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God in the Spirit, boasting 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 more so. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for the reading of your Holy Scriptures. We pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us that word. We ask that you would guide us, we ask that you would cause us to reflect upon the Apostle's example here in his own conversion, and God may you indeed cause us once again to feast upon the glorious truth of justification by faith alone. We thank you for so glorious a salvation, for so wonderful a work on your part, and for the mercy that you have given to us in terms of the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that avails with you. Forgive us again for all of our sins, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as we have seen up to this particular point, this is the polemic portion of the book of Philippians. That means Paul goes on the offensive and he attacks certain errors. And in this particular context, it's Judaizing. He devotes a whole epistle to this in Galatians, And when we come here to Philippians chapter 3, it's a small section, but it's a very powerful section. And as I've said, it doesn't indicate that Judaizing was widespread in the church at Philippi, though it was a problem in the first century. Basically, Judaizers taught that it's good for you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but you must also submit to the ceremonies of Moses, specifically circumcision, that's what's in view in the book of Galatians, and to a degree here when he says, beware of the mutilation. But as well, calendar observances that were very prominent in Old Covenant Israel. So basically, Judaizing was a faith plus works approach to acceptance with God. And so Paul's strategy is very clear. Notice in verse one, He calls upon them to rejoice, and then he highlights that he's going to repeat himself. This was a warning he gave often about Judaizing, again, not only to the Philippians, but to the Galatians. Obviously, the book of Romans contains much concerning that as well. He then gives a warning who they are to avoid in verse 2. Beware of dogs. He's not talking about canines. He's talking about heretics. He's talking about Judaizers. He's talking about those who would add works to faith and order for acceptance with God. And in a strange turn of language, he applies a word that the Jews would use concerning the Gentiles. They would call them dogs. And now Paul is saying that the Judaizers are the dogs. He calls them evil workers. This isn't just sort of an ignorance on their part. It's not just sort of a haphazard default into bad theology, but rather they are actively engaged in evil working. And then he says the mutilation, and mutilation referring to circumcision. Whatever it is they're doing, it has no regard with reference to acceptance with God. And then he defines the true believer. We are the circumcision, or true circumcision as the NAS renders it, and I think that's right, who worship God in the spirit. Worship in this new covenant era and in the old covenant era, but not as clearly revealed as Trinitarian, to the Father, through the Son, in the spirit. And then he says, boasting in Christ Jesus and having no confidence in the flesh. Now this next section I've called the example from Paul's conversion. and the sermon titles on Sermon Audio, The Conversion of the Apostle Paul. It's not really, per se, a study of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, but the title, Paul's Conversion, as an example of why confidence in the flesh, vis-a-vis self-righteousness by the works of the law leads to death, and how justification by faith alone leads to life, is much too long for Sermon Audio. So I thought the conversion of the Apostle Paul would be appropriate and fitting. So notice again at the end of verse 3, the true people of God have no confidence in the flesh. So now Paul offers up his religious resume in verses 4 to 6 as the poster child of one who, if there was one, could have confidence in the flesh, it would have been him. He mentions his ethnic connection. He mentions his relation to the law. his religious zeal, and his righteousness according to the law. So verses 4 to 6 are a pre-conversion snapshot of the life of Saul of Tarsus. And then we get into verses 7 to 9, and we see the conversion to our Lord Jesus Christ. And in both verses 7 and 8, he gives a bit of contrast. Notice the contrast concerning the loss of past things in verse 7. But what things were gained to me, most likely in context, those things that he's just amassed, in verses 4 to 6. What things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. In other words, it isn't those observances, it isn't that resume, it isn't those accomplishments by which I have acceptance with God. I count those things as loss for Christ. And then he goes on into the present, in verse 8, he says, So the contrast is obvious. What he was before as an unconverted man who was given to self-righteousness, and a righteousness which was according to the law, he learned that that is not acceptable by God. He needed a perfect righteousness, he needed exact righteousness, entire righteousness, perpetual righteousness, and he was not able to offer that up. And so he leans now, he rests now, he receives the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, And it's that in which he stands. So that then brings us to basically his explanation in verse 9, where he unpacks for us that conversion experience. What he was, what he had now learned in terms of what things were gained are now lost. All things that I presently value are lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. So verse 9 now gets into the explanation. So we'll look at two things with reference to verse 9. First, his position, and secondly, his righteousness. And I think it's pretty obvious where I get that, and be found in him, that's his position. And then secondly, his righteousness, 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. So we'll just unpack that particular statement. Note first his position. The apostle was found in Christ. Now there are several places in the New Testament where in Christ is to be observed. I just want to look at a few of them. You can turn to Romans 6 and verse 11. Romans chapter 6 and verse 11. This in the context of sanctification. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you really want to pursue a biblical path with reference to sanctification, you need to consider your justification. You've been freed by God from the demands of divine justice in terms of your punishment and everlasting fire because Jesus took that on your behalf. but this position to be in Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice again in Romans 8, verse 1. 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1, at verse 30, But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that as it is written, He who glories let him glory in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15, specifically at verse 22, 1 Corinthians 15, 22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 2 Corinthians 5, specifically at verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. And then Ephesians 2, verses 12 and 13. Ephesians 2, verses 12 and 13. that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So to be in Christ Jesus, to have that particular position, is a position of safety, a position of blessing, a position of privilege, a position we arrive at, not by our own decisions or free will, But as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, but of Him you are in Christ Jesus. So what happens to Paul on the road to Damascus wasn't that he just came to himself. It wasn't that he just got better information and made good decisions. No, God saved him. God sovereignly put him in Christ Jesus. God gave him that saving interest in the Lord of glory. Matthew Poole comments on our text, he says, by winning of Christ, the apostle doth not only mean the profession of the faith of the gospel, but his union with Christ and participation of him, which in the judgment of the all-seeing God will answer all damages. When a man comes to stand in judgment at his tribunal here or hereafter, for out of him is to be under the curse. So you're either under the curse or you're in Christ Jesus. Paul had been under the curse and now by God's grace he is in Christ Jesus. This is the explanation for verses 7 and 8. This is the explanation why everything he once valued was no longer valued by him. that everything he thought was good and normal and holy and right, he now said, that's dung. It is useless. It is that which I throw to dogs. It is that which is absolutely contrary to any position or status that I have before the living and true God. Now Galatians 3.10 tells us, for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, curse it is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do that. So I think we can imply and infer and from other passages conclude that verses four to six, Paul's under the law-ness meant that he was under the curse. And now, having met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and being placed in Him by God graciously and savingly, then he's in this position of safety. Romans 3.19, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. So I think that's a good contrast in Christ or under the law. You're in Christ, verses 7 to 9, or you're under the law, verses 4 to 6. Galatians 4, 4 and 5. Why? to redeem those who are under the law. He had to go into that covenant of works to satisfy the requirements of divine justice in order to achieve for his people a righteousness by which they will be clothed and acceptable to God Most High. And of course, Galatians 4, 21 to 31. Cam will be coming up to that soon. I don't want to rain on his parade. But in Galatians 4, you see the nature of the problem that Paul is dealing with there. So in Galatians 4, 21, he says, tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Remember, he reproves them. He chides them. In Galatians chapter 1, why are you turning from him who called you in the grace of the gospel? Why are you wanting to go back to under the law-ness? Do you think that you're going to be better off there? Do you think a mingling of Jesus and a mingling of you is going to somehow produce a righteousness that avails with God? It's Christ or nothing. That's the nature of His explanation in chapter 3 at verse 9. So when He says what He says at the end of verse 8, that I may gain Christ, and then into verse 9, and be found in Him. He understands all too well that the demands of the law upon him were not met by him. For all of his religiosity, the fact that he was 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, so he says, If anyone has reason for confidence in the flesh, I more so. And yet what I learned on that road to Damascus is that what I had was not acceptable before the living and true God. As the psalmist says there in Psalm 99, he is holy. As our confession says, God gave Adam a law of universal obedience written in his heart, and a particular precept of not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, by which he bound him in all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience, promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of it, and endued him with power and ability to keep it. The second London divines didn't make that up. They weren't spitballing there. They weren't saying, you know, this is the sort of law we need to have in order to make a way for the type of covenant of grace that we need to try and achieve. No, they reflected on Paul's writings. Again, Galatians 3.10, it's a showstopper, right out of Deuteronomy. that. You are obligated, if you choose law, to do it absolutely spotlessly. You are obligated, if you go vis-a-vis law, to do it perfectly, entirely, exactly, and perpetually. There can be no cutting of the corners. There can be no blemishes. There can be no burrs. There has to be a spotless righteousness that you offer up based on your law works. And if for a moment you think Judaizing is the way, a bit of Christ and a bit of me, What are you saying about the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ? That's Paul's statement in Galatians 2.21. I don't set apart the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. If it comes through the law, even a little bit. If it comes through the law, even 1%. If it comes through the law for 99%. This is the implication that Christ died in vain. If you could do it on your own, then Christ came for no good reason. So we move then, not only from his position, but now to his righteousness and the way that he explains justification by faith alone. And the first thing we need to observe is the inefficacy, that means the fact that it doesn't work, The inefficacy of inherent righteousness. And by inherent, that means something that inheres in me. Or in this case, something that inheres in Paul. Something that is true of Paul. So the inefficacy of inherent righteousness. Let's just make sure we understand that. The bad way to approach the question of how can a man stand accepted with God. The inefficacy of inherent righteousness. Notice what he says in verse nine. And be found in him, first a negative, the inherent righteousness, not having my own righteousness which is from the law. And if we ask the question, well what is that righteousness? Verses five and six. What is that righteousness in our context? Well, I went to Sunday school every week as a child. I have a King James Bible. I can recite catechism. I don't, you know, visit prostitutes. I don't smoke methamphetamine. I don't do all those things. That's the righteousness which is from the law. So Paul condemns this. He says, and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law. Again, the requirement of the law we see there in Galatians 3.10. You have to continue in all things that the law commands. That's why in Galatians 5, the apostle says, if you think circumcision is your ticket to acceptance with God, then you're a debtor. You're obligated to keep the entirety of the law. What's he telling us? There's only one of two ways. It's an inherent righteousness, where you mingle a bit of faith with Jesus, or it's an imputed righteousness. So he's dealing with inherent righteousness now. The repudiation of his own righteousness came on that road to Damascus. Everything that had been gained is now in the lost column. Everything that was his former prestige, now he saw as dung. As Thomas says, when he says, or then when he says, but the things that were gained to me, he shows his contempt for the prestige he had under the law. As well, the recognition of total depravity and total inability. Paul understood that doctrine very well, Romans 8, 7. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can it be. So not only total depravity, but total inability is taught by the apostle. Romans 9, 16, it does not depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. Ephesians 2, verses 1-3, that before snapshot of what man in sin looks like. It's not a pretty picture and Paul includes himself in that particular snapshot. So he understood the bankruptcy of his own righteousness, which is from the law, and that regeneration on the road to Damascus was the key, the help, the interpretation, the opening of the mind, the reality that if I don't have Jesus, I'm going to perish in my sins forever and ever. So he goes first with the negative, this inherent righteousness, this performance that Paul has done, whether it be out of religious zeal, whether it be out of his ethnic connection, whether it be out of his tribal connection, whatever it is. Whatever righteousness he had amassed, these things are lost. for Christ. Why? Because Christ alone is the way of salvation. And that brings us then to the efficacy or the goodness of imputed righteousness. The efficacy of imputed righteousness. So notice again in verse 9, "...and be found in Him." That's the position. And then is righteousness. First negative, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but now positively, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So the righteousness accepted by God. Now this obviously is a sermon on justification. It's always good to remember Westminster Shorter Catechism number 33 on what is justification. Justification is 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. So if you listen to that, or you think through that, or hopefully you meditate upon that, because it's a great summary of biblical teaching concerning justification by faith, there are twin blessings involved. The forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness. Some try to flatten it out and just say that justification deals with forgiveness. Well, we need forgiveness to be sure. We need to be cleansed in the precious blood of the Lamb, but we need a righteousness that avails with God. We need to be clothed in that righteousness which is secured for us by the perfect life of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you ever wonder what righteousness looks like, look at the 33 years that Jesus lived on this earth. He never had a lustful thought. He never got angry with people without cause. He never coveted. He never not loved God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He never not loved his neighbor as himself. He never blasphemed. He never broke the Sabbath. He never dishonored his parents. He never stole. He never lied. He didn't sin. That's what God demands, not our best attempt, Junior. Well, you gave it the best shot you had, as if we think the God that is holy, as the psalmist confesses, as everywhere the Bible confesses, is gonna say, well, you know, you did your best. God's not in the participation trophy award business. It is perfect. entire, exact, perpetual obedience, or hell is the necessary conclusion. So for the Apostle Paul, he taught the forgiveness of sins, didn't he? Go back to Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13. Acts 13. First missionary journey, Paul comes out of the gate against justification by works alone or by faith plus works. Pisidian Antioch. Acts 13, specifically at verse 38. You could not be justified by the law of Moses. How much clearer does he have to be? You could not be justified by the law of Moses. Why? Because the law of Moses demands continual obedience in all things. And if you're not continually obedient in all things, ergo, you're going to be cut off. So Paul preaches forgiveness. Notice, as well, in 2 Corinthians 5.19. 2 Corinthians 5.19. I just want to establish both these blessings, forgiveness and the imputation of righteousness. I doubt most people have a problem with including forgiveness and justification, so we'll just do a sampling of text quickly. But 519, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. And then over in Ephesians chapter one. This will be the last one. Again, I don't think anybody struggles with the idea of forgiveness being involved with justification. Ephesians 1.7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. It can't be any clearer. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. We are great sinners. We need great forgiveness and Christ has secured that for us through His bloodshed. Now where some of the rub comes is the imputation of righteousness, the active obedience of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. That's where some have struggled. They deny that. N.T. Wright is a famous proponent of a denial of the imputation of Christ's righteousness. He mocks it. Is it some sort of a gas in the courtroom that the judge sees and then, you know, counts you as righteous? No, it's not a gas. It's a forensic transaction by God Most High based on the doing, the dying, and the rising of our Lord Jesus. Turn back to Romans chapter 4. Again, a sampling of texts that deal with the imputation of righteousness. And notice what Paul is saying in Philippians. I need a righteousness. He doesn't mention forgiveness in that section. I mean, Philippians 3, 9 is one of the champion verses that deal with the imputation of Christ's righteousness. He doesn't deal with forgiveness there. He doesn't say it. So in his mind, acceptance with God, which we call justification, certainly includes and necessitates a righteousness that avails with God. Notice in Romans 4, specifically at verse 3. For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. I don't know how you miss the imputation of righteousness, to be honest with you. One of my sort of classic go-to examples for, I can't believe you exegete the Bible that way, is 1 Timothy 2. I can't believe there's such a thing as a woman pastor. I don't know how, when Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, we have somehow wriggled away from that and said it's okay to have lady pastors. Well, I think this is just as powerful as a one. The imputation of righteousness, that's what he's dealing with. How are we accepted by God? Yes, we need to be cleansed in his blood, but we need to be clothed in his righteousness. Notice, goes to David, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Notice in chapter five at verse 18, therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Made isn't the best word, it's not a terrible word. But constitute or reckon would be better because it carries the legal or forensic sense. The made idea kind of means like we're being changed, we're being changed or transformed from within. No, this is legal. Just as Adam's sin was imputed to us, Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. 1 Corinthians 1, we've seen that. I'll just repeat it. 1.30 and 31, but of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God. I would translate that as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I think righteousness, sanctification, and redemption describe what Paul means by wisdom of God. And if you remember the prophet, specifically Jeremiah, he refers to coming Messiah how? He calls him the Lord our righteousness. Why? Because that is precisely what sinners need in their coming Messiah. As well, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. Again, a powerful passage concerning the imputation of Christ's righteousness. 521, for He, the Father, made Him the Son, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I've already referred to Galatians 2, 21, but it's fitting and appropriate here as well. Galatians 2.21, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes to the law, then Christ died in vain. What is he talking about? Yes, forgiveness of our sins, but a righteousness by which we can enter in accepted by God. Where do we get that? From our own religious resume. from our own do-goodery, from our own best attempts, from our own, you know, knuckle under and bear it? No! It's from Christ. It's either Christ or us, and us always end up in hell. And then of course, Philippians chapter 3, our text, verse 9, 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. So the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness are twin blessings that justification confers upon the elect of God. All those predestinated are effectually called by God. The ones effectually called are justified. Those who are justified will be glorified. Now, in between is sanctification, to be sure, and the Spirit works in us with reference to that. But as well, notice the object here, be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. So through faith in Christ, not through faith in our performance, not through faith in our merit, not through faith in our works, but faith in Christ. Why? Because Christ, in his life of perfect obedience, which we call active obedience, and Christ at his death, in which we call passive obedience, not that he was passive and not a participant in it, but probably passion and suffering is what's involved there. It is that upon which we are accepted by God, as our confession says in 11.1, but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole and soul righteousness. Now, in 3.9, he emphasizes faith. And we should emphasize faith as well. It's not justification by works. It's not justification by works and faith. It is faith alone. That was the great rallying cry in the Protestant Reformation. It's faith alone. Now that faith doesn't remain alone, but it's always accompanied by all other saving graces so that when one is justified, there is the life of sanctification where the Spirit does work in us, where the Spirit does morally transform us, where we do put off sin, where we do put on those things that are pleasing to God. But again, we're dealing with justification and a man's acceptance with God in Philippians 3, verse 9. So the emphasis through faith in Christ, and then again, from God by faith. It's an instrument, it's not a condition. It's not that the dead sinner ponies up some faith, brings it to the table, and then God rewards him with justification. That's not it. Faith is an instrument. Faith is the empty hand. Which empty hand God gives you, by the way, to receive the gift that He gives. So it's not that the faith that we conjure or the faith that our free will develops or evokes is brought to the table and then God rewards us with justification. That's not the teaching. Now, I was corrected that Zonkey really is Zanky. I heard the guy that translated Zanky, Philippians commentary, say Zanky. So no more Zonkey and his donkey, we're dealing with Zanky and his hanky. And Zanky said it this way. He said, faith justifies, not as a work or action of ours, but as having laid hold in itself of the righteousness of God, just as a cup quenches one's thirst. Not because it is made of gold or silver, but because wine is contained in it. It's the object. This is the instrument that brings us into saving vital union with that object. And that faith itself is given as a gift from God. Machen says, faith is not a meritorious work. The New Testament never says that a man is saved on account of his faith, but always that he is saved through his faith. Faith is the means which the Holy Spirit uses to apply to the individual soul the benefits of Christ's death. So again, it's the empty hand that receives the gift, but the empty hand itself is given by the gifter. So there's no room for boasting. There's no room for a pat on the back. Well, it was my faith. I brought faith to the table and God rewarded me with justification. No, you were dead in your trespasses and sin. The very act of faith, the very act of believing itself is a gift from God. Go back to Philippians 1. Philippians 1.29. He asserts it here, not as the primary argument. but as a secondarily sort of supplement to his main point in verse 29. Verse 29, for to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him. That's just taken for granted. That's just assumed. That's just his presupposition. That everybody knows up until, you know, heretics started infecting the pages of Holy Scripture with their weirdness. But everybody knew dead sinners can't believe in a risen Christ. Something has to happen to those dead sinners before they believe in a risen Christ. And that something happens to be regeneration or effectual calling, promised in the prophets, expounded on by our Lord in John chapter 3. and put into activity by the Holy Spirit for that dead sinner. So notice in 129, for to you it has been granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. That's the contextual emphasis, to suffer for His sake. Sort of the analogy is, just as it has been given to you to believe, which everybody already knows and assumes and is fine with, it's also been given to you to suffer. And then, of course, Ephesians 2, 8 to 10. Ephesians 2, 8 to 10. So you see, for Paul, when he emphasizes faith, He's emphasizing the glorious freeness and the graciousness of the gospel of our salvation. It's not faith plus works. It's not works alone. It's faith alone. And then he sort of amplifies that at the end. So he gives just a tidbit, but that which is through faith in Christ, and then he spells it out by way of amplification at the very end of verse nine, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Excuse me, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Again, Zanke. Righteousness is a virtue whereby one can be pronounced to be righteous and good. It is twofold. One kind of righteousness, about which we have said enough, is proper and inheres in us. That's the inherent righteousness. The other kind is alien and is really located outside of us, but is made ours by means of imputation. So there's only one way of approach. Inherent, you've obeyed continually all things in the law, or you receive the imputed righteousness of Jesus and it's received by faith alone. That's the only means by which we are accepted. As I mentioned this morning in Romans chapter three, Paul deals with the exact same thing. Romans chapter three, specifically at verse 19. After detailing the universal problem of sin and condemnation for Gentiles and for Jews and all men everywhere, all are liable under sin. Notice in verse 19, now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. That's what you get when you choose law. That's what you get when you choose Philippians 3, 5, and 6. Whether it's your religious pedigree, whether it's your do-goodery, whether it's your boast that I've never killed anybody, I've never actually committed adultery. If that's your course, you're under the judgment of God. That simply means this isn't a new innovation. It's witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. David celebrates justification by faith alone in Psalm 32. David celebrates justification by faith alone in Psalm 130. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. Luther called those Pauline Psalms. Why? Because they reeked of the Apostle Paul. And it's King David of Israel, back in that old covenant setting, celebrating the only way of acceptance with God. is free forgiveness and free imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Inherent righteousness is impossible because of total depravity and total inability. So God provides a righteousness through Christ. This is how you need to understand Romans 1, 16, and 17. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God, undue salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Why? For in it, the gospel, the righteousness of God, is revealed." What does that mean? Again, not His rightness, not His perfection of righteousness, not His justness, but the righteousness that God demands and the righteousness that God provides in the sending of the only begotten Son of His love, who was born of a woman, born under the law. Why? To redeem those under the law so that we might receive the spirit of adoption, whereby we may cry, And of course, Romans 3.28 underscores justification by faith alone. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Papists will say, Paul doesn't say faith alone. How could he not say it louder and clearer in verse 28? How could he possibly have said it more clearly than verse 28? Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. I guess if you want to get into the weeds, yeah, he doesn't say alone. But he says alone with more words. Right? It's almost like he thought, or sort of predicted, because he probably already was dealing with it in the back of synagogues. People are to object to this. And people did object to this. Look at 3.7. For if the truth of God is increased through my lie to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? And why not say, let us do evil that good may come? As we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, their condemnation is just. Notice in 6.1, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? How do you think Paul came up with these objectors? Because he heard them in the synagogues. Paul preached free forgiveness through Jesus Christ, the imputation of his righteousness like he does in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13.48 and 49 there. You're going to be justified by all things which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. What do you think happened in the foyer? Well, Paul, if you tell people that, They're not going to work on their manners. If you tell people they're justified by faith alone, they're going to go out and live like the devil. They're going to go out and do whatever it is they think they want to do. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? That sort of a response only evidences somebody's inability to comprehend the glories of the gospel. True justification does not yield licentiousness. True justification yields biblical sanctification. That's why in verse 11 he says, likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You know what? When you're struggling with a sin, yeah, stop struggling with the sin. If you're addicted to porn, keep away from your computer. Just cut off hands, gouge out eyes, deal radically with that garbage because it will destroy you. If you're struggling with theft, stay out of Walmart. If you're struggling with cheating on your taxes, don't do it. If you're struggling with bitterness towards your wife or anger towards your husband, repent. Forsake it. Stop being foolish, sinful, and rebellious. But you know, even before that, consider what you are in Christ Jesus our Lord. Consider the doctrine of justification by faith alone. That's Paul's point in Romans 6, 11. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. If I'm dead to porn positionally, and I've got a righteousness that avails with God, why would I bury my face in this garbage? If I'm dead to the sin of bitterness, or I'm dead to the sin of anger, I'm dead to the sin of whatever, why am I doing this? I need to stop. So a reflection upon, a consideration of, a contemplation of your position in Christ, your righteousness from Christ, as far as Paul's concerned, is a wonderful impetus to pursue biblical sanctification. So back to 611, likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you're alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord, why would you continue to bury your face in the dumpster? When God has given you bounty, when God has given you a feast, when God has given a table full of benefit, why would you turn back from that and bury your head in a trash can? But Paul doesn't stop there. Notice in verse 12, Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Consider your justification, consider your position in Christ, consider your righteousness with Christ, and make good on the promise of the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body. That's verse 12 and 13. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under law anymore. Under law, you only had one trajectory. Under law, you only had one tendency. Under law, you only had failure as your end. But now under grace, because you're justified freely by that grace, and you've got the provision and the power of the Holy Spirit, you can cut off limbs. You can gouge out eyes. You can shut your mouth. You can stop thieving. You can stop being bitter. You can stop doing the things that you did that was characteristic of your life prior to the cross. So for Paul, justification and a good understanding of it is the very pathway for biblical sanctification. So that when Judaizers or Judaizing sympathizers come into the back of the synagogue and say, well Paul, If people actually listen to you on justification by faith alone, they're gonna conclude this. They're gonna say, well, God loves to forgive sin, and I love to sin, so this is a wonderful arrangement. May it never be. Verse four, you died, you were buried, you were raised with Christ. That being the case, in your justification, now pursue those things that are pleasing in the sight of a holy God. Romans 8.13, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. And that by the Spirit isn't esoteric. It isn't some weird kind of disengaged, let go, let God. What is it to live by the Spirit? It's to be positionally in Christ. It's to have the righteousness of Christ. It's to make much of Christ. It is to be where Christ is. It is to be in the Word. It is to be in prayer. It is to be cutting off limbs and gouging out eyes with a view to honoring our blessed Lord and Savior, not with a view to gaining from our Lord salvation. No, sanctification is a consequence, not a cause. Sanctification is the consequence of justification. Basically, to summarize, I'll quote from Buchanan in the wonderful book that we're going through on Saturday mornings. He talks about this imputed righteousness, and he says thus, he, and he's speaking specifically of Paul in Romans 3, so remember, 319 and 20 show you the bankruptcy of a reliance on the law for acceptance with God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, the righteousness of God is revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets, not an innovation, not a new thing. It's always been the case that anybody who's entered into heaven has done so based on the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus. So he says he brings into view another righteousness, emphatically called the righteousness of God, because God claims a special propriety in it as being peculiarly his own, devised, provided, wrought out, and revealed by himself alone. Beautiful. That reliance on the law will end you in hell. A bitter reliance on Jesus and a bitter reliance on law will end you in hell. It's either Christ alone or you. Exact, entire, personal, perpetual obedience, continual obedience to all that the law commands. Galatians 3 is from Deuteronomy, or 3.10 is from Deuteronomy 27. The blessings and the curses attached to a covenant of works. Remember Israel, faithful Israel at the bottom of Sinai in Exodus 24, all that Yahweh has commanded we will do. Oh, really now? Sure. How'd that last? Well, by 32 they're dancing around a golden calf. Didn't take long, did it? All that Yahweh has commanded we will do. Deuteronomy 27 is the curses for covenant breakers, which incidentally Christ became a curse for us, Galatians 3.14. Why or how? By imputation. Our filth, our sin, our wretchedness, our depravity was heaped upon Him. There's three imputations in the Bible, brethren. Adam's sin imputed to us, our sin imputed to Christ, and Christ's righteousness imputed to us. Blessed imputation. If you try to go on your inherent righteousness, you will fail. you will come up short, because if anybody had confidence in the flesh, it was the Apostle Paul. In fact, he says, if anybody does, I mourn so. And then he amasses that religious resume, everything that you could expect from a first century Jew. The Apostle Paul had it in spades. But what things were gained to me, these I've counted loss for Christ. I now know it's not. Something in my hand I bring, and also to thy cross I cling. Not so foul to the fountain I fly. Wash me a little bit, Savior, or I'll die. No, for Paul, it was very exclusive. There's a righteousness which is from the law, or there's a righteousness which is from God by faith. Well, obviously, the doctrine of justification by faith alone is a glorious truth for our position, for our righteousness, but if you listen to Romans 6, for our sanctification, by, you know, I was gonna say Thursday this week, probably tomorrow morning, you may be struggling with something. If you're like, you know, somebody else in the room, you gotta think of what you are in Jesus. You gotta think about that position. You gotta think about Paul's admonition in Philippians 1. Let our conduct be worthy of the gospel. You've been saved by grace, through faith in a blessed Savior. You've been forgiven. You've got a righteousness that now avails with God. Basically, the admonition is live like it. Act like it. Function like it. But recognize that on that final day, you're not accepted based on what Jesus did and what you've done. Thankfully, it's all about what Jesus has done. Listen to Machen, and I think he highlights, and we're gonna close after this. He highlights the exclusivity. It's either a law righteousness, which Paul condemns, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, or that righteousness which is from God by faith. He's commenting on Galatians. He says, certainly the point of difference between Paul and the Judaizers was no trifling difference, no matter how trifling it may seem to the modern church. Sometimes people, you know, you're picking fights where they don't belong. I'm sorry, but when Paul devotes an entire epistle and he comes out the gate the way he does in Galatians chapter one, you ever notice that? Paul gets right to the point in Galatians. Justification problem. First Corinthians? Corinth was a mess. Just a mess. Whenever people say, we should go back to the early church, like Corinth? It's been reported among you that a man actually has his father's wife. And not only did you not reprove him, rebuke him, and discipline him, you were arrogant about it. He has to warn them against laying with temple prostitutes. He has to tell them not to engage in sectarianism. He has to tell them what they're doing at the supper is basically an abomination. It's not even the Lord's Supper when you come with this attitude of the haves and have-nots. But with 1 Corinthians, he spends a lot more time oozing love and apostolic affection upon them than he does the Galatians. I'm not saying it's okay then to be Corinthians and have sanctification problems that are enormous, but what was important to Paul? Yes, sanctification, he does address all those issues in Corinth. Well, what's important is I marvel that you are so soon, so quickly turning away from Him who called you in the grace of the gospel to another gospel, which is not a gospel at all. So Machen, certainly the point of difference between Paul and the Judaizers was no trifling difference, no matter how trifling it may seem to the modern church. It was the difference between a religion of merit and a religion of grace. The Judaizers' teaching required a man to earn at least a part of his salvation by his own keeping of God's law. Paul saw clearly that to follow such teaching was to do despite to the cross of Christ. If we have to fill up even the slightest gap by our own works, then we are still lost in sin. For the awakened conscience sees clearly that our own works are insufficient to bridge even the smallest gap. We must trust Christ for nothing or for all. To trust him only for part is the essence of unbelief. There are two ways of being saved, according to the Apostle Paul. One way is to keep the law perfectly. That way is closed because of sin. The other way is to accept the gift of salvation, which Christ offers us freely by his cross. The two ways cannot both be followed. That is the burden of the epistle to the Galatians. A man must choose, as the way of salvation, either the law or grace. In bidding men choose the latter way, the Apostle was contending for the very heart of the Christian religion. It's justification by God's grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. Yes, the rallying cry of the Protestant Reformation, yay! the very foundation upon which we have acceptance with God, the very foundation upon which we have comfort. We have Romans 5, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8.1. There is no peace, there is no comfort. in any sort of an approach to God except through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we always appreciate, and may we always rejoice, and may we always express worship, praise, gratitude, thankfulness, and celebration in the presence of God for this so glorious a gift. And as we eat this bread, as we drink this cup, we together, as the church, proclaim his death. until he comes. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity of the apostles' argument here in Philippians chapter three. We thank you for including us in your blessed plan of salvation. We know it's not our will, it's not our works, it's not our ingenuity that has placed us in Christ, but it's a gift given freely by a gracious God. And we give all praise to you and we bless you in Jesus' name, amen.