I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:8-9).
In the above passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he contrasts two kinds of righteousness: (1) “a righteousness of my own derived from the Law” and, (2) “the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” Although anyone who reads that passage would assume that the first kind of righteousness had something to do with Paul’s daily moral behavior, many assume that the second kind of righteousness did not. That is, they think that the “righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” is nothing more than a “legal” righteousness. Allegedly, by faith in Christ, we become “permanently righteous in God’s eyes even if we don’t always live righteously.” The concept is often described as “imputed righteousness,” and from that belief spring all kinds of ancillary doctrines that range from spurious to heretical.
In this short article I intend to prove beyond any doubt that when Paul wrote of the “righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,” he was referring to a behavioral righteousness. That is, those who genuinely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ possess a practical righteousness from God that dramatically affects their daily behavior (as long as they cooperate, of course, as God doesn’t turn believers into holy robots).
If we continue reading Paul’s words that follow the above-quoted passage, all of this becomes crystal clear. Allow me to include Philippians 3:9 again for the sake of context:
…and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:9-14).
First, note Paul lists several consequences of possessing “the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” They are (1) “knowing Christ” and (2) “the power of His resurrection” and (3) “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10). What Paul precisely means by those expressions can be derived from his elaboration that follows, and which we will shortly consider. But none of those three consequences of possessing the righteousness which comes through faith have anything to do with an alleged legal standing before God. Rather, they have something to do with experiences that are rooted in being joined with Christ. Those who possess the righteousness that comes through faith “know” Christ in an experiential way, because they experience (1) the power of His resurrection (which Paul will soon explain), and (2) share in His sufferings.
Paul elaborates by saying that those who possess the righteousness that comes through faith are “conformed to His death; in order that [they] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:11). This is a common theme in Paul’s epistles. As members of Christ, we have died with Him and been resurrected with Him, something symbolized in our baptism (by immersion). Our death is the death of our “old self,” and we’ve been resurrected as re-born “new creations” (2 Cor. 5:17). Again, none of this has anything to do with any alleged legal standing before God, but has everything to do with how we behave as those who have received “the righteousness that comes through faith.”
Note Paul wrote that believers are “conformed to Jesus’ death” (present tense) “in order that they may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (future tense). Is Paul referring to the future resurrection of believers’ bodies? No, because his next sentence is, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12). Attaining to the resurrection of the dead is symbolic of attaining moral perfection—a complete victory over spiritual death—and a mutual goal for Paul by both Jesus and Paul. It was Jesus’ reason for “laying hold of” him, and it naturally became Paul’s goal for himself since it was Jesus’ reason for “laying hold” of him.
Pause and think about that for a moment. Jesus “laid hold” of you to kill the old you and resurrect a new you through His own death and resurrection, and not just in some legal sense, but in a practical, behavioral sense. He wants to live through you 100%, making you actually and practically righteous to the point of perfection! It doesn’t, however, all depend on Him. You have a part to play. So you must, like Paul, “press on so that you may lay hold of that for which also you were laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”
As Paul continues, he elaborates further on his (and our) part in that process: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). It is our job to “forget what lies behind” and “reach forward to what lies ahead.” And what “lies ahead”? It is the reward or “prize” that awaits everyone who harkens to the “upward call of God in Christ.”
There is nothing in this passage that would lead us to believe that Paul considered himself to have righteousness “in the bag” because of some alleged “legal righteousness” that he permanently possessed. Rather, because he possessed the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, Paul was experiencing “the power of Christ’s resurrection,” namely, God working in Him to bring him to moral perfection and 100% obedience. And he knew that he—as well as all the Philippian Christians—had a part to play. That is why he wrote earlier to them:
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13).
And all of this harmonizes perfectly with the rest of the New Testament. If this was a longer teaching, we could look at many affirming passages.
Anyone who has ever read Jesus’ messages to seven churches in Asia contained in Revelation 1-3 ought to realize how heretical it is to claim that “God can’t see our sin because He’s imputed Christ’s righteousness to all who believe in Jesus.” Jesus not only saw the sins of those churches, He also solemnly warned them of dire consequences if they didn’t repent, one of which was “being hurt by the second death” and another of which was having “their names erased from the book of life” (Rev. 3:5) They certainly needed to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling!”
“But I sin all the time as a Christian!” some will say in objection to all I have written. That objection, however, doesn’t change anything in the New Testament. If is very possible—in light of the false-grace gospel that is so prevalent in so many “Christian” circles today—that you have never actually been born again, and thus you have never experienced “the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.” If you’ve just “accepted Jesus” and been duped into thinking that you are now “safe in God’s grace” regardless of how you live your life, then you are not experiencing “the power of His resurrection” working in you. You must be born again! And that occurs by believing, not in a doctrine about salvation, but by believing in a Person, and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ! And if you believe in Him, you will repent, and His HOLY Spirit will come to live in you. And that will be your initial taste of experiencing “the power of His resurrection”!
Truly born-again people live to serve and obey Jesus. They do “stumble in many ways” as James wrote (Jas. 3:2), but to “stumble” implies non-intentionality. And praise God that when we do stumble into sin, “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1) and, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). By the way, there’s another confirmation that believers don’t possess some kind of “permanent, legal righteous in God’s eyes.” Obviously, according to 1 John 1:9, Christians can possess a little “unrighteousness” from which they need to be forgiven and cleansed.
As always, I’m not trying to make people angry or win an argument. I’m trying to help people be truly born again to then begin walking on the “narrow way that leads to life” (Matt. 7:14) by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who leads all true believers “in the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3). If you don’t agree with me, that is your prerogative. Keep living like you have a license to sin because “when God looks at you, all He sees is Christ’s righteousness” and because “salvation is by the unconditional grace of God.” Let us know how that works for you when you stand before the One who has solemnly vowed to “repay every person according to his deeds” (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6)!
