Notice, he says, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”
• We can understand someone who is not in jail writing to someone in jail trying to get them to do this.
• It is unusual for a fellow who is in jail to be encouraging to those who are free to do this.
This passage of scripture is helpful to us because it tells us some of the things that Paul considered to be important and what he had learned in the Christian life. For example, this passage reveals:
I. PAUL’S REJOICING
In a previous chapter, Paul dealt with the problem of having what we call “SUNSHINE” friends. That is, when things are going great they are there for us.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger says this kind of friend remind him of the time when he was a young man and his parents planted a large garden each year. There were people you would not see for months, but when harvest time came, you could almost bet your life they would be coming to visit. The strange thing about it was that when they came, they always came with a sack or a wash tub in the trunk of their cars.
Paul had some friends like that. When things got tough, they put as much distance as they could between themselves and Paul. For example:
• Look at 2 Timothy 4:10 “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.”
• Look at Philippians 2:1 “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.”
But now, Paul gets his mind off such people and says to those who loved the Lord and who loved him, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”
Paul was a great servant because he went through the hard times but he refused to stay there.
• There are some folks who lost a good job and they have never gotten over it.
• There are some folks who have had a bad experience in the church and they have never gotten over it.
• There are some folks who have gone through a bad divorce and they have never gotten over it.
• There are some folks who have been deceived by a friend and they have never gotten over it.
• There are some pastors who have been mistreated by a congregation and they have never gotten over it.
Listen, we all have had bad situations occur in our life.
Illus: I know sometimes some of the movie stars appear on television and they act like they have the perfect life. They want you to think they do not have a problem in the world. But remember, THEY ARE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. When they give this false impression, they are probably doing some of their best acting.
Illus: Our life is like driving a car down the highway.
• It is nice to drive down nice smooth roads
• Sometimes we are forced to drive down bumpy roads
• Sometimes we drive down roads that are so bad we get stuck in the mud
BUT ONCE WE GET STUCK, WE DO NOT STAY THERE, we get out of our car and find some way to get out of the mud.
Paul could have stayed behind bars and moaned and groaned about the INJUSTICE he had suffered, and the disloyalty of his friends, but he got over it!
In fact, Paul is in better shape than those who are on the outside of the prison, and he is writing to them and saying, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…”
Notice, he is not rejoicing in the fact that he is behind bars, that is nothing to rejoice about. He said, “REJOICE, IN THE LORD.”
When you and I can not find anything good in our life to rejoice about, we can ALWAYS find something to rejoice about IN THE LORD. If we look for the worst in everything, we should not be surprised if we find it. But if we look for the best, we will also find that.
Paul was a great servant because even in a prison cell he could REJOICE IN THE LORD!
But notice, evidently Paul had written to them about rejoicing before. Look at verse 1 again, we read, “…To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.”
We Christians have to be continually reminded to REJOICE IN THE LORD.
If we rejoice in the things of the world, our emotions will be like a roller coaster. That is:
• You can buy a new house today and rejoice over it, but in six months you might be cursing the day you signed on the dotted line.
• You can buy a new car today and rejoice over it, but in a few weeks you wonder why you made such a dumb decision.
But listen, we can always find something good to rejoice in.
Illus: Old Dr. Bob Jones said he had been at the bedside of many just before they breathed their last breath. Many of these people say how much they REGRET they have lived a life of sin. But he said he never heard anyone say, “I regret I served the Lord!”
Many folks have spent their life complaining about their situation in life. One day they will regret how they have lived their life. But those who have lived their life rejoicing in the Lord will never live to regret the way they lived their life.
The most successful Christians on this earth are Christians who have learned to REJOICE IN THE LORD!
We have looked at PAUL’S REJOICING, but let’s also look at-
II. PAUL’S REALISM
Look at Philippians 3:2-3, we read, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
WHAT IS PAUL TALKING ABOUT?
Let me explain. Sometimes you hear someone say, “I am not a spiritual person.” There is not one ounce of truth in that statement.
Everyone who has ever been created was created in the image of God. God is a triune God.
Mortal man is a Trichotomy. Look at Genesis 2:7, we read, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
God created man in three parts.
1. Body: God formed man’s body from the dust of the ground
2. Spirit: Then He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
3. Soul: Then man became a living soul
Notice:
• The first material used in the creation of mankind was the dust
• The second item was the breath of life
• Then, when the spirit within the body mingled with the body, a living soul came into being
It is important that we recognize we are a Trichotomy.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Because most today have been BORN INTO THE PHYSICAL WORLD but they have never been born into the SPIRITUAL WORLD.
Every man has a SPIRITUAL part of him. So when people say, “I am not spiritual”, they do not know what they are saying.
People are spiritual, every one of us! We were created this way. You can go to the deepest parts of Africa and you will find people worshipping some kind of god.
When people say they are not spiritual, it may be they do not worship the true and living God, but they worship some kind of a god. It may be:
• The god of wealth
• The god of popularity
• The god of recreation
Whatever we put first in our life is our god.
They worship, but the problem is they worship the wrong things. People have different ideas.
• Their philosophy may be, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” And every day, they live up to that motto in their life. They worship the gods of Pleasure and Recreation.
• Others say, "Join a religious body, undergo its rituals, adopt its beliefs, and live the best you can, and this will make you a child of God so that you can really live.”
The list of false teachings could go on and on.
When Paul lived, people had many false religions, but since then they have multiplied into thousands.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THESE FALSE RELIGIONS THAT SEND OUR FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES TO A CHRISTLESS ETERNITY?
We live in a land where TOLERANCE is promoted to the extreme. Certainly we should be tolerant about some things, but when it comes to those who are promoting a false religion that will send people to a Devil’s hell, we can not sit back and not get involved.
When something is life threatening, we can not sit back and do nothing when we know what is at stake.
Illus: We know that when cars or car tires are produced with some kind of defect that will affect the lives of men, women and children, they announce a recall. Corporations do not like recalls because it tarnishes their name and causes the American people to stay away from their products in the future.
But I am glad that we have a government that does what is BEST FOR THE PEOPLE, not what is BEST FOR THE CORPORATIONS!
When it comes to spiritual matters, the Devil has been very successful in promoting tolerance.
Illus: It is the Rodney King philosophy, “Can’t we all get along?” In other words, do not concern yourself about what is right and what is wrong, “Can’t we all get along?”
The church that once spoke out against sin, now is afraid to speak out because we do not want to be branded as unkind.
WHO ARE THE UNKIND PEOPLE HERE?
Is it the one who is promoting a false religion that is sending souls to hell, or is it the one who is concerned about the souls of mankind, and they are speaking out, warning everyone that this is contrary to what the Word of God teaches? It is obvious that the bad ones are those who are sending souls to a Devil’s hell.
Illus: Billy Graham’s daughter was on the “Hannity and Colmes” television program promoting a book that she wrote. Colmes interviewed her and asked her about 911. She said something like this; For the last years we have been trying to take God out of our schools and government… and she hardly got the words out her mouth before Colmes jumped in and said, “Are you blaming the American people for 911”
What makes us think that as Americans:
• We can kill our children by the millions each year
• We can allow the ACLU to win case after case as they oppose everything that is godly in this country
• We allow the homosexuals in this country, who consist of only 4-5% of the population, to dominate the evening news.
How can we think we can allow such things and there are no consequences of our actions?
God’s church today is savagely being attacked, and many of the liberal churches are convinced that the solution is COMPROMISE AND TOLERANCE!
Paul was viciously attacked by false teachers, and look how he dealt with them. Look at verse 2, we read, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.”
Paul lists three groups of false teachers who, like wild dogs, had been viciously attacking him. We need to beware of them.
(1) BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS WHO ACT LIKE DOGS (kunas)
It should be noted that both Jew and Gentile called each other “dogs” as a term of contempt. The word "dog" was the lowest title possible to convey contempt and ridicule.
Dog did not refer to the house pet of today, but to the wild dogs that roamed in the forests by day and the city streets by night. They were scavengers who could be very vicious and dangerous. The point is descriptive: there are some false teachers who are just like wild dogs.
They are scavengers who seek for people they can consume with their false teaching. And if any step forward to defend the sheep and the truth, they snarl and often become vicious and dangerous, ready to attack the defender and destroy him.
It is bad when a person will go out on the street and peddle dope and destroy the lives of millions. But it is far worse when people will go out and peddle a false religion that will send people to a Devil’s hell.
Sometimes people say, “I do not talk about anyone’s religion and I give money to them. Whatever they do with it has nothing to do with me. God will hold them responsible, not me.”
Wrong! God’s Word says, in Matthew 7:6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
God’s Word says, in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
In Philippians 3:2, we read, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision."
God does not want the church to sit around patting the false teachers on the head, when scripture refers to them as dogs.
He said we are to BEWARE OF THESE DOGS! Paul is saying, “Let’s get our head out of the sand and face REALITY here.”
But there is another group we need to beware of.
(2) BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS WHO ARE EVIL WORKERS
The world is full of people who work evil things. This refers to those who teach salvation through good works. This is a evil teaching that will send a soul to hell.
There are those who are always opposing the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation that is by GRACE ALONE. They stand OPPOSED to the gospel of salvation by grace alone.
They go about establishing their own way to God, doing whatever good they feel is needed to make themselves acceptable to Him. The result is false teaching.
Such false teachers are evil workers - workers who stand opposed to the truth.
(3) BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS WHO ARE OF THE CONCISION
The concision refers to the Judaizers. The Jews were sticklers for setting standards they felt were required for a person to do to be saved. They stood opposed to the gospel of salvation by His grace alone.
One of the Jewish requirements was circumcision. Paul dealt with this in the Book of Galatians.
In Galatians 2:3-5, we read, “But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”
WHY DO PEOPLE REQUIRE SUCH THINGS? Because it places the focus on them, not on the Lord Jesus.
• They want to add to the salvation of grace
• They want their man-made rules and regulations
• They want their rituals, it makes them feel spiritual when they do these things. The more they feel they can do, the more spiritual they are.
Conclusion:
Paul was a great man of God because he did not mind taking a stand for what was right. He was not about to stick his head in the sand and pretend everything was alright, when false teachers were spreading their damnable teachings.
I. PAUL’S REJOICING
II. PAUL’S REALISM
