Indeed, 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. Philippians 3:8

A recent sermon challenged me in a way I wasn’t expecting. As Christians, we readily understand the need to repent of our unrighteousness. We know we must confess our sins, turn from rebellion, and seek God’s forgiveness. But what about repenting of our righteousness?

At first, that sounds strange. Why would we repent of doing the right thing?

The answer is that sometimes our “righteousness” becomes a source of pride. We begin to trust in our spiritual accomplishments, our morality, our church involvement, our knowledge, or our good behavior. Instead of finding our confidence in Christ, we subtly place confidence in ourselves. I am guilty of this myself. If I am honest, there have even been times where I thought I deserved something more than someone else, because I was a better Christian. That doesn’t sound at all like the mindset Jesus calls us to in His Sermon on the Mount.

The Apostle Paul addresses this very issue in Philippians 3. He lists an impressive spiritual resume: circumcised on the eighth day, an Israelite, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous for the law, and outwardly blameless. If anyone had reason to boast in religious achievement, it was Paul.

Yet after listing all of his credentials, Paul makes a shocking statement. He counts them all as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. He understands that his standing before God is not based on his performance but on Christ’s righteousness.

Paul knew something we often forget: even our best efforts cannot save us. Isaiah tells us that our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before a holy God. Compared to God’s perfect standard, even our greatest accomplishments fall short.

Jesus illustrated this truth in His parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee stood before God reciting all the things he had done right. He fasted, tithed, and thanked God that he was not like other sinners. The tax collector, on the other hand, stood at a distance, unable even to lift his eyes toward heaven. All he could say was, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

The shocking conclusion is that the tax collector went home justified before God, not the Pharisee. The difference was not that one man had sinned and the other had not. Both were sinners. The difference was where they placed their confidence. One trusted in his own righteousness. The other cast himself entirely upon the mercy of God.

The danger is that we often compare ourselves to other people rather than to God’s holiness. We may look at someone else’s visible sin and feel a sense of superiority because our struggles seem more respectable. We may quietly believe that our church attendance, Bible knowledge, charitable giving, or moral behavior somehow make us more acceptable to God.

But Scripture leaves no room for such thinking.

We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Apart from Christ, every one of us stands equally guilty before a holy God. Our particular sins may differ, our backgrounds may differ, and our social status may differ, but none of those distinctions matter when it comes to our desperate need for grace.

The ground at the foot of the cross is level.

The reality is that none of us are saved because we were good enough. We are saved because God, in His mercy and grace, chose to rescue sinners through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not earned. It is received. Praise God!

When we truly understand this, humility follows. We stop boasting in ourselves and begin boasting in Christ. We stop looking down on others and begin extending the same grace that has been extended to us. We stop trusting in our righteousness and rest in His. This is where we find true peace and contentment in all circumstances.

This is the posture we see in Paul throughout his ministry. The more he understood the holiness of God, the more aware he became of his own unworthiness and his desperate need for grace. Near the end of his life, Paul did not speak as a man impressed with himself. Rather, he described himself as the chief of sinners.

Perhaps one of the most important acts of repentance for mature believers is not merely repenting of obvious sin, but repenting of the pride that creeps into our obedience. Repenting of the subtle belief that we have somehow contributed to our standing before God.

May we never lose sight of this truth: our only hope is Christ. Not our goodness. Not our accomplishments. Not our reputation. Christ alone.

And that is very good news.

Ardently His,

Jenifer

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