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Verse number one, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
To write the same things to you, to me it is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Beware of dogs.
I appreciate those warnings.
Dogs, that's helpful if you've ever been out canvassing in a neighborhood
and you come across a house that has a beware of dog sign.
I appreciate their warning that they give.
Paul here says, beware of dogs.
He's not talking about the dogs when you're out canvassing a neighborhood.
He's talking about a different kind of dog.
Beware of evil workers.
Beware of the concision.
For we are the true circumcision, which worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
Well, if there was ever a proof that Paul was indeed a Christian preacher,
it's found as he uses the word finally here when he's only halfway through his sermon to the Philippian church.
In fact, it reminds me of the boy that was in church and the preacher was typically very long
and he had gotten to a point in his sermon where he had used this word finally.
And so the little boy looks at his father and he whispers and he says,
what does the preacher mean when he says finally?
To which his father quickly replies, absolutely nothing, son.
Absolutely nothing.
It doesn't mean anything.
And of course, those of us like me that struggle with brevity can perhaps claim apostolic authority
when we come to this part in our study.
And we say, well, Paul said finally, had two chapters left in the letter.
I can say finally and carry on for another 20 or 25 minutes.
And at least Paul did it.
Surely we can set that precedent as well.
Well, the truth is that finally here is not used as a signal of conclusion,
but it's actually a means of making a transition.
From what I've read about this actually specific word is that it was the typical usage of it in Greek
as a form of transition and not actually as a form of conclusion.
A proper equivalent for us in our English language would be moreover or maybe so then
so that when we come to this part of Philippians 3, we could really read it as,
moreover, brethren, rejoice in the Lord, or so then, brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
Now, the reason I make the note of its use here is because it helps us to understand this division of Paul's letter.
In the 22 verses between the first verse of chapter 3 and the first verse of chapter 4,
the apostle provides a general discussion for us on what it means to be a true Christian.
Now, chapter 3 is not dependent on any other portions of the letter of Philippians.
That's why we highlight this word finally as a transitioning point.
Nothing about what we'll study in the next few weeks in chapter 3,
there will be no point that we have to refer back to chapters 1 and chapter 2
in order to understand what Paul is saying here.
There's also no point of chapter 3 that we have to look ahead to the end of the letter
to better understand where he's going.
This section of the letter really stands on its own.
Now, if you're an unbeliever or you haven't come to faith in Christ yet,
or maybe you're new to Christianity in the Bible,
the first thing I want you to know is that I'm glad you're here.
You are welcome here.
For as long as you want to be here, we want you here.
But you'll probably find that these verses, as I read through them a moment ago,
are somewhat enigmatic.
And the reason for that is because the most basic tenets of the gospel,
the good news of Jesus Christ, are assumed in this text, not explicitly stated.
Now, this is made clear for us in verse number 1,
when Paul uses the word or the phrase, my brethren.
Would you look at that with me again?
He says, finally, that's his transition into this section.
And then he refers to his audience as my brethren.
Now, we know this to be a common identification among Christians
when we refer to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ,
as being true children of God.
Now, we know that as we study the Bible,
this was also a common reference that Jews would have for one another,
for those that belong nationally to the nation of Israel.
There's no reason for us to think that that was Paul's intention here
because he's writing to a group of believers in Philippi,
which was a pagan city.
It was a Roman colony.
And while there were Jewish converts present in the congregation here,
it was mostly made up of Gentiles, Gentiles that had come to know Christ.
So when Paul references my brethren,
he's referring to people that already know the basic tenets of the gospel.
It would be unnecessary for him to talk about salvation
in the same way to these believers that he would talking of salvation
if his audience was primarily made up of unbelievers.
So there may be a bit of confusion as an unbeliever as you come to these verses,
but the gospel is certainly present.
And if you'll stick with us as we go through this study
over the next four or five Sundays,
I think you'll come to understand it clearly in this chapter.
Now, the occasion for Paul's writing here
is on the basis of his anticipation
that the church would soon face an onslaught of false teaching.
Running alongside the teaching of salvation in the chapter
is this secondary thread of a false gospel
and of a false Christian.
And it's for this reason that these verses are bookended
with the phrase, in the Lord.
In verse number one of chapter three,
Paul says, rejoice in the Lord.
Now, he's commanded many times in this book already
that these Philippian believers take joy in something or rejoice.
This is the only time that he uses it in this phrase
where he says, rejoice in the Lord.
And then when you get to the first verse of chapter four,
when he brings conclusion, look at it there.
He says, now therefore, brethren, stand fast in the Lord.
Stand firm in the Lord.
So at the very beginning, he says,
rejoice not in your own goodness
as the false teachers would do,
but rejoice rather in the power of Christ in your life
to provide the righteousness necessary
through his work in order to be saved.
And then at the conclusion of all of this,
he says, now remember, stand fast in the Lord.
Rejoice in him,
but then stand fast in this truth of the true gospel.
It was a faithful reminder
that the believer's confidence is found solely
in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
plus or minus nothing else.
And you'll see that become a reality
as we continue to study.
Now, while this passage can be enigmatic for some people,
if you are a seasoned believer,
you may find it to be somewhat redundant and unnecessary.
So Paul, anticipating that response
on the part of the Philippians,
tells us in verse one
that it is not grievous for him
to write the same things to them,
but it is rather a safeguard for them.
It's Paul's way of saying,
rehearsing the basics of the faith,
practicing the fundamentals of the faith,
is necessary and profitable.
Though you've heard the gospel preached
a million times in your life,
it is profitable and helpful
to hear it preached again.
And Paul says,
so for me to write these things to you again,
I know I've preached it to you a hundred times,
and I know I've written it to you
maybe on other occasions,
and I know I've sent Timothy,
and I've sent Epaphroditus with the same message,
but it's not a problem for me to say it again,
because for you, it's a safeguard.
There's a tremendous safety
in coming back to the fundamentals of the gospel
time and time again,
because the gospel is the foundation
of everything in the Christian life.
When we begin to lose sight of the basics,
we will inevitably find ourselves
in danger of falling away from the faith
and actually following a lie.
And so Paul says,
I'm gonna write the same things to you again,
and it's not a problem for me,
and it is not anything but a safeguard for you.
Now, anyone that has spent much time
playing organized sports
understands the concept
of rehearsing the fundamentals.
It's not only those that are just learning the game
that are in need of mastering the basics of the sport,
but even the most seasoned athletes
must continue in the fundamentals
if they are to succeed.
Now, if athletics is not your favorite illustration to use,
perhaps you'll remember and recall the days
of learning the elementary principles
of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Maybe all of those hours spent reciting
multiplication tables and diagramming sentences
are instrumental in one's ability to function
in the more complex systems of life as an adult.
In fact, even as adults,
we find ourselves often referencing back
to some of those elementary things of education
that we learned in kindergarten and first grade
and second grade and third grade
in order for us to succeed in various ways now.
It's important.
So that's a warning for those of you in elementary school.
Pay attention to your teacher.
It will pay off for you in the long run.
You say, what's really the best way to spot a counterfeit?
Paul's dealing with counterfeits here in this chapter.
He's dealing with a false Christian.
And he says, the best way to identify a false Christian
is to be overwhelmingly familiar with the truth.
If you only have a surface knowledge of the gospel,
it won't be much for you to be deceived by a false gospel.
But the more you come back to the fundamentals of the faith,
the more you come back to the basics of the gospel,
the more familiar you are with the foundation
of the Christian life,
the more easy it will be for you to point out deception
and to see it when it's coming.
And so Paul felt that it was necessary
to call the church back to this again.
Now he opens by directly confronting
the threatening false gospel in verse two.
And then in verse three,
he states what are the clear marks of a true Christian.
We'll only get to the first one today.
We'll come back and we'll finish it in verse three next Sunday.
But let's look at least at verse number two,
where we see a warning against false teaching,
a warning against false teaching.
Look with me again at verse two.
Paul says, beware of dogs,
beware of evil workers,
beware of the concision.
To tell us what a true Christian is.
Paul starts by telling us what a true Christian is not.
And he does this by exposing a group of people
that took on the label of Christianity,
but were actually teaching a false gospel.
And his command for the church was to beware.
It means to watch out for or to look out.
It was a warning for the church to take initiative
in watching closely for those that would deceive them
with a false gospel.
And it's not unlike Peter's command to us
in first Peter five, eight,
a verse we're mostly familiar with.
Remember what Peter said?
He said, be sober,
sober, which means serious minded, grave,
take serious the command that I'm about to give you.
And he says, be sober, be vigilant or watchful.
So continuously watching,
taking serious the threat that's against you.
And then Peter says, here's the threat.
Our enemy, Satan, walks about as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
Now the problem with false teaching,
the reason it's so dangerous
is because it always has the appearance
of being something that's good and helpful.
I remember a few years ago around Halloween,
parents being encouraged to carefully inspect the candy
and the items that their children would get
in their bags at trick or treating.
But I'm sure it's a matter of second nature now,
but I remember when there was a time
you wouldn't think much about that
and parents were being warned to do this.
The reason they were being warned
is because there were people
that were taking apples and oranges,
they were dropping it in these kids' bags,
but before they did it,
they were inserting razor blades.
And so that a kid would pull out an apple
out of his bag
and he would see this nice healthy thing,
this good thing,
and at least compared to everything
that was around it in the bag.
And he takes a bite out of it
only to have his mouth cut to pieces.
And some people thought this was fun.
And on the outside, it looked like it was good.
It looked like it was right.
And it looked like it was healthy.
But upon indulging in it,
it come to find out it was actually deadly.
It was destructive.
And that's exactly what false teaching is.
It looks good.
It may even sound reasonable on the outside.
But when you indulge,
you find out that it's actually very dangerous
and destructive and even spiritually deadly.
Sometimes false teaching even takes on
the very label of being Christian.
But it's actually just a cheap invitation.
Julie and I,
one of our favorite places to go is New York City.
We enjoy it.
We have friends there.
And for years and years and years,
we've gone to New York and enjoyed our time there.
Julie's favorite place in all of New York City
is not Times Square.
And it's not the Statue of Liberty.
And it's not the Freedom Tower.
And it's not all of that.
Her favorite place is Chinatown.
That's what she loves.
Not only,
anybody been to Chinatown in New York City?
Not only is the food fantastic,
but there's all of these little shops
where you can go in
and you can negotiate with the shop owners
and you can try to get a really good deal
on an imitation purse.
So if you really want a coach purse,
but you don't want to drop 300 bucks on it,
you can get one for 30 bucks
that looks just like the real one.
And you can kind of negotiate with them.
And so Julie loves it.
She loves doing that.
So she loves going to Chinatown
and try to find these deals.
And I remember one time when we were in college,
I had, in being naive,
I had gone to this shop
and they had had a bottle of cologne that I liked.
Aqua De Joe by Giorgio Armani
was my scent of the day.
And they had this bottle
and it was like super cheap.
It may have cost like 60 or 70 bucks at Belk's,
but in Chinatown, it was like $15.
And I'm like, this is crazy.
So I bought the cologne.
It had the exact packaging
of what I would get at Macy's.
Same exact, same box, same label, same barcodes.
It was wrapped the same way.
You pull the bottle out.
It was the exact same bottle
that looked like all the other bottles
that would have been on my shelf
in my college dorm room.
But when I went to spray it,
it was actually window cleaner.
And I was embarrassed by that.
I can't believe I fell for it, right?
It's one thing to get a cheap imitation purse
when you know it's a cheap imitation.
It's another thing to buy a bottle of cologne
and you think it's the real thing
because it looks like the real thing.
And it even says that it's the real thing.
But when you get into it,
it's actually just a cheap imitation.
And that's exactly what false teaching is.
There are many, many, many false gospels
that say they are Christian.
But when you dig in,
it's actually just a cheap imitation.
Some of them will even go so far
as to not just say that they're Christian,
but they are a conservative,
evangelical, gospel-preaching Christian.
And they will take on this label,
but really when you dig in,
it's a false gospel.
It's a cheap imitation.
And it's deadly and it's dangerous.
And Paul says of these false teachers,
of these false gospels, beware.
The Bible consistently warns us about false teaching.
I don't think there's a single letter
in the New Testament
that doesn't address it in some way.
Paul warns the elders in Ephesus in Acts chapter 20
to be watchful and to even expect these dangerous liars.
Here's what he said to them upon his departure.
He said, I know this, that after I depart,
grievous wolves are gonna enter in among you,
not sparing the flock.
And then he says, even from among yourselves,
even from among you as elders of the church of Ephesus,
men will rise speaking perverse things
to draw away disciples after them.
And then he says, therefore, watch and remember
that by the space of three years,
I cease not to warn you day and night.
And I did it passionately with tears.
It was a strong warning.
And it wasn't a warning of potential.
It was a warning of expectation.
This will happen, church.
This will happen to you, church.
This is not a matter of potential
in Lakeside Bible Church.
This is a matter of expectation
in Lakeside Bible Church.
So beware and be on the lookout.
Watch out for the deception.
Jesus compared false teachers to ravaging wolves as well.
In Matthew chapter seven and verse 15, he says,
beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing.
But inwardly, they are ravening wolves.
And then using a parable in Matthew chapter 13,
Jesus thought that every time God does a true work,
Satan then produces a counterfeit to deceive us.
You say, well, I hear all these warnings
and everybody's saying that you never know
and it could be a deceptive labeling
like the cologne in Chinatown
and it could be something that looks good
like the apple or the orange in the trick-or-treat bag.
So how in the world am I supposed to know
what's true and what's real
and what's not true and what's not real?
And the answer to that question
is you don't take my word for it.
And you don't take your friend's word for it
no matter how reasonable it may sound,
no matter how attractive
the purporting of their gospel seems.
You don't take their word for it.
You wanna know what's true and what's false?
Go to the Bible yourself.
Study the Bible.
The Bible is absolute truth.
You don't need me to tell you what truth is.
You can go to it yourself
and read it chapter by chapter and verse by verse
and what you'll find is everything
that you need to know about truth and error is there.
So when you come to church on Sunday,
I hope that you'll trust me.
But don't just take my word for it.
Get in the word yourself.
The Bible tells us that as we study the Bible
and as we study the word,
we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit
as believers that does this work of enlightenment.
It helps us to understand.
And as we study the Bible,
we only come to understand it better and better.
And so Paul says,
I'm rehearsing all of this to you
because in order for you to see the truth
and acknowledge the error,
you're gonna have to be familiar with the truth.
But don't take my word for it.
Read the scripture yourself.
There are many forms of false teaching
that Paul dealt with.
But here he's speaking about a specific group of deceivers
known as Judaizers.
These people plagued the early church
in fact, most of what Paul deals with
in his letter to the Galatian churches
had to do with these Judaizers
and their false gospel.
No sooner than Paul would leave town,
the Judaizers would begin to infiltrate the church.
They claimed to be Christians
and they even believed that Jesus was truly God.
They believed that he did die and rose again.
But they insisted that true salvation
only came to the believers
that would submit themselves
to the ceremonial rituals of the Old Testament.
You can see where their gospel would be attractive.
They'd come into town and they'd say,
yes, Jesus is God.
We believe him.
Yes, he died for sins.
We believe that.
Yes, he rose from the dead.
We believe that.
But he is not enough.
You must also obey the law.
You must also follow circumcision
and the dietary restrictions
and all the other ceremonial riches
of the Old Testament.
They had a particular fixation
on the Jewish practice of circumcision,
which is why Paul uses the language here that he uses.
It's also how we come to find out
exactly who he's talking about here in this chapter.
It's not that they taught that Jesus was bad.
The problem is that they taught
that Jesus was not enough.
And any gospel that claims to know Jesus
and believe Jesus,
but doesn't quite believe that Jesus on his own is enough
is a false gospel.
Those are not true Christians.
They are false Christians.
They are planted there by Satan
to be a deception to you
and a deception to the church
and to say perverse things,
as Paul said,
to lead true disciples away from the faith.
To them, Jesus was only a piece of the puzzle
that was made complete
by their system of religious works and morality.
And it's of this group
that Paul emphatically warns the Philippian church
to beware.
The truth is there's only two real forms
of religion that exist.
There's the religion of God's grace
and the religion of man's works.
Beware of any religion
that will tell you that faith
in Jesus Christ alone is not enough.
Church, beware of any religion
or any so-called Christian
that will tell you Jesus is not enough.
In order to truly be saved,
you must also be baptized.
That's a lie.
That's a false gospel.
Beware of any so-called Christian
that will come through
and say that Jesus is great,
we worship Jesus,
but you must also say a series of rote prayers
or pray through the rosary
or pray to a certain amount of saints
or light a certain amount of candles
or give a certain amount of money.
That's not a true gospel.
It's a cheap imitation
and it will only lead you to destruction.
It will not lead you to the glorious future
that awaits true believers.
Beware of the deceivers
that will insist that true salvation
only comes to those
who have some kind of supernatural experience
that reveals itself
in a charismatic way
through speaking in tongues
or being slain in the spirit.
That is not true.
It's a false gospel.
That's not in the scriptures.
Salvation is by grace
through faith in Christ alone.
Nothing else.
So beware the people
that will try to say,
yeah, I believe Jesus.
Yeah, I trust Jesus.
Yeah, I believe he rose from the dead.
Yeah, I'm a Christian,
but I just think that there is a little more to it.
Beware.
That's not a true Christian.
That's a false Christian.
Don't buy the lie.
Evangelize that person.
Don't capitulate to their error.
Beware.
Of anyone that will tell you
that salvation only comes
after you clean your life up too.
And that if you dress a certain way,
and that if you listen only to the best music,
and that if you only do all of these things,
beware, beware.
Salvation is not of works.
The danger of that kind of false teaching
is that it mingles its lies
with a portion of the truth.
And if it's not a whole truth,
it's not truth at all.
The truth of the gospel
is that salvation is found in Christ alone.
You cannot have Christ plus something else.
True salvation is not about Christ plus baptism
or Christ plus anything else.
True salvation is in Christ.
And to add anything else to it
is to pervert that gospel,
and it is not true saving faith.
The Bible is clear.
True saving faith is only in Christ.
And when you add something else to it,
you purport a false gospel
that says Christ is not enough.
And therefore, what you have
is an intellectual knowledge of Christ,
but you have not experienced
the true experiential knowledge of Christ
that only comes by faith in him alone.
It's for this reason that
the great reformers of the Protestant Reformation
gave us the five solas of the Reformation.
Do you know what they are?
I've got them on the screen for you.
I want you to see them.
This would be so helpful for you
to memorize and rehearse to yourself,
to display in your office,
or something along with other passages of Scripture.
Here's what their five solas were.
The first one was sola gratia,
which is grace alone.
The second one was sola fide,
which is faith alone.
The third was solus Christus,
which is Christ alone.
The fourth was sola scriptura,
which is Scripture alone.
And the last one was sola deo gloria,
to the glory of God alone.
In other words,
we are saved by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Christ alone,
according to the Scriptures alone,
to the glory of God alone.
That's the truth.
And in a period of time
when there was tremendous error
that had pervaded the Christian realm
in the 1600s,
the great reformers
who ultimately lost their lives,
many of them,
in order to recover the truth among the church,
purported this,
and it's helpful for us.
Grace alone,
faith alone,
Christ alone,
the Bible alone,
to the glory of God alone.
Well, what did Paul actually have to say
about these Judaizers?
Verse two,
he gives three specific warnings,
each with a very direct
and confrontational dynamic.
There are portions of Scripture
where Paul seems to be
a very meek individual,
and there's no doubt that he was.
But Paul did not mince words
when it came to false teachers.
He didn't back down.
The reason is
because their lies
were leading people
to hell.
And any false gospel
that leads people to hell
is not worth
our tolerance
and cordiality.
It is worth
our bold stand
against it.
And we must preach against him.
And that's what Paul does here.
Three quick warnings
that he gives.
The first one is he says,
beware of dogs.
Beware of the dogs.
Now, this wasn't a reference
to a household pet.
By the way,
if you would like a household pet,
I'd love to give you one.
Dogs weren't domesticated pets
for the most part
in the time
of the Bible writings.
They were actually
vicious scavengers
that roamed in packs.
They carried disease.
And a bite from one
could actually result
in serious illness,
even death in those days
because they certainly
didn't have the medical treatment
that we have now.
They were dangerous.
And it was to these
dangerous predatory animals
that Paul likened
the false teachers
of the Judaizers.
They were just as dangerous
and vicious.
They were full
of spiritual disease.
And a bite from their theology
was damning.
And so he says,
beware of the dogs.
This was also
a favorite insult
of the Judaizers
toward the Gentiles.
Because dogs
were unclean animals,
the Jews regularly
referred to non-Jews
as unclean dogs.
Now, to be unclean
in the Old Testament
was significant.
It meant that
an individual
could not belong
to the covenant
community of Israel.
And it also meant
that in uncleanness,
an individual
could not participate
in the ceremonial practices
of worship.
If an individual
was out in the field
and he touched
the dead carcass
of an animal,
he would have to go
through a series
of ritual baths
before he could actually
go to the temple
for or tabernacle
for worship.
God took cleanness
seriously.
Not because cleanness
earned salvation,
but because it represented
his own holiness.
It was a sign
to God's people
that to truly be mine,
you desperately need
cleansing
because you are filthy
with sin.
And what they anticipated
in their faith
is that God
would ultimately
fulfill these ceremonial laws
in a person
that ultimately
would cleanse us
from sin.
That came in Jesus Christ.
But the Jews
took the sign
to be the very means
of salvation.
So they took
cleanness
as a very
serious thing.
The Jews
had come
to give the Gentiles
the insult
of dog
permanently.
So you can imagine
the Judaizers' reaction
when Paul actually
refers to them
as the dogs.
He says,
beware the dogs.
Beware of the unclean
ones,
church.
The second warning
he gives
is that we are
to beware
of evil workers.
Beware of evil workers.
The Judaizers
believed themselves
to be workers
of righteousness.
They took pride
in their efforts
to uphold
the letter of the law.
In fact,
their system
of good works
is what they believed
would actually
provide them
acceptance
with God.
Paul called them
evil workers
instead.
Now imagine
how they would have
accepted that
upon hearing
this letter read.
Imagine your friends
that you know
that you work with
that actually believe
they're going to make
it to heaven
because of all
of the religious
things that they do
and all of the good
things that they do
and all the money
that they give away
and all of the
time volunteering
that they give
and they've been
through the baptism
and they've been
through the Eucharist
and they've been
through the prayers
and they've been
through all the things
that they're supposed
to do.
They can check off
their list.
Imagine when they
consider their works
of righteousness
to find them
acceptance with God.
their good works
and you say
you're actually
an evil worker.
I can imagine
they take too kindly
to that statement.
That's exactly
what Paul's saying.
They think
they're good workers.
They're actually
evil workers.
Any good
that takes away
from the person
and work
of Jesus Christ
is in actuality
evil.
That's exactly
what their teaching
did.
It said
that Christ
was insufficient
for salvation
and it ultimately
rendered his death
and resurrection
as purposeless
and that
is evil.
Though their works
were good
they were actually
evil workers.
Now John MacArthur
helps us here
with our understanding
or at least he
helped me
in describing it
this way.
He talks about
bad bad
and bad good.
Now we all know
what bad bad is
that's when
wicked people
do wicked things
for wicked reasons.
They do bad things
and they do it
for bad reasons.
It's bad bad.
But did you know
that there's a bad good?
Bad good
is when
unbelievers
do good things
for bad reasons.
True goodness
only comes
from the inner working
of God's power
in the heart
of a person.
You cannot
build up
true goodness
on your own.
That comes
through God's work
in you
after salvation.
That's the
sanctifying process
of God's grace.
But good
that is done
out of pride
or for some
kind of recognition
or especially
to try
and earn
salvation
is not
actually good.
It's bad.
bad.
And that's
exactly what
works-based
religion
is.
It's bad
good.
As long
as your
good works
are trying
to earn
salvation,
they are
leading you
to deny
the sufficiency
of Christ
and are
therefore
evil.
Jesus
described these
people in
Matthew chapter
seven.
In fact,
would you turn
there with me?
I'd like for you
to see it.
You're probably
familiar with
the statement,
but I want you
to see it
in Matthew
chapter seven.
Jesus is
dealing with
false teachers.
His dealing
with false
teachers was
the religious
establishment
of the day,
the Pharisees,
the Sadducees,
the scribes,
the teachers
of the law.
And here's
what he says
in verses
21 to
23.
Jesus
says,
not everyone
that says
unto me,
Lord,
shall enter
into the
kingdom of
heaven or
shall be
saved,
but he
that doeth
the will
of my
father,
which is
in heaven.
Well,
what's the
will of
the father,
which is
in heaven?
Jesus
clearly said
the will
of the
father is
that you
would accept
the son
and in
accepting
the son,
you accept
the father
and the
father accepts
you.
There's
nothing else
to that.
That's
the will
of the
father.
But here's
what he said
happens in
verse 22.
Many will
say to me
in that
day,
that is
the day
of judgment
when we
all stand
before Christ.
Many will
say,
Lord,
have we
not
prophesied
in thy
name?
And in
thy name
have cast
out devils?
And in
thy name
done many
wonderful
works?
And then
I will
profess
unto them,
I never
knew
you.
Depart
from me,
ye that
work
what?
Iniquity,
evil,
sin,
lawlessness.
Jesus
said that
in the
day of
judgment,
many,
he says,
many people
will stand
before me
and they
will acknowledge
me as
Lord
in title.
And they
will say,
Lord,
do you
not remember
that we
prophesied,
we preached
in your
name,
Lord.
We
cast out
devils
in your
name,
Lord.
We
did many
wonderful
works in
your name,
Lord.
And he
will turn
to them
and he
will say,
depart from
me,
I never
knew you,
you are
an evil
worker.
You thought
all of that
was good
works,
but it was
actually
evil because
your
prophesying
and your
demonstrations
of power
and your
demonstrations
of good
works were
based on
your own
righteousness
as you
tried to
achieve
salvation
on your
own.
And he
says,
you're an
evil worker.
They will
even claim
that their
works were
done in
Jesus'
name.
They will
say they
are Christian.
They will
say they
believe Jesus,
but in
actuality,
their work
is evil.
Finally,
he says,
beware of
the concision.
Beware of
the concision.
That's a
real finally,
not a
transitional
finally.
This term
would have
really upset
the Judaizers.
It's a
form of
the word
that actually
means
mutilation
or the
word of
a form
of
circumcision
that actually
means
mutilation.
In fact,
it's not
uncommon to
find these
verses
translated
in English
as
mutilators
of the
flesh
or the
false
circumcision.
Again,
the Judaizers
had a
particular
fixation
on
circumcision.
And the
reason is
because it
was the
physical sign
in the
Old Testament
of someone
belonging to
God's
covenant
people,
God's
chosen
people.
Now,
God never
said that
circumcision
was necessary
for salvation.
In fact,
Paul argues
in the book
of Romans
against the
Jews when
he says
that God
said that
Abraham
was justified
because of
his faith
before he
was ever
physically
circumcised.
It was
meant to
be a
sign.
It was
a sign
of the
cutting
away
of sin
out of
the heart
of an
individual
and it
looked
forward
again
to
Christ.
It was
never
meant
to be
an
action
that
brought
about
salvation.
Rather,
it was
a sign
that pointed
to those
that had
actually
experienced
the
circumcision
of the
heart
as the
Bible
calls it.
The
transformation
of the
heart
symbolized
in a
outward
sign.
The
Jews
had long
left
the
symbolic
significance
of the
sign
and taught
that it
was necessary
for salvation.
So the
Judaizers
were telling
the Gentiles
that had
come to
faith
in Christ
that
Jesus
is great,
he's not
enough
though,
in order
to truly
be saved
and be
a part
of God's
chosen
covenant
people,
you must
also go
through the
physical
rite
of
circumcision.
And so
when Paul
references
this in
verse 2,
he means
to say
that the
sign
is worthless
without the
transformation
of the
heart
that comes
by faith.
And so
he references
the circumcision
of the
Judaizers
as actually
mutilation
of the
flesh.
Mutilation.
He said
without the
actual working
of Christ,
that doesn't
actually mean
anything,
you're just
mutilating
your own
flesh.
The
Judaizers
believed
that their
adherence
to the
letter of
the law
made them
righteous
before God,
but each
of Paul's
descriptions
put them
in the
unclean
category
of the
Old
Testament.
And it
meant that
it was
actually
impossible
for them
to be
a part
of God's
chosen
covenant
people,
despite
their
relationship
as
natural
Israelites.
That's
not what
mattered.
they were
actually
unclean.
The
dog
was an
Old
Testament
term
for being
unclean.
Evil
workers
were
considered
unclean
because
of their
sinfulness.
And men
that had
specifically
mutilated
their bodies
like the
prophets
of Baal
or the
eunuchs
of the
day
in pagan
worship
were
considered
unclean.
And the
Old
Testament
law
said
anyone
that
would
treat
their
body
in that
way
was
excluded
from
God's
covenant
people.
So when
Paul
says
this,
what he
means is
that these
people were
actually
unclean
no matter
what they
said
or taught
about
Jesus.
The
Judaizers
thought that
their religion
and morality
made them
God's
people,
but in
reality it
made them
unclean
and excluded
from God's
covenant.
They
looked like
Christians.
They
talked a
lot like
Christians.
In a lot
of ways
they probably
behaved
better
than the
pagan
Christians
of
Philippi,
especially
the pagan
Christians
of
Corinth.
But they
were in
fact
unclean.
And those
people that
they hated
so much,
the Bible
tells us,
were
clean.
Of all
the troubles
that the
church in
Corinth
had,
they were
believers.
They were
saved
people.
And Paul
acknowledges
that a
number of
times in
his letters.
And he
rejoices in
their salvation.
But they
were as
messed up
sinfully as
you will
ever see
in a
church.
And yet
the pious
Judaizers
that kept
the law
to a
tea were
actually in
reality
unsaved
people.
Which tells
us that you
can be the
most religious
person on
the planet
and follow
a moral
code to
near
perfection.
But if
that's what
you're
counting on
for salvation,
you are
in reality
unclean.
The truth
is that
Jesus is
the perfect
fulfillment
of those
Old Testament
laws and
symbols.
Paul wasn't
being disrespectful
to the
Mosaic
law.
He was
preaching the
truth that
Jesus Christ
has provided
for us
what the
law could
not provide.
It's
impossible for
any of us
to follow the
law perfectly
and bring
glory to
God.
Jesus
fulfilled that
law with
perfection
and then
suffered the
wrath of the
Father on the
cross in
our place.
He did
what we
could not
do in
fulfilling
the law
and then
he suffered
our death
so that
his righteousness
through the
law could
be imputed
by our
faith.
And we
know that
his sacrifice
was sufficient
because three
days later
he rose
from the
dead.
The
wonderful
truth of
the gospel
is that
you don't
have to
fulfill
all the
rules and
follow all
the codes.
Christ did
that for
you.
That's
the good
news.
You don't
have to
work yourself
to heaven.
It's not
even possible
for you to
do it
anyways.
Jesus did
it for
you and
not only
did he
fulfill that
law perfectly
for you but
then he
fulfilled the
prophecy
perfectly for
you.
Then he
took your
place.
He said
I know
you can't
do this.
You can't
satisfy God's
wrath but I
can and so
I'm going to
take your
place.
We call it
propitiation
in the
Bible.
He took
our place.
He endured
God's wrath
so that we
could be
his.
That's the
gospel.
Anything that
adds to that
or takes away
from it is
not true.
It is a
lie.
Beware.
Christ has
done this
for you.
You say
well where does
the morality
and the rules
and the righteousness
and the holiness
come into play?
It doesn't come
into play for
your salvation.
It comes
into play as a
result of your
salvation.
You don't
work your way
to heaven.
You work
because you're
on your way
to heaven.
And that's
what this
chapter is all
about.
He's exposing
the false
gospel that
existed and
that exists
still today.
And he's not
saying that you
don't need to
live a holy
life.
He's not
saying like
the liberals
would have
said in that
day and that
would say in
this day that
God's grace is
enough for you
to have a license
to do whatever
you want.
That's not
what Paul is
saying.
He's saying
you can't be
good enough
for salvation.
Jesus did
that for you
and once you
know him
you'll do
whatever he
wants you to
do in order
to live for
him.
Not because
you owe
him but
because he
is fit for
you to live
a life that
is worthy of
the calling
to which he
has called
you.
Look with
me.
The middle
of chapter
three and
we'll be
done.
Paul says
in verse
12
I follow
after
if that
I may
apprehend
or if I
may achieve
that
for
which
I was
apprehended
of Christ
Jesus.
In other
words
I know
Christ and
Christ did
all of this
for me and
one of the
reasons that
he did all
of this for
me is so
that I
can know
him and
so that
he could
set me
aside as
holy and
he could
start to
fashion me
into Christ
likeness and
make me
righteous and
holy because
of my
salvation.
Now he
says my
goal and
my desire
is to
live the
way that
God saved
me to
live.
And it's
not because
my living
earns the
salvation.
It's just
the fact that
God has
given this
salvation
freely to
me and
I want to
live the
way that
he saved
me to
live.
What a
glorious
truth,
the gospel.
What a
burden-free
gospel that
God gives
us.
I was
encouraged this
week in a
moment of
prayer to
acknowledge that
Christ's
forgiveness is
so wonderfully
great and
extensive.
The
forgiveness
that we
receive from
Christ is
not just a
forgiveness for
the things that
we have done
in the past.
It's a
forgiveness for
the things that
we falter in
now.
As a
pastor,
someone that
has served in
church ministry
now for 13
total years,
days of
doubt that
I battle,
days of
severe doubt,
days that
make me
ashamed,
not only as
a pastor but
as a
Christian.
I was
overwhelmed
this week in
a moment of
prayer to
consider that
God's grace is
so much greater
than that doubt.
what a
freeing gospel
that is.
Not only that
he has forgiven
what I have
done but he's
forgiven what
I'm going to
do.
Sometimes we
get this idea
even after
salvation that
God is just
waiting, he's on
the edge of our
seat waiting for
us to doubt him
in some way or
waiting for us to
slip up in some
way and then
bam, he's gonna
nail us with
something.
It's not God
at all.
That is not
grace.
God's grace is
he has saved
you.
He has
imputed the
righteousness of
Christ in your
life and yes you
will struggle and
yes the battle in
spiritual warfare is
fierce but even in
that battle and even
in those moments of
weakness and even in
those moments of
doubt as we'll sing in
just a moment, he
will hold you
fast.
How wonderfully
glorious that is.
Can I tell you what
won't hold you fast?
Your baptism.
What won't hold you
fast is your choice
of translation.
What won't hold you
fast is the way that
you dress and the
moral code that you
follow.
None of those things
are gonna hold you
fast.
What will hold you
fast is Christ.
Christ will hold you
fast.
Let's pray together.
Thank you for
listening to this
sermon made available
by Lakeside Bible
Church.
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