Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Welcome to Calvary Chapel La Mesa
We’re halfway through the book
No idea what’s next
Throughout the centuries efforts have been made to bring Christianity into alignment with other world religions
If only Christianity would get onboard with others and accept works based salvation then we could all get along
We’ve come to an abrupt turning point in Paul’s letter to the Philippians
On the surface the passage from 3:2-4:1 doesn’t seem to fit
Has given rise to the idea that some later scribe compiled two letters together into one
What we’re going to find though is that this passage fits perfectly within the overall argument that Paul has been seeking to make
Paul has presented several dichotomies that present different sides of an issue
the preachers preaching out of love vs. those preaching from envy and strife
performing acts from selfish ambition vs. counting others more significant than ourselves
grumbling or complaining vs. shining our light in the world
Now we come to tonight’s portion of Scripture
Read
Pray
Rejoice!
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This section of Scripture is often pointed to by people who say you cannot trust a pastor when they say “finally” and are seeming to wrap it up - because Paul goes on for another two full chapters.
This section of Scripture is often pointed to by people who say you cannot trust a pastor when they say “finally” and are seeming to wrap it up - because Paul goes on for another two full chapters.
This would probably be better translated furthermore or now then rather than finally.
Paul returns to the imperative - commanding the Philippians to rejoice but he adds to this command “in the Lord”
He not only tells us what to do but how we should do it
He also returns to theme that has undergirded much of his writings to the Philippians - joy
He exhorts them to rejoice in any circumstance
He rejoices in the preaching of Christ - whether by pretense or by truth
He tells the Philippians to rejoice in the suffering they will endure for the sake of Christ
Philippians 1:
So it is no problem for him to write this encouragement to them again
So it is no problem for him to write this encouragement to them again
Maybe you’re tired of hearing us say the same things over again - but we can never be reminded enough how important the Gospel is or how valuable Christ is
This characteristic of joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness is an emotional state that can ebb and flow
Joy is a characteristic of life - regardless of circumstances one can still have joy because of the confidence in the source of joy
Authentic joy comes from having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
~ Dr. Steve Lawson
There are several reasons why Paul chooses to address the Philippians in this way
Since Philippi straddled the Egnatian Way, the east-west turnpike through Macedonia, this church was always in danger of the Judaizers’ showing up with their subversive teaching
Beware!
Gordon D. Fee, Philippians, vol.
11, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 132.
The ever-present danger of false teachers always abounded and so Paul takes this opportunity to warn them
Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church even before his arrest:
Acts 20:
The entire epistle of Galatians was written as a polemic against these same false teachers
Beware!
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This verse seems very discordant to our ears
Up until this point Paul has been urging the Philippians (and by extension us) to unity
It seems Paul hasn’t gone to the modern school of ecumenism and tolerance which says that we should never call anyone out
The Judaizers were using Christ’s name - but they were insistent on adding to it the Jewish regulations outlined in the Torah
This is a perversion of the Gospel that Paul had already dealt with in the letter to the Galatians
Galatians 3:
Paul is following the model of Jesus in calling out false teachers
Here he takes a warning tone that tells the Philippians to watch out
This verse should not be taken to mean that the Judaizers that had plagued places like Galatia and Corinth had arrived in Philippi
The word used for “look out” is carries with it the sense of looking out for future danger and being prepared to respond appropriately.
Here in Philippians Paul takes the Judaizers’ greatest source of pride and interprets it as the surest sign that they have no share among God’s people
Dogs
Moisés Silva, Philippians, 2nd ed., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 148.
Dogs
This is shocking!
Dogs was the way that the Jews referred to the Gentile people
Psalm 22:
Jesus referred to the Syrophenician woman this way
Matthew 15:22-
here Paul turns it around and warns the Philippians to watch out for dogs
There is no greater insult for the Judaizers
Evil Workers
We have mischaracterized legalism in the American church
We will call anything legalism.
You have to wear a suit to church - that’s legalism we protest
You shouldn’t smoke - that’s legalism we protest
You can’t tell anyone they’re wrong - that’s legalism
This is true legalism - anything that robs the Gospel of it’s saving power by adding something else that must be done to be or remain saved.
Sola Fide and Sola Gratia were two of the key tenets fought for by the Reformers
By adding the practice of circumcision and requiring the observance of the Jewish Laws the Judaizers were in becoming workers of iniquity.
Yet there are many preachers who think they are teaching the correct Gospel and yet will tragically find out they were wrong
Matthew
2 Corinthians 11:13
Mutilation
Circumcision carried out to earn one’s salvation is useless - nothing more than an empty ritual
Ritualism is nothing more than a rut and the only difference between a rut and a grave is the length and the depth.
~ Pastor Chuck Smith
Paul is saying that it is even really just a mutilation
Paul is saying that it is even really just a mutilation
In he goes even further than he does here
Worship!
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We are the circumcision
Conclusion
This sign was so highly valued by the Jews that they called themselves the circumcision.
Paul takest this phrase and applies it to the Gentiles emphasizing the internal nature of the circumcision of the heart that takes place in Christ
G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 220.
Paul takest this phrase and applies it to the Gentiles emphasizing the internal nature of the circumcision of the heart that takes place in Christ
Worship by the Spirit of God
Worship by the Spirit of God
No church will ever rise above it’s worship of God.
Many in America worship a small God
It is interesting that men will yell and scream and go crazy over a touchdown in football but put them in a church service and they wont open their mouths to sing and worship their Creator
Malachi 1
And if we will not do it the very creation will ring out with praise for its creator
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