A Call to be Understanding - We Worship in the Spirit - Part 2

So if you would take your Bible and turn to Philippians chapter 3, we're going to be back in verses 1, 2, and 3. Now last Wednesday night we saw that Paul made a big transition in his teaching. If you've been reading along in your copy of God's Word, you'll see a big difference in chapter 1, chapter 2, and chapter 3. Starting in chapter 3, Paul is moving into dealing with a certain type of false teaching. A certain type of false teacher, and these false teachers, and this false teaching was a very grave and great danger to the Philippian church. Now remember who these false teachers were. These were Jewish legalists.

Scholars call these Jewish legalists "Judaizers." Now I will use those labels interchangeably. Sometimes I may call them "Judaizers." Sometimes I may call them "Jewish legalists." But I'm talking about the same group. And remember what this false teaching was. Simply the "Judaizers" believed and taught that the Gentiles who were coming to faith in Christ must submit to Jewish rules and laws before they could truly be saved. And they specifically taught that the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Their simple but fatal flaw was this. They tried to mix law keeping along with grace.

If you take notes, that would be a good thing for you to write down. Their simple but fatal flaw was this. They tried to mix law keeping along with grace. The Bible scholar John Gill says, and I'm quoting, "The Judaizing teachers were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles as necessary to salvation." And remember where these false teachers came from. We see where they came from starting in Acts 10 and especially from Acts 17 moving on forward into the book of Acts and even into the other writings of Paul.

When the Apostle Peter first took the Gospel to the Gentiles and they believed in Christ without being converted to Judaism, well these Jewish legalists stood up and they protested. They protested. And when Paul did the very same thing starting in Acts 13, the Jewish legalists protested again. And even when the decision was made by the church leaders and what is commonly called the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, that was that the Gentiles did not have to be converted to Judaism first before they were saved. Well, the Jewish legalists were not satisfied.

And as a result, these Judaizers followed Paul as he traveled and ministered and they tried to steal away those early converts to Christ. They tried to infiltrate those early churches and sometimes they were very successful. That is what the Galatian letter was and is all about. The Judaizers had infiltrated the churches there in the region of Galatia. And I have heard it said many times, if there was ever a letter that Paul wrote in anger, it was the Galatian letter. Now, like I said last week, it does not appear that these false teachers were inside the church, the Philippian church.

And it does not seem that this teaching was inside the church. It seems that these things were outside the church. But if the Philippian believers did not heed Paul's warnings here, these ravenous wolves and their false teaching would be inside the church, wreaking havoc just like they did in the Galatian church or churches. I know I said something like this last week. I kind of used my imagination here. Maybe the Judaizers were putting on a very attractive conference across town. Maybe the Judaizers and their podcasts were very popular. Maybe the teaching ministry of the Judaizers there in Philippi was very popular and it was gaining ground.

Maybe the Judaizers and their outreach in town was very, very successful. So let's read verses 1, 2, and 3. Paul says, "Finally," now he's not transitioning to the end of the book. That's really a phrase that means the next thing up. "Finally, the next thing my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you, or a safeguard for you." The New American uses the word "safeguard." Verse 2, "Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." Now, last week in the part 1, this is really a part 1 and a part 2, I started off by making two observations from verse 1, and then I said I wanted us to see that Paul is calling the Philippians to two things. First, he was calling them to rejoice in verse 1. That's easy. Second, he was giving them a reminder. That's in verse 1. That's easy to see. And then the two major truths are the main teaching in the verses. First in verse 2, Paul was calling them to be discerning.

And then second in verse 3, he was calling them to be understanding. Now, this is how I'm going to approach these things tonight. I want to touch on verse 1 real quickly, which is Paul's rejoicing and reminding. I want to review and add to what we studied in verse 2, which was Paul's call to be discerning. And I want to get into verse 3, which is Paul's call to be understanding. Now, when we look at what Paul says in verse 1, we must remember Paul's physical circumstances, and we must see Paul's heart in everything that's going on here. Paul was in a Roman imprisonment. We know that. He was chained not in day to a Roman soldier. We know that.

And he was waiting to be sentenced. We know that. He very well could have been put to death. Paul simply did not know what his situation was going to turn out to be. He desired to be set free, obviously because he wanted to turn, continue in his ministry, but he did not know how these things would turn out. And in the middle of his circumstance, which to us is a very difficult circumstance, he received news of the Philippian Church and their situation. And a part of this report was hearing that the Judaizers were right outside of the door of the church.

A part of this report was hearing that there was a real possibility that the Philippian church could be affected by this false teaching. So Paul was deeply distressed, and he was deeply concerned. And what does he do? Does he really seem to focus on himself? No. He writes the same things that he had taught them before. He tells them to write and remind them of these things was no trouble for him. Now why does he do that? He says that this reminding was to be a safeguard for them. The New American uses the word "safeguard." The English Standard says to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

And this word translated "safeguard" in the New American means to make secure as not to trip or stumble or to fall. So this shows us that Paul was writing to them and reminding them of these things that he had taught them before so that they may not be tripped up and stumble and fall into false teaching. He was writing to them and reminding them of these very same things that he had taught them before so that they would be secure in sound teaching, so that they would be secure in sound doctrine and sound practice that comes out of sound teaching and doctrine. And what was Paul's attitude and heart here?

How does he call these Philippian believers to approach these things? In the joy of the Lord. It's right there in the verse. Paul was filled with joy in the Lord as he did these things and he was calling these Philippian believers to be filled with joy in the Lord in all of these things. Now before I move into verse 1 or verse 2 and 3, I want us to see a couple of lessons here. First is true believers. We must rejoice in the Lord in all things and we must maintain our joy in the Lord in all things. Even sickness. Even if we lose our job. Even if we face difficulties financially. All things means all things.

But we must rejoice in the Lord even when we face difficulties in trials from false teaching and false teachers that come against us in the church. Now I'm going to make a little confession here. There have been certain trials and difficulties that I have faced with joy and there have been certain trials and difficulties that I have not faced with joy. One of the difficulties we had in years past here was we had some that propagated some legalistic works based views to the Christian life. And that brought great frustration and difficulties in my life as pastor and I did not always have joy in those things.

My wife can attest to you that I had lots of frustration. Sometimes anger and what I'm showing you is this. I need this as much as any of you need this. So when we have these kind of difficulties we must have joy. But then second remember this the legalists which is what these Judaizers were legalists do not have joy. They never do possess true Christian joy that comes from God in a relationship with God. Because the true legalist is trusting in their rule keeping to either save them or to sanctify them they cannot have joy. They are always frustrated because they can never keep the rules good enough.

They are always frustrated because they are always finding new and more rules that they must keep. Legalism for the lost and for the truly saved never leads to joy. Yes I said it the truly saved can get into legalism. This always leads to frustration, aggravation and even anger and bitterness. Some of the most bitter and angry quote unquote Christians some are not that I've ever seen are the legalists. So in my observation through the years and in my study of these things from the Scripture the legalist does not have joy.

They cannot have Christian joy because they are not trusting in Christ alone and in grace alone for their salvation or they are not trusting in Christ alone and grace alone for their sanctification. The legalist is frustrated, exasperated and unsatisfied. The legalist becomes aggravated, angry, mad and bitter. It's because they're trying to do all of this in the flesh and it never ever ever works. It can't. It can't. Now let's revisit verse 2. This will be rather quick. Verse 2, number 1 Paul's calling, Paul's call to be discerning. In verse 2 we see Paul's call to be discerning.

Listen to verse 2 in the English Standard and then I'm going to read it in the King James. Paul says, "Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh." Now the King James, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision," which is a strange word I will get to a little later. Now right away we can see that Paul was calling these believers to be aware. In the King James the word "beware" is used three times. In the English Standard version the term "look out" is used three times. And we need to see that this was and is a call to be discerning.

This was and is a call to have the ability to see and to understand. Specifically Paul was calling them to be fully aware of these false teachers by seeing and understanding fully and truly what they were and who they were. Not only what and who they were but they're teaching as well. I'll give you a little example that will help you. I saw here recently a news article. I don't remember where it was but it was the story of a girl who picked up and played with a copperhead. We know what a copperhead is. It's one of the most dangerous, aggressive, poisonous snakes we have in Mississippi.

But this little girl saw the snake and how beautiful the snake was and is. We know a copperhead is rather pretty. And she did not understand what she was getting into. She said, "You know all the beautiful little snake here." And she picked it up and she played with it. Well what happened? The snake bit her. And the lesson from this girl is this. She did not look out for the copperhead but the opposite. Yes she saw the snake but she did not understand what that snake was. She did not see the snake although she saw it. She did not truly and fully understand what that snake was and what that snake would do. And as a result she paid the price.

She was bitten and the news article said she became very sick. Well it's much the same with the false teachers in this false teaching. We must be aware of them. We must fully and truly understand what they are and who they are. We must fully and truly understand what their teaching is and the consequences of their teaching. And how do we do this? Do we chase down all of the false teachers? No. We do this by knowing the truth. Knowing the truth. So when something false comes along we will not be tricked. We'll know that it's not true. And we do this also.

I touched on this last week by being plugged into the life of a healthy church where leaders who are put over you can teach you truth and help you see and understand and discern truly what true teaching is and help you understand and discern truly what false teaching is. Next we see that Paul called these false teachers names. He called them dogs, evil doers and those who mutilate the flesh. Now we saw this last week but I'm not sure if I said this outright. Paul does not call these false teachers names just to be a name caller. The names Paul gives them describes what they did and their false teaching.

Now if you do some study and other writings of Paul you'll see that he does call out names at times. In 1 Timothy 1.20 he called out two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander. He pointed them out and he said he had put them out of the church. He removed them and their evil influence from the church. He even called names. So you can say that Paul called names and he was a name caller. But first he called them dogs. I'm not going to go back over all that I said here. I want us to remember then in calling them dogs he was describing them for what they were and what they did.

Just like the wild dogs in Paul's day Paul was saying that the Judaizers were unclean, filthy and dangerous. Jesus did the same thing in Matthew 7.6. He referred to the Jewish religious leaders as dogs because they rejected the truth and they held on to their legalistic religion. So with Jesus and now with Paul this term dog was used to describe wicked people who rejected truth and propagated lies or false teaching. I like how the scholar William Hendrickson goes on to describe these dogs. Kind of changed up some of what he said. But he says these Judaizers howl and snarl. Psalm 59 verse 6. And they do so against true doctrine.

Oh he's got some insight here. Judaizers they did this. False teachers like this. Legalists they howl against true doctrine. He goes on to say that they are greedy and shameless and he cites Isaiah 56.11. And they devour the church. He says they are contemptible. He goes on to say that they are insolent, cunning and roaming. The metaphor of the dog describes the Judaizers just right. It's almost like God planned it that way. That's because he did. Now the lesson here for us is this. Legalistic religion and the legalists that propagate legalistic religion are a life and death danger. Is not that copperhead life and death? Yes.

It's life and death. The legalistic religion of these legalists and what they propagate is life and death. Any time the wild dogs of these legalists were allowed among the sheep those dogs devoured and destroyed. And it still goes on today. Second he calls them evildoers. Now I said this last week. Notice that Paul does not call out their activities but their character. He says to look out for the evildoers but we must see the deeds of these evildoers. We must see how these evildoers work and where they work. I think that William Hendrickson describes how these evildoers work very well. He says and I'm quoting word for word here.

Workers Paul also calls these men. Yes church workers they were right inside the church. They themselves as church members recognized as such somewhere are carrying on their work. And he continues to say missionaries they are and he calls them propagandizers. And the point here is this. Yes Paul points out their character but these evil people are all about propagating. Their evil teaching. Where in the church? Inside the church. And the lesson here is this. The dogs of legalism and legalistic teaching always work to spread their teaching. They are always missionaries. They are always missionaries.

In my experience these dogs that are missionaries who propagate their legalistic teaching are always model church members. They are always very impressive and they work right inside the church together for themselves followers of their way. They will do it quietly. They'll do it subtly. Long before they do it openly and loudly. Sometimes when I reference our past like this my wife will tell me not to but it needs to be mentioned. Years ago before we left our previous location there were lots of quiet and secret conversations out up under that magnolia tree. There were lots of secret phone calls. Oh all that came out in time.

This is what happens when these kind of people get in the church and they start working. You know they'll start talking about this kind of teaching after small group is over and there's just a select one or two that they want to talk to. They're there. What happens is this they'll question the teaching and the leadership of the church. What happens is this these kind of people will introduce new and exciting doctrine. They will introduce new teachers and new teaching that are outside of the accepted teaching and the declared established teaching and doctrine of the church. It always happens that way.

And then third he calls them those who mutilate the flesh. Now I said this last week but here we see some real strange language. The English standard says look out for those who mutilate the flesh. The New American says beware of the false circumcision. The King James is rather odd. It's really a pun or a twist on the word circumcision. The King James says beware of the concision. Last week we learned that all of those translations are right. Although they're different. That is because they all truly get at what Paul is saying here. Simply Paul was saying that their circumcision was a false circumcision.

He was and is saying that their circumcision was actually a mutilation of the body. And their circumcision their circumcision was false for two reasons. First because they thought that physical circumcision was necessary for true salvation which is a work salvation. And then second it was false because they totally missed the fact that true Old Testament circumcision reflected a changed heart. And the lesson for us here tonight is this. We cannot think that any outward ritual is a must for true salvation. Let me state that again. We cannot think that any outward ritual is a must for true salvation.

We cannot believe that any outward ritual is necessary for true salvation. And notice how common this is. This is the mistake our Church of Christ friends make in their doctrine. It's there. They believe that you are saved by grace through faith but you must also be baptized. And if you're not baptized well then you're not saved. Well that is works. It's the same thing as the legalists. It is works. And notice how sly and tricky the devil is. Remember his schemes? All the duck dynasty guys that are so popular. They're portrayed as Christian. They're portrayed and propped up as Christian.

And not only do the men preach and teach but some of their daughters and they go out and they share. And notice they'll share in all kinds of different venues but every single one of them are Church of Christ. And if they're pressed on their views here they will always become ambiguous. I used to research it a lot. But isn't it strange? They are ambiguous about one thing that the Bible is not ambiguous about. You might say pastor that's a little bit you know over the edge. No it's not. But Church of Christ doctrine has always been classified as unorthodox. It is a works based salvation because they add to grace.

Grace plus anything is not grace. As I was contemplating these things last week and even this week I have wondered how many quote unquote Christians and even true Christians have been led astray by the duck dynasty crowd. Now I did not go over all that we studied here last week. This is just a quick review and some additional information that really didn't make the message last week. But what we see here is this Paul calls for these believers to be discerning. He called them to be aware and to look out for the Judaizers. He calls them dogs evil doers and mutilators of the flesh or the false circumcision.

And notice folks listen discernment is a gift. It is an ability but it can be developed and it should be developed with Christian maturity. Now because of time I won't say anything more. We covered here last week and if you did not get last week's message you need to because this all goes together. But before I move on I want to give you some instruction that will help you here. Always watch out for those who say and teach that we are saved by grace plus something. Grace plus something is legalistic salvation. It is not salvation. It is heresy. You might say, "Pastor, you said that a while ago.

I need to say it again." Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." And this is not of your own doing. It is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast. Salvation is a grace gift. Even your faith is a gift. Even your repentance is a gift. And watch out also for those who say we are saved by grace through faith. Yes, but we are really a good Christian if we do this. To say that our sanctification is dependent on keeping man-made rules and regulations, that is heresy as well. That is legalism as well.

Look at, look church, our sanctification is dependent on God working in us and our being obedient to man-made rules? No, to God's Word. Not something that is outside of God's Word or added to God's Word. And the latter, the legalist that says we are saved by grace through faith, but we are really sanctified by keeping all of these rules. Those are the ones that get into the church and will trip up many Christians. Our sanctification is dependent on a work of God's grace in us and our obedience to God's Word. It doesn't matter who says otherwise. Now let's look at verse 3. Number 2 in the outline, we see Paul's call to be understanding.

Paul's call to be understanding. Let's look at verse 3. "For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory or boast in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." Now here Paul continues with the language of circumcision. And although this may seem strange to us, it really is simple. Simply Paul is making a contrast. He was and is saying that in contrast to those of the false circumcision, we are those who have been saved by grace through faith. We are the true circumcision. And there are two things about this true circumcision that we need to see.

First, Paul is not referring to a physical circumcision, but a spiritual circumcision or a circumcision of the heart. Romans 2.29 says, "But a Jew is one inwardly, a true Jew." And circumcision is a matter of the heart by the Spirit, not by the letter. And then second, this spiritual circumcision is not a circumcision only for the Jews. Both Jews and Gentiles are a part of the true circumcision. Romans 9.24 says, "Even us whom He is called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles." So we must make sure that we understand what this circumcision is. Paul says that we are the circumcision of the true circumcised.

We have received a spiritual circumcision or a circumcision of the heart, not a physical circumcision. Colossians 2.11 says, "In Him," that's Christ, "also you were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh," that's the sinful nature, "by the circumcision of Christ." So Paul distinguishes between the false circumcision and the true. And he shows this that we are a part of the true, if we have savingly believed in Christ. That is why I call this Paul's call to understanding. But there's more.

He was calling these Philippian believers to understand that contrary to the legalists that try to worship God with their ritual and law keeping, they worship God in a completely different way. And at the end of verse 3, he gives a three-fold description of the truly circumcised in some of their actions. First notice, Paul says the truly circumcised worship by the Spirit of God. Now this is simple, but it blows the doors off of the legalists. The truly circumcised is guided by the Holy Spirit, which means, which is an inward spiritual worship that is completely different than the legalism and outward conformity to the law of the legalists.

One scholar says, and I'm quoting, "The Spirit," capital S, "the Holy Spirit, energizes and focuses Christian worship." Hendrickson says, "This proceeds from personalities renewed and energized by the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is holy from the heart and it is not hampered by physical considerations." And borrowing Hendrickson's language, not hampered by physical considerations, notice, "Worshipers, true worshipers, are energized and empowered by the Spirit of God, and they do not focus on physical considerations. They know that the physical is of no consequence.

Worship is not helped, nor is it hindered by physical circumcision or physical circumstances. Worship is not helped or hindered by ritual or tradition or any outward manifestations of worship. Worship is of the Spirit, and the truly circumcised must make sure that they understand this fact. Otherwise, they may be tricked into thinking that worship is by something physical. So, the truly circumcised, those who have a circumcised heart, they worship by the Spirit." Now, how does that apply to us today? We must make sure that we understand that our worship is not helped or hindered by the physical.

We worship in spirit and in truth, not by ritual and tradition. You see? We must make sure that we understand that our worship is not helped, nor is it hindered by the physical. We worship God in spirit and in truth, not by ritual or tradition. And it doesn't matter if we worship out on a field or in a grass hut or in a stately cathedral, because that's not helped or hindered. That doesn't help or hinder our worship. But what is the one thing that can help or hinder our worship? Obedience or disobedience? Our obedience to the Spirit and truth helps our worship. Otherwise, it's hindered. You see?

And then second, the truly circumcised, that's the one with the circumcised heart, glories in Christ Jesus. Now, the King James says that we rejoice in Christ Jesus. The English Standard says we glory in Christ. The Legacy Standard Bible says we boast in Christ. But which is right? All of them. But the ESV and the Legacy Standard really get at what Paul was and is saying. And that is because Paul is talking about glorying and even boasting in Christ. He is saying that the truly circumcised rejoice in Christ, glory in Christ, and they even boast in Christ.

To borrow what the Believer's Bible Commentary says, the truly circumcised do not pride themselves in personal attainments, in cultural background, or in faithfulness to sacraments. Christ alone is the ground of their boasting. So they, that is the truly circumcised, they rejoice, they glory, and they boast in Christ and Christ alone. And the lesson for here is this, our boasting must only be in Christ and His work. Without Christ and His work, where would we be? Where would you be? We should ponder that.

Without Christ and His work of redemption on the cross and without the work of salvation in us, rescuing us from ourself and our sin, where would we be? So how can we boast in anything we've done or accomplished? Anything we can do or do accomplish can only come about because of what Christ has done in us and for us. And then third, it turns negative, the truly circumcised puts no confidence in the flesh. Look back at the verse. "For we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God in glory or boast in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh." Now this is simple. This is a continuation of what Paul has just said.

"If the believer only boasts in what Christ has done, then that same believer will put no confidence in their own flesh or their own accomplishments." Again, remember the context. Paul is speaking of the so-called righteousness, the trust in man's initiative and ability to attain the spiritual blessing from God. That is what the Judaizers, or the false circumcision, were all about. Attaining spiritual blessing, being right with God through their own ability.

Simply Paul was and is saying that the true circumcision know that they can never be saved from their sin through their own spiritual, their own efforts, nor can they be sanctified by their own efforts. They actually do not expect anything good to come from their flesh which was and is their old sinful nature. And for us, we must see that we can put no confidence in our flesh for two things, for our own salvation and for our sanctification. We glory and we boast in Christ in all that He has done and all that He is doing. Therefore, we do not boast in our own flesh in any way for anything.

Even the good things we do must be attributed to Him because where would we be without Him? So Paul was calling these Philippian believers to a place of understanding. Understanding who the false circumcision were and who the true circumcision were. He was helping them to understand that the true circumcision, they worship in spirit, rejoicing and glorifying and boasting only in Christ and putting no confidence in their own flesh or their fleshly abilities. Now before I move on to our conclusion, I want to point out one important fact.

We must be understanding here, understanding that we worship in the spirit, boasting only in Christ and never in our own flesh. That is the key to two important doors. This is the key that opens up the door to true salvation and true worship. I think you see that. And this is the key that keeps the door locked to true legalistic religion that says man can somehow do something to attain their salvation and that man can somehow do something to somehow put himself in a better standing before God. You see, we need to have one door unlocked and one door locked.

Now I want to close by showing us that a healthy church must first always be on guard against false teaching and false teachers. Remember, this is a call to be discerning. We must be discerning. And then second, we must be understanding. We must be understanding. This is a call to be understanding. We must understand how man is made right before God and how man worships God after they come to true saving faith. Now I said that this is part one and a part two, but not seen in the title. The title of the message tonight really comes out of verse three. This is a call to be understanding. We worship in the spirit. We worship in the spirit.

And I pray that this has been educational. I pray that it's been helpful. Do you understand the legalist and how the legalist works? And I pray that it's been edifying and that it has affirmed you in your own worship and how we worship, how we even deal with the law center coming to faith in Christ. So let's pray and then we'll look at a couple of prayer needs and then we'll close.