Series: CHRIST IN PHILIPPIANS AND COLOSSIANS with Pastor Mark Finley
📘 Lesson 6 : Confidence Only in Christ
🌿 From personal achievement to saving faith
Introduction:
This lesson leads us to one of the most important questions of faith: Where do we place our trust? In Philippians 3, Paul shows that human achievements, religious background, or moral effort are not the foundation of our salvation. True righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ. His own life story is a powerful example of how religious pride can stand in the way of genuine trust. Only when Paul encountered Christ did he realize what truly counts. This lesson invites us to place our full trust in Jesus and to know Him more deeply.
Content:
😊 6.1 Rejoicing in the Lord
True joy grows out of trusting Christ
Paul calls believers to rejoice in the Lord and connects this appeal with a serious warning against false teachers. True joy does not arise from religious performance or outward signs, but from trusting in Christ alone. Believers are described as those who worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Joy in the Lord becomes protection against false teaching and spiritual insecurity. Those who find their security in Christ can experience deep and lasting joy even in difficult times. This joy is not a superficial emotion, but the result of a living relationship with Jesus.
⚖️ 6.2 Paul’s “Past Life”
From religious pride to trust in Christ
In Philippians 3, Paul describes his impressive religious past: his ancestry, his circumcision, his membership among the Pharisees, and his zeal for the law. By human standards he was “blameless,” yet none of this brought him closer to God. On the contrary, his religious pride initially prevented him from recognizing his true need. Both Jesus and Paul show that the law judges not only outward behavior but also thoughts and motives (Matt. 5; Rom. 7). This makes it clear that no one can become righteous through keeping the law. Therefore, faith in Christ—not the law—is the only source of true righteousness.
💎 6.3 The Things That Matter
From earthly gain to heavenly value
Paul describes his faith journey using the language of profit and loss: What once seemed like spiritual gain became worthless after encountering Christ. His religious successes had blinded him to his real need. Only when his “currency” changed—from human standards to God’s standards—did he understand what truly counts. Jesus shows that worldly values can make us spiritually blind, while heavenly values direct our eyes toward eternity. True clarity comes when we evaluate everything in the light of Christ. The key is to consciously fix our eyes on Jesus and attach our hearts to what has eternal value.
✝️ 6.4 The Faith of Christ
In Christ—made righteous through His faith
Paul describes his conversion as a profound exchange: He gave up his own law-based righteousness in order to be “found in Christ.” To be “in Christ” means to share in His life, His righteousness, and His work of redemption. Our own righteousness cannot fulfill the law, but Christ has fulfilled it perfectly. Paul therefore contrasts two ways: righteousness through the law or righteousness through faith in Christ. Saving faith is not mere intellectual belief, but participation in Christ’s own faithfulness. Whoever lives in Christ does not rely on self, but on the perfect work and perfect faith of Jesus.
🎯 Just One Thing—Knowing Christ
With eyes on the goal: becoming more like Jesus
For Paul, there is only one truly decisive goal: to know Christ. This knowledge is not merely information, but a living relationship in which we experience the power of His resurrection and even the fellowship of His sufferings. Through trials, growth, and daily trust, we become more like Him. Paul compares the life of faith to a race, keeping his eyes fixed on the goal—the heavenly prize of eternal life. He does not look back at past failures or achievements but presses forward toward what lies ahead. Those who know Christ and follow Him live with clear focus on eternal hope.
🌿 6.6 Summary
True righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus
Lesson 6 shows that true joy, righteousness, and hope are found only in Christ. Paul makes clear that religious performance and human merit cannot stand before God. His own impressive past proved worthless compared to knowing Christ. What matters is not our own righteousness through the law, but righteousness through faith in Christ. In Him we find everything we need—forgiveness, new life, and the hope of the heavenly prize. The goal of faith, therefore, is to know Christ more and more and to follow Him with our eyes fixed on eternity.
