← Back to sermon library

welcome to everyone for our call to worship this morning this evening rather I'll read Psalm 27 if you have your Bibles and you want to turn the psalm 27 it's good to be in the house of God this Lord's Day evening and may he indeed receive our praise through the Lord Jesus Christ I'll begin reading in Psalm 27 at verse 1 a psalm of David the Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid when the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh my enemies and foes they stumbled and fell though an army may encamp against me my heart shall not fear the war may rise against me in this I will be confident one thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the lord and to inquire in his temple for in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me he shall set me high upon a rock and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle I will sing yes I will sing praises to the Lord here o Lord when I cry with my voice have mercy also upon me and answer me when you said seek my face my heart said to you your face lord I will seek do not hide your face from me do not turn your servant away and anger you have been my help do not leave me nor forsake me oh god of my salvation when my father and my mother forsake me then the Lord will take care of me teach me your way o Lord and lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries for false witnesses have risen against me and such as breathe out violence I would have lost hard unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart wait I say on the Lord amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal excuse me to number 127 him number 127 will stand as we sing together you let us pray a blessed God and Holy Father we gather again in your house on this lord's day we come before you and acknowledge that you are most high we acknowledge that you are from everlasting to everlasting to a glorious and worthy to be praised you are the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for his work on behalf of sinners on behalf of all those you gave to him before the foundation of the world we praise you that in your timing you sent him forth he was born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law we thank you for his life of obedience to the Father's will we thank you for his death at Calvary and his atone atonement wrought there we praise you for his resurrection the third day and for his current session now at your right hand we do look forward to that day when he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead he praised you as well for the Holy Spirit you have not left us as orphans in this world that you have supplied that which we so desperately need we would pray tonight that the Holy Spirit would be active in this place that you would cause us to worship you in an acceptable manner with reverence and with godly fear and with great thanksgiving and joy does well father we pray for any and all outside of Christ that the Spirit of God would work in their hearts they would hear the bad news concerning sin and depravity and the good news concerning salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone we pray that in this you would be exalted and glorified and praised Father Son and Holy Spirit we ask now that you would forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions when we look at scripture and when we consider the being in the nature of God we see our own selves before you much the way Isaiah did when he said woe is me for I am undone I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the Lord of God we pray that you would forgive us now and cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we know that if you mark iniquities Lord there is none who could stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared we plead that forgiveness even now not because we're good and we deserve it but because Jesus Christ has indeed secured every blessing in the spirit for every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ for us we thank you for this Lord God we ask that you would look with favor upon this church that you would grant us peace and unity grant us usefulness in your kingdom we pray our Father that we would have opportunities dailies individual Christians to testifying to evangelize and to speak concerning the glory of Christ we ask that as we gather here on the Lord's Day and as we gather on Wednesday night we would encourage one another that we would enjoy that fellowship in the gospel that that we have through Christ our Lord that this church would be a place where you are praised and honored and where the people of God are edified and strengthened we ask that you would look with favor upon those in our midst with physical challenges we pray specifically for mr nufeld and ask God that he would get surgery tomorrow and that he would come through it well and that you would just give him a season of relief from pain just watch over him watch over his wife and their daughters and be pleased to look with favor upon him in this situation we also pray our Father for your blessing upon other churches here in chilliwack we thank you that we're not alone in this this community we pray for those churches that are preaching the truth we ask that you would prosper them we ask that you would add to their numbers such as should be saved we pray God that in these places you would be exalted and glorified we look ask that you would be with the persecuted Church we see the accounts and we see the news reports and we see in here of brothers and sisters suffering such great things for our Savior and we would pray that you would grant them the strength and the ability to persevere through the midst or in the midst of these trials may they know the nearness of God as they're good and may they be encouraged that they are counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray that in these nations you would send forth your gospel we pray specifically for those nations steeped in Islam we would ask that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed in those lands and that these men and women and boys and girls would be turned from their idols to the true and living God that they would bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess him as the Son of God and as the one alone who is able to save them from their sins we pray that your word would run swiftly and be glorified throughout the earth and we pray that our beloved Savior would have dominion from sea to sea we pray that you would help us God in heaven to have that hope and to have that confidence for it is Christ who promised to build his church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it so may your church in light of these things be a prayerful body seeking great blessings from a great God and that for your expansion of your kingdom even here on earth we ask now that you would continue with us in our time of worship we pray for our brother Mike we thank you that he's been able to be with us he and Jessica for these last several weeks we pray that you'd grant them a safe trip home tomorrow we pray that you'd grant our brother wisdom and grace as he enters into another semester we thank you God for this privilege that he has and we pray that it would be of help and benefit to him she would continue to watch over them and continue to just protect them and grant them great grace in the coming days and months we look forward to that time when they will return to us on a permanent basis and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn in your Trinity hymnals again to number 427 number 427 will stand and sing using the second tune you can turn in your Bibles to lamentations chapter 5 for our scripture reading this evening lamentations chapter 5 remember the occasion Jeremiah writes the lamentations while reminiscing about the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC the people of Israel specifically the kingdom of Judah had sinned against God they had violated the Covenant of God in accordance with Deuteronomy 28 and the curses of the Covenant the Lord God sent Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians into Judah they sacked the city they destroyed the temple and they led the people into exile so Jeremiah the weeping prophet responds in kind he laments over that occasion so I'll read beginning in chapter 5 at verse 1 remember o Lord what has come upon us look and behold our reproach our inheritance has been turned over to aliens and our houses to foreigners we have become orphans and waves our mothers are like widows we pay for the water we drink and our wood comes at a price they pursue at our heels we labor and have no rest we have given our hand to the Egyptians and the Assyrians to be satisfied with bread our fathers sinned and are no more but we bear their iniquities servants rule over us there is none to deliver us from their hand we get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness our skin is hot as an oven because of the fever of famine they ravished the women in Zion the maidens in the cities of Judah princes were hung up by their hands and elders were not respected young men ground at the millstones boys staggered under loads of wood the elders have ceased gathering at the gate and the young men from their music the joy of our heart has ceased are dance is turned in the morning the Crown has fallen from our head woe to us for we have sinned because of this our heart is faint because of these things our eyes grow dim because of Mount Zion which is desolate with foxes walking about on it you oh Lord remain forever you are thrown from generation to generation why do you forget us forever and forsake us for so long a time turn us back to you O Lord and we will be restored renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are very angry with us amen let us pray or God as we consider the Prophet Jeremiah and the lamentations composed by him we see your attitude towards sin we know because of rebellion because of iniquity because of transgression you brought judgment to bear upon Judah we pray our God that we would take heed to this and we would understand that we are to bear fruit as the new covenant community we are to bear fruit as those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as we see in the book of Revelation the Lord Christ threatens to withdraw lampstands from those who are faithless so we pray our Father that you would help us to see the importance of this and help us as a church to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight help us to may maintain faithfulness to the gospel of our Lord Jesus help us to maintain faithfulness to those doctrines that we celebrate those things that we most surely believed among us and help us not to depart to the left or to the right and for this god we need great grace and we need the power in the presence of your Holy Spirit we pray that you would supply our needs and that you would bless us and help us Lord God we ask through Jesus Christ our Savior amen well for our final him before Mike comes up we'll sing number 54 him number 54 again will stand as we sing together well good evening would you turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3 that's Philippians chapter three this evening we will be looking at verses 1 through 11 just a quick reminder about the book of Philippians as a whole it's Paul in prison writing to the Church of Philippi Philip I was a city in Europe which was considered a Roman colony so it was as if they were Romans even though they weren't in Rome and Paul is writing to thank their Philip Philippians and also to encourage them in their faith to strengthen them in their faith so the book really is meant to be a great encouragement to the saints so we'll read together Philippians 3 verses 1 through 11 let's read 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 or 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 gain to me these I have counted loss for Christ yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and have counted 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 amen well let us pray to your heavenly Father we know that you are great and kind and merciful Lord we know Lord God that for those that have faith in Christ Jesus that we have have something that surpasses anything else we have Christ we have a righteousness not our own I know Lord we consider these things to be true we know these things to be true yet sometimes we don't always feel as if these things are true Lord we thank you for these texts that are seeking to encourage us to encourage us to consider the great value it is to know Christ Jesus the Wonder it is to believe on Christ and have him and hit him alone Lord we know that any smuggling of works bringing any sort of our own righteousness into salvation nullifies it and makes it bankrupt Lord God how we need your great grace how we need Christ Jesus how we need to look on him and believe Lord God we pray today that you would ultimately be glorified especially for this Lord God I pray today that the Saints would be edified I pray that there if there are sinners here Lord God that you would save them that you would call them out of darkness into marvelous light and Lord God ultimately we pray that you would be glorified Lord God I pray that you would be with me I pray that you'd give me strength by your spirit to accurately preach this truth to preach it with clarity and cojen see Lord God that you might be pleased and you might be glorified for this is your message and this is your word Lord God and I pray that you would come to the front Lord that I would decrease and you would greatly increase Lord God but when I pray for the here is today I pray that your spirit would be with them that you help them to be wake awake and attentive knowing that this is your word knowing that we are in a heavenly institute institution we are in your church worshipping you we get to hear your word today Lord God we thank you for this great privilege we thank you for your great grace and we thank you for your great mercy Lord God we pray that you would be glorified in the name of Christ Jesus amen well I'm sure many of us have faced trials of various kinds ones that seem to bring us down seem to bring us low and it's in those moments that we need someone to come alongside us and say rejoice in Christ rejoice be of good cheer because you see no matter what trial we face in this life no matter what sorrow we have all those things pale in comparison of the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus and also of knowing the inheritance that we have in him as Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 towards the end of the chapter he says this is not our home our citizenship is in heaven we have a passport to heaven and we are simply moving around in a foreign country and so Paul really is writing especially in this text to encourage the Saints to encourage them should suffering come should Trials come you have Christ now rejoice in Christ rejoicing and joy is a great theme of this book it is found throughout I know sometimes it's hard for us to rejoice yet with Paul we can say we need to rejoice in him and like Paul I can say to you rejoice in Christ Jesus now specifically in Philippians chapter 3 verses 1 through 11 Paul encourages this Philippian church to rejoice specifically in Christ's righteousness over and against the claims of opponents to a self-righteous this that is that Paul wants his the saints in at Philip I to know the true righteousness and to rejoice in the true righteousness for in that you have spiritual wealth without that any other form of salvation is spiritual bankruptcy and so we will look at this encouragement we will look at the true righteousness in Christ under three headings today first of all we will look at the charge to rejoice chapter 3 verses 1 through 3 second we will look at the reminder of the spiritual bankruptcy of the flesh verses four through seven and thirdly we will look at the reminder of the spiritual wealth of Christ's righteousness the spiritual wealth that is found in Christ so point one rejoice point to bankruptcy point three wealth so let's first look now at point one the charge to rejoice now there are actually two charges here so charge one is the overarching charge that is to rejoice this command to rejoice and namely its to rejoice in the Lord and we'll flesh this out a little bit more in point three but nonetheless he starts off by saying you need to rejoice rejoice in the lord that is to feel happy or joyful about Christ we see this in chapter 2 verses 16 through 18 he tells the Philippians to hold fast to the word of life or he's holding fat least Paul saying he's holding fast the word of life so that he may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain yes and if I am being poured out as a drink drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith I am glad and rejoice with you all for the same reason you also bleed glad and rejoice with me now remember Paul's in prison Paul has been incarcerated for the sake of the gospel yet he knows something about this he knows that through this he's being conformed more and more unto the image of Christ Jesus he is sharing in the sufferings of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so he is saying I rejoice in this I rejoice that that that I can share in Christ's sufferings and he's meant to encourage the Saints as well if I'm suffering for Christ you will also suffer for Christ but in those times rejoice in him and why is that why is he saying that is because sufferings may come sufferings in this life may come there is no guarantee that this life will be your best life now Jeremiah 29 11 as most people seem to interpret it nowadays seem to apply it in a positive spin that God has a wonderful plan for your life God may not have a wonderful plan for your life in the sense that we think of it but it may be wonderful in this he's preparing you for heaven he's preparing you for your inheritance he's prepping you for the day where you will have no more pain no more sorrow and no more trials in this life you see in reality we only have about 80 years approximately at this time in history to live that's not that long 80 years and we get to go be with Christ and so you see he's encouraging these people to rejoice in Christ Jesus and notice what he says for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but for you it is safe now he's going to get to that in verse 2 but nonetheless there are certain doctrines I think sometimes we seem to overlook because we think we've understood it we think we know it we think we know all the texts that speak of certain doctrines and so sometimes it's easy to brush those doctrines off like the doctrine of justification oh I definitely know that it means to be declared righteous in the sight of God I understand that maybe I don't need to study it anymore you know what one of my professors said he said he'll spend his whole life studying the doctrine of justification the point being is we need to be reminded of these things we need to be reminded of the blessings of justification that we have this righteousness not our own that we are declared not guilty we have been rendered this favorable verdict we must be reminded of these things so that we do not worry we do not have sorrow but we have joy in Christ Jesus so he says it's not for me to write the same things to you or to write the same thing she's not tedious but for you it is safe notice why in verse 2 the second charge the second command he says to beware and he says it three times with a different object under each charge but nonetheless they described the same opponent he says first of all to beware of dogs now I'll reaction read the verse beware of dogs beware of evil workers beware of the mutilation now what this is describing are those what theologians call our scholars call the Judaizers what they were as they were Jewish Christians who liked to smuggle works into justification they strike to smuggle some sort of personal external work into into that they're being right with God and so namely in this instance they like they said that circumcision was required to be saved we see that in Acts chapter 15 at the Jerusalem Council there were men who came from Judea who were teaching that circumcision was required for salvation and so really these men were probably it's very similar to the Galatian heresy that was a Korean Galatia again adding works adding something mixing faith and works together and so there what what what they were they were probably traveling type preachers it's not necessarily clear if these men were necessarily at Philip I at the time but nonetheless Paul had been dealing with them Paul understood these opponents and he's preparing the Philippians 4 may come for what may happen for these opponents that may come why is that now we see this charge to rejoice when he says beware that's kind of interesting and so what he's probably doing is I don't know about you but when I'm down and out sometimes there's a tendency to have to somehow incorporate my own thoughts ideas my own works into the things that I do instead of necessarily submitting to God's law to adding certain things now when salvation is at stake that's important because you see they didn't have a Bible to go back and remind themselves they didn't all have personal Bibles to do that and so what he's doing is he's trying to say these men are going to come and what these men are going to do is they're going to try and take away your joy in Christ Jesus beware of them beware of looking to them beware of trusting them and we see this excellent description of what these men were we see that they were called dogs now in our day and age we do have a positive idea of what dogs are they're typically our pets they're typically cuddly and snuggly and you like to hang out with them and they love you very very much in the ancient world they were actually vicious scavengers they were vicious and vile think like a wolf with teeth that would try and bite your head off that's what they were now not only is there this ancient this social connection but there's also a religious connection as well you see all these does this description of these men is ironic because Paul because remember what the Jews would call Gentiles they would call them dogs because they were richly unclean now what's Paul saying about these Judy eyes and Christians he's saying that their dogs and then notice Oh Calvin has a wonderful quote he says concerning these dogs he says they assailed true doctrine with their impure barking isn't that really how false doctrines sounds sometimes it sounds kind of like barking when someone says this is your best life now I think of a chihuahua squeaking but when there are others who are very close to the truth it's like a German Shepherd is it not they're vicious they're close to the truth yet they somehow mix faith and works together and so he's saying they have this impure barking that's kind of what doctrines false talkin sounds like it's impure barking and so then we see this second description of these men he says they were evil doers again notice the difference notice the irony as well the men who claimed to be doing God's righteousness according to external observance they're actually rejecting God's righteousness they are rejecting the righteousness that is found in Christ Jesus and so it's interesting spiritual Gentiles who believe on Christ are called spiritual Israel who what's going on here he's calling those who consider themselves spiritual Israel or Israel he's calling him spiritual Gentiles so you see he's kind of this ironic twist on things and we see it even further in the third description of these guys beware of the mutilation now this word is only 50 if I if I'm correct it's only found once right here and it's it's a wordplay on circumcision and the words sound very similar in Greek they both end in the same way it's a word play on the word for circumcision and so what it denotes is that that that was how circumcision faulty circumcision the way in which these Judaizers were teaching resulted in spiritual destruction ed says that the term justly designates the men whose Creed was except ye be circumcised and keep the whole law of Moses you cannot be saved now what this reminds me of is Leviticus chapter 21 verse five there was a description or a prohibition of what priests could not do and what it says in Leviticus 20 15 is that priests shall not make any cuttings in their flesh that is they're not supposed to be pagan pagan like to cut their flesh in order to invoke something from God from from their gods and so what he's saying here is he's saying that these men who are trying not to be pagan like they say they're not pagan like they're actually pagan like that they're saying that we say he's saying about them that those who claim to have spiritual significance and circumcision they do not it's spiritual destruction it's just mutilation that's all it is it's just mutilation it means absolutely nothing when it comes to being right with God Almighty and so we have this description of these men but then notice verse 3 he describes the true circumcision and and this we hear is added for emphasis for we are the circumcision we Christians who believed in Christ Jesus are the true circumcision we know that from Romans 229 where circumcision is in the heart and not the letter believers in Christ are the circumcision it's not based on an external right it's based on faith in Christ Jesus and so what this reminds us of is the Abrahamic covenant the Covenant that God made with Abraham where he promised that he would be the father of many nations where he promised that he would give him a seed the seed is namely Christ Jesus and then we can be part of that because we believe in Christ Jesus so we see this kind of ironic reversal going on here where Paul is describing the Judy eyes and Christians in ways that they would describe Gentiles and so he's saying here that no we are the circumcision and notice he further explained emphasizes this who worship God in the spirit that is we walk by the spirit and not by the letter it probably carries the idea of service to God not so much in the corporate worship sense but living by the work of the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day life we walk by the spirit and not by the letter and so then we see this other word boasting in Christ you see if they if circumstances to boast in we have our own work to boast in we have the flesh to boast in but no believers the true circumcision boasts in Christ Jesus because Christ is the only one who lived and died in rose again Christ is the only one who could fulfill the law in perfection and die as that perfect sacrifice and so we boast in Christ Jesus I prefer the word I know that the New King James says rejoice I think it carries the idea of boasting glorying in Christ Jesus we brag yeah I like that we brag about Christ Jesus that's an appropriate way to describe or translate that word we brag about Christ Jesus we brag about his great work and so and then at the end of verse 3 it says and have no confidence in the flesh now I'm going to draw this out in point2 but but he says we have no confidence in the flesh but under this idea of charge i think there are some things we can take away from this they're pretty simple they come right from the text namely we need to rejoice and be where that is we need to rejoice in Christ Jesus we need to but but through that we need to be aware of those who might take that joy from us of those who might see seek to snatch it away from us we have a great joy in Christ Jesus Gordon fee says knowing Christ far surpasses even blameless Torah observance it is unthinkable that under the pressure of present present sufferings they could lose their joy and belonging to Christ by yielding to such observance you see crisis already fulfilled it Christ has already dealt with it why would you go back to making justification part of your own works there's no joy in that it's hopeless it's futile you see some of the other world religions are very hopeless like Hinduism for example now you could live life for many many many many many many many many years before you attain heaven before you tain their heaven and what it is it's based on your own work you know what's interesting in each time you're reincarnated you reincarnate in a certain class in a certain cast yet you live that entire life not knowing why or what happened in your past life to get you here it's hopeless that is hopeless I would not want to live many many many many many years yet you see unbeliever if you believe on Christ Jesus you have a great hope if you believe on Christ you have a righteousness not your own you have one who fulfill the law one who did what you could not there's nothing greater than knowing Christ Jesus and Paul will explain that more and more throughout this throughout this section and so again even for reforms believers it's it's important believers in general it's important to be aware of certain men who sound close to the truth yet they're not because they can take away that joy so it's important for important important i'm not from Boston but it's important for us to rejoice and be where rejoice and be where must be hanging out in America too much so anyway so we need to rejoice in Christ Jesus so that leads us to point to what can take away our joy namely this spiritual bankruptcy in the flesh verses 4 through 7 but we can look at the end of verse 3 as well and have no confidence in the flesh that is not the idea of confidence is being so convinced that you put your confidence in something are you so convinced that you are the one who can save yourself are you soaking vinced that what you do will merit salvation but he's saying no we do that the true circumcision does not have confidence in the flesh but then we have this interesting thing that Paul does here is Paul then describes his former life in the flesh he describes what he once was in the flesh and what he actually could boast in now it's important for us to know that these Judy eyes and Christians could have been Gentiles so it's possible that they weren't Israelites and you see what Paul is describing here we kind of have two ideas 222 privileges that's found in the flesh namely ethical and religious privileges in verses five five and six so Paul's saying if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I even more so and then he explains he gives us a list of his credentials and so he says verse five he was circumcised the eighth day that is he was circumcised 88 days after he was born he was of the stock of Israel he was actually an Israelite notice it talks about his his tribe of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews what that meant was is that he spoke Aramaic and he attended a synagogue that actually spoke that taught in Hebrew that is he wasn't a Greek do a Greek Judy eyes and Christian he was actually a Jew and he had more merit he had more boasting than anyone else and so what he's doing here is he is is this it's an ancient type of rhetoric of comparison what he's doing is he's under minding undermining the judaizers saying you think you have that look what I had look what I had and so then he says we have these spiritual or these religious privileges concerning the law a Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the church concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless now if anyone was going to be saved by the flesh it was Paul if anyone was going to be saved by works right pneus it was Paul now notice what he says in verse 7 but but what things were gain to me these I have counted as loss for Christ what things were profitable for me I consider them to be rubbish and you know this language it's the language of the marketplace you know you have profits or losses and your profits and this idea this this this idea of gaining is only used several times in the New Testament when other we see is is Philippians 121 for me to live is Christ and to die is gain and so in the business of heaven in the business of attaining heaven we only have one gain that we need we only have one profit that we need and that is Christ Jesus everything else is a loss everything else as he'll say more is considered rubbish considered rubbish and so what's interesting though is we need to route to narrow it and say he's not necessarily a shin I think he's still proud to be an Israelite but what he's saying is he's renouncing these things these ethical and spiritual privileges or religious privileges he's renouncing them as a grounds for boasting as a grounds for saying look god I get to heaven through this he's renouncing those things he's renouncing them will actually get into verse 8 in point through in point three but nonetheless we see in verse 7 he starts us what things were gain to me these I've accounted as lost and so what this can teach us is this it's probably pretty clear already but salvation is not based on your works nor is it based on Association but faith in Christ Jesus you see perhaps there's a tendency sometimes for children or parents of chill drin to think because my kid was born in a Christian home because I grew up in a Christian home the Ergo because of that connection I am saved or perhaps if you ask someone what merits you what merits salvation for you what merits righteousness before you and they say I've been baptized I attend church you see perhaps we sometimes take certain we certain truths and we end good things those are all valuable things I'm not knocking that which it's good to be born in a Christian home and to be baptized in to attend church but we take those things as a way for salvation that's not right either you know Association doesn't save us faith in christ jesus saves us salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and kids it's based on your own faith in Christ Jesus not based on your parents faith otherwise your parents faith becomes the grounds for your right to for salvation instead of Christ's righteousness becoming the basis for your salvation you must believe you must look to Christ you must call on him as your Savior so we've seen kind of the spiritual bankruptcy found in all these things and Paul's going to draw on that more in verse 8 but let us move now to the spiritual wealth that's found in Christ Jesus this new life that's found in Christ Jesus notice in verse 8 I indeed 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 now we see several purposes or reasons for why why he counts all these things as rubbish he why he counts these things as loss we see first of all we see this this this this gaining Christ at the end of verse a he's like that I might gain Christ but notice what he says earlier on in the verse concerning it he says it's this surpassing excellence I count these things as lost for the excellence of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord it's this I I love the idea of surpassing greatness that idea that all these things pale in comparison to knowing Christ Jesus you see brothers and sisters if you have Christ you have everything if you have Christ you do not need anything else if sufferings should come our way and it's possible and probable that they will should we be thrown in prison should we be beaten should we be scourged we have Christ Jesus and we have that way there's no other need other than knowing Christ Jesus we have Christ and so notice what he how he described it he counts these other things these spiritual additions he counts them as rubbish I like one of the way the way one of the lexicons defines it or describes it crud he counts these things as crud he counts these things as dung that's what they are that's what they are they're useless or undesirable material that is subject to disposal now notice he says he counts these things as rubbish she counts these things as dung but they actually are rubbish they actually are done when it comes to our relationship with Christ they actually do not mean anything when it comes to our standing with God Almighty now now remember pastor Butler preached last week on Zachariah chapter 3 remember the language there Joshua the high priest is standing before the throne of god what does he say you can turn with me there to Zechariah chapter 3 he's joshua standing before the angel of the lord and notice verse 3 now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel Joshua was covered in dung because that's what sin is before God that's what it is it's vile it's awful and to think that we on our own account without Christ can add anything to those things is as Zakaria describes it is as Paul describes it it's rubbish it means nothing and so again he's he's saying the purpose is that he might gain Christ this is why he's losing all these things is cuz he gains Christ Jesus notice in verse 9 he's 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 noticed the comparison notice the contrast he's saying not having my own righteousness which is from the law which is what I can do but notice that which is through faith in Christ that righteousness which comes through faith in Christ Jesus remember justification if you believed on Christ Jesus you are considered justified you are declared not guilty in the sight of God and and I like the way Ryle describes it justification gives us our title to heaven justification gives us our passport to heaven if you will then as we've been issued this passport or one day we will pass through death into life into our home into our heavenly kingdom and so it's this favorable verdict and notice the way in which we receive it we receive it by faith that's the instrument we consider Christ to be true we consider this to be true that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith in him Romans 3 20 says through the works of the law no man will be justified effusions chapter 2 verse 8 we are saved by grace through faith and not of works and get this lest any should boast in those works that is we boast in Christ we boast in him we look to him day in and day out and we're thankful for that great work that he has done we are given that title to heaven we are given that citizenship to heaven the notice we see another purpose for counting these things as lost we've seen verse 9 kind of talk talks about justification verse 10 talks about the other benefits of being found in Christ that is sanctification that is that process by which we are made holy which we die more and more unto sin remember justification is an event everyone in this room was believed on Christ is equally justified but sanctification is that process that there is someone out there on this planet who is the holiest person on this planet I don't know where he is but he's somewhere but there is that one person who is the holiest one on this side of heaven it's not perfect but he's holy the idea is that we've been we've been justified therefore we will be sanctified that is we will bear fruit as our pastor spoke about this morning we will we will we will we will be conformed more and more unto the image of Christ Jesus but notice first verse 10 we see the second reason or second purpose for counting these things as lost that I might know him that I may that I may know him now this was a yearning for the Old Covenant but it's a great blessing for the New Covenant in Exodus chapter 33 when Moses prays he prays he says Lord show me your way that I might know you but what's the great blessing of the New Covenant the New Covenant and Jeremiah 31 34 they shall know me from the least to the greatest we can know the God of heaven and earth because of what Christ has done we can know him and commune with him and come to a place like this that he set up and hear his word and have a spirit with us it's a wonderful it's a great blessing and then we see in verse 10 a further definition a further way that we can know him we see the power of his resurrection in verse 10 then I might know him and the power of his resurrection now right after that it says and the Fellowship of his sufferings now this power of the resurrection is meant to be our strength and motivation for those sufferings you see Christ died but he rose again Gil helps to provide to define it well he says it's a virtue arising from the power that was put forth by the father and by Christ in raising and being raised from the dead so it can clue and include that future resurrection that that that promised that the Saints will be raised one day with a body incorruptible we will not decay it's it's that pattern for our bodies to be raised it influences justification Romans form he was raised for our justification and perhaps more and more relating to this text a little bit more is the idea that this power can cause us to walk in newness of life think of Romans chapter six you know you were died you've died and you were raised with Christ in order you might walk in newness of life that you might put away the sins of the flesh what about Colossians chapter three with 13 verse 1 if you've been raised with Christ then seek the things that are above where Christ is at the right hand of God and what's interesting further on in that chapter he says you've been conformed to the image of God being renewed being renewed in the image of God that is you see if you believed on Christ you have the power of the resurrection with you you have the power and the Holy Spirit with you to watch and pray and fight even in times of trial and suffering and pain but also in blessed times as well and so that's probably what's going on when it talks about the idea this this power of the resurrection now again we're talking about sanctification here now justification gives us our title but Ryle also says sanctification prepares us it gives us our fitness for heaven one day you see how would you define the kingdom of God I think the kingdom of God in its essence is the new creation it's it's that place where there will be a body incorruptible it's looking forward to that time we will you'll have that you have that body incorruptible no more pain no more sorrow no more sin are there effects of the kingdom of God now absolutely the Church of God is a kingdom institution believing on Christ Jesus Christ ishes issues you your kingdom citizenship and so what sanctification does is it prepares us to enter in to our true home it prepares us to enter in as Kingdom citizens in a way that we can grow more and more unto Christ is found in verse 10 the sufferings the Fellowship of his sufferings again Gil was helpful he said it's either the personal sufferings of Christ perhaps mocking scoffing beatings incarceration or death but there's also those benefits as well we have reconciliation we have peace with God we have pardoned that Christ brought about through those sufferings perhaps also it refers the idea of those who actually suffer and Christ suffers with them we think of Acts chapter 9 when Jesus appears to Paul what does he say he says Paul wire why are you persecuting me that is the idea that we need to we were fellowshipping in the sufferings at Christ vases and throughout Philippians Paul is rejoicing in that that he's fellowshipping in those sufferings we see also another another purpose or another reason for another way we can know him at the end of verse 10 being conformed to his death now again Gil provides to two different answers he says it's either refers to a spiritual sense or the actual idea of being physically exposed to death I think it refers to the spiritual sense of daily dying unto sin you see this word is actually only used once in the verb here and it's only used twice in the noun form we know Romans 8 29 those who me for no he predestined to be conformed unto the image of his son it's also found in 321 of Philippians and notice this is this is pointing forward to that future body who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the work by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself so the idea is that we are dying daily more and more unto sin we are mortifying the sins of the flesh now how can we do that I'm not going to blow your mind or anything because our pastor said it many times we need to pray we need to seek God for strength for aid daily we need to fight for those times we also need to read our Bibles to fill our mind with spiritual things perhaps probably the one of the more important ways to grow is attending that you're attending the church on the Lord's Day I mean it's the way that God is set up the means of the way by which we grow it's the means of grace we come we hear the word preached and the spirit works we come and we partake in that spiritual nourishment of the supper we are baptized we die with Christ and we are raised with Christ those things help us grow more and more unto Christ Jesus to be conformed more and more unto the image of him now on this side of heaven we know that we will never ever be perfect so we need his spirit we need a strength to strive to be cry like strive to be conformed more and more unto his image so that's the idea of being conformed to his image it's dying daily unto sin and then finally we see another reason for counting all these things as loss perhaps the most important perhaps the most glorious verse 11 if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead that is we have this hope in Christ that we will be transformed that we will be raised from the dead we look forward to that day greatly and notice it's a hope in Christ not in self it's a hope and what Christ has done not what our self can do now this is probably related this is probably the doctrine of glorification that is we will have a body incorruptible notice what Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20 again the citizenship idea for our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ that is brothers and sisters we are heavenly citizens that is we we have a title to heaven we have a passport to heaven it is almost as if the kingdom of God is our idiot i mean the kingdom of god is our country and the church is like a consulate every day time we enter in these doors we pass into the heavenly realm the heavenly country we get a glimpse of what heaven will be like I'm going to level with you if you don't like church on Sunday with the Saints as it's properly practiced you're probably not going to like heaven very much what is that place where we come we get to praise God Almighty you know we get to go back out into the world ask Kingdom citizens to live in a manner representing our kingdom representing our Savior living as our passport says as Kingdom citizens and so the application from this section is really this if you're a Kingdom citizen act like a Kingdom citizen and it's not meant to beat you over the head with it it's meant your a kingdom citizen be a kingdom act like a kingdom citizen you know be conformed unto Christ live the law as that normative practice in our daily life attend church love the saints pray daily represent Christ in the way he would have you represent him you see that's the blessedness of the Gospels that we have this Kingdom citizen citizenship already and we get to go to that place one day or there is that body incorruptible we have no more pain no more sorrow we don't have to don't have to worry about breaking bones having cancer various trials that we face because we get to be with Christ because of what Christ has done because it's Christ's body that was raised and so it really is meant to be brothers and sisters block in the way walk in the country with which you have your passport be a kingdom citizen and so in conclusion we see that this is meant to be an encouragement Paul's charging these Saints to to rejoice in this righteousness in Christ rejoice in knowing that though you walk this life you have inheritance that far surpasses anything on this life and namely that that treasure is found in Christ Jesus so the applications were clear I think rejoice in Christ and we must from rejoice in him knowing that we have that righteousness application to its salvation is really not by association it's by faith it's by believing in Christ and faith really is related to truth do you consider this to be true do you consider that your works are faulty do you consider that Christ is the only one who can live and die and rise again you see that's what faith is do you believe this to be true it's a truth statement do you believe this to be true it's not something that well up inside of you it's do you believe this to be true do you believe this to be accurate Christ is the one who it is true whether you believe it or not it is true Christ live died and rose again on behalf of sinners and he gives a body he gives a righteousness to them and issues them their passport to heaven and so thirdly the third application is again we need to walk in asked Kingdom citizens walk with the passport that we have been given now if there is an unbeliever here today the reality is in whom do you have your confidence in whom do you trust now it's interesting you can go on the news some time and some people asked various people walking around the street they asked them do you think you're a good person do you think that you're a good person and solve them say yeah I think I'm pretty good and they and they give reasons for why they're a good person you know that's based upon their own righteousness now it's probably true maybe they have some ethical goodness in them they do which is perhaps morally right in some sense maybe they do that which is civilly right but in reality they don't do that which is spiritually rights they don't do that which is spiritually good if you're an unbeliever here today you have not believed in Christ Jesus you can do no spiritual good you cannot procure you cannot attain your salvation you must believe on Christ you must believe on this one and you'll have your passport issue to you you will have your kingdom citizenship you will have one day a body incorruptible you see it really is a joyous thing to believe on Christ Jesus why would you not believe on Christ Jesus believe on him today and you shall be saved amen well let us pray do your heavenly father we thank you for this day Lord God we do thank you for your great mercies upon us we thank you so much Lord for the ways in which you bring about your salvation Lord you use broken vessels to call people out of darkness and into light Lord God we look those for those who believe in Christ Lord we look forward to that day we look forward to that time we will have joy unending we will be with you in heaven we will be in our home Lord God and we look forward greatly to that time o Lord we pray that if there are any here who have not believed in Christ though we pray that you would work by your spirit in their souls that you would save their souls that you would conquer their souls that you would call them Lord out of darkness to believe on Christ Jesus we thank you Lord for justification we thank you Lord for not declaring as guilty well we thank you for sanctification that you are patient and merciful with us as we grow day by day unto the image of Christ by your spirit for those who believed father God we pray that this would be an encouragement to us knowing that we have Christ knowing that we have him we knowing we have that great treasure where God we pray that you help us go out into this world it would help us to live as your kingdom citizens that you might be pleased and you might be glorified and that your gospel might go forth and that you might issue Morris passports to those who whom you have chosen to save Lord God I pray that you would encourage the brothers and sisters here today give them strength and aid to grow to go out to the world until to walk in faith to walk by your spirits we thank you for your grace and mercy in the name of Christ amen we will close with a brief time of meditation you