A creative writing teacher once said we needed to write with flawless grammar before we could take any liberties with our writing style. We had to know the rules first, so we understood the reason behind breaking the rules later. A similar concept is covered by Paul in his letter to the Philippians. You might remember that biblical Paul was a Jewish religious leader before he met Jesus. He belonged to a faith community that told him he had to be righteous and obey the religious laws in his own power. He understood the rules and obeyed as flawlessly as possible, but he couldn’t be perfect. After Jesus transformed Paul, Paul told the Philippians, “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.”Â
Paul knew the law, and then understood the reason behind Jesus breaking the power of those rules. He said in Romans 8, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” This is our faith. Today let’s dwell on that little phrase, “you belong to him.” With great joy and faith in belonging to our Savior with you, Tracy