Your Resume Won’t Save You

Introduction

Main Idea: Stop trusting your spiritual resume and start trusting Jesus.

Most of us are building a resume right now.

If you want to go to college, you have to build a resume.

Jobs, you need a resume.

Scholarships, resume.

And it is all about putting the best things in there about yourself.

Your GPA

ACT score

leadership roles,

achievements,

accomplishments,

Because a resume poses the question: why should someone choose you?

And we can do the same things with God.

We can think being good and doing good things saves us.

but being good does not make you right with God.

And that exactly what this passage talks about today.

So let’s pray and jump right in.

Being “Good” Doesn’t Make You Right With God (vv. 1-3)

Philippians 3:1–3 CSB

In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you. Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

Okay, so before we dive into what this means, we need to take a step back!

Paul gets done talking about Timothy and Epaphroditus and gets into dog, evil workers, and circumcision.

It leaves us here with an eye brow up.

I also am not going to have your raise your hand if you do not know what circumcision means because I do not want you to feel embarrassed.

But it is important to the text,

It is in the Bible, so we have to grown up enough to talk about the things in the Bible.

In the Old Testament circumcision was a minor surgical procedure done on Jewish baby boys.

It was removing a small piece of skin from the male genitalia as a sign of physical belonging to God’s covenant.

But it is not anatomy that matters, it is there identity.

In the Old Testament this is what Jewish people did.

It was a mark that you were a Jew and you were God’s people.

but why in the world is Paul talking about this?

There was this group of teachers going around called the “Judaizers” everyone say Judaizers.

It was during this time and they were devout Jews who were willing to accept Jesus as Messiah, but they wanted to hold on to some of the Jewish cultures.

They said to be a Christian you had to be jewish first.

You had to abide by all 613 laws in the Old Testament

and in particular

One of the ones that they wanted to hold onto was that to be a part of God’s people you needed to be circumcised.

So they were going around telling adult Christians that if they were not circumcised, they were not saved.

That is the background that we need to know for this passage.

and really what that means is

When we add requirements to Jesus, it is no longer the Gospel.

The second you say to be saved you need “Jesus and… “ the gospel has already left the chat.

so this is why Paul starts off the passage this way.

He says rejoice in the Lord, and I have no trouble telling you the same thing.

And that same thing is the Gospel.

He is saying that there is so much joy that comes from what Jesus has done.

That like Joel talked about on Sunday, we do not have to climb the latter like other religions.

We get to sit in the finished work of Jesus.

Yet, these Judaizers were adding things to the Gospel.

This made Paul upset.

He calls them dogs, evil workers, and mutilaters of the flesh.

They were adding to the gospel and Paul is saying that is a dangerous and disgusting thing to do.

So he calls them dogs.

Dogs were not cute back in those days.

They were not mans best friend,

They would have said they were unclean, nasty, dangerous, often wondering where they do not belong.

And Paul said these false teachers are like feral dogs.

The funny thing is, that is what the Jews called Gentiles, they would make fun of them and call them dogs because they were unclean.

So Paul is playing the uno reverse card on them and giving them the name back.

Then he calls them evil.

But lastly he calls them mutilators of the flesh because of what they are trying to get people to do.

but Paul says we are the people of God.

Saved people are God’s people.

So Paul says in verse 3 we are the circumcision.

He is not talking about physically, he is talking about being a part of God’s people.

Remember we said that circumcision was the mark of God’s people in the Old Testament,

but he is saying that believers are God’s people.

Colossians 2:11–12 CSB

You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Paul says in Colossians that the physical sign that we now have for being a believer is Baptism.

Baptism is an outward action for an inward change.

but he says Christians should do these 3 things:

Serve God in the Spirit.

Boast in Jesus

and put no confidence in the flesh.

We cannot do enough to make it to heaven.

being good does not make you right with God.

it is only what God has done.

and we do not put any confidence in the flesh because…

Your Resume Doesn’t Impress Jesus (vv. 4-6)

Paul is getting ready to say, hey but if we are talking about the things of the flesh.

If we are talking about the “good works” or the requirements to be a Jew, I’m that guy.

So here Paul is going to list his resume.

Philippians 3:4–6 CSB

although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

Paul lists everything that a Jewish person would find impressive about him just to show that it does not matter.

He was circumcised on the 8th day.

The is what the law commanded in Gen. 17:12

so he went through this famous Jewish ritual that the Jews were holding over peoples heads who were getting this done later in life.

He was from the nation of Israel.

He has the proper bloodline.

He was from the tribe of Benjamin.

Being able to trace your heritage way back to the original 12 tribes was a big deal.

The tribe of Benjamin also controlled Jerusalem which is the Holy City, so it was also a big deal.

He was a Hebrew.

Although Greek was the language at the time, he still knew Hebrew.

So he spoke Aramaic, could read the Old Testament in the original language.

because they thought that was important.

It also showed he was a “purebred” having not ounce of Gentile blood in him.

Paul used to be a Pharisee which was a huge deal.

Paul had zeal for the law.

to the point before he was a Christian what he thought were the right rules on them.

Causing them to undergo persecution.

Then lastly he says he is blameless.

Based on all the Jewish and Pharisee rules, they would be able to find no fault on him.

Paul was the cream of the crop. Everyone would have been impressed by him.

but why show this resume?

Paul’s resume isn’t his story, but it exposes ours.

What is it for you?

I grew up in the Church

I was baptised here as a kid

I know all the worship songs

I don’t party

I don’t drink

I don’t sleep around

I’m not like the other kinds

Some of us probably have a spiritual resume that we have been building since we were in VBS.

We think if we compare ourselves to others and have a good resume we will be fine.

We think if we are successful, then God will be pleased with us.

Because we are not saved because you were balling your eyes out at church camp 8 years ago, you are saved because Christ died on your behalf.

Your resume won’t impress Jesus.

and

Your Best Effort Still Falls Short (vv. 7-8)

Philippians 3:7–8 CSB

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ

Now Paul gets to why he listed his resume.

Paul starts throwing out all these accounting terms.

He he is saying the words gain and loss, they would have been thinking in terms of money.

So Paul listed everything that he thought was of gain in the previous section.

All of his accomplishments, but he says that he considers them a loss.

Remember it is accounting terms, so he said all of my hard work is now debt.

Because as Christians we have to count it all as lost.

All of our accomplishments that we get, all of the things that the world gives you a trophy for, it is nothing compared to Jesus.

Being a Christian costs us everything. This is why Paul says it is a loss.

This is what Paul is trying to get across our faces.

Jesus doesn't care if you kill the dragon and get the girl.

Jesus doesn’t care you are a millionaire.

Jesus doesn’t care that you have climbed the compare latter and you’re high up in your company.

He doesn’t care if you get all A’s.

He doesn’t care about worldly gain!

Paul is saying

You can accomplish much, but a life apart from Jesus is a worthless life.

You can do the things I just listed for Christ and that will bring him praise.

But if we are doing these things to build are resume and become a good person, it all falls short.

But this is just Paul right, Jesus would never say this, right?

Matthew 16:26 CSB

For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

you can gain the world, but if you do not know Christ, you will lose your life.

because look what Paul says about his good works.

End of verse 8, and I consider them as dung.

They are crap

If you do not like the word crap, its here in the Bible.

Its slang for animal crap.

I do not know what slang words you guys use for animal, crap but I have a guess and the first word is bull.

but this is Our resume,

Paul says Jesus sees them as dog crap.

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;

Other translations say all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

And if you get into what these words mean, it means menstral rags.

You can not work your way to heaven.

When we take our resume up to heaven and Christ looks at it he sees it as garbage.

He says that’s bull crap right there.

When we do not trust Jesus and we think we can work our way to heaven it is like we are placing dog crap at the feet of His throne.

but this is very important, do not miss this.

I am talking about the things that he is saying is crap, are all pre-salvation.

Because after you are a follower of Jesus Christ, when you take steps of obedience to Jesus, he counts them as worship.

Some of the things do not honor him, or you do them out of selfish motive, those are still crap.

But the works you do for him bring honor to him.

so what do we do?

Guys, we need Jesus.

Without Jesus we are a pile of rubbish.

You can have the Bread of Life that will eternally satisfy or you can have a pile of dung.

because

Only Jesus Can Make You Righteous (vv. 9-11)

Philippians 3:9–11 CSB

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.

When it comes to our resume, we are trash, but when it comes to Jesus, we are made new.

Look at what Paul says we can have righteousness not from ourself, but from God.

Paul is talking about the Gospel.

The true gospel, not what other people say like having to follow all the Old Testament Laws and circumcision.

That Jesus came and died to take away our sins.

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

That all the sins that we have done.

All of the good works that we think make us better, but really don’t.

Jesus took those and said it does not matter, when God the Father looks at you he sees the perfection of Jesus.

We cannot climb the latter, we just have to come to Jesus.

The theological term is imputed righteousness.

I hear people say that God is the God of second chances,

and I would respond and say kind of,

If God gave you a second chance, you would just go and screw it up again.

So we need imputed righteousness.

The word imputed means credited or applied to your account.

So when you give your life to Christ,

You know you are a sinner,

You ask him into your heart,

and you make him King of your life.

Jesus’ perfect record is applied to you.

Its not earned, its given.

So you do not have to work your way to heaven because you cannot,

You rest in the fact that you did nothing and Jesus paid it all.

So when you sin again, the blood of Jesus still covers it!

That’s the gospel.

We are only saved by the blood of Jesus, but we should still want to know Him.

Jesus saves, but look what Paul says after this in verse 10

That his goal is to know Christ.

Like Paul, know Christ?

Paul was seeing these miracles happen.

Paul wrote most of the New Testament

Paul had God appear to him himself when he was converted.

Why does Paul say he want to know Christ?

He says this because he is talking about the sanctification process.

He said before Christ your works are garbage,

But after you give your life to Christ you grow in him and become more Holy.

It may require us suffering with Christ, but it is worth it.

Because it is all about Jesus.

Your homework this week is to google - man on the middle cross by Alistar Begg

It will be about the best 4 minutes of a sermon you have ever heard.

But basically what he says is he cannot wait to find the thief on the cross in heaven.

Jesus when he died was between two criminals and the one he told him that he would be with him in heaven.

Because he would have gotten up to heaven and been they would have been like what are you doing up here.

And the thief would have been like I don’t know.

And they would be like what do you mean you do not know.

He would not have know Christian doctrine.

He never attended Bible study.

Never did any of the Christian things.

His resume would have been nothing.

but when they ask him on what basis he is in heaven for,

He said the man on the middle cross said I could come.

Guys that is what Jesus does.

He took on our sins on the cross and tells us to come.

No matter what we do.

We do not have to clean ourselves up first, he takes us as we are.

He tells us to come because it is about him, and not about us.

Thats the gospel, and that is what he is inviting us into.

That is my prayer for you guys.

Don’t be religious and check all the boxes just to check the boxes.

Have a relationship with God, get to know him.

but surrender to him fully knowing that by ourselves we are all rubbish.

so when you stand before God, your resume won’t matter, only Christ will.

so, if you have not given your life to him, come and talk to us.

I say that because I love you all.

any thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, stones for heresy,

if not, I’ll pray us out