Philippians 3:1-7 Beware of the Flesh WC McCarter
Introduction
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Paul on Offense (1-3)
Paul,
again, commands the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord (1:26; 3:1, 3; 4:10). This is the theme of the letter. This is the theme of the Christian life. No matter where we are or what we are going
through, we rejoice in the Lord. Even
when we are faced with adversaries, we rejoice in the Lord. Paul has been gracious and loving. He has been personal and joyful. But now he aggressively goes on the offensive
against false teachers. He tells the
Philippians in verse one that repetition is a good thing. Christians need to hear some of the same
things over and over again. He says that
it is not tedious for him, or he does not have reason to hesitate in sharing
the same things again. On the other
hand, to repeat himself is a safeguard for the church. An enormous part of pastoring is
reminding! I am always glad to hear you
tell me that you have learned something new, or you have never looked at an
issue “that way,” or that I gave you something else to think about. Those are wonderful words. But, for the most part, I am sharing with you
things that you already know. I am
reminding you, week-after-week, some simple things. There is no reason to hesitate in sharing
these things again because it is a safeguard for the church.
So,
Paul tells them again what he probably already told them when he was with
them—that false teachers would come, that wolves in sheep’s clothing would
come, that there would be folks that would seek to lead them astray. Paul lashes out in righteous zeal for the
church in verse two. This verse is
emphasized in the original language.
Each phrase begins with the word “Beware!” or “Watch out!” Each phrase also has alliteration with the
“k” sound.
Paul
carefully chose his words for intense irony, not derogatory speech: (1) Dogs- outside
of the true religious community (Gentiles); scavengers, unclean; (2) Evil
Workers- word play on legalism; although they professed to be workers of
righteousness Paul says that were the opposite; and (3) Mutilation- Paul’s
rhetorical way of saying circumcision, they wanted men circumcised simply to
lay claim over them.
“For
we are the circumcision,” that is, the true/spiritual “circumcision” (3 vs 3):
(1) Worship God in the Spirit- sounds like John; (2) Rejoice in Christ Jesus-
theme of the letter; and (3) Have no confidence in the flesh (human credentials). Here is a true believer, a true child of
God. Christians are those who do not
live, trust, or worship merely outwardly.
We are spiritual.
Mock Boasting (4-6)
For
the sake of argument, Paul adopts one of the Judaizing attitudes—confidence in
the flesh. He does this to mock those
who boast in the flesh, that is, their religious performance, all the
righteousness that can be mustered up from human effort apart from divine
intervention.
Paul
doesn’t choose to not rely on Jewish credentials because he doesn’t have them,
but because they are nothing before God ~ non-meritorious.
Paul’s
credentials according to the flesh:
1) Circumcised the 8th day- as Lev
2:2-3 commands
2)
Stock of Israel- son of observant Jews, possibly both parents Jewish
3)
Tribe of Benjamin- Traces to Jacob, not Esau (son of Rachel, beloved of Jacob,
Saul, the first King was same tribe)
4) Hebrew of Hebrews- thoroughly and
outstandingly Jewish
5) Pharisee- highly educated,
respected, devout
6)
Zeal- persecuted the church (SEE Gal 1:13-14)
7) Righteousness of Law ~ blameless
On
the one hand he had done everything, on the other it wasn’t enough.
According
to men’s judgments (flesh)—outward conformity (not sinlessness)
Think of the rich young ruler from
Mark 10:17-27
Conclusion and Christian
Application
(1) We must be willing to name false
teaching. False doctrine can injure and
even destroy the church. This is of
utmost importance in our own local congregation, but we must also be willing to
point it out among other churches. We do
not want to point out the speck in another’s eye when we have a plank, and we
do not want to belittle others for the sake of truth, but when there is
unbiblical teaching that threatens the Faith, we must be willing to speak
against it, resist it, and disown it.
There are different levels of falsities, I think. Some folks come to wrong conclusions from the
Bible, but they are teaching and believing things that they think to be
true. Others are in it for themselves
and lead people astray for power, prestige, money, and other reasons. One of the great travesties of the American
church is the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” which says that you can live your
best life now, God wants you happy above all else, God wants you to flourish
financially, etc. Although this teaching
represents the exact opposite of what the Scriptures teach and what we know
about church history, it is not only believed by millions in America but is
being spread like a disease throughout the world. People are promised health and wealth, so
they “come to Jesus” but they never really put their faith in Him. And the first time something awful happens in
their life, they realize that this teaching was not the truth. I have personally known people that
taught/believed that if we have enough faith, Christians will not get
sick. It is really awkward when they get
a cold, or the flu, or worse. So, watch
out for who you are sympathizing with.
There are many who lead believers astray.
(2) You cannot trust in yourself. God does not care how much education you have
or how much money is in your bank accounts.
He does not need anything from you.
Paul could brag about his old life to those false teachers if he wanted
to, and he could outperform them; his resume was much more impressive than any
of theirs. But remember, Paul made that
his “old life” for a reason. He gave up
worldly accomplishments and took Christ’s accomplishments as His own. This is what it means to become a
Christian. You come to the realization
that no matter how much good you do or how much you may be able to impress
other people, it is never enough to pay for your own sins. We are not who we want to be much less who
God expects us to be. He is high, holy,
and just. He is perfect, and we have
sinned against Him. Therefore, we
forsake the world and the things of it, and we take Christ’s achievement as our
own. We throw out our resumes and take
His as our own.