Joyful Living Devotional - Day 27
Day 27 – Grace, Not Human Effort
Philippians 3:2-4 (NLT) 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
In these verses, we see why Paul encourages the Philippians to walk in joy to safeguard their faith. Paul moves from rejoicing to protecting. It seems the Philippians are facing a challenge similar to that of several other churches, namely the infiltration of Jewish believers who insisted that new believers must uphold both the Jewish law and follow Christ.
Paul uses strong language for those who insist that in order to be saved, the Gentile believers need to be circumcised as well. He calls them three things: dogs, evildoers, and mutilators. Don’t think of dogs the way our culture thinks and treats dogs. I have a dog named Daisy, and she is nothing but a gift. The best dog on the planet, a little stubborn, but that is about the only negative thing that could be said of her. Paul is not referring to a Daisy-type pet dog. In ancient times, dogs were more like scavenging strays, roaming the streets and digging through garbage. They would snarl and growl at people and were seen as a nuisance rather than a blessing.
In today’s culture, we might lovingly and in jest call someone “Big Dog!” In the Bible, calling someone a dog was a great insult. When David faced Goliath, Goliath said: “‘Am I a dog,’ he roared at David, ‘that you come at me with a stick?’ And he cursed David by the names of his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43 NLT). Goliath was obviously not impressed; unfortunately for him, he became dog meat. When David was pursued by King Saul, we see him, in a self-deprecating way, call himself not just a dog but a dead dog: “‘Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea?’” (1 Samuel 24:14 NLT).
In Matthew 7:6 (NIV), Jesus said: “‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.’”
Needless to say, when Paul calls these Judaizers dogs, it is not meant as a compliment. They are not on Paul’s favorite people’s list. Why such strong words? Salvation rests on what Christ has done for us, not on our own human effort. We place no confidence in human effort. To insist that we are saved through any means other than the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is to add human effort to grace. We are saved by grace through faith, and that is not of ourselves; it is a gift of God, so that none of us can boast! We who worship God by His Spirit are those who are actually circumcised because circumcision is no longer something of the flesh but of the Spirit.
That is what Paul wrote to the church in Rome and said: “28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God” (Romans 2:28-29 NIV).
Even in his letter to the church in Galatians, he admonishes them not to be sidetracked by those who insist on following Jesus and obeying the law. He calls it a bewitching. It sounds good and pious and even noble, but at its root, it is nothing but self-effort to try to gain righteousness. Righteousness that can only be given through the free gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ alone. Your and my salvation is not dependent on us; it has been brought about by the Holy Spirit applying Christ’s sacrifice to our lives. No one will be in heaven one day because they were good. We will all be there because of the free gift of grace.
“If you want God's grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing. But that kind of spiritual humility is hard to muster. We come to God saying, ‘Look at all I've done,’ or maybe ‘Look at all I've suffered.’ God, however, wants us to look to him - to just wash.”
– Timothy Keller
What are you relying on? Your own human effort to serve God, or the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to live in the grace of God? If we can only remember that it is not about us, life will become so much less complicated. We complicate life when we put our trust in our own human effort instead of in what Jesus has done for us. No matter how strong your religious upbringing, your religious devotion, or your religious pedigree from your parents or grandparents, none of it can compare to what was done for you rather than what you did for yourself.
Grace frees us from our own expectations as well as from how we expect others to act. Grace is not just forgiveness but also empowerment. When grace invades our lives, human effort loses its appeal. When grace walks in, judgment walks out. We become both recipients and dispensers of God’s grace. Freely we have received, freely we give. Just as we have received God’s grace, we now desire it for others. We don’t trust in our own efforts, nor do we want others to trust in their efforts to receive God’s grace. We simply want them to receive it as we did, free from our gracious and loving Heavenly Father!
“One who has been touched by grace will no longer look on those who stray as ‘those evil people’ or ‘those poor people who need our help.’ Nor must we search for signs of ‘loveworthiness.’ Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.”
– Phillip Yancey
That should give us great confidence and make us overflow with joy and gratitude. We worship God by the Spirit, and we place no confidence in our accomplishments. Even if they were great, our trust is not in human effort. Our trust is in what Jesus accomplished for us!
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” Thank God for His amazing grace.
Prayer:
Philippians 3:2-4 (NLT) 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
In these verses, we see why Paul encourages the Philippians to walk in joy to safeguard their faith. Paul moves from rejoicing to protecting. It seems the Philippians are facing a challenge similar to that of several other churches, namely the infiltration of Jewish believers who insisted that new believers must uphold both the Jewish law and follow Christ.
Paul uses strong language for those who insist that in order to be saved, the Gentile believers need to be circumcised as well. He calls them three things: dogs, evildoers, and mutilators. Don’t think of dogs the way our culture thinks and treats dogs. I have a dog named Daisy, and she is nothing but a gift. The best dog on the planet, a little stubborn, but that is about the only negative thing that could be said of her. Paul is not referring to a Daisy-type pet dog. In ancient times, dogs were more like scavenging strays, roaming the streets and digging through garbage. They would snarl and growl at people and were seen as a nuisance rather than a blessing.
In today’s culture, we might lovingly and in jest call someone “Big Dog!” In the Bible, calling someone a dog was a great insult. When David faced Goliath, Goliath said: “‘Am I a dog,’ he roared at David, ‘that you come at me with a stick?’ And he cursed David by the names of his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43 NLT). Goliath was obviously not impressed; unfortunately for him, he became dog meat. When David was pursued by King Saul, we see him, in a self-deprecating way, call himself not just a dog but a dead dog: “‘Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea?’” (1 Samuel 24:14 NLT).
In Matthew 7:6 (NIV), Jesus said: “‘Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.’”
Needless to say, when Paul calls these Judaizers dogs, it is not meant as a compliment. They are not on Paul’s favorite people’s list. Why such strong words? Salvation rests on what Christ has done for us, not on our own human effort. We place no confidence in human effort. To insist that we are saved through any means other than the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is to add human effort to grace. We are saved by grace through faith, and that is not of ourselves; it is a gift of God, so that none of us can boast! We who worship God by His Spirit are those who are actually circumcised because circumcision is no longer something of the flesh but of the Spirit.
That is what Paul wrote to the church in Rome and said: “28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God” (Romans 2:28-29 NIV).
Even in his letter to the church in Galatians, he admonishes them not to be sidetracked by those who insist on following Jesus and obeying the law. He calls it a bewitching. It sounds good and pious and even noble, but at its root, it is nothing but self-effort to try to gain righteousness. Righteousness that can only be given through the free gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ alone. Your and my salvation is not dependent on us; it has been brought about by the Holy Spirit applying Christ’s sacrifice to our lives. No one will be in heaven one day because they were good. We will all be there because of the free gift of grace.
“If you want God's grace, all you need is need, all you need is nothing. But that kind of spiritual humility is hard to muster. We come to God saying, ‘Look at all I've done,’ or maybe ‘Look at all I've suffered.’ God, however, wants us to look to him - to just wash.”
– Timothy Keller
What are you relying on? Your own human effort to serve God, or the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to live in the grace of God? If we can only remember that it is not about us, life will become so much less complicated. We complicate life when we put our trust in our own human effort instead of in what Jesus has done for us. No matter how strong your religious upbringing, your religious devotion, or your religious pedigree from your parents or grandparents, none of it can compare to what was done for you rather than what you did for yourself.
Grace frees us from our own expectations as well as from how we expect others to act. Grace is not just forgiveness but also empowerment. When grace invades our lives, human effort loses its appeal. When grace walks in, judgment walks out. We become both recipients and dispensers of God’s grace. Freely we have received, freely we give. Just as we have received God’s grace, we now desire it for others. We don’t trust in our own efforts, nor do we want others to trust in their efforts to receive God’s grace. We simply want them to receive it as we did, free from our gracious and loving Heavenly Father!
“One who has been touched by grace will no longer look on those who stray as ‘those evil people’ or ‘those poor people who need our help.’ Nor must we search for signs of ‘loveworthiness.’ Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.”
– Phillip Yancey
That should give us great confidence and make us overflow with joy and gratitude. We worship God by the Spirit, and we place no confidence in our accomplishments. Even if they were great, our trust is not in human effort. Our trust is in what Jesus accomplished for us!
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” Thank God for His amazing grace.
Prayer:
- Take a moment to praise the Lord for saving you. Praise Him for giving you a future in Him, regardless of your present circumstances. Praise Him right now as loudly as you can!
- Thank the Lord that your confidence is not in what you have done but in what He has done for you through Christ Jesus.
- Pray for your heart to overflow with gratitude, joy, and confidence!
- Pray that you would become a dispenser of God’s grace to others, sharing what God’s grace has done in your life so that others may experience His grace for themselves.