What matters most of all, then, is whether you have trusted Christ and His finished work on the cross for your salvation or whether you are trying to please God by being a good person. If it’s the latter, I urge you to put this book down right now and trust Christ alone to forgive your sins and come into your life and give you eternal life—and He will! Trying to be fit for life without knowing Jesus as your Savior is like trying to work out while wearing shoes and gym clothes that are about three sizes too small. Life will never work out without Jesus.
Your Relationship with OthersThe recipients of Paul’s letter in Philippi were true saints of God, Paul’s own spiritual children whom he had led to Christ. So he writes to them with genuine affection:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:2–8)These Christians were on Paul’s mind and in his heart. He understood the importance of the love relationship we are to have with one another in the church, the body of Christ. When you belong to Christ, you also belong to everyone else who belongs to Christ.
The sooner we realize that we can’t go it alone, the better off we’re going to be because the Christian life was never meant to be a solo act. Millions have watched the television program American Idol. Early on in the competition there is a tryout phase. The vast majority of the thousands of people they bring onto the stage can’t sing at all. After hearing them, the question that comes to the mind of the viewer is, “Where did these people get the idea that they could sing?”
The contestants on American Idol are trying to go it alone, and a few make it. But while performing solo may be okay for a musical career, it’s no way to live. The work of Jesus Christ advances on a network of relationships among believers who are partners in life. It is because of our fellowship in Christ that we are able to advance the gospel to the world. Without a doubt, the people who make the greatest difference for Christ are the people who know how to love Him and other people with all their hearts.
Paul basically told his friends at Philippi, “I thank God every time I think about you” (1:3). I wonder what our fellow believers say when they think about us. Do they thank God for us because of our love and commitment?