Filippense 3

Pasop vir die mense wat verkeerde dinge leer!

1 Daar is nog iets wat ek vir julle wil sê. My vriende, julle moet bly wees, want julle behoort aan die Here! Dit maak my nie moeg om dieselfde dinge weer en weer vir julle te skryf nie, want dit is goed vir julle. 2 Julle moet oppas vir daardie slegte mense wat vir julle verkeerde dinge leer! Julle moet oppas vir daardie mense wat slegte dinge doen! Julle moet oppas vir daardie mense wat altyd almal wil tbesny!

3 Ons het die regte besnydenis, want die Gees van God help ons om vir God te dien. Ons is trots op Christus Jesus, en ons het self dinge reggekry, maar ons weet daardie dinge sal ons nie red nie.
4 Ek kan praat oor baie dinge in my lewe. Ander mense dink hierdie dinge kan ’n mens red. Hulle dink hulle kan praat oor baie dinge in hulle lewens, maar ek kan oor baie meer praat: 5 My ouers het my laat besny toe ek ag dae oud was. Ek behoort aan die volk Israel, ek behoort aan die tBenjamin-stam, ek is ’n ware Jood, en ek was ’n tFariseër wat alles gedoen het wat die wette sê.

6 Die Joodse godsdiens was vir my so belangrik dat ek die kerk van God wou tverwoes. Ek het gedink God sal my tvryspreek van my sonde, want ek het alles gedoen wat die wette sê.
7 Ja, ek het gedink al hierdie dinge is baie belangrik, maar ek het in Christus begin glo, en toe het ek besef dit alles beteken niks! 8 Ek weet nou die belangrikste ding in die lewe is om Christus Jesus, my Here, te ken! Al die ander dinge beteken niks. Christus is vir my so belangrik dat ek al die ander dinge gelos het, ek dink dit is alles gemors. Ek het iets gekry wat baie beter is as daardie dinge, ek het vir Christus gekry! 9 Ek behoort nou aan Christus. God het my vrygespreek omdat ek in Christus glo, nie omdat ek doen wat die wette sê nie, maar omdat ek glo. 10 Nou ken ek Hom en ek voel sy krag in my lewe, die krag wat Hom weer laat lewe het. Ek kry ook swaar, soos Hy swaargekry het. Ja, ek sterf soos Hy gesterf het,

11 en ek glo dat God my ook weer kan laat lewe nadat ek gesterf het.

Hoe Christene moet lewe

16 Ons het tot nou toe die regte dinge gedoen. Ons moet aanhou om dit te doen.
17 Vriende, julle moet lewe soos ek lewe en julle moet kyk hoe lewe die mense wat lewe soos ek. 18 Ek het vir julle gesê en ek sê nou weer vir julle met trane in my oë: Daar is baie mense wat sê die tkruis van Christus beteken niks.

19 Daardie mense gaan hel toe. Hulle dink om te eet is die belangrikste ding in die lewe. Hulle is trots op die slegte dinge wat hulle doen. Hulle dink altyd aan die dinge van die wêreld.
20 Maar God wat in die hemel is, is ons Koning. En ons weet die Here Jesus Christus sal uit die hemel kom om ons te red. 21 Sy krag is groot, Hy regeer oor alles. Hy sal sy krag gebruik om ons wat swak is, te verander sodat ons soos Hy sal wees, Hy wat Koning is.

Philippians 3

The True Righteousness

1 In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, be joyful in your union with the Lord. I don't mind repeating what I have written before, and you will be safer if I do so. 2 Watch out for those who do evil things, those dogs, those who insist on cutting the body. 3 It is we, not they, who have received the true circumcision, for we worship God by means of his Spirit and rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus. We do not put any trust in external ceremonies. 4 I could, of course, put my trust in such things. If anyone thinks they can trust in external ceremonies, I have even more reason to feel that way. 5 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee,t 6 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.t 7 But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. 8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere refuse, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death,

11 in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.

Running towards the Goal

14 So I run straight towards the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.
15 All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you.

16 However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now.
17 Keep on imitating me, my brothers and sisters. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you.t 18 I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross. 19 They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. 20 We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. 21 He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.