Confidence Rightly Placed

Are you drowning? Holding onto what you think will save you?

I read a story about a man who broke into a wealthy merchant’s home to steal his treasures. He stuffed gold and jewels into his coat pockets until they bulged. But as he made his escape, the guards spotted him, and in a panic he ran to the docks and dove into the sea to swim away.

At first, he thought he could make it—but the weight of the gold began to pull him under. The very riches he thought would save his life were now dragging him to his death.

Seeing him struggle, the merchant ran to the edge of the dock and threw out a rope, shouting, “Let go of the gold and grab hold!” But the thief wouldn’t. He clung tighter to his treasure, convinced he could keep it and save himself. Moments later, the weight pulled him beneath the waves.

God’s Word calls us to let go of what can’t save us—and cling to the one who can.

Philippians 3:1–11 ESV

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Pray.

Let go of worldly wisdom (1-3)

Philippians 3:1 ESV

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Paul gives example of godly teacher—-repeats God’s word to you—because it’s “safe for you”.

We need the Word of God for our health—Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””

We need to marinate in the word—not treat it like something to collect and forget about.

It is air that we desperately need.

transition: moves quickly from a positive example to a warning

Philippians 3:2 ESV

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

Look out is repeated 3x—an emphatic warning. 3x means 3x attention.

Illustration: Nehemiah, “Look out, hug attack!”

This is not like that—look at what he calls those he’s warning the Philippians about: dogs, evildoers, mutilators of the flesh.

Transition: This is a very serious warning. Why? What’s the warning?’

Philippians 3:3 ESV

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Paul is warning about these false teachers who are encouraging the Philippians to put their confidence for salvation in the flesh.

They were teaching Jesus+Circumcision (obedience to the law)=salvation.

Worldly wisdom puts confidence in the flesh and calls us to do the same.

Very dangerous—only Jesus can save you. There is no confidence in the flesh.

Real warning—because we are tempted to listen to worldly wisdom which puts confidence in the flesh.

Real warning—because like Paul in Romans 7, we are battling our flesh.

Flesh likes comfort—following Jesus is often uncomfortable. (give examples) Mistake to think this isn’t a temptation for us.

Real warning—because false teaching is all around us

TV, radio, internet, phone, apps, podcasts, newspaper, worldly co-workers, family members, friends—a million different voices all calling us to see the wisdom of the world and pattern our life after it.

The application is not necessarily exclusion, but discernment. “What is this trying to teach me?”—Doesn’t line up with scripture, with godly wisdom, don’t listen to it.

And false teachers—pretend pastors feeding the sheep poison. Just because it’s engaging—entertaining—doesn’t mean it sounds good.

Illustration: Anti-freeze in a glass bottle and call it lemonade—smell good, taste sweet—but will kill you.

Acts 17:11 “Beareans more noble because they received the word with all eagerness AND examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Application: Is worldly wisdom governing parts of your life? (finances, marriage, relationships)

Where do you go to receive guidance on your life? If it’s not God’s Word or someone else pointing to God’s Word then the world is guiding and directing you.

Let me encourage you to let it go: Let go of worldly wisdom—follow God’s wisdom.

I promise you—while it may seem hard—your life will not get worse when you obey God, seek his wisdom, and conform your life to Him.

The world will lie like the snake in the garden. God’s trying to keep something from you—God is giving you freedom.

Transition: God’s Word this morning calls us to let go of worldly worship and next God’s Word calls us to…

Let go of counterfeit righteousness (4-6)

Counterfeit is something looks real—feels real—but has no value—

Righteousness is a legal term: It means to be just in the eyes of the law.

So counterfeit righteousness are things that we are tempted to trust in for our right standing before God. (Like Jesus+circumcision was for the Philippians)

And Paul uses his own life as an example of what counterfeit righteousness looks like:

Philippians 3:3–4 ESV

and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

Paul warns: 3 areas of counterfeit righteousness:

Righteousness rooted in our Religion (5)

Philippians 3:5 ESV

circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

Paul says I was confident in my Jewish identity—in the covenant, of Israel—of Benjamin (loyal tribe to Judah when kingdom split)— “If being Hebrew was it and it was, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews!”

He was a Pharisee—these were the teachers of the law of God to the people of Israel.

His identity gave him a sense of status—a sense of worth—respect, the best seat in the synagogue.

In 1st century Jewish life, Paul had it all but

Paul’s identity was the culture of his religion; not the Christ He was meant to worship.

And the very same thing can happens in churches today—there’s tares among the wheat—ppl who are great men/women of religion but are far from Christ.

Illustration: John “Rabbi” Duncan—Scottish Presbyterian professor in Edinburgh early 1800’s—ultimate example of last week “full head and warm heart”—loved the Jewish people, wanted salvation for them. Intensely committed to knowledge AND piety. His quote:

“I'm first a Christian, next a catholic, then a Calvinist, fourth a Paedobaptist, and fifth a Presbyterian.”

Rabbi Duncan’s priorities were right—his righteousness was rooted in Christ not his religious identity.

Illustration: Like a cat sneaks on your lap for a nap—this misplaced confidence in religious identity can sneak into our lives. How do we recognize it? Here’s some warning signs:

You measure your spiritual health by comparison, not communion—You’re more aware of others’ failings than your own dependence on grace.

You prize being “sound” more than being sanctified—You defend theology more passionately than you delight in Christ.

Your sense of belonging depends on being part of the right group—You rest in denominational, theological, or cultural identity for assurance.

You obey to prove yourself, not to please your Savior—You subtly believe God loves you more when you’re “doing well.”

You talk much about your church, tribe, or tradition—but little about Jesus Himself—The tone of your faith is “we” more than “He.”

Grace becomes theoretical instead of experiential—You affirm salvation by grace but live as if it depends on your record.

What does your list look like? What order is it in? Honestly?

What do we do when our confidence looks like this list?

We repent—for the first time OR again.

Transition: We’ve been discussing a temptation of misplaced righteousness that focuses on the internal…now Paul shifts to external life and warns us from…

Righteousness rooted in our works (6)

Philippians 3:6 ESV

as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Remember, Paul is saying, “I had more reason for confidence in the flesh than anyone.” And then he points to his works: zeal, persecutor, legalistic.

The nature of this counterfeit righteousness is the same—we are tempted to trust our works as proof of our acceptability to God.

We’re tempted to trust our works because it feels good and we are prideful. We want to earn it and be owed salvation. We overvalue the worth of our work and undervalue the holiness of God.

But your works will always let you down—Isaiah 64:6 “ all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

“That seems harsh pastor—why is God so harsh—doesn’t he see that I’m trying?!”

He does Dear One, He sees you fighting against the waves—he sees you struggling in your strength to reach Him on the shore—and He knows that you’ll never reach Him—your good works aren’t strong enough against the current of your sin—and so He swims out to get you—Jesus swims out to get you, expends His energy and dies in your place—that you might reach the Father on the shore.

Your good Father calls you to abandon your works and trust fully in Jesus not because He is harsh but because He loves you!

Paul says, “As to keeping the law—I was blameless.” And he was kidding himself—He’s telling the Philippians of his misplaced confidence in the flesh. He couldn’t possibly: anger is murder

When we trust that our works make us righteous we are blinded to our great need for the One who has done all the work on our behalf.

God’s Word this morning is calling you to let go of all the things that threaten to drag you under—let go of Godly wisdom—let go of counterfeit righteousness based on religion and works and instead…

Cling to the worth of Jesus.

Paul tell us why…

Philippians 3:7 ESV

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Paul doesn’t say there was no gain in his life because of his confidence in the flesh. There was gain—the question is: Is the gain worth more than Christ?

What’s Paul’s conclusion? Let’s keep reading.

Philippians 3:8–9 ESV

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

When you turn to Jesus and see His beauty and worth: You realize everything else you used to worship or are tempted to worship is loss.

And not just loss but garbage—the word rubbish (skubalon) conveys a sense of disgusting, dirty garbage.

In the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, the character Andy Dufresne is wrongly incarcerated for years, he finally gets his freedom by crawling hundreds of yards through a sewer pipe.

Paul is saying something similar: to gain Christ, he had to see that everything else he once prized — his heritage, his status, his works — was just sewage compared to the righteousness found in Jesus.

Paul says, “For Jesus, I have lost all those things I once thought were worth something—I see now they are trash—and I gladly drop them so I can hold onto Christ.”

I did the math. $500 dollars worth of pennies is 10 bank bags of pennies that weigh 27.6lbs each. So that’s 276lbs of pennies. Imagine you were holding onto $500 of pennies and I offered you $10,000 in $100 dollar bills. What would you do? You’d drop those heavy bags of pennies and take the 10 grand—it’s lighter and weighs much much less.

Everything that the world tells us to value is like that compared to Christ.

Knowing Christ is worth more that everything you’ll lose to follow Him. (I found this to be true after I got saved.)

He’s worth more than comfort and possessions—control and self-sufficiency—achievement and reputation—relationships and people.

These are all good gifts but they are terrible saviors.

The poorest person in the world with Christ is rich. And the richest person in the world without Christ is poor.

Jesus is worth more than all of Paul’s confidence in the flesh. Paul wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and so He put all his faith in Christ.

And so should you and I.

Jesus is worth more than every other thing we possess—He’s the pearl of great price—he’s the treasure in the field. (Matthew 13:44-46)

And He calls you to come and receive Him freely.

This is good news for weary sinners—this is good news for tired people who have been trying to earn their righteousness before God.

Let go of worldly wisdom, let go of counterfeit righteousness, cling to Jesus, and finally…

Cling to your eternal future.

Philippians 3:10–11 ESV

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

The end of our passage reveals two things:

1. following Christ in this life is hard: “share in sufferings, become like him in death, by any means possible.”

2. And the promise of our resurrection helps us through it.

For all those who abandon confidence in the flesh and put their confidence in Jesus they will live forever.

Our world won’t last in this state forever—glorious eternity coming. Let me tell you a little about it.

1. Heaven is resurrection life—bodily and real.

“He will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” — Philippians 3:21 “The dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” — 1 Corinthians 15:52–53

Heaven isn’t a disembodied float in the clouds. It’s resurrected life in a renewed creation—bodies like Christ’s, free from sin, sickness, and death.

2. Heaven means perfect fellowship with Christ.

“We will always be with the Lord.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12

That’s the heart of Paul’s desire: to know Him fully. Heaven isn’t just where we go; it’s who we’re with. The presence of Jesus is what makes eternity paradise.

3. Heaven is the end of all suffering and sin.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.” — Revelation 21:4 “Nothing unclean will ever enter it.” — Revelation 21:27

Every trace of brokenness will be undone.

4. Heaven is the renewal of all things.

“Behold, I am making all things new.” — Revelation 21:5 “We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” — 2 Peter 3:13

The hope of resurrection isn’t escape from this world—it’s the restoration of it. The curse reversed, the garden restored, the King reigning. When following Jesus feels costly — the power of His resurrection in us now, and the promise of resurrection life forever helps us to keep going.

Close:

Are you drowning—still clinging to what you think will save you?

Paul says that’s what happens when we trust in anything but Christ. Your identity, your works, your wisdom— they can’t keep you afloat. They can only drag you down.

But there’s a Savior who dove into the water after you. He took on the weight of your sin, went under the waves of judgment, and rose again to pull you safely to shore.

So let go of what can’t save you—and cling to the One who can. He is worth more than every comfort you’ll lose, every struggle you’ll face, and every treasure you’ll drop. And when you do, you’ll find what Paul found: the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord.