It's about Relationship!
This is Living: Philippians
Pastor Todd Blansit
New Life Church
August 11, 2024

Most believers start out clear about their mission and their message, but eventually, we can lose that clarity. We all face this pull from clarity, and we soon lose sight of what really matters and what we really should be doing.

Here’s some of the background. When Christianity started, it came out of the Jewish religion. In the early days, it was actually seen part of Judaism. To become a Christian without also becoming Jewish in those days was unthinkable.

The problem came when Gentiles began to enter the church. At first, they wondered if Gentiles could really become Christians, but the Holy Spirit solved that one for them when the Gentiles began to speak in tongues. There was no doubt that they had become part of what God was doing. But shouldn’t the Gentile Christians then become converts to Judaism? Isn’t that part of what it means to be a Christian?

Those who argued for this even had a verse: “Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant” (Genesis 17:14).

This was going to be a huge issue in Philippi. Most of the people there were Gentile believers. It was probably only a matter of time before some arrived in the church to convince them to be circumcised.
Paul wasn’t exactly neutral on this issue. Why? Because he understood what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and he knew the dangers of adding any human requirements.

Paul had the right upbringing, nationality, family background, inheritance, activity, and morality. He had all the right credentials, but instead of bringing him closer to God, they got in the way. The advantage became a disadvantage. His credentials and advantages led him to persecute the church and oppose what God was doing.

Eventually, we start to confuse the cultural markers of what it means to be a good person with what it means to be a Christian. The markers we use for what Christians should and shouldn’t do become as important as faith itself.

Our best human efforts, the markers we invent to define who’s in and who’s out they’re not at all important. There may be nothing wrong with them in themselves, but when we make them issues, they’re worse than garbage. We’ve got to get rid of them.
What’s the alternative? Paul says it’s “the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” In other words, it’s about relationship. It’s not only an intellectual thing. It’s acknowledging him and obeying him.

We need to get down to two bedrock beliefs. First, God and I are not partners in salvation. Jesus did it all. There’s nothing I could add, even if I tried. Jesus did it all.