Profit and loss; Philippians 3:1-11

                                                                     

As we look at this passage today, Paul is giving us a picture of his own personal salvation.  We know the story of his conversion as recorded in Acts, being on the road to Damascus and having the light of the glory of the Lord fall upon him and blinding him, and hearing the voice of Jesus call out, “Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me?”  And Paul answers, “Who are you?”  And the voice responds, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”  And for Paul in that moment, though he is blind, yet spiritually he now sees.  He believes in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, as the Son of God and is converted.  And yet there is not a lot of information as to the details of that conversion.  So here in Philippians Paul is fleshing his conversion out in a way that can be very instructive for us today. 

The passage can be broken down into a kind of profit and loss statement.  If you own a business, you might be inclined to look at your financial results in terms of a profit and loss statement.  Even if you don’t have  a personal business, you may still find yourself evaluating your progress in some way or another.  What did you accomplish this year?  What did you gain? What did you lose?  Where are you now in regards to where you were a year ago? So how much more important is it for us to consider what we have done from an eternal perspective?  What have we done in our lives that will count as far as God is concerned? I hope that as you consider Paul’s profit and loss statement, it will prompt you to consider your own profit or loss in relation to the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus asked the question in Matt. 16:24, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” My hope is that after we have finished with this message, you will have determined that which is profitable in the eyes of God and that which is worthless.  And that we will order our lives according to what God tells us is profitable.

So first Paul is going to list 7 things that he once thought was profitable, that he once thought made brownie points with God, but now since his conversion he realizes are worthless, compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ.

Number one, starting in verse 5, his circumcision.  He lists this first undoubtedly because this was the big one for the false teachers.  These Jewish teachers were saying that Gentiles needed to become a circumcised in order to be fully accepted by God.  Faith plus circumcision.  And Paul says, I too was circumcised on the eighth day.  This was the standard for male children born to Hebrew parents.  And as I said last week, it became a standard of Jewish nationality.  You were either of the circumcision or you were an uncircumcised dog, which was a slur for a Gentile.  And circumcision had lost all it’s spiritual significance.  It was a fleshly mark by which they determined acceptance into Jewish society, but it had no real spiritual significance.  It was just a religious ritual, done to Jewish boys even before they had a chance to know what was happening to them, and somehow they thought that this would guarantee them a place in the kingdom of heaven. 

The fact is, some churches are still practicing certain rituals today that actually have little value in regards to salvation, but people are trusting in them to add some sort of credibility or acceptance with God.  Baptism is very often in many denominations added to salvation as a requirement for acceptance with God.  In some cases they even practice infant baptism, the same idea that was happening in Paul’s day with infant circumcision.  The baby has no concept of what is being done, and yet they are teaching that baptism of the infant is a means of placing the child within the sphere of blessing of God.  

Circumcision was supposed to be a symbol of a need for an inward cutting away of sinful flesh. But as a symbol it could never save.  Baptism is supposed to be a symbol of an inward change from death to life, and as a symbol it can never save.  The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a symbol, a picture of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins, but it is only a symbol in remembrance of what Christ did.  But if you haven’t personally appropriated by faith what Christ did on the cross for yourself, then just participation in a ritual alone can never save you.  Paul counted his circumcision as a loss.

Secondly, Paul says he is “of the nation of Israel.”  The name Israel, you remember, was the name God changed Jacob’s name to.  He became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, which became a great nation as God had promised to his grandfather Abraham.  They were called the chosen people, God’s chosen people.  And Israelites trusted in their nationality as a means of belonging to the family of God.

There is some similarity in this claim to what we find happening here in America as well in the 21st century.  We somehow believe that as Americans we have managed to secure a larger portion of God’s grace than the rest of the world.  I am afraid that we have a superior view  of our nationality.  We think as Christians we deserve an American version of the blessings of God.  Our idea of what it means to be an American Christian is to enjoy a five bedroom, 3 bath,  house with a huge garage filled with new cars and all the toys and gadgets that prosperity can provide.  Our view of American Christianity is very different than what Christianity looks like in virtually every other country in the world.  But I can assure you that such a view is seriously flawed and not supported anywhere in the Bible.  Being an American does not assure one of profit in the kingdom of God.

Thirdly, Paul says, “of the tribe of Benjamin.”  And this had many implications.  It was a point of pride that he could even prove his lineage.  Not all Jews could trace back their lineage due to the fact that during the exile they had lost records or intermarried.  And so it was  a big deal in Jewish society to be able to say you were of the tribe of Benjamin.  Benjamin, if you remember, was the favorite son of Jacob, and is home to it’s greatest city,  Jerusalem. 

It’s not hard to make a modern day association with this, is it?  How many times today do we hear that someone “comes from a good family?”  That the person is of the right kind of pedigree?  How many of us have determined our religion by what our kind of religion our parents practiced?  We go to certain churches because our parents went to that church, or our grandparents are buried in the grave yard.  Family lineage, Paul says, goes in the loss column.

Fourthly, Paul says he was a “Hebrew of Hebrews”.  And this is taking the previous claim just a little bit further.  It means his parents were Hebrews and raised him to speak Hebrew and observe the Hebrew customs.  They sent him to the best Hebrew schools; he was trained by Gamaliel, one of the most revered teachers of the law. Today, someone might be born of devout Christian parents, gone to private schools, graduated from Ivy League universities with advanced degrees.  But it’s counted as loss.

Fifthly, Paul says, “as to law, a Pharisee.”  This referred to a sect of Jews that adhered to the letter of the law in an ultra strict way.  Jesus said of the Pharisees that they even  tithed of the mint, dill and cumin in their herb garden.  They measured and weighed everything to the nth degree in an effort to keep the letter of the law.  They were the religious leaders of Judaism.

In my own experience of growing up in the church, I knew of people like this.  They took what were already strict standards of dress and decorum and made them even stricter, in an effort to be exceedingly righteous. Perhaps in our culture today, we may know many people who we may describe as good people, they are involved in many worthwhile charities and endeavors.  Sometimes to the point of making Christians embarrassed we don’t do nearly enough.  And yet Paul says this too was merely rubbish.

A man once remarked to R.A. Torrey following a message about the need to be born again, “I know some people who make no pretense of being a Christian but live fine, upright lives, they are kind and generous.  But I also know people who say they are Christians and yet live less exemplary lives.”  And Dr. Torrey replied, “It’s a matter of what state they are in.”  And he drew a square on the dust of the floor and said, “the rectangle represents the state of unregeneracy. Let’s say it’s the state of Colorado.  And one many might live high on the top of a mountain and another might live at sea level, and another man might be working down at the bottom  of a mine.  But all three men are in the state of unregeneracy.   One person might live on the mountains of morality, one might live an ordinary life, and another might live in the pit of debauchery, but all are in an unregenerate state.  We are all born in that state. 

Dr. Torrey traced another rectangle and continued. “This is the state of regeneracy.  The only way out of the state of unregeneracy into the state of regeneracy is by being born again.  In the state of regeneracy one might live on the high mountain of spirituality, another might live a very average Christian life, and another might be backslidden and living a very carnal life.  But all are living in the state of regeneracy.  Outwardly, it may look like the man in the regenerate state but carnal condition might be compared unfavorably with the moral man living on the mountain in the unregenerate state,  but the fact is that one is unregenerate, and one is not.  The man living in the unregenerate state is devoid of spiritual life, no matter how moral he is.  The backslider is living in a state of spiritual life, though for the time being it is not evident. It all depends upon which state you are in.  The only way to pass from one state to another is by the gift of righteousness which comes only through Christ.”

Next, Paul says, “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church.”  Before his conversion, Paul had been locking up and persecuting Christians even unto death.  Now that was zeal.  He took his religion so seriously that he was willing to kill for it.   And the modern equivalent of that is sincerity.  How many times have we heard that you can believe whatever you want as long as you’re sincere, God will honor that.   You can be sincere, but sincerely wrong.  You can be zealous in your religion, but be completely in error.  Your works are not a measure of your salvation.  In fact, I am often surprised to see how zealous those people are who are in a false religion, or a cult. They have a lot of zeal, often much more than we have.  But zeal alone is a loss.

And finally, Paul says, “as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.” Jesus said of the Pharisees that they kept the law to be seen of men.  They wanted to be praised for their works, that was the motivation behind doing them.  And isn’t that the case more often than not in the church today?  It’s like the way I clean house.  I don’t really clean house very often.  My wife works to keep the house clean and the beds made and the dishes washed.  But I have learned that if I am going to bend over and pick something up off the floor, it doesn’t really count unless she sees me do it.  So I make sure that I don’t pick anything up unless she is there to witness it.  Otherwise, it’s as if I didn’t actually do it.  And I’m afraid that we approach our Christianity that way too.  We want to be seen of men. We want to be sure to keep up appearances, and so we structure our lives to be seen by men.  The outside of the cup is shiny, but inwardly it is full of vileness.

So those are the seven things Paul says he once thought had value but now realizes are worthless.  Look at vs. 7  “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  8) More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”  

This is the answer for the question Jesus asked in Matthew 16:24 we looked at earlier, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  And the answer Paul is giving us is that he gave everything that he once considered gain, he gave it up as loss for the sake of knowing Christ as His Savior.  The answer to what shall a man give in exchange for his soul - is everything.  Everything.  

Jesus gave a parable which was an illustration of salvation, in which He talked about a man who found a pearl of great price and went and sold everything to buy that pearl.  Jesus told the rich young ruler who had kept the law and thought he had done everything to be accepted into heaven, Jesus told him to go sell everything he had and give it to the poor and come an follow Me.  Giving all you have cannot buy your salvation, only the blood of Jesus can purchase your salvation.  But relinquishing all that you hold onto as a means of salvation is the point of this message.  All the things you think have bought you favor with God are to be considered loss in light of the immeasurable treasure of knowing Christ unto salvation.

Quickly, let’s look at five things that you gain when you come to Christ, when you jettison all the other filthy rags of self righteousness and accept the gift of salvation. You gain these five: knowledge, righteousness, power, fellowship, and glory. Starting in verse 9, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Number one, salvation begins with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That's the first thing he gained, he gained the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  This kind of knowledge is the knowledge gained through intimacy of a relationship. It’s not just knowing the facts about  a person, but knowing that person intimately.  Having a relationship.  To be found in Him and He in Me.  To have the communion of the Holy Spirit living inside me, knowing my thoughts, having his laws written upon my heart.  To know Him is a spiritual new birth whereby God lives in me and gives me spiritual life, opening my heart and eyes that I may know Him.

Number 2, salvation gains the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  “not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”  Romans tells us that Abraham believed God and God counted it to him as righteousness.  Righteousness is not something I do, but something God gives me as a result of my faith in Christ.  2 Cor. 5:21 “God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

Thirdly, salvation provides the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The power of a new life which triumphs over my dead flesh.  Like Paul on the road to Damascus, once I was blind, but now I see.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.  Because Jesus died and rose again, I too live again spiritually.  I was dead in my trespasses and sins.  But by the cross of Christ I have been made alive with Christ.  Though my body is still dead in the flesh, I have been made alive in the spirit and by the Spirit of God in me I am able to live the life that God requires of me.

Fourth, salvation also brought him fellowship with Jesus Christ. Vs. 10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”  This fellowship can also be interpreted communion, Christ living in me.  God’s purpose for us is that we might be conformed to the image of Christ. Rom 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. “   And in order for us to really be conformed to the image of Christ, we need to die in our flesh, so that we might live in the Spirit.  We need to suffer the loss of our fleshly desires, passions and will.  To crucify the flesh is what it means to have the fellowship of His sufferings.  Rom 8:17 says, “and if [we are] children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

 And that brings us to the fifth point, if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him. So  salvation results in our glorification with Christ.  Vs. 11, “in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” 

The Bible speaks of Jesus as the first fruits of the resurrection, taken up into glory.  1Cor. 15:20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 1Cor. 15:23 “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.” 1Cor. 15:41 “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” 1Cor. 15:54 “But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

The resurrection of Christ resulted in the glory of Christ. The glory that he had with the Father before the world began.  And we will share in that glory with him in that we are the bride of Christ which he purchased from the fallen world by his own blood.  This is the promise of glory by which all the things of this world that we once considered as profitable, we now count but loss for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, for the sake of sharing with Him in all that the Father has planned for those that love Him. 

I trust that you have done a spiritual inventory today.  I hope you have looked carefully at what you are counting on as profit in regards to the kingdom of heaven.  Perhaps you realize that you have been counting on the wrong things.  I pray that you will today count those things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ, and that in knowing Christ and having faith in Him, God credits you with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that you may attain to the resurrection from the dead into the glory that God has prepared for those that love Him.  It can be yours if you’re willing to give up all that you hold dear, for the sake of knowing Jesus.  Let’s pray.

False circumcision, Phil. 3:1-3

In the previous chapter, Paul has been talking about the Christian life in terms of service and sacrifice.  And he gave us several examples of how we are to do that, starting with following in the footsteps of Christ, and then following the examples of Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus. 

But there is an important point in our service and sacrifice that needs to be clarified, and  that is what Paul is emphasizing today.  And the point is that there is a real Christianity which is marked by righteousness accomplished by the Spirit working  through my flesh, and there is a false Christianity which is marked by my attempting to attain righteousness through works of the flesh.  And this is a very important distinction.  Because one is the result of a true salvation based on faith and the other results in a false salvation based on works.

Now this distinction is extremely important.  We need to be discerning in regards to the truth of the gospel and guard against deviations from the truth which can result in the shipwreck of your faith.  It’s important to know sound doctrine, and furthermore to be able to discern between truth and error. 

The proper Christian walk must be guided by what the Word of God actually says, as opposed to a knee jerk reaction that is based on sentimentality or emotion. So Paul is going to balance this out for us as he goes through this text and we are going to look specifically at the first three verses today.  He starts by saying “finally”, which is a preacher term that means getting a second wind.  It doesn’t really have anything to do with the amount of time it will take to finish.  In this case, it means Paul is only half way done.  So finally, in my case, I’m ready to leave my introduction and start the exegesis of the first verse.

Paul says in verse one, “finally then brethren, rejoice in the Lord.”  And by now we should know that rejoice or joy is a key word in this book.  Paul uses it over and over again.  And what it means, by way of a reminder, is that we find our joy in the Lord.  Not in circumstances which may change from day to day.  We don’t find joy in some fleeting happiness due to external situations that we find ourselves in.  But our joy is in the constancy of our relationship with the Lord.  He never changes.  His promises are everlasting.  Our joy is found in the hope of His appearing.

 But I don’t want to just string a lot of platitudes together in a row and hope it sounds spiritual.  I want you to understand the faith that finds joy in the Lord whether in pain or sorrow, sickness or health, fortune or poverty.  That can only be found in keeping your focus on Jesus Christ.  That can only be found when I am surrendered to Him completely.  And that can only be experienced when I have completely given Him my heart to do with what He wills.  When my life is committed to live for Him and for His purposes.  A joy like Paul and Silas had when they were flogged and thrown in prison and they sang hymns all night.  A joy like Peter and the disciples had when they were flogged for preaching about Jesus and they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for Him.  That kind of joy.

Paul continues in vs 1;  “To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.”  Paul had either written them before or more than likely, some of his earlier letters to other churches had circulated through the church at Philippi as well.  But the point that Paul is making is that repetition is an aid to learning.  I sometimes am accused of repeating things from week to week.  I suppose that comes with getting old.  But part of that comes from the fact that the same doctrines and principles are repeated over and over again in the Bible.  And so if you’re preaching book by book, you’re going to be repeating some of the same principles in each book.  Paul is alluding to that here. 

 And secondly, repetition is a great aid to learning.  This is how you memorize songs, or verses or your multiplication tables for that matter.  This is one of the benefits of good hymns by the way.  Through repetition you can learn doctrine.  And so repetition is a safeguard for us.  It’s like first responders practicing a rescue maneuver over and over again so that when they are actually in a dangerous situation they know exactly what to do.  So Paul is saying “I don’t mind repeating these things because it will result in your confirmation.”

So much effort is being spent today in churches trying to find some new way of presenting the gospel.  But the true ministry of the gospel is not born out of novelty, but out of repetition.  Newness is something that the Holy Spirit brings to light through passages and pathways worn out with familiarity.   Each time you read some of these well worn passages, God can bring out something new and exciting and revelatory. 

And then starting in Vs. 2 Paul is going to compare and contrast true Christianity with false Christianity.  He says,  “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;   3  “for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…”

First, he describes the character of the false teachers of false Christianity.  He says they are dogs.  Today in our culture, dogs are thought of as slightly superior to people.  We love our dogs.  I’ve even seen a prayer which says, “Lord help me to be the kind of man my dog thinks I am.”  But in Paul’s day, dogs were not viewed with the same kind of sentiment.  Dogs were not pets, they were vicious, unclean, snarling, barking feral animals that roomed the streets in packs.  Interestingly, the Jews of that day called anyone that wasn’t a Jew a dog.  It was a term of disdain, a slur on one’s character.   And this is what Paul is getting to here.  These false teachers were Judaisers.  They were people that were trying to lay Jewish ceremonial laws upon the backs of these people in Philippi, claiming that in order to really be of the real family of God, you must include rituals like circumcision.  And Paul turns the tables on these people who called the uncircumcised Gentiles dogs, and instead he calls them dogs.  He sees their character as unclean, vicious, snarling, barking dogs that bring unnecessary worry and distractions upon the church.

I’ve always had a fear of dogs which I think was brought on by being bitten by a German Shepherd when I was about 3 years old and having to go to the hospital.  But when I was a young boy I had a paper route that seemed to have a vicious dog on every street.  My brother also had a paper route.  But he never seemed to finish his route.  Dad would come looking for him before dark and he would be playing football with some kids and his bike would be laying there with all his papers.  I tried to be conscientious and do my work, and for my labors my dad made me take over my brother’s route as well.  So I had two paper routes.  

Anyhow, these routes were full of dogs that just ran loose back then.  There were some houses that I was scared to death to deliver the paper to.  I would try to creep down the street as quietly as I could until I got a house or two away, then I’d get my paper ready and start peddling as fast as I could and throw the paper.  I didn’t care if it landed in the street, my focus was on getting past that house as quickly as I could.  And sure enough, that dog would hear my bike clanking down the street, baskets shaking and chain rattling and he would come out like a bear after her cubs.  It was a scary thing. I was so afraid of those dogs that I would never collect money from those houses.  I had to deliver the paper cause they would call the office and complain, but every week or so we were supposed to go from house to house and collect 25 cents.  And I wouldn’t go to those houses because their dogs would come out and try to bite me. 

That’s maybe the gist of what these dogs Paul was describing were doing to the church at Philippi.  They had them so worried and confused.  And what Paul was afraid of  was that they would end up depriving the church of the joy and peace that should have been theirs. So dogs describes the character of false teachers that worry and cause the believer undue alarm.

Secondly, Paul describes the conduct of the false teachers.  He calls them evil workers.  The word for evil can also be interpreted as depraved.  It’s referring to the inward motives of these false teachers.  Not only were they men of bad character, but they were men of bad desires that was worked out in their actions.  Their words promised peace but inwardly Jesus said in Matthew 7 they were ravenous wolves.  In  Matthew 23:28 Jesus said to the false teachers "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Thirdly Paul describes the claims of the false teachers.  “Beware of the false circumcision.”  And the word used for false circumcision is “karatome”.  It literally means mutilation.  It was used in the OT to describe the prophets of Baal as they whirled and danced and slashed themselves with knives hoping to appease their gods and goad them to action.  So Paul is saying here that these Judaisers, these false teachers who are trying to add that in order to be saved you needed to be circumcised and keep the ceremonial laws of Moses, Paul is calling these guys mutilators. 

See, Jewish people distinguished themselves as a nation by the fact that they were circumcised.  The actually referred to themselves as being “of the circumcision,”  meaning they were Jewish.  They called Gentiles the “Uncircumcised”.  For them, circumcision had lost it’s spiritual significance, and become a cultural, nationalistic significance.  They believed that it was a means of grace.  A means of securing God’s blessing.  And they failed to understand that like all the ceremonial laws, it was merely intended to be symbolic, an outward sign of what had happened inwardly.  So Paul uses a play upon words and calls these false prophets the mutilators rather than the circumcision. 

And this is still going on today in our modern churches. There are rituals and ceremonies that certain false teachers are trying to lay on people by saying that to be full citizens in the kingdom of God, as a condition to full righteousness, then one must  add certain rituals and ceremonies and laws.  And perhaps they don’t call it circumcision, but they may call it baptism, or they say you have to take the sacraments, or you have to keep certain dietary laws, or keep the Sabbath, or keep certain feast days or holy days.  And to the degree that any of those things are a means of obtaining right standing or righteousness before God, they are in fact nothing less than this false circumcision that Paul is talking about here.  They teach a dependence upon a ritual for salvation and consequently Paul says they have fallen from grace. Paul said in Gal 5:4 that if you had circumcision as a requirement for salvation then “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”  He says, “Christ is no longer any benefit to you.” 

It’s like the guy trying to swim across the Atlantic.  And a boat comes by and offers him a ride.  Nope, he says, I think I can make it, thank you very much.  He may have all the best intentions in the world.  He may even be a good swimmer.  But there is no way he’s going to swim the Atlantic.  And as the boat, his salvation, sails away, that offer of salvation is no longer any benefit to him.  It’s no benefit to him because he is not in the boat which was his salvation.  He has chosen to try to make it in his own power. So it is with salvation.  It’s either by faith in Jesus Christ by which we receive His righteousness as a gift of God, or it’s by our own efforts at righteousness, by which no one the Bible says will see God. Rom 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

Now let’s look at what Paul says the true Christian life looks like.  Vs. 3. “for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”  First of all, we need to know what circumcision is, or what it was supposed to be.  It was an OT law given to Abraham and for his children, which preceded the law given to Moses at Mt. Sinai, and therefore was considered by Jews to be of greater importance than any of the other laws.  At 8 days old, a baby boy was to be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.  And though it is believed that it has some physical benefits in terms of hygiene, the main purpose that God imposed this ordinance was to be a symbol of salvation.  The act itself had little benefit.  It wasn’t exactly something that could be seen by the average person, so it obviously was not meant to be some outward manifestation of righteousness.  But it was an individual symbol of obedience to God, separation unto God, cleanliness and purity unto God, but most importantly  a reminder that there needed to be a cutting away of the flesh, so that we would be able to produce spiritual fruit for God.  It was a physical reminder that in the flesh, in our own efforts we could not produce true fruit for God.  It was also a reminder that this reproductive member of our bodies would always produce in it’s natural state, another sinful seed, just as from Adam’s seed,  so the sin nature was passed on to every man that has been born.   So circumcision pictured the spiritual cutting away of the flesh, that enables the work of the Spirit.  Circumcision is the symbol of salvation, the cutting away of the flesh, so that we might walk in the Spirit.

So Paul says we, the New Testament believer, primarily Gentiles,  are the true circumcision.  The true Christian is one who has been circumcised in their heart. Col 2:11 says, “ in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;”  Rom 2:29 says,  “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

In the new covenant, the ceremonial laws were set aside. What had been pictured in the ceremonies and rituals of the law had now been replaced with the actual.  Jesus had come in the flesh and fulfilled all the prophetic pictures in the law.  We no longer needed to ascribe to these veiled images that we performed in rituals and ceremonies.  At the cross, the veil of the temple was torn into from top to bottom. 

Hebrews 8 tells us that there were priests in the old covenant  “who offered the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” but “if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” However,  “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.” 

So what Paul is saying here is the exact same thing.  The circumcision of the old covenant has been replaced by a circumcision of the heart in the new covenant which marks the true child of God.    So firstly then, a true Christian has been circumcised in their hearts, the cutting away of the sinful flesh by the work of the Holy Spirit, as we yield our hearts by faith to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

And then secondly, notice that the true Christian is marked by true worship. Vs.3 “for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”  Worship is such a misused, misunderstood term today in the church.  I hear pastors and music leaders refer to “leading worship” as a time of singing songs or listening to the singing of songs.  I can assure you, that is not what worship is talking about. 

Notice that it says, “who worship in the Spirit of God”.  And in some religious circles that gives license to all sorts of crazy, weird stuff that is believed to be of the Spirit simply because it’s crazy and weird.  But 1John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

So first, let’s define our terms.  Here is the Greek concordance definition of worship. 

Worship; latreuō: 1) to serve for hire.  2) to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen.  a) in the NT, to render religious service.

b) to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship.  c) of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office. 

Obviously, this is a term used to describe the duties of a priest of God.  To minister to God by rendering service.  Now, you could make the point that praising God in song may be a part of that, and I would not argue with that.  However, I would qualify that point with the verse found in Matt. 15:8   'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.  BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"

Once again, we see this constant emphasis on the heart, the soul of man, the seat of the mind and emotions which must be changed, circumcised by the Holy Spirit in order to produce fruit for God.  People often wonder what it means to be in the Spirit, or to walk in the Spirit, and the best way I have been able to describe it is that it is the result of crucifying the flesh.  When the flesh is cut off, when the flesh is crucified, when the flesh is put to death every day, then the Spirit can work through my dead flesh to perform services to God.  It doesn’t mean that somehow I don’t struggle against sin.  It doesn’t mean that  a spiritual life does not take any effort or discipline on my part, it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit is somehow going to overwhelm me and I just need to put it in neutral and let the Holy Spirit move me like I’m some sort of robot or puppet. 

No, it means that when I submitted my life to Christ as Lord, the Holy Spirit changed my desires.  He has written God’s laws upon my heart.  I now want to do the things of God, to be pleasing to God. Ephesians 6 tells us that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.  And Hebrews 4:12 says that “the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  So the Spirit, working through the Word of God cuts away the flesh that we might walk in the Spirit.  To walk in the Spirit requires a sacrifice, a crucifixion of my flesh. This is what Romans 12:1 is talking about when it says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” 

See, we’ve been saved to become instruments of God, ministers of God, priests of God, that render true worship to God.  You were bought and paid for, you were ransomed from sin to become priests of the Most High God. Do you not realize that you are a priest of God?  1Cor 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

1Pet 2:5 says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  What sacrifices is Peter talking about?  What kind of services are we supposed to be rendering to God? 1Pet 2:9  “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

We are to be a light unto the world that is in darkness.  Our behavior is supposed to be exemplary. Remember Phil. 2:15?  We are to “prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.”   We are to let no unwholesome word come out of our mouth.  We are to be witnesses of the gospel of salvation.  We are to be about the ministry of the kingdom of heaven, and not enslaved by the kingdom of this world. We are to pray lifting up unsoiled hands, living holy, exemplary lives in our communities, to our neighbors, to our fellow workers, under the authority of our leaders.  This is our ministry.  That’s  the short list of our priestly service.

Finally, there is that word again finally… finally, vs. 3 sums it up with the two simple phrases which characterize the true Christian  “who… glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”  A true Christian glories in Christ Jesus not in his flesh.  See the false teachers glory in the flesh.  Their spirituality is nothing but a mask of pride in their flesh.  But the true Christian puts no trust in the flesh.  He sees the flesh for what it is, a sinful heart which needs to be cut away by the power of the Holy Spirit, which results in a transformation of our heart.  The unconverted heart of flesh has desires which are sinful, depraved, debased, lustful, prideful, constantly sinning, and which sooner or later are displayed in the body.  Whereas the transformed heart has desires which have been changed by the Holy Spirit because He has written the laws of God upon their hearts, and they result in works of righteousness, service to God, obedience to God, and true worship of God as priests as they continue to crucify the flesh and live in the Spirit.

Folks, until you have had a circumcision of the heart, you cannot please God.  You cannot serve God.  All your righteousness is nothing but filthy rags.  But the heart that submits fully to God in repentance, God will not turn away.  He will come in, and cleanse our hearts, and change our desires.  I hope that you have had that change.  A circumcision made not with hands.  A work not of the flesh, but of the Spirit.  Let’s pray.