Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
– Phil 3:4-6
Today, we may not boast in circumcision or tribal lineage, but we can quietly lean on years in church, theological training, ministry involvement, or moral consistency. These are gifts of grace, but they are not grounds of salvation. O how easily religious strength can become misplaced confidence! The Lord does not ask us to erase our history, but He does call us to refuse to trust in it. The only safe confidence is not in what we have achieved for God, but in what Christ has accomplished for us.