OUTLINE:

“put no confidence in the flesh”
It is wise to place ample emphasis on “no” in this statement. Even one iota of this brand of confidence increases our risk of stumbling. Good intention is to rid our lives of it... all of it!

Confidence In the Flesh
The moment we look in the mirror and give the needle a little nudge off of the “100% God” position, we have begun the process of our own demise.

Revolutionary Thinking
We are to examine ourselves, compile all of our street credibility into one big heap of creature-credit, and light a match to it! This is precisely what Paul did (Php 3:7-9). He was blessed for it.

“not having a righteousness of my own”
This really requires a bit of introspection for every believer in Christ. Our flesh is 100% self-righteous, always (there’s never a time when we can tame it). Temptation is constant.

“but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”
Contrary to self-righteousness is Christ- righteousness, the mainstay of the “new creature” (2Co 5:17). This righteousness bears good fruit, by grace through faith, such as confidence (aka, having faith that you are right before God).

“to live is Christ and to die is gain”
We are sojourners here on Earth. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Php 3:20). We never “make it” until we die (or are raptured first) and are ultimately sanctified (made perfect in Christ). So, do NOT become depressed about failing.

We are not allowed to fail so that Satan can take advantage of us.

Getting Mercy Right
Mercy isn’t a pre-sinning form of encouragement, it is a post-sinning ointment. If our viewpoint of God’s mercy somehow leads us to sin, we have it wrong in our soul. It is merciful of God that we die eventually so that we can be fully sanctified in Heaven.

“How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
God’s good intention isn’t that we fail for the purpose of injuring ourselves, though He allows us to reap what we sow. When we fail, God’s grace is put on full display, and it’s glorious. His faithfulness ought to engender confidence in us!

Failure Is a Crossroad
Every time we confess our sin, we stand at a crossroad. To one side there is condemnation (“stay down!”); to the other is salvation (“get up!”). The righteous person gets up every time, glorifying God in the process. (Pr 24:10-16)

We are not allowed to fail so that Satan can take advantage of us.

“How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
God’s good intention isn’t that we fail for the purpose of injuring ourselves, though He allows us to reap what we sow. However, when we fail, God’s grace is put on full display, and it’s glorious. His faithfulness ought to engender confidence in us!

Failure Is a Crossroad
Every time we confess our sin, we stand at a crossroad. To one side there is condemnation (“stay down!”); to the other is salvation (“get up!”). The righteous person gets up every time, glorifying God in the process. (Pr 24:10-16)

“forgetting what lies behind”
Yesterday is gone. You can’t get it back. It’s true, we can/should learn from our mistakes, but we shouldn’t perseverate on them. Despondency results when we buy the lie that our past defines our future. We have a “living hope” (1Pe 1:3) that we are entitled to as children of God!

“reaching forward to what lies ahead”
Mercy is a “pull” mechanism. It pulls us out of failure mode, keeping us from becoming depressed. It isn’t meant to pull us into the ditch, only out of it (aka, mercy isn’t a license to sin).

Pr 3:26
For the LORD will be your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.

1Jn 3:18 [Amplified]
Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love [merely in theory] with word or with tongue [giving lip service to compassion], but in action and in truth [in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words].

The Value of Process
The Spirit wants us to focus on the “process”, not just what we see in that brief moment we’re in front of the mirror; but those moments that stretch before and afterwards. By looking at the whole process, we break out of the “box” that the flesh likes to stuff our perspective on sin into.