Thank you for downloading this expository-style devotional from Truth Matters Church. You can connect with us at truthmatterschurch.org. This devotional is titled, Counted as Loss, and is from our study in Philippians. I'm Associate Pastor Jeremy. When the Apostle Paul opened what we know as chapter 3 of his letter to the church in Philippi, he began with a stark warning to look out for false teachers that led believers astray with errant doctrines. And one of those teachings was the assertion that certain religious rites must be followed in order for a Christian to obtain or maintain their salvation, and contextually that is circumcision. Paul spoke strictly against this teaching, and today we get a glimpse into just how serious he was that the Philippians put no confidence for their salvation in works of the flesh. In Philippians 3 verses 3-7, the Apostle Paul wrote, For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. Circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness, which is in the law, found blameless. But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. So here, Paul lays out his remarkable qualifications as a religious leader and a Pharisee, one of the top positions in the Jewish culture of that day. Considered the most pious of all and extremely influential even in political circles, Pharisees were scrupulous observers of the law as interpreted by the scribes, and many resided at the peak of religious and societal class in the first century AD. But as we read in the Gospel accounts, many of their teachings were nothing more than man-made religiosity and baseless restrictions put on those placed in their spiritual care. Jesus had many stern and cutting words for the hypocritical Pharisees and other religious leaders. Just read Matthew 23 to see how much our Lord had to say about these guys. And it was these same Pharisees and chief priests who schemed to put Jesus Christ on the cross. Reference Matthew 26 verse 59 and Luke 22 verse 2. As a Pharisee, Paul had devoted his life from youth to meticulously following the Jewish rules, regulations, and rights. He touches on this only briefly here, but to be clear, this was not his weekend hobby. Being a Pharisee was his life and it was all-encompassing. Paul WAS a Pharisee, and his qualifications read like an esteemed professor's resume. For comparison, it's like someone who trains their entire life to be a professional athlete. What they do is who they are. So, picture spending your entire life pursuing what you believed your calling from God to be, and then one day the Messiah you've been trained to watch for stops you on the road, quite literally, and asks, why are you persecuting me? See Acts 9 verses 4-5. Imagine the heartache in finding out that your life's work and service had culminated to be the exact opposite of what you thought and expected. The slice of humble pie handed to Paul that day on the road to Damascus is quite a bit bigger than any of us can comprehend. Spelling out his pharisaical credentials, Paul touts that if anyone has reason to boast in the works of the flesh, or to have confidence in what they've done or achieved in order to gain favor with God, it would be him. None of his readers could likely match his religious qualifications, so if God's blessing or salvation was based on these things, Paul would have been escorted to the front of heaven's line among this crowd. But no, that is absolutely not the case. And Paul makes that abundantly clear when he says, but whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Amplifying this a bit, he's saying, these things I've done and attained by religious acts, these things that I thought were so important are in fact worthless. They have no effect on whether or not I am saved or even find favor with God. All that matters and has any value is Christ. What an incredibly important lesson for us here too. While as Christians we are undeniably called to do good works, reference Matthew 5.16, Ephesians 2.10, and James 2.18-20, these works cannot save us. Faith alone in Christ Jesus, by grace alone from God the Father, is what saves us. There is no substitute, there is no other path, and there are no other means to find salvation other than through faith in Christ. Acts 4.12 plainly states, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. You see, our good works follow as evidence of our faith and fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our heart, but those works cannot cleanse us of the sin which only Christ's blood can do. Next time, we'll look a little more into Paul's rejection of his religious credentials and see just how much he wanted the readers of his letter to understand that nothing else matters besides our faith in and submission to Jesus Christ. His words are thought-provoking and convicting, and worthy of our time to deeply consider just how much we value our earthly achievements and possessions over a humble, obedient faith in our Savior. Thank you so much for listening, and we would like to invite you to join our Friday evening Bible studies. Our small group meets in Lincoln, California, and we also stream live on Sermon Audio and our website TruthMattersChurch.org. Again, that is TruthMattersChurch.org. Have a blessed day.