Close Only Counts In Horse Shoes And Hand Grenades

For we are the [spiritual] circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. - Philippians 3:3-9

Paul was making a point to the Church then and now that righteousness - being right with God the Father - can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ. " not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith"

When Paul wrote about the "true circumcision" he was referring to the spiritual circumcision of the heart that only comes by faith in Jesus, not the physical circumcision of male children. The true circumcision of the heart is in both men and women.

So many people try to be right by doing the right things. We think that doing the right things makes our hearts right. Maybe you think that reading your Bible, going to church, praying, doing food things or not doing bad things will please God. What will please God is a heart fully devoted to Him and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

The Shema (meaning to hear) is prayed twice a day by devout Jews. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

The ten commandments speaks to loving God with all of our hearts. Jesus told the lawyer in Matthew 22 that we are to love God first and out of that love to love others. In fact Jesus said two commandments satisfies the whole law.  Recall the first 4 of the 10 commandments have to do with loving God, the last 6 have to do with loving others. In Matthew 19 Jesus told the rich young ruler that doing good things was not enough to be right with God, that he must sell all that he had - which was what he worshipped - and give it away - meaning to give his heart to God by faith - the young man could not - would not and left sad.

Listen - it is easy to accept the lie that doing good is good enough - it is close enough. But as the title to this BLOG says, "Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades". Being righteous before God is only attainable by faith in Jesus. Loving God with your whole heart. 

God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. - Ephesians 2:4-13

Your love for God expresses itself through good works - and the Fruit of the Spirit. Love for God and faith in Jesus is the "Chicken" and good works is the "egg" if you will.  Where did the chicken come from you ask? God provided it.

So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. - Genesis 1:21-23

And now you know the answer to the question - "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" God made two chickens, a male (rooster) and female (hen) chicken by speaking them into existence. God is the Creator - we are the procreators - producing offspring.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone