April 15, 2009
Text: Philippians 3:7-11
Title: No Deductions Here

Thoughts:

It was just a few years ago, on a Sunday morning in a rural church. Clothed in jeans carrying the tainted reminder of their previous use on the farm, I stood before the Lord as the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15. Vividly aware that I was unworthy of His time, attention, or grace, I pleaded for mercy.

“Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” (Mt. 15:27)

That was before…Before attending Bible college…Before obtaining a Christian Ministries degree…Before becoming a pastor…Before the resurrection of the flesh and works.

Looking back over those things which once justified him (vv.2-6), Paul “is not content simply to dismiss them and become indifferent to them. Rather, as Barth suggests, he rejects them with horror, and treats them as liabilities” (Ralph Martin, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Philippians, p.148) Lest they be resurrected through the power of rational thought and spiritual pride, Paul considered his works as despicable acts which worked against him.

On a day when many of us are searching for deductions to keep from paying more taxes, the reality of my fleshly attempts become evident to me. Aligning my “would –be” deductions of good works, I appear before God with my deductions to lessen the sinful individual I am. Somehow, my flesh fools me to believe that I am not nearly as bad as I am. Surely, I do not owe the debt of sin that my record shows. Certainly, my good works are deductions.

And, so goes reasoning. Paul said,

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Phil. 3:7)

Oh, that I would again have the emptiness of standing undone before the Lord. With no deductions, I stood vividly aware that I was unworthyof His time, attention, or grace…I pled for mercy.

Application:

Have you ever considered your works to be spiritual deductions against your debt of sin? (e.g., church attendance, degrees, years of service, etc.)

What would it mean to treat our pedigrees and props (vv. 5-6) as “liabilities”?

Do you approach Christ in the same manner today that you did when you first came to Him? How is different? How is it similar?

Prayer:

Father,

In a simple reminder from Your Word this morning, I became aware of my foolish attempt to seek deductions in my debt of sin. It is my futile attempt to be better than I am; to prove I am not as sinful as I seem. Forgive me for seeking to resurrect my flesh at the expense of faith in Christ. May I ever embody the attitude of Paul and the Canaanite woman, approaching You merely by grace through faith.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.