And now, if you will, turn to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. Our sermon text this morning will be the first three verses of the chapter. Finally, My brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision. For we are the true circumcision. who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God remains forever. You've all seen the sign. of the dog or beware of dogs, right? You've seen those signs and you know that sense that you get when you see it. Especially if you're walking up, say it's somebody's house, they're new friends, they've invited you over and it's your first time ever and you're walking through their yard happily and all of a sudden you see that sign and you see it and inside Something happens. You tense up. You become alert. You begin to look around. Don't you? You know that there is danger nearby. Even if you see it before you enter the fence, if you see it on the outside of the fence, you walk up with extra caution. Even if that dog appears nice while you're still outside that fence, you know the moment that you step in, He may not be so nice because it's his territory, his turf then. And ordinarily, you'll do what I do. You'll step back, you'll close the gate, and you'll call the people inside and say, come let me in. You know automatically those words set you on edge. There's something to them. Now, if someone knows their dog is a danger and doesn't put up the sign, of course, they're responsible, aren't they? But a good neighbor might warn. A new family moves into the neighborhood. There's a child outside playing. His ball goes over the fence. There's no beware of dog sign there. And he's about to go in to that fence. And if you're the neighbor that's been there and you know that this dog is a vicious dog, what are you going to do if you see that child going in? Are you going to say, oh well, they don't have a sign up. It's not my problem. That kid kicked the ball in there. I'm not going to worry about that. Is that what you would do? No. No, obviously not. You would warn the child. You'd say, no, don't go in there. That dog. That dog is vicious. That's a danger. Well, not having a sign up is a lot like false teachers. Right? False teachers do not wear signs that say, do not listen to me. I twist the scriptures. Don't listen to me. I don't know the gospel from Adam's house cat. They don't wear those sorts of signs. And so someone must warn against them. And that's what Paul is doing here. He's warning the Philippians and he does it in a very serious way because isn't it true that the more serious the matter, the more seriously you'll warn someone? Let's say a bridge is out and you've seen it, you've parked your car and you run back and you're trying to warn people to stop. The bridge is out, there is death ahead. How would you warn them? Would you stand on the side of the road and go, wait, wait, pardon, just a moment? No, in very, very likelihood you'd stand in the middle of the road and hope they'd stop. Because the danger is greater. That's what you get with Paul's warning. Three times, right? Beware, beware, beware. He's warning because of a great danger. It's a danger to the soul, and so He's warning them with all the vigor He can muster. It's a matter of life and death. He's trying to warn them. Remember, He's just told them, right? I'm going to send to you Timothy, Epaphroditus, and I hope to come to you soon. And now He's telling them of some who aren't sent. by any apostle or by the church. These men are not commissioned by the church as you saw in Acts chapter 15 when we read. Some went out to tell. And so He's saying to them, do not accept what they bring to you. They are a danger to you, to the church, and to your soul. He's warning them passionately because He loves them passionately. He loves them like a father. Our souls are at stake. The gospel is too important to be light about it, to be trivial, to be flippant. The gospel is serious. And so, in our text then, we are going to see that the truth and the nature of the gospel The truth and the nature of the gospel causes us to rejoice in Christ and to take heed to doctrine. To rejoice in Christ and to take heed in doctrine. And that's essentially how our text breaks down. We're going to see our three points this morning from this, that Paul offers a sincere Exhortation. That's verse one. And then he gives an urgent admonition or warning. That's verse two. And then after that, he makes a polarizing declaration. The gospel is such serious business that the truth and nature of it causes us to rejoice in who God is. Take heed to doctrine. And then it causes us to divide from those who get it wrong. That's the picture in the text. And so what is this sincere exhortation? Verse 1, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and is a safeguard to you. It's a command. to rejoice." All of you. He says, my brethren, those of you in Philippi who hear this letter being read, who are a part of the church, who name the name of Christ, rejoice. Now, we're not in Philippi, but we name the name of Christ and this letter is being read to us. And so this is a command, a call to all of us to rejoice. And we know that it's regardless of circumstance, don't we? He doesn't say, rejoice, because everything's going to be great. As a matter of fact, He's about to warn them. Rejoice, even though. Even though there are those who are dogs, who are mutilators of the flesh, who are dangerous. Rejoice. Rejoice, He says. It's the resounding theme, you know, of Philippians. You see it again, and again, and again. And it's not just this sort of smile, grin, and bear it, put on a happy face, no matter what you are really feeling Christianity. No. No. This rejoicing has foundations. It goes on to say, in the Lord. How can He say this? How? How can he say rejoice in the Lord? Well, because of our union to Him. If we are in Christ, then everything else is Accounted as nothing, he's going to say. He's going to say everything else should be accounted to us when we get down just a little bit deeper in chapter 3, as dung even. Why can he say rejoice if you are in the Lord? Because if you are in Christ, you have everything. Rejoice in the Lord. You are His. You have been redeemed. You have been set apart. You are no longer in the world, though you are in the world, but you are really in the kingdom of His marvelous light, as opposed to the kingdom of darkness. Rejoice in the Lord, he says. This isn't Gran and Barrett Christianity. This is understanding who Jesus is and what He has done. Remember, this comes after chapter 2. Verses 5 through 11. If you are in Christ, He has endured the wrath of God for you. He has given up glory for you. He has done all of this that you might be brought in and made His. Rejoice in the Lord. Because the reality is coming. Yes, the Lord has done it for us. And the reality is this. He's saying rejoice in Jesus, who He is, what He has done. Because there are those coming, He's going to tell us in verse 2. There are those coming who are going to try and get you to rejoice in your flesh. To rejoice in something that you might do. And He's setting before them again that the gospel is not what you do. It's what Jesus has done for and on behalf of those who rest in Him by faith. Rejoice in the Lord. When? Well, He says it, doesn't He? Always. Rejoice in the Lord. I'm told always. We're to have a sense of rejoicing, even in the face of difficulty. We sort of talked about this for a moment last Sunday evening when we talked about Psalm 98, where the praise is to break forth from us. Like we can hardly contain it. We can't hold it back. So it is that when we understand what Jesus has done, even if we're in the valley of the shadow of death, Rejoice, because He has tasted death for us, and He Himself said that He is the resurrection and the life, and though we die, we will live in Him. We won't really die. Rejoice in the Lord. Always. Now, notice though, as we see this, as we read it, Paul's heart is still a heart of service for the Philippians, isn't it? It's for the good of others. He says, to write the same things again is no trouble to me and is a safeguard for you. Why is he saying again? Well, it's a lot like Luther. Right? Luther would preach, and he would preach the sounding theme of the work of Christ for sinners, that we must rest in Jesus' work, that it's not us. The gospel, the gospel, the gospel. And one day they said to him, why do you always preach the gospel to us? He said, it's because you need it. And if you ever get to where you don't need it, I'll stop preaching it. And he never stopped preaching it. For the Apostle Paul to write the same things again, it's of no trouble because some things are of such importance, such vital importance that they bear repeating. If you ever visit our house, we have stairs, the girls go up them. There's a banister that's there, you know, the handrail. And those things are not meant to be played on, or leaned on, or really trusted. They're there to steady yourself, right? If you happen to start to take a slip, you put your hand out and catch yourself. But they're not geared to be swung on, played on, jumped on, because they're not very strong. And so, when our girls are going up the steps, every time I say, no, no, just one hand on it if you're going to put a handle. Don't try to push yourself up with two hands. Go up carefully and use it only if you need to. Don't touch that part up there. Because if it breaks, what happens? Well, you fall. And if you fall, it's likely, well, as we saw in our New Testament, reading the case of Eutychus. You fall and not be well. You'll probably die. And you say, but that's, that's terrible. Why would you tell them that? Well, I tell them that every time. Because it's important. Because they need to hear it. And so that's why he says, it's no big deal for me to write this. Because the gospel is essential to all of life. You are to rejoice in the Lord, not in anything else. And that is the essence of faith. The Lord has done it. The Lord is the one who does the work. And so, He says, to write the same things to you is no trouble. Why the same things again and again and again? Well, because the way to grow in Christian faith is to continue in the well-founded and attested doctrine of the Scriptures. It's to master it. It's not being satisfied with rudimentary knowledge. Let me tell you that the desire for innovation in theology is no virtue. What does Jude say? Jude says, well, beloved, while I was making every effort to write of you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. The gospel is the same. It's been handed down. It has substance. It is something that is easily and clearly defined and seen. And to tinker with it in any way is a danger. It is to pervert it. And so we must be those who desire to have that faith once for all handed down, to grasp it, to love it, to know it. Innovation is usually not a good sign. Mormonism is innovation. Jehovah's Witnesses, it's innovation. It's not usually a good sign that someone says, hey, I have something completely new from the scriptures. The church has missed this for some 2,000 years. Come and hear what I have to say. Usually if someone says something along those lines, or, man, people have been missing it all this time, well, you're in danger and you probably should have a flag go up, because that's what the Apostle Paul is going to warn about. He's going to warn, in just a little bit, he's going to warn about those who come with something different. Now, as you hear this, in your mind, If you're familiar enough with the terminology and what happens in reformed teaching and so on, you'll know there's a little phrase, right? The church that is reformed is always reforming. You've heard that. And you might think, well, doesn't that mean we should innovate? Doesn't that mean that we're always changing? You need to know the history of that. You need to understand what's being said there. Where did the phrase come from? Well, its first appearance was in 1674 by Jodicus von Ludenstein. He was an important figure in the Neder Reformation, the Dutch Second Reformation, right? Some great works came out of that. The Christian's Reasonable Service by Wilhelmus of Brackel, one of the most beautiful collected works you could ever read. It's a systematic theology that will make you weep over the beauty and the glory of God. It's fantastic. Well, this phrase came out of a devotional written by van Ludenstein. And so When you read his works, when you read those who talk about the Reformation and the reformed doctrine of the Church, well, according to those men, the Reformation reformed the doctrine of the Church, but the lives and the practices of God's people always needed further reformation. Now, here's the exact quote from von Ludenstein. The Church is being reformed and always in need of being reformed according to the Word of God. And so when you read that the church that is reformed is always reforming, well, you need to know that the verb is passive. It's not that the church is always reforming, but it's always being reformed by the Spirit through the Word. In other words, being conformed to the Word more and more. And so it's not that it's innovation, it's that we, as God's people, are being made more and more into the likeness of Christ. And so then, with Paul, he gives this sincere exhortation that to write the same things again is no trouble. Rejoice in the Lord, you rejoice in Him, and you, well, he gives this urgent, admonition. Beware of the dogs. Beware, he says. Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evil workers. Beware of the false circumcision or the mutilators. Beware. Beware. Beware. Do you think he's being emphatic? He's trying to drive a point home, cause you to sit up and listen, much like if you're walking through that yard and you hear a growl, you're not sure if it's a growl. You're not 100% certain, but then you look up and you see that sign, beware of dog. He's wanting you to pick up and be alert, just as you would in that yard. This is a serious matter. It's a matter of life or death. If the gospel is what we say it is, it's the only hope for man, then we must get it right. We must get it right. It's nothing to tinker with. It's nothing to toy with. Which is the reason that the Apostle Paul says in Galatians, as we've said before, so I say again, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed. Let him be damned. The gospel is serious. Paul, this is the same Paul though that said that he could wish himself accursed for the sake of his kinsmen according to the flesh. He's not being flippant with his terms. He's never just casually tossing things out. No, it's very serious. And so whenever he says here, Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. He's not merely being derogatory. These are carefully chosen words. He's trying to build a sense of irony for when they come. These aren't insults necessarily like we would use them. He's turning the table on the Judaizers. What do I mean? Well, first of all, he calls them dogs, doesn't he? Beware. Beware of the dogs. Now, what do you know about dogs? They were covenantally unclean, weren't they? The Jews called the Gentiles dogs. It's not an insult. They're saying, you're outside of the covenant. Remember, Jesus calls the Syrophoenician woman, you know, it's not fit to take what's for the children and give it to the dogs. And she doesn't take it as an insult. She just says, oh, but let me have the crumbs. She understands it's language outside of the covenant. Those who are outside. And the Apostle Paul is saying, those who come to you, they're going to say that you must be circumcised to be inside of the covenant with Christ. But they are the ones really outside. They are dogs. Say what you will about cats. They are never considered covenantally unclean. Beware of the dogs, he says. Beware of them, filthy scavengers, unclean. And these Judaizers were not to be recognized as being part of the covenant community, though they prided themselves of being double, doubly part of the community. They were circumcised and baptized. And Paul will have none of it. Scripture will have none. of it. They were saying that those who weren't circumcised in order to be part of the church, well, they were the ones outside. And Paul says, no, let them know. They stand outside. Beware of the dogs. Those who come with a different gospel are outside of Jesus. They're outside of the covenant. Then he calls them evil workers, doesn't he? Beware of the evil workers. These aren't those who are blatantly non-Christians. These are those who come with a smile, who are workers in the church, they profess to be Christians as we saw in our reading and Acts. These are wolves that will come up from among your ranks, right? They smile, they do a lot, and yet they are corrupt and they seek to work their corruption in the church. They're not satisfied to keep their thoughts to themselves. They're resting in their filthy rags and trying to get others to do the same. They're evil workers. Because only believers, those who are in the Lord, who rejoice in Him and what He has done, who are united to Him by faith, they are the only ones prepared for good works, right? Everything else is his filthy rags. That's what the scripture says. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. They look like us. They use our vocabulary. They smile. They don't wear a sign that says we are evil workers. They just are. And that's why He's telling us to beware and to pay careful attention to our doctrine, to search the Scriptures and know what they say about whatever anyone tells you. And that's why He says, beware. Beware of any who take away from the Lord's accomplished work and try to add it to theirs. And they are mutilators of the flesh. Mutilators. Beware of the false circumcision, the NASB says, but it's really the mutilation. This is a scathing rebuke. This is the Apostle Paul building up. Dogs was the least of it, evil workers a little bit more, and now he lashes out. These who are coming in, the very thing that they are resting in, the very thing that they are secure in, in their own hearts and minds, the Apostle Paul interprets it as the surest sign that they have no share with God's people. Because circumcision without saving faith is mutilation. It's just a cutting away of flesh. It's always been about the heart, hasn't it? Circumcise your hearts, Deuteronomy 36. And then Colossians ties those in. Circumcision without hands. These are the mutilators of the flesh. The Judaizers are a threat. They are a threat and they are saying, so long as you do this, you're okay. And Scripture stands in stark contrast to them. And must be our authority, not preference. And so that's why the Apostle Paul goes on and gives this, well, pretty cut and dry, this polarizing declaration. As if calling them dogs and evil workers and the mutilation wasn't enough, he goes on to say, they fancy themselves to be true believers, but we are the true circumcision. who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. It's not outward rituals that make us God's people. It's not outward rituals that does this. What is it? Well, he says, we are the real circumcision. You either are or you aren't. the real circumcision. And Paul is saying that we are those in covenant with God. In other words, this is the fullness of Christianity in contrast to what those who are coming will say. And so what does he say? Who now Our translations, they all say something like this, who worship in the Spirit and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. But that doesn't really capture the sense here. The reality isn't just that it's one time thing that you boast in Christ or a one time thing that you don't put confidence in the flesh. So we could read it like this, who are worshiping in the Spirit of God. and glorying or boasting in Christ Jesus, and putting no confidence in the flesh. Why worshipping in the Spirit? Because it's about the heart. It's always about the heart, not simply about outward actions. We're united to Christ by faith, not by a cutting away of flesh. That's not how God served. Christ is served. By the power of the Holy Spirit. It's by the necessity of the Spirit. And if you don't have the Spirit and you worship, if you're not worshiping by the Spirit and being brought nearer to Christ and conformed to the image of Christ by that, no Spirit, no worship, no worship, no salvation. So he says, if you are resting in circumcision or any work of your hand, you're not the true circumcision. If you're glorying in anything other than Jesus, you're not the true circumcision. Not all boasting is bad, right? You do sing, not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands, but you do boast in Christ. You boast in what He has done, this One, who being in the very form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. Being found in the likeness of men, and being found as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross, and we glory in that. He has done what we could not do. You can't empty yourself in the way that He did. You can't fulfill the Law's demands in the way that He did. He has done it. Is Jesus your boast this morning? Is He your hope? Is He all your grounds before God? Because remember at that last day, many will say, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy? Didn't we cast out demons? Didn't we do great things in Your name? But the believer says, I have no hope, Lord. I have no hope and no covering other than Jesus. Boasting. in the Lord Jesus Christ. Putting no confidence in the flesh. It's not a one-time thing to say, you know what, I can't do it. It's not enough. But are you daily saying, I have no hope in me. I have no rest within my works. I have only Jesus. This is what it looks like, boasting in Christ, not in outward ceremonies, not in circumcision. Is Jesus your boast and your confidence? Here's where we come back around to not boasting or worshipping only by the Spirit. It's not merely a matter of knowing the right answers. It's being united to Christ by His Spirit and having no confidence in yourself, no confidence in the flesh. The greatest assurance that you will have in Christ, especially if you struggle with assurance, is not as you look to yourself and see what you have done, but you look to Him and what He has done. No confidence in the flesh. Because He went through all He went through. There's no way you could do this. No way that I can do this. No way that a mere mortal man could. Jesus Christ is the Gospel. And so the Apostle Paul is writing to his beloved friends. He calls them my brethren, and he tells them to rejoice, even in light of the reality that false teachers are coming. Rejoice because you worship in the Spirit, because you, well, you glory in Christ, and you put no confidence in the flesh. Is that true of you? Because the greatest danger is that you would say, well, I trusted Christ then. And the question isn't, did you trust Him then? Because of what we see, who are worshipping in the Spirit, who are glorying in Christ, who are putting no confidence in the flesh, the question then becomes, are you resting in Jesus now? If we ever begin to put confidence in the flesh, It's not Christ that we have. Christianity is lived in the present tense. Are you trusting Jesus now? And so I warn you. this morning of danger. Are you resting in anything other than Christ? That is true danger. That is true peril. Christians are those who are worshipping and glorying and putting no confidence in the flesh. Those who take heed of danger. Beware. Beware. Beware. And the danger I warn you of is greater than the warning of a dog. It's the warning of the truest and worst sense of a dog. One who is outside of the covenant of Christ and who calls for you to join Him. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we are thankful for Your mercy. We thank You for