Fighting for Joy

Philippians 3:1–3 (ESV)

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Twenty years ago, our nation changed. Everyone was shocked by the horrific attack upon the Word Trade Center Buildings by the terrorist, who weaponized hijacked commercial airplanes taking the lives of many Americans on American soil. Most of us who were alive at that time can remember where we were and what we were doing.

The attack sparked a boost in military enlistments. Sergeant Evan Chynoweth and First Sergeant Robert Sebree enlisted two men from Arkansas because of what happened on September 11, 2001. Twenty years later, these two brave men are still serving and fighting for our freedoms.

What are you willing to fight for? Many are willing to fight for their freedoms, family, and other essential things and relationships, but how many are willing to fight for joy?

As believers, we must fight for our joy because life is constantly trying to steal it from us. Paul has spent the first two chapters showing us by his example how he can rejoice even when the circumstances of life are less than joyful.

Paul is writing to the Philippians from a Roman prison, yet, he can have joy just remembering the Philippian believers and their participation in the gospel. Even though constantly chained to a Roman guard, he never let his circumstances rob him of his joy. Many of the guards were hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and giving their lives to Christ. Even when some preachers tried to make things worse for Paul, he didn't complain but rejoiced in the fact that the gospel was preached.

When the thought of his future was uncertain, not knowing whether he would get out of prison or face execution, Paul could declare, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." As he considered his life of ministry, he found gladness and joy in it all, despite his suffering.

Why would Paul spend so much time revealing his joy in trials and tribulations? I imagine when Epaphroditus arrived from Philippi to minister to Paul, he told him of the church's suffering, false teachers entering the church, and conflict dividing the church, and how the church had lost its gladness and joy. They stopped fighting for their joy.

Therefore, Paul begins this third chapter with a command, "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord." We must fight for our joy; otherwise, Paul would not have commanded us to rejoice.

1. Fight for joy

Interestingly, Paul begins with the word "finally." Paul is not concluding his letter but reminding them that joy doesn't come passively. It's not something that happens to us subjectively. If joy were a state to find ourselves in, then we would not be Commanded to rejoice.

It would be nice to sit down and hope and trust that we will rejoice at any moment. We have to do something to rejoice, and we can do it. Do you remember what Paul said in Philippians 2:12-13? He said, "Therefore, my brothers, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Part of working out our salvation is learning to fight for our joy.

Many believers struggle with joy because they think it's determined by what happens to them. Several people will manipulate circumstances, take drugs, deal in fantasy, accumulate material things, or other things to find that sense of happiness and joy.

None of these are the Christian way of rejoicing. Christian rejoicing is not some superficial happiness that ignores the circumstances of life. Paul calls us to a joy expressed outwardly in our lives and realistically considers everything, all the adverse circumstances, pressures, trials that we are passing through at the time.

Interestingly, Paul's command is the sixth occurrence of the verb "rejoice" in this letter. Rejoicing is something we do rather than something we feel. It's the same with forgiveness. It's something we do rather than feel. The key to fighting for joy is the phrase "in the Lord," which I believe I believe expanded upon in verse three. But before we look at how to fight for joy, Paul gives a specific enemy to joy.

Paul follows the command to rejoice with this statement: "To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you." Paul is concerned for their safety as it relates to false teaching. Paul makes it clear that what he is about to warn has been previously warned. In verse two, we need to fight against the joy killers of false teachings.

2. Look out for joy killers

In verse two, Paul expresses anger with the false teachers, "Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh." Three times Paul commands us to watch out for these false teachers. Each time he uses some very descriptive words for them.

The false teachers that Paul was dealing with here are the Judiazers. These were Jews who taught that Jesus was not enough to be justified before God, one needed to keep the Mosaic Law. For gentile men, this meant that they needed to be circumcised. Paul had little patience for false teachers, for anyone who taught a false gospel. Any teaching that takes away from the gospel, or adds to the gospel, is a false gospel.

Paul first calls them "dogs." The term dog is not so bad for us dog lovers, but it was a derogatory term for the Jew of Paul's day used for Gentiles. He further describes them as "evildoers" and those who "mutilate the flesh." We call this false teaching legalism.

Legalism is when we believe that keeping specific rules will make us justified before God. The only thing that justifies you before God is the saving work of Jesus Christ. We may not encounter this level of legalism in our own experience, but we see a lower sort of legalism even in what we consider good churches.

Good churches would never teach that you have to follow a set of rules to be justified before God, but they may have a set of rules and practices that they teach to make you more pleasing to God if you follow them.

Sometimes, in our biblically sound churches, they pressure people to act in specific ways, participate in certain activities, or avoid certain activities, to be pleasing to the Lord.

I'm not against homeschooling; we homeschooled our daughters for a while. But I have seen some churches build their ministry around homeschooling, and they create this subculture that makes anyone who sends their children to public schools less than pleasing to the Lord.

I'm sorry, but whenever I see a church that advertises a King James Only church, I know many unhappy people are in that church because of legalism killing their joy. I could go on and on here, but I will save it for another sermon. You must fight for your joy, especially against the joy killers that come through false teachings. How? How do we fight for joy? We fight for joy from the position of victory.

3. Fight for joy from the position of victory

Look at verse three, "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." Paul says that we are the circumcision. Buy this; Paul is saying that we are the people of God. We are the genuine people of God. It's not outward circumcision that makes one a child of God, but a transformation that comes from the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, an inward circumcision of the heart.

Another way to say it is "we are the ones who are "in the Lord." Remember, the command "to rejoice" given in verse one is qualified with this phrase, "in the Lord." The reason we can fight for our joy and the only reason we can have it, no matter what is transpiring in our lives, is the fact that we are in the Lord.

Our ability to rejoice finds its source in the Lord. He's the basis for our joy, and he's the object of our joy. I believe we see that in verse three.

You will notice that Paul follows the statement about being the people of God with three characteristics of the true people of God. First, we can rejoice in the Lord because we worship by the Spirit of God.

It is God's Spirit that works in us to desire and what is pleasing to God. We worship by the Spirit. We serve by the Spirit. We live by the Spirit. When we are living by the Spirit, we will bear the fruit of joy in our lives. This has nothing to do with what is happening in our lives but who controls our lives. We live in the power and freedom of the Holy Spirit, not rules and regulations.

Second, the mark of God's people is that they "put no confidence in the flesh." I put this second because I want to end with "glory in Christ Jesus." To put confidence in the flesh is to focus on self and how the self can do better to please God. Nothing else can make us more pleasing to God except the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Third, the mark of God's people is that they "glory in Christ Jesus." The word "glory" can be translated "boast." Another way to say it is, "take pride in Christ Jesus." Or "talk loudly about Christ Jesus."

Have you ever met a person who is prideful and boastful? Then you have heard them talk loudly about themselves, and what they do, and where they have been. God's people talk loudly about Jesus and all that he has done.

When we live by the Spirit of God, and our focus, is not on self or circumstances, but on the Lord, then and then can we rejoice in the Lord. When you spend your time glorying in the person and work of Jesus and talk loudly about what he means to you, joy will be the by-product of your life.

There was a Presbyterian pastor who had a church member that distracted him when he preached. She tended to say "amen" and "praise the Lord" when he said something good in his sermon. One Sunday, after church, he went by to visit her and ask her to stop. He made a deal with her. If she restrained from saying anything all year, he would provide her with two wool blankets. She was poor and needed them. So she made a deal with her pastor. However, one Sunday, a visiting preacher, full of joy, preached on the forgiveness of sins and the blessings of being forgiven. As she focused on Christ's saving work, the vision of blankets grew dim, and the joy of salvation grew bright. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up and said, "blankets or no blankets, praise the Lord."

In the same way, when we glory in Christ Jesus and look full into his wonderful face, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Fight for your joy!