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Philippians 3:4-9 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please open up in your copy of God's Word with me to Philippians chapter 3.
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! Philippians chapter 3.
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Our main text for this morning is going to be from verses 4-9.
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! This morning I want to read starting in verse 2.
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This is the Word of God and it reads,
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Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
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For we are the real circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus
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and put no confidence in the flesh.
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Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.
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If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.
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Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.
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As to the law, a Pharisee.
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As to zeal, a persecutor of the church.
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As to righteousness under the law, blameless.
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But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
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Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
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For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish,
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in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
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Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.
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The righteousness from God that depends on faith.
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That I may know him and the power of his resurrection.
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And may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
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That by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
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God, this morning I just pray that you would feed your sheep, not by human will or exertion,
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but for your good and for the good of your people, that your word would go forth.
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In your name we pray, amen.
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So, during Paul's day, author of this letter, the early church found itself in much division.
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Certain groups were exalting themselves over one another because of cultural differences,
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ethnicity, worldly status, what teaching or whose teaching they should follow.
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I think that should sound familiar to us.
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There was a particular disagreement with which the New Testament writers spent a great deal of ink
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addressing differences between Jewish and non-Jewish believers.
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Gentile believers in the Roman Empire sought to exalt themselves above Jewish believers
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because of their worldly skill or because of their status within the empire.
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Think like Paul's appeal to the Corinthians not to view himself as lesser
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because he laid aside oratory skill or because he was poor and shared in Christ's sufferings,
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unlike the sarcastically named super apostles.
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Likewise, Jewish believers were treating Gentiles as second-rate Christians
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because they were uncircumcised, didn't follow Hebrew feastal traditions, and so forth.
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Nathan last week spoke of the Judaizers, and this is a particular party of people who taught
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that circumcision was necessary in order for salvation.
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And in Galatians, Paul calls this belief a false gospel.
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So then adding one single work to the work, the finished work of Christ, makes it null.
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In our passage today, Paul is arguing that he has more of a reason for confidence in the flesh
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to approach God in righteousness than do any of the Judaizers.
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So if Paul's righteousness isn't enough, the Judaizers, and likewise our righteousness,
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is not enough either to approach God.
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We need a righteousness which comes from the outside, an alien righteousness from Christ.
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So to look at our text this morning, I've broken it up into four headings,
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and I'll go through them, naming them again as I go.
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Firstly, we see Paul's pre-conversion confidence.
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Paul's pre-conversion confidence.
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Secondly, the great transfer of confidence.
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Thirdly, indicators of confidence in the flesh.
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And fourthly, placing confidence in Christ alone.
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A lot of confidence this morning.
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So Paul, in our passage, begins by listing off seven resume items, if you will.
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Four of these items are from birth, and three of them are attained through his own work.
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So the first item in this list is a proper beginning.
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Paul was circumcised on the eighth day, he says.
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And this was a sign of the covenant of God with his people.
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It was meant to point forward to a time in that person's life,
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and a time in general when God's word would cut away the unrighteousness of the heart.
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Paul had done what God commanded and what the Judaizers would require,
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and yet he counts it as rubbish, as trash, as refuse, in order to stand before righteous God.
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So maybe we, some of us in this room, grew up in the church.
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Some of you were likely dedicated as a little baby, or maybe even sprinkled.
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Not in this church, but maybe sprinkled somewhere.
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Secondly, we see Paul's proper nationality.
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Paul was of the nation of Israel, which were, of course, God's chosen people,
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who were given the oracles of God.
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And he says in Romans 3 that this is of much value.
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He spoke, God spoke with them, he sent them the prophets, made his covenant with them,
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and yet this nationality gave him no righteousness before God.
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There are many in our culture, particularly here in the South,
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who would view America as God's new chosen people, as the promised land,
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viewing American interests at the expense of all others as equated with moral goodness.
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This is not a proper view for myriad reasons that we won't be going into today.
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But God works in this world in spite of the sinfulness of man,
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not because of the goodness of man.
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And even if you believe that we are in God's country,
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Paul's point here is clear that our nationality gives us no standing before a holy God.
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Thirdly, we see Paul's proper lineage.
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Now, I don't know how much you know about the Benjamites.
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I certainly didn't know a whole lot before preparing for this text.
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But Paul says that he's of the tribe of Benjamin.
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And this was the only tribe to remain faithful to the throne of David along with the tribe of Judah.
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And together, those two tribes formed the southern kingdom of Judah,
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which is the less evil of the two, Old Testament Israel.
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Benjamin also produced Israel's first king, being Saul.
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And Jerusalem was located within Benjamin's borders.
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So these people had been among the most faithful to God.
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Now, while we may not take pride in our ethnic lineage as much today,
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we certainly have a tendency to feel pride in our spiritual lineage.
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We act as though our parents' or grandparents' faith somehow reflects on our own standing before God.
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We may identify ourselves with the Reformers, the Puritans, Augustinian philosophy,
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Piper, MacArthur, Dever, or Rainer.
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You like that company?
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Yeah.
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So while these are certainly faithful examples with their flaws,
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a more in-depth knowledge imbues us with no righteousness.
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Fourthly, we see Paul's proper upbringing.
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Paul says that he was a Hebrew of Hebrews.
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Different people had different perspectives on what that means.
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But certainly, Paul had a proper upbringing.
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He was raised according to Jewish tradition, as religiously Hebrew as he could be.
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Many of you in the room probably went to Awana, your youth group.
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You memorized the right verses.
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You might know the catechisms.
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And these are filthy rags to clothe us before a holy God.
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Next, we have the proper standard of living.
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So we're getting into the things that Paul has accomplished himself.
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So Paul is a Pharisee, meaning that he was among the most committed to knowing and understanding the very word of God.
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He believed it.
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He taught it.
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He memorized it.
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And he did everything he could to live by it, according to his unbelieving heart.
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The historian Josephus notes that there were never more than 6,000 Pharisees at a time.
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So Paul is in elite company.
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And he even notes elsewhere that he rose above his peers in standing as a religious leader.
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The Pharisees humble me, not because they're scary or intimidating or had a lot of knowledge, but because they were following after the right God.
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They were using his very word.
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We're way more devoted than I am or many of us are to studying his word.
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And yet we're making twice other people, twice the children of hell as they were, to use Jesus's words.
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And we are a very knowledge heavy congregation.
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This is not a bad thing.
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It's commendable.
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But we must regularly remind ourselves that our justification or approval or standing before God comes not from a theological perspective or a certain tribe.
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Next, we see Paul's proper sincerity.
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He says that he was a zealous persecutor of the church.
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From Paul's perspective, if Christ was not indeed the Messiah, he would have rightly seen himself as a protector of the truth.
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After stoking in the numerous Old Testament examples of God's people being led astray, he was not about to let a new sect of God's people be taken away by a false Messiah.
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Likewise, our passion for good works, our going on mission trip, mission trips for a week or years.
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The number of disciples or converts that result from our teaching don't elevate us in God's sight.
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And lastly, we see his proper morality.
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And I want to put a note here, maybe proper outward morality.
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The Pharisees had devised a complex system of laws and of hedge laws, which were there to keep you from getting close to breaking the actual laws, which focus mostly on outward behavior.
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While God's law was always meant to be an expression of inward faith, that he would have to be the one to grant mercy,
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the Jews believed if they could act in accordance with the law and sacrifice when they felt short, then it would be enough to make them righteous.
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Some of you have responded to altar calls, said the sinner's prayer, and have been baptized only to realize that it was all due to social pressure.
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Many testimonies follow that pattern and only later coming to true repentance.
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Now, while God certainly has worked through, and sometimes in spite of, some of these actions, the actions themselves, the right outward behaviors, give us no righteousness.
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So, Paul has an impressive resume that we see here, certainly to that people that he's writing to more so than our context today,
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because we know Jesus' teaching on the Pharisees.
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But what are we to make of Saul and the Pharisees, and where did they go wrong?
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I think sometimes we wrongly distance ourselves from seeing ourselves and our tendencies in the life of the Pharisees,
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so we would be wise to not learn from their mistakes.
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I don't know if that sentence made sense.
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All right, you get what I'm saying.
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So, let's look at Matthew chapter 5.
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So, turn there with me.
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It's the Sermon on the Mount.
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Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17.
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Jesus himself teaches here.
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Do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the prophets.
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I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
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For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
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Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
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But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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So, Paul's family had kept the covenant.
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They had stayed faithful to David's throne.
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They knew God's law in and out.
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They cleansed what they thought was the evil leaven among God's people.
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And he did his best to keep the law.
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Aren't these great things that we should find ourselves striving towards?
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This seems like the camp that we would like to find ourselves in.
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And it really comes down to one word from our text.
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And that's the word confidence or trust.
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We'll stick with confidence.
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Paul's problem was not in his outward behavior.
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The behaviors generally were correct.
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But it came down to a tragically wrong understanding of the purpose of the law that many in our day continue to hold.
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Now, the Pharisees, Old Testament Jews, would not have claimed to be sinless, else they would have not sacrificed.
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Rather, they had confidence in their own ability to follow God's law, to cover over their sin with animal sacrifice,
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in a way that did not rely on God for mercy and did not necessitate inward repentance.
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And this is part of the reason why John the Baptist or baptizer's message was so poignant or pointed in that day and age,
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calling Israel to repent.
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Like, if they had a context for ongoing repentance, that probably would have made more sense to them.
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The psalmist in Psalm 130 writes,
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Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, hear my voice.
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Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.
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If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand?
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But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
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I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
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Sacrifices and obedience to the law were meant to be worshipful in nature,
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as they recognized God as the only one who could grant mercy.
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Right?
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And this is simply not true of Old Testament Israel, or the way that they're painted in the Scripture.
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That the outward behavior was not followed with inward worship and an inward attempt at sinlessness.
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The Jewish people had turned obedience to the commands of God into acts of self-idolatry.
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In their mind, mercy was deserved because of their obedience.
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Their view of man was huge, and their view of God's mercy was small.
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It is as if the Pharisee would answer back to God, to that question,
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who could stand if you were to mark iniquities.
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The Pharisee would raise their hand and say,
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Me, I could stand. I have followed your law.
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What arrogance.
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Right?
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What arrogance when we look backwards.
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But we need to see that same arrogance in our own heart.
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This is the same arrogance that we show when we put confidence in ourselves
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to gain status before Holy God through our thoughts and through our deeds.
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There are likely some in this room who aren't believers.
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Most people, apart from Christ, consider themselves generally to be good people,
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and you're probably no exception.
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But hear Paul's word to us today.
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Failing to bow the knee before Christ as Savior and Lord in repentance from sin,
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whether for the first time or in an ongoing fashion as a believer,
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Scripture expresses this arrogance and entitlement to waltz into God's presence,
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however we like, on our own terms, because of our own goodness.
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Paul has reminded us already that all will bow one day.
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Some people will bow in humble submission and worship.
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I hope that you are counted among that number.
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And others will be crushed in the weight of God's wrath,
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still recognizing Him as Lord, but not in worship and submission.
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Do we dare prolong repentance another day?
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So, what changed in Paul's case, and how do we change?
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At Paul's conversion, there was a massive shift in his confidence.
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So that brings us to point number two, the great transfer of confidence.
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And this is really the main point of our text this morning.
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Picking up in verse 7,
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he says,
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First, I want us to note the past and present transfers of confidence.
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We see that Paul counted these specific areas that he's listed as loss,
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but then he says,
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Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
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Right?
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So both things are going on.
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It's the past tense.
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I did this.
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Right?
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It's perfect.
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The perfect tense in the Greek.
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It's a completed work.
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And then the present tense.
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So it's in the past and ongoing.
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This kind of repentance and faith in Christ certainly happens at conversion,
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but should be the practice or should be practiced in an ongoing fashion,
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as Paul displays here.
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Oftentimes when explaining the Christian life,
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especially to unbelievers or those young in the faith,
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it can be difficult to describe exactly what denying ourselves,
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taking up our cross,
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and following Christ means in more practical terms.
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We're answering the question,
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What does it mean to put faith in Christ?
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At first, at conversion, and then in an ongoing fashion.
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And I think our text helps us to understand at least one aspect of that.
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So Paul here is speaking in accounting terms.
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Okay?
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He's talking about assets and liabilities,
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talking about gains and losses.
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Okay?
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So on one side,
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he has this list that he previously understood as adding to his righteousness
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or giving him standing before God.
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And then he's got a list of things that take away from his standing before God.
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So on that list,
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we found zeal,
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obedience to the law,
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keeping the covenant,
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and sacrificing when he fell short on his list of gains.
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And notice in our text that Paul does not merely erase these things
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and replace them with Christ.
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This is an important point.
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Paul does not merely take those things off of the list on the gains column
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and then put Christ on the gains list.
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He actually transfers it.
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Right?
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He takes it from what was gain and moves it over to the loss column.
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So what are we to make of this?
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These things that he previously understood as gaining him status before God actually count against his righteousness before God.
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So how is that?
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How is it that Paul's outward obedience to the law actually counts against him?
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And this is how.
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When we see the acts of obedience as a means to attain righteousness or status in God's sight,
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they become an abomination to the Lord.
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When we see our acts of obedience as our means to attain righteousness or status in God's sight,
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they become an abomination to the Lord.
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This is the reason for the prophet Isaiah's harsh words in chapter 1
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where the Lord describes Israel's multitude of sacrifices as a trampling of his courts.
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Their feast as something that his soul hates and is burdensome.
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Right?
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These things that they were doing.
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They were obeying part of what God had commanded to do,
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and yet the Lord saw them as an abomination because of how they were counting them,
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how they were considering those works.
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Paul's example here shows us that even the most fervent acts of zeal can become a loss to us,
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a hindrance to our relationship with the Lord.
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So this means that good theology, reading good books, teaching the word, leading music,
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or a small group and discipling can become gross and self-exalting depending on how we count them.
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And the implications from this are huge.
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Part of what it means then to deny ourselves and follow Christ
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is to recognize that the outwardly moral things we did pre-conversion
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were not attractive to God.
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He did not look at you or me and see a hint or a glimmer of light that caught his eye
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and made him think,
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Oh, how I could use him for greatness.
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Instead, he saw, rightly, a rebel, an enemy, someone who was spiritually dead,
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and praise God, he sent his son to die for us in that state.
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And now he does not see the believer's obedience and think,
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Oh, what would I do if it weren't for Piper or for Platt or for, again, Nathan?
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Faithfully teaching and leading his church.
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Right?
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This is not how God sees us.
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And that may be a blow to your ego or our ego,
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but there's great freedom in this message.
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And that's what I want us to see today.
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We are expendable tools in the Redeemer's hands.
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He does not need you and he does not need me,
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but he delights to use his people to accomplish his purposes.
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And while this may feel like a shot to our ego,
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as it likely did the Pharisee,
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this reality will set us free from the weights that we place on ourselves.
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For the unbeliever, to repent and believe in the gospel
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means to take everything that you've been telling yourself
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about why you're a good person and recognize the arrogance,
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the self-exaltation, and the rebellion of that claim,
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as Paul does in our text.
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You have placed yourself as judge over God's word,
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and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
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For the believer, this looks like vigilance
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to keep our regular acts of obedience from slipping into self-righteousness.
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This can be really subtle.
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So I want to give us some indicators
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as to when we may be putting our confidence in the flesh.
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That we believe gives us standing before God.
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So we're not moving away from the text,
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but we're going to set it aside
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and then come back to the text for the solutions
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of how we get rid of this confidence in the flesh.
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So I have four indicators of confidence in the flesh.
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So this is sub point three, if you're taking notes.
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Indicators of confidence in the flesh.
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Two of them that we're going to talk about
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are a bit more obvious,
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and two a little bit more subtle.
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And I hope that as we're thinking about these things
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that we may be putting confidence in the flesh
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that we didn't realize that we were.
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I hope that you don't see them as a further burden on our shoulders
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or a way that,
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oh, now I'm falling short in a way that I didn't know I was.
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Anytime that the Spirit reveals those things to us,
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it's an invitation of freedom, right?
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To turn away from that sin
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and to live and think how God would have us live and think.
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Okay, so first one,
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first indicator of confidence in the flesh.
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Any belief or perspective
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that makes us feel superior to other believers.
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Indeed, all ground is level at the foot of the cross.
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And to be clear, that bar is set low, right?
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The ground is level on a very low plane at the foot of the cross.
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Apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead.
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There were those, hopefully not in here,
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who would teach that certain giftings
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like tongues and prophecy or certain vocations
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indicate a higher status in relationship with God.
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Here, we're probably more likely to act or subtly speak
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as though our theological outlook,
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our viewpoint on schooling and parenting methods,
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our beliefs about dating or courtship,
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and I'll stop there,
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indicate a more genuine relationship with God
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or that He is more pleased with us
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because of our enlightened state.
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And there are certainly serious issues at stake.
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I could go on in that list.
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But the attitude that many,
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or the attitude of derision that many in the faith
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have on others outside of their particular camp
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is troubling.
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Dare we look down on,
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or view ourselves higher than,
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or mock such a brother or sister?
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Where is our compassion for those led astray
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by wolves in sheep's clothing,
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as if we had something to do with keeping ourselves
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from similar deception?
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In the words of Francis Schaeffer,
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there is nothing more ugly than Christian orthodoxy
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without understanding or without compassion.
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We must be careful not to let the love of truth
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slip into an idolatry of the self
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or a mockery of the souls led astray.
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By way of advice,
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talk to someone in that camp.
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Expose yourself to a person with this or that belief,
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remove it from the theoretical,
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and see the damage that wrong belief can do.
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Secondly,
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second indicator of confidence in the flesh
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is self-sufficiency.
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Let's flip over to Galatians chapter 3.
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I believe Nathan read this last week,
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but I want to remind us of it this morning.
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Galatians chapter 3.
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Galatians chapter 3.
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Are you so foolish,
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having begun by the Spirit,
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are you now being perfected by the flesh?
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Did you suffer so many things in vain,
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if indeed it was in vain?
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Does he who supplies the Spirit to you
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and works miracles among you
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do so by works of the law
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or by hearing with faith?
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Like the Galatians,
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many of us function as though
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we are saved by hearing through faith,
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but are made perfect for our own willpower,
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intellect,
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or record of righteous behavior.
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Paul clearly here is saying
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that our sanctification is no different
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than our justification in this way.
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It happens through hearing the Word of God
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and receiving it with faith.
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Now,
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we have to work out
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what the Spirit works into us.
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We have to be obedient to be sure,
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but it happens by hearing the Word of God
27:04
and receiving it with faith.
27:05
So what does this self-sufficiency look like?
27:08
It may look like burnout.
27:10
It may look like anxiety.
27:12
It may look like fear.
27:14
As we try to accomplish by ourselves
27:16
what the Spirit is meant to be working in and through us.
27:19
As I was prepping this yesterday,
27:21
Ross walked into the coffee shop that I was sitting in,
27:24
and I asked him what he thought were some ways
27:28
that Christians manifested confidence in the flesh,
27:31
and two things popped into his head
27:33
that I agreed with, obviously.
27:37
Firstly, he said,
27:38
Paul's resume sounds exhausting.
27:41
What a life and image to maintain.
27:42
For us,
27:44
it may feel like we're continually pouring out
27:47
without getting filled up
27:48
or caring mostly what others see
27:50
in and about us
27:51
rather than what God sees.
27:54
We often treat God,
27:56
secondly,
27:57
he said,
27:57
we often treat God
27:58
like we should treat our boss at work.
28:00
We try to handle the day-to-day on our own,
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but if something big comes up
28:04
and we need help with it,
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then we'll reach out to him for help.
28:08
If the very Son of God
28:09
was dependent on the Father,
28:11
how much more do we need him
28:13
as our daily spiritual sustenance?
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So, how did God's sovereign reign over this world
28:19
and the realities of the freedom of the gospel
28:21
come to bear in your attitude
28:22
towards parenting,
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towards career choice,
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and towards evangelism?
28:28
Beloved, we are not in control
28:30
as much as we pretend like we are,
28:32
but we are stewards of the children God gives
28:35
and the opportunities that come our way.
28:38
This isn't always the case,
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but oftentimes fear and anxiety arise
28:42
as we see the guise of our control slipping
28:45
and a deeply rooted discontentment
28:48
with the way God has decided to rule our lives
28:51
shows itself forth.
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Third indicator of confidence in the flesh
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is self-pity.
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Okay, so this one,
29:00
we're getting into more subtle realms here.
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Self-pity.
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Now, this may seem counterintuitive,
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but feeling sorry for oneself
29:07
is an expression of pride.
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John Piper puts it in this way
29:12
in his book, Future Grace.
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He says,
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both boastfulness and self-pity
29:17
are manifestations of pride.
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Boasting is the response of pride to success.
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Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering.
29:27
Boasting says,
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I deserve much admiration
29:30
because I have achieved so much.
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While self-pity says,
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I deserve admiration
29:34
because I have sacrificed so much.
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Boasting is the voice of pride
29:39
in the heart of the strong.
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Self-pity is the voice of pride
29:42
in the heart of the weak.
29:45
The reason self-pity does not look like pride
29:47
is that it appears to be needy.
29:50
But this need arises from a wounded ego
29:52
and the desire of the self-pitying
29:55
is not really for others
29:56
to see them as helpless,
29:58
but as heroes.
29:59
The need self-pity feels
30:03
does not come from a sense of unworthiness,
30:05
but a sense of unrecognized worthiness.
30:09
It is the response of unapplauded pride.
30:14
Do we really believe that our Father
30:16
who sees what we do in secret
30:17
will reward us?
30:19
Or do we so value the opinions of others
30:21
that we feel sorry for ourselves
30:23
when they don't recognize what we're doing,
30:25
they don't recognize our potential
30:26
and the sacrifice we make?
30:29
Do we believe in a sovereign Lord
30:31
who sees, who hears our prayers
30:33
and has each one of us
30:34
where we are in life for a reason?
30:36
Do you really believe that?
30:38
God sees your faithful mothering.
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He sees your diligent hard work
30:42
that your boss doesn't recognize.
30:44
He sees integrity in school work
30:45
when those around you would take shortcuts.
30:48
Don't give in to the prideful temptation
30:50
to feel sorry for yourself.
30:51
There is beauty in the mundane.
30:54
Work to believe in these realities.
30:55
And fourthly, lastly,
30:59
is penance or self-punishment.
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Penance or self-punishment.
31:04
It's similar to self-pity
31:06
because it may look like humility on the outside.
31:09
Many believers find themselves
31:11
battling with the same sins
31:12
they've been struggling with
31:13
for many years,
31:15
sometimes decades.
31:16
And this has led many
31:18
to an attitude of self-hatred,
31:20
viewing oneself as a lesser Christian,
31:22
viewing ourselves as unworthy
31:24
to enter God's presence
31:25
because we haven't been able
31:27
to overcome a certain sin pattern.
31:29
We feel like we don't deserve redemption
31:31
and therefore run away
31:33
from the graces God has given us,
31:35
which can quickly spiral into isolation
31:37
and to further sin.
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We punish ourselves.
31:40
On this topic the other day,
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Nathan cheekily remarked
31:44
that if he put a whipping post
31:45
in his office,
31:46
it might get put to good use
31:48
with the attitudes
31:49
that many of us have.
31:53
So what's the issue?
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Both self-pity and penance
31:56
assume that if we could just
31:59
get our outward behavior right,
32:01
if we could just get our attitude
32:02
before the Lord right,
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then we would be worthy
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to enter into the presence of God,
32:08
to go to Him for help,
32:09
and to take part
32:10
in the good gifts that He gives.
32:12
That sounds an awful lot
32:14
like the Pharisee.
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By punishing ourselves,
32:17
we say to God
32:18
that Christ's payment on the cross,
32:20
the bearing of the wrath of God
32:22
for His people,
32:23
wasn't quite enough.
32:25
So we want to inflict
32:26
a bit more pain in ourselves,
32:27
and if we can act sincere enough,
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like Paul the Pharisee,
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then maybe God will approve.
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Is our inadequacy
32:36
not the very point of the gospel?
32:38
Where we were not adequate
32:41
to fulfill the law,
32:42
that Christ was,
32:43
and His righteousness
32:44
has been freely given
32:45
to those who place
32:46
their faith in Him.
32:48
Wrath that we deserved
32:49
punished in His body,
32:51
that we might know
32:52
and enjoy God forever.
32:54
Praise be to the land
32:55
who was slain,
32:56
so that we could live free
32:57
from the bondage of the law.
33:00
So from the Pharisee,
33:01
to the bitter,
33:02
to the self-loathing,
33:04
there's one factor in common.
33:05
The self and not Christ
33:08
is at the center.
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Our view of ourselves
33:10
is too big
33:11
and of Christ
33:12
and His glory too small.
33:14
Our thoughts are consumed
33:16
with ourselves
33:16
and not God's glory.
33:18
So returning to our text,
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we have the solution.
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How do we transfer
33:23
this confidence?
33:24
How do we do that
33:25
in an ongoing fashion?
33:28
Go back to the text
33:29
if you're not there already.
33:30
I'll start in verse 8.
33:42
Indeed, I count everything
33:44
as lost
33:45
because of the surpassing worth
33:46
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
33:49
For His sake,
33:50
I've suffered the loss
33:51
of all things
33:51
and count them as rubbish
33:53
in order that I may gain Christ
33:54
and be found in Him.
33:56
Not having a righteousness
33:57
of my own
33:58
that comes from the law,
33:59
but that which comes
34:01
through faith in Christ.
34:03
The righteousness from God
34:04
that depends on faith.
34:06
So how do we transfer confidence?
34:08
How do we see Paul
34:09
transferring this confidence?
34:11
Firstly,
34:12
we are to believe
34:13
that knowing Christ,
34:15
but by whatever means
34:16
God deems necessary,
34:18
surpasses everything
34:19
that we might gain
34:20
from this world.
34:21
And a belief in this
34:22
will help us to transfer
34:23
that confidence
34:24
from ourselves
34:25
onto Christ.
34:26
So knowing
34:27
and enjoying Christ.
34:28
This is the chief
34:29
end of man.
34:31
It is the reason
34:32
we were created.
34:34
This type of knowledge
34:34
is not merely
34:35
knowing things about Christ,
34:37
but knowing Him
34:38
intimately,
34:39
experientially,
34:40
and in relationship
34:41
with Him.
34:42
Jesus taught
34:43
in Matthew 13
34:44
that the kingdom of heaven
34:45
is like treasure
34:46
hidden in a field
34:47
which a man found
34:48
and covered up.
34:49
Then in his joy,
34:50
he goes and sells
34:51
all that he has
34:53
and buys that field.
34:55
And again,
34:56
in John 17,
34:56
Jesus says,
34:58
this is eternal life
34:59
that they know you,
35:01
the only true God
35:02
and Jesus Christ
35:03
whom you have sent.
35:05
Does that reflect
35:05
on your attitude
35:06
toward the means of grace,
35:08
towards knowing God
35:10
and knowing Christ?
35:11
If not,
35:12
then we may not
35:13
be valuing Christ
35:14
in the surpassing worth
35:16
of knowing Him
35:16
enough.
35:18
Is this how we view
35:19
our time in the word
35:20
and prayer,
35:21
time listening to preaching
35:22
and singing
35:23
these glorious songs
35:24
together?
35:24
Do we view them
35:25
as partaking
35:26
in eternal life
35:27
through the knowledge
35:28
of Christ?
35:30
This knowledge
35:30
is worth sacrificing
35:31
everything for,
35:33
including this guise
35:34
of self-righteousness.
35:35
We must remind ourselves
35:36
of this often.
35:39
Secondly,
35:40
we must believe
35:40
that our identity
35:41
is found in Him.
35:44
Our identity
35:44
is found in Him,
35:46
not in our actions,
35:47
whether good or bad.
35:49
We must believe
35:50
that we are new creations
35:51
with new natures.
35:53
We are saints
35:55
who struggle against sin,
35:56
not sinners
35:57
who fight to act
35:58
like saints.
36:00
Again,
36:00
we are saints
36:01
who struggle against sin,
36:03
not sinners
36:04
who fight to act
36:05
like saints.
36:06
Humans do not
36:07
vary in degree
36:09
before God,
36:10
but we vary
36:10
in type
36:11
before God.
36:12
He does not see us
36:13
as more or less
36:14
Christ-like,
36:16
which is how we experience
36:17
progress in our faith,
36:18
but He sees us
36:19
on the basis
36:20
of Christ's righteousness
36:22
or lack thereof,
36:23
which is how we ought
36:24
to think and speak
36:25
of ourselves.
36:27
We must be careful
36:28
about the language
36:29
we use to talk
36:30
about our sin.
36:31
Language changes
36:32
the way that we think.
36:33
And with all due respect
36:34
to those who struggle
36:35
in these areas,
36:36
Christian,
36:37
you should not refer
36:38
to yourself
36:39
as an alcoholic,
36:40
a homosexual,
36:41
a drug addict,
36:42
as if our primary identity
36:43
resides in outward
36:45
behavioral patterns.
36:46
Now, you may have
36:47
a biological
36:48
or socialized predisposition
36:50
to strong temptation
36:51
in this or that area,
36:53
but it does not
36:54
determine your identity.
36:57
If you want
36:58
a further text
36:58
for that,
36:59
I would suggest
37:00
Romans chapter 6,
37:01
6 through 14.
37:04
We must find
37:04
our identity
37:05
primarily in Christ
37:07
and consider ourselves
37:08
dead to sin
37:09
as we look to Him
37:11
day by day.
37:12
And lastly,
37:14
we must believe,
37:15
remember that
37:16
our righteousness
37:17
is alien.
37:18
It's outside of ourselves.
37:20
In verse 9,
37:21
he said,
37:22
not having a righteousness
37:23
of my own
37:23
that comes from the law,
37:25
but that which comes
37:26
through faith in Christ,
37:27
the righteousness
37:28
from God
37:28
that depends on faith.
37:31
This is great news.
37:33
If you have done
37:34
nothing to earn
37:35
Christ's righteousness,
37:36
then we can do
37:37
nothing to lose it.
37:38
What security
37:39
and freedom
37:40
are found in this reality?
37:42
Christ's righteousness
37:43
given to us freely,
37:44
apart from
37:45
our good works
37:46
and apart from
37:46
our bad works,
37:47
and anchors our soul
37:49
within the veil
37:49
to the very presence
37:51
of God.
37:53
In order to gain Christ,
37:54
we suffer the loss
37:55
of all things,
37:56
our ego,
37:56
our preference,
37:58
our desire,
37:58
our self-sufficiency,
38:00
and oh,
38:00
is He worth
38:01
the cost.
38:03
You no longer
38:04
have to prove
38:05
your worth
38:05
or your worthiness
38:07
to God,
38:07
but can rest
38:08
in the finished work
38:09
of Christ.
38:11
May we be a people
38:12
who put no confidence
38:13
in the flesh
38:13
for righteousness
38:14
under the law
38:15
or elevated status
38:16
before God,
38:17
but see Christ's
38:18
atoning blood
38:19
as our only plea
38:20
before a Holy Father,
38:22
looking to Him
38:23
as our sole hope
38:24
in this life
38:25
and in the life
38:26
to come.
38:26
Let's pray.