Preached Sunday, June 24, 2012 from Philippians 3:1-3
Theme: We must beware of the joy-robbing power of ‘religious legalism’.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
The book of Philippians is a book about joy. But it’s not about any kind of ‘joy’ that we can create for ourselves. Rather, it’s about a joy that is a gift of God’s grace to us. It’s about the joy that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It’s about having the very joy of the Lord Jesus Himself reproduced in us. “These things I have spoken to you,” Jesus said, “that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
That’s important to understand. But even though it’s the gracious gift of the joy of Jesus Himself—a joy that we cannot in any way create for ourselves—it is nevertheless a joy that we are responsible to protect and defend. And that leads us to a new section of Paul’s letter—one in which he teaches us how to diligently protect the joy that is ours as God’s gracious gift through Christ.
* * * * * * * * * *
Already in Paul’s letter, we’ve seen that there are certain things that we need to do to protect this precious gift of joy. We don’t have to protect our joy from the trying circumstances of life, of course—because this is a joy that prevails victoriously over those circumstances. But one of the first things that Paul shows us that we must do to protect our joy is to be sure to look at those difficult circumstances correctly. One of the things that can rob us of our joy is to only focus on those circumstances—and to fail to place our primary focus on what God is doing through them.
Look at what Paul wrote in chapter 1. You’ll remember that he wrote this letter from a Roman prison cell—having been locked-up for preaching the gospel. That’s a pretty dire circumstance on its own. But his circumstances were made even more dire by the fact that some people on the outside were deliberately trying to make Paul’s stay in prison even more miserable. And yet, in verses 12-18, he writes to his fellow-Christians in Philippi and says;
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice (1:12-18).
Can you see it? One of the ways Paul’s own example shows us that we must protect our joy—even during very difficult circumstances—is by making sure that we look beyond those circumstances and focus on the great things that our sovereign God is accomplishing through them.
Another way that we are to protect the joy of Christ that God graciously gives to us is by making sure we are relating rightly to one another as fellow-recipients of that joy. One of the things that Paul dealt with in this letter is the problem of some professing Christians who were not getting along with one another as they should. They were not loving each other sacrificially; and were putting their own needs and interests over the needs and interests of each other. And that always creates a joy-robbing atmosphere. So; in 2:1-4, he wrote;
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (2:1-4).
He went on to say, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (v. 5). And then, he went on to show them what ‘the mind’ of Christ was toward them—how He willingly laid aside His rights and privileges as the Son of God in order to die on the cross for them.
And so; another way that we protect the precious gift of joy that God gives us through Christ is by making sure that we’re treating one another rightly—loving one another sacrificially; willingly laying aside our own concerns and interests for each other, just as Jesus did for us. That creates an atmosphere in which the joy of Christ that God gives to us can flourish in us.
And now; beginning in chapter three, Paul deals with yet another thing we must do to protect the joy that God has given us in Christ. And this has to do with good theology—and with making sure we believe correctly about the sufficiency of our salvation in Christ.
In 3:1-3, Paul writes;
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh . . . (3:1-3).
* * * * * * * * * *
The thing that Paul wants to protect his Philippian brothers and sisters from in this passage is something that is very dangerous to the soul. It’s something that can rob an individual Christian of joy—or even a whole a church family—faster and more thoroughly than just about anything. It’s a thing called “legalism”
Simply put, legalism is the belief that I can be made righteous before God—or, that I can be made even more righteous before God than I already am in Christ—by carefully following the rules and regulations and ceremonies of religion. It’s the idea that the work of Jesus Christ alone—and my faith in that work alone—is not sufficient to make me 100% acceptable in God’s sight; and that there’s more that I must do. It usually expresses itself in a list of religious ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’. “Don’t eat this food.” “Only eat that food; and only on these certain days.” “Make sure to observe these sacred holidays on the religious calendar.” “Don’t go here.” “Only go there.” “Wear this.” “Don’t ever wear that.” “Stay away from these activities.” “Do these activities instead—and do them faithfully.” “Follow these rules, and you will become more holy before God.”
In Paul’s day, the problem was brought about by what we would call “Judaizers”. I’m careful not to simply say that they were “Jews”; because Paul himself was a Jew. Rather, the “Judaizers” were people who were getting into the churches and were trying to convince the Gentiles that it wasn’t enough that they simply trusted in Jesus. They were teaching that a simple trust in Jesus alone could not make them as acceptable to God as they should be; and that they must also carefully follow the religious and ceremonial rules and regulations of Judaism. One of the biggest items on the list for the Judaizers was circumcision—that Gentile men must be “circumcised” according to the law of Moses; or else they could not be fully accepted by God—even if they had trusted in Jesus.
If you are a reader of the New Testament at all, you already know that Paul was constantly fighting this false teaching. He labored hard to make sure that the people he loved were protected in the confident belief that they were made 100% acceptable in God’s sight through faith alone in Jesus Christ, and that Jesus has already fulfilled all the requirements of the law of Moses for them on their behalf. But the “Judiastic” version was only the particular form of legalism that Paul had to deal with in his time. There are many other forms of legalism today.
Legalism in any form—that is, being placed under the burdensome rules and regulations of any kind of religious ceremony in order to earn a righteousness before God—is one of the greatest ‘joy-robbers’ that can ever afflict us as Christians. I myself have been in a church that came to be infected with an attitude of legalism; and I can tell you that it is a very joyless experience!
My hope, dear brothers and sisters, is that—as we are studying together from Philippians about our joy in Christ—we will heed Paul’s warning in this passage, rest confidently in the sufficiency of Jesus to make us 100% righteous and acceptable in God’s sight, and diligently protect the gift of joy that God has given us from the joy-robbing power of legalism.
* * * * * * * * * * *
What does Paul tell them to do, then, to protect their joy? Look at verse one; and you’ll see . . .
1. HOW IT IS THAT WE MUST BE SURE TO REJOICE (v. 1).
Paul begins by saying, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.” When Paul begins by saying, “Finally, my brethren . . .”, he is introducing a new section of his letter that addresses some of the very important things he wants his readers to know. And even though they involve some things that he had already spoken to them about, he didn’t mind doing so again. For him, it was no burden; and for them, it was safe. He very much wanted them to take note of what he was about to say; and didn’t mind saying it again.
And notice the big command of this passage. It’s that they “rejoice in the Lord.” That’s how Paul begins chapter three; and of course, that touches on the great theme of this whole wonderful New Testament letter. But if we were to read on and see the things that Paul says in the rest of this chapter, we’d come to understand that Paul was placing particular emphasis—not just on the command to “rejoice”—but on the manner in which that rejoicing is to be done. He wants his readers to be very careful to rejoice not just anywhere and in any old way, but to very particularly rejoice “in the Lord”.
Look with me at what Paul goes on to say after this morning’s passage. At the end of verse three, Paul said that we put no confidence “in the flesh”—that is, in our outward ability to conform ourselves to religious rules and regulations, or to make ourselves righteous by our own efforts. And then, he goes on to say of himself in verse four, “though I also might have confidence in the flesh.” In other words, if anyone would have had the ability to make themselves righteous on the basis of the flesh—if such a thing could be done at all—no one could have had a greater reason to be confident in the flesh than Paul himself.
He wrote;
If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:4b-7).
No one could have rejoiced in the confidence of his own flesh more than Paul. And as a matter of fact, for a long time, he did trust in the power of the flesh to make himself righteous before God But he went on to say that he does so no longer. He wrote;
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (vv. 8-11).
I think that that’s the best explanation you could possibly find of what Paul meant when he said, “Finally brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” He meant to, in effect, say, “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; make absolutely sure that what you rejoice in is in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross on your behalf, and in your condition of being made 100% accepted in the sight of God ‘in Him’. Don’t trust in your own works any longer. Don’t rest in your own righteousness which is through the law; but in a righteous standing before God which is your free gift by faith in Jesus. If you trust in Jesus completely—and in nothing else of your own—you have all the reason in God’s universe to truly rejoice. So make sure, dear beloved brethren—make very sure—that you truly rejoice in the Lord!”
And before we go any further, let me pause and ask you: In what are you ultimately rejoicing for your standing before God? Are you rejoicing in your own efforts? Are you rejoicing in your own “religious” conformity to the rules and regulations and ceremonies and rituals? Be very careful. Some people can even be very firm in their belief that we are not saved by our own works in any of those areas; and yet still hand their trust in the fact that that’s what they believe—rather than in actually trusting in Jesus Himself. Make very sure that you truly are rejoicing “in the Lord”—that is, in the Person of Jesus and in His gracious sacrifice for us; and in nothing else for a righteous standing before God.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; that’s the kind of joy that Paul is meaning for us to protect. And he doesn’t mind speaking about the things that will protect it. It’s not a burdensome thing for him to say it to his readers again and again; and he even felt that it was safe for them if he did so.
So then—assuming that we are truly rejoicing “in the Lord”—let’s go on to look at verse two and see . . .
2. WHAT WE MUST DO TO PROTECT THIS JOY (v. 2).
Paul issues three warnings: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!” These aren’t warnings about three different things. They are three warnings about the same kind of people who manifest themselves in three different characteristics. The first warning has to do with the kind of person they are. The second has to do with the product they bring forth. And the third has to do with the practice they engage in. Paul speaks some harsh words here; but Paul isn’t afraid to use such harsh words when it comes to protecting his brothers and sisters from the kind of legalism that would rob them of their joy.
First, notice that Paul says, “Beware of dogs.” Now; some of us read that and say, “But I love dogs! We have several in our family!” But Paul isn’t talking about the kind of dog we would have as a family pet. The word he uses is meant to describe the kind of wild dogs that prowled around in packs in ancient cities—without a home and without an owner; feeding on the filth and garbage of the streets; attacking people and presenting a dangerous hazard to society. These kinds of dogs were despised by the Jewish people; and were sometimes used to describe false teachers in ancient times. I suspect that, when Paul wrote those words, he was thinking of what it says in Isaiah 56:10-11 concerning the false teachers that plagued ancient Israel—
His watchmen are blind,
They are all ignorant;
They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yes, they are greedy dogs
Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory (Isaiah 56:10-11).
I believe Paul was speaking of the false teachers who sought to bring people under the bondage of religious rituals—and the perfect analogy to use to describe them was as a pack of wild and dangerous scavenger dogs. They were the kind of false teachers that Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:6-7; “who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”; the kind he spoke of in Titus 1:10-11 when he wrote; “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”
I believe this parallels the modern idea of the cults. They too sneak in and try to captivate Christians with false teaching, and bring them under the bondage of religious rules and regulations that they make up—thus utterly robbing them of the joy of being “in the Lord”. Dear beloved brothers and sisters; beware of those who try to teach you about a different Jesus than the one you find in the Bible; or who try to tell you that your faith in Jesus alone is not enough; so that you will turn to them for whatever it is that they are trying to sell you. Beware of dogs!
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; that has to do with what kind of person these religious legalists were. Next, Paul takes up what kind of product they brought forth; and tells the Philippians, “Beware of evil workers.” Some translations have it that they were “evildoers”—as if they were known by the fact that they do evil. Others have it that they were “evil workers”—as if what they did, even if it seemed to look good, ended up producing evil. Either way, I believe Paul is warning against those who’s end product is evil.
One of the things that’s deceitful about them is that they don’t always look like “evil workers”. In fact, they look like they come on to the scene to produce good. They want to make people more “religious”. Doesn’t that seem like a good thing? But back in the Sermon on The Mount, Jesus warned us,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
What Jesus said is a very apt description of the burdensome atmosphere that legalism produces whenever it gets into the household of God. It bears the bad fruit of pride, divisiveness, discontent, envy, jealousy, bitterness, and profound joylessness. Those who try to enforce religious rules and regulations on God’s people—whatever else their motives may be—are “evil workers” who bring about evil results. As Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1-5;
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:1-5).
In order to protect our joy in Christ, we must be on the guard against such “evil-workers”.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; “dogs” describes the dangerous kind of persons they are. “Evil workers” describes what it is they produce. And finally, Paul warns, “Beware of the mutilation”—or, as some translations have it, “the concision”; which describes the practice they enforce on others.
The practice that the Judaizers where trying to enforce on the Gentile believers in Paul’s day was the ancient Jewish practice of circumcision. According to the Old Testament law, it was the covenant sign that God commanded for the Jewish people. But here, Paul doesn’t even honor what they did with the name “circumcision”; because they themselves weren’t seeking to honor God with it. They were, in fact, rebelling against God—Who sent His Son to fulfill all the requirements of the law on our behalf and to die on the cross for our sins. Circumcision was no longer the requirement it once was; so in the end, these Judaizers were simply going around advocating “mutilation”—a practice that only advanced themselves and that did nothing to advance anyone else’s standing before God.
* * * * * * * * * *
I appreciate what someone pointed out to me the other day. Paul speaks these harsh words—”Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!” But as we saw by looking ahead to the rest of chapter three, he himself was once one of them! He went roaming around to arrest Christians and drag them to their deaths. He was a proud Judaizer who sought to bring the Gentile believers under the burden of the Old Testament ceremonial laws. But his heart was changed by Christ; and he now trusted in Jesus alone for his righteousness before God.
And that helps remind us that the emphasis of this passage really isn’t about what to beware of, but rather about what to protect. It’s key theme not is not “beware”, but rather “rejoice in the Lord”. And that leads us finally to notice . . .
3. WHY THIS IS A JOY WORTH PROTECTING (v. 3).
Paul writes, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh . . .”
Even though the Judaizers sought to bring the Philippian believers under an outward ritual that was nothing more than “mutilation”, Paul stresses that he and his brothers and sisters in Christ were now the true “circumcision”. They had entered into a true “New Covenant” relationship with God through Christ, and not through the Old Testament rituals of the law. They worship God, not according to outward ceremonies and regulations, but “in the Spirit”. They—like Paul—truly rejoice that they have been made 100% acceptable in the sight of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. They didn’t trust in “the works of the flesh” any longer to make them righteous. They truly do go forth to live righteously before God—but not in order to become righteous. Rather, it’s because they have already been made righteous!
This is the basis of our joy in Christ, dear brothers and sisters! It’s not ours to make; but it most definitely is ours to protect. As Paul put it in Colossians 2:6-10;
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:6-10).