There are three readings assigned for the fifth Sunday in Lent: Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:4b-14 and Luke 20:9-20. The text chosen for the sermon is Philippians 3:9, “…and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness whch is from God by faith.”
It is not often that a Bible verse is as clear in its summary of radical Christianity as is Philippians 3:9. In stark contrast to the world’s religion which come from the imagination of humans, the only religion of truth, Christianity, which comes from the revelation of God, decimates common sense theology. For in all religions of the world it is clear that what you say, think and do make a huge difference in whether or not you will be saved and remain saved. But not in Christianity. For saying, thinking and doing the right way is all a part of the righteousness from the law. The law here is simply a synonym for God’s will. His will is that the path of salvation to heaven is through perfect thoughts, words and deeds.
That impossible-to-obey Law stands in stark contrast to the Gospel which reveals that the righteousness which is absolutely necessary for salvation comes from God and God alone. It was the rediscovery by the Reformation that through faith and faith alone, God now declares you to be righteous in His sight. There is hardly an adequate analogy in the world with which to compare such a miraculous decision on God’s part.
Now Paul clarifies that while God considers him righteous and therefore sinless, in his own body he has not yet attained perfection (verse 12) but he presses on. How can we understand this seeming contradiction that in his own eyes, Paul is not perfect but in God’s eyes, he is regarded as perfect and sinless. To begin with, theology is the art of making distinctions and one is called for in answer to our apparent dilemma.
An analogy of some distinction is ready to help clarify the conundrum. Can one not say that an adopted child is fully adopted while not yet attaining full maturity in the family? Of course. In a similar way, what saves you is not your attaining perfect righteousness. What says you, from God’s point of view, is your receiving the perfect righteousness of the obedience of Jesus while on earth. It comes in the form of the robe of righteousness and covers all of your inability to attain your own righteousness.
Now the impossible part of the Christian faith which the world cannot fathom is that such a righteousness comes to us through the grace gifted process of believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel is not simply the true historical facts of the Scripture but the sure promises God makes you on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Promises such as your sins are forgiven; you are wearing the robe of righteousness; God will never leave you nor forsake you; No temptation shall overcome you…and on and on and on.
In Christ–which means through faith in His gracious promises–God has declared that we are already perfect in His sight and therefore there is no need to hand God our “good” works to appease or placate His anger. Such appeasement took place at the cross of Jesus! Thus, we rejoice with all the saints both here on earth and those who have gone before us at having been gifted as a member of the family of God by grace through faith on account of Jesus Christ.
Name:Tom Baker