What Is True Christianty?
WHAT IS ‘TRUE’ CHRISTIANITY? Philippians 3:1 - 9 (11) *
In this life we encounter many different situations in which we evaluate ourselves.
· When a young couple is dating, they tend to periodically evaluate their relationship. Does it show promise? Is it mutually enriching? Will this be the love of a lifetime?
· Businessmen evaluate themselves in their business life as they endeavour to determine how the business is doing. They try to analyse the economic climate. Will they be able to ride out any unexpected storm in the economy? Can they anticipate making a good profit?
· Again investors regularly evaluate their investment portfolio in the light prevailing stock market trends ~ considering whether they should change the distribution of their funds.
· Surely then, because of its eternal significance, it is even more important that we evaluate ourselves spiritually. Are we really in a right relationship with God?
Is true Christianity our experience ?
It is so easy for us to be fooled, and in that great final day, if we don’t really know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, tragically it will be far too late.
If we look closely at the portion of God’s Word before us, we find that Paul explains what is meant by true Christianity.
When we focus on the third verse of chapter 3, we can really begin to evaluate ourselves as far as our relationship with God is concerned – the Apostle says,
“For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh...”.
The immediate context of the passage provides us with the background to Paul’s statement.
In the early days of the Christian Church there was tremendous opposition to the gospel from many different quarters. As far as the apostle Paul and the background of this passage is concerned, opposition came from the Judaisers.
They were Jews who had come to know Christ, but still clung very strongly to their Jewish ways and traditions.
They would go to an early convert and say to him that it was wonderful that he had come to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, but that he also needed to become a Jew.
For that man to become a Jew, he had to be circumcised in the flesh.
Their insistence that circumcision was an indispensable condition of being justified in God’s sight, was absolutely abhorrent to the apostle Paul.
The reason why he would not tolerate it, was because he had come to understand the complete sufficiency of the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It was absolutely sufficient for salvation.
Nothing could be added to it, not even religious ceremonies.
Now some of our religious ordinances are from God and we continue to practice them. They add richness and meaning to life, but we cannot benefit from them when it comes to the matter of salvation.
Baptism, for instance, is a good and necessary Christian ordinance, but its value lies in its ability to demonstrate visibly to believers what actually happens when Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit cleanse them from sin.
As helpful as baptism is, it cannot participate in the work of salvation.
Jesus Christ alone is absolutely sufficient for each one of us.
We will notice that Paul uses very strong language for these Judaisers and refers to them as dogs and evil workers - those who intrude where they are not wanted ~ who prowl about looking for an opportunity to carry out their evil deeds.
Paul’s rhetoric and urgency in the original text is difficult to duplicate in English: it is something like,
“Watch out for those dogs! Watch out for those criminals! Watch out for those mutilators!”.
Paul uses a derogatory play upon words and calls them those who merely ‘mutilate the flesh’.
This is quite an astounding statement from a man who had been such a devout Jew - to look upon the sign of the Old Covenant as merely mutilating the flesh.
But such was his understanding of the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ!
We, too, need to be wary of those in the church who are perhaps sincere, but have incorrect theology and attempt to add legalistic requirements to God’s free gift of salvation.
Those who insist for example that everyone must speak in tongues or be baptised, otherwise they cannot be a true Christian.
Beware! Search the Scriptures and hold on to the truth of God’s Word!
We have then in verse three this tremendous text where the apostle Paul says,
“For we are the true circumcision, who worship God by the Spirit, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh...”.
Paul takes the text and applies it spiritually, speaking about the circumcision of the heart; of inward purification and consecration.
The Apostle can make this claim for the Old Testament recognises that the human heart rather than physical features are God’s real concern.
We see this in the books of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, where emphasis is placed on circumcision of the heart as that which God really desires.
And only the Holy Spirit can do this !
Nobody but God the Holy Spirit can circumcise our hearts; otherwise there is no way in which we can be saved.
· What is the result of this circumcision which takes place inwardly; this circumcision which opens our spiritual eyes?
· Who are the people who are really circumcised in the sight of God?
They are those “...who worship God by the spirit, who glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh...”.
VERSE THREE, which is a key verse, can be broken up into three parts and we will focus on these three areas, expanding on them within the context of the passage.
If we commence with the last part of verse three, we see that a true Christian man or woman is a person who places ‘no confidence in the flesh’.
The apostle Paul makes that point very strongly.
He states that if anybody on the face of the earth had reason to boast, surely it must have been him. Yet he turns his back on the things upon which he could place his confidence; upon four different aspects of ‘the flesh’:
· He speaks first of all about the pride of his ancestry or heritage:
He says in verse 5, he was “...circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews...”
Paul could boast as much as anyone about his Jewish heritage.
He was circumcised a Jew at the correct age, came from pure Jewish stock within the esteemed tribe of Benjamin, and was thoroughly steeped in the Hebrew language and tradition. In other words he was saying nobody could have been more of a Jew than he was.
Now some would argue that if a man was a Jew:
· surely he must be right in the sight of God?
· Surely if he had such a prestigious ancestry, that must put him in a right standing with this holy God of the Bible?
Heritage is a wonderful thing and we value our Parents and Grandparents, from whom we receive so much. We are proud of our ancestry.
However, no matter where we have come from, no matter how illustrious our heritage may be, Christian or otherwise, that in itself can never put us in a right standing with God.
Paul understood that and the apostle deliberately turned from his heritage because it could not bring him to God.
Only Christ could do that. So he discounted his heritage. He brushed it aside!
Every day the Christian comes into the presence of a holy God.
And when he comes into God’s presence,
· How does he enter ~ how does he pray?
· Does he come boasting about himself or his Christian heritage in any manner whatsoever?
No, the true Christian, like the apostle Paul, understands that he cannot boast about himself one little bit as he comes into the presence of this holy God.
· Secondly, Paul discounts the pride of orthodoxy ~ the pride of strict compliance with traditional, Jewish religious observances.
He says again in verse 5 “...concerning the law, a Pharisee...”.
In Acts 23:6 we have Paul boldly declaring to the Sanhedrin,
“I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee.”
Now nobody could have been more religious in the days of Jesus Christ than the Pharisees.
They were the “separated ones” ~ the conservative wing of Judaism who interpreted the Mosaic Law most strictly and who did everything in the most scrupulously correct manner. They followed religious practices every day of the week.
Paul was a devout Pharisee and yet he came to understand that one can be as religious as one likes and yet be totally lost.
Paul says that he’d nothing to boast about in this regard whatsoever - about what he’d done religiously. It didn’t put him in the right with God.
Many of us will recall some of the fabulous things that were said about Princess Diana after she was tragically killed, or, closer to home, of things said about Brenda Fassie after her sudden death.
And one hears on occasions after someone has died that they were so religious, as though somehow that did something for them in their relationship with God.
It may have done absolutely nothing for them.
They may have been just as lost as any heathen in the jungle.
· What about us?
· Do we see that religion in itself can do nothing to procure, or ensure salvation for us?
To be a true Christian, we need a personal relationship with God the Father through His unique Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
· Thirdly, there was the pride of activity:
In verse 6 Paul states “...concerning zeal, persecuting the church...”.
In Israel zeal for God was traditionally something to be proud of.
At one time Paul was a feared man as he went from place to place, zealously persecuting the young Christian church wherever he went.
He believed he was doing God a service, hoping that in this way he could prove his devotion, and get right with God.
People involved in Christian ministry can so easily become filled with pride, but they really have nothing to boast about in the presence of God.
People are not saved because they apparently excel in Christian service.
It really hasn’t got anything to do with their salvation!
Sometimes we, too, can get very busy in the service of God and one of the greatest ‘curses’ of the Christian ministry is ‘busy-ness’.
· Are we often busy, but not in the right place?;
· Busy, but not according to the will of God ~ just following our own desires of ‘the flesh’?
· The fourth aspect of ‘the flesh’ was the pride of morality:
Paul continues in verse 6 “...concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”
Paul could go through the commandments of God and tick them off one by one and feel that in a legal sense he had kept the commandments and therefore he was righteous in the sight of God.
However, the Holy Spirit opened his understanding on one occasion, and when Paul saw into his own heart, he was disturbed by the many times he had broken the tenth commandment, “ You shall not covet” (Rom.7:7).
So when the apostle came into the presence of God he never boasted about himself whatsoever. He always understood that he had no right to be there at all; that without God’s grace in Christ, he was totally lost.
· Do we have that understanding in our worship, in our relationship with God?;
· That in ourselves, in our ‘flesh’, in the person that we are, no matter how good we are, we merit nothing in the presence of God and we contribute nothing to salvation?
We saw in the last portion of verse 3 that a true Christian is a person who places ‘no confidence in the flesh’.
If we then revert to the second part of that verse, Paul puts it positively and he says, secondly, that Christians are those people,
“...who worship God in the Spirit...”, (or ‘by’ the Spirit).
· What does it mean to worship in the Spirit?
· God cannot be seen with our eyes, heard with our ears, or felt with our hands, so how do we worship Him ?
Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that God is not confined to a place; God is Spirit. He is not a spirit, He is Spirit, therefore those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
‘Truth’ is the bottom line! We can only find out what God is like from the pages of Scripture, otherwise we create another god in our imagination - we’ll be guilty of worshipping someone who doesn’t really exist no matter how emotionally hyped-up we might get, or whatever kind of spiritual ‘high’ we might have.
In God’s sight it doesn’t matter one iota.
It is understanding the revelation of God in His word - that is how we bow down and worship God. We’ve come to know Him because He’s revealed Himself and His truth to us in His inspired Word.
So a Christian is a worshiper of the living God of the Bible.
He doesn’t just worship on the Lord’s Day, he worships each and every day.
His heart is continuously responding to God so that he worships in every situation and in every circumstance. When he wakes up in the morning he’s conscious of God and his heart reaches out in worship, adoration, thanksgiving, and praise.
He is a worshiper of the living God; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is absolutely unique, and who is seated on high, clothed in glory, majesty, and in great power.
In his heart, the Christian falls at God’s feet every single day and worships Him.
That’s a true Christian man or woman!
This doesn’t merely happen in favourable circumstances, when folk are all together and singing joyful songs of praise.
It also happens when one is all alone, and even when the circumstances look very dark and gloomy and one doesn’t have any particular reason to be happy.
True Christians can never get away from worship.
Because they’ve come to know God, it is part of their lifestyle.
They worship in Spirit because this God of the Bible is Spirit.
We have learnt so far, firstly that a true Christian places no confidence in the flesh, and secondly, that he worships God in the Spirit.
Finally, we come right to the core of the matter when we consider the remaining part of verse 3, where the apostle Paul says,
“We are the real circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus...”.
(The NKJV translates it “...who rejoice in Christ Jesus...” or to put it more literally as does the New Revised Standard Version. , those who ‘boast’ in Christ Jesus).
· Why should we boast in Christ Jesus we may ask?
We boast in Christ Jesus because we cannot boast in ‘the flesh’.
Because it is only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that this holy God can make us right with Himself. There is no other way!
Paul makes that very clear in verses 7 to 9. He says,
“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––”
The apostle Paul acknowledges that his justification is through faith in Christ alone.
We may ask what this means; - it means two things:
It means first of all that this holy God, for the sake of Jesus Christ, does not count our sins against our name. It is the language of the law court.
When we come into God’s law court we are totally guilty. We cannot even begin to measure the sins we have committed in our lifetime.
One day when we stand in the presence of God there will be no lawyer to defend us, only a holy, righteous Judge.
· Will we try to give an answer for the sins we have committed?
If we are not making our boast, not glorying in the life, death and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will have nothing to say in our defence - we will be speechless in the presence of God.
We can have all the arguments and excuses that we can think up in this world, but in ‘that day’ we will have nothing to say in our favour!
However, if we have come to faith and trust in the Son of God, then this righteous holy God, who cannot turn a blind eye to sin, when He looks at us as believers, He doesn’t reckon those sins against our name.
Because God reckoned our sins to Jesus when he died upon the cross, he doesn’t reckon our sins against our name -- past, present or future!
Then secondly, and in contrast, as the Christian stands before God, having found that all his sins were laid upon the spotless Son of God at Calvary, he finds to his utter amazement that not only does God not count the believer’s sins against his name, but He counts against his name the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
It is not just forgiveness we receive, it is more than forgiveness!
This is the good news that changed the world. It is the glorious gospel of God.
There is no other gospel!
Anyone who adds requirements to this pure gospel of God’s grace rejects the gospel in its entirety. They have no gospel message and no eternal hope at all!
So we see that for the apostle Paul ‘the flesh’ was irrelevant.
Spiritual circumcision of the heart had replaced physical circumcision.
The surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ had caused him to regard his heritage and achievements as worthless rubbish. His confidence was in Christ alone; it was in Christ that he boasted, and therefore he was able to worship God in Spirit and in truth.
Consequently, we know now that....
True Christians place no confidence in ‘the flesh’, worship by the Spirit, and boast in Christ Jesus.
In conclusion then;
1. The passage we have considered shows us just what is at stake.
Without faith in Christ we cannot be acquitted on that final day. Getting this right is important, both for the spiritual health of the church and for the eternal well-being of those who hear its message.
2. As we evaluate ourselves and as we allow the Holy Spirit to evaluate us,
· Where do we stand before God ?
· Are we able to say that our confidence is neither in heritage, orthodoxy, activity, morality, nor any other thing ?
· Do we discount all of these things as useless?
· Are we relying on the Spirit of God to enable us to worship Him in Spirit and truth ?
· Are we boasting in Christ Jesus?
It is only as we are in Christ that we can possibly stand, otherwise there is no hope. It is only in Christ that we can come into God’s presence, otherwise we cannot come.
It all revolves around our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Do we boast in Him?
3. If you are unable to respond positively to the questions posed, then you cannot truly claim to be God’s child and you are doomed to separation from God for all eternity in that place of torment, called hell.
To rectify the situation you simply need to acknowledge that there is nothing that you can offer to God to make yourself right with Him.
You need only to repent of your sins, to place your faith in Jesus Christ as God’s Son, who died on the cross for your sins, and rose again from the dead to prove it.
If you do that in all sincerity of heart, gratefully accepting God’s free gift of salvation in Christ, you enter into a personal relationship with God as your heavenly Father.
As you surrender complete control of your life to Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Saviour, you will know what true Christianity is all about, because it will be your personal experience.
You will be able to rejoice in the assurance of the fact that one day you will go to be with Him in heaven! Then, having placed no confidence in the flesh, and relying on God’s indwelling Holy Spirit to help you to worship Him in spirit and in truth, you will most certainly boast in Christ.
Now that you know what true Christianity is, you have one of two courses of action open to you:
1. If it is not your own personal experience, then I urge you to ensure that it is your experience – today….. ……. Your eternal destiny depends upon it!
2. On the other hand, if it is your experience, then you can rejoice in God’s grace and you have the responsiblity to share it with those who are heading for a Christless eternity. This will not be out of a sense of duty, but if you truly love the Lord, then you will have an earnest desire to see him glorified and his name praised by all the peoples of the earth.
In the sight of God, these are the only two options you have!
And He calls on you to respond.
Amen.