Reasons for Confidence

…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.

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.

Last week we started a new section of this letter from Paul to the church at Philippi. The apostle turned his attention away from Timothy and Epaphroditus, who were both examples of putting the needs of others first. They exemplified the humility of Jesus that Paul had described at the beginning of Philippians chapter two.

Now, Paul is addressing the false teachers who were trying to get Gentiles who had converted to Christianity to follow different aspects of the law of Moses, namely, circumcision. This group was called the Judaizers because they were pushing the external acts of the Jewish law upon people, when those outward acts said nothing about the heart of the person.

We concluded with Paul saying that true circumcision is an internal, spiritual process of God working on our hearts and minds. He said that Christians are the ones who have experienced “true circumcision” because we know that our deeds and works can do nothing to bring us closer to God. Our confidence is not in ourselves but in Jesus Christ. We know that the work of Jesus on the cross, taking the penalty for the sins of all who trust in him, is the only work that can actually save us.

We put no confidence in our flesh. We put no confidence in our actions to save us from our sins.

Today, we will see the Apostle Paul list off all of the ways that he could put confidence in himself for salvation, if salvation depended upon human effort. He lists things from his ancestry to his zeal to be righteous according to the law.

However, in the end, he states that all of that effort and work means nothing when it comes to being found in Jesus Christ.

Big Idea: Your effort and works cannot save you.

Lets get started!

Philippians 3:4

…although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more…

Paul has just finished saying in verse 3 that Christians boast in Christ and his works for our salvation and put no confidence in our own flesh or works when it comes to being a part of God’s people. To demonstrate the emptiness of the false teachers’ message about circumcision for Gentile, Christian men, Paul represents himself as an example for believers to follow—much like he portrayed Christ, Timothy, and Epaphroditus in chapter 2.

If anyone claimed to have amazing credentials when it comes to obedience to the Jewish Law, it was Paul.

Philippians 3:5

…circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee…

Paul now lists many of the credentials that showed his obedience to the law. According to the Law (Leviticus 12:3), all males born in Jewish homes had to be circumcised on the eighth day. As we saw last week, circumcision went back to Genesis 17 and God’s covenant with Abraham.

Some of you may wonder why circumcision was supposed to happen on the eighth day. Was this just an arbitrary day? It turns out that God knew what he was doing when he commanded the Jews to circumcise their baby boys eight days after they were born, because God created our bodies.

According to Rabbi Avrohom Harris in Seattle, a medical professional who specializes in male circumcision in “The Physiology of Why Eight Days Matters”:

“One key factor contributing to the timing of circumcision is the infant's vitamin K levels. Vitamin K plays a crucial role in blood clotting, essential for preventing excessive bleeding during surgical procedures. Research indicates that infants experience a natural surge in vitamin K levels around the eighth day of life, reaching peak concentrations.

This surge enhances the body's ability to form blood clots, minimizing the risk of hemorrhage during the procedure. By waiting until the eighth day, healthcare providers can capitalize on this physiological phenomenon, ensuring safer outcomes for infants undergoing the procedure.

In addition to vitamin K dynamics, the eighth day of life marks a pivotal moment in the maturation of the infant's immune system. During the first week of life, newborns undergo a rapid transition as they adapt to the extrauterine environment.

By the eighth day, their immune systems are more robust, equipped with a greater array of defense mechanisms against pathogens. This enhanced immunity reduces the likelihood of post-circumcision infections, providing an added layer of protection for infants during the healing process.

As infants approach the eighth day of life, cortisol levels exhibit a notable surge. This stress hormone, often associated with fight-or-flight responses, paradoxically serves as a natural anti-inflammatory agent when present in controlled concentrations.

Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, also plays a pivotal role in the circumcision process. Around the eighth day of life, infants experience a surge in testosterone levels, influencing tissue elasticity and wound healing.”

Like I said, God knew what he was doing when he gave the law to Moses. And he knew what he was doing when he created our bodies.

Though Paul was born in the city of Tarsus, outside of the nation of Israel, both of his parents were Jewish. So he was still ethnically a member of the nation of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin was the only tribe that aligned with the tribe of Judah when the nation of Israel split into the two countries of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom), remaining faithful to the dynasty of David. King Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin.

The name “Hebrew” was the oldest moniker of the Jewish people given to Abraham by Moses. Describing himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews could refer to his “pure” bloodline, being fully Jewish and a descendant of the Southern Kingdom of Israel. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered, the Assyrians took many of the Israelite people captive with them back to their home country. They also left some of their own people to settle the land of the Northern Kingdom. The Israelites left in the land intermarried with the Assyrian transplants and the various peoples nearby. These people became known as the Samaritans.

There was always a tension between the Samaritans and the Israelites because when the northern Israelites who were left in the land after the Assyrian takeover married the Assyrian transplants and the people of the lands around them, they took in some of the worship practices of those peoples. We call this “syncretism.”

Syncretism - The blending of religious practices or philosophies together into a single belief system.

Because of this, the Samaritan form of Judaism was different than the Hebrew from of Judaism.

We see this problem throughout the Old Testament. God told the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt to destroy all of the peoples in the Promised Land of Canaan so that the Israelites would not be led astray by the gods of the pagan peoples in the land. The Israelites did not obey. And so, throughout the stories of Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles, we constantly see, not only the people, but kings in Israel and Judah, starting with Solomon himself, marrying women from foreign lands and being pulled away from God, and putting monuments to false gods everywhere, including in the temple. This is why God sent Assyria and Babylon to conquer Israel and Judah and take their people into exile.

Syncretism is something that we see in the church today. Though there are so many examples that I could give of unbiblical practices that have found their way into the church, I will just give one.

How many of you have heard someone say this:

“You can declare your own future. You can speak things into existence.” - Joel Osteen

"Your words have power. Speak what you want to see happen in your life." - TD Jakes

"If you want to change your life, change your words." - Joyce Meyer

The practice of “positive affirmations” is a very sneaky idea that can quickly lead a person down a path of self-importance, false hope, and a lack of authenticity. While saying phrases like, “I am healthy in Jesus' name,” or “I will be rich in Jesus' name,” may sound helpful, they are not Biblical. It is a practice found in New Age teachings and the Eastern mysticism of Buddhism and Hinduism.

The practice of “positive affirmations” as the world teaches it can shift the focus away from God’s sovereignty and the understanding that you may be going through a trial right now because God is pointing you to trust in Him. Instead, it focuses on human ability, suggesting that we have the power to manipulate outcomes through our words. This undermines God's ultimate authority. This practice infers that our words are stronger than the all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing God of the universe. And if that is the case, why do we need Jesus? Why do we need a savior?

What is even worse, promoting positive affirmations can create an environment where authenticity in the church is discouraged. If someone asks you how you are doing and you say, “I am living in victory! I am a child of the King who cannot be defeated!” Yet, you deal with pain and discomfort from chronic illness that your doctors have not been able to explain the origins of. Your bills are piling up, and you are not sure your job will pay enough to cover them. Your marriage is on the rocks and possibly heading toward divorce. I’m sorry, but you are not living in victory.

I said a couple of weeks ago that the church should be like a hospital. When we go to the doctor, we have to explain everything that we are experiencing in order to get a proper diagnosis. If you go to the doctor with a stomach ache and they ask you what is wrong, but you say, “Nothing is wrong. I am healthy.” That doctor will either look at you and see that you are lying, or they will ask why you are even there in the first place!

We should not feel pressured to present a facade of constant positivity instead of sharing our real struggles. We all have struggles. We all have problems that we are facing. That is the truth of a world corrupted by sin. Just because your struggles or sins look different than mine, does not mean there is no place for you here. Our struggles, sins, questions, and doubts show us our desperate need for God. The church is where people in constant, desperate need of Jesus gather together so that we can point each other to him, reminding each other of the goodness of our God!

If you feel inadequate here at church, welcome to the club. All of us are inadequate. That is why we are here. When we come to church, sing songs of praise to God, and listen to his Word being taught through the truth of Scripture, we are declaring our inadequacies and dependence on the more than adequate, perfect God who loves those who delight in him. We all need the grace of God from week to week, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, second to second.

Instead of using positive affirmations like, “I am healthy (in Jesus’ name),” or, “I will be rich (in Jesus’ name),” those who have submitted their lives to Christ can say things like this, “I am a son/daughter of the King of the universe. He is here with me in my trial. He will never leave me or forsake me. God works all things for the good of those who love him. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me.” No matter what you may be going through, those are some of the greatest affirmations a Christian can ever tell themself.

Charles Spurgeon is credited with the quote:

I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me upon the Rock of Ages.

Spurgeon saw the trials of this life, his battles with depression, his battles with gout, and other health problems not as something to be avoided, but as a reminder to seek the Lord and ask for strength from the Almighty God of the universe, whose strength never wanes.

Next Step: I will see my trials as opportunities to trust God.

Pharisees in Paul’s day had reached the top of the religious experience, the highest ideal a Jew could ever hope to attain. If anyone was thought to be going to heaven, it was a Pharisee! Paul is saying that he held to orthodox doctrine and tried his best to fulfill his religious duties faithfully.

Though we often equate the word “Pharisee” with “hypocrite” today, that was not the case in Paul’s time. Most people saw the Pharisees as holy men because of their outward acts of righteousness. As we saw last week, Jesus was the one who started the trend of calling Pharisees “hypocrites.” He was brutally honest with the Pharisees and spoke to the outward acts of righteousness they performed, and I use that word “perform” purposefully, because what they did was all a performance. Though the everyday people may not have recognized it as that, Jesus saw through it all to their hearts.

Paul stating that in regards to the law he was a Pharisee, simply means that in his former life he made sure to check off the boxes on his “Law of Moses To-Do List.”

Philippians 3:6

…regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

Paul states that when it came to his zeal for the Law, he went so far as to persecute the followers of Jesus. Those who want to follow God earnestly care about right doctrine and also weeding out error. The best teachers will not only show you what is right, but they will also show you what is wrong and label it as such. That is why I am willing to call out unbiblical practices like positive affirmations. I want to earnestly seek God and I want you all to do the same, in holiness and truth.

In Matthew 27:62-64, Jesus is called a deceiver or pretender.

Matthew 27:62-64

The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Before his conversion, Paul would have been in agreement with the assessment of these Pharisees in Matthew. He wanted to make sure that the followers of Jesus were stamped out so that no one else could be deceived.

Paul helped with the stoning of Stephen, watching over the coats of those who threw the stones and giving approval to Stephen’s death. Paul was on his way to Damascus to arrest more Christians when the risen Jesus appeared to him on the road and blinded him with his glorious presence. He was dead set on making sure what he thought was the truth was upheld.

Paul also states that in regard to following the outward aspects of the Law, he was a success. But as we see in the Sermon on the Mount, sin is not just outward actions. It is also our thoughts and motivations behind our actions.

If a Jew looked at Paul before his conversion, Paul would have been seen as a righteous person. But as we saw last week in Philippians 3:3, Christians do not put confidence in their own flesh or their own works. Paul had more reason to put confidence in himself than anyone, which is what this list is about. However, he no longer saw any benefit in any of these things.

Philippians 3:7

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.

Paul is telling the Philippians that all of the things that were supposed to be signs of God’s favor in his life, signs of Paul’s own personal holiness and righteousness, are meaningless because of Jesus.

The law in the Old Testament was not meant to be a checklist for people to do to ensure their holiness. Remember, last week we read in Genesis 15 that Abraham was counted as righteous in God’s sight because….why? Because he believed what God told him. Faith in God is what provides us with holiness.

The Old Testament law was not a checklist of things to do. That is how the people reacted to the law and treated it. How many times, when talking to friends about being a Christian and going to church, have you heard, “You mean you can’t do this, this, this, or this anymore? You have to do what?” Those who have not had their hearts and minds renewed by the Holy Spirit see the Bible as a list of “dos and don’ts.”

A few weeks ago, our Sermon Reflection devotional was taking the week to read through Psalm 119. The writer of this Psalm mentions over and over the delight he has in God’s law. Obeying the law does not make you holy, nor does it mean that you love God. But those who love God and put their faith in him want to obey his law joyfully.

The quote from Voddie Baucham last week really summed it up well: “The gospel does not require obedience. It produces obedience.”

But in order for obedience to be produced in us, we must submit our hearts and minds to Christ.

Submission to Christ is where we go to die - to ourselves.

If you want your life to be about your wants, your desires, and your dreams, then following Jesus is going to be really difficult. When Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow him, that means we put down our selfishness, our worry, our anxiety, our arrogance; everything about us must be laid down.

When you submit your life to Christ, you are no longer the center of your universe. You are humbling yourself before the King of kings. If you are submitting to him, you are telling Jesus, “Everything I do, I want it to point to the goodness of who you are. I want my life to show others your love and grace. I have lived my life for myself, and I was miserable! There was no hope. There was no joy. I submit my life to you because there is nothing else in this world that can ever make me feel whole. Nothing I do will ever be enough. I need your grace in my life. I need your love to cover me. I need your peace to calm my restless heart. I have nothing without you!”

If you have never put your life in Christ’s capable hands, today is the day to do so. Nothing in this world can bring more joy, more fulfillment, or more peace than submitting your life to Christ. It starts with understanding that you are a sinner and worthy of the punishment of God’s wrath against sin. Then we repent of that sin, asking God to forgive us for defying his law and truth. Finally, we submit ourselves to his authority, throwing all of the things of this world to the ground, and walking in freedom from the tyranny of sin.

Next Step: I will submit my life to Christ.

If you are making that declaration today. I would love to talk with you, pray with you, and encourage you in serving Christ for the rest of your life!

Let us Pray!

Communion

1 Corinthians 11

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said,[f] “This is my body, which is[g] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

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