Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
(Philippians 3:1-3 NIV)
Have you noticed that the general attitude in our society is turning more negative toward Christianity? It seems to me that it is. It also seems that one of the reasons for this increasingly hostile environment for Christianity is the type of coverage it gets in the media. More often than not, the media coverage focuses on some person or ministry that is either extreme or corrupt. Rarely is there a story that shows the positive impact of a Christian or a Christian ministry. Some may argue that this is not media bias–– that only negative things generally make the news. There is a lot of truth to that. Our news media increasingly focuses on the sensational, the immoral, and the unethical. And only occasionally do we get a human-interest story of something good that is happening in the world. But even then it usually focuses on the triumph of the human spirit. Rarely does it ever focus on the value of faith as a positive force in our society.
No doubt the devil is at work to encourage those who are not Christians to portray Christianity in a negative light. But there is another reason why Christianity is often portrayed in a negative light. There is a lot of stuff out there that passes for Christianity that is not Christianity at all. To put it bluntly, there is a lot of phony Christianity. There are those who are deceived and who are deceiving others. There are those trusting in rituals and church membership. There are those claiming to speak for God and using their "ministries" to line their pockets with the money of the gullible. There are some who claim that every weird and strange experience they have is God.
The latest thing I heard along these lines was of some Christians wearing diapers because Jesus said that you must be like a little child. This is stupid! It would be funny if it did not further the idea that Christians are stupid. But it is not funny. It is tragic evidence of how biblically illiterate people attending church have become. It is also evidence of how timid preachers and teachers have become in condemning what is counterfeit. We have become so afraid of being seen as negative ourselves that we have sacrificed the truth.
In Paul’s day, he had to confront those who would change the definition of Christianity. There were some who wanted to add to Christianity certain requirements. They said that the Jewish rite of circumcision was still necessary. They believed that Christians still needed to keep the Jewish ceremonial law. They were called Judaizers. In our text today, Paul warns against these people. He calls them dogs.
I seriously toyed with the idea of titling my message "who let the dogs out?" but decided against it. When we think of dogs, we generally think of friendly pets. In Paul’s day, however, dogs were not thought of in this way. They were more like ravenous wolves, traveling in packs, attacking the defenseless. To call someone a dog was bad. Come to think of it, there are not too many animal names that are good to call people. Perhaps if you say to your wife that she is your little dove you may be okay. But if you call her a dog, watch out! There are lots of animal names that you don’t want to use–– worm, slug, elephant, hippopotamus, snake, rat, weasel, and vulture are just a few.
Paul had harsh words to say for these people because they were perverting Christianity. They were trying to add something to faith in Christ. But Christ plus something equals false faith. They were trying to substitute the physical act of circumcision for the spiritual circumcision of the heart that God had always desired.
"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart." (Jeremiah 9:25-26 NIV)
Even in the Old Testament, God desired circumcision to be a reflection of an inward devotion to him. Paul noted this important point in his letter to the church in Rome.
A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29 NIV)
These Judaizers were seeking to substitute human effort and works for faith alone. But there is nothing we can add to Christ’s finished work. When we receive it, we become circumcised of heart. We become the true circumcision. We become true believers. And the world desperately needs to see what true Christianity really is, and is not. So I would like us to look at some of the marks of a true believer. True believers...
If you have truly committed your life to Christ, you ought to have a genuine desire to worship God. True faith ought to inspire spiritual worship. Jesus said, God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4.24 NIV).
What does it mean to worship him in spirit and in truth? It means that we worship him in intimate spiritual communion–– our spirits connecting with his Spirit, and it means that we worship him in the reality of the truth of who he is and who we are in relation to him. Spirit and truth–– both go together. We must be passionate for God and passionate for the truth.
It also means that our worship encompasses the whole person. Our worship should extend to every area of our life. In fact, the word in our text that is translated "worship" could also be translated as "service." But that is the Biblical notion of worship anyway. Worship, you see, is not merely something you do on Sunday mornings. What we do here is an expression of worship but it is not the totality of worship. It is wonderful and it is important. But it does not end when the service ends. The way you live your life is an act of worship. The way you do your job is an act of worship. The way you treat your spouse is an act of worship. We read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV): So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Colossians 3:17 (NIV) says: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. And again, in Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) we read: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Everything we do can be done as an act of worship.
So let’s offer to God, in our Sunday celebration, sacrifices of praise in the form of singing, clapping, shouting, lifting hands, and playing instruments of all kinds. But let’s also offer to God the sacrifices of our lives fully devoted to him every day.
So we see that one of the marks of true Christianity is that true believers worship by the Spirit of God. This brings us to a second mark of being a true believer. True believers...
True faith will reveal Jesus to you. And, when you see Jesus for who he is, he will become the one in whom you have confidence. You will not boast in your own accomplishments, but you will boast in the Lord.
Paul is actually developing a theme that is found in the book of Jeremiah. We have already read part of the passage, Jeremiah 9:25-26. Let’s look at verse 24 of that passage.
… but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:24 NIV)
Our boast, as God’s people, should not be in ourselves and in our accomplishments, but it should be in God. Our faith is in God. Our confidence is in God. Our desire should be to lift Jesus up. Our desire should be to exalt him.
After all, look at what he has done for us. He loved us while we were unlovable. He left the glory of heaven and came to this earth to die a horrible death for us. On the Cross, he paid the penalty for our sins. He reached out to us in love and saved us. And one day he is going to take us to heaven. In the meantime, he is giving us blessings every day. He has sent his Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. We have so much for which to be thankful.
True believers glory in Christ Jesus. When I meet people who call themselves Christians and they are not excited about Christ, I begin to wonder about them. I must admit that I have met some "Christians" like that. I have heard people who call themselves Christians argue that those who want to join the church should not be asked about or examined concerning their own personal commitment to Christ. Some have claimed that to do so is offensive. But for the life of me I can’t imagine why anyone would be offended to share a testimony of how they came to Christ, if indeed they did come to Christ. It seems to me that the only people who would be offended are those who have no testimony to give. I am more than happy to tell anyone that I was a sinner in need of the Savior. I will be glad to tell you how I cast myself on the mercy of Jesus. I’ll be glad to tell you that I prayed a sinner’s prayer and asked him to forgive me. And I will be glad to tell you that he forgave my sin.
If you’re offended when someone wants to know if you’re a Christian, you’re probably trusting in something other than Christ. We need to worry less about upsetting people here on earth. Think how upset they’ll be when they end up in hell!
True believers glory in Christ Jesus. They are excited about him. They want to tell others about him. They have confidence in him. They rejoice in him.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NIV)
True believers worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus. But there is one more thing Paul includes. True believers...
This is implied by the fact that we glory in Christ Jesus. But Paul wanted to emphasize this, so he said it directly. He wanted to underscore the fact that human self-effort is never to be trusted.
What is he talking about? He is talking about a common temptation that we all have. It is driven by our own pride. It is the temptation to try to accomplish something spiritual by our own power. It is the temptation to trust in outward religious acts.
We see this all the time in churches everywhere. Many people think that they can be saved this way. Some think that the rituals of the church can save them, so they go through confirmation, get baptized, participate in the Lord’s Table, and join the church. But none of these things has the power to deliver a person from sin. A person must make a personal commitment to Christ in order to come to know him.
Then, after people come to know Christ, many mistakenly think it all depends on them from then on. They roll up their sleeves and go to work trying to be better Christians. Unfortunately, what often happens is that they buy into a mentality that they now have to earn God’s continuing favor. Paul talked about that in his letter to the church at Galatia.
Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it. You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now are you trying to make it complete by your own power? That is foolish. (Galatians 3:2-3 NCV)
We were not saved by our good works, and we will not be brought to maturity by our own power. This does not mean that we do not need to be faithful and work hard in serving the Lord. But we must never fall for the lie that it is up to us. We can’t serve the Lord in our own strength. We must depend upon him. We must daily draw upon his strength by being with him in times of prayer and meditation upon his word. We must be first, and then do.
Unless we have no confidence in the flesh, we will always try to do it ourselves. We will always think the answer is to work harder and do more. But that is never the answer. The answer is always found in drawing near to God.
Some people came to Jesus and asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:28-29 NIV). God wants us to put our faith in Jesus alone. We always ask what we can do. God simply says to trust Jesus. Quit trusting yourself and trust him.
In that passage from Jeremiah that Paul has been using, it says, Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD (Jeremiah 9:23-24a NIV).
Our society is confused and ignorant about true Christianity because it has seen so little of it. There have always been those who claim to be followers of Christ but have their own agenda. When Paul saw the counterfeit, he always pointed it out. And then he pointed to the true.
What our society needs today is to see more of true Christianity lived out by true believers. It needs to see believers who believe something, who are focused on the Lord as true worshipers, who point to Christ as the hope of the world, and who put no confidence in what we can accomplish in our own strength.
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