No Confidence In The Flesh Series

No Confidence in the Flesh

Philippians 3:1-6

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

When Christ is preached (1:18) and even when being poured out like a drink offering in suffering and persecution (2:17-18), Paul says we are to “rejoice in the Lord, again I say rejoice” (4:4). “The golden thread of spiritual joy runs through this Epistle!” As the Psalmist so eloquently stated, we are to go the altar of God, rejoice with exceeding joy and sing to God who is our strength and refuge in times of trouble (32:11, 33:1, 43:4, 46:1). Paul does not hesitate to repeat this command for not only was it essential for “transcending all the sorrows and sufferings caused by living for Christ” and the key to standing firm in the Gospel (1:27), but rejoicing is also essential to safeguarding one’s faith in the Lord (3:1)! To keep the church of Philippi from succumbing to the “same cracks and weaknesses” of legalism that Paul saw at the church of Galatia, he implored them to stand fast and rejoice in the Lord. Being a former Pharisee Paul knew all too well of the dangers of legalism and the devastating effects it was having on some of the Galatians. Legalism is “a self-salvation project that only leads to pride or despair. We must resist the Gospel of human achievement.” “Being acquitted before God’s tribunal on the final day” has nothing to do with one’s superior knowledge of His word, nor is it about doing religious activities to earn acceptance. Being accepted and forgiven by God is not based on works, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and no one is righteous not even one (Romans 3:10-18,23). Acceptance and adoption into God’s family is only attainable through faith in the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus! In the first verse of chapter three Paul echoes his prior appeal to the Philippians to “stand firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel” (1:27). Paul implored the Philippians to “Hold firmly onto the word of life” (2:16) so that they might be “protected from legalism and false Gospels” that they would inevitably be tempted to put their trust. Let “the joy of the Lord arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks!”

Reflection. Our standing before a holy is adoption into His very family but only by the blood of the Lamb. While we are to be holy as God is holy this does not mean that human effort can save a person. The believer can confidently approach God’s throne because it is one of mercy and grace. He who did not get what He deserved, God’s wrath and punishment for our sins, through saved us from the punishment we deserved but could never atone for or bear!

Watching out for the Dogs

Holding firmly onto the word of life will help safeguard the Philippians against the false teachings of those whom Paul called dogs, evildoers, and mutilators of the flesh” (32)! Paul was referring a group of “Pharisee-influenced believers (15:5)” who insisted that “Christ’s kingdom could be entered only through the gate of Judaism” by becoming circumcised and following the Law of Moses. With a “satirical twist, Paul gave these “Judaizers” a bitter taste of their own poisonous prejudice” using three descriptive adjectives. First, he called them “dogs.” While today a dog connotates thoughts of loyal, friendly, cherished companionship; in Paul’s time dogs were not pets but were “nasty, unclean, and dangerous;” “coyote- like scavengers who fed on roadkill, carrion, filth, garbage,” “human corpses and even their own vomit!” In the Old Testament dogs were viewed as unclean animals and in the New Testaments dog was a term often given to the Gentiles who were outside of the covenant (Mark 7:27-29). Using their own slogans against them Paul called the Judaizers “dogs” and the second adjective “evildoers” because by emphasizing conformity to the “purity laws and ceremonies of the Jewish Law” they were preaching a Gospel of self-reliance rather than faith in a risen Savior. The third adjective (phrase) Paul used to describe the Judaizers was “mutilators of the flesh” due to their insistence that without circumcision as described by Moses the believer would not be part of the covenant and therefore would not be saved (Acts 15:1). To this Paul argued that circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit is what defined the covenant people of the Lord (Romans 2:29; Colossians 2:11–12). “Since circumcision was not necessary for salvation, those who promoted it were only mutilating their flesh, something that Leviticus 21:5 forbids as a pagan ritual!” What people needed to be saved was not “mutilation but regeneration.” Even though there is no evidence these Judaizers where already at the church of Philippi, Paul warned them to stay clear of their false teachings whenever they sought to make them a proselyte!