The Right Tool for the Job

“And be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Let’s get this on the table from the start. I am NOT a craftsman. I’m no handy man. Never was. Never will be. Do I have a toolbox in the garage? Absolutely. But it’s more of a curious container of mysterious objects for strange uses. With my confession on the table, we move forward. There’s an old adage, “A good craftsman never blames his tools.” A master carpenter uses the right tool for the right job. Here in Philippians 3:9, Paul admits he’s spent years using the wrong tool. He’s been using God’s law to save himself. Picture trying to paint your house with a hammer. Attempting saw a 2x4 using screwdriver. The law of God is a GREAT tool. It’s just the wrong device for the project. The apostle doesn’t blame his tools. Instead he lets us know there’s only one instrument for the job. Or should we say one Person. Jesus. We trust in the work He’s already done instead of trying to do it ourselves. Since that’s the case, I’ll stop rummaging through my toolbox.

Paul’s point is warn his friends back in Philippi about some spiritual snake oil being sold all around the Mediterranean rim. A team of religious hucksters are peddling a message that says Jesus may get us into God’s kingdom but it’s up to us to stay there. They’re spreading a counterfeit gospel of rule-following and ritual in order please God. The apostle lets us know that obedience to God’s law not only doesn’t save us, it also doesn’t keep us saved. He knows from personal experience. Take it from somebody who knows. The former Pharisee makes it clear God’s law is a great tool, but it’s the wrong tool for the job.  

The apostle starts at the end of the project. When it’s all said and done, he wants to “be found in Him” (v9). The ESV translates Greek word eurisko as “found.” It means to discover, locate, come across, or prove to be. The term includes an element of surprise! If the word looks familiar, it’s where we get our exclamation, “Eureka!” That’s apparently what the ancient Greek scientist Archimedes would yell out whenever he made a discovery. Matthew writes how Joe’s girlfriend Mary “was found (Gr. eurisko) to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:18). Surprise! Jesus uses it when encouraging folks listening to His Sermon on the Mount. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find (Gr. eurisko); knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7). When we continually keep searching for God’s kingdom, we’ll find it. Eureka! Earlier in this letter, Paul drops lyrics to a first century worship tune which sings about our Savior “being found (Gr. eurisko) in human form” (Phil 2:8). Who saw THAT coming?!? 

We’re talking about the stunning discovery of being “in Him” (v9). Smart guys in ties call this union with Christ. When Jesus saves us, we suddenly obtain that He’s done for us that we could never do on our own. We’re suddenly and surprisingly “in Him” (v9). Great Googly Moogly! Think about that for just a second. We go from rebels and terrorists against God’s kingdom (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21) to sitting right next to Jesus in the heavenly throne room (Col 3:1). That’s why they call it AMAZING grace! We didn’t do a dang thing to earn it or deserve God’s goodness. Suddenly, we’re “in Him” (v9). If ever there’s a surprise worthy of OMG, this is it!!!

Paul backs up to describe the tool that didn’t work. He eventually discovered he couldn’t save himself. Being found in Jesus means “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law” (v9). Better than anyone, the man from Tarsus knew trying to build an impressive religious resume is a total waste of time (Phil 3:4-6). His personal performance is nothing more than a big steaming pile compared to a relationship with Jesus (Phil 3:7-8). I can’t save my self by following the rules. It’s like drowning in the ocean and trying to throw myself a life preserver. I. Can’t. Do. It. 

God didn’t set forth His law as a handy dandy do-it-yourself manual. His law is meant to prove once and for all we CANNOT do it on our own. His law crushes me. His law destroys me. It exposes my inability, my ineptitude, my futility, and my desperation. The law of God isn’t the cure, it’s the diagnostic device. Think of it as a spiritual MRI. A divine CT scan. A supernatural x-ray. It only reveals my disease of sin and disobedience. These awesome machines can’t save you no matter how many times you use them. Lots of us give it the old college try and attempt self-salvation through obedience. Good luck with that. According to Jesus’ kid brother James, violating even the most minuscule of rules means violating all of them (James 2:10)! God graciously gives us His law to diagnose our rebellion. “For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). Diagnostic devices don’t heal. That’s not what they’re designed to do. The law is an awesome tool. But we must use it for the right job. Our diagnosis.

The right tool for the job of salvation is the Gospel. The real cure is the Good News. The only therapy that truly works “comes through faith in Christ” (v9). Would you like a phrase to keep in you hip pocket that makes you sound super smart? This is what theologians call imputed or alien righteousness. No, this isn’t something that happens when you’re abducted by extraterrestrials and subjected to some sort of weird experiments aboard their interstellar spaceship. No, this is a close encounter of the Jesus kind. The Son of God came to earth to do for you and me what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. Jesus obeyed all of God’s rules. He never broke the law. No sins of commission. No sins of omission. He lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s law we’ve completely failed to live. He died the brutal death for our sin and disobedience we should have died. He rose to a jaw dropping new life we certainly don’t deserve. He’s the sinless and spotless Lamb of God who makes us perfectly clean (Jn 1:29). 

Just in case you missed the big idea, Paul repeats his point. There’s only one way to get our hands on what Jesus has done for us. It’s “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v9). We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t pile up enough brownie points. We only receive God’s righteousness by trusting in the life Jesus lived for us. The apostle says putting our faith in our Savior puts an end to the rules. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4). Paul sums up this idea of Jesus’ substitution on our behalf in one of his letters to the Corinthian church. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor 5:21). There are a lot of pronouns there. You can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Read it this way. “For our sake God the Father made His Son Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God.” A guy named Luther liked to call this the Great Exchange! Jesus takes our filth and gives us His perfection. As a result of this totally lopsided trade, actually become God’s righteousness. Christ does for us what we can’t. 

So stop trying making your salvation a DIY project. You can’t follow all the rules. You can’t do enough good stuff. Going to church is the wrong tool. Reading your Bible everyday is the wrong tool. Being a great parent and spouse is the wrong tool. Even putting together an impressive religious resume won’t get it done. You don’t paint your house with a hammer. You can’t saw a 2x4 using screwdriver. The law of God is a GREAT tool. It’s just the wrong tool for the project. There’s only one that works. Trusting in Jesus.