Greetings in the great name of our Savior. It's wonderful to be able to worship Him, and it's good for us to be reminded that there are places in the world where it's not as easy to worship the Lord as it is here. We should be very thankful for the freedoms that we have, and we should take every opportunity to thank God for them, and also to pray for those who do not have them. And I do not favor us whipping up a lot of fear among ourselves that we're going to be like that. I think I'm old enough that I won't quite make it to that day, but there are some young people who might. But that is not what we should focus on. We should focus on giving God thanks for the freedom that we have now, and taking full advantage of it as best we can. I want to direct your attention this morning to Philippians chapter 3, and I'm going to read that to you from the version that I'm preaching from this morning. It's a rather long passage, but we will not be covering in detail every verse, although our approach will be somewhat verse by verse in this passage. beginning with verse 1 of chapter 3 of Philippians. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Very appropriate that we just sang that song, although we're not going to concentrate our message today on the obvious theme of rejoicing in Philippians, the book of Philippians. Paul uses the word in some form I think 13 or 14 times in this small book. 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 that 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. Not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold fast, hold true to what we have attained. Now it is distinctly a disadvantage to any preacher in preaching a sermon when his opening text is, finally, my brothers. I hope you won't be misled into thinking this is going to be a very brief message. But more important than that is why in the world did Paul say that when he's only halfway through his epistle? Why does he say, finally, my brethren? Well, he wasn't absent-minded like many of us, and he wasn't just long-winded. He was writing under the influence of the Spirit of God. There are many different suggestions in the commentaries that I've read. There are many different suggestions as to why Paul would say at this point, when he's got two more chapters to write, finally, my brothers. And that explanation that kind of makes the most sense to me is that what Paul has previously written in chapters 1 and 2 he thinks is relatively new to them. He's not sure that they have been taught what he has just taught them in chapters one and two, but he is pretty sure that in some context, they have heard what is to follow in chapters three and four. Now that may or may not be the right theory But obviously, if God had wanted us to know, he would have told us very clearly. And so it's right for us to think about it, to speculate about it, but it's not strategic to us understanding what Paul is driving at here. One of the reasons that I think that particular theory is right is that he follows it by saying, to write the same things to you. That implies you've heard these things. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. You know, my wife and I have reached the age when we say things to one another that we forget, and we sometimes say, I told you that. Don't you remember? I told, oh yeah, yeah, I remember now. There are lots of times when you say that with a little irritation in your voice. I told you that. Don't you remember? You left something off the grocery list and I told you to add that to the list. Um, well, Paul is not irritated with them here. He in fact assures them it's no trouble to me because this is not just a little inconvenience. This is a matter of God's revelation to us. And if you forget, I don't have any trouble reminding you because it's so important. It's so strategic that you understand this. It's safe for you. Usually when my wife and I forget something, it's not so strategic. It's not a matter of safety. It's not that at all. But with Paul, he's saying this is a matter of safety for you. Now that makes what follows very important because we are curious to know what is it that is so strategic to their spiritual safety that Paul says, I don't mind reminding you of this, It's no trouble to me, but it's safe for you that you be reminded of this. I think that what follows gives us a reason to underscore something very important in our Christian faith. There was contemporary to what Paul, where Paul was living and where these Philippians were living. Many people who had gone out who had a little taste of Christianity. There were certain things about Christianity that they liked. And they hung on to. But they also hung on to many things that were to be done away with. They were holding on to many Jewish things that they were to let go. They were embracing certain things about Christianity that made them pass for Christians when they would come into a particular congregation. They could say a lot of the right things. We don't face this kind of cult anymore. There are different cults that come around. There are different versions of modified Christianity that are available. But this one we don't usually deal with. Although, something like it is still present. There are some people who have hung on to Judaism to such an extent that they actually disagree with certain things in the New Testament, but they still call themselves Christians after a sort. It's a very dangerous thing, but we don't face it ordinarily. It's not the run-of-the-mill thing. But what I want you to get is that it is always in the interest of our safety to be on guard against any of the subtle ways in which the gospel of grace, sovereign grace through Jesus Christ and His death on the cross alone can be snatched away from us. Works salvation is a big danger to us. And it can come to us in very, very subtle ways. We can be out of one side of our mouth talking about sovereign grace and grace alone through Christ alone to the glory of God alone and yet out of the other side of our mouths acting as if it was by our works that we were saved. We must be very careful about that. Paul says some very important things here. One of them is that he uses some very strong language. He's using some very strong language when he says, look out for the dogs. Paul was not an advocate of using fiery, inflammatory, derogatory language with people. There's one place in Scripture where he said, to avoid quarreling, to speak evil of no one, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. That's good advice found in Titus 3, 1 and 2. Excuse me, 1 Timothy. No, it is Titus 3, 1 and 2. And the rendering of perfect courtesy is different from the usual translation. But whether it is an accurate rendering or not, I really like the sound of that. Perfect courtesy. We should show perfect courtesy even to our enemies. However, there are exceptions. There are times when we need to speak so firmly that people might assume we're not being very courteous, that we're not being very kind, that we are speaking evil of someone. Do you remember when Paul rebuked, in the book of Galatians, rebuked publicly not only in Antioch and in a gathering of believers, but also publicly in writing it to the Galatians. I don't know whether Paul knew for certain that this, this epistle was going to last down through the ages of church history or not, but it did. And he spoke in a way that didn't sound very courteous and didn't sound very polite. of the Apostle Peter. He loved Peter. He had nothing but respect for Peter, but on this occasion, he said, he's to be blamed. And he spoke very sternly against him. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this regard. But there are times when we don't mince words. There are times when we have to speak so clearly for the sake, for the sake of the souls of the people that we have some influence on. And I don't think anybody can dictate to us the particulars of that, but we need to be walking closely to the Spirit of God to discern when our tone needs to be changed. And it's more than the ordinary courtesy and love when it takes a tone of warning. There is perhaps no error more dangerous for us than the error of ever compromising one iota on the issue of the absolute freeness of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. We don't add anything to it. Now the rest of this passage shows the balance to that. There is a balance. You can go to an extreme in regard to that, but we're not there yet. And another thing is Paul is not teaching them to be proud. In the latter part of verse 3, he says, or really all of verse 3, he says, for we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. First of all, In a sense, really raising the ire of these Jewish, Jewish Christians who were infected by Judaism by saying they are dogs and their circumcision is nothing but mutilating the flesh. They thought of circumcision as, oh, this is wonderful, this is a great high point of our religion. Paul says you're doing nothing but mutilating the flesh. You're not doing anything that's pleasing to God if you're trusting in your circumcision to make you favorable in the eyes of God. No, only the circumcision of the heart, which the Spirit of God alone can do, only that will make you pleasing to God. He has run the risk of really raising their ire by these words. But then he says, you're not the circumcision, we are. We're the ones who have the circumcision of the heart. This is, we are the true Jews. You're not the Jews. You've lost that privilege. You've lost that prestige. We are the true Jews. We are the true Israel. We are the true children of Israel. There are some people in our day who who ridiculed some Reformed people as those who are, what is the terminology? I may have lost the terminology, but it's, you are replacers. You are ones who do away with the Jews entirely. Well, there's a lot of evidence in the Bible that that is exactly what happened. They are just like any other lost person if they have rejected their own Messiah. They are just in the category of a lost person who needs to hear the gospel, needs the gospel of grace just like anyone else. So it's clear that Paul is not promoting pride among Christians, he is simply saying, that's what God has done for us. He has not stopped his work in the world, which was so centered in Israel for so long. He's continuing it, but he's continuing it with these no-name Gentiles. They really have the name of the circumcision. They really have the name of Israelites now. And it is they who are the circumcised, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus. And here's the key. Put no confidence in the flesh. Paul's not teaching them to be proud. He's saying, You put no confidence in the flesh. All the attributes that you have, all the factors that are praiseworthy in you, they're not by your flesh. You didn't do it. God did it by grace. God poured it out upon you undeservedly. It's interesting to me that Paul goes into this detail about saying, uh, if anybody, if anybody wants to boast in the flesh, let me, let me get in line because I'm, I'm more, I'm more worthy of praise than any of you. I've been there, done that. And believe me, that's not where righteousness is. That's not where favor with God is. And he lists all these things that he's done. He said, I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the law, Pharisee. There was nobody more known for obeying the law than the Pharisees. As to zeal, a persecutor of the church. Not all the Pharisees persecuted the church. Not all of them thought they had time or effort or money to persecute the church, go around the country, looking up Christians and throwing them into prison. But Paul did. Paul was dead set on it. And he went on and on and on until he was stopped by the Savior that he was persecuting. Persecutor of the church. That's the righteousness of the law, blameless. Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Now it strikes me that Paul said of himself, I was the chief of sinners. Or he said, I am the chief of sinners. Isn't it interesting that on the one hand, he's saying I'm the most religious person in the world, but in fact, I was the chief of sinners. And isn't it true that religion is often the enemy of Christ? And everybody who professes any religion, even ourselves, has to be careful about that. There were no people in the world as righteous as the Israelites for centuries. But who crucified Christ? The Israelites. Pilate wanted to let Him go. Three times he said, I don't find any fault in Him. I'm going to let Him go. They said, no, no, no. Isn't that a scary point? That religion would be the enemy of Christ and anyone who is a part of who professes to be religious has to be careful that your religion doesn't slip into that precarious point of actually being an enemy of Christ rather than a friend of Christ. Paul, the great religionist, was also the chief of sinners. Well, what does it mean? as we deal with the rest of the passage here. What does it mean to worship God by the Spirit? Paul says, we are the ones who worship God by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Well, I think in the following verses that he tells us what that means. First of all, I have five points here, and then we'll be through. One, it means a changed mind about gain and loss. Verses 7 and 8, he says, But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ordinarily, the things Paul listed there, Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee, persecutor of the church, all these things were a credit to him in the context in which he lived. All these things made people stand up and look his way when he entered the room. He was the most respected of them. And yet, he said, I don't care anything about that reputation. I'll give that reputation up. I don't want that reputation. I will give it up. So the first thing that I point out today about what it means to worship God by the Spirit is that you change your evaluation list. You change what you count worthwhile. You change the worldly standards or even the crooked religious standards that you once served to a new A new standard. A new standard. And Christ is the one who defines that standard. He is the one who is the very center of that standard. But whatever gain I had, I counted loss for the sake of Christ. The second thing it means is this. The one factor that increases the length of the loss column is Jesus Christ. There are lots of things that people wouldn't count in the loss column. Now, you don't want to get rid of these. And Paul says, yes, I'm willing to get rid of all of them for Christ. Nothing. Whatever you put in your column, I count it as loss in comparison to knowing Christ. He is above everything. Dear brothers and sisters, I think it's worthwhile for us, and I'm preaching to myself here, it's worthwhile for us, occasionally, and even frequently, to say to ourselves, lo and behold, I have Christ. I have Christ. How could that ever be? That somebody like me could have the ruler of the universe. And Paul goes on in this passage to saying, being in him and having the righteousness of Christ. How in the world could that happen? And just thank God and praise God and encourage ourselves with that news. The one factor that increases the list in the column of lost to be much longer than you would ever envision is the fact that Christ is in the other column. I don't want to cling to any of this if it means less of Christ. Isn't that the key to us daily fighting against sin? I want the fellowship of Christ. I want the smile of Christ. I want the joy of Christ. I want the assurance of Christ. So don't let me dabble into any of these other things. Christ is Lord of those things. If I need anything in there, then indeed, He will give me what I need. What I want is Christ. The third thing is, in verse 8, he says, 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. Rubbish is a pretty strong word, isn't it? There are a lot of things in this column that we wouldn't ordinarily call rubbish. You know, tomorrow morning, I am expecting Republic Services Management to pick up a big can of my rubbish. and dump it into their truck and take it away. I don't want to see it anymore. If, if I somehow, I always, I always take it down to the street Sunday afternoon because I don't want to miss them Monday morning. I don't want to have to cope with all that rubbish for another week. But the fact is that wasn't always rubbish. It was wrapping around the food that I ate. It was the canister in which the milk was delivered to me. There were useful things there, but no longer, no longer. Likewise for us, some of the things that we count rubbish are useful things in their proper context. But if we cling to them as if we must have them, then they become an enemy of Christ. And what Paul is saying is, I don't want any of that stuff out of context. And the context in which I will enjoy them is in the presence of Christ, under the influence of the Spirit of Christ. That's what I want. Fourthly, Paul introduces an idea in verse 10. He says, "...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." Now here Paul seems to be changing his tune a little bit. He's been emphasizing that salvation is by grace and salvation is not in the flesh at all. There's no confidence that we should have in the flesh. But here he's talking about sharing in the suffering of Christ. Does that mean that I've got to partly pay for my sins by suffering with Christ? Does it mean that I become like Him in His death and somehow I have to... Bearing the cross means that I have to do some atoning work myself? No, that's not what Paul means at all. But it does mean that there is a resurrection power in the mix of losing good things. You don't willingly lose good things without some resurrection power being present in your soul. You don't turn your back on these things. You don't deny your flesh. You don't give up the homage and the reputation that you could have without resurrection power being in you. And then, when you do things like becoming like Him in His death, you bear your cross, you're turning your back on things of the world, and you're following Christ, and it looks like It looks like sacrifice. It looks like you're kind of contributing something to your salvation. No, it's not that at all. But it is Christ's power working in you, making you more and more attuned to heaven and its values, its things that it will enjoy forever and ever. Paul says, verse 11, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Paul says, I am intent on following Christ, even though it's painful sometimes. I don't have any hope of satisfaction in giving in to the flesh. I don't have any hope of satisfaction in going according to the course of this world. I know my real satisfaction, my real happiness is in whatever suffering it takes to get to the final goal, the resurrection from the dead. And then the last, well, let me mention this. You've heard this phrase, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. You've heard that before? Famous words from Jim Elliot, who became a martyr in South America. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. The power of the resurrection, partly, convinces us in our deepest recesses of the soul, I can't lose what Christ has given to me by his death and resurrection. I will lose everything else. Everything I gain in this world, I will lose, but I cannot gain that. Therefore, I'm going to live for that. God helping me more and more, I'm going to have my whole mentality tuned to the fact that there's a world coming that is going to last forever. It was purchased for me. by the blood of the dear Savior Jesus Christ. And I don't want anything to disrupt my enjoyment of that in this life or the life to come. That brings us to the fifth thing. Pressing on is entirely consistent with a salvation that is all of God. Sometimes people get those two things confused, and we can easily get those two things confused. Working after holiness, working after being more righteous in the sight of God, denying ourselves more and more. Well, some people would draw back from that and say, well, look, salvation is all grace. Look, it's all grace. Cool out, brother. Don't take this thing so seriously. There's a terrible misunderstanding there. It is the freeness of His grace to me. It is the goodness of Him giving me a salvation that I don't deserve that is partly the reason that I am motivated to press on and on and on. It is His love for me that has actually put a love in me for Himself. And so I'm pressing on and on to be more pleasing to Him. Look down at verse 12. Not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. Because Christ Jesus has made me His own. There's something very redemptive there. He's made me His own. And He's not going to lose me. And therefore, I press on to make what He has for me my own. I know I won't lose that either, so I press on to have more and more of it in this life. Because I long for it. I know it is best for me in this life. And it will be my portion completely in the life to come. So just notice those closing verses of the passage that we've cited today. I press on, verse 12. I do not consider myself to have obtained." In verse 13, he says, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward, straining, that's the same idea, is pressing forward, straining forward, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And then again, in verse 15, he returns to the fact that the reason I'm pressing on is because God is doing something in my soul. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. He's going back to that. It's not because I'm so determined. It's because God Himself is revealing more and more how I ought to be more conformable to His sanctifying standards. And then He says, only let us hold true to what we have attained. Well, let me return to where we began this morning. One of the reasons we gather Lord's day after Lord's day. One of the reasons that we open our Bibles every day and look at things maybe we've read a hundred times is because we don't want to forget. We know that there's more in this book for us to see and understanding. We haven't seen it all. Believe me, at 83, I'm still discovering things. There's still more there. And if I lived to be 183, there would still be more. And so I come back. again and again and again to remind myself of what I already know. Because in reminding myself, another page is turned and I see, oh, that's another implication of that. That's tied to this over here. And I never saw those two things tied together. We press on. We press on. And in pressing on, We also find that God is revealing things to us that needed attention. We needed to put those things to death, and we didn't see that. But He is, as the last verse, verse 16, only let us hold true to what we have attained. But also, 15, God will reveal that also to you. If in anything you're thinking otherwise, God will reveal that to you, too, so that you can be more holy in His sight. If there was ever a day when we needed to pray hard and work sacrificially that the church could be holy in this world, So many unholy things are happening in the professing church today. And unless we are on our guard, they can happen to us. Because Satan is not going to respect any of our boundaries unless we fight against him by not the things of the flesh, not confidence in the flesh, but confidence in the spirit of God. God has made us his own. We press on to make the things God has for us our own in personal experience. Let's bow together in prayer.