Make It Count
Joyful Gospel Partnership - Philippians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 9 viewsThose things that we think are so important don't even count, only what Christ did does and our trust in it - Faith!
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Introduction
Jesus answered, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
How many people here have ever caught an honest to goodness Muskie?
I am not talking about their close cousin, a Northern Pike, everyone catches those I mean a Muskellunge or Muskie. They are one of rarest and most sought after fish up here in the northern lakes. The reason that these fish are such a rare catch is that they sit on the top of the food chain. They are so “fast and fierce” that they can eat anything under or on the water and nothing can eat them. Except perhaps an even bigger muskie.
In fact, they call the Muskie the “Fish of 10,000 casts” because that is about how many casts it sometimes takes to catch one. And we are not talking about a light weight rod with a little worm hanging off the end of a bobber. You have to wield one of these monster Muskie rods and cast out these heavy “Muskie baits”. 10,000 times! That is a lot of work, not to mention a lot of money. These rods and lures are crazy expensive.
True Muskie hunters understand all this, and often this so called “hobby” become more of an obsession. They go out fishing day after day, week after week and most every night they go home without ever seeing a single Muskie. But they keep after it, hoping that someday they will be able to take a picture like this one:
True Muskie hunters understand this. They go days and weeks without ever seeing a Muskie, but they keep after it. They have these huge heavy rods with crazy thick fishing line and lures bigger than many of the pan fish that we clean for dinner. When it comes to the Northern lakes, these fish are at the top of the food chain. They are fast and fierce so they don’t need to go after the slowest things in the water. This makes catching any Muskie a rare occasion, let alone catching one of a great size.
Imagine then if you were to pull a monster like this one into your boat!
This is Gary Gilbert of Becker, Minnesota hoisting up a 59 1/2-inch muskie that he got on Lake Mille Lacs June 17, 2017. Almost three inches longer than the state record at the time. This is what Muskie fishermen are all about. This is what they spend day after day, dollar after dollar, cast after cast to have. An opportunity to pull in a fish like this. This would be the centerpiece to their trophy room. This would put their name in the record books of the greats. This would be proof that it was all worth it.
You know what Gary did with the fish? He threw it away. Trashed it. Treated it like rubbish. Like it didn’t even matter. Like it didn’t even count. He just threw it all away. To the gasp of every Muskie fisherman that he showed this picture to “Gary, what where you thinking?”
When he showed the picture to his Muskie hunting friends they are all jealous. They wish that they would have had a shot at a rare and beautiful fish like this. They imagined themselves in the picture and even made mental notes of which taxidermist they would have called to oder their proud fish mount. It would be the centerpiece of their trophy room, and they would finally have proof that every sacrifice, every day, every dollar, every one of those 10,000 casts was worth it.
You see Gary knew something about this fish that anyone else looking at the picture wouldn’t know. It didn’t count for anything.
But you know what Gary did with the fish? He threw it away. Trashed it. Treated it like rubbish. Like it didn’t even matter. Like it didn’t even count. He just threw it all away. You see Gary knew something about this fish that anyone else looking at the picture wouldn’t know.
The fish
Despite the story that you and I might imagine from the picture, Gary actually found the fish dead and floating belly up in the water. He didn’t cast out a lure. He didn’t catch the fish. He didn’t fight the fish for hours until it was so tired it just gave in to the heavy line on Gary’s expensive rod and reel.
In the end it didn’t count. It didn’t matter. Every true Muskie hunter
“After I held it up for a photo, I just dropped it back in,” he said. “I figured that was the way to show some respect for the fish. It still smelled up my boat for two weeks.” - “rubbish”?
Joy
We have handled “Partnership” and we always handle Gospel - lets look at “Rejoice”
Contrased to the Dogs of asceticism - mutilators of the flesh.
He just pulled his boat up to the smelly dead carcass and dragged this fish out of the water to take a picture, threw the fish away and then spent the next several weeks trying to wash the stink out of his boat. True story.
Tension
Now why would I tell you that story? I am not trying to be hard on Gary, I would probably have done the same thing because you just don’t see fish like that. No, I tell you that story to demonstrate that we can fooled into thinking that some things belong as the centerpiece of our trophy room, when in fact they don’t count at all.
This is the message that Paul is sharing with the Church of Philippi in our text today.
In our Summer series we are in the book of Philippians where Paul says that a healthy Church is a “Joyful Gospel Partnership” but not all the teachers in Paul’s day agreed. Some of the teachers in Paul’s day were teaching that the foundation of a healthy Church was in being faithful in particular religious practices. To them a Christian was not just someone who trusted in Jesus, but someone who first showed themselves worthy of Jesus by religious rights and practices. In particular they said that you had to do everything needed to first becoming Jewish, then after you proved yourself to be a good Jew, then you could be considered a follower of Jesus.
To them, the foundation of a healthy Church was in being faithful in particular religious practices. To them a Christian was not just someone who trusted in Jesus, but someone who first showed themselves worthy of Jesus by first becoming Jewish. Then after you proved yourself to be a good Jew, then you could be considered a follower of Jesus.
Paul calls that thinking “Rubbish”. It might seem like something to be proud of, after all Jesus was Jewish, but in the end it stinks as bad a big dead fish. And Paul should know, because at one time he had everything they are talking about... and even more…but he still calls it trash. It doesn’t count for anything. There is only one thing that counts, and you cannot have a healthy Church built around anything else.
Paul says that all
This is the message that Paul is sharing with the Church of Philippi in our text today. In our Summer series we are discovering that a healthy Church is a “Joyful Gospel Partnership” but there were teachers in Paul’s day that were not teaching this truth. Instead they were teaching that a right relationship with God is only found through being faithful in particular religious practices. They were teaching that in order to truly be saved you must spend day after day, dollar after dollar, decision after decision on the right religious practices. In other words,
only one thing worth building a Church around, one thing and we are going to take a look at that this morning.
that Paul says don’t count. They are rubbish. They are garbage. And if live your life going after those things, you are going to spend a long time trying to wash that stink out of your life.
So open up your Bibles to , p. 981 in the Bibles in the chairs, I’ll pray and we will get started in the text together.
We could say it is like finding a dead and decaying fish and thinking you have anything more a smelly boat.
Joy
We have handled “Partnership” and we always handle Gospel - lets look at “Rejoice”
Contrased to the Dogs of asceticism - mutilators of the flesh.
Truth
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
To be clear, Paul is only half way through his letter to the Church at Philippi so this is not a closing remark, but a declaration of a Major theme of the entire letter. It is as if he is saying that everything that he has said so far, and everything he will continue to say can be summarized in this one command:
REJOICE in the Lord Jesus Christ
REJOICE in the Lord Jesus Christ
A Joyful Gospel Partnership is one that re-joy-ces in the Lord.
More than 19 times throughout the four short chapters in this book we see the words “Joy” “rejoice” or “be glad”, but don’t mistake this for some vague “looking for the sunny side of life”. Paul isn’t saying that “if you look hard enough there is always something to be happy about”. He is telling them exactly what it is that should serve as their source of constant Joy.
Rejoice…in the LORD
This is especially important when you remember that Paul is writing this letter while chained up to a Roman guard. At any moment his trial could begin where he will be either acquitted or beheaded. Considering the charge is treason against the Roman Empire, those are his only two options. To maintain an attitude of “Joy” in a situation like this you need something weightier then just looking at the bright side of life.
There are a lot great things in this life that can bring us joy. Like when your out fishing and you finally catch that fish you have been after. That is so exciting and fun, you eyes get huge and your heart starts racing and you just can’t believe it and you can see the joy in the face of the person holding up the fish in the photo. You don’t have to tell that person to smile, their joy is written all over their face. .
But Paul is saying that we always have a reason for joy because we have something much more valuable than any earthly accomplishment. We can have the joy of the Lord in any circumstance whenever we remember all that Jesus Christ has done for us.
How we were all hopelessly lost in our sin, there was nothing that we could do to save ourselves, but God was not ok with this so he sent his son Jesus to pay the price to buy us back to himself. And now, through no effort of our own we are able to be with God for all eternity. Every time we think on these things it should cause us to get more excited then we ever have in a fishing boat.
So even though Paul is in prison, it is no trouble for him to rejoice every time he thinks of all that he has been given in Jesus it pushes him to Joy no matter what is going on around him, and he wants that same thing for the Church. No matter what situation you find yourself in, stop and think on Jesus, and rejoice in the LORD.
however, is not in a position that most people would see as success. He is a prisoner. And yet it is not trouble for him to continue to write these things. He is not going to be grumbling over his current circumstances, he is rejoicing “in the LORD” and he encourages the Church to maintain this focus in their dealings as well.
Not everyone understood this, however, so Paul instructs the Church to watch out for the Joy-killers. Watch out for those who would distract you from the joy found in what Jesus has done, and drag you down into something that they think you should be doing. Listen to how he describes them, he doesn’t really pull any punches here:
We have handled “Partnership” and we always handle Gospel - lets look at “Rejoice”
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
Contrased to the Dogs of asceticism - mutilators of the flesh.
Yikes Paul. That is pretty harsh. Of course when he says “dogs” he is not talking about faithful rover or little phi phi. This was a reference to the wild dogs of the first century that went around in packs attacking anything that they thought could over power with their loud bark and fierce bite. A pretty fitting description of Paul’s experience with these men. Then he adds that they are evil doers who “mutilate the flesh”. These were the false teachers that told Christians that trusting in Jesus is not enough. You have to begin with obeying the traditions of the past, and then what Jesus did will count for you. Particularly they were speaking of the tradition of “circumcision” so Paul says:
Pretty accuate depictions of the men that Paul has already talked “Mutilate the flesh” that sounds pretty gross, like some sort of horror film or something, what is Paul talking about here? Well he tells us in the next verse:
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
It is not that circumcision was something evil. It was something that God commanded his people to do in order to set them apart from the nations around them. Under the Old Covenant, it was an outward sign of what was supposed to be an inward reality. They were to be set apart for God. They were to be holy. They were to be obedient to God, not just in the procedure of circumcision but in all aspects of the law - but they were not. The rejected God and went after other false gods over and over so that you could hardly tell them apart from the nations around them anymore. As a sign, circumcision was meaningless on it’s own, it had to be backed up with the holiness that it was meant to display.
To be fair, circumcision was something that God commanded his people to do in order to set them apart from the nations around them. Under the Old Covenant, it was an outward sign of what was supposed to be an inward reality. They were to be set apart for God. They were to be holy. They were to be obedient to God, not just in the procedure of circumcision but in all aspects of the law - but they were not. Circumcision was meaningless on it’s own, it had to be backed up with the holiness that it was meant to display.
Think about it, what good is a sign that points to something that isn’t there?
It’s meaningless. Pointless. In fact, worse than meaningless it actually does harm because it promises something that it cannot deliver. In contrast to that, Paul says that the true sign of a believer is not an outward physical one but an inward spiritual one. He says “we are the circumcism because we “worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus”. A better sign that someone is a believers is that they “Rejoice in Lord Jesus Christ”.
It never could happen.
Paul’s warning to the Church is to not listen to these false teachers, because thos things don’t really count. And Paul should know because when it come to being righteous on their scales, He was crushing it.
So Paul i
But sometimes we are so busy trying to earn
They are still things that we trust in more than we trust in God.
There is no person who has ever been righteous on their own…except for Jesus. And when we place our faith in Him then we receive his righteousness. That is the gift that Paul says is worth rejoicing over, none of our earthly efforts even come close.
We rejoice in Christ Jesus! We glory in him, we don’t rely on earthly merits because they don’t count. And Paul should know, because when it comes to following the law, Paul in his former life just crushed it! Listen to this:
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also...
Ok, if you wanna start keeping score according to these things then lets look at my record:
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Philippians 3:2
Paul instructs the Church to
Reject The Righteousness of Works
Reject The Righteousness of Works
Philippians 3:3
-7
I think this is one of the reasons that Jesus called Paul to the difficult mission that he did. You see everything that a Jewish man ever wanted to be - Paul was. In both nature and nurture Paul had a perfect score.
From our study of the Pentateuch this past year you might recognize the value of many of these things, but in essence Paul was saying that he was better than most if not all of them in keeping the law, but it still wasn’t good enough to save him. Lets look at the list
Paul was a pure bred Hebrew, not a Gentile convert. He was born to devout Hebrew parents who saw to it that he was circumcised on the 8th day according to the Law of Moses. So if you wanna talk circumcism, Paul says I got you.
Paul was not a Gentile convert, he was born to devout Hebrew parents who saw to it that he was circumcised on the 8th day according to the Law of Moses. So if anyone could brag on his mark of circumcision Paul could.
Philippians 3:8-
anything you can do, I did better . He was born into the best family, He had the right education, He graduated top of his class, He proved himself outside of the class room, He was fast and fierce and lived at the top “food chain” of the law…but then Jesus Christ found him and he saw it for what it was - nothing.
Paul was born into the right family in the Hebrews. The tribe of Benjamin was a respected tribe as Benjamin was the beloved son of Jacob and his favored wife Rachel, in contrast to the many tribes born of the slave women. Even the city of Jerusalem, with the Jewish Temple, fell within the boundaries of the land alloted to the tribe of Benjamin. So you wanna talk the importance of Family heritage, Paul’s got it.
He had the right education, graduating at the top of his class as a Pharisee. It was something he was groomed for his whole life as his father was also a Pharisee. Remember the Pharisees were the religious leaders who did not compromise on any of the law. They were so nit picky that they even tithed their spice rack. They were obsessed with obeying the law. You wanna talk obedience to the law, Paul nailed it!
Basically he is saying that when it came to the law he was fast and fierce and living at the top of the “food chain” …but when Jesus Christ found him, he saw all his prideful works for what they were - nothing.
Even less than “nothing” because he says it was a “loss”. This is accounting language. As if there are two columns, a gain column and a loss column and Paul is saying that what he used to stack proudly in the “gain” column he now knows belongs squarely in the loss.
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
When I go fishing with my Dad we typically go fishing for channel catfish. I know not everyone appreciates the delicacy of catfish, since they are literally the bottom feeders of the fish world but since my Dad grew up as a “River Rat” that is what he knew and that is what he taught me. I still enjoy both catching and eating catfish, although it happens much less these days since my wife will not touch the stuff.
But do you know what is at the bottom of the fish world for Channel Cat fishermen? At least in my family, there is one fish that counts for less than nothing. Bullheads. You see if you catch a bullhead in my family then it not only doesn’t count for you, it counts against you. It’s true, that is how it has always worked for us. If you catch one channel catfish and one bullhead then that adds up to be zero in our fishing math. If you catch two bullheads, and one channel cat then you are at less than zero.
That is the kind of thing that Paul is talking about. It is not just that those things don’t count toward your righteousness, if you rely on your works for your righteousness in any way then that counts against you!
Paul sent this warning to the Church in Galatia as well, but if you remember it was a major theme throughout that book.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
This is what counts, this is where we put our hope. We
warnings to the Church in Galatians
So you are working so hard to accomplish something that is only going to put you in the hole.
The source of their hope is the source of their constant joy! They are to
place his hope? Where does he find the source of his righteousness. A righteousness that pleases God and causes him to rejoice?
place his hope? Where does he find the source of his righteousness. A righteousness that pleases God and causes him to rejoice?
2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. 15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
What is really fun is to
Receive The Righteousness of Faith
Receive The Righteousness of Faith
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Lets stop here for just a moment and consider this claim together. Compared to the much greater worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, everything else is counted as loss. How would our lives be different if we lived them driven by this declaration? What would we start doing, stop doing or do differently if this was true for us as it is for Paul. That “everything” pales when compared to the much greater worth of knowing Jesus. That knowing Jesus Christ as Lord would be the centerpiece of our trophy room. The thing that we truly value more than anything else in the world. How would we display it. Who would see it and what would they see?
Every accomplishment
Every award
Every relationship
Every victory
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Respond in Good Works??
Respond in Good Works??
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
26 For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
“All that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” - C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
“The Lord doesn’t talk about your sin so you’ll think you’re trash,” writes one modern-day Calvinist. “He talks about it just because you’re not. He talks about it because he made you in his own image, with an infinitely higher and brighter plan for you than the one you chose for yourself.” - D. Clair Davis Personal Salvation
Gospel Application
If you haven’t noticed yet, this is very doctrinally rich section of Scripture. It highlights a reoccurring theme of Pauls, and one that we covered in great detail when we worked through the book of Galatians. He seems to always be defending the Gospel against these false teachers who were trying to blend the Gospel together with other things. Paul and all the Apostles call us to Reject this Righteousness of Works and instead to Receive the Righteousness of Faith
So we Reject the Righteousness of Works and
We Receive the Righteousness of Faith
This is not something that we can back down in today. There are many teachers who would desire to remove the power of the Gospel by assimilating it with a wide array of other teachings. Paul had to constantly stand up for right teaching on the Gospel, and so do we. We need to know God as He has revealed himself in His Word and reject any other means to salvation than the Gospel.
Yes the Gospel but also need to be baptized to be saved
Yes the Gospel, but you also need to speak in tongues to be saved
Yes the Gospel, but you also need to obstain from Most recently I keep running into the abuse of the word “love” in this process. We take whatever twisted ideas we have about the word and then apply them to God because “God is love”. instead of starting with what we know about God and then righting our understanding of love accordingly. The big idea in this is that Paul had to constantly stand up for right teaching on the Gospel, so do we. We need to know God as He has revealed himself and reject any other means to salvation than the Gospel.
But I think there are other applications that should be considered from this text, particularly as we are looking at what makes a Church a healthy Church. I think it answers an important question for us when it comes to becoming a “Joyful Gospel Partnership”. Particularly when it comes to defining what it means to corporately be “Joyful”.
Does it mean that we just don’t allow anyone here to have a bad day? That even if you circumstances this past week have been so horrible, so wrecked in sinful things done against you or maybe even sin that you have done, that when you enter these doors you should slap on a smile…because here at Friendship Church we are Joyful! Oh man I hope not. I think that is one of the things that people dislike most about their experience in Church. That people begin pretending as soon as they walk in the door because we don’t want kill the Joyful atmosphere. What about a truthful atmosphere?
But still I think that there is a call for us to share Joy together, so how do we do this when we don’t want to fake it? I think that is where Paul’s instructions here can be so helpful.
in a joy together. To rejoice togetehr.
No I think we have a really helpful word from the imprisoned Paul.
Our shared joy is not found in our circumstances. Remember Paul was in prison. Some of us may be having a week where prison feels like a relief. Three hots and a cot, bring it on. Others of us are having one of the better weeks in our life. We are out there in the boat rejoicing over what just happend, and everyone else is anywhere in between. No, our shared joy can’t be found in our circumstances, because in any given week they can be up or down, good or bad, joyful or challenging.
Our shared joy can’t be found in our current record of obedience. Certainly we want to see growth here. We want to be in the process of Santification like we talked about last week but if we are honest...on any given week we are all over the map on this one as well. We might be doing really well in one area but stinking it up in another. We might be crushing it in purity, but failing misserably in pride. We might be doing great in generosity but we just can’t keep our judgmental thoughts from ruling our mind. Not to mention, Paul says that our good works really don’t even count.
Our circumstances, our record of obedience, our attitudes and perspectives…those are always changing, growing and struggling. If we were dependent on those things for our Joy then we would never have experience genuine joy together.
This too is way to unstable to be the source of our shared joy,
Because our shared Joy cannot come from these things, they just aren’t secure enough.
We don’t come here to fake a smile that backs up of “fine” when someone asks how were doing. We come here to be reminded of something that doesn’t ever change. Our circumstances, our record of obedience, our attitudes and perspectives…those are always changing. If our joy was primarily found there then it would never be secure.
We come here to remind each other of something that doesn’t ever change. Our circumstances, our record of obedience, our attitudes and perspectives…those are always changing, growing and struggling. If we were dependent on those things for our Joy then we would never have experience genuine joy together.
Becoming a Joyful Gospel Fellowship does not mean that we come together with fake smiles that back up our answer of “good” when someone asks how were doing. We come here to be reminded of something that doesn’t ever change. Our circumstances, our record of obedience, our attitudes and perspectives…those are always changing, growing and struggling. If we were dependent on those things for our Joy then we would never have experience genuine joy together.
The only way for us to truly be a “Joyful Gospel Partnership” is to come into this place prepared to Rejoice together in what Jesus has done for us. No matter what is happening in your life personally, or what is happening in the life of your family, or what is happening in the life of our Church family here - we come together to consider “the surpassing worth of know Christ Jesus our Lord” and when we do that it will bring us JOY!
The only hope we have
Our joy is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
No matter what is happening in your life personally, or what is happening in the life of your family, or what is happening in the life of our Church family here - “the surpassing worth of know Christ Jesus our Lord” is always worth Rejoicing over.
Landing
That is what I want to see for us a Church family, but I see this teaching fleshing out for us individually as well.
For some of us it may be that we have never really taken that first step to follow Jesus because we think we haven’t gotten enough of our act together yet. Maybe this is a challenge for you, or for someone you know - that somewhere along the line you have inadvertently bought into a form of the lie that Paul’s enemies are telling. It’s probably not a “circumcision” issue but maybe there is some other thing in your life that feel like you have to do before you can place your faith in Jesus.
When I get financially stable enough. When I get my relationships ironed out. When I get my addictions under control. When I finally settle down and start being a family man. When I …whatever it might be.
When I get my relationships ironed out.
When I get my addictions under control.
When I finally settle down and start being a family man
When I …whatever it might be.
Hear me today, whenever you finally get done that thing that you think you have to get done, any gain that you thought it could bring will only count as a loss. What you don’t seem to realize is that the power to do any of those things only comes after you have submitted yourself to Jesus, not before. And if you think you overcome them without Jesus’ help then you really don’t understand the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ yet.
What you don’t seem to realize is that the power to do any of those things only comes after you have submited yourself to Jesus, not before. And if you think you can do them without Jesus’ help then you really don’t understand the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ.
have to do is recognize that there is nothing that you will ever be able to do to add to what he has already done for you. What Jesus did for you is so perfect so beautiful so complete that you need only receive it for the powerful thing that it is. It is only a false religion that says “do”, The message of the Gospel says “done”.
Secondly, for those of us who have trusted in Jesus, we might still be trying to add to our salvation. Sometimes there is such a fine line between working out your salvation as Paul said back in Chapter 2 and working for your salvation. The difference can probably not even be seen from the outside, because it is an attitude of the heart. If we serve the Lord Jesus out of anything else that a response of love then we are in danger of trying to earn something with our service. Our service in always in response to something that we have already been given. Something of such surpassing worth that we can always rejoice in it. Doing our service, work, ministry out of anything else is dangerous ground. God could not love us any more than he already does, no matter what wew do, and we see that so purely and profoundly in the cross of Jesus.
God could not love you any more than he already does, no matter what you do, and there was no purer way of showing you than sending Jesus.
been trusting in Jesus for a long time and we still have not figured out that we cannot add anything to our salvation. We work so hard, not in loving response to the Gospel as we should, but in deliberate duty thinking that somehow we can add something to what Christ has already done. We need to be captured again with the beauty, the perfection, the completeness of what Christ did on the cross so that we stop obeying out of disconnected duty and start obeying in response to His love. God could not love you any more than he already does, no matter what you do, and there was no purer way of showing you than sending Jesus.
If you have any questions on anything I said today then please come see me, I would love to talk to you about it. Also the Overseers here would love to talk to you. We want to be a Truly “Joyful Gospel Partnership” but we know that the only way to do that is by rejoicing over the finished work of Jesus the Christ.
Lets pray
I am a Christian but I need to work for certain moral goals before my sanctification process will kick in...
He cautions the Church in Galatia about the same thing:
2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?