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Good evening everyone. Welcome back to Free Grace Baptist Church. And if there are any visitors amongst us, welcome you as well. For our call to worship this evening, we're going to turn to Psalm 27. Psalm 27. We'll read from verse 1 through verse 6. Psalm 27, 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. Though 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. Amen. We're going to stand and sing hymn number 158 158. All praise to thee my god this night all the blessings of the light. Take me oh king of kings all mighty ps for Lord for thy dear sons that I have done that the world myself and why I sing that slay. Oh, may my soul be and sweet my sing and I in the night My sleepless wine, my soul with heavenly thoughts of let no distern. and rest. Oh darkness behold the last shall I in endless day forever chase our sweet with us to all his Sing all blessings come. Praise him all creatures here. Praise him above and be. Praise God, son and holy ghost. >> You may be seated. Let's go to let's turn our hearts to the Lord in prayer. Our gracious heavenly father, we thank you for the privilege we have of coming once more into your presence on this day into your house and gathering with your people to worship your most holy name. We thank you that you have visited us this day. We thank you that your presence even now is amongst us. And we pray that as we worship, as we sing, as we pray, we pray that you would work in our hearts that the Holy Spirit would do that work that only he can do. Lord, I pray especially for our children and our youth. Lord, I pray as they hear the word opened, as they hear it preached Sunday after Sunday, that you would grip their hearts and they would know of assurityity that this savior has died for them and redeem them from their corruption. Lord, we pray that each and every one of our children and grandchildren as they are reared in the church would hear the gospel and believe the gospel and that the spirit would do that work in their hearts as well. Lord, we want to see this church thriving not just in our generation but for many generations to come. And we pray that we would be a light to this uh surrounding area that the gospel would go forth. We pray for the brethren in other churches here this day where the gospel has been preached already and will be preached. We pray you'd bless these congregations. Bless the men who stand in pulpit and who open faithfully the word of God Sunday after Sunday. And Lord, we pray that all across our nation of Canada, there would be an awakening in your churches. Lord, we pray that on the streets, people would have a desire to hear the word of God. Lord, we know that sometimes it takes great turmoil to turn a nation back to you. Lord, we do not ask or desire turmoil, but we do desire that our nation would be turned back to God. And Lord, we pray that you would do that work, whatever it takes. Prepare us, O Lord, and prepare your messengers of the gospel to preach boldly from pulpit and from street corners where necessary the the the full council of God. And Lord, we pray that you'd do a good work in the nation of Canada. We pray for our the churches that we are connected with around the world in these United States, in Africa, Lord, the brethren in in China, many that we have no connection with, but we know they're there. We've heard reports. And we pray oh God that you would do a good work in that nation even as the church has has grown mightily. We pray oh God that that the nation of China would be revolutionized not as it was in the great revolution that uh brought in communism. We pray oh God that it would be revolutionized by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray this for India. We pray this for all the great nations of the world that are steeped in paganism and in um modern thought. We think of how far Europe has fallen from its roots from the Reformation. We pray, oh God, that you would raise up a great number of preachers of the gospel across Europe and and bring the gospel back to those nations. Lord, we pray that you would work in our midst again this evening as we continue to worship. We pray that you'd bless Pastor Butler when he comes up here to open the word, open our hearts to receive it. I pray and ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. >> Amen. We're going to stand again to sing Psalm 32. B is in Bravo. We'll just be singing stanzas 1 through 3 of Psalm 32B. Bless his for [Music] the sight of heaven. The sea to will not hear his god whose heart is within that guilty my strength. head was free. Thy hand was heavy on me. My soul will no, but when I hold my s from So let the rece are near. No shall we cause their heart in fear in me. The Lord I thin and songs of thy salvation my heart with rapur will [Music] You may be seated for our Old Testament scripture reading this evening. We're in Judges chapter 17. Judges chapter 17. Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim whose name was Micah. And he said to his mother, "The 1100 shekels of silver that were taken from you and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears, here is the silver with me. I took it." And his mother said, "May you be blessed by the Lord, my son." So when he had returned the 1100 shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, "I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a carved image and a molded image. Now therefore, I will return it to you. Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took 200 shekels of silver and gave them to the silver smmith and he made it into a carved image and a molded image. And they were in the house of Micah. The man Micah had a shrine and made an ephod and household idols. And he consecrated one of his sons who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah of the family of Judah. He was a Levite who was staying there. The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim to the house of Micah as he journeyed. And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" So he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm on I am on my way to find a place to stay." Micah said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you 10 sheke 10 shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes and your sustenance." So the Levite went in. Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. Then Micah said,"Now I know that the Lord will be good to me since I have a Levite as priest." Well, when we read this chapter, there's numerous things that are shocking in it for us, knowing that the children of Israel were to have only God, Yahweh, one God, and no other God before him. That they were not to make idols. And we wonder how could this man just go ahead make carved images, mold images, set up his worship there in his own house. Well, it tells us as it does throughout the book of Judges that in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. What should have been the case is everyone did what was right according to the law of God. But the people had forgotten the law of God and they did whatever was right in their own eyes. Now what they were doing they thought was right when this mother gave this her son Micah this uh these carved images and molded images that she made. She said she had wholly dedicated this silver from her hand to Yahweh for my son to make this molded image. There was synratism going on. Obviously, they were worshiping Yahweh and they were worshiping other gods and it didn't even seem wrong to them. They did whatever was right in their own eyes rather than doing what was right according to the will of God. And you wonder, how did they get to this point in their history that they could actually think that this sort of idolatry could possibly be right? Well, the very beginning of the book of Judges, already at the end of Joshua, tells us what happened. The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord which he had done for Israel. There was a generation that faithfully served the Lord and faithfully walked in God's ways. And then it says in Judges 2:10, "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them which did not know or who did not know the Lord, nor the work which he had done for Israel." There's the key. They did not know the Lord. They knew everything they'd been told about the Lord by their parents. They knew the stories of the Exodus. But the further you get along down the road, the more these stories become fables, right? Well, maybe it happened, maybe it didn't. Uh, and as the word of God gathers dust and people no longer open the scriptures, they do whatever is right, whatever they think is right in their own eyes. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the bales, and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people. The other thing that's very striking in this scripture that we read this evening is this Levite, a young Levite who was out trying to find a place to live. Obviously wasn't content with just uh you know hanging around the the the tabernacle and doing tabernacle kind of things. So he went looking for adventure apparently. And when Micah found him, when they connected, Micah said, "Well, why don't you just come be my priest? Come work for me. I'll pay you, you know, cover 10 shekels and fresh one set of clothing a year and all the food you need. Put a roof over your head. And this Levite, young Levite, mentioned several times that he was young. He thought that was a great setup. Well, that's exactly what he'll do. Had he been a true proper Levite, he would have said, "Sir, you're involved in idolatry. This can't go on." He should have he should have corrected him, but he was doing what was right in his eyes, which was 10 shekels and a shirt and a roof over his head. Sounds great to me. Uh that's not the kind of preachers we want. We don't want preachers that can be bought for 10 shekels and a shirt. We want men of God that are grounded in the word of God and that if necessary can show us where we're airing. Let's pray. Gracious Father in heaven, we thank you for the scriptures that that show us the good, bad, and the ugly of your people Israel. We know that this was a dark time in their history, the time of the judges, when every man did what was right in his own eyes. And yet over and over again, you had mercy upon them, and out of grace, out of your covenant to their forefathers, you delivered them time and again, though they did not deserve it and though they were not walking in your ways. But Lord, we pray that you would teach us from this that we need to follow wholly after the Lord our God. Lord, I pray especially for our children that they would not walk in the ways of the children of Israel. Though they've heard the stories of how their parents were converted, though they've heard the stories of the great things you've done in the past, though they've heard the stories from the Bible, I pray Lord that they would have their own encounter with you and that they would know that you are the God who forgives sins. Lord, we pray for that real one-on-one encounter for each one of our children and our grandchildren. Be merciful to them, our God, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. For our final hymn before the preaching of the word, we're going to sing Rock of Ages cleft for me. It's hymn 452 in your himnil. Please stand as we sing 452. [Music] for me. Let me hide myself. Let the water and the blood from my river flow. He us. [Music] forever flow all sore. I will save and th [Music] I bring simply to my cross I may come to the forress to thee for grace. How I do the fountain wash [Music] I [Music] drop. When my heart is closing, when I s [Music] my judge thrown from the left for me, let me hide myself in thee. [Music] Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3 as we continue to work our way through Paul's epistle to the church in Philippi. Philippians chapter 3. I'll read verses 1 to 11 and then our focus tonight will be specifically at verses 1 to3. So, Philippians chapter 3, beginning in verse 1. 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 more so, circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for this beautiful day. We thank you that the heavens declare your righteousness. We thank you that the word of God declares your mercy and your grace and your so great a salvation. We pray now as your spirit leads us that we would understand Paul's argument here in Philippians 3 that it would be edifying for the saints that it would be uh provoking to the to the unbeliever that they might come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith knowing that in him there is forgiveness and knowing that in him there is a righteousness from you received through faith alone. Do forgive us now. Guide us by the spirit. illumine our minds and our hearts and again help us to think clearly with reference to the way of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and it's in his name that we pray. Amen. Well, as we come to this section in Philippians 3:es 1-1, it is the only PMIC section in all of the book of Philippians. Now, PMICS basically means a concentrated attack on a particular subject. We think of apologetics. We are probably more familiar with that term. Apologetics has to do with defending the Christian faith. Well, in PMICS, that's when the church takes on the offensive. They go after heresy and error. Similar to Elijah on Mount Carmel when he mocks Baal and he mocks the prophets of Baal. Similar to the psalmist in Psalm 115 and Psalm 135 when they mock the idoltors. They have eyes but they don't see. Or the idols. They have eyes they don't see. They have ears but they don't hear. They have mouths but they don't talk. They are engaged in pmics. And then of course the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 23, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. He goes on the offensive to attack what it is that they are wrong in. And that's essentially what the Apostle Paul is doing here in Philippians 3:es 1-1. Structurally, it's a very simple passage. He gives the warning in verses 1 to3. We'll look at that tonight. And then he illustrates the point by his own conversion experience. What happened in the life of the apostle Paul ought to evidence the reality that sinners are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So that's the nature of his argument. So as I said we'll just take up that first section verses 1 to3 as there is a lot going on there. Now when Paul does this in the book of Philippians, it doesn't necessarily mean that this was a rampant problem in the church in Philippi, it does however mean that it was a rampant problem prevalent in the early churches. Most noteworthy are the churches of southern Galatia. The book of Galatians has a pmic thrust through and through as the apostle attacks what we'll define later as Judaizing. So when we look at the warning against the Judaizers here in verses 1 to3, we'll notice first the apostle's strategy in verse one. Secondly, his warning in verse two and then the corrective in verse three. So note first the strategy in verse one. He says, "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." Now when he says, "Rejoice in the Lord," this probably connects with what has gone before. Remember at the end of chapter two when he commends Apapraditis, he says to the church to receive him with gladness and hold men like him in great esteem, but also rejoice in the things that I'm going to indicate in chapters 3 and four. Joy is a recurring theme in the epistle to the Philippians. In fact, as one specimen sample, notice in 4:4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. It is an epistle founded on that glorious truth of joy. Something else to notice in this strategy is who he addresses. Finally, my brethren, he doesn't say finally elders, finally deacons, finally theology students, finally those guys who show up every other Saturday morning and girls. He says my brethren. So what Paul is doing in pmics here, what Paul is doing by way of warning, all of the people of God need to understand the truth that is under investigation here. Now there are things that the Christian church persons within it will disagree on. And we can disagree on certain things, tertiary things that don't necessarily send us to hell. But we cannot disagree on theology proper. Who is God? one living and true God who exists eternally as father son and holy spirit. We must agree on that. We must agree on the person and the work of our lord Jesus Christ. We must agree on sotiology or the doctrine of salvation. How is it that God saves sinners? Well, it's by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone. So when it comes to those other matters though, there are legit disagreements that people have. But when it comes to those primary emphases, we need to make sure that we understand that not just the pastors, not just the elders, not just the doctors of the church, not just the the the seminary professors, but all the people of God need to know the truth of God when it comes to compromising the Christian faith. So, we need to make sure we understand that he's not saying, "Okay, brethren, I want you to shut off for a bit because I'm just going to speak specifically to men like Apaproditis, to men like Timothy, to men who have that teaching and preaching role within the context of the church." No, all of the brethren need to be able to spot Judaizing, and all of the brethren need to be able to remedy it by the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. All believers must know the truth concerning justification by faith alone so they can avoid heresy so that they can protect their church and so that they may know that joy that does surpass all understanding. So his emphasis on joy is part of the strategy. But then notice his use of repetition in verse one. He says for me to write the same things to you is not tedious but uh uh for you it is safe. Now, the same things has caused some to speculate that there was another or perhaps other letters to the church in Philippi. I don't think that's necessary. I think he's referring to those things he had taught them when he had been with them in person in the past. So, he is basically repeating via letter here in Philippians 3 what he's already said to them on various occasions when he was with them in the past. And then note his patience for me to write the same things to you is not tedious. It's not difficult. It's not a hardship. It doesn't vex me. Why? Because the safety of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is paramount for the Apostle Paul in his ministry. Remember that last corporate charge that Paul gives to Timothy in terms of the church's function in 2 Timothy 4:2. He says, "Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. convince, rebuke, exhort with all what? All longsuffering and teaching. Other words, patience. There's times, and I I don't want to, you know, offend anybody or trigger anybody, but there's times when we hear things and we don't always retain it. I I've noticed this in the past. We'll have a guest preacher and he'll say something and somebody will come up to me and say, "Wow, I I had never heard that before. I have a a file cabinet full of sermon notes and I can show you many many times that I know you've heard that before. It's just one of those things. So repetition in Christian ministry is absolutely crucial. Repetition is useful or rather rampant in scripture. And so for the apostle, it is not tedious to continually warn the church against those who would hurt her, against those who would harm her, those who would indeed d uh put her in danger. And then notice that for them it is safe. Repetition produces safety. Sound doctrine produces safety. I often don't want to use this word too callously, but advertise our church this way. We don't have bells and whistles. We don't have all the sorts of things that you have in other churches, but hopefully it's a safe place, and I don't mean that in the modern political use of the term. Uh, but it's a safe place where you'll learn Christian orthodoxy with an emphasis on exeetical competence such that the theology presented is what the church has historically confessed and will be a safe guide for you to heaven. So, safety is good when it comes to the Christian church. So that's his strategy. Now notice then the warning in verse two and I should say at the outset Paul doesn't have a problem with canines when he says beware of dogs. He is describing what we call Judaizers. So I want to look at the nature of his warning and then the explanation of his warning. the nature will step out a bit from our present context to illustrate what Judaizing is. And then in terms of the explanation of his warning, we'll look at the terms that he uses there in verse two. But Judaizing broadly, the word Judaize means to make Jewish or to convert to Judaism. Now, narrowly believers, so I'll use air quotes there, Jewish believers in Christ, who insisted that Gentiles not only believe in Jesus as the Messiah, but they also are to comply with the Mosaic ceremonies in order for acceptance with God. So in other words, if a Gentile believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as far as the Judaizers were concerned, that Gentile would need to be circumcised and that Gentile would need to observe the Jewish calendar among many other things. Now when we look at the New Testament, we see that Judaizing was a problem. Turn to the book of Acts in Acts chapter 15. The book of Acts, Acts chapter 15, just to illustrate or to show this problem of Judaizing in the New Testament. Acts 15 and verse one. And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." See, that's a pretty drastic statement. They're not saying, "Go ahead and get circumcised because it's our custom. Go ahead and get circumcised because it's clean. Go ahead and get No, no, no. That's not what they're saying. They are saying that unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question." And this was the predicate for what we call the Jerusalem Council. And in the Jerusalem Council, you have the council gathered together. You have the testimony of the Apostle Peter, the testimony of the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, and then the testimony of James. And then the council ends by them drafting up a letter to the Gentiles to basically show how to make a favorable transition in this new covenant era where there's much gentile inclusion in the covenant promises, but of God. So, Gala uh the book of Acts shows us this. Then you can turn to the book of Galatians. Galatians. And there's several passages here that illustrate the point. I would suggest first Judaizing is the predicate for the condemnation in Galatians 1. In verses 6 to10, Paul says, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." It's Judaizing. That's what the apostle is going to deal with in this epistle to the Galatians. We notice that there is an attack on the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Look at chapter 2 specifically at verse 16. Paul underscores this glorious truth when he writes, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be uh shall be uh no works I'm sorry. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. And then it ultimately results in an attack upon the cross. So again, what Paul is dealing with in Galatians, it's not a strictly my works alone are going to get me into heaven. No, it's a Judaizing emphasis. Faith in Christ plus faithfulness to the Mosaic ordinances. Faith in Christ plus circumcision. Faith in Christ plus circumcision in the calendar. Faith in Christ plus those Mosaic ceremonies. That's the emphasis. And the apostle understands this very much so when he writes in 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." Again, he's not dealing with my works alone as acceptance with God. He's dealing with Christ's works and my works, but Paul sees that intrusion as nullifying the very work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mingling our works with Christ is a denial of the sufficiency of our Lord Jesus. On Galatians 2:21, Calvin says, "For if we do not renounce all other hopes and embrace Christ alone, we reject the grace of God." Luther says, "For whoever seeks righteousness apart from faith in Christ, whether it be through works or satisfactions or afflictions or the law of God, is nullifying the grace of God and despising the death of Christ, even though he may speak otherwise with his mouth." Luther understands that well. Oh, no. We emphasize faith in Jesus. Yeah, but by emphasizing faith in Jesus plus circumcision, you're nullifying or denying the very work of Jesus. Either Christ is a whole savior or he's no savior. And this is Jay Gresum on 2:21. He says this verse is the key verse of the epistle to the Galatians. It expresses the central thought of the epistle. The Judaizers attempted to supplement the saving work of Christ by the merit of their own obedience to the law. It's a good word. Supplement when you're talking about vitamins. It's a good word. Supplement when you're talking about adding things to your exercise regime. It's a good word if you're deficient in zinc and you take a supplement. But when it comes to Christ, when it comes to acceptance with God, when it comes to salvation, there's no supplement. There's no contribution. We just sang, "Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling." We just sang, "Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die." Again, Christ is either a whole savior or no savior. And that's the emphasis of the apostle in this epistle to the Galatian church. Machan continues that says Paul is impossible. Back to the first statement. The Judaizers attempted to supplement the saving work of Christ by the merit of their own obedience to the law. That says Paul is impossible. Christ will do everything or nothing. Earn your salvation if your obedience to the law is perfect. or else trust holy to Christ's completed work. You cannot do both. You cannot combine merit and grace. If justification, even in the slightest measure, is through human merit, then Christ died in vain. That's Galatians 2:21. It's a powerful statement. And then note the obligation of this Judaizing tendency according to Galatians chapter 5. There is an obligation for those who choose law as a means of acceptance with God. So in 51 he gives them an exhortation. Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Christian liberty there is not having a beer with your pizza. The liberty there is to understand the freess of God's grace. The acceptance that we have in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we are to rejoice in that liberty and not be brought once again into those ceremonial laws. He goes on in verse two to say, "Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing." Do you understand? He had Timothy circumcised in Acts 16. But that wasn't for religious purposes. It wasn't for acceptance with God purposes. It was to facilitate the transition. It was to facilitate uh gentile inclusion and the covenant promises made to Israel such that Timothy would not be offense or an offense when they went into regions where there were where there were Jews. So verse two, indeed I say I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. Now here's the obligation in verse three. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. Here's the issue. If you choose the way of law, then you are a debtor to the whole law. If you go with Christ, he has fulfilled the law. Back in Galatians 3, Paul indicates or underscores what is necessary in a law acceptance with God sort of an approach. Notice in 3:10, for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Our confession highlights with reference to to to God's law. Obedience must be personal. It must be entire. It must be exact and it must be perpetual. So what Paul is saying in Galatians is very simple. If you're going to choose law, it must be perfect. If you're going to choose law, it must be exact. It must be entire. It must be perpetual. If you're going to have Christ understand that his lawkeeping was personal, it was exact. It was entire and it was perpetual. And that righteousness is imputed to believing sinners. It is received by faith alone. When you try to mingle the two together, you end up with neither. That's the problem. And then note the contrast in the way of acceptance with those who teach. Notice in Galatians 6 specifically at verse 12. As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised. Only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. So the book of Galatians is probably the most pmical in terms of Judaizing. But when we get to Philippians chapter 3, again that Paul addresses it to the church in Philippi. Doesn't mean it's necessarily a rampant problem like it was in the churches of southern Galatia, but it was a prevalent problem that could plague churches. And so Paul as a pmicist wants to guard the church through his own patience and for their safety by cautioning them relative to this particular heresy. Now that's the New Testament. As we move through the history of the church subsequent to the New Testament, we see it in Roman Catholicism. This was the foundation of the Protestant Reformation. It was to protest. It was to say no to Rome. It was to say it's wrong to say that it's faith plus faithfulness for our acceptance with God. In our own modern situation, we have something called the new perspective on Paul. Brethren, the old perspective on Paul is much to be preferred. We have something called federal vision. And at the very essence, we see the same sort of emphasis that you find in Roman Catholicism. It is faith in Christ plus faithfulness in our lives. Roman Catholics uh uh collapse the distinction between justification and sanctification. They include into justification sanctification. So it's faith plus the sacraments of the church. It's faith plus covenantal obedience if your new perspective. It's faith plus whatever it is in the new uh in the federal vision faithfulness. It's never to be a faith plus. It is faith alone in Christ alone. Subsequent to justification, the believer enters into the life of sanctification where he lives a godly life, where he pursues holiness, where he seeks to be righteous. But when he is on that day accepted by God, it's not for anything in him. It's for everything in the Savior. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. This is legalism strictly defined. Now, we use legalism in a more broad sense. somebody does something different in their home and we call them legalists and they might be but legalism strictly defined as adding works adding law adding merit adding self-righteousness to our justification. So that's what evokes from the apostle Paul the letter to the Galatians and this particular warning here in Philippians. Now in terms of the explanation notice verse two he says beware of dogs beware of evil workers beware of the mutilation. Now the beware simply means to see but it's translated well here because it's an urgent appeal for them to see to beware to be on guard to uh it's functioning as a warning. The first he says is beware of dogs and this is negative. I know this is tough to process in a culture that puts sweaters on dogs and includes them in family photos. I understand that it's hard for us to get our minds wrapped around that in the first century when the apostle uses dogs here. It is a condemnatory statement. He's not talking about phto in your backyard. He's talking about human beings. He's talking about dogike men. So it should help us to understand what he's saying. Now in terms of the religious significant uh significance, it's an unclean animal. Now with reference to the Jews or those who practice Judaism, they would refer to Gentiles as dogs. For one sample passage, you can turn to Matthew's gospel in Matthew 15. Matthew chapter 15. Our Lord does this. I don't know that that means he endorses that porative or the use of dog with reference to a gentile but he is speaking the common parliament of the day. She would have understood what he was talking about as would the Jews who heard him. Notice in Matthew 15 at verse 21. Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Ty and Siden. And behold a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to him saying have mercy on me oh lord son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she cries out after us." But he answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then she came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered and said to her, "Oh woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire." and her daughter was healed from that very hour. Now, the analogy is appropriate in terms of the human dog level, table scraps or things fall off your table and the dogs eat it. But Jesus is speaking in Jewish Gentile distinction, Jewish Gentile categories here. Beware of dogs, Paul says. He's calling the Judaizers dogs. The uh the teaching of the Judaizers was the necessity of Mosaic ceremonies to cleanse the Gentiles. Right? It's good they believe on Jesus, but they've got to be circumcised. They got to keep the calendar and a whole host of other things. The denial therein of the sufficiency of Christ Jesus to cleanse the Gentiles. Proverbs 26:11 says, "As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his va folly." Having recognized Jesus as Messiah, these Judaizers are returning to their vomit. They're returning to the Mosaic ordinances and making the Gentiles comply with them. That's why the apostle calls them dogs. It's a theological role reversal. At one time, the Jews referred to the Gentiles as dogs. Paul having come from Hebrew or Hebrew of the Hebrews from the stock of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin circumcised the eighth day is now calling the Judaizers dogs. It is a theological reversal in terms of category because they are trying to impose Mosaic observance upon Gentiles. Paul's emphasis is no in this new covenant it's justification by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Christ is either a whole savior or he's no savior. And that's the emphasis. So he refers to them as dogs. Again, I don't think Paul had a problem with canines, but he's using that poratively of the Judaizers. Next, he says, "Beware of evil workers." We can contrast that with the immediate context in chapter 2, specifically at verse 25. Yet I considered it necessary to send you Apaproditis, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need. Apaproditis was a fellow worker of the Apostle Paul and accurately preaching and teaching the word of God. The Judaizers aren't fellow workers with the Apostle Paul. Rather, they are evil workers. And that's the caution that he gives. And notice the tendency for us is to think of evil working as outward transgression of the Ten Commandments. Oh, that guy's an adulterer. That's an evil worker. Oh, that guy's a thief. That's an evil worker. Yeah, that is. But notice here, it is to add works to faith in Jesus for one's acceptance with God. The apostle calls that evil working. Heresy is horrible. Not saying that adultery and theft are great, but heresy is soul damning. Heresy twists. Heresy distorts. Heresy ruins souls. Heresy ruins churches. Heresy disenfranchises people from the very kingdom of God most high. This is evil working. Zanki says, "And yoking the works of the law together with faith, they worked wickedly in the Lord's vineyard and were not doing good but wicked labors." And then the third statement, he says, "Beware of the mutilation. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation." There's going to be a contrast at the very beginning of verse three. Four, we are the circumcision now. These Judaizers preached circumcision. Right? But what the Judaizers were engaged in wasn't circumcision. It was mutilation. It was cutting off skin for no reason. It was cutting off skin for a thought of acceptance with God. But that's not how acceptance with God comes. So Paul again in something of a reversal is underscoring that they are the mutilation. So the contrast with verse three is obvious after he says beware of the mutilation and then in verse three for we are the circumcision. The use of circumcision without religious significance. It is acceptable as I've already mentioned in Acts chapter 16. Paul had Timothy circumcised not for acceptance with God, but for acceptance with Jews in a particular region to smooth out that transition in the first century when you saw lots of Gentiles being added to the new covenant church. As well, the practice of circumcision for acceptance with God is mutilation. Paul says in Galatians 5:12, "I wish they'd just emasculate themselves. I wish they'd go all the way and just cut themselves off. I mean, it's pretty powerful language that the apostle uses when he does come to do PMICS with reference to heresy. And I have to remind us all, Paul is very gracious. Paul is very kind. Paul is very patient. If you read the first letter to the church in Corenth, it was a goat rope. It was a nightmare. There was all kinds of issues, all kinds of challenges. It is actually reported among you that a man has his father's wife. You had temp uh persons laying with temple prostitutes. You you've got persons that are eating meat sacrificed to idols and offending their brethren. You've got, you know, the problems at the Lord's table. You've got all these issues in First Corinthians. But Paul as he writes that letter is bearing long and patient with them. In fact, when you read uh 1 Corinthians 1 and the flowery language that he uses with reference to the saints in Corenth and you compare that with Galatians chapter 1, brief greeting, brief introduction right out of the gate to condemn their turning from the gospel of the grace of God. Why? Because justification is at stake. a man's acceptance with God is the problem or the issue that is to be addressed. So when Paul comes to deal with it, he doesn't dance around the topic. He's not, well, I don't want to offend them any more than Jesus had that attitude when he said, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You strain out gnats and you swallow camels. You you neglect the you tithe the mint, the annis and the cumin, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. He says, "Blind guides, brood of vipers." He doesn't pull any punches. Again, Elijah on Mount Carmel. Where's your God? Maybe he's on a holiday. Maybe he's in the bathroom. I'm sure Elijah had a great big smile on his face and he's slapping his knee as he's mocking these false prophets of Baal. Or the psalmist in Psalm 115. Your gods are fake. Your gods are duds. Your god gods are dead. They have mouths but they don't speak. They have ears but they don't hear. They have eyes but they don't see. What good are they? Well, the prophet Isaiah in the latter chapters he goes on a pmic against idolatry. He mocks the Babylonians who have to, you know, pick up their god after it falls off the cart and put it back up onto the cart. What about the whole Deeon scene in 1st Samuel chapter 4 and 5? Make no mistake about it, brethren. The author there is mocking paganism. The author there is mocking Philistine idolatry. He is mocking that religion that sees a deity such that it can fall down and have to be picked back up and then fall down again and have its hand break off and it has to be super glued back on. The apostle Paul is not going to have any truck with anybody who suggests for even a moment that our salvation depends on Jesus and me. No. Paul would affirm top lady. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me savior or I die. By the way, top lady's hymns are so full of justification by faith alone. They wreak of gospel goodness. Now, in terms of the corrective, he does a bit of a contrast between them, the Judaizers in verse two, and the weed, the church in verse three. So, he speaks first concerning the church's identity, second the church's worship, and then third, the church's glory. Note the church's identity. So, verse three, for we are the circumcision. Now, circumcision is used in a whole host of ways in the Bible. Most generally or broadly, it's just a distinction between Jews and Gentiles. You can see that in many places in the New Testament. But as well, circumcision in the New Testament shows forth the work of regeneration by the spirit of God in terms of saving his people from their sins. In fact, turn to Colossians 2 at verse 11. Colossians 2 at verse 11. In him you also or you were also circumcised, note with the circumcision made without hands. He's not talking about physical circumcision of an outward appendage. He's talking about circumcision made without hands. He's talking about regeneration. And by the way, in 211 and 12, he's not suggesting that baptism has replaced circumcision straight across the board. No, circumcision and baptism both point to the same spiritual reality, which is regeneration by the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit under Christ. So in 211 in him you als you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the sins of the bo of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. And then probably one of the most familiar is Romans 2. Romans 2 specifically at verses 28 and 29. So Paul says we are the circumcision. The New American Standard translates it and I think accurately for we are the true circumcision. Now accurately in terms of interpretation, the word simply is we are the circumcision. But the NAS makes it clear we are the true circumcision. Whatever the Judaizers say and boast in concerning circumcision, they're simply mutilators. They're simply the mutilation. They're dogs. They're evil workers. We, however, are the true circumcision. We are the regenerate. We are the ones that were bloodbought by the son of God. We are the ones that were chosen by God in him from before the foundation of the world. Notice in uh Romans chapter 2:28, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God. So with reference to Philippians chapter 3 and his emphasis that we are the circumcision, he's talking about himself and he's talking about the church in Philippi and by extension all believers, all of the people of God. I think that Philippians 3:3 helps us answer the question, who is the Israel of God? Well, it's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would suggest true Israel is the Lord Jesus. In John 15:1, he says, "I am the true vine." That vine language, as we saw when we were in that section in the Gospel of John, comes from the Old Testament, God referred to Israel as his vine. It was his vineyard. It was his special people. When Jesus says, "I am the true vine," he's underscoring the reality that he is the Israel of God. Now by God's grace through faith in Jesus by virtue of our union with Christ we are identified with him as the Israel of God. So the Lord Jesus is that Israel. The church is called the Israel of God by virtue of our union with him. If you go back to Galatians 6, you see Paul indicate that in Galatians 6:16. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. Notice in first Peter chapter 2 where the apostle takes language appropriated to old covenant Israel and says it's true of the church. Brethren, the church is the Israel of God, the geopolitical entity called Israel. Those people in that land need to believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They need to repent of their sin. They need to come to the Savior. Notice in 1 Peter chapter 2 specifically at verse 9. But you, he's writing to the church, are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. This is Exodus 19:5 and 6. It is Exodus 195 and 6 which is applicable to old covenant Israel as they're going into the land. The Apostle Peter appropriates that and says, "No, it's the church." Well, it is then, but it's now the the church, the true people of God. So, back to Philippians chapter 3, the church's identity. We are the circumcision, the church's worship. And this would differentiate the church, the believer, from those who insisted upon obedience to the Mosaic ordinances. Right? If it's circumcision and its calendar, it's going to be tabernacle or temple and priesthood. This is the problem in the book of Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews, you've got a lot of pressure being leveled upon the professing people of God that are Hebrews. They're getting pressure at work. They're getting pressure from family members. They're getting pressure from wives or husbands. You need to go back to the temple. You need to go back to the priesthood. You need to go back to Moses. What's the apostles point in Hebrews? Don't go back. What was back there was typical and prefigured the coming of the Lord Jesus. Now that Jesus is here, we don't go back to Moses. Not because Moses is bad, but because Moses told us to go to Jesus. That's kind of the basic argument in the book of Hebrews. But with reference to the church's worship, notice what he says in Philippians 3:3. For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit. And then he says, rejoice in Christ Jesus. We'll deal with that in just a moment. But note the trinitarianism of new covenant worship. We worship God in the spirit boasting in Christ Jesus. is trinity through and through. This echoes our Lord's teaching in John chapter 4 with that Samaritan woman. You can turn there. John 4, Jesus deals with this particular woman who had a checkered background. By the way, and as Jesus points out her checkered background, she asks about worship. Okay, let's talk about worship. John 4:19, the woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where you ought to worship. Jesus said to him uh said to her,"Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." I think the common interpretation is spirit, you know, worshiping in spirit and truth. You know, it's heart and head. It's the intellect and it's the soul. No, it's the spirit and it's the son. We come to the father through the son in the spirit. New covenant worship is distinctly trinitarian. And Paul emphasizes that in Philippians 3. For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit. The rejection by Judaizers, at least by implication, is that you worship God also through circumcision. You worship God also through calendar observance. You worship God also by trotting over to the temple and bringing your sacrifice. You you worship God. No, no, no, no, no. God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit and in truth not according to the Mosaic categories. Then finally he speaks of the church's glory. Not sure why the King James tradition translates it rejoice. I mean I get it. It's an implication but it's better translated as glory or boast. The word means to take pride in something. to boast, to glory, to pride oneself, or to brag. The ESV gets it right. And glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. The NIV gets it right. Who boasts in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh. You see what he's saying? The Judaizers put a little confidence in the flesh, don't they? No, they put a lot of confidence in the flesh. emphasizing circumcision in addition to faith in Jesus for acceptance with God. They boast. Paul uses the same language there in Galatians 6, which we've already looked at. They're they're boasting in the amount of circumcisions that they have completed. They have a confidence in the flesh. But the true church, the true people of God, the true circumcision, those who are worshipers, worshippers, worshippers of God in the spirit, they boast in Christ Jesus and they have no confidence in the flesh. Their boast is in the Lord of glory. Their pride is in the Lord of glory. Their hope is in the Lord of glory. It's not in what they've accomplished. There's no backpatting going on. There's no good job on you, lad going on. It is boast in the Lord Jesus. Paul says it clearly in Galatians 6:14. God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. The Christian has no other boast. So when Paul comes to contrast the Judaizers, dogs, evil workers, mutilation, he does so with the true church circumcision or true circumcision who worship God properly and who glory in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the contrast is extended further in the experience of Paul. I don't like to say the experience of Paul because the Bible isn't a a record of experience, right? It's just how men understood God. It's just male men related to God. So when I use experience, I don't mean it that way. I mean his conversion experience rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord recorded for us under inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts and here in Philippians chapter 3. But the rest of the argument is very simple. Notice how he ends verse three. He says, "And they have no confidence in the flesh." So now he changes directions a bit to make his point even further. He says in verse four, "Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so." So you see what he's doing there? If you want to go toe-to-toe about religiosity in a Judaist, Judaistic scheme, Paul's your guy. He's your poster child. He's the one that can flex his spiritual muscles and say, "Hey, I had it all going on." What Paul will demonstrate through his own conversion is why confidence in the flesh is futile. Verses 4-6 and then in verses 7 to9. The contrast is simple. If salvation is as he reports it is in verses 7 to9 especially verse 9, it would be folly to try to include verses 4 to6 stuff in one's attempt to gain acceptance with God. So in other words, if justification is by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, as it so clearly is according to verse 9, then what good is verses 4 to six in terms of one's acceptance with God? What good are these Judaizer dogs, evil workers, and mutilation insisting upon the true circumcision, who worship God rightly, who boast only in the Lord Jesus Christ. what positive value does it have on them to plague the churches and say you have to get circumcised according to the law of Moses. So that's the argument and Fiser makes the observation if you desire to be justified before God you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own and wholly renounce Christ or else you must bring the perfect righteousness of Christ and wholly renounce your own. Christ Jesus will either be a whole savior or no savior. He will either save you alone or not save you at all. Now when you think through that at times people might say well what's the big deal? The deal is Galatians 2. I do not set apart the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain. If we could earn it if we could garner acceptance if we could purify ourselves. If we could stand before God and acceptable in our own strength, then why the cross? Why John 19? Why Matthew 27? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why the shame of the sufferer on the cross when he's stripped naked and hung for all to see? Why all that if all we needed was a bit of help? We don't just need a bit of help. We need salvation by God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus. So we'll look at Paul's conversion experience, God willing, next Sunday or the following Sunday. Think Pastor Porter is going to preach next Sunday. And I just want to conclude with a couple of quick thoughts. First, the responsibility of the church. I don't want to forget this. Finally, my brethren, if it's risen up in you this evening to say, "Oh, you know, this is justification by faith. I trust what you know, these guys are saying. It's great." You you got to know this. If Satan's going to go for you, it's going to be usually at this point. For those of you who are recent to our church, if you're a member to our church, when we have a membership interview, and when I teach through the confession, what what chapter is it that I usually highlight is one of the most practical chapters in the entirety of the confession. It's chapter 11, justification. If you don't get justification down, you're going to be a miserable, miserable person. You've got to understand the beauty of nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling. You got to understand the beauty of foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me savior or I die. You got to understand the beauty of Paul's words to that Philippian jailer. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You got to understand the beauty of that bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness and all we do is look and live. you get this down and hopefully I'm not saying your life is going to be splendid and you're never going to have any hardships, but if you can think clearly with reference to justification by God's grace through faith in Jesus, I would submit you're going to be the happier for it. It's in that context or in this context that Paul says, rejoice in the Lord. So the church must know the truth, the nature of salvation. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. We got to know it at that fundamental level level, but we got to know it as the pillar in the ground of the truth. According to 1 Timothy 3:15, brethren, elders, and deacons, and guys that like to study, yeah, they're in the church. But all of us are in the church. We all have a responsibility to know these things for our own benefit and to hold the line against any heretics or any deviation that may come. The church needs to proclaim that truth. What does this lost and dying generation need? Does it need more scolding? Does it need more rep? Well, yeah, probably. But it needs the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed freely. That's what sinners need. They need to hear the truth as it is in Jesus. They need to hear of a full free acceptance by God's grace that results in the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of of Christ's obedience. The church needs to defend the truth. Jude 3, contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. The church needs to recognize, not perhaps with the degree of a Paul, not perhaps with the degree of a of a Calvin, but needs to recognize the departures that have happened within the life of the church and to be on guard against it. I would suggest secondly, in terms of the Judaizers themselves, they are the pmical emphasis of the apostle Paul. He's not anti-Semitic here. He's not picking on them for their ethnicity. He is picking on bad religion. He is pointing out a horrible approach to try and gain acceptance with God. He is pointing out the obvious. Unless yours is personal, exact, entire, and perpetual obedience, don't think for a moment that you're going to enter into heaven on a law basis. This is a perpetual danger in the church of Christ. Paul saw it that way. Paul writes Galatians and other portions. The pointed language used to describe it. Dogs, evil workers, mutilation. Paul would be thrown out of churches today. Paul would be thrown out of politics today. Paul would be thrown out of everywhere today for daring to suggest that another religion might actually be false. Well, Elijah probably, well, I know he wasn't, looked favorably upon in on Mount Carmel. Sure, the heathen around old covenant Israel didn't like David going after their gods. We know how the Philistines responded when the ark of the covenant was in their land. They had to get it out of there as soon as they possibly could. They don't like this, but this is what at times is necessary. and parallel condemnations throughout the New Testament. So the emphasis for the apostle is on Christ alone. That's the way of salvation. That's the way of stability. That's the way of safety for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us follow Paul in this regard and maintain fidelity at the doctrine of justification. Well, let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the pointed language of the apostle as he cautions the church there against these Judaizers. We thank you as well for this wonderful description of the church as the circumcision as those who worship God in the spirit. Those who glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. We ask that you would go with us. Bless us in this coming week. Give us grace to glorify and to honor you in all that we do, think, and say as individuals, as families, in our workplaces, wherever we find ourselves. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Well, you can stand and we'll close by singing the doxology, page 568. [Music] are all blessings. Praise him all creatures here. Praise him. Praise God father, son. >> The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Well, please be seated.