The Danger Of Salvation Plus Series

Series: Philippians

Sermon: “The Danger of Salvation Plus”

Philippians 3:1-11

A sermon for August 30, 2020

Pastor John Bright

Harmony & Swansonville UMC

Philippians 3 “1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

A very famous Victorian-Era novel begins with this line – “It was a dark and stormy night.” (Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford, 1830) That would be a great way to start this sermon – “It was a dark and stormy time!” What do I mean? It was a turbulent time! Things were changing at a breakneck pace. There were changes in the areas of art, science, math, and government. You could reach more people with your ideas than ever before. What people had believed for centuries was being challenged… what a day to live in and what a day in which to make a difference.

Am I talking about now? Am I talking about the 1960’s? Friday was the anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most famous “I HAVE A DREAM” speech on the mall in Washington DC. Actually, I am talking about the time when Dr. King’s name sake lived and made a difference. Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk and professor of theology in the turbulent time of Europe leaving the Middle Ages and moving into the time known as The Renaissance. It was the time of the printing press. It was the time of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Galileo (1564-1642) It was the time of William Tyndale (1494–1536) and William Shakespeare (1564–1616). It was the time of Raphael (1483–1520) and Michelangelo (1475–1564).

About 75 years after Guttenberg invented the movable type printing press, in 1517, Martin Luther challenged the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church that good works contribute to salvation and eternal life. (That’s an over simplification, but I don’t have time today for a longer explanation.) It was actually the writings of Paul that moved Martin Luther to action. You see, Paul was dealing with the same belief in his time.

So I want to look at some questions today raised by these verses in Philippians –

Question #1 – When is the Gospel not the Gospel?

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,”

WOW! That’s strong language! Paul wants to make sure that the Philippian believers DO NOT miss the point he is trying to make at this point in the letter. There is trouble in Philippi and in the other places that have young Christian communities. Let me give you a brief history of the Early Christian Church:

• In the beginning it was 100% Jewish converts to the Gospel of Christ.

• Then, folks converting to Judaism and Samaritans become Believers.

• Finally, the Gentiles of the Roman Empire hear the Gospel message and respond.

Some of those Jewish converts began to preach another gospel. They were telling the Gentile believers that to be “really saved” they had to keep the Jewish law and practice Jewish customs – especially that the men had to be circumcised. While we see it today as something that happens to babies at the hospital, for the Jews it was essential to their identity because God had commanded the newly renamed Abraham to be circumcised (Genesis 17).