Good morning. Welcome to Christ Reformed Church on this beautiful, sunny, warm Lord's Day. Amen. I have just a couple of announcements that I would like to share with you, both of which you can find on the back inside cover of our bulletin. First and foremost, as you know, we are taking of the Lord's Supper this morning. We just ask if you are not a member here at CRC, that you speak to either myself or one of our elders concerning your participation. We ask that you be a baptized member in good standing of a Bible-believing Protestant church. I'd also like to make mention that as per normal, following our service, we are going to have a fellowship meal. Everyone is welcome to come. Please do so and enjoy fellowship and encouragement with our brothers and sisters. But secondly, this Tuesday, May 6th, 7 p.m., I believe this is the first Tuesday of the month, but we are having our men's and women's Bible study at our home. If you would like to know where that is, please speak to myself, my wife, or any number of people who knows where we live. But please consider coming and enjoying that fellowship, as it is a good time together as we study God's word. Let us now turn our hearts and minds to silent prayer as we prepare for worship. Amen. Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Would you please stand with me as we read our call to worship from God's word, which we can find in Psalm 57, as we read verses nine through 11. The word of the Lord says, I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing to you among the nations, for your mercy reaches into the heavens. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be above all the earth. Let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for this beautiful, warm Sunday morning in which your people gather together to worship you. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would fill our hearts and minds with the joy of your salvation, that we might glorify you as per do your name. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would be with us, that you would encourage us, strengthen us, that you would hear our cry. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that all that we do and say and think would be for your glory. Bless us this morning, for it is in your precious name we pray, amen. Would you please stir with me in our hymnal to hymn 253, There is a Fountain. ♪ And sinners' blood beneath their foot ♪ ♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪ ♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪ ♪ Lose all their guilty stains ♪ ♪ And sinners' blood beneath their foot ♪ ♪ Who are dying, we rejoice to see ♪ ♪ That our God today comes day ♪ ♪ And there on high as twilight's day ♪ ♪ Wash all my sins away ♪ ♪ Washed off my sins away ♪ ♪ Washed off my sins away ♪ ♪ And there have I, as wild as he ♪ ♪ Washed off my sins away ♪ ♪ And since then ♪ me. I saw it in the rain. I saw it in the rain. I saw it in the rain. I see you. Amen. Please be seated. Good morning. You'll turn in the bulletin to the Canons of Dort insert, where we'll be confessing two articles this morning in the second head of doctrine dealing with the death of Christ and man's redemption by it. So let us confess our faith. And whereas many who are called by the gospel do not repent nor believe in Christ, but perish in unbelief, this is not owing to any defect or insufficiency in the sacrifice offered by Christ upon the cross, but is wholly to be imputed to themselves. So we continue in the L of the TULIP acronym, Limited Atonement or Particular Redemption with having finished the U, dealing with unconditional election and reprobation, where we saw that God is absolutely sovereign in the salvation of human beings, not man. And we've seen lately, in dealing with the second head of doctrine, that the absolute necessity of the work of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins because of the infinite offense against God's infinite majesty that we have occurred because of our sin. Christ's work has that infinite value needed to satisfy God's infinite justice. And last week we also considered the preaching of the gospel as the means by which God, primary means, which God uses to gather in His elect. Now in Article 6 here, It addresses a straw man argument of the Arminians that the reformed deny human responsibility. Their teaching was that the reformed view of election destroys man's possibility before God. We also see in this article dealing with the outward call of the gospel that yes, some will respond in unbelief. We saw that under the first head of doctrine dealing with those who are reprobate, they will not believe. And yet they are responsible for that unbelief. Now an unregenerated person loves their sin and hates God. We see in Psalm 53 1, the fool says in his heart, no God. And we see in Romans 1 that they suppress the truth about God in unrighteousness. Now no unbeliever on the day of judgment will be able to say, well, I wanted to believe. I wanted Christ and his righteousness, but the work of Christ was not sufficient for me. No, that is not true. They love their sin and they hate God and would not want to believe because they are unregenerate. They are dead in sin. Now the general proclamation of a particular gospel, the outward call, goes out to all human beings, elect and reprobate alike, and all are commanded to repent and believe. But only the elect, by the grace of God and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, will believe. But the unbelieving are still responsible for their unbelief because they willingly reject Christ. And then on the flip side, in Article 7, as many as truly believe, God's elect will respond to that gospel call with true saving faith. and are thus saved from their sin and destruction, Christ's death being for them in their place. And all of this, of course, solely by the grace of God that is given to them in Christ, which flows out of their eternal election and God's decree to save them in Christ. Nothing is attributed to any merit of their own. And this simply is a reiteration of the reform slogans of the solas or the alones, that it is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, and to God alone be the glory that we are saved. Amen? Amen. Amen. Would you once again turn with me in our hymnal to hymn 148, How shall the young direct their way? Hymn 148. you love. O let me not from you depart. To know your will and keep from sin your word I cherish in my heart. Amen. Would you please Gracious Heavenly Father, again, we both thank you for this beautiful day and this beautiful salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord, that you have given to us. We thank you, Heavenly Father, although it is difficult to understand the doctrine of election, we thank you, Heavenly Father, from before the foundation of the world had been created you have by your decree chosen some unto salvation. We thank you that before we had ever heard of the name of Christ, you sent your son by the covenant of grace that he might purchase our salvation. And we thank you for the spirit's work that worked in us through regeneration that opened our eyes to the reality of Christ as Lord, need for repentance and for faith. We thank you. We thank you, Lord, that although they are difficult to understand, they are nevertheless biblical and true. And although we would like to think that we have a part to play in our salvation, we contribute nothing to the sinfulness that made your coming into this world necessary. We pray, Heavenly Father, that that would be both freeing and encouraging. Because as we will see this morning, your word rather reassures us that although many of us feel this great pull within us to work, to somehow earn salvation, because we're under the impression that we somehow need to make ourselves more lovable before you, or this work that you have done in us more acceptable, we can rest and be assured that it is through the finished work of Jesus Christ that saves us, apart from any merit or work of our own. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that as we come humbly before the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, that you would reassure us that you would strengthen us and that you would allow us by your grace and your mercy to rest in your compassionate, loving arms, freeing us from the unbiblical idea that we need to somehow earn your love because it's just not possible. We pray, Heavenly Father, that in this freedom that we have through your work, that we would nevertheless strive to be all that we can be in Christ, that we would learn our confessions, what the scripture teaches, that we would read theology, even if we read through it rather slowly, that we might grow, that we would find it a delight within us to pray together and at home, to read your word together and to read it at home, to think high and lofty thoughts, both together here on the Lord's Day and at home. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would drive us to the grace that is sanctification, this work that you do in us that helps us grow, that gives us this passion to read and to understand. And we pray that it would be for your glory and your glory alone, that we would be able to point back to how you have taught us and to give you glory and not the astuteness of our own minds. We pray, Heavenly Father, this morning for the sick, the hurting, We pray for both those who are amongst us and those who could not be here this morning. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that, Lord, you would reassure us, that you would comfort us. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we would not be fixated on this thing that we can't control or perhaps help, but upon you, the author and the perfecter of our faith. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we would be fixated on the reality that you are the great physician and that we need you. We pray that being sick, as difficult as it is, would be a reminder that we are in need of your grace and your mercy. We pray that it would be humbling, but we pray, Heavenly Father, that you would heal us, that you would encourage us. I pray, Heavenly Father, that if we as a church, Lord, look to grow united together through Christ and his purposes that we would put it upon our own minds and shoulders and hearts, Lord, to regularly pray for one another, that we would remember to call one another or email or send text messages. But we pray, Heavenly Father, that we as a church, united through the blood of Jesus Christ, would affectionately love one another both here and out in this world that you have put us in. Lord, help us to love one another well. We pray Heavenly Father for our marriages this morning. We thank you for them. We thank you, Lord, that you have given us our spouses. We thank you, Lord, for those looking to be married. And we thank you, Lord, for those who are dreaming about being married. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that you would work within our marriages. We pray that you would help us to love one another well, to serve one another well, to faithfully pray for one another well, that we frankly would enjoy one another's company, that we would have fun together, that we would have soft hearts towards each other, that we would be teachable with one another, that we would pray together and talk about the things of God together. But we pray, Heavenly Father, that you would guard our minds and our hearts from those things that the world so readily offers us that will not only lead us astray from your sweet fellowship, but from the love and affection of our spouses. Protect our hearts, protect our marriages. We pray, Heavenly Father, that we would find it to be the joy of our delight just to check in with each other. That when our spouse is gone, Lord, we would think affectionate thoughts about them and thank you for them. Even when things seem so difficult, we know biblically that you use difficulties to sanctify us, and therefore even our marriages as difficult as they will be at times is a sanctification tool. We pray Heavenly Father that we would never lose sight that it was your sovereignty that provided our spouse and that you have called us before your presence to love them and to love them well, that we might glorify you. We pray Heavenly Father for those amongst us who has children or grandchildren or great-grandchildren We pray, Heavenly Father, for those who are married and are wanting to be married, who look forward to the day of having children. We pray, Heavenly Father, very simply that you would protect our covenant children, Lord. Again, that you would protect them from the lies and the schemes of the evil one. We pray, Heavenly Father, that our covenant children again, can be difficult, would grow up under your sovereign loving hand to serve you all the days of their lives. We thank you, Heavenly Father, that you have given us the ministry of being under shepherds to our children along with this covenant community. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help us to realize that even when we fail, there is grace and mercy abounding, that all we need do is repent before you. And even if we need to repent before our children, that we would freely do so and that we would start again and again and again, lifting them up in prayer and teaching them your statutes and commands that they would see their need for salvation, but we pray heavenly father that we would trust you with their salvation. And we would not feel the burden of having to somehow get them quote unquote to believe. I pray heavenly father that you would help us to teach them all that we can alongside the church and that we would leave them at your loving feet. And I pray, Lord, that you would protect us from shame and guilt and condemnation when we look at how we've raised our children and we will sometimes feel like failures. We pray this morning, Lord, that you would be with our children. We pray that you would lead those who have gone wayward to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to the praise of your glorious name. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would give our children teachable spirits, But although we may not know everything they're looking to understand, we pray that you would help us to find the answers. That we wouldn't feel guilty about not having all of the answers. But we pray, Lord, that as we raise these gifts that you have given to us, that we would not give up. Help us to fight the good fight of faith in raising our children And then give us the freedom to be able to lay them at your feet as we trust you with their eternal trajectory. We pray Heavenly Father that as we go about the rest of this service that you would bless us, that you would encourage us, that you would strengthen us. And we ask Lord that no matter what is coming around this week, we pray that you would prepare us by the work of the spirit to handle that. Lord, as you have empowered us to do so that even in that we would glorify you. We pray that you would, that you would be with us. We ask all of these things in your precious son, Jesus Christ name we pray. Amen. Would you please stand with me now for the reading of God's word. We'll begin this morning in the Old Testament in Leviticus chapter 12. We'll be reading together verses 1 through 8. Leviticus chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. The word of the Lord says, beginning in verse one, then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel saying, if a woman has conceived and born a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As in the days of her customary impurity, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification 33 days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification 66 days. When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove as a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. then he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has born a male or a female. And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons, one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her and she will be clean. May God add a blessing to the reading of his word. And now would you turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and we'll read together verses 22 to 33. Second Corinthians chapter 11 verses 22 to 33. Paul writes, are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more, in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received 40 stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been in the deep. in journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak. Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation. If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the governor under Aretas, the king, was guarding the city in Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands. All flesh is like grass and all of its glory is like the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And all of God's children said, amen. Please be seated. Join me in a word of prayer. Our God in heaven, we once again ask you, Lord, for your help as we look upon your word. Lord, I pray that you would give us understanding. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you would help us to rightly divide your word, that we would apply it and, Lord, that we would be in our minds renewed We pray, Heavenly Father, that we would think your thoughts after you. We pray, Lord, that it would be to the glory of your precious name. For we ask these things in that name. Amen. I wanna invite you to turn with me, as it's indicated in our handy-dandy bulletin, to Philippians chapter three, as we look together at verses four through 11. Philippians chapter three, verses four through 11. And I have entitled this sermon again, as it says in the bulletin, giving up to gain. Giving up to gain. But Philippians chapter three, verses four through 11. would you follow along with me as I read our text, beginning in verse four. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. Be conformed, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Again, may God add a blessing to the reading of his word. Well, this passage, Like the passage you might have read in, I believe, Acts chapter 8, the passage this morning is probably the most dramatic and compelling salvation testimony in the New Testament. That is the testimony of how Saul of Tarsus became the Apostle Paul. Paul's point here in our passage is that not only is salvation not based upon your or his works, our merits, but it is the result of the covenant of grace in God's electing us, is saving us. God sovereignly regenerates the mind and the heart of those who he has chosen and in doing so removes the scale from upon our eyes that we might believe upon Christ for his glory. Something that we wouldn't be able to do that is to save ourselves apart from his grace. Paul explains here that although he has spent much of his life earning righteousness, that he hoped would achieve salvation for himself, works according to the law, that upon meeting Christ in his regenerating work of the spirit was shown that the things that he had achieved and done were not salvific at all, meaning they did not save him. They did not contribute to his being saved. Paul, in a sense, exchanges his empty and vain works that will, in the end, lead to death for the righteousness that is imputed to us through Christ, which leads to life eternal. read to you from the Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer number 60. The question is, how are you righteous before God? Again, question and answer number 60. It says, only by true faith in Jesus Christ, that is, although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God and have never kept any of them and am still prone always to all evil, yet God, without any merit of mine of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me, if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart. What is the catechism teaching us, beloved? It's that the beauty of Christ's salvific work within us renders to us a righteousness that makes us as if we had never sinned before God Almighty a day in our lives. That in his perfect obedience to the law, He causes us to be sinless in the eyes of our heavenly father, to the praise of his glorious name. Amen. And the issue, as we look at that creed in light of what God's word says, we are reminded that the Lord takes away our guilt. He cleanses our consciences. He purifies our hearts. as if we had never sinned. But within the issue of God's transforming our minds to believe upon Jesus Christ, there is also a transformation of our wills. That's the other thing that Paul is establishing here. That is what we desire is also brought into conformity with Jesus Christ. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells us of two parables, excuse me, the first from verse 44. So this is Matthew chapter 13, verse 44. He tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. We're all familiar with this parable. This man discovers this field and on the field, he discovers a treasure. He goes home, he sells everything that he owns that he might purchase this field and the hidden treasure that is within it so that he can have that treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. He tells us another parable then in verses 45 and 46. about the kingdom of heaven where a merchant finds a pearl of great value. Again, this man sells all that he has to purchase that pearl. Christ's point is that when God Almighty gives us a new heart, what you will witness within you as you grow is a desire to throw off those things that will hinder you from having him so that you can have more of him. In fact, in verse 44, chapter 13 of Matthew, the parable of the man who purchases this entire field so that he can have the hidden treasure. Jesus tells us in that parable, he does so with joy. The Greek word translated joy comes from the Greek word zaris. that is gladness or happiness. The point that we derive from this is not only does Christ change what we desire, but he causes us to be happy about having the things we now desire in Christ. So not only does he change our desires at a heart level, he gives us a joy as to our pursuit of them. As we look at the testimony of Paul, that is what we see. Paul, as he writes this passage, breaks it up into two parts. The first, from verse four to verse six, are those things that Paul was persuaded to make, that he pursued, excuse me, to make himself righteous. And the second, verse seven to 11, Paul describes what true righteousness, where true righteousness is found. Again, verses four through six, those things Paul pursued to make himself righteous. Secondly, verses seven through 11 are those things where true righteousness is found. Would you follow along with me as I read from verse four to verse six, where Paul begins by explaining those pursuits of the law that he believed would make him righteous, beginning in verse four. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law, a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the right, concerning the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless. What Paul begins here with a seven behaviors or pursuits that Paul viewed at one time to be of spiritual profit in making him righteous before God. What that means is that Paul did these things so that when God saw that Paul not only was in pursuit of them, but accomplished them, that he would have no other thought than, Paul, my servant is righteous. We have to understand as we go into these three verses, the amount of arrogance and pride that would have gone into thinking or believing that we have the ability to somehow cause ourselves to be good enough to get ourselves into heaven. And that is the very heart of legalism. That arrogantly, the one who believes that I have the ability to make myself holy enough before God. The question that a legalist will often ask is, why can't you make yourself holy through adherence and obedience to the law. That question assumes that we have the ability to overcome our depravity and, in fact, the noetic effect of sin. That is, that Adam and Eve's sin causes us to think and believe and to understand truth and God incorrectly. Therefore, the reason that we need God to intervene is because it is through his regenerating work that would allow us to not only read his word and to understand it correctly, but to understand God correctly. The issue biblically, as we know, is that those aren't things that we overcome, but God's work alone in us. You notice what he says here, very interestingly, verse four. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so." What Paul is beginning this text out with is that out of everyone who has ever taken upon themselves a legalistic approach of having righteousness before God, and being confident that they had somehow earned that level of righteousness to be accepted by God, Paul puts them all to shame. That's what he's saying. Out of everyone who has looked to be made righteous before God through their own efforts, I am chief amongst them. He says he has confidence. the Greek word pep or faith sin, literally to place trust or reliance upon, meaning that as Paul approached the law, he read it as a manual of as to how to make himself righteous before God. And because he had achieved certain things according to his own effort, he was assured he was confident he could lay to rest any thought that he somehow couldn't have earned that sense of righteousness before God. He was assured. He knew with absolute assurance that everything a person is supposed to do, he conquered in spades. Imagine that. Well, what he goes into next from verse five to the end of verse six are those things that he did. Please bear with me as we go through each of these so as to understand what Paul is saying. But he begins verse five as he says, he was circumcised on the eighth day. You read back in Genesis chapter 17 verses nine through 14 and We read in Leviticus chapter 12, these passages record the initiation of circumcision, which was the initiatory rite of the old covenant. If for some reason someone rejected circumcision, then it was a sign that they were rejecting God who made the covenant. But the sign of circumcision served as a blood sign of the gospel that was to come through Christ. It pointed to God cutting away the corruption of fallen human nature through the bloody sacrifice of our coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, which he would endure for his beloved. But what Paul is pointing out here is that at some point the Jews culturally began to forget what God intended for circumcision to remind them of. And the idea that circumcision in and of itself was something that they could do to justify themselves before God. In other words, it went from a reminder of the need to be saved through the coming of the son to, if I am circumcised, I do a work that is good enough to make me righteous before the sight of God. So what Paul is attesting to is that his external performing this work achieved nothing in terms of being righteous before God. Verse 5, secondly, it says that he was of the stock of Israel. Paul was by birth a member of God's chosen people, meaning he was amongst the people that God revealed himself to in this group through whom he would bring about this promised Messiah that we see all the way back in Genesis chapter three, verse 15. What Paul, however, is pointing out is the idea that people grew to have that all of Israel, regardless of how each person was living, would, because they're Jewish, be automatically saved. In other words, because they were born of Abraham and were Jewish and practiced even some of the laws of God, but lived however they wanted to, that they were automatically saved, automatically righteous before God. But God's point was never to save all of Israel simply because they belong to Israel, but creating one people, the church, saved by election evidenced by faith in Jesus Christ. So the racial heritage, thinking that you come from a family that is perhaps better than others, was not salvific. He says he was from the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin, if you did not know, was one of the most prominent tribes in all of Israel. Benjamin himself was the younger of Jacob's two sons, born of his favorite wife, Rachel. He was the only one born in the promised land. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is in Benjamin's allotted territory. And when the kingdom of Israel split, Benjamin and Judah were the only two tribes who remained loyal to the Lord. Read the story about Mordecai and Esther. They're used by God to save Israel from genocide. And both of them came from the tribe of Benjamin. The point in that little history lesson is simply that the tribe of Benjamin was viewed as one of the most noblest in all of Israel. But as Paul, after being regenerated and saved through God's electing purposes, looks back upon his works, what he is now admitting to is that the tribe he came from or the hometown he was raised in didn't also somehow make him righteous before God. Let me see what we're talking about here. We're talking very simply about these things that were either done for Paul or Paul doing himself that was believed to make him righteous. You notice that Paul says that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. What this is, is a declaration that as he grew to manhood, Paul strictly and with discipline maintained his family traditional Jewish heritage. You may remember reading earlier that Paul was from Tarsus, which is in Asia minor and not in Israel, but he remained nevertheless firmly committed to his Orthodox Jewish traditions, its customs, and eventually left his home for Jerusalem to study under the Pharisee Gamaliel. The point that he's making here is that the extent to his commitment to being traditional Orthodox Jewish, the fact that he obeyed his parents in being raised Jewish and furthering his education in the study of the law doesn't somehow impress God Almighty causing God to view Paul as righteous before him. Notice that Paul describes himself as a Pharisee, but upon pursuing Jewish studies with Gamaliel, he is an incredibly zealous person for both the law and therefore he becomes a Pharisee. Did you know that in order to become a Pharisee, you would have to first and foremost have an absolute commitment to Judaism? and the law, and that secondly, you'd have to have a supreme mastery of the law, meaning literally that when someone comes to you with even the most obscure of questions concerning our conduct as is described in the law, you can, at the snap of your finger, give them what God's law says. You're just able to do that, intellectually describe for someone what the law teaches. what Paul describes here now, after he has been regenerated, is that his education, his zeal, his passion, couldn't make him acceptable in the sight of God. Verse six, it says in Paul's zeal, he persecuted the church. The Jews did not know, viewed zeal as the supreme religious virtue, and it was looked at as a two-sided coin. Zeal, two-sided coin. On one hand, to be considered zealous is to love God. On the other hand, to be zealous was to hate what offends or what God hates. And the point here is that in his misguided love for God, it caused him in his sinfulness and depravity to hate and persecute Christianity. If you were to look at Acts chapter eight, where Paul, or rather where the stoning of Stephen occurs, what you'll see is that Paul was instrumental in the forming of the mob who stoned Stephen. he stoned Stephen, or he rounded up the men who would stone Stephen. In Acts chapter nine, we're told that Paul breathed threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, and it was so overbearing that the church in Jerusalem had to separate from one another. In other words, Paul's pursuit of Christians was not this low key, if I find one, I'm gonna kill him, it's that he hungered and thirsted for their death. because he was so zealous as a Pharisee. Well, Paul's point here is that his zeal was misguided. It was sinful as a result of his spiritually, being spiritually blind and dead. Notice finally, verse six, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless. He's blameless. Point here is not that Paul somehow considered himself to be sinless, is that when you looked at him and his life, what you'd see is someone who made every effort possible to be all that they can be according to the law. He was passionate. He was zealous. He didn't apologize for it. He pursued law and obedience to God the way that some of these people do a professional career at sports. They literally throw off everything that would keep them from being able to perform at the absolute top level that their bodies could possibly perform at just so they can be this professional and score these goals and you know, skate fast, or run fast, or jump high, or score as many shots as they could possibly score. The point is, is that when Paul looked at his life and said, what is the trajectory? What do I want to do? He had no bones about saying, I want to be the best Jew that I can be. The problem, as we reflect on this in light of the gospel and faith through Jesus Christ, is that when Paul looked at those things that he pursued with excellence, it was for naught. Can you imagine how much effort you would have to put in to be considered not only by yourself, but by everybody in the room to be the absolute best. To be the one that everyone looks at and says, that's who I want to be. The amount of energy that you would have to put into it, the studying hours and hours and sitting and asking questions and perhaps even feeling insecure or foolish just so they can give you the answers so that you can grow up to be all that God had called you to be and to reach that and to say all of that because of Christ was vanity. Do you have any idea how humbling that would be? This is not Paul simply sharing his testimony with us so as to feel some goodness about him. It's to realize that as God worked in him through his regenerating grace, that all that he did was for naught and he is sharing it with you so that you would know what is of the utmost importance. Tell me that's not precious and beautiful. It is, I'm gonna answer the question for you. It is both precious and beautiful, amen. Secondly, verses seven through 11, Paul now dives into the surpassing benefits of knowing Christ. Would you follow along with me as I read this passage? Beginning in verse seven. But what things were gained to me, these things I have counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Notice very interestingly, verses seven through nine, that Paul calls All of these things that he had pursued in an effort to make himself righteous, he calls now a loss. A loss. In fact, he uses this word three times. He uses it once in verse seven and two more times in verse eight. He uses another word to describe that effort. He calls it rubbish. He says here in stark distinction Because of Christ, he now knows what is true. Look at verse eight. He says, yet indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ. excellence from the greek word hupor echo that is something of surpassing value that's something literally that you have that cannot be somehow monetarily described it can't it's so important to you it's of surpassing value What Paul is saying here is that in the spirits awakening him, showing him that his words of righteousness were of no value eternally, and that only the work of Christ matters because it is in him we have or are given eternal justification and through which we are saved from our sins. In other words, God had chosen Paul, the worthlessness of his works. the worthlessness of his works. Notice verses 10 and 11. It says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. If by any means I may obtain to the resurrection of the dead. What Paul is explaining here is now his longing of his heart, the longing of his heart to know him. To know is not just the greater intellectual understanding, but something or something about someone, but rather a deeper, more personal union with them. In other words, Paul desired to know the power of the resurrection so as to overcome the power of the flesh, that he might overcome his own sin, that he desired to have fellowship of his sufferings. That is Christ's sufferings, meaning Paul desired to know this power that would cause a believer to persevere as he faithfully serves God. And it's suffering, feeling the absolute longing that Christ had to go home, to be with his own father in heaven. The issue for Paul is not simply that he got saved by Christ, it's that in Christ's salvific work within Paul, the old desires to make himself righteous died. They were crucified and they were replaced with a need to understand more of Christ that he might glorify his savior. See, the beauty of this passage is that Paul isn't replacing one academic pursuit for another. He's not taking one academic thing and replacing it with another. Like going from Oreo cookies to chips ahoy, if that's your thing. That's not what he's talking about. We all know that, that's silly and maybe not even necessary for me to say. But the point is that because of this work that Christ has done within him, his personality is such that when I desire something, I will put off everything else that I might have, all of that one thing. And in the old Saul, he pursued self-righteousness. And not just self-righteousness, he perfected a pursuit of self-righteousness, such that when people looked at him, They knew that he was the one to follow, that if they followed him and did what Paul did, they would walk into righteousness and into the pearly gates of heaven, where God gives them a round of applause for reaching this level of righteousness. Except that when he came to know Jesus Christ, finally came to understand that those things that I tried to do to make myself seem righteous were of no value. And because the father had given him the personality that he had given Paul, Paul took that energy, that desire to want to be self-righteous going from pursuing self-righteousness to pursuing Christ's likeness and the proclamation of his word, to serve people, to help people, to pray for people, to love people, so that those things that Paul was now able to do by the grace of God, he did for the glory of God and not his own. Is Paul arguing ultimately here that works of righteousness are no good. No, he isn't. Because Paul wouldn't have done the things that he had done had he not been called to this work. But the difference again is not that Paul didn't work. It's that in his work, he did so, and admittedly so, because the Lord our God changed him from the inside, and it was evidenced in the things that he did, the message that he preached, and the way that he loved. In other words, his works were the direct result of the Spirit's regenerating work within him, and therefore, Paul can't say, look at me. He can only say, look at Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's the difference. Paul is not saying don't go home and read theology. He's not saying don't go home and read the catechism. He isn't saying don't go home and memorize scripture. What he's saying is do those things because Christ has so transformed you that in doing so you are glorifying and honoring the Lord our God who has changed you. And what's deep, what's deep is that memorizing scripture isn't easy, is it? Reading theology can be difficult, amen? Sometimes, if we're honest, curving out a piece of time so that I can you know, shut off TV, turn off the phone and pray can be difficult. You, you work or you, you volunteer or you take care of somebody or love somebody or whatever it is. And you want to go home. You want to sit in whatever chair you love and you want to watch whatever it is you want to watch. You want to relax. But because of this work that God has done is not saying you can't sit back And relax, what he's saying is that when you work, you work unto the Lord for the Lord's glory because he gave you a passion or a zeal to do it. Even though the things that he has perhaps called us to do can be difficult and are sanctifying in and of themselves. Because sometimes it's difficult to shut the TV off and to read the word, amen? Sometimes Sometimes somebody might get on your nerves, and you might want to kung fu them, if kung fuing is a thing. It is. I've seen it done many times. And you instead get down on your knees, metaphorically or physically, and you cry out to God. or you had a rough week at work and all you want to do is go up to your boss and tell him a couple of words you want to tell him. Instead, you take that enthusiasm, you know what I'm saying, you open up the living word and you allow it to transform your mind. Or sometimes your spouse, You just don't know how to respond. The point is that this work that the Lord calls us to do, because we love Him, is sanctifying in and of itself. It is hard. It can be or it is rather the crucifying of our flesh. That's what Jesus says. Those who aren't willing or able to pick up their cross daily are not worthy of me. That's a hard thing to hear. It is nevertheless what the Lord calls us to do. In other words, you're looking dead faced straight into the thing you want to do the absolute most with every fiber of your being. And rather than giving into the flesh, you pick up that cross and you put yourself upon it, believing that he will help you crucify that desire, even at the very heart of wanting to do it because he has so enabled us to through the work of the spirit. the changing of wanting to make myself appear smarter than the other people, more together than other people, to have better clothes than other people, to be more articulate than other people, just in hopes that somebody will look at me and conclude, that's who I want to be. And instead, grow as Christ has called you to grow but point people not to yourself and to your works, but to Christ's for his glory. I found something out very interesting this week that I would like to share with you. It's a very interesting story. But did you know that oysters, the ones that we can eat at the Red Lobster or wherever we like to go, but suffer affliction when even just a grain of sand gets into its shell. They suffer. It's a hardship, just a grain of sand. Do you know that an oyster, because it's irritated, will cover that grain of sand, even just one little grain of sand, with this secretion that God has given it the ability to create? And they cover this grain of sand, they cover it and they cover it and they cover it in hopes that in their covering the grain of sand that is so irritating will somehow be less irritating. They'll cover it with this secretion and cover it and cover it. And you know what eventually comes of that secretion? A pearl. A beautiful pearl. The idea here is not to pursue a work's righteousness that makes us look good, but a work that God has given to us that glorifies Him, because we see that apart from Him, we can do nothing that honors or glorifies Him. Even if doing that thing is so difficult at times and is sanctifying to do, See, the issue here isn't go home and work harder. It's not feel bad for yourself because you're not memorizing chapter upon chapter of God's word, although we should perhaps make that a goal of ours someday. It's not that you go home and spend hours upon hours on tile floor, upon your knees, crying out to God in prayer, saying the same things over and over again, in hopes that he will somehow hear you. That's not the point is realizing that when he has gifted me to do something, I no longer do it so that somebody will look at me and think how great I am. But I will give the glory to God because it's about him. And suddenly, as You work through kind of the hardship, you know, you try to memorize verses of the Bible and you go over them and you go over them and you go back the following day and you can't remember anything. You may remember two words of the three verses that you tried to memorize. The point isn't that you feel guilty and shame upon yourself. It's that you see that you need his help. It's not that we would feel shame and guilt when we talk to our children or our grandchildren or our spouses in a particular way, that you'd feel shame and guilt and condemnation. It's that through that, you would see your need for him to help you in every facet of life. And when we start to bear fruit in keeping with some of these things that we're repenting of, that it was never about you, that it was never about you. but about the grace of God that has been fixed upon your life. Amen. Let's pray. Lord God in heaven, we acknowledge readily, completely and humbly that we need you We need your help to love our spouses. We need your help to love our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We need you to work as unto the Lord. We need you to love people well. We need you to have a good attitude as we're driving down the street and are cut off. We need you when we are spitefully used and spoken out against and we need you Lord, when we feel devastated by life and its difficulties, we need you. And I pray, Lord, that as we depart, we think about the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and what you have done for us, that we would be reminded that it was completed, it was finished by Jesus Christ that day. We ask these things in your precious son, Jesus Christ's name, we pray. Amen. This morning, beloved, we are given the distinct, humbling pleasure of remembering what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. We ask, as we ask at the beginning of service, that if you have not spoken to either myself or our elders concerning your walk with the Lord or your involvement in a Bible-believing Protestant church, to please allow the cup and the bread to pass. We'll see in a moment as we examine ourselves, and hopefully we took that seriously this week, that if there is unrepentant sin in your life, we ask that you would allow the cup and the bread to pass. With that being said, beloved in the Lord Jesus, listen to the words of the institution of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till it comes. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Until his coming again, it is to be observed as a continuing remembrance of the sacrifice of himself and his death. The physical elements of bread and wine representing the broken body and the shed blood of the Savior are received by true believers as signs and seals of all the benefits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. They signify the seal, the remission of sins and nourishment and growth in Christ and are a bond and a pledge of the communion of believers with him and with each other as members of his spiritual body, the church. As signs and seals of the covenant of grace, they are not only declared that God is faithful and true to fulfill the promise of the covenant But they also summon us to all the duties of the children of God and call us to renewed consecration in gratitude for his salvation. In order that we may celebrate the Lord's Supper to our comfort, it is first necessary that we properly examine ourselves. A true examination of ourselves consists in three parts. First, let everyone consider by himself his sins and a crudeness apart from Jesus Christ, so that he may be displeased with himself and humble himself in the presence of God. Second, let everyone examine his heart as to whether he truly believes this certain promise of God, that all his sins are forgiven only for the sake of Jesus Christ. And third, let everyone search his conscience, whether he is determined to show his gratitude to God the Lord all the days of his life by walking uprightly before him. It is my solemn duty to warn the uninstructed, the profane, the scandalous, and those who secretly and unrepentantly live in any sin not to approach the holy table where they would partake unworthily, nor are not discerning the Lord's body and so eat and drink judgment upon themselves. Nevertheless, this warning is not designed to keep the humble and contrite from the table of the Lord, as if the supper were for those who might be free from sin. On the contrary, we who are invited to the supper come as guilty and polluted sinners who are without hope of eternal life apart from the grace of God in Christ. We confess our dependence for pardon and cleansing upon the perfect sacrifice of Christ We base our hope of eternal life upon his perfect obedience and righteousness, and we humbly resolve to deny ourselves, crucify our old nature, and follow Christ as becomes those who fear his name. Let's pray. Merciful God and Father, we beseech you that in this summer in which we Cherish the blessed memory of the bitter death of your dear son, Jesus Christ. You also work in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that with true confidence we might give ourselves up more and more to your son, Jesus Christ, in order that our burdened and contrite hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit may be nourished and refreshed by his true body and blood. Yes, with Christ himself, that with the true God and man, the only heavenly bread, we pray that we may no longer live in our sins, but that Christ may live in us, and we in him, so that we may truly be partakers of the new and everlasting testament, the covenant of grace. We do not doubt that you will forever be our gracious father, never again imputing our sins to us, but providing us with all things necessary for body and soul, as your dear children and heirs. Grant us also your grace that we may take up your cross cheerfully, deny ourselves, confess our savior, and in all our tribulation with an uplifted head, expect our Lord Jesus Christ to come from heaven, where we will recreate our mortal bodies in the likeness of his glorified body, and take us to himself in eternity. Be pleased also, O Lord, to bless these elements of bread and wine so that, receiving them in remembrance of the passion and death of your dear Son, we may by faith be made partakers of his crucified body and shed blood with all his benefits through our spiritual nourishment and to the glory of your holy name. For it is in God's name we pray. The Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it. He said, take, eat. do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, also, we took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. you. The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? I'm talking to you. Okay. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? Bless the lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the lord, oh my soul, and forgive not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who grounds you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like eagles. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us, as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him. He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Therefore, our hearts and lives shall show forth your praises, O Lord, from now on and forevermore. Amen. Would you please stand with me now and turn with me in our hymnal to the hymn 529, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. ♪ The world's excelling joy of heaven to earth come now ♪ ♪ Make still the sky from the valley ♪ ♪ All thy faithful mercies now ♪ ♪ Jesus, thou art all compassion ♪ ♪ Pure on love divine ♪ my salvation let us to be praise him me. Amen. Please be seated and we enter into our time of worship and giving. Now, let's pray again together. Lord, we thank you again for your word, and we thank you for your people, our brothers and sisters. We thank you, Heavenly Father, for the ways in which you have blessed them, and we thank you for the provision that you have given them. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you would bless us this week. It is in your precious name we pray. Amen. Amen. Would you please stand with me as we sing the doxology which you can find in hymn number seven hundred and thirty-two. Praise god. Amen. Amen. Just a quick reminder. Uh please, if you are and it is our prayer that both would be encouraging to you, amen? With that being said, now, the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.