Forsaking All for the Gospel

Good evening.

Let's please turn with me to Philippians chapter 3 verses 1 to 11.

Philippians 3:1–11

Philippians 3 verses 1 to 11.

Philippians 3:1–11

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Dear God, we confess this evening that we do not treasure Jesus, your Son, our Savior and Lord, the way we ought to.

Because we do not see Him as we ought to.

We pray that you would take hold of our minds and our hearts this evening through Philippians 3 to captivate us,

to show us the glory of Christ,

so that we may see Him as we ought,

and treasure Him rightly,

that our lives might be oriented around Him.

So please meet with us.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 to 11.

Proverbs 3:1–11

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 evildoers.

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.

For the Lord, 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,

blameless.

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 God's holy and authoritative word.

Whenever a group of Christians

who are zealous for God

gather together in His name

and seek to grow together in knowing God,

our enemy seeks to sow spiritual pride,

which is especially insidious

because it masquerades as godliness.

We start to take pride

in our theological tradition

and precision,

in our spiritual fervor,

in our daily disciplines

of prayer and Bible reading,

in our social activism,

in our cultural and missional awareness,

etc.

The Philippian church

was experiencing a similar temptation,

but Paul, in this passage,

uses his personal testimony

to remind them

that they ought to put no confidence

in their flesh,

in their own righteousness,

but that they should boast

in Jesus Christ alone.

So first,

we're going to look at

Paul's former confidence

in the flesh

in verses 1-6,

and then Paul's current confidence

in Christ

in verses 7-11.

Paul begins in verse 1

with the familiar command,

Finally, my brothers,

rejoice in the Lord.

The word finally

is a little misleading

because it makes it sound

like Paul's wrapping things up

when he is in fact

only half the way

through the letter.

It's kind of like the way

some preachers say at times,

in conclusion,

and then preach

for another 30 minutes.

But that's not,

you know,

what's probably going on here.

The adverb translated,

finally,

literally means

ask to the rest.

It's a very versatile word.

It can mean

from now on.

That's the way

it's translated

in 1 Corinthians 7-29

or Galatians 6-17.

It's translated

henceforth

in 2 Timothy 4-8.

It's translated

about the other things

in 1 Corinthians 11-34.

So basically,

it's a transitional word

that indicates

that what he's about to say,

all the things

that he's about to say,

all that remains

are summed up well

in the command,

rejoice in the Lord.

It's the command

that he repeats again

in chapter 4, verse 4.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say rejoice.

Paul frequently speaks

of rejoicing

in the book of Philippians.

And nearly all of them

refers to rejoicing

in Christ specifically,

in the events

of the gospel.

And Paul,

as he said

in chapter 1,

verse 25,

is committed

to the progress

and joy

in the faith

of the Philippians.

And that's what

he's commanding here.

Rejoice in the Lord.

What does that mean?

That means Christ

is where our joy

should be located.

Our joy in life

should consist

in this,

Christ and His gospel.

Paul will spend

the rest of this passage

unpacking in detail

what rejoicing

in the Lord

looks like.

Namely,

putting no confidence

in the flesh,

in our own righteousness,

but instead boasting in

and trusting in

Christ alone.

What protects us

from self-righteousness,

what safeguards us

from legalism,

what keeps us

from spiritual pride

is joy in Christ.

Christ.

But before he goes

on any further,

Paul adds this note

at the end of verse 1.

To write the same things

to you is no trouble

to me

and is safe for you.

Sometimes when we

become familiar

with certain passages

of scripture

or certain teachings,

we become complacent.

When we hear a preacher

saying something

we've heard him say before,

sometimes our eyes

glaze over

and our minds wonder,

oh, I've heard this

a dozen times already.

When we come to

a familiar passage

of scripture

in our Bible reading,

sometimes we gloss over it.

Oh, I know what this says.

I've read this many times.

But Paul doesn't want

the Philippine believers

to brush aside

what he is about to say.

There he goes again,

railing against the Judaizers.

No, he wants them to know

this is important.

So he says,

therefore it doesn't

trouble me to repeat

this to you

because it's safe

for you to hear it again.

The most important things

that you need to know

as a Christian

are likely things

that you already know.

But as forgetful,

sinful humans,

we need to be reminded

again and again.

We need to relearn,

remember again and again.

One of the fallacies

of modern education

is that it promotes

and rewards novelty.

You can't receive a doctorate

unless you contribute

something new

to the catalog

of human knowledge.

This works okay

in certain fields

where there are still

vast swaths of ignorant abyss

to be explored.

But when it comes

to the study of theology,

who God is,

what he's already revealed

to us about himself,

when it comes

to the study

of anthropology,

study of man,

what God has revealed

to us about humanity,

this bottle doesn't work.

And divinity schools

and seminaries

that uncritically adopt

this paradigm

often become incubators

of heresy.

In such matters as this,

it is tradition,

not innovation,

that needs to be given

greater weight.

The best Christian teachers

are those who say

the things,

they're not those

who say the things

you have never heard before,

but those who teach

the same time-tested gospel

and bring out

their timeless relevance

to bear on our lives.

And that's exactly

what Paul does here.

He knows the Philippians

have heard this before,

but he also knows

that they need

to hear it again.

It's safe for them.

And what Paul warns

the Philippian believers

against is the teaching

of the Judaizers,

which Paul describes

in verse 2.

Look out for the dogs.

Look out for the evildoers.

Look out for those

who mutilate the flesh.

The threefold repetition

of the command,

look out,

is very forceful,

and the description

of these Judaizers

become progressively

more specific.

First, he says,

look out for the dogs.

Paul's not warning them

of wild dogs with rabies.

He's calling people dogs,

which seems uncalled for

until you realize

that that's precisely

what the Judaizers

called Gentiles.

The term Judaizer

comes from the Greek word

used in Galatians 2,

Galatians 2:14

verse 14,

that means to live

like Jews

or to follow

Jewish customs.

The Judaizers

were Jews

who claimed

to be Christians

but then promoted

circumcision among

Gentile believers,

basically stipulating

that in order

to be a true Christian,

in order to,

if you really want

to be a Christian,

if you really want

to be part

of the people of God,

it's not enough

to simply trust in Jesus.

You also must

become a Jew.

In the Jerusalem Council

in Acts 15,

when some believers

who belonged

to the party

of the Pharisees

rose up and said,

it is necessary

to circumcise

Gentile converts

and to order them

to keep the law of Moses,

the apostles,

at the time,

led by the Holy Spirit,

deliberated

and then decided

this question

once and for all,

and they decided

that the Gentiles

do not need

to circumcise themselves

and observe

Jewish ethnic practices

in order to be saved.

But Judaizers

who followed Paul

wherever he went

sow trouble

in the churches

that he planted

by spreading

this false teaching.

And Paul calls them

dogs.

Dogs were not

cute pets

in the ancient world,

but dirty scavengers,

low-life animals,

despised by Greco-Roman society

and considered unclean,

ceremonially unclean

by Jews.

And because Jews

also considered

Gentiles unclean,

they sometimes

called them dogs.

So Paul is here

reversing this epithet

and saying that

it's in fact

the Judaizers

who are trying

to make Jews

out of Gentile Christians

who are unclean dogs.

Paul calls

these Judaizers

also evildoers.

Look out for

the evildoers.

This too is ironic

because the Judaizers

saw themselves

above all

as good doers,

doers of righteousness,

the only ones

who are truly pure

and lawful

in their pursuit of God.

But Paul calls them

evildoers.

Though they might think

that they are doing good

by promoting circumcision

and making Jews

out of Gentile converts,

they are in fact

doing harm,

doing damage,

doing evil.

Third, Paul says,

look out for those

who mutilate the flesh.

This is the most graphic

and ironic

of all the descriptions,

all three of them.

The Greek word

for circumcision

is literally

a cutting around

because it involves

cutting of the foreskin

that covers

the male genital organ.

But the word

that Paul uses here

is not cutting around

but cutting to pieces,

which is why

it's translated

mutilate the flesh.

The same word,

the same root word

is used

in the Greek translation

of Leviticus 21,

Leviticus 21:5

verse 5,

to prohibit priests

from ritually

unclean practices

such as making cuts

on their bodies

as pagan priests did.

So then the very ceremonial marker

that the Jews

took so much pride in,

the very practice

that they sought

to impose

on these Gentiles

in order to make them

clean

and acceptable to God,

Paul argues,

in fact,

makes those

who depend upon

circumcision

unclean before God

because it sets up

an alternate rival mode

of salvation.

the Judaizers

sought to secure

their right standing

with God

through observance

of Jewish law

and they sought

to bring Gentiles

into conformity

with their law as well,

but Paul understood

that insisting

that you need

Jesus Christ

plus something else

in order to be saved

is tantamount

to denying salvation

by grace alone,

in Christ alone,

through faith alone.

And Paul would have

none of it.

In this emphatic

threefold warning,

you can almost hear

Paul's righteous anger.

The people who are

diverting people

away from Christ

and detracting

from Christ's glory,

their dogs,

evildoers,

mutilators of the flesh

have nothing to do

with them.

He says of the Judaizers

in Galatians chapter 5

Galatians 5:12

verse 12,

I wish those who

unsettle you

would emasculate

themselves.

Those evildoers

who unsettle you

and lead you astray

by telling you

that you need

to be circumcised,

oh, how I wish

that they would

be castrated.

The entire letter

to the Galatians

is dedicated

to addressing this issue

and in Galatians 2,

Paul recalls a time

when he rebuked

Apostle Peter himself

who would dissociate

himself from

Gentile believers

due to pressure

from the circumcision party,

the Jews,

the Judaizers.

And Paul says

about that time,

when I saw

that their conduct

was not in step

with the truth

of the gospel,

I said to Cephas

before them all,

if you,

though a Jew,

live like a Gentile

and not like a Jew,

how can you force

the Gentiles

to live like Jews?

We ourselves

are Jews by birth

and not Gentile sinners,

yet we know

that a person

is not justified

by works of the law,

but through faith

in Jesus Christ.

Putting our confidence

in our own righteousness

through works

of the law,

putting our confidence

in the flesh

is not in step

with the gospel.

That's what Paul says.

So he says

in verse 3,

for we are

the circumcision

who worship

by the Spirit of God

and glory

in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence

in the flesh.

This is a remarkable

statement.

Paul,

instead of identifying

himself with his fellow Jews,

the Judaizers,

instead identifies himself

with the Gentile believers

of Philippi

and says,

we are the circumcision.

They who insist

on physical circumcision

are in fact

not the true circumcision,

but we who put our confidence

in Christ alone,

we are the true circumcision.

In Romans chapter 2,

Romans 2:28

verses 28 and 29,

Paul calls this

the circumcision

of the heart.

Quote,

For no one is a Jew

who is merely one outwardly,

nor is circumcision

outward and physical,

but a Jew is one inwardly,

and circumcision

is a matter of the heart

by the Spirit,

not by the letter.

Paul is not innovating here

wildly

and creating a new religion

to suit his preferences.

No, this is what God himself

had promised

in Deuteronomy chapter 30,

Deuteronomy 30:6

verse 6,

which says,

And the Lord your God

will circumcise your heart

and the heart

of your offspring

so that you will love

the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

that you may live.

That promise

had been fulfilled

by Jesus Christ.

The question

of our salvation,

the question

of our inclusion

in the people of God

was never a matter

of physical circumcision.

physical circumcision

was merely a shadow

that pointed

to the substance

of heart circumcision

that Christ would bring about

by the Holy Spirit.

And how do we know

that we belong

to this true circumcision?

We are those

who worship God

by the Spirit of God

and glory in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence

in the flesh.

The word worship here

doesn't refer merely

to the singing

of worship songs

or even to Sunday worship.

That word is often

translated service

and it refers to a life

lived as a servant of God.

A life of worship

that Paul speaks of

in Romans 12.1

to present your bodies

as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual worship.

To worship God,

that means to live a life

that is completely entrusted to

and devoted to Him

in contrast to those

who live with confidence

in the flesh.

And notice the God-centeredness

of this description

and how it contrasts

with the man-centeredness

of the Judaizers.

The Judaizers said,

you have to become like us.

You have to be circumcised.

You have to join

our Jewish nation.

You have to become one of us.

But the true circumcision

are people who worship

by the Spirit of God.

Like Jesus said in John,

for those who worship

with spirit and truth.

Those who not by their own strength

or their own works

approach God,

but those who worship God

by the Spirit of God.

And they do not glory

in their own qualifications

or accomplishments,

but instead they glory

in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence

in the flesh.

The word glory here,

glorying in Christ,

is the same word

that's translated boast

in 1 Corinthians 1, 28 to 31.

So that no human being

might boast

in the presence of God.

This is the reason

why God saves undeserving people

by the grace of God.

So that no human being

might boast in His presence.

And because of Him,

you are in Christ Jesus,

who became to us

wisdom from God,

righteousness,

and sanctification,

and redemption.

So that as it is written,

let the one who boasts

boast in the Lord.

If we are saved

because we're ethnic Jews,

if we are saved

because we are properly circumcised,

if we are saved

because of our own righteousness,

then we would get the glory.

To fixate on such things

is to have confidence

in the flesh.

But true believers

put no confidence

in the flesh.

Instead,

they put all their confidence

in Jesus Christ.

They boast in Christ alone.

So where is your confidence?

What do you trust in

for your right standing with God?

Paul gives us

some specific examples

of what confidence

in the flesh looks like

in the following verses.

These are the kinds of things

that Paul himself

used to boast about.

What he used to put confidence in.

But now he says

he puts no confidence

in the flesh.

Even though,

as he says in verse 4,

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.

Paul is indulging

in some holy trash talking here.

You want to talk about

some Jewish credentials?

You want to play that game?

Well, I beat you

according to your own terms too.

Paul was not downplaying

the importance

of Jewish religious pedigree

because he had none.

No, he actually had more

than anyone else.

If anyone had reasons

for confidence in the flesh,

he did.

He says in verse 5,

he was circumcised

on the eighth day.

The eighth day

was when good Jewish families

circumcised their newborn sons.

Paul came from

an observant Jewish family.

He wasn't circumcised late.

He ticked all the right boxes.

He was circumcised

as a Jew

since he was eight days old.

He was of the people of Israel.

The Judaizers sought

to make Gentiles

become Jews

through circumcision

among other things.

But Paul says,

I was born a Jew.

It's my birthright.

I am of the people of Israel

and not an Israelite

from any ordinary tribe,

of the tribe of Benjamin.

When there was a schism

in the nation of Israel,

when it broke off

into Judah

in the south

and Israel in the north

in 1 Kings 12,

only the tribes of Judah

and Benjamin

stayed loyal

to the Davidic monarchy

from which the Messiah

would come.

It's that special tribe

of Benjamin.

The first king of Israel

came from

the tribe of Benjamin.

His name,

as many of you know,

was Saul.

Paul's Jewish name

is Saul.

Very well may have been

named after

the first king of Israel

from the tribe,

same tribe that he came from.

For these reasons,

he says,

I'm of the tribe

of Benjamin,

a Hebrew of Hebrews,

a thoroughbred,

pure stock,

as authentic

and respectable

a Jew there is.

Paul continues,

as to the law

of Pharisee,

the term Pharisee

comes from the Hebrew word

that means

to set apart.

Pharisees were the reformers

of their day

who sought to restore

Judaism to its original purity.

They were the Jewish

cream of the crop.

In Acts 26,

Acts 26:5

verse 5,

Paul says,

according to the strictest

party of our religion,

I have lived

as a Pharisee.

He was trained

under Gamaliel,

the grandson

of famous Rabbi Hillel,

and a noted rabbi himself

who served as the president

of the Sanhedrin,

the highest judicial

and legislative body

within the Jewish community.

That's who Paul

was trained by.

In short,

Paul was the best

of the best.

He had the Jewish

Ivy League education.

He belonged

to the strictest

Jewish sect.

In Galatians 1,

14,

Paul says,

I was advancing

in Judaism

beyond many of my own age

among my people.

So extremely zealous

was I

for the tradition

of my fathers.

So zealous

was Paul

that he says

in verse 6,

he was a persecutor

of the church.

By mentioning this,

Paul is trying

to say to the Judaizers,

hey,

you think you're zealous

to guard

our Jewish traditions?

Before I became

a Christian,

I was the most zealous

persecutor

of the church.

I approved

Stephen's persecution

and execution.

I ravaged the church,

entering house

after house,

dragging off

Christian men

and women

and committing them

to prison.

That's how zealous

I was

for the traditions

of my Jewish forefathers.

And finally,

Paul says,

as to righteousness

under the law,

blameless.

This is the climactic claim

that Paul's been

building up toward.

In Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3:10

verse 10,

Paul says unequivocally

that no one is righteous,

no, not one.

So he's not speaking here

of that kind

of righteousness.

That's why he clarifies

by saying,

as to righteousness

under the law,

he was blameless.

Later in verse 9,

he clearly distinguishes

between righteousness

of my own

that comes from the law

and the righteousness

which comes through faith

in Christ,

the righteousness

from God

that depends on faith.

What Paul's claiming here,

saying he's blameless,

he was,

that he was,

he was,

he had about

the righteousness

of his own

that comes from the law.

In the same way

that Paul was

formerly a circumcised Jew

but uncircumcised

in his heart,

in terms of surface level

observance

of the mere letter

of the law,

Paul had an unblemished record.

Of course,

he didn't understand

at all the spirit

of the law,

the true intention

of the law of God

at all

because he persecuted

the church

when the law itself

pointed to Jesus.

And this is why

after his conversion,

Paul describes himself

as formerly

a blasphemer,

persecutor,

an insolent opponent

of God.

He calls himself

the foremost of sinners.

But nevertheless,

in terms of the kind

of outward behavior

that these Judaizers

were preoccupied with,

Paul had been blameless.

He had always observed

the Sabbath.

He had scrupulously adhered

to the laws

of ritual cleanliness.

He kept all the food laws.

In every manner,

he had zealously guarded

the traditions

of his Jewish forefathers.

And all of these things

used to be points

of great pride for Paul.

He had put his confidence

in these things

in the past,

but no longer.

He says in verses 7 to 8,

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.

Earlier in Philippians 1.21,

Paul said,

For to me,

to live is Christ,

and to die is gain.

Profit.

He uses that same word here.

The things he had formerly

put on the profit column,

now he puts on the loss column.

Indeed, Paul counts everything

as loss because of the surpassing worth

of Christ Jesus.

He has suffered the loss

of all things

and count them as rubbish

in order to gain Christ.

The word rubbish

is translated as dung

in the King James Version.

Excrement.

You can also refer to street refuse,

garbage,

compost,

rubbish that people

often threw to the dogs

to forage through.

So in short,

Paul regards all of the things

that he had formerly

put his confidence in

as manure,

waste matter,

fit only for the dogs,

which is especially fitting

since he had just called

the Judaizers dogs,

and they are preoccupied

with these things.

So he's saying,

don't listen to the Judaizers.

Don't listen to those

who would have you

put your confidence

in the flesh.

Don't listen to those

who tell you

that trusting in Jesus Christ

is not enough.

You also need to meet

these other criteria,

these other religious criteria,

these other moral criteria.

That's garbage.

That's manure.

Don't go near it.

It's all loss.

Forsake those things

so that you might gain Christ

who has surpassing worth.

That makes the loss

of all these things

more than worth it.

In what ways

have you been tempted

to put your confidence

in the flesh?

Circumcised on the eighth day?

Do you put your confidence

in religious rites

that you have gone through?

Baptism is important

and commanded by our Lord,

but it is only efficacious

insofar as it is

a genuine expression

of a person's repentance

and faith in Jesus Christ,

of a person's identification

with Christ,

his union with Christ

in his death

and resurrection.

The ritual in and of itself

cannot save you.

If you put your confidence

in the fact

that you were baptized

as a child

when currently

you have no faith

or obedience

to Christ to show for it,

that's a loss.

It's rubbish.

It's worthless.

Or do you put your confidence

in your religious heritage,

your religious pedigree,

that your father is a pastor

means nothing,

that your parents are missionaries

mean nothing,

that your family has been a Christian

for a hundred generations

means nothing,

that doesn't save you

unless you put your confidence

in Jesus Christ.

What else do you put

your confidence in?

Of the people of Israel?

Of the tribe of Benjamin?

A Hebrew of Hebrews?

Do you put your confidence

in your race?

Or in your ethnic

or cultural

or national heritage?

Do you believe

that your race,

your ethnicity,

your culture,

your country

is superior

to that of others?

Not before the eyes of God.

Not when it comes

to matters of eternity.

No group of people

is one whit closer to God

simply by virtue

of their race

or ethnicity,

culture,

or country of origin.

Paul's not telling us

that we should despise

our ethnic

or cultural heritage.

He had deep appreciation

for his Jewish heritage

even after his conversion.

So he says in Romans 9,

3 to 5

concerning his fellow Jews,

for I could wish

that I myself

were accursed

and cut off from Christ

for the sake of my brothers,

my kinsmen

according to the flesh.

They are Israelites

and to them belong

the adoption,

the glory,

the covenant,

the giving of the law,

the worship,

and the promises.

To them belong

the patriarchs

and from their race

according to the flesh

is the Christ

who is God over all

blessed forever.

Amen.

There were certainly things

that Paul was grateful for

and proud of as a Jew,

but when it comes

to the matter of salvation,

when it comes to the matter

of righteousness before God,

when it comes to the matter

of what your confidence is in,

Paul puts zero stock

in all of those things.

If you're putting your confidence

in these things,

it's all refuse.

What else do you put

your confidence in?

As to the law of Pharisee,

as to zeal,

a persecutor of the church?

Do you put your confidence

in the fact

that you belong

to the strictest sect

or denomination?

That you're the most

hardcore believer?

That you're a Catholic

or a Baptist

or a sovereign gracer?

That you do well

in Christian trivia

and have lots of

scripture memorized?

That you're reformed

and have the most

thoroughly biblical theology

that other Christians

are ignorant of

or don't follow?

That you're a Pentecostal

and have the most

robust spirituality

and more numerous

manifestations of the gifts

of the Holy Spirit?

That you're part of a church

or a denomination

that's more serious

about evangelism

than others?

These things

can never save you.

These things

in and of themselves

apart from Christ

will never

give you right standing

before God.

Apart from Christ,

it's all garbage.

what else do you put

your confidence in?

As to the righteousness

under the law,

blameless?

Do you ever feel like

not praying

or reading the Bible

or going to church

because you feel guilt

or shame

because of your sins?

Do you ever feel like

you can't share

the gospel with others

or counsel others

with scripture

because you haven't

been consistent enough

in your spiritual disciplines?

Because you don't feel

holy enough?

Because you don't feel

worthy enough?

Well then,

you're not putting

your confidence

in Jesus

and what He has done

for you after all,

are you?

You're actually

putting your confidence

in yourself

and what you have done

in how you have lived

on your behavior,

on your good works.

So where is your confidence?

Do you put your confidence

in the fact

that you keep

all the external markers

of Christian respectability?

That you go to church

every week?

That you finish

the Bible

every year?

That you use

certain hashtags

in your social media profiles?

That you read

certain books?

That you support

the right political party

or candidate?

That you have not committed

any blatant sins recently?

That you're an upstanding citizen

that cares for other people

by wearing masks properly

and social distancing?

That you recently experienced

a spiritual

and emotional high?

As a Jew,

Paul ticked

all of the boxes

that signaled

his virtue to others

and yet considered it

all a loss

because of the surpassing worth

of knowing Christ.

Even good things,

even righteous things,

if you put your confidence

in those things

for your right standing

with God

and not in Christ alone,

it's all trash.

It's the new year

and I know a lot of us

have New Year's resolutions.

I do as well.

And I want you all

to read the Bible

and pray more this year

than you did last year.

I want you to do these things

because it's good

for your soul

and it will help you

in your walk with God.

But I don't want you ever

to put your trust

in your own righteousness,

in your own obedience

to confer on you

right standing with God.

God,

your devotion

does not save you.

Your discipline

does not save you.

Your sincerity

does not save you.

Your consistency

does not save you.

Your passion

does not save you.

Your morality

does not save you.

Your righteousness

does not save you.

Christ alone

saves you.

The word

His righteousness

alone

is sufficient

for you.

this is why Paul contrasts the righteousness that we attain of our own accord on the basis of the law

from the righteousness that we receive from God through faith in Christ

doesn't matter that you're a Billy Graham or a Mother Teresa your own righteousness is woefully

inadequate there is no human righteousness that makes the cut our only hope is the righteousness

from God righteousness not of our own but of another an alien righteousness or righteousness

that is imputed to us or righteousness of another that is counted as ours for our sake

God made Jesus Christ to be sin who knew no sin that we might become in him the righteousness of God

a righteousness that is made available to us because Christ took our place on the cross and died

for our sins because Christ was raised from the dead for our justification that's our only hope

this is why Paul reiterates twice in verse 9 that this righteousness comes only through

faith in Christ salvation is by grace alone through faith alone because this is the way that precludes all

human boasting and makes us boast only in Jesus Christ faith is God's chosen means through which we

appropriate receive this righteousness from God because faith is the empty work faith is not a work

that we do to qualify for God's grace faith is an admission that we are unqualified and that we cannot save ourselves

faith is an acknowledgement that we are helpless

undeserving beggars who are completely disposed to the free mercy of God that's what faith is

this is why we should put no confidence in the flesh in our own righteousness but instead boast in Christ alone

confidence in the flesh and confidence in Christ are mutually exclusive whenever we add something to God's free gift of righteousness that we call grace

an additional criterion an additional requirement it nullifies the grace of God

it ordin nothing范 never bounds interchangeable the grace of God's authority as BUT

the truth of god fromćez

we cannot boast in something in ourselves without detracting from the glory of christ

we cannot pretend that we have something worthy to contribute to our own salvation

without obscuring the surpassing worth of jesus christ

that's why it's our glory to be nothing that's why it serves us it's our lot to humble ourselves

before him because he deserves all the glory and what god calls us to do here in chapter 3

mirrors what jesus already did for us in chapter 2 in chapter 2 verse 6 it said that christ though

he was in the form of god did not count equality with god a thing to be grasped but emptied himself

by taking the form of a servant now the same word count is used in chapter 3 verses 7 8 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've suffered the loss of all things

and count them as rubbish in order that i might gain christ we are called to empty ourselves of all the

vain glory in the same way that christ emptied himself of his real glory by taking on human flesh

likewise chapter 2 verse 8 said that being found in human form jesus humbled himself by becoming

obedient to the point of death even death on the cross and now chapter 3 verses 9 to 10 tell us that we

should be found in christ christ christ was found in human form so that we might be found in christ

and he was obedient to death so that we might share in his suffering becoming like him in his death

just as christ's humiliation preceded his exaltation it's only by sharing in christ's sufferings becoming

like him in his death in the present that we attain the resurrection from the dead and glory in the

future

since we are to share in christ's sufferings the sufferings in view are not any kind of suffering

and certainly not the suffering that we bring upon ourselves by sinning but rather the suffering

that involves dying to ourselves to serve others suffering that is involves dying to ourselves for the sake of christ

and yes the christian life is full of such sufferings christian life is full of many deaths dying to self

but they are a joyous they're joyous sufferings they're glorious deaths because in them we experience

more of christ our savior and we become more like jesus and we are more and more assured

as we endure those sufferings and endure those deaths that we will be with him in glory they will be raised from the dead

to identify ourselves with christ and follow the pattern of christ until that day when our union with christ is

consummated fulfilled that was paul's lifelong aspiration and that should be our lifelong aspiration

to be a christian is to declare for me to live is christ to die is gain to be a christian is to deny

ourselves and to take up our cross and follow jesus to be a christian is to love and treasure christ more than

anything else and anyone else brothers and sisters do you know that that is your main business in life

do you know that that is your calling that that is the reason why you are alive today

to know christ to love christ to make him your supreme treasure that's why you are breathing right now

make it your first and foremost business each day to cherish christ to count everything else rubbish

compared to the surpassing worth of knowing christ

we must lay down all that we once held dear all that we once considered gain

our intellect our degrees our spouses our children our abilities our career our status our charitable

giving our giving our righteousness count them all loss for the sake of christ

empty yourselves of these things as christ emptied himself for us take up your cross as christ took

up his cross for us died to yourself as christ died for us then and only then will you experience the fullness of joy that is found in christ

that's what it means to rejoice in the lord that first command that paul started with in chapter 3

isn't this a wonderful paradox in one sense god demands everything of us

us he bids us to die to die to ourselves and to live it to live to christ to submit all our purposes and

priorities to him to give up all our credentials pretensions and vainglory

but all that we lose will be compensated in infinitely greater ways because those who partake in christ's

sufferings and death will also partake in his glory and resurrection life

so in one sense god demands everything of us but in another sense god demands nothing of us

he bids us come empty-handed he supplies everything that is necessary he supplies the atoning sacrifice

for our sins in jesus christ he supplies the righteousness that we need and brings us into right relationship with

himself he supplies the resurrection power of jesus christ that will raise us from the dead

so that we should put no confidence in the flesh in our own righteousness but boast in christ alone

18th century pastor augustus topolody puts it beautifully in his hymn that i think we have in the

the projection for you in the hymn rock of ages cleft for me

not the labor of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands could my zeal no respite no could my tears

forever flow all could never sin erase thou must save and save by grace nothing in my hands

the hands i bring simply to thy cross i cling naked come to thee for dress helpless look to thee for grace

foul i to the fountain fly wash me savior or i die

heavenly father

forgive us

forgive us for the ways we get in the way of your grace

forgive us

that is so hard for us to die

we want

we want you to receive all the glory

we don't want people who look at our church we don't want people who look at our lives to say oh

they're so clever

oh they're so zealous oh they're so passionate oh they're so disciplined

god when people look at us we want them to say oh christ is so precious

christ is so worthy christ is so sufficient

god

god humble us

help us to die to ourselves so that jesus receives all the glory

and help us as your people

with unfail unveiled faces beholding the glory of the lord

help us to be transformed

into the same image

from one degree of likeness to another

yes lord

in jesus name we pray amen

yes

yes

now

yes