I suppose that you know by now that in Philippians chapter three, Paul is advising the church at Philippi to beware of Judaizers. Take a look at verse two, chapter three, verse two, he says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. So it's a triple beware, isn't it? And he's talking about these Judaizers who would follow Paul into the churches that he founded and would try to encourage them to go back into Judaism or to continue many of the rites and rituals and practices of Judaism. And Paul says, beware of these dogs. Beware of the evil workers and beware of the flesh mutilators or the concision. You know, we are always to beware in the church, particularly we are to beware of those who would preach works and rituals as a means of acceptance with God. We always must be diligent in watching out for that. We are saved by the sheer grace of our God. Everywhere in the Bible, salvation is attributed to the grace of God. Ephesians 2, 8, 9, a very famous verse, one that you know by heart, I'm sure, says, For by grace are ye saved by faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And yet men everywhere boast that they have done something to please God and to get to heaven. Men think that they are going to heaven because of their works. They think that they are going to heaven because of some religious rituals that they perform. But Paul says, by grace, ye are saved. Now, at one time, Paul thought he was going to heaven because of his works. Paul was very proud of his attainments in Judaism, and he thought if any man makes it, it will be me. He said, if any man can boast in the flesh, it is me. And he was right. He was the preeminent Jew. He did everything right, according to the law, not sinlessly perfect, but no one could find any blame to lay on him. Paul was a tireless religious worker in Judaism. And he thought salvation is not by grace. It is by works. But then Paul met the risen Christ. And from that point forward, Paul said it is not by works, but by grace. Paul said goodbye to all of those works. He said goodbye to all of his accomplishments in Judaism. And he said, I count them loss to win Christ. Now, in our text for this morning, Paul is specifically warning the church against the continuance of Judaism. This is because Judaism was a religion under the law, you see. Judaism was a religion of works and rituals. Now, underlying it all, it really was about Christ, but they misinterpreted all of that, you see. To them, it was a religion that had a curse attached to it. And it was not a religion that featured the grace of God by faith. And so no wonder Paul warned the church about the dangers of continuing in Judaism. But Paul could just as well have been warning against any system that promotes works as a means of acceptance with God. You see, God has devised a way of salvation that is in no way by works. It is by grace and grace alone. And if any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed, said Paul in Galatians chapter one. Let all who put their trust in rituals be warned that salvation is by grace. and not by works. Salvation is not by the burning of incense. It is not by the doing of penance, or the observance of mass, as you might find in the Roman Catholic Church. Salvation is not by baptism, as in the Church of Christ and others. It is not by door-to-door witnessing, as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses. It is not by faithfulness to the church and church leaders, as in Mormonism, but it is by grace. It is not by meditation and it's not by yoga. It is not by asceticism or self-denial, but it is by the sheer grace of God. You cannot be saved by paying some penalty. There is nothing you can do. to absolve your sins. You must be saved by God's grace. If you want to be saved, it will not be by your own righteousness. You will be saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ or you will not be saved. It says in Philippians 3.9 in our text, it says, and be found in Him Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now, last week, we considered several reasons why Paul gave up his Judaism. If you were not here, Brother Dana and Miss Kim, I would love for you to listen to that sermon. It deals with some of the underlying reasons why Paul gave up Judaism. Now, we know from the scriptures that were to give it up were not to continue in it. The whole book of Hebrews and the whole book of Galatians really was about that. But when we look at Philippians chapter three last week in particular, we tried to analyze some of the reasons why Judaism should be given up as a matter of principle. You see, Judaism was a religion of works under the law. The operative principle, the Bible says, of Judaism was works. And works is incompatible with grace. And so Paul was compelled to give up his religion of Judaism as a matter of principle. Secondly, Paul gave up his Judaism because at the end of the law awaited a curse. The law walked man down a road that ended in hell. It is called the curse of the law in the scriptures. And it is not that the law was bad, but man was bad. It's not that the law was faulty, you see, but man was faulty. And because man was faulty, he was cursed under a holy law. So Paul wisely gave it up, didn't he? Who in his right mind would continue to walk down a road that leads to hell? And so Paul said, I counted all loss. I counted of no value. But Paul also gave up his Judaism because his Judaism was a works principle that clashed with the principle of faith. You see, works conflicts with grace, but it also conflicts with faith. It says in Philippians 3.9, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, you see, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So we saw that the operative principles of Judaism were opposite. and worked against the principles of grace by faith in Christ. And Paul gave Judaism up in favor of Christ. This morning, I want to show you what we have when we turn our back on our own righteousness and we trust in Christ. I want to show you what we have when we find grace, what we have when we find Christ by faith alone. What must a man do to be saved? Why, he must believe in Christ. He must turn loose of every other hope, count everything else but loss, as Paul did, and believe in Christ. Now, the natives in Africa have a crafty way to catch monkeys. Has anyone ever heard of that way that they catch and trap monkeys? They would cut a small hole in a coconut. You see, you have to use what tools you have there. They would cut a small hole in a coconut. They would have the coconut fastened with a rope somewhere. But they would cut a small hole just large enough for the monkey to stick his hand in and then they would put some peanuts in the coconut. And when the monkey would stick his hand in the coconut, he would pick up the peanuts and he would hold them in his fist. And with his fist clenched, he could not pull his hand out. And they would reel the coconut in with the string tied to the other side and they would catch the monkey. Now, all the monkey had to do was to drop the peanuts and he could have removed his hand and gone free. But he was unwilling to let go. And what we have to do to have Christ is to turn loose of that which we are clinging to. This morning we want to talk about the true nature of salvation. You remember that Judaism was the shadow of things to come in the book of Hebrews. And now we want to look at the substance of things. Paul turned loose of his Judaism so that he might have something far better. Paul turned loose of the shadow that he might have the substance. And so first of all this morning, I want you to notice that true salvation is being found in Christ. Take a look at Philippians 3, 9 once again. Paul had said that he counted all laws for Christ, that he might know him, and then in verse 9, and be found in him. When this life is over, I suppose that each of us will be making our application for heaven. Many will suppose that they are safe because of their works. It says in Matthew 7, 22, 23, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works? Can you imagine knocking on the gates of heaven and making such an application? But Jesus said, and then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Many will suppose in that day that they are safe because they have performed the rituals of their religion. And how many religions are there that teach that rituals will get you there? Lord, I attended mass every week. I made my confessions to the priest. I said, Hail Mary's. I did penance as I was asked to do. I obeyed the commands of the church leaders. Some will say, but I walked down the aisle and the preacher led me in a prayer and he assured me that I was saved and never to doubt it. And the Lord will say, depart from me. I never knew you. Many will suppose that they are safe because they were good persons. They were good husbands or good wives. They were good parents. They were good neighbors. They were good citizens, and they were well respected in the community. And the Lord will remind them that there is none good, no, not one. Many will suppose that they are safe because of their birthright. They were born a Jew, or they were born an American, or they were born into a Christian family. And the Lord will remind them that he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. Many will suppose that they are safe because they have attached themselves to the church. They attended church. They joined the church. They identified with the church by baptism. They supported the church. They fellowshiped with the saints, and they supposed that this will surely get them into heaven. And to those who are relying on church affiliation, the Lord will say, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. You see, there is one thing and one alone that will qualify you for heaven, and that is to be in Christ. Paul says, and to be found in Him. Paul said, I count it all off that I may be found in Christ. It is better to be in Christ than to be the world's greatest Christian worker. It is better to be in Christ than to perform a million rituals. It is better to be in Christ than to be born a Jew or to be born into a Christian family. It is better to be in Christ than to be on the church rolls. It is better to be in Christ than to be baptized. To be in Christ is the only thing that will qualify you for heaven. Now, some of these other things are not bad things. They're good things. They're commanded things. They're things that we should do. But it's being in Christ that makes the difference. To be in Christ is a saving thing. To be in His bosom, to be loved by Christ is a saving thing. To be His sheep held in His hands is a saving thing. Oh, that we may be found in Christ on that day, I pray. that none of us are deceiving ourselves about our salvation, but I pray that we are solidly embedded in the heart of Christ. I pray that his heart beats for us because that is the only thing that will save us. I only pray that he loves us for that is salvation. Job had a vision of Christ and listen to what he said. In Job 42 verses 5 and 6, he says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. We recently read the book of Ezra. Remember what Ezra said on behalf of the people. Ezra said, oh my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up into the heavens. And consider Isaiah, who saw Christ in a vision. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. and the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke, then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. If a just man like Job said, I abhor myself, If Ezra said, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee. If Isaiah said, woe is me. What are we going to say when we come face to face with Christ? Are we going to say, Lord, I have done many works? Lord, I have been a good person. Lord, I went to church for 50 years. I sincerely hope that none of us will say such things, but we shall only hope in that day to be found in the bosom of Christ by the grace of God. Paul said, I count it all lost to be found in Christ. How is it that I might be found in Christ? If any man is to be found in Christ, how will he get there? Let me say that you are in Christ by the electing love of God, which we heard this morning in Sunday school. You are not there because you elected him, but you're there because he elected you. It says in Ephesians 1, 4, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Furthermore, Jesus told his disciples, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Furthermore, I want to be clear that God does not choose us in the course of time. He does not choose us at the moment that we acknowledge Christ as our Savior. Rather, He chose us, the Bible says, before the foundation of the world. And in the course of time, as a result of His choosing, we are moved by the Holy Spirit to receive Him, you see. What is the greatest blessing of all time? Why, it is to be the elect of God. It is to be chosen for salvation. It is to be placed in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now let me say that election is not the whole of salvation. We learned that this morning also in Brother Camp's new series that he started. Election is not Regeneration, you see. Election is not justification. Election is not sanctification. Election is not glorification. Those are all other parts of salvation. But election is the initial work of God that sets in motion the whole process of salvation. Election is the divine reason why we are in Christ. You see, God determined who would ultimately inhabit his heaven, and he did it by the mechanism of election. But here is how it plays out in time. Those who are elect are so moved by the spirit of God that they reject their own works in favor of Christ. Those who are elect will cry, woe is me. The elect will count it all lost to be found in Christ. The elect will so see the holiness of Christ that they will not be prone to offer any work for acceptance with God. The world of reprobates, on the other hand, will step to the precipice of hell maintaining that they somehow deserve heaven. but the elect will enter heaven with every knowledge that they did not deserve it. The reprobate will despise the justice of God, but the elect will glory in the grace of God. The elect of God will count every other thing but loss except faith in Christ. The elect will place their trust in Christ and Christ alone. Again, in our text, in Philippians 3.9, Paul says, And to be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. So God placed us in Christ by election, and we were moved experientially into Christ upon our faith in Christ. We were placed in Christ's bosom forever before the foundation of the world. But we came to an experiential knowledge of it when we believed. And by the great and wondrous work of God, by the great and wondrous grace of God, we shall be found in Christ on that great day. But let me say secondly here this morning that true salvation is having Christ's righteousness. It says in Philippians 3 9 and be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now, when we are in him, when we are found in him eternally by election and experientially by faith, Christ counts for us in every way, you see. Christ is our pinch hitter, so to speak. He is our substitute. The life that Christ lived was lived on our behalf. The things which Christ suffered were on our behalf. The penalty which he paid was on our behalf. The death which Christ died was on our behalf. But that's not all of it. The resurrection which Christ experienced was on our behalf. The ascension to the right hand of God in glory was on our behalf. And all of this because we were found in Him. Our destiny is no longer determined by our fallen condition. It is no longer influenced by our weakness and by our sinfulness. Our destiny is no longer determined by our works, but it is determined by the work of Christ and His work alone. Now, though Job abhorred himself, he fully expected to enjoy heaven because he was in Christ. Though Isaiah said, Woe is me, he fully expected to see heaven by the merits of Christ, you And though Paul said, I am the chief of sinners, he expected to be in heaven by the righteousness of Christ. When you knock on heaven's door, don't point to your own merits, but simply point at Christ and say, by his righteousness, I am saved. But I also want you to see this morning that true salvation is to experience the power of his resurrection. This is found in verse 10 and Paul is telling us why he has counted his Judaism loss and why he gave it up and he says that I may know him in verse 10 and the power of his resurrection. You see there is a certain power that raised the body of Jesus from the dead. It was an extraordinary power. It was a great and awesome power. It is a power equivalent to the power necessary to create the universe. It is the very power of Almighty God who can do all things. And that same power which raised Jesus from the dead is the power which changes the sinner into a saint. Paul said, I count it all lost that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. Paul is talking about his experience in salvation now. What God has really done in his life You have to understand that there is no explanation for the Christian life except the power of God. Man is fallen. Man has a sinful nature. The Bible teaches us that there is none good, no not one. They have all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. And man does not simply reform himself. Man doesn't simply read a self-help book and become a Christian, but sinners are changed by the power of God. Men are changed, first of all, by the power of God in regeneration. This is a miraculous work of God whereby he makes the dead man alive spiritually. The Bible says that we were dead in trespasses and sins But in Ephesians 2, 4, and 5, it says, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. Don't underestimate the great power of God in the work of regeneration. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. If you are a believer in Christ, If you are saved by His grace, then you are the product of the miraculous and powerful work of God. And Paul said, I count everything else but loss that I may know the power, you see, of His resurrection. But the power of Christ's resurrection is at work in the Christian even after the work of regeneration. The very power of God which raised Christ works day by day in the heart of the regenerate man to bring the heart to submission to Christ. The power of God is relentless, and he works every day to subdue that old stubborn heart. He works to make the unwilling heart willing. He works to bring light to the dark corners of the mind. The same power of God that raised Christ is working in us to raise us up from our helpless condition. So Paul says, I count it all loss to know, you see, to experience in my life the power of His resurrection. But let me hurry on also to say that true salvation is also to share in the sufferings of Christ. Take a look at Philippians chapter 3 and verse 10. Paul is saying, I count it all lost that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. Now, this is a somewhat troubling verse to me. I wrestled with this. And I read many commentators on this and many commentators interpret this to mean that Paul was anxious to suffer so that he could be like Christ in every way. And I suppose that there is some truth to that. I'm sure that Paul was certainly willing to suffer. In fact, he was suffering for Christ as he wrote this epistle, he was sitting in prison. chained to a Roman guard, and I'm sure that he was going through his sufferings and counting it all joy that he could be like Christ in this way. But my best understanding of this verse is not that Paul desired to suffer himself. It is not that he went around searching for someone to persecute him so that he might suffer more. Anyone in their reasonable mind would try to avoid that if possible, without rejecting Christ, of course. But the sense here seems to me to be that he desired to share in the benefits of Christ's suffering. That seems to be what he's talking about, he wants to share in the power of Christ's resurrection And it seems that he also wants to share in the benefits, you see, of the suffering of Christ. Matthew Henry was helpful here. He says that to know the fellowship of his sufferings is to feel the transforming efficacy and virtue of them. You see, Christ died that we might have life. Christ suffered that we might have the benefits of acceptance with God. And Paul left Judaism and counted it all also that the sufferings of Christ would count for him and that he might experience the great benefits of Christ's sufferings. The sufferings and the death of Christ were designed not merely to pay the penalty for our sins, but they were designed to be the basis of our sanctification, you see. It is Christ's suffering and Christ's death that ultimately leads us in the way of sanctification and provides the power for it. And so like Paul, we desire for all the benefits of the death of Christ to be applied to us. Let us share in his death, you see. Let the benefits of his sufferings flow to me by grace. I believe that's what Paul was wanting. And the reason why he left Judaism was to share in the benefits of the sufferings of Christ. He goes on and he says, let me be conformable to his death. I don't think Paul was saying, let me die in the same way. No one would want to be crucified. Paul wasn't saying, well, Jesus was crucified. Let me be crucified. But what he was saying was, may my life resonate with the power of God because of what Christ did for me. So he says, being made conformable to his death, let my life conform to the reality of Christ's suffering and death for me. Now, some say that Paul was wishing to die like Christ, that he wanted to be crucified so that he could be just like Christ, even in death. I certainly think Paul was willing to die like Christ. I certainly think Paul was willing to be crucified and he would have counted it a great honor to die like Christ. But I don't think that Paul petitioned the Roman court to be crucified. I think what he means here is that he wanted his life to conform to the death of Christ. Let sin be put to death in me. You see, Jesus was put to death physically. Let sin be put to death in me. Let my life conform to the reality of his death. Remember what Paul said in Galatians, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Notice that Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. It is not that he hoped to be crucified like Christ, but he counted himself crucified with him. Lastly, let me say this morning that true salvation is ultimately to attain the resurrection of the dead. Take a look at Philippians 3, verse 11. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Why did Paul leave Judaism? Why did he count it all loss? Well, ultimately to attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Did you know that this is the ultimate hope of those who trust in Christ, that they might be raised from the dead? Now, it is true that every person will be raised from the dead, both the just and the unjust will be raised. However, it is clear here that Paul is speaking of the hope of being raised to eternal life. Paul is talking about the resurrection of the just here. It was this thing that Paul sought most earnestly, that after he died, when Christ comes again, that he would be raised again. This was the bright object always in his eye. Paul's great hope was to rise with the saints, to enter with them into the blessedness of the heavenly inheritance. Paul was willing to suffer all things. that he might be raised up to the glories of heaven with Christ. This is true salvation, and Paul gave up his Judaism and every other thing in order to know Christ and his salvation. I hope all of us know here this morning that nothing, and I mean nothing, will get us to heaven except to be in him. Salvation is an inward thing. And we must be found in Christ, if we could go to heaven and open up the bosom of Christ and see our name there. That is salvation. Would you bow with me, please? Our Heavenly Father, we pray. That you would impress this great truth upon us, that there is nothing we can do, there's nothing we can be. There is no ritual that we can perform. There is no religion that we can adopt that will get us to heaven. But we must be found in Christ. And though this being in Christ is an eternal thing, divinely done before the foundation of the world, it's also something that we strive to make a reality in our life. Paul certainly did. Paul said, if by any means I might attain. And so Paul structured his life that in the end that he might be found, that it might be proven that he was in Christ. Lord, we pray that you would open our hearts and teach us that we must be in Christ. Help us to commit our trust unto him. Help us to believe in him that we may be found in him in that day. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. you