Philippians 3:1-11 (2)

Intro

It is sometimes said by people that all religions are basically the same thing. While even the people who say that might admit that they are being a bit overly simplistic, the essential idea there is that all religions are just about telling people to live moral lives. They might even say that most religions subscribe to the same basic moral principles.

And while this is generally true, the passage that we look at this highlights for us the very core element of the Christian faith which seperates it from all other major world religions.

In the text we look at this morning we learn some very crucial tenets of the Christian faith.

First, we learn that trying to earn your own righteousness by moral living is a vain pursuit that will always leave you empty.

Second, we learn that a living faith in Christ brings true righteousness that will always leave you overflowing with life.

Before we dive into both of these points, though, we see Paul introduce us to these ideas in verses 1-3 of the text:

Philippians 3:1–3 “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—”

He begins by telling them to “rejoice in the Lord,” and then he begins to expand on what exactly he means by that.

He says, “to write the same things to you is not trouble to me and is safe for you,” which implies that this is a message that he has spoken to them already. It even implies that what he is about to say operates as something like a pillar or foundation of the faith that they share. He says that he doesn’t mind repeating himself in this area, and that it is safe for the people to hear it again, even though they’ve already heard it.

That is because we must constantly be reminded of the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, lest we be carried away by false teachers and deceivers who would rob us of the joy that we have in Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to frame this discussion like this: there are two groups. One group relies on their own moral performance for righteousness before God — they are the dogs, the evildoers, the mutilators of the flesh. Though their lives have the appearance of morality, they are inwardly evil and decietful, and they are only out for their own selfish gain. Then there is another group — those who do not put any confidence in their own abilities, but choose rather to glory in Christ Jesus and worship God by his Spirit.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into this framework; and as we do, we will discover just how beautiful our Lord Jesus truly is.

Trying to earn righteousness through morality is a vain pursuit that will always leave you empty

Philippians 3:2 “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”

Based on this description alone, outside of context, you might think Paul is referring to a nasty group of thugs that go around committing heinous crimes by night. But the people Paul refers to are religious people that have an appearance of holiness on the outside. They don’t commit their wicked acts in the dark where they can hide, but in the light of day, and even in the temple of God. They aren’t feared by the people, but they have gained the respect of many of them. They have convinced the people that they are morally rigorous and righteous; but they are liars and hypocrites.

These are those people who play religion outwardly, but inwardly only care for themselves. They feign holiness and righteousness, but their hearts are far from God. These are the people who would be at church, who would maybe even be volunteering at different places, but whose hearts are cold to God and to other people. They do not serve God because they love him, but because of what they believe they can gain from acts of righteousness. Their morality is only a show, a self-righteousness that’s hollow on the inside.

They do not rejoice in God their savior, but they rejoice in their own righteousness. They frame God’s commandments in their own way, and religion has merely become a path to higher standing in their social circles.

Paul knows them well because he used to be one of them. And in order to show how ridiculous this line of thinking is, he plays their game theoretically and brings it to its logical conclusion in verses 4-6.

Philippians 3:4–6 “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.”

If our righteousness were through the law, as Paul’s opponents suggest, then Paul says that he must have been winning the game. He would have more points than anyone, and he would be so much farther ahead than anyone else.

He was circumcised on the eighth day, according to the law. He is of the people of Israel, God’s chosen. More than that, he is of the tribe of Benjamin, which would give him a presitguous pedigree amongst these legalists. He was truly a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” that is to say that he is essentially a “highborn” amongst them.

He continues to add to that though. It isn’t just that he was born in the right circumstances. As to the law, he was a pharisee. That is to say that he was as thorough as they come in practicing the law, he made it his entire life.

And it was no mere empty theology for him. He lived his convictions out to an extreme degree. While all of these legalists might talk a lot, Paul was actually out there living out his conviction by persecuting the church in his previous life as a legalist.

And as regards righteousness under the law according to these legalists, he was blameless. If anyone had any reason to be assured of his standing before God, it was Paul.

If you’re familiar at all with the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, then you know it was written from the perspective of a man who chased after every conceivable pleasure that this life had to offer. Not only did he chase after them all, but he was abundantly successful in all of his pursuits. He got the most money, the most women, the most toys, and the grandest legacy of anyone in the whole world. And you know what he found on that mountaintop? Nothing. Emptiness. Vanity. His conclusion was that everything in this world is vanity.

What Paul does in this list is something similar to what the book of Ecclesiastes does, but instead of being about chasing pleasure, this time its about chasing righteousness through the law. Paul not only sought to work his way to righteousness, he climbed all the way to the peak of the law. He went higher than anyone else on his pursuit to find God through a system of moral living. And do you know what he found? Nothing. Emptiness. Vanity. He still came up woefully short. His conclusion was that all of his righteousness got him no closer to earning God’s favor than when he first began.

As he writes in his letter to the Galatians,

Galatians 3:10–11 “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law

This leads him to declare:

Philippians 3:7 “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul reached the peak of legalism, of self-righteousness through morality. He threw it all away. It left him utterly empty.

Apply:

Maybe this sounds like a depressing point to you. Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation — you’ve tried all your life to live as good as you can in hopes that, when its all said and done, your good outweighs your bad and God will accept you into his Kingdom.

Perhaps you’re still walking down that path. Perhaps you’re still slaving away, always fearful that you haven’t done enough, or pushing off the immense weight of your eternal destiny until you’re older and more settled in.

you’ve held your morality with white knuckles, gripping all of your good deeds closely to yourself, assuming that they will serve as the ticket that gains you entrance into heaven. Maybe letting go of that self-righteousness sounds terrifying to you. Maybe it sounds like a wasted life to you. Maybe it sounds like worse than all of that — maybe it sounds like giving up on hope itself.

I have to imagine there was a period where Paul felt exactly the same way. When he clung to his own righteousness with everything he had. When he refused to admit that his righteousness was only a cheap facade, and that it could never amount to the perfect standard of holiness that God had set before him.

When he could feel the creeping suspicion that the chasm between him and God was way too wide for him to bridge it with his own righteousness.

But then Paul had an encounter that changed his entire life. He had an encounter when he didn’t just reluctantly part with his own self-righteousness, but when he spewed it out of his mouth. He had an encounter that revealed something so beautiful, so powerful, so wonderful that his entire life of self-righteousness became like nothing to him.

That encounter, of course, was with the Lord of Glory himself, the risen savior Jesus Christ. He learned of true righteousness that day; not a phony righteousness through a religious facade, but the righteousness of God himself through faith in Jesus Christ. What Paul encountered that day changed everything for him, and Paul wants to introduce you to that same Lord here in this text.

A Living Faith in Christ Brings True Righteousness that overflows with life

Philippians 3:8–9 “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,

Paul went from top dog in the legalism community to willingly, joyfully renouncing all of his self-righteousness. Why would he do something like that? Why would he walk away when it seemed like he had the world wrapped around his finger?

To use his words, “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

In Christ he has found something so uniquely beautiful that everything he once held dear to himself as righteousness he now considers to be “rubbish,” or other translations might have “refuse.” The idea is that every ounce of self-righteousness he once claimed to have is garbage. He spent his life building a resume to hand to God one day for entrance into heaven, and he burns it. Its meaningless to him — less than meaningless! It has become a hindrance to him.

Paul rightly understood that the path of self-righteousness, earning God’s favor, is incompatible with the salvation that Jesus came and offered to us. Arguing against the same opponents in the book of Galatians, he says,

Galatians 5:3–5 “I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”

Paul rightly saw that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t hope for salvation in Jesus Christ and also insist that you’re own righteousness is sufficient to earn you heaven. It’s either one, or its the other. You either hold onto your own self-righteousness and reject the offer of Christ, or you repent of your sins and place your trust in Christ alone. Paul had already tried the first, and it left him empty. That leaves him with the second. As he says,

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—”

And here we drill into the core doctrine of salvation in Christianity in simple terms. God has revealed to us that righteousness does not come by outward morality, but through faith in Christ.

And herein lies the true beauty of knowing Jesus Christ, for this is why we call his message “good news.” Jesus did not come merely to teach us morality, to correct us, or even to motivate us. Jesus came to die for us.

This is the core message of Christianity: that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have made ourselves incapable of living up to God’s righteous standard. In response to that, rather than immediately judge us all in our sin, God sent his Son Jesus into the world to live a perfect life, to die an atoning and sacrificial death, and to resurrect again on the third day. And God has declared it: anyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Paul sums this up succinctly in his letter to the Romans as well,

Romans 3:21–26 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Do you see the beauty of our Lord? Its true that the gospel strips you of your own self-righteousness and calls you to repent, but it doesn’t leave you there. God calls you to something much better, to a righteousness that isn’t just pretend, but one that can actually live up to his own standards. That’s because through faith, you have all the righteousness of Jesus himself.

It was to deliver this righteousness to you that Jesus Christ came, lived, died, and rose again. It was to deliver this righteousness to you that the Holy Spirit came and breathed new life and faith into you.

God is calling you to himself, and he has made your path clear. Lay down your own righteousness, repent, cling to Jesus in faith, and then you will be truly righteous in his presence.

It is in light of this wonderful news that the prophecy of Isaiah comes to its fulfillment:

Isaiah 55:1–3 ““Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.”

Do you hear the invitation of God? Come empty handed, come without money, come and feast! Incline your ear to him and listen to his words: he has provided his own Son Jesus Christ to be your righteousness, your all in all. Everyone who has the Son of God has eternal life and has already entered an eternal rest in him. There is no more to earn, no more to show that God might accept you. For if you are in Christ, then you are accepted already, having obtained the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ and not by your own works.

Apply: Christian, I ask you, are you resting in Christ? I mean truly resting in him? I don’t mean to ask you whether or not you like him, whether or not you believe in his morals, or whether or not you accept the Christian religion. I mean to ask you: are you at rest in Jesus Christ?

To answer that question, you have only to look into your own heart. What is it you find there? Are you continuing to labor beneath the weight of your sin? Do you still hope to make it up to God one day for all that you’ve done? Is there something inside of you that simply feels like you need to earn it in order for it to be real?

Or do you trust that Jesus accomplished his mission and has secured your righteousness himself? Do you find peace in knowing that God accepts you without reservation on the basis of his own Son’s righteousness? Do you come and sit at the feet of Jesus, in awe of his beauty and at peace from his declaration over you?

Look To Christ’s perfect life — and there you find your own righteousness accomplished. Look to his atoning death on the cross — and there you see your sins paid for in full. There you will see that it is truly finished — our redemption has been accomplished.

As that old church father Augustine once said, “Lord, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

When you consider the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ, and the power of his perfect life and saving death, what is your own righteousness? Filthy rags. What do you have to lose? Will you not joyfully suffer the loss of all of it, so that you can gain Christ, who is far superior? And with him, gain that rest which comes through the confidence he supplies to you.

And it is only from this position of resting in Christ that we begin to see a truly transformational power in our lives come about. This is because, through faith in Christ, we are united to him — both in our initial justification, but also in our ongoing sanctification.

That is to say, Christ’s life and death become ours both in this life and in the life to come. That is why Paul says,

Philippians 3:10–11 “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.”

When we consider our righteousness in God’s presence, our old selves have died, and our new selves have put on Christ and been raised with him to eternal life.

When we consider our lived righteousness in this life, we find that by God’s grace, we are being transformed more and more into Christ’s image because we have been united to him by faith.

And so it isn’t that the Christian life is passive or unconcerned with moral living, but it is essential that we get our order straight.

There is no amount of works you could perform to earn God’s favor. It is only through faith in the risen Christ that we can be righteous in his sight. But as we trust in Christ and are made truly righteous, we are also transformed into his image.

As Paul says, we come to know him, and the power of his resurrection, becoming like him in his death, that we might also become like him in his resurrection from the dead.

Church, this is our blessed hope: not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Fix your eyes on the Savior who lived, died, and resurrected from the dead — it is only through faith in him that we can find our rest with God.

FCF: we tend towards a righteousness mentality, but this condemns us in sin

CFC: Jesus offers himself to us through faith, which is far greater than anything we could earn