Righteousness that Depends on Faith | Philippians 3:1-11

I grew up here in South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s. I remember my school days just up the road at Forest View Primary School. We sang Christian hymns, prayed every assembly. The principal would teach Bible stories to us. We were taught about the Bible and Christianity as a part of the curriculum, this was called Christian National Education. At that time, it was considered normal. It was assumed that everyone was Christianity. Most people went to church, or even if they went occasionally or not at all, they still identified as Christian. There was a strong cultural Christianity, it was in the air we breathed, it affected our values, morality and outlook on life.

In many ways we are still breathing this cultural Christianity air today here in South Africa. To be sure, there are many benefits to this, but a deep flaw underlies it all. The problem is that it lulls people into a false sense of security. People believe they are Christians by virtue of the culture into which they are born. They believe they are good with God because they live a moral life and are relatively good people.

Not much has changed over the years. In fact, the church of Philippi was facing a similar problem. False teachers called the Judaizers were influencing the church and teaching that there was some benefit before God to being ethnically Jewish, that God required Gentile converts to Christianity to in essence become culturally Jewish - to start observing the Jewish ceremonial laws like circumcision, dietary prohibitions, observe the festivals etc. They taught that while they were saved by God’s grace, they had to stay in through continual obedience to the law.

Paul confronts this heresy head on in this passage. He exposes this false teaching for what it is – an aberration of the true gospel. It is nothing about our heritage, culture, our own sense of morality or righteousness that contributes to our standing before God. Instead what we will see is that one thing and one thing alone matters – being found in Christ and clothed in his righteousness that depends on faith.

Preacher: Rev. Antonio Coppola.

For more information about Covenant Waterfall Presbyterian Church, please check out our website: http://covenantwaterfall.co.za or email us: info@covenantwaterfall.co.za. We'd love to hear from you!