character
Now the apostle reviews his
religious achievements. Paul used to be a Pharisee, the strictest sect with
Judaism. The word ‘Pharisee’ means ‘separated one.’ He states this
because he did not want anyone to connect him with the Sadducees, for they
rejected huge portions of Scripture. We could call him a card-carrying Pharisee,
an orthodox Jew. Even after his conversion Paul sought to distance himself from
the Sadducees, whom he considered to be more heretical than the Pharisees. “When
Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he
cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a
Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And
when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no
resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both”
(Acts 23:6-8).
He considered himself to be zealous
for God and thought that persecuting Christians pleased Him (Acts 8:3, Galatians
1:23). As the ringleader of the persecution he may have been zealous but he was
hard-hearted with it. We read that he consented to the death of Stephen (Acts
8:1, 22:20), which literally means that he approved of it and took pleasure in
the same. It was on one such campaign that he met the risen Lord Jesus as
Saviour (Acts 22:2-21, 26:4-33, 1 Corinthians 15:8-10). “For ye have heard
of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I
persecuted the church of God, and wasted it” (Galatians 1:13).
He thought of himself as righteous
in the eyes of God, that is, utterly blameless. He lived and breathed his faith
and aimed at being the best example of it. In reality he was simply trying to be
ceremonially pure so that others would be impressed and call him a saint. He was
immensely proud of his religion and education. “And profited in the Jews'
religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous
of the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14). He was Judaism’s star
and would have become the leader of his sect if God had not intervened. Some
commentators suggest the Paul had already become a member of the Sanhedrin, but
it does at least appear that he was destined to occupy that position. The Lord
Jesus had an altogether lower estimation of the righteousness of the Pharisees. “For
I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven” (Matthew 5:20).
Conversion
Paul uses the words “But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” to express his view
that his pre-Christian life was now of no value. Do we see how the Lord Jesus
not only took Paul’s sin away, but all his boasting too? The word “loss”
means ‘damage’. His old life was damaged and useless. Notice that Paul had a
list of what he used to think were gains, but now he lumps them altogether as
one big loss. God never repairs the old life but instead gives us a new one. “I
will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will
take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and
they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19-20) … “Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). All the so-called
glories of the past cannot be compared with what he had now in Christ.
Conclusion
After his Damascus Road experience
Paul never allowed religious pride to hinder his relationship with Christ. His
conversion was a radical transformation of his life and character. Now he sought
to live a holy life God’s way rather than through religious observances. “Without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
(Hebrews 11:6).
In the next study we will continue
with the apostle Paul’s comparisons between his old life in Judaism and his
new life in Christ.
