Rejoice in Knowing and Becoming Like Jesus

Last week, we looked at Paul’s gratitude for his fellow co-laborer in the Lord, Epaphroditus. He was, as the Apostle described, a brother, a fellow worker, a soldier, a messenger and minister for the Philippian church with a specialized task to serve Paul while he was under house arrest in Rome.

At some point during his ministry to the Apostle Paul, Epaphroditus fell sick and almost died. But we soon learned that it was by the grace of God that he fully recovered from whatever sickness he has and was able to complete his service to the Apostle.

Now that Epaphroditus’ short-term missions trip has reached its conclusion, Paul hands this letter to Epaphroditus to deliver to the Philippian church to which Paul said to “receive [Epaphroditus back]then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.”

But the Apostle has a few more things to say to the Philippians before closing this letter which leads us to what I want to draw out from the passage. This morning I want to highlight

3 steps we can take to rejoice in knowing and becoming like Jesus

I. Refuse to Think That Your Gifts, Abilities, Actions, and Accomplishments Earn Righteousness (vv. 2-7)

Verses 1-2 “Finally, [or so then] my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” (stop)

Your source of spiritual joy is found no-where else but in Christ alone. He is your well-spring of joy. You will not find complete joy with the things the Lord gives to you. Husband, you won’t find complete joy in your wife or with the toys you have. Wife: you won’t find complete joy in your husband or even in your kids.

Single men and woman, you won’t find complete joy in your singleness or even friendships. Children, you won’t find complete joy in your mom and dad or in your friends from school. Ultimately, you will find your complete joy and satisfaction in Christ alone.

Paul is setting things up for what he is about to remind the church because in the following verses he will go onto essentially say to them that you will find no joy in a works-based system of salvation. In fact, trying to earn your salvation will remove the joy from you…because Christ won’t be there.

After Paul commanded the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, he goes to state that to “write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you…” (stop)

In other words, Paul had previously communicated the truths to this church, but we don’t have those letters. But it doesn’t matter because this letter is a divinely inspired repeat of what he had previously taught them. In other words, it was no trouble on the part of the Apostle to “write the same things again” because it was a safeguard for the church.

Asphalés – refers to something that does not totter or able to be cast down.

What Paul is about to say to the church is for their protection so that they will not stumble (Acts 20:31). Then Paul moves from his commandment to rejoice in the Lord to warning the Philippians to “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;” (stop)

What? How do you go from rejoicing to calling certain people dogs? And the answer is given to us by who Paul is referring to, which in a Jewish context often refers to Gentiles. Even today, the devout Jew will see Gentiles as dogs – which refers to an unclean person or people. Yet here, Paul, being a Jew, took an insulting metaphor intended for Gentiles and points to the Judaizers as…dogs.

Why would he call his former religious constituents dogs? Why would he say that they are the ones who are unclean?

Transition: Because the answer lies in their works-based system of achievement - and that makes all the difference in the world because apart from faith in Christ alone, all of us are like proverbial…dogs – we are unclean sinners trying to earn our way into heaven by our own work. My friends, don’t go down the works-righteousness road. The road to hell is a road paved with good intentions, my friends.

John MacArthur said it well…

Insert John MacArthur quote: “There are basically only two kinds of religion in the world: those based on human achievement and those based on divine accomplishment. One says you can earn your way to heaven; the other says you must trust in Jesus Christ alone.”

Transition: specifically…

Philippians 3:3b “…do not put confidence in the flesh…”

A. Even when others try to convince you to put confidence in yourself (vv. 2-3)

Paul knew this better than anyone else because he used to be a Judaizer – one who placed his confidence in keeping the law, rather than obtaining a righteousness apart from the works of the law. This is precisely what Paul said in

Romans 3:21-22 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe” – Romans 3:21-22

What then are the implications for us today? Only in that it is very easy to become like the Judaizers of Paul’s day who relied on their own achievement to open the doors of heaven! Let me say it another way so as to bring it home base, and this brings us back to our outline

Refuse to Think That Your Gifts, Abilities, Actions, and Accomplishments Earn Righteousness

My friends, if you still don’t understand perhaps this quote from Pastor Voddie Baucham will jar you loose

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3a/a6/70/3aa670a9eb61d229475f671c9346d81e.jpg

It’s so easy to slip into this kind of mindset – it’s so easy to slip into the notion that if we abstain from this kind of food or this kind of drink that we are earning God’s favor. It’s so easy to slip into the mindset that coming to church will earn God’s favor.

Being a good person doesn’t earn you merit before God. Saying 1 our Father and 10 Hail Mary’s doesn’t earn you merit before God. Good deeds is not the standard here. This is precisely what the Judaizers of Paul’s day missed.

They missed the fact that the purpose of the law was not to try and keep the law to the best of one’s ability. The purpose of the law was to reveal that no man could keep it perfectly.

Isaiah 64:5b-7a – “Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, we continued in them a long time; and shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment…”

God sees our good deeds as filthy – they don’t reach his standard…because his standard is perfection, thus the need for a Savior – one who is perfect, without blemish. And that placing our trust in Christ alone we not only find joy, but a righteousness that is not our own…we will get to that before the end of this sermon.

Paul said to the Philippian church what he said to the Church at Rome that…

Romans 2:29b – “…circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

That’s why Paul could say to the Philippian church in verse 3 that “we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” This is where many a religious Jew made their mistake because they only focused on that which was external – and completely missed the point that what they so desperately needed was a spiritual circumcision of the heart.

That was the clarion call of the intent of the Law and the Prophets that salvation was not based on the works of the law/or law keeping – but on whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord for salvation by faith alone. Then and only then will God /circumcised/transformed a person’s heart in salvation (Deuteronomy 30:6)

We belong to the Lord because he circumcised our hearts, by his Spirit.

Transition: Never miss this point, my friends, lest you become an enemy of Christ in holding to a form of godliness, yet denying it’s power of a transformed life. I tell you that if you not been transformed by Christ, the you spiritually unclean/not saved – his/heart is not spiritually circumcised/transformed. You need to repent of your sins and be born from above.

Paul understood this and he warned the Philippians to rejoice in what Christ has done, not in human merit. And for the self-righteous Jew/person who would still cling to their own self-centered righteousness, not even your background/pedigree can save a person.

B. Even when you enjoyed a privileged background (vv. 4-5)

“although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee” (stop)

Paul’s point here is that if anyone would have the right to boast according to the flesh then it would be him. It’s as if to say – Oh, so you think you’re righteous, check out my credentials!

1. Circumcised the eighth day

2. Of the nation of Israel

3. Of the tribe of Benjamin

4. A Hebrew of Hebrews

Now, for us Gentiles – this means very little to us. But to the Jews, these were high badges of honor! I don’t have time to get into the significance of these credentials, but the point I want to underscore in your mind my friends is the fact that the Jews were relying on their privileged position as Jews as human merit before God!

Transition: Paul takes it a steps further and points to his religious pedigree. Keep in mind: he’s setting the theological stage to tear the whole thing down.

C. Even when you have been sincere in your belief system (vv. 6-7)

Take a look at verse 6 “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”

In other words, Paul was committed to his Judaism. He was a man on fire! It amazes me how dedicated the religious unbeliever can while we have difficulty getting out of bed to read a single chapter of the Bible.

Oh may we be a people of the Book! If the Apostle Paul was a devoted man in his unbelief, how much more should we be devoted while in Christ, possessors of the Spirit of Grace?

1. As to the Law, a Pharisee (v. 5b)

There were 6,000 Pharisees in Judaism. They were the spiritual athletes of Paul’s day and he ranked among them. Pharisee means “separated ones.” They devoted their lives to the study of OT Law. To put it simply, Paul was an imminent scholar in his field devoted to the things of the Lord. The Apostle would put us to shame!

2. As to Zeal, a persecutor of the church (v. 6)

Galatians 1:13-14 - For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

3. As to righteousness in the Law, blameless

Amemptos – refers to sins of omission. A sin of omission refers to the failure of doing what is right.^[1] For example,

Eg. Sin of omission James 4:17 says “to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

So for the Apostle Paul, he’s saying that there was no demand of the law that he did not fulfill outwardly. Humanly speaking, one could not lay an outward charge against the Apostle. He was a devout Jew outwardly because he like all the other devout Jews of his day missed the point of the Law, which demonstrated that, in the eyes of the Lord, they were required to keep it perfectly, which they could not.

Humanly speaking, it’s easy to pass an outward test, but quite another thing to claim innocence of the human heart. So Paul states his human achievements, and by application, consider these things in light of your life.

• You can be zealously sincere, and not be saved.
• You can be devoutly religious and not saved.
• You can have a good religious upbringing, and not be saved.

Does this describe you today? Because that’s precisely Paul’s point. Then Paul, after having laid down his list of human achievements wrote this to the Philippian church because he didn’t want them to fall into the snare of the Judaizers.

Philippians 3:7 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

In other words, when Paul realized that all of his human achievements were not earning human merit before God, all that was left standing above the rubble of human achievement was…Christ. It was the Cross of Christ!

Insert Quote from William Barclay: “The things that [Paul] had believed to be his glories were in fact useless. All human achievement had to be laid aside, in order that he might accept the free grace of Christ. He had to strip himself of every human claim of honor in order that he might accept in complete humility the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.”

II. Boast and Place Your Confidence in Jesus (vv. 8-9)

Philippians 3:8-9 – “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…”

Did you see that? Paul counted everything he did to earn favor with God as rubbish

Skubalon – refers to “waste” “dung” “manure” or even “excrement.”

Transition: To put it simply, once Paul took his eyes off of himself, it freed him to place all of his hope on Christ. That is how a person is born again. Once we take our eyes primarily off ourselves, that frees us to put our eyes on Christ alone by faith alone.

A. Value knowing Christ and His righteousness above our accomplishments

B. Live confidently and expectantly in Christ

That brings us back to what Paul said in verse 1 to “rejoice in the Lord,” not in your human achievement.

In the Cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o’re the wrecks of Time;

all the light of sacred story

Gathers its head sublime

III. Press on in Your Knowledge and Commitment to Jesus (vv. 10-11)

Philippians 3:10-11 “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.”

A. Who He is and what He has done

Isaiah 55:7-8 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

B. Power of His resurrection

Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

C. Fellowship of His sufferings

D. Knowing your future is secure

Matthew 10:32 - Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

Notice my friends, that we are not confessing our works before God. We are not confessing what we have done. We are not confessing our own human achievement – we confess Christ alone and him crucified!

I want to close with a excerpt sermon from Alistair Begg that was a needful reminder to me that it can be so easy slip into the belief that it is on the basis of what we’ve done that have merited God’s forgiveness. That kind of thinking is rubbish. The title of his sermon is this: The Man on the Middle Cross said I could come.

Alistair Begg^[2] “Without the preaching of the cross, without preaching the cross to ourselves, all day and every day, we will very, very quickly revert to “faith plus works” as the ground of our salvation. So, to go to the old Fort Lauderdale question, “If you were to die tonight and you were getting entry into heaven, what would you say?”

If you answer that in the first person, we’ve immediately gone wrong. “Because I . . . Because I believed . . . Because I have faith . . . Because I am this . . . Because I am continuing.”

Loved ones, the only proper answer’s in the third person. “Because he! Because he!”

Think about the thief on the cross . . . I can’t wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, “How did that shake out for you? Because you were cussing the guy out with your friend. You’ve never been in a Bible study. You never got baptized . . . You didn’t know a thing about church membership, and yet . . . you made it. How did you make it?” That’s what the angel must have said, you know:

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Excuse me, let me get my supervisor.” They go get their supervisor angel. “So, just a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?”

The guy said, “I’ve never heard of it in my life.”

“And what about the doctrine of Scripture?”

This guy’s just staring — and eventually, in frustration, [the supervisor] says, “On what basis are you here?”

And he said, “The Man on the middle cross said I can come.”

That is the only answer. That is the only answer. And if I don’t preach the gospel to myself all day and every day, then I will find myself beginning to trust myself, trust my experience, which is part of my fallenness as a man. If I take my eyes off the cross, I can, then, give only lip service to its efficacy, while at the same time living as if my salvation depends upon me. And as soon as you go there, it will lead you either to abject despair or a horrible kind of arrogance.

It is only the cross of Christ that deals both with the dreadful depths of despair and the pretentious arrogance of the pride of man that says, “You know, I can figure this out” and “I’m doing wonderfully well.” No, because the sinless savior died my sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me. That’s why Luther says most of your Christian life is outside of you, in this sense that we know that we’re not saved by good works. We’re not saved as a result of our professions, but we’re saved as a result of what Christ has achieved.

PRAY

[1] “What Is a Sin of Omission? | GotQuestions.Org.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.gotquestions.org/sin-of-omission.html.

[2] Gray, Bradley. n.d. “The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Could Come.” Www.graceupongrace.net. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.graceupongrace.net/p/the-man-on-the-middle-cross-said?s=r.

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