For God or for men?

Introduction

Today we continue with our series in Philippians. The section we are learning from today is Philippians 3:1-11 “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— 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. 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—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.”

Let me read this short piece that gives you an idea of what we will be looking at in this passage.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Holy Club

Holy Club

During his years at Oxford John became associated with the “Holy Club,” a group of serious churchmen committed to a methodically rigorous regimen of religious observance with the brothers John and Charles Wesley as the leading spirits. Their remarkable earnestness manifested itself in ascetic living, regular devotions, charitable works, and solemn discussion, but it was unenlightened by the Gospel. “I began to fast twice a week for thirty-six hours together,” Whitefield wrote in later years, “prayed many times a day and received the sacrament every Lord’s Day. I fasted myself almost to death all the forty days of Lent, during which I made it a point of duty never to go less than three times a day to public worship, besides seven times a day to my private prayers. Yet I knew no more that I was to be born a new creature in Christ Jesus than if I had never been born at all.” Deeply dissatisfied at heart, the reading of a book with the title The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal made plain to him the necessity of personal commitment to and union with Christ as Saviour and Lord. Desperately seeking this relationship, he increased his self-affliction to such an extent that his weakness brought him near to death. At last, however, the grace of God enabled him to trust solely in Christ instead of in his own religious exercises: “God was pleased to remove the heavy load,” he testified, “to enable me to lay hold of His dear Son by a living faith, and by giving me the Spirit of adoption, to seal me even to the day of everlasting redemption.” His life continued to be one of zeal and self-discipline and was carefully planned from day to day; but from now on his overruling desire was to proclaim Christ and his grace to the world.

Source unknown

It was plain to this gentlemen, as it was to Paul, that human effort, human ideas, human works will not make you righteous. In the spirit of Paul’s description - whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.

Warning! Danger!

Paul begins this section of the letter on a theme he has written throughout - joy. He tells the Philippians in verse 1 - Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Given the subject matter of the first two chapters and the information about the miraculous recovery of Epaphroditus it is not surprising that he reminds the readers to rejoice in the Lord. This is one of the topics to which Paul refers when he says writing the same things is not trouble for him and is for their safety (guidance, protection). In other words - remember what you have heard and learned.

It prepares the readers for the following section where Paul , once again, dives into the deep gulf between humility and pride. A gulf that is being put forward by those who claim to be believers but are going down the wrong path. It is so important to Paul that some of the strongest words he uses in his letters are found here.

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

Paul is talking about those known as the “Judaizers.” These were Jewish believers who taught that Christians could not be Christian without first becoming Jewish - through the rite of circumcision. These were probably people that thought they were doing the right thing for God but ended up preaching a Gospel of “Jesus plus ...” That Gentiles had to follow the traditions of the Jews in order to be saved.

However, they had been following Paul for years trying to undo the Gospel he preached. Acts15:1 “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.””

They were so pernicious that Paul excoriates them in this verse. We have heard before that dogs in first century Israel (indeed in most of world) were not the cute fuzzy pets that we know. They were wild, feral, ran in packs and were known to eat anything that didn’t eat them first. They scavenged for food around garbage mounds.

This was not just a first century problem. Deuteronomy 23:18 “You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.” To be called a dog was an insult almost beyond forgiveness. This was the favorite epithet of the Jews for Gentiles.

Paul turns the insult around and says the true dogs are the ones that are undermining the Gospel for the traditions of men. They are considered evildoers for their actions. This is where we pick up the attribution of evil for them but, in reality, they are just as evil as anyone that preaches a Gospel other than Christ and him crucified.

There is even a play on words in the Greek. Paul calls these people the ones that “mutilate” the flesh. In the next verse Philippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—” Paul says that Christians are the true “circumcision.” We are that circumcision that worships by the Spirit of God and we glory in Jesus and we do not approach God according to the traditions of men. Yet this was the requirement of God from the beginning. Deuteronomy 30:1-6 ““And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

In Greek, mutilate and circumcision share the same root word. To circumcise means to cut around - a good description of what is taking place. To mutilate means to cut up into small pieces. Paul is saying that if you have to be circumcised to be a Christian you might as well make hamburger out of things.

Ultimately, Paul points out the problem that we have as humans. When it comes to the Gospel, it doesn’t really matter what our background or theology might be. Sooner or later we all try to make the Gospel, “Jesus plus...” We always add something that has to be done for men in order for us to think it is for God. Whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.

Past Achievement

Paul then uses his life as an example of what he is saying. He looks to his past and lets the Philippians know that he has far more accreditation as a Jew than these “dogs” that are sniffing around. 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.”

Paul lists seven facts about his life that gave him the status he had in Judea.

He was circumcised on the eighth day according to the Law of Moses.

He is an Israelite - a descendant of those who received the promise and the Law.

He is from the tribe of Benjamin. When Gentiles became Jews, they were only Jews. They did not become a member of one of the 12 tribes. Paul points out he was from one of the tribes. The tribe that provided Israel’s first king; the tribe that geographically contains the city of Jerusalem; the tribe that, along with Judah, remained faithful to the Davidic line. Although it is conjecture, remember Paul’s Hebrew name was Shaul (Saul). He was possibly named after King Saul.

He was a Hebrew of Hebrews. His parents were, apparently, extremely devout Jews that held to the letter of the Law and the traditions.

His theological background was that of a Pharisee. This was the sect that scrupulously tried to protect and keep the Law of Moses. So much so they added their own traditions to try and “help” people keep the Law. They also believed in a resurrection of the dead at the end of time but not as we Christians believe.

He was so zealous as a Jew that he persecuted the infant church and had people thrown in prison and even executed for their “apostasy.”

His righteousness was in reference to the Law. If there was any human who came close to keeping the Law and the traditions almost perfectly, it was Paul.

Paul was the one that Jewish mothers would point to and tell their sons, “I want you to grow up and be like Paul.”

What is in your past that makes you proud? What accomplishments or achievements do you have that make you stand out in the eyes of men? Money, businesses, land, status, degrees, houses, cars, boats, family name, heritage, nationality, etc. What is it that you hold on to that so identifies you that when someone asks who you are this is the first thing you bring up? Or do you use these things to make you look better than others in people’s estimation? What is it that makes you, you think, a Hebrew of Hebrews? Remember, whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.

Present Progress

Yet....

Paul goes on to say, Philippians 3:7-8 “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. ”

In comparison to his former life, Paul says all those things that made him “top of the heap” in men’s eyes are worthless. Using accounting terminology he talks of gains and losses. Anyone that has income and a household budget understands gains and losses. Business are judged on these things; as are retirement funds. We have an entire economic system, represented by Wall Street, that is based on gains and losses.

Normally we think of gains as something good and losses as something bad. Paul flips it all on its head. Those things that man thinks are gains are, in reality, losses for Christ’s sake. Paul may be remembering what is written in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 14:25-33 “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Paul goes on - Philippians 3:8-9 “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 things Paul thought were something are actually rubbish. They belong on the garbage pile with all the other useless and unclean refuse. In a way, the things that once brought Paul pride are those things that should be thrown to the “dogs.”

Paul’s righteousness is not found in anything man has to offer. His righteousness is not based on man-made systems or self-help schemes. It is a true righteousness based solely on the grace of God and faith in Christ. It is Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Where is our righteousness? Of course, most of us would immediately say, “Jesus.” But do our lives reflect that? Do we still carry the remnants of our own human idea of what is righteous? Do we still sit in judgement on others because of those human ideas? Do we compare ourselves to others and look down on them because they are different or don’t know what we know or don’e have what we have? Do we love family, friends, our own lives, more than we love the Lord? This is not to condemn anyone because most of these questions are rhetorical. All of us can answer yes but all of us should be able to say, “Each and every day, I grow more and more in the image of my Savior.”

What is past, is past. What is considered achievement in the eyes of men is meaningless. Like Paul, we must learn whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.

Future Glory

Paul finishes this section with the best news possible. Through the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, 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.”

Throughout this letter Paul has told the Philippians that true Christians will suffer, just as Jesus suffered. That Christians identify with Christ through his life, suffering, and death in order to partake in his resurrection. Our future is glorious because, one day, we will receive a glorified perfect body in order to live with our God, our Savior, and our Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

Revelation 22:12-15 ““Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

The promise of God’s forgiveness, the indwelling Spirit,along with the glorious resurrection at the end of the age was far more valuable to Paul than anything he had known before. Paul knew whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.

Conclusion

Paul shows us that it is not the working of human hands that brings righteousness but the working of God’s grace. Paul’s message in many of his other letters (Romans, Galatians, Colossians) is the same. External rites and rituals do not gain us righteousness in God’s eyes. Family, status, nationality, geographical location, money, all the things that men count dear are worthless trash to God.

What God does count dear is righteousness through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. That alone justifies us before a Holy God. That alone brings the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us conform daily to the image of Jesus. That alone offers us the promise of a glorious resurrection and eternity in the presence of our God.

Whatever is not from God, by God, or for God is rubbish.