Okay, so
Introduction
Philippians chapter 3, the other day we looked at Malachi chapter 3, we remember, hopefully we remember, the people in Malachi's day were saying that it was useless, unprofitable, and unfair to serve the living and the true God. They were obviously unbelievers. The true believer sees Christ as chief among 10,000, and altogether lovely. And I believe the Apostle Paul sets forth that example in chapter 3 of a man consumed with the Lord Jesus Christ.
So tonight we're going to look at possession, position, and privileges of believers in Philippians chapter 3, specifically verses 7 to 11. But I'll just begin reading in verse 1 and read to the end of the chapter. 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. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I'm 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. But what things were gained 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. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule.
Let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping. that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself.
Amen. In other places in the Apostle's writings, he demonstrates the glory of Christ in saving us from our sins. Remember that statement in 1 Timothy chapter 1 in verse 15. He says it's a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptation.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. He does the same thing in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians 2, 1, he says, but you, being dead in your trespasses and sins. And then in verses 1 to 3, he highlights what being dead in trespasses and sins looks like.
And then he highlights the saving purposes of God in chapter 2, verse 4. But God, God made us alive together with Christ. So the Lord Jesus saves us from our sins to be sure. Here, it almost appears that Paul wants to demonstrate that the Lord Jesus not only saves us from our sins, but from our wretched works, our acts of self-righteousness, those things that we think we do that commend ourselves unto God.
In chapter 3, the Apostle Paul is alerting the audience to the presence of Judaizers. That's who he's referring to in verse 2. When he says, Beware of dogs, he is not meaning canines. He is not meaning, you know, Rottweilers or what other kind of vicious dogs are there?
I don't know. Poodles, yeah. He doesn't mean beware of poodles. The dogs here are Judaizers.
It was common for the Jews to refer to the Gentiles as being dogs. In a twist of theological logic, the Apostle Paul is saying the dogs are the Judaizers, those who come along and seek to thrust the circumcision or the ceremonies of Moses upon the professing people of God that they would have to not only believe the gospel but also do certain things in order to be saved. We know this is the case because he then calls them evil workers and the mutilation. They were preaching circumcision but what they were in essence was mutilation.
Then he highlights the reality of what the church is in verse 3. We are the circumcision. We worship God in the spirit, boasting in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the flesh. And that then leads him in 4-6 to highlight what he was prior to his conversion.
If ever there was a man who by his works could have commended himself to God, it was the Apostle Paul. If ever there was a religious resume that God the Lord should look upon favorably and allow access into his holy presence, it was this Saul of Tarsus. But what he shows here, what he demonstrates here, is that all of that did not avail with God at all. In other words, it's not our works, it's not our righteousness, it's not our righteousness according to the law, but it is solely and alone the gracious act of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ that brings us into this state of salvation.
So that's a bit of an introduction to the context. But in the broader epistle, we read in chapter 3 at verse 17, Paul says, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. Paul was a man of prayer according to chapter 1 verses 3 to 11. He was a man who defended and confirmed the gospel according to chapter 1 verse 7.
He was a man who was able to look beyond present distress and trial and see God's gospel purposes even in the midst of his own suffering. In chapter 1, verse 12, he talks about being in prison. The enemies of the cross thought that they were stopping the gospel. But even though Paul was in prison, this was an occasion for the gospel to progress and to advance.
Paul was a man who also was able to see his imprisonment as a blessed opportunity for the progress, and he rejoiced even in those who, out of bad ambition toward the apostle, nevertheless preached the cross accurately. Paul rejoiced in that. All of these things are true of Paul. Philippians chapter 1, he says, whether he lives or whether he dies, he does all for the glory of Christ.
I mean, here's a man consumed with Christ. And I think the way or the reason how he is the kind of man that he is, is based substantially and based solely and alone, ultimately, on what we find here in the core, the control center of this epistle, verses 7 to 11. Paul's possession of Christ, his position in Christ, and the privileges that he has as a result of being in Christ. So that's the specific context.
Possession of Christ
Let's look at his possession of Christ. One man, James Stocker, said that all of Paul's theology was just about the explanation of his own conversion account. I think that's good. The explication of what happened to him on the road to Damascus.
Here was a man who was self-righteous. Here was a man who was a sinner. God saved him by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. So then he writes his epistles.
And that is the sum and substance of his message. He preaches a law-free gospel. He preaches justification by faith. He preaches the absolute sufficiency and completeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think that's a good observation by James Stalker. But let's look at this possession, verses 7 and 8. He's using the language of the marketplace. He's using commercial language when he uses the terminology gain and loss.
It's the sort of language that you would hear in any business. You have a gain column, you have a loss column. You have an asset column, you have a debit column. You have those things which matter and you have those things which don't.
And that's what Paul is highlighting here. in verses 7 and 8. He says, This is what I was before I met Jesus Christ. Again, verse 4, Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, 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 Hebrew, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless." Again, it's an ingenious argument.
Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation, beware of those who preach the ceremonies of Moses as a means by which you may gain favor with God. Paul says, I had all those ceremonies of Moses. I was in the right stock. I was in the right tribe.
I was circumcised on the eighth day. I had every I dotted and every T crossed according to the Mosaic law. Concerning the law, he says, I was blameless. And yet, notice in verse 7, but what things were gained to me.
At one time that mattered to Paul. At one time that pedigree was everything to him. At one time that resume was all that he had. But when he met Jesus Christ, that radically changed.
He said, what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ, the religious accomplishments, the works of the flesh, the works of the law, the things that I had amassed, all those things that I thought endeared me to God are now counted as loss. I don't look at those anymore as somehow getting me in to favor with God. No, I count those things lost, notice specifically, for Christ. Christ is everything for the Apostle Paul.
There's one thing that I hope that we'll take away tonight is that Christ is everything for those who are in Him, so that we'll never fall prey to those sorts of blasphemous and harsh words that they spoke in Malachi's day, that it's useless to serve God, that it's unprofitable to serve God, that it's unfair to serve God. No, if we have Jesus Christ, we have everything. Doesn't matter if we're in a prison cell, doesn't matter if our heads are being chopped off, doesn't matter if we're losing arms, it doesn't matter if we're the target of political oppression or whatever it may be. If we have Jesus Christ as believers, we have everything.
That's what we need to get our minds wrapped around, and I think this is a wonderful passage of scripture to display that. But notice, he goes from the past, verse 7, what things were gained to me, These I have counted loss for Christ. Now he moves to the present. Verse eight, 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.
So it's not just his past accomplishments, but it's his present comfort. It's his present safety. It's his present status. You might look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11 for just a moment to see what the cross cost Paul in terms of his own life, in terms of his own safety. in terms of his own security.
In verse 8, Paul uses a present tense which indicates a continuing and a constant action. Present comfort no longer mattered to the Apostle Paul. Present prestige, present favor in the eyes of men, present whatever. It did not matter to him one whit anymore.
Notice in 2 Corinthians 11 at verse 22. Now he's got a bit of a different purpose here in 2 Corinthians. Briefly, what had happened is that some men had come in to the church in Corinth and said that Paul really isn't what he says he is. Paul's out for your money.
Paul's a wishy-washy fellow. Paul really isn't about your good. That's why much of 2 Corinthians is apologetic in nature, where Paul is having to defend himself. And he's not defending himself because he wants to look good for the Corinthians.
He's defending himself because if he is discredited, then the gospel that he preaches is discredited. So insofar as he defends himself, it is to promote the truth of the gospel that he preached. So here, that's what's going on here in 2 Corinthians 11 at verse 22. It's kind of an interesting way that he answers that.
Oh, Paul's weak. Paul is feeble. Paul is, you know, a scared man. You know how Paul answers all those?
He says, right, right, and right. It's an amazing apologetic. It's not the way you and I, well no, that's not me, I'm Mr. Martin, no.
Paul, earlier on, he says, when I came to you I was weak, I was trembling, I was fearful. I'm not the super apostles that these guys are. That's just not who I am. I am what God has made me to be.
I am who he has called me to be. And here, now he's highlighting his suffering for Christ. Notice in verse 22, chapter 11, are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been in the deep.
In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the sea, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches." So that's just to illustrate verse 8 of Philippians chapter 3. What things were gained, verse 7, I count loss. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. He was willing to give up and had given up everything for the cross.
Peter T. O'Brien says, his earlier decision was no impulsive act of breaking with the past, rather it was a deep seated resolution and he continues up to the time of writing to regard everything as lost for the sake of Christ. Now something we need to remember about the book of Philippians. Paul had been a Christian probably about 30 years.
We're not dealing with a new convert here. There's this lie that has unfortunately plagued the church. that when you're first converted there's this zeal and there's this desire and there's a witness and a testimony and a good works ethic that the new believer gets engaged in. And then people sometimes think, well give him a few years, he'll fizzle out and be like the rest of us, dead weight, just kind of floating along. Paul had been a Christian for 30 years when he said, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Do not ever believe the lie that your first love should decline, that you should start to fizzle out. If anything, the more you learn of Christ, the more you appreciate about the gospel, the more earnest you ought to be in terms of Christian experience. The man of Psalm 92, the righteous old man of Psalm 92 is flourishing and he's thriving. Why?
Because he's feeding on the Lord Jesus Christ and he's growing in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. If Paul does anything in Philippians 3, 7 to 11, hopefully he rebukes us for our lack of zeal, our lack of a warm-hearted love and affection for the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, what things were gained, loss. 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.
We just saw what he means there in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. This isn't just some ethereal idea or concept. This isn't just him, you know, using literary rhetoric to sort of make an impact here. When Paul says, I have suffered the loss of all things, he means business.
And he didn't suffer it in such a manner that we are prone to, oh man, I lost all these things. This is not the lament, the groaning and the grieving of a man that has lost everything. This is rather the exaltation of a man who has lost everything. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish.
The word here has the twin concept of filth and something worthy to be discarded. The idea is something thrown to the dogs or it has the idea of dung, as the old King James translates it. Rubbish is a little bit too polished of a term. Dung fits it a whole lot better.
This is what Paul says, all things that were gained to me, now I count this as dung, because now I have Christ, that I may gain Christ. You see, you would never hear the Apostle Paul say, it is useless, it is unprofitable, and it is unfair to serve God. He has Jesus. He has everything.
The same thing ought to be true with us. If we are in Christ, which we'll see in just a moment, this position that Paul speaks of in verse 9, which is based on a sovereign, gracious act of God. It's not our doing. It's not our placement into Christ, but rather it's what God has done.
If we have this position, that ought to be the mindset with reference to possession. a willingness and a readiness to genuinely part with everything for Christ, that we may gain Christ. That is the sum and substance of Christianity. At times I think we lose sight of that. At times I think we lose sight of the fact that it's Christianity that we're part of.
It's about Jesus. It's about the Lord of glory. How does Jesus himself define eternal life? In John 17, 3, in his high priestly prayer, he says, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Jesus tells us the very essence of eternal life itself is theology. I don't say that because I have a hobby in theology. I say that because we're Christians. Who doesn't want to study God?
Who doesn't want to understand more of the Redeemer? Who doesn't want to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what we're here for. That's what it's about.
That's what we are seeking to imbibe. We are first and foremost believers. We believe a body of truth, which presupposes we understand that body of truth. And then that body of truth gets into our hearts and into our minds and into our lives, and then it's fleshed out as individuals, as families, as churches.
This is what it's about. grow in these things. We can't shine as lights unless we have the data in our hearts first and foremost. This is what motivated, this is what moved, this is what activated the Lord or the Apostle Paul with reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is his possession.
He has Christ. Now
Position in Christ
notice secondly his position. We'll spend a little more time here because I want us to understand what he is saying in verse 9.
Justification by Faith Alone
He says, 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." I would suggest that this is the hub. Paul's a man of prayer. Paul defends and confirms the gospel. Paul sits in a prison and rejoices because the gospel is being preached.
Paul sits in a prison and rejoices because the gospel is preached even by guys who don't like Paul, guys who have selfish ambition, guys who don't have the best motive but nevertheless they're getting the cross right. Paul is that way because of verse 9. Paul is the kind of man Paul is because of what he says here in verse nine. Hence, if we understand verse nine, we too ought to be men like the Apostle Paul, or women, should that be the case, genderly speaking.
Notice, he is speaking about the doctrine of justification by faith. That's what verse nine is about. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you understand what the Bible teaches concerning justification by faith alone, you will be the happier person as a result. Okay?
Someone recently asked me, what new thing have you learned over the last couple of years? Or what profound thing in your studies has come out over the last couple of years? You know what the profound thing is? There's no profound thing.
The old truth is still the good truth. The old perspective on Paul is still the necessary perspective on Paul. What the reformers, what the Puritans after them, what the post-reformation dogmaticians all accurately reflected on in terms of justification by faith alone is that lasting and abiding reality that will help you in everything Christian. So let's just look at this doctrine of justification by faith in verse 9.
I'll just read a couple of the confessional statements concerning this doctrine. From our own confession, the London Baptist Confession, also found in the Westminster Confession, chapter 11, paragraph 1. those whom God affectionately calls, He also freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them. We'll unpack this as we move along. Think Protestant, Catholic, infuse is the word Catholicism uses.
Just think, infusion is bad. Not in every situation. Infusion is probably good somewhere out there. But with reference to righteousness, infusion, bad.
Roman dogma, bad. Protestant doctrine, imputation, good. Let's make sure we have happy face for imputation, sad face for infusion. This is what our confession says.
Those whom God affectionately calls, He also freely justifies, not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone." That is a blessed statement. Paul says this in verse 9. Be found in Him. not having my own righteousness, which is from the law. There's two types of righteousness that Paul is speaking of in verse 9.
There is a righteousness which is our own according to the law. Paul says that's not the one I have, but I have the righteousness which is from God through faith. That's the righteousness that we desperately need. You've all probably heard the story about Martin Luther.
Martin Luther, of course, was brought up a Roman Catholic. Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest. Martin Luther was involved in monkery. He was involved in the whole spiel.
There were seasons and times in Martin Luther's life where he would go to the confessional for hours upon hours at a time. R.C. Sproul makes the observation. That's amazing.
What kind of trouble do you get into in a monastery? Do you covet Brother Philip's biscuit? Luther understood something about sin. So he spent all these hours confessing this sin.
Could you imagine the priests? They probably all hope they didn't get Luther. He's going to be here for hours on end listening to this guy's laundry list of sins. There were times when Luther was asked, do you love God?
Love God? I hate him. This idea of the righteousness of God terrified Martin Luther. This idea of who God is in terms of his rightness made Luther shiver and fear and tremble.
Because if God is that holy, and God is that righteous, and I'm this wicked, then there is no way I shall ever gain acceptance into his presence. It was his study of the epistle to the Romans. It was Romans 1, 16, and 17. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for in it The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
When Luther understood righteousness in that context. Righteousness is a word that is conditioned by the context. Sometimes it means the rightness of God. It means that burning holiness and purity.
But in Philippians 3.9 and in Romans 1.16 and 17 and in Romans chapter 3, the righteousness of God is that which He demands and that which he supplies to his elect, that righteousness which is from God through faith. When Luther understood that, he said it was as if paradise opened up. He understood all too well what Habakkuk said and what the New Testament authors quoted ad nauseum. The just shall live by faith, faith in the Savior, faith in Christ, faith for pardon faith for righteousness.
That's what the confession is highlighting here. Probably the best extra-biblical definition of justification is Westminster Shorter Catechism number 33. Justification is an act of God's free grace. Isn't that beautiful?
Justification is not an act of our goodness, our ability, our law-keeping. It's an act of God's free grace. That's how we know sinners will be saved, because God is gracious freely. Not because sinners are good, not because sinners perform well, not because sinners get circumcised.
It is an act of God's free grace, and then it goes in to describe the components involved in justification. Where any pardons, all our sins. Ever think about that? When we sing 590, Jesus paid it all.
He didn't atone for some of our sins. He didn't pay for 80% of our sins. He didn't even pay for 99.99999999. And we gotta conjure up that last millionth in order to secure the deal.
Jesus pardons all our sins. Sometimes people, sometimes children say, well does that mean that the blood of Jesus covers the sins I'm gonna commit? Yes, it does. He pardons all our sins.
Now, biblical logic means, based on that reality, we want to live holy. It's the devil's logic that says, well, if he paid for those future sins, I'll go out and sin and sin and sin and sin. Paul combats that reality in Romans chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? What does Paul say? May it never be. You who died to sin, shall you continue in it?
The truth of biblical pardon and forgiveness in the blood of Jesus should promote holiness and righteousness and godliness. It doesn't promote license. Anyways, getting in. This kind of stuff, hopefully you're all excited too.
This is the stuff of biblical Christianity. Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight. See, we not only need the pardon of our sin, we need a positive righteousness. Machen said it well.
If all of our sin is removed, then we're back at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If all of our sin is pardoned, then we're back at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now it is up to us, ultimately, to confirm ourself in that state of righteousness. But you see, the gospel answers to both aspects.
We have pardon and we have acceptance. We have pardon from our sin. We have acceptance with God because of the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us and received by faith alone. That's the second component. an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.
It is a blessed, wonderful transaction.
Zechariah 3: Justification Illustrated
Turn to the prophet Zechariah to see an illustration. The prophet Zechariah chapter 3, to see this illustrated. Sometimes when we hear these abstract doctrines It is helpful for us to see them fleshed out in real life situations. I mean, it's being fleshed out in Philippians 3.
Paul says, this is what I was, this is what I am, and I rejoice solely and alone in the finished work. of the Lord Jesus Christ. But for an Old Testament counterpart, let's look at Zechariah chapter 3. I'll just make running comments along as I read, beginning in verse 1. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord.
Now Joshua here is not Joshua the son of Nun. foolish to read a name and go, oh, that must be, no, no, no. This is post-exilic. This is many, many, many, many years after Joshua, the son of Nun. This Joshua is the high priest.
So that indicates something to us, that he not only stands before the throne for himself, But he's a public person. He's a representative. He is standing before the throne on behalf of the entirety of the covenant community. So make sure you understand that.
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. I mean, that's what the devil's called, right? In the book of Revelation. Chapter 12, he is what?
He is the accuser of the brethren. He functions that way in the book of Job, doesn't he? He presents himself before the Lord God Almighty, and what does he do? He accuses Job.
Job only serves you, God, because you give him stuff. Job only serves you, God, because he's got a 2012 Lexus. He only serves you, God, because he's got a summer home at Cultus. He only serves you, God, because he's got a nice, beefy bank account.
He's got lots of flogs, and he has happy children. He's got a pretty wife. You take all that stuff away, and he won't serve you. That's what the devil is doing in the book of Job.
He is accusing Job of being a mercenary. He is accusing Job of only being in it for what God can give him and not being there for God. And that's precisely what he's doing here in this scene with Joshua the high priest. I love the way the devil doesn't even get to open his big mouth.
Notice in verse 12, and the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand pluck from the fire? It's an implication here.
The devil doesn't have to open his mouth and say, Joshua the high priest and Israel are sinners. God knows that. He plucked Jerusalem out like a bran from the fire. It's sovereign election, it's sovereign grace that this is all based upon.
God sees us in our sin. He doesn't need Mr. Devil there saying, you know, Jim Butler, John Proctor, Dodd, you know, those guys are wretches. As if God doesn't know that?
That's why his son came to die. I mean, all of us here, I just happen to pick a couple names. No, no, no, God, no, I'm just kidding there. But notice this, the devil doesn't even open his mouth.
The Lord God most high says, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. Now notice in verse three, now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. It's an amazing reality. He's not standing there in his high priestly gear.
He's not standing there in the breastplate. He's not standing there with the headdress. He's not standing there in purity and in polish. The language is conspicuous.
He is clothed with filthy garments. The word filthy here is used in other contexts in the Old Testament to speak of vomit and to speak of feces. That's what Joshua is covered with. He didn't drop a little bit of jam on his shirt.
He didn't have a little bit of, you know, peanut butter on the corner of his mouth. He is standing there filthy as a result of his own sin and the sin of Israel. You cannot get any more conspicuous. The man is wretched.
Israel is wretched. Now notice those twin components of justification fleshed out right before our eyes, and it all comes from the Lord's initiative. God doesn't say, you know, Joshua, if you contribute here, or if you clean up your act, or if you fix yourself, then I will reward you. No, God undertakes.
Remember, justification is an act of God's free grace. Notice in verse 4, then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, take away the filthy garments from him. Where's your pardon from sin? We need to be cleansed.
We need to be purified. We need that muck washed away. We need the vomit. We need the feces.
We need the, you know, all the breach of the Ten Commandments. We need that sin purged. We need the precious blood to cleanse us and to wash us and to purify us. but the activity doesn't stop. Not only are the filthy garments taken from him, but notice, and to him he said, see, I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you with rich robes.
You see, Joshua is not simply to stand there naked before the Lord, but he is to be clothed in the rich festal robes of purity and of righteousness. And I said, let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him, and the angel of the Lord stood by." There it is illustrated. There it is fleshed out.
Those twin concepts of justification, all according to the gracious act of God. Pardon from our sins and the imputation of righteousness, based on the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Imputation Versus Law-Keeping
So when we go back to Philippians chapter 3 and verse 9, Paul says, "...and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law." You go through Romans, you go through Galatians, and Paul is conspicuous. It is not the works of the law that commend us to God. It is not our righteousness that commend us to God. In this context, when he says beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation, resist those Judaizers who would come to you and say faith in Christ plus circumcision.
Resist Romanism that says faith in Christ plus the seven sacraments of Rome. resist the federal vision who says faith in Christ plus your faithfulness and loyalty in order to be justified. It is justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. There is a sharp stark contrast between my own righteousness which is from the law and that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith. Raymond says, with a gloriously monotonous regularity.
Paul pits faith off over against all law keeping as its diametrical opposite. It's faith versus. It's faith against. It is faith alone that is the instrument by which sinners are justified.
And it's very interesting, my dear brothers and sisters, that whenever you look at faith passages in the New Testament, it's not because of our faith. It's not on account of our faith. It is through faith. Faith is the instrument.
It's not as if I conjure up faith, and as a result of that, then God gives me justification. That was something that plagued, or that has plagued the church forever. But it was something rampant even in the Puritan movement. There was a group called the Neonomians, or Baxterianism, named after Richard Baxter.
What Richard Baxter had in terms of being a pastor, he didn't have in terms of being a theologian. He did not have the doctrine of justification by faith alone. in Christ alone down. They had faith plus our faithfulness. They had faith as the cause, faith as the because of, when we believe then we're justified.
Every instance in the New Testament It is always dia with a genitive. It is always the preposition with faith in the genitive which indicates it's an instrument. It's not because of faith, it is through faith. It's Christ who saves and faith is the instrument by which we're brought into union with Him.
Again, it's not you believe and then God brings justification. God justifies in an act of His free grace. Faith is indeed the instrument, but it's not the cause. It's not like you believe and then God rewards you with faith.
He says, whereas law keeping relies on human effort of the law keeper looking to himself to render satisfaction before God, the former faith repudiates and looks entirely away from all human effort to the cross work of Jesus Christ who alone by his sacrificial death rendered satisfaction before God for man. So you see, it's only this faith principle that causes men, that causes the whole gospel to be dependent upon Jesus Christ and Him alone. It's a beautiful, wonderful situation. If you are a partaker in this and you don't usually think about this, may I encourage you by means of an application to think about this once in a while.
It's good for the soul. It's very good for the soul. How am I going to go to heaven? Because I go to church?
Because I read my Bible? Because I pray? Because I go to Wednesday night Bible study? No.
Because Jesus Christ came into this world, He lived in obedience to the law, He died as a sacrifice and a substitute on the cross, and He rose again the third day. Our salvation is all about Him. It's all hinged upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The righteousness that comes from God is God's way of putting men right with himself.
O'Brien said it that way, I think he's spot on. When he says, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is, here it is, from God by faith.
Faith as Instrument, Not Cause
Romans 3, 21 and 22, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. Being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. Our confession highlights the instrumentality of faith. It says that faith, or not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness, but by imputing Christ's act of obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness.
Basically what that's saying, again, It's not like God gives us the faith and says, oh, there's the faith, now I'll justify you. It's all about Christ, the imputation of His righteousness. Faith is the instrument which brings us into contact with what we find here. And then faith is that which receives us so that we may receive and rest on Him and His righteousness by faith.
Which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God. So even the faith that the believer has wasn't conjured up. Remember, justification is an act of God's saving grace. Where does the Bible teach that faith is a gift?
Does anybody know? You've got two seconds because we don't want any lags on the internet. Galatians? Ephesians.
Ephesians, yes. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. That not from yourselves. People say, well that doesn't mean the faith because It's the whole context, the salvation by faith.
That is not of yourself. It is the gift of God. Philippians chapter 1, it has been granted unto you, graciously given to you, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. It's an interesting passage, because the emphasis is on suffering for Christ.
It's an incidental reference. that faith has been given to you to believe on Jesus. I think that's powerful. I mean, it's not even taken up as, hey, I got to argue with you and prove in 10 easy steps that faith is a gift. No, that's a no-brainer.
Of course faith has been given to you. You were dead in your trespasses and sins. You remember that? You had no power.
You were lifeless. You were helpless. You were hopeless. You were beyond the pale of redemption.
You were like those dead bones in Ezekiel's vision. Unless God says, live, live, you don't live. It's God who regenerates. It's God who raises you up.
It's God who affectionately calls. It's God who justifies. It's God who gives you the twin graces of faith and repentance. That's not even something that you bring to the table.
It's not as if you say, Lord, I'm going to meet you with my faith. No, the Lord says, I've elected you in eternity past. I'm going to give you the gift of faith so that you can believe on my son and receive all of the redemptive benefits that he has secured. See, from first to last, salvation truly is of the Lord.
Isn't that what Jonah the prophet declared? Jonah chapter 2, verse 9. Isn't that what Jesus Christ himself declares? No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and then I will raise him up.
Isn't this what Paul the apostle confesses in Romans chapter 9, 16? It does not depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on who? God who shows mercy. When the saints are in heaven, the church militant is gathered around the throne.
Do you know what they say? They say, Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits on the throne. They don't say, Salvation belonged to us. We conjured it up.
We believed. We repented. We contributed. No, no.
Salvation belongs to God and to the Lamb who sits on the throne. From first to last, everything in between, it's all dependent upon God. It is all tied up in Jesus Christ, specifically his active obedience, his life, and his passive obedience, his death. Romans 4.25 indicates resurrection is crucial to the complex of events so that he's delivered up because of our offenses and he's raised up because of our justification.
It's all about Christ. So you see, 3.9 is a defining text for how Paul ended up the way he was. It wasn't because he had a religious moment. It wasn't because he got motivated.
It wasn't because some weird thing. It was because Christ saved him. John Murray has an excellent comment about justification by faith and justification by works that I think is helpful. And again, that's the context.
Beware of these dogs. Beware of these men that come along and say, get circumcised in order to complete this package. That's what was going on, incidentally, in the book of Galatians as well. So Murray says, justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does.
This is a real practical thing. This is why I said if you get your mind around justification, it'll help you in your sanctification. See, we get this all messed up. We think my status with God, my acceptance with God, depends upon how I perform right now.
No, our status and acceptance depends upon how Christ performed in his life, death, and resurrection. See, when we understand that, it opens the door and provides the biblical path for genuine sanctification, for genuine holy living. Anyways, back to Murray. Justification, by words, always finds its ground in that which the person is and does.
You see, if what you do and are commend you to God, Then on that day, what are you going to do? You're going to congratulate yourself. Why are you going to make it to heaven? Because you went to Bible study and your wretched neighbor didn't.
It's not the way it is. He says it is always oriented to that consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified. You see, if they followed the logic of the Judaizers, why ultimately were they in heaven? Yes, because they believed, but they also got circumcised.
That's something they did. That's a work. That is something they performed. He says, the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another.
It is essentially, and I love this word that he uses, and I'll explain it, extraspective. We all know what introspective is. Introspection is when we look at ourselves, right? That's when you're probably the most unhappy as a Christian.
Honestly, when you look at yourself and, you know, I don't read my Bible, I don't pray, I don't have a heart for God, I don't want to go to church, introspection is oftentimes the most difficult. Now, there's a place for a biblical introspection. Test yourselves, examine yourselves, see whether you're in the faith. But in terms of justification, the faith aspect is essentially extra-spective.
That means it looks from without. It looks to Christ. He says, and in that respect it is the diametric opposite of works. Faith is self-renouncing, works are self-congratulatory.
Faith looks to what God does, works have respect to what we are. It is this antithesis of principle that enables the apostle to base the complete exclusion of works upon the principle of faith. It is faith that is the instrument. It is extraspective.
We are looking to what Christ has done. Justification is not the Spirit's work in us. Justification is Christ's work for us. You see, that's the problem with Rome.
Infusion means the Spirit is transforming us. The Spirit is making us righteous. The Spirit is making us holy. That's why there's not a distinction in Rome between justification and sanctification.
It is one conglomerate. It is faith in Jesus plus our obedience to the dogma of the church. that then grants us acceptance with God. See, Protestants have rightly understood justification and sanctification. There's overlap, there's interpenetration, but there is distinction as well.
We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in the objective work of Christ on our behalf. Sanctification now, we proceed along, we read our Bibles, we pray, we seek the power of the Spirit, we walk in holiness, we do those things which God calls us to do, but when we get to heaven, we don't get to heaven and accepted with God based on this. We get to heaven and accepted with God based on that. Everybody get that?
We're justified. Our acceptance with God is based on our justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Sanctification is the necessary outflow. It is that which proceeds naturally from someone who has been justified.
But on that day of judgment, when God says, why should I let you into heaven, if that's what he's going to say? I mean, that's what I think we all think he's going to say. It's because of what Christ did. That's why the hymn writer says, nothing in my hand I bring.
See, I don't bring anything for my sanctification. I don't say, Lord, I read my Bible, you know, 363 days a year. I went to church every day. I went to church every time.
Nothing in my hand I bring. That's what it's about on the day of judgment. Simply to thy cross I cling, right? Because see, our sanctification, the best things that we do, they're all tainted with sin, aren't they?
Aren't they? So it's not as if we can even present some sanctification to God that's actually holy and pure. You know, the Puritans rightly identified our repentance needs repenting of. Right?
When you repent of your sin, you need to repent about how you repented. Because somehow there's something wrong with it. God is a holy God. So if you get that down, justification is Christ's work for us.
Sanctification is the Spirit's work in us, transforming us, conforming us. But our acceptance with God is based upon what Jesus has done. Never forget that. That's why Paul was the man he was.
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. Now I had the departure from the doctrine, we won't get into that. Rome. Roman Catholicism.
There's no distinction. Justification and sanctification look like this. so that what you do here does play out on the day of judgment. You know, I did the seven sacraments. I said my confession.
I went to the priest. I, you know, engaged in holy orders or holy matrimony or holy whatever. I did all that. So what ultimately, or why are you getting into heaven at that point?
Oh yeah, and Jesus too. No, it's all of Christ or it's none of Christ. There's no sort of mediating position. We need to learn that from the book of Galatians.
Privileges: Knowing Christ
Okay, the privileges, verse 10, 10-11, the knowledge of Christ, the power of His resurrection and partnership with Him, 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. So Paul highlights his possession, he gains Christ. His position, he's in Christ and his privileges that he may know Christ. Everything for Paul from first to last is all about Jesus.
If we are that way, then we'll never say it's useless, it's unprofitable, and it's unfair to serve God. We'll say, Lord, give me more zeal, more desire to love this Jesus the way He loves me. I mean, that should be the report from our heart. So
Application: Benefits of Justification
just in conclusion, I wanted to just give a couple of quotes here on the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith. Calvin says that this is the main hinge on which religion turns. The main hinge on which religion turns. You mess up on justification, you're in bad shape.
You can mess up on eschatology. I'm sure we all, however many people are in here, shouldn't be hard to count. We probably all differ on eschatology. You say, but there's three main positions.
Yeah, and about a million different applications of those three different, but we can still go to heaven. You can't mess up justification. You know, when Jesus said, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sin, you can't mess up on God. There are certain things you can't.
There's a hierarchy of belief in the scripture. If you don't know how many cubits the west wall of the tabernacle is, you can still go to heaven. If you don't know what position each of the tribes had with reference to the tabernacle in the wilderness, you can still go to heaven. But if you mess up on who God is, or you mess up on the way of salvation, According to the Bible, you're in bad shape.
This is why in Galatians 1, Paul says, if anyone preaches another gospel, which we have not preached to you, let him be damned to hell. It's a very serious offense to twist and distort biblical truth concerning who God is and how God saves sinners. And it's not like these are obscure things. No one should ever say, well, that doesn't seem fair.
It's on every page. It really is. I mean, the scripture, you know, the confession rightly says those things that are, you know, it highlights or it indicates that there's some things that are difficult to understand in the scripture. Okay?
We would all admit that. Peter says that about Paul. Peter says there are some things in Paul's writings that are hard to understand. Some of us would say there's some things in Peter's writing that are hard to understand.
But the confession says, but those things concerning the glory of God and the way of salvation are clear. They're expressly set forth. You can't miss that. You can't, you know, search days and days and days and not be confronted with, you know, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Habakkuk 2, the just shall live by faith. Paul, the just shall live by faith. The scripture, the just shall live by... You can't miss that.
It is the main hinge upon which religion turns. Raymond says, the doctrine of justification is the heart and core of the gospel, the good news that God, by grace alone, justifies sinners through faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from the works of the law. Some practical benefits, we've already touched on them, I'll just remind you, legalism is not an option. Legalism, I mean in its most strict definition.
Sometimes we look at people, and if they don't do things the way we do, or they do things a little more differently, they're legalists. Legalism, technically defined, means that we gain acceptance with God based on something we do. Well, if we understand verse 9, we will realize it is not based on what we do. It is not by my own righteousness which is from the law, but it is solely and alone that righteousness which is from God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Assurance is grounded upon a solid foundation. See, when you understand justification, you can really have assurance. You see, if it's up to me to gain acceptance with God, even in the nth degree, boy, that's a tough place to be. Yeah, forget it.
I missed Bible study. I'm going to hell. You know, I had a wicked thought. I'm going to hell.
There's no assurance then. There's no Romans 5.1 in the so-called gospel of the legalists. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. That's Romans 5.1.
That's the ground of assurance. You don't understand justification by faith alone. You're not going to have assurance. and then sanctification. I've already alluded to this.
It proceeds along a biblical path. We're not living here to gain acceptance with God. We're living here because we have acceptance with God. And because we have acceptance with God, we are sons and daughters of the Most High.
We want to live in such a way as to evidence that and to demonstrate the glory of our Father in heaven. We're not living here so that He might reward us. We're living here because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So if we understand justification properly, that then unleashes a God-honoring, biblically-lived sanctification to the glory of God the Father.
Everything is a win-win in understanding the Pauline Doctrine, the Christ Doctrine, Isaiah's Doctrine, Moses' Doctrine of justification by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We understand that, I believe, you'll say with Luther, then paradise opened up. Well, that's Philippians 3. Hopefully, it will be a helpful thing to us to guard us from that blasphemous manner of speech we see in Malachi 3.
Well, let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for this, your word. We thank you for what the apostle describes here in Philippians 3. We thank you for this justification, which is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. I thank you, God. that you have been so merciful to us, that you have called us out of darkness into marvelous light, that you have blessed us richly.
And I pray that each of us would have a good understanding of this doctrine and that it would be of great help and great benefit in our Christian lives. And we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.