Philippians 3:7-9 NLT
[7] “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. [8] Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ [9] and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”
In Paul’s great “light bulb moment”, he made the exchange, Jesus for himself, grace for self-effort, surrender for pride, Christ’s righteousness for his “filthy rags”. He saw his heart for what it was, “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.”
Paul’s “old self” died, and a new man rose through the power of God’s Spirit, a new creation, to a new life. Jesus Himself confirmed Paul’s transformation in unusual words to Ananias…
Acts 9:11 NIV
[11] “The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for HE IS PRAYING”.
Praying? Yes, for the first time in his life, Paul was really praying.
Do you remember Jesus’ story about the Pharisee and the tax collector?
Luke 18:9-14 NIV
[9] “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: [10] “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ [13] “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ [14] “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus could have been telling Paul’s story.
What kept Paul so steadfastly on track with his new life? Was it that moment when the whole sand castle of his life crumbled around him? He saw Jesus! Never would he forget the instant when the True Light pierced his darkness. Every word he preached thereafter, every thought he write, hinged on that second when Jesus crashed into his life and took over.
Faith! That was the key. Not faith itself but faith in the authentic the real, the true. His faith had been firmly embedded in what he could do, what he had achieved, what he thought was the real thing. Jesus showed him that his misplaced faith was leading him to destruction. Faith wasn’t the problem. The object of his faith was his error. He believed in himself…and he was not authentic. He was as fickle as the wind.
Paul’s great discovery…Jesus, the only real, true-blue object of faith, took him in the opposite direction. From that moment, Paul engaged in a lifelong partnership of faith in a faithful Saviour. Everything in his life flowed from faith in that union. What Jesus said about Himself and Paul was true, and he believed it!
Paul was saved by faith, made righteous by faith, reconciled to the Father by faith, knew Jesus by faith, walked in the Word by faith, suffered with Jesus by faith, anticipated glory by faith…by faith…by faith alone.
Romans 5:1-2 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
No more going it alone for Paul! No more self-effort. Paul had been “born again”. He had become like a little child, no longer dependant on himself but on the Father through Jesus, the Son.
What dominated his life? Let him tell it in his own words…
Galatians 2:19-20 NIV
[19] “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
That’s it! Implicit, childlike, unwavering trust in the trustworthiness of the Son of God…all solidly based on a broken figure on a Roman cross and an empty tomb, the most timelessly true fact of human history.
Let this old hymn tell the story.
1. In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
2. When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me.
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
3. When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.
4. Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.
5. In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
(Author: John Bowring b.1792
https://hymnary.org)