Joel M Bradshaw

 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…-Philippians 3

I have friends who don’t share my faith. I greatly respect their journeys and appreciate them as individuals. I can see how God has blessed them and is providing for them. I pray for them and am grateful to have each of them in my life. As much as anyone can be a good person, I look to them as people living the best lives they can.

There’s just one problem. Being a good person isn’t enough. Living our best life isn’t the point. It it was, then Paul would be in. He had the perfect resume. He was the skillset. He had accomplishments. He was an influencer, a leader of leaders, a speaker, an intellectual, and a writer. Paul had it all.

And yet, Paul considered all that he had to be rubbish. Whatever righteousness he had on his own merits was simply trash. Paul couldn’t be good enough or successful enough. Paul’s only hope was Jesus. Paul required a righteousness that came from God and not from himself.

This is why Paul spoke about faith. Paul’s only hope was his faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Paul saw himself as a sinner in need of a savior. But Paul also recognized that his own efforts (tremendous as they might have been) could not provide for that need. He needed Jesus.

On the cross, Jesus bore Paul’s sin and shame. Jesus paid the penalty that a just God lays upon that sin. Sin comes with a price tag, death. Jesus died Paul’s death in Paul’s place. Jesus was Paul’s substitutionary sacrifice. Jewish Paul understood sacrifices and what they stood for. Paul’s only way to be considered righteous was Jesus. His only hope of salvation was Jesus.

This is my story as well. My only hope is Jesus. I trust Jesus alone for my salvation. My hope is not based on my efforts, but Jesus. I pray for my friends that this would one day be their stories, as well.

If being a good person were enough then Paul would have no point. It would be a way to earn or pay for your own place with God. But that debt is too severe and I have only board game money to pay for it. I need Jesus. Paul needed Jesus. You need Jesus. Faith is about more than being a good person.–JMB