Friends again, thank you for joining us this morning as we continue our short study in this beautiful letter that Paul writes to the church that he loves is crowned and joy in Philippi. This morning we're considering chapter three which is a glorious chapter. Paul packs a whole lot in this particular chapter. There's a lot of theology, there's a lot of grace, a lot of faith, a lot of Jesus and we need that. We need a lot of Jesus in our life don't we? And so we're going to be reading the first 11 verses chapter three of the book of Philippians verse one to eleven. I'm going to invite my dear sister Eunice she's going to read in Spanish and then I'll read in English.
We are in Christ Jesus and we do not put our trust in human forces. I have a lot to trust. If anyone else wants to have a lot to trust in human forces, I'm more. If you consider the octave of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, the king of Puracepa, in terms of the interpretation of the parishionate law, in terms of the followers of the church, in terms of the justice that the law is demanding, untouchable, however, all that for me was now I consider it lost because of Christ's cause. It's more everything I consider lost because of the incomparable value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, so I have lost everything and I have it for the Church to finally gain Christ and find me united to Him. I do not want my own justice to proceed from the law, but the one who obtains me through faith in Christ. The justice that procers of God, based on faith, I have lost everything to finally to know Christ and to experience the power that was manifested in his resurrection, to participate in his sufferings and to come to do his death. So I hope to reach the resurrection of the dead. Amen. This is the Word of God from Philippians chapter three, verses one, two 11, Paul writes and says, finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil doers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. 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 of Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, plainless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. This is the word of God. Thanks be to God. Lord, again, we do ask that you would lead us as we hear your word. May we hear it clearly. Would you illuminate our hearts and our minds so that we may hear it and believe it? In Jesus' name, amen. Members only. When you see that sign anywhere out there, I wonder what you think about it, but we've seen that sign before, right? Members only, whether you're going to Costco or Sam's Club or whatever it is, you see a sign that says, members only. It could either be a source of joy or a source of frustration, right? Because if you're not a member, you don't belong. And you cannot enjoy the privileges that are a reserve of those that are members only. In order to belong, you must qualify. There's a criteria to belong. Whether it's how much money you make at the end of the month or if it's a profession, if it's a member's only for doctors, if you're not a doctor, you do not belong. If it's for farmers, if you're not a farmer, no, you are not welcome here. The point is, you need to qualify in order to belong. If you don't meet the standards or if you break the rules, your membership can be terminated. And so the question I want for us to ponder this morning is, what qualifies us as members in God's family? Or ask another way? On what basis does God accept us into his family? I think Paul is here painting a portrait of what it looks to be a true Christian, or put it other way. I think Paul is painting a portrait of what it means or on the basis of what God accepts us as his children, as his people. And he says that the only way for us to belong, and I'll give it away, that the only way for us to belong is by having faith in Christ Jesus. And so Paul is beginning to paint that picture for us beginning verses 1 through 6 by showing us that an encounter with Jesus Christ exposes our false security. An encounter with Jesus Christ exposes our false security. Again, Paul begins this section in this chapter 3, which is, I mentioned in our introduction, it's a glorious passage, a glorious chapter positively. He says, he's going to repeat the very same message that he's been giving to the church in Philippi. He reminds them to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice not in your circumstances, because our circumstances are fickle foundation upon which we can build our foundation for joy, but to rejoice in the Lord. And then as if he was writing down his letter, then I thought came into his mind that he had remembered or he had forgotten something. Now he needs to write it down. We are not prepared to what Paul is about to say next. He uses such strong language to warn the church against false teachers who might interfere with the church's joyful experience of being in Christ Jesus. And so we see here in verses 2, strong language he says, look out, watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil doers, watch out for the mutilators of the flesh. And remember, we may wonder, who are these people? And what triggered Paul to use such strong language? The description in fact does seem to fit judizers. Jewish Christians that were requiring the Gentile Christians to be circumcised in order to belong to the family, to the covenant family. And then he calls them dogs. And we may wonder, why would he use such a word? For us we may think, oh, lovely. This is the lovely path that we're so accustomed to. But not so, not with the Jewish, with the first century Jews. Dogs were horrible. They were despicable. They were coyote-like scavengers who fed on anything, wrote, killed their own vomit, even human corpses. It was in fact the name that it was a vivid image that was used as a metaphor for Gentiles because they were unclean, a powerful metaphor that was used for the very Gentiles that the Jews are now calling dogs. And so Paul is turning the tables against these Jewish Christians. And then he calls them evil. They were mutilators of the flesh. Why? Because they were requiring circumcision for the Gentile Christians. They were relying on a right instead of relying on Jesus Christ. It was an evil request that once against what Paul had been teaching the church in Philippi about salvation, that salvation only comes by grace through faith alone. And Paul is saying, you are preaching a false gospel. And the idea of mutilation, he is in fact a sarcastic play on words as far as is rendering circumcision worthless. It's merely a mutilation of the flesh. Why? Because it is replacing Jesus Christ. It is replacing a faith in Jesus Christ. What the Judaismists are doing is adding on to Christ. They are calling the Gentile Christians that Christ is not enough for you to belong. Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, that this is at the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ensures our acceptance before God but they are going against that. Well, Gentiles Paul says they do not need to be circumcised. Why? Because he says you are already the circumcision. The faith in Jesus Christ is all you need in order to belong. True circumcision is one of the hearts and not one or flesh alone. Faith and grace from the beginning all the way to the end. See, the Judaismists were here recognizing only purity that comes from belonging into the Jewish people but true purity Paul is saying comes in Christ. These Judaismists are seeing themselves as spiritually superior. They are putting their confidence as Paul says in the flesh and Paul is saying without faith in Christ, even the most sacred right will not save you that these things are not going to give you any entrance into the family of God that those things become meaningless compared to what Christ gives. And so in order to show the Pauli that the church in Philippi ought not to fall into into their temptation, the Paul you're putting confidence in the flesh, Paul basically shares his own testimony of what it means to be in Christ. He lays out these seven superiors if you have seven achievements. The first four are hereditary. They had nothing to do with Paul himself. He was where he was born and his background. And then the last three are his own personal achievements. And Paul is in essence saying, top that if you can. Let me show you who I was before I met Christ. So we look at verses five. He says I was circumcised on the on the eighth day of the people of Israel, the tribal Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews is through the law of Pharisee as to zero a persecutor of the church's righteousness under the law of blameless. What is Paul saying here? He's saying, I am no Ishmaelite. I am no Praselite by their Ishmaelites were circumcised on the 13th day. Paul says I was circumcised on the eighth day. Praselite, they were circumcised as adults. He's saying, if you're looking at purity of being a Jew, I am the purest of all. I am a true Israelite. I am even from the special tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jews came, King Saul came from that tribe. Benjamin was the special child of Jacob and Rachel. As to education, you can't even beat that. I even speak Hebrew. Most of you speak Greek. In fact, I was homeschooled or rather I went to a private school with a famous rabbi, Gamelio. As for moral life, you can't even come close. I'm a Pharisee. I'm one of the separate ones. I keep the law. I keep all the 613 rules that the Pharisees gave. As to zeal, you can't even come close. I even went as far as persecuting the church when Steven was being stoned. I was present and I thought I was doing God a favor because that's how my zeal was.
Paul thought that he had placed himself in the best position to be accepted by God. His credentials are impeccable. Yet Paul does not boast on those things. On his ancestry and his name, he had achieved a great deal. Yes, but the accomplishments must have given him confidence. Yes, but Paul says I cannot boast on those things. And I know we may be tempted to boast not with the accomplishments of Paul because we can't talk that. But there are so many things that tempt us to boast, right? Our wealth, our education, our race, our status, our business success, our denominational alignment, some Presbyterian reforms. Posting in these things can lead us to regarding others as less or lesser or inferior or undeserving. You know, we read a very familiar story in Luke chapter 18 verses 18 and following the story of the rich young ruler who comes to Christ and says, I've obeyed the law of done all these things. But what must I do in order to attain eternal life? And Jesus loves them, this young man, and he tells them, go back. And so everything that you have and then come and follow me and we never hear from him again. Why? Because this young man had done everything according to the Lord. He obeyed the law. Nothing to despise them because the Lord is in fact good. The law is what reveals our sin, but also it acts like a mirror that shows us our failures and our sinfulness so that we may turn to God. But the law cannot save us. Only faith in Jesus Christ can save us. And that the person who puts confidence in the flesh says belonging to my tribe and observing by ritual make me secure in my relationship with God. Yet nothing apart from faith in Jesus Christ will save us. See, human righteousness falls short of the standards that are set by God. That God says we're either righteous by God's definition or we are not righteous at all. It's one or the other. And from God's point of view, whether we break one rule or we break all of it, we are falling short, we are broken the law of God. That's God's standards. Human righteousness, human goodness, even at its best is true, polluted by sin. Yes, we do good things, but even our best is true, contaminated by sin. And so we can't stand that God can only be satisfied with his own righteousness which he freely offers to all who believe in Jesus. That's God's standard, nothing else. And you know, it's not just those who are outside of faith, but even those who are within the faith, you know, who act in a religious manner, who think that we can do it on our own, who think that our outward expressions of religion going to church and being baptized and taking communion, giving to the poor, giving to church that those things will cut it, but there will not, that we still need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is looking at the heart. God never just looks at the outward expressions of what we claim to believe. And he wants to see his own righteousness not our own, that our assurance must be based not on anything else, but on Christ and Christ alone. It is not Christ, but something else. It is Christ and Him alone. See, there's no secret to being a super Christian, is it? If we're asking what we must do in order to gain Christ, the answer lies not in ourselves or in anything that we can do or work, but it is found in Christ alone, that every ladder or personal achievements that we may be building so that we could climb our way to God will fall. It will not do it. Only faith in Jesus Christ will take us there. So Paul is exposing our false securities because Paul encountered Christ and all those achievements, all those things meant nothing when he came to an encounter with him and Jesus Christ. The second thing that I want us to do here is look at verses 7 all the way to 11 and see an encounter with Jesus exposes us to true security. Look at Paul's radical reversal. It's astonishing, isn't it? He says, but whatever gain, verse 7, but whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Look at Paul doing some math here. You know, he's using accounting terms of gains and losses, using a language that most pastors like me cannot do a simple budget, by the way I'm coolest about math and accounting, but it's odd to me even though I don't know anything about budgeting and accounting to notice that how Paul balances his books, it's weird, isn't it? Paul is actually saying everything was on the credit side and nothing on the debit side. Then he strikes off everything on the credit side and ensures everything on the debit column. So what's left on the credit? Jesus, he odds up all his gains, items of merits. They were real, yes, but all of a sudden all those things have become one great singular loss and Jesus becomes one and only credit in Paul's books. Everything became lost. Why? Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus is Lord. Verse 8, he tells us Paul had found the grace of God on the roads of Damascus and that changed his life forever. It was from that moment that Paul began the long process of knowing Jesus and knowing him even more and this leads him to this very personal and intense proclamation where Paul claims that Jesus that he pointed us to us in chapter 2 verses 11, the one whom everything will bow. This Jesus Paul says is my Lord in savior. He's looking back at his whole system or personal spiritual accountancy and it's all breaking down. All his accumulated profit of the years, they've all slumped to rock bottom. He's astonished at gazing at Jesus. All he has is Jesus, the very Jesus that he despised and rejected. This Jesus has completely become adequate credit which covers all of his needs. Paul realized his own spiritual bankruptcy. He was completely bankrupt. And I mean look at these verses, how Paul describes the whole gamut of salvation. His justification, he's been declared right. He has received the righteousness from God by faith in Jesus. He talks about sanctification that he's knowing the power of Christ resurrection. He's participating in his suffering. He talks about glorification that he will one day be raised alive for resurrection from the dead. Great theology. See for Paul everything is all about Christ. He now considers his past gains a loss because it's all about Christ. Not that there was anything wrong with his heritage but for anything that obscures his full dependence on Jesus Christ is nothing. He cannot put confidence in that. Paul is reminding us not to put our confidence in our privileges but to choose the way of humility and service to Christ. And again, for those who wonder what my side do in order to gain Christ because we stand before him condemned, apart from him, the him singing says nothing in my hand, I bring simply to that cross I cling naked come to thee for dress helpless look to thee for grace file or in spite of to the fountain fly wash me savior or I die. See the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about a counterbalance. It's not about doing it on my own. It's about noticing and recognizing that my sin has been transferred into Christ account. So now I stand before God declared right not for what I've done but because of what Christ has done for me. Friends that Jesus looks upon you and says you are all right. That God looks at you and says you are okay. You are all right in my books because Jesus fixed what I couldn't fix because Jesus did what I couldn't do for myself and God says I'm all right because of his son who by his death pertained by sin and because of his righteousness I am now counted righteous it is mine through faith it is complete it is perfect the work has been done and this is the righteousness of God we need in order to be accepted by him that if we depended on the law we must perfectly keep the law and you and I cannot do that but acceptance is based on the gift of righteousness that is from God a gift that is open to all through faith in Jesus you see faith friends is our response that is empowered by the grace of God it is the kind of faith that looks away from our self achievements and other things that we may claim for ourselves and instead looks to Jesus when Jesus becomes our goal of life now we are able to see truly and understand the value of life in life not of what we have done but in light of what Christ has done for us that we gain Christ not by our effort but by rejection of the very efforts that we claim to have not the labors of my hands again they cannot fulfill their laws demands faith is leaning heavily upon Christ not labor but see seeing those labors of our own not doing but see seeing to do simply leaning the whole weight of our needs upon Jesus and finding acceptance in him and yet we find ourselves struggling on a daily basis because there are so many things that clamour for attention so many things that compete for the very place that Jesus occupies in our heart that wants to take allegiance from Christ things that occupy the place that Jesus ought to be occupying this day in our hearts and we treasure those things more than Christ and Paul is here saying for the sake of Christ for the sake of Christ I suffered loss for the sake of Christ I lost all things you know it really makes me wonder whether I lost in order to gain Christ what am I losing daily in my own life in order to gain Christ I think about the early late early rain covenant church in China I think about their pastor who is now in prison serving nine years all he needed to do was deny Christ and he would be free be united with his wife and his two little children and yet he has lost everything because of Christ he has lost absolutely everything in order to be with Christ Paul lost incredibly his human asset he lost everything that came with his status he lost friendships he lost wealth he lost a short position in life he embraced everything he embraced Jesus he embraced hardships and abuse notice he caused everything that he gained he says it is rubbish it is garbage it is worthless it cannot compare to what I've gained with having Christ in my life Paul was not wailing afterwards up he had tossed everything else in order to follow Jesus Christ excels Christ surpasses all alternatives for Paul because his goal was to gain Jesus in nothing else and for him anything that stood in that way must be considered as garbage as worthless his only post his only confidence was in Christ in Christ alone see everything that we have everything that we can boast of it it's all a gift from God the very life that we have is his it's been given graciously to us we really have nothing else to boast upon other than what Christ has given to us you know it's amazing that Paul is writing this words at least thirty years after his conversion and that his passion never diminished his passion for Jesus for knowing him has not diminished if anything it's actually increasing it's becoming ever more that for him his life condition was to have an ever deepening and ever whitening personal knowledge of Jesus Christ oh I want to be like that in my own personal walk with Jesus to have the passion that I just want to know him and nothing else I just want to know him and Paul is saying in verse stand that he wants to know the power of his resurrection he wants to know the fellowship or the participation of Christ suffering he wants to know God's power this life giving power that brought Jesus Christ from the dead which is the same power that is at work in all of us do you realize that he takes God's power to raise those that are dead in their sin into life that conversion is a resurrection that is affected by the creative power of God himself see Paul knew that he couldn't do it on himself that obedience would be hard he knew that there was no way that he could please God that he was a sinner that was saved by grace yet by the power of God he would continue to grow in grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus and then he said he wanted to know and to share in Christ suffering who would want such kind of a fellowship yet the process of knowing Christ involves suffering that suffering is the loss of every true believer that is true that the suffering is a sign of sacred intimacy with Christ someone puts it that when we suffer it is not a sign that Jesus will God has somehow neglected us that when we suffer it is in fact a sign that God's grace is a life and that work in our lives but let me ask you believer who has the courage who can bear this kind of suffering the answer is none of us the no one of us would want to invite such sharing in Christ suffering and that Paul is pointing to us here that only by knowing that the power of Christ resurrection precedes this fellowship and is suffering this is the power that provides the strength we need in order to endure suffering unless you experience the power of Christ resurrection you cannot endure you cannot invite you cannot endure the suffering that comes with being a believer and then Paul says he wants to be like Jesus I want to be like Christ I want to take up the cross and follow him see Paul knew the secret he had the right perspective he knew what awaited him that one day he would be raised to life after death but you know what excited Paul the most was not the fact that he would have a new body it was not that he would have eternal life those things are good but for Paul what excited him the most is that he's his prize would be Christ himself his prize would be Jesus and he long for that day when he would fully know Jesus that his passion was all about Jesus in the meantime that Paul would continue to die and rise with him to die and rise with him he knew that there would be victory in Christ when all would be said and done that death would not have the last word but victory victory in Christ Jesus for Paul in the meantime he was participating in and experiencing the power of Christ resurrection where he would see the things the attractions of the world dissipating and disappearing and him cleaning to Jesus and being able to sing as the hymn writer says your eyes upon Jesus look fully in his wonderful face so that the things of this world may grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace friends my grandfather just died last year my grandfather was about a hundred years old he was a pastor I knew a man that was passionate about about Jesus but my grandfather was a flawed man he was a sinful man my grandfather after his pastoral ministry fell from grace fell badly I remember times that our relationship was in a strange and I did not like my grandfather much years would come and go but we were reconciled but I remember that there's one thing that never changed about my grandfather his love for Jesus never dissipated my grandfather never stopped talking about Jesus within the market or anywhere else my grandfather was an idiot and was not educated at all but the one word that he could say in English was Jesus because to him the only thing that mattered in life was Jesus and Jesus alone nothing else he danced about him he shouted to the mountain tops about him he cried about him he yelled about him he sang about him everything about my grandfather was all about Jesus and one day I pray that I will have a glimpse that I would taste this sweetness of having that passion that says it's all about Jesus you see friend I don't know where you are today hey I don't know whether you're looking back at your life and saying you know I used to have that passion about Jesus there was a time that I couldn't stop talking about him there was a time that I was so joyful because I felt that Jesus was near to me and maybe you've lost that joy maybe Jesus is so distance to you today maybe the things of this world have become so precious to you maybe life taking care of family and friends maybe career maybe maybe you've just been distracted that everything else has become a treasure and idol in your life and Jesus well Jesus he's just somewhere out there maybe you're listening this morning and you've never known the joy of calling Jesus your Savior I pray that this morning Jesus would reawaken the passion in us that we could say like Paul that we want to know nothing that we consider everything else a loss but Jesus Jesus has made a way for us to be accepted we don't have to come to him with our false securities we don't have to achieve anything all we've got to do is come to him by faith by faith alone and he will accept us at a spray and really Father we do ask that you would awaken in us the joy and the passion of what it means to be accepted by you naked we come to you not the neighbors of all hands we have nothing other than the gifts of faith that you have given to us to come to you would you Lord fill us with joy may all walk with you be one of claiming that we are yours and that we're dearly loved by you and that it's all about you pray this who Christ