Chandler on the Gospel

"The idolatry that exists in man's heart always wants to lead him away from his Savior and back to self-reliance no matter how pitiful that self-reliance is or how many times it has betrayed him. Religion is the tool the self-righteous man uses to exalt himself. Again, this isn't new; the apostle Paul lays out in Philippians 3:4-9 his religious pedigree and practice as an example of what a man can accomplish with discipline and hard work. In that passage Paul states that all his religious effort, exhaustive checklist of all his accomplishments included, amounts to nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of Christ. He goes a step further and even calls it 'rubbish' or 'dung'. Think about that: all your church attendance, all your religious activities, your Sunday school attendance medals, your journals, having a 'quiet time', reading the scriptures-it's all in vain if you don't have Christ. When you read Paul's texts together, you get a feel for his attack on the Christian, moralistic, therapeutic deism of his day. We are saved, sanctified, and sustained by what Jesus did for us on the cross and through the power of his resurrection."

Matt Chandler, The Explicit Gospel