This morning we turn together to Philippians 3, Philippians 3, we want to read together the first 11 verses, the text for our consideration being verses 2 and 3 of Philippians 3. Philippians chapter 3, beginning at verse 1, as we give our attention to the Word of God. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reason for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law of Pharisee, As for zeal, persecuting the church. As for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ. The righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. The text again, watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh, for it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? How do you know? Now, there are many who would answer that question by saying, well, I'm not so bad. I'm pretty good. I'm nice. I'm honest. I say I believe, so I must believe. I believe there is a God, so I must be a Christian. Or even some will say, well, let's see, I'm not a Mormon. I'm not a Jehovah's Witness. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Hindu. Well, therefore, I must be a Christian. However, Jesus makes it clear in Matthew chapter 7 that not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. You see, beloved, true Christianity very much depends on a correct understanding of doctrine, but not just any doctrine, the doctrine of the Bible. True Christianity very much depends on what the Bible teaches and believing it. Paul had said in the first verse, as we considered a couple of weeks ago, rejoice in the Lord. But he also recognized, I believe, that there were many who could say that they rejoice in the Lord. Sure, I rejoice in the Lord. But he goes on and teaches here that true rejoicing finds no hope and no comfort and no reliance in oneself for salvation or for being in Christ Jesus. Instead, true rejoicing finds our all in Him alone. In this text, beloved, Paul answers the question, what is a true Christian? He answers it first of all by exposing false identity. And secondly, by highlighting true identity. He begins verse 3 again, for it is we who are the circumcision. Now, he has a particular reason for describing believers, true believers, whether they're Jew or Gentile, talking about himself and the Philippian believers. He has a particular reason for describing true believers using this word circumcision. Circumcision, we know, was the Old Testament initiatory rite which identified one as part of the covenant community. He'd identified one as being part of the fellowship of God's people. And here he uses that word circumcision to describe true believers, true Christians, and as well to expose those who thought they were. Those who claimed to be God's people exclusively. To be exclusively a part of the fellowship of God's people. He answers that question, what is a true Christian? First of all, by exposing false identity. And he begins here with a warning. He gives a reason to beware. Verse 2 begins, watch out. Watch out. And then he lists three things to watch out for. Now, we might also say, look out or beware. And it's not so clear in the NIV, but it's emphasized in the Greek as he says it three times. We might read the NIV to say, watch out for those dogs. Watch out for those men who do evil. Watch out for those mutilators of the flesh. He is making it clear that there is a serious matter before the church of Jesus Christ for which we must be on our guard. God's people are to be on our guard against those who distort and disagree with the truth of Scripture and salvation, against false Christians. Now, there will always be many who question and challenge our comfort in Jesus Christ. How can you be sure that Jesus has done it all? And that you don't have to do a little bit. How can you be sure? How can you be sure that there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we might be saved? How can you be sure that there is no other way or truth or life? See, Paul is making it very clear that there is a danger here that threatens the church of Jesus Christ that would seek to lead you and me away from the truth of salvation. And therefore, never let your guard down, he says. Stand firm on the truth. We must hear it over and over again. We must hear both the warnings of Scripture as well as the comfort of the Word of God over and over again. He says in v. 1, it's a safeguard for you. And then he says what the warning is. He exposes the false identity of the Judaizing heresy. In v. 2, again, watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. Most likely, he is talking about the Judaizers. Those whom he had gone head to head with as they attacked the Galatian congregation and the Corinthian congregation. And notice Paul's description of them is the very opposite of who they thought they were. They thought they were the circumcision. They thought they were the people of God. We are it, you see. Mostly because they were literally circumcised. See, the thing we need to understand here is Paul's warning, I believe, is so very urgent. He's not warning the church against those who are blatantly, visibly anti-Christian, anti-Christ. But his warning is against those who claim to believe in Jesus. But, Judaism claimed to believe in Jesus with some certain caveats. He was the Savior of Israel only. Only of the Jews. And therefore, if anybody outside, any Gentiles wanted to be considered part of the covenant community, they had to become Jews. They had to convert to Judaism. They had to observe the ceremonial laws, feast days, sacrifices, and especially be physically and literally circumcised. You see, they taught that it was not enough to believe in Christ. Paul's preaching was good, they would say, as far as it went. But it didn't go far enough. In addition to that, you need to do the Jewish things. It's Christ plus. Not Christ alone, but Christ plus. And we must admit too that no doubt there was some attraction with regard to the Judaizers. at least on the surface, remember the Christians suffered Roman persecution because they were followers of Christ. This one who was executed as a state criminal. And the Christians said that it was this Jesus and not Caesar who was Lord. They suffered Roman persecution. And therefore, if they embraced the outward expression of Jewish identity, then that might be to their advantage. That might possibly help them to suffer a little bit less opposition. In fact, Paul gives that as one of the reasons in Galatians 6, verse 12. He says, those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. A little bit of attraction to avoid being persecuted. Terribly persecuted. Worse than you or I have ever known or probably will ever know. But notice here then Paul's description of the Judaizers. He clearly describes them. He exposes their false identity. He calls them dogs. And that was not a term of endearment. We're not talking there about man's best friend. Boys and girls, the word dog there is not talking about your or my trained family pet. the one that we have trained to sit or to shake or to fetch, the one that shows devotion to us even when we've treated it poorly. But he's talking about mangy, flea-infested, vicious, despised scavengers, most likely the wild dogs that traveled around in packs and fed on the garbage in the streets. And these dogs would fight themselves at times and also attack the people from time to time. The Jews considered Gentiles, and a Gentile was a Greek or anyone who was not a Jew, the Jews considered the Gentiles to be this kind of a dog. Despised. Unclean. Detested. Low life. Godless. Clearly being outside of the covenant community. But here Paul says, the Judaizers themselves are dogs. They have become like those that they consider to be unclean. They have become like those whom they consider to be Gentile unbelievers. They were those who were scavengers, who traveled around from church to church, attacking and tearing apart the church of Jesus Christ with a distorted truth, a false teaching of the Gospel. They were dogs. And Paul also says that they were men who do evil. They were those who insisted on legal observance to be righteous before God. Obeying the law to be righteous. And especially the ceremonial law. But by doing that, you see, they overturned and they denied the only way to do good and fulfill the law, which is through faith in Jesus Christ. They were evil. Not good as they thought they were. They were evil because they rejected God's righteousness. which He had provided only in Christ Jesus. And they caused schism, they caused division in the church and they didn't realize they were in danger. As Jesus says in Matthew 12, He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me scatters. They were not truly with Christ. They were scattering, trying to scatter the flock of God. They were dogs, they were men who do evil and then the icing on the cake, as it were. Paul says they were mutilators of the flesh. They were not the circumcision as they thought, but they were the con-cision is what Paul calls them. Con-cision means to cut up into pieces. To tear apart into pieces. Circumcision means to cut around. Now they knew that mutilation was forbidden by the Mosaic Law. They knew that the pagans in the Old Testament were the ones who carried out mutilation, cutting themselves up. Paul is calling them pagans. You're pagans because of what you believe. These Judaizers insisted that circumcision was essential to salvation. But Paul taught in Galatians 5 or 2 that to add circumcision to the work of Christ is not to add to it in the sense to complete it, but it is to destroy it. It is to say that Jesus Christ is not sufficient. He's not enough. We need something else. They were mutilators as they demanded an unnecessary cutting up of the flesh. And as well, they mutilated the message of the Gospel. They were agents of destruction. They were not healers, but mutilators. people of God, to add anything to the work of Jesus Christ and say that that anything is necessary to ensure, to guarantee salvation is to mutilate the Gospel by adding law to grace, by adding one's own work to the work of Jesus Christ. It is nothing more than to work evil. It is to identify one as a false Christian. Now sadly, many have a false hope in this life. We know that. Many place their confidence in everything but Jesus Christ. In their own goodness. Again, in the fact that they are not something anti-Christian. Or in the fact that they go to church at least twice a year on Christmas and Easter. They have a false hope. And they need to be shown that there is only hope in Christ Jesus. And there will always be those who undermine true Christianity and cause us to question our faith. Are you sure that Jesus is enough? Are you sure that you can't do something or don't have to do something to help yourself along? There will always be those, beloved, who use the Bible wrong in an illegitimate way to justify their own wrong actions and their own sinful decisions. Well, the Bible doesn't say we have to go to church at night. It doesn't say that we have to send our kids to a Christian school. Well, that's a false argument. You can use it the other way too. And it's a danger of adding to and subtracting from the Word of God. We are to take the Word of God and study it and by good and necessary inference apply its message to our hearts and lives. And we must be on guard against those who would cause us to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ exclusively and to trust in ourselves. Paul answers the question, what is a true Christian? By exposing false identity. And in the second place, by highlighting true identity. Verse 3 again, For it is we who are the circumcision, We who worship by the Spirit of God who glory in Christ Jesus. Now, that's a bold claim. For it is we who are the circumcision. In contrast to that literal circumcision demanded by the Judaizers, Paul says it is Christian Jews, Christian Gentiles together who are the true circumcision. Not those who thought they were. And he explains why in Romans 2, verses 28 and 29, he teaches there that it is no longer circumcision of the flesh that is the sign of entrance into the covenant community that designates one as part of the fellowship of God's people, but it is circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit. Complete with new birth leading to faith in Jesus Christ. That is the distinguishing feature of a Christian. And that should have been no surprise because that was pointed to already in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 30, verse 6, Moses says, The Lord will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love Him. And that means, beloved, that all of God's covenant promises of grace that He proclaimed in the Old Testament to the Jews are ours. They belong to God's people, to those who truly believe. And Paul then makes it clear here that the circumcision of the heart is demonstrated through unmistakable evidence. Three things. Some call this the three-fold definition of the Christian. And the first part of that definition, as Paul says, is that the true Christian, we might say, worships by the Spirit of God. He worships by the Spirit of God in contrast to that Old Testament temple worship. You see, the word worship here is the Old Testament word that was used for the service of Jehovah by His peculiar people. Those who were set apart by Him. The Jews. And therefore, of course, a Jew would be offended if this word was used for Gentiles. And that's exactly whom Paul used it for. We are the circumcision. He contrasts that old temple ceremonies and rituals. That old form of worship with the true religious service and obedience of the believer which led by and illumined by the Holy Spirit according to the truth of the Word of God. He contrasts true worshipers here with those who demanded pagan mutilation. And we need to understand that the idea of service here is not first of all talking about public or corporate worship, but it's talking about service or devotion to the Lord which is evidenced by the way God's people live. Not cutting away the literal flesh, but living in Christ by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. That service is evidenced by righteousness. But not the righteousness of the ceremonial law which was fulfilled by and in Jesus Christ, but the moral law, the Ten Commandments which God has given to us. They reflect God's holy character. And they are to be lived out among God's people as we are called to reflect God's likeness and character in our Christian behavior. And therefore, that service is evidenced by a devotion to God, striving to live in righteous obedience to Him as a response for His saving grace to us. But this worship by the Spirit of God, this service includes corporate worship. It very much includes corporate worship. You see, real and true worship is characterized, beloved, by seeing worship coming together on the Lord's Day as a desire, not a duty. A delight. Something we delight to do, not something that we see as a chore. I've got to get it out of the way. Real and true worship is characterized by something natural, not being forced to do it. It's simply a part of the new Christian, a true Christian. A true Christian can't do without it. Real and true worship is characterized by sensing God's presence. The Bible says we live and move and have our being in God. And that means too it is His very presence that we are in. as we come together as God's people. Real and true worship is characterized by recognizing that God is our Father who art in heaven. That we have reverence and awe for His greatness and His majesty because He is God. He is the one and only. And as hard as it is for us to understand that, we must understand that He is God. That He shares His glory with no other. Yet ours is the comfort of being adopted. Ours is the comfort of His gentle and loving care as our Father for Jesus' sake. And real and true worship is characterized by understanding that He loves me with an everlasting love, so much so that He sent His only begotten Son for me. And even now, He is concerned for me as even the very hairs of my head are all numbered. And beloved, worship by the Spirit of God includes then being devoted to the tools of the Holy Spirit. What are those tools? We know what they are. The preaching of the Word of God and the administration and participation in the sacraments. You see, beloved, a true Christian without mistake understands the blessing of the spiritual nourishment that God has prepared for His people each and every time. His servant has prepared a message. What a wonderful promise on God's part to nourish you and me each and every time we hear that word proclaimed and every single time we come together to participate in the sacraments. The true Christian will not do without these things. Please remember that as we consider coming together tonight to be nourished and strengthened by the preaching of His Word and to come together around the Lord's table. The true Christian worships by the Spirit of God. And also, another part of that definition is Paul says, the true Christian glories in Christ Jesus. The true Christian does not glory in himself, but in Christ alone. And that then begs the question for you and me, what is our attitude toward Him? You see, Paul says it for himself. to live is Christ. To live is Christ. So ask yourself, what place does He occupy in my life? What place does Jesus Christ have? You see, the name Christian means that He has the central place in your life and my life. Sadly, again, many take to themselves the name Christian, but they have no idea who Jesus Christ is. But for the true Christian, Jesus Christ has the central place. And therefore, we glory in Christ Jesus. Now, that word glory there means boasting. It means boasting. Now, we know that the boasting, one talks loudly about himself. And we often think of boasting as something that is self-centered. The Judaizers were self-centered. They boasted in themselves. They boasted in their flesh in their own doing of the works of the law. But that's not the kind of boasting that Paul is talking about. The Christian boasts not of himself, but of another. The Christian boasts of Christ Jesus. And that boast includes the fact that the true Christian is on fire for Jesus Christ. The Christian talks of Him. Praises Him. The true Christian wants others to know of Him. how wonderful He is because of who He is and because of what He has done. That was Paul's boast in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2. He says, For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Beloved, we ought to ask ourselves, what would happen to me if I heard with certainty, praise God this will never happen, but what would happen to me if I heard with certainty that Christ had never existed. What would happen to me? Would I be unaffected? Would it be business as usual? Or would my world come crashing down? Now that's hard to comprehend and therefore, test yourself this way. What happens to you when you hear the Lord's name taken in vain? Are you unaffected? Does it not bother you? Or does it trouble you deeply? Beloved, why are we to boast in Him? First of all, because of who He is. He is God incarnate. Again, meditate on that. He is God incarnate. God Himself. Majestic. Glorious. Powerful. Creator, Almighty God Himself, come in flesh, veiled His glory in human flesh. That's who He is. You know, so often we boast when we have met important people, boys and girls. Maybe if you've had the opportunity to shake the hands of a professional athlete or a musician or get their autograph, you know, you want to boast in that and say, not only did I meet, but I know so-and-so. You want to claim that there's a relationship there. We like to boast in that with important people. Oh, I've met President Bush. I shook his hand. We're buddies. We boast in that. But it is to be our desire, beloved, to boast in Jesus Christ because by the Holy Spirit, to boast that by the Holy Spirit, we know Him. And we belong to this very person, God incarnate Jesus Christ. But we are to boast in Him because His incarnation was for me. For you. For our salvation. Our salvation is entirely dependent on Him. Paul says in Galatians 2, verse 20, The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. me. God did that. We are to boast because He alone makes me righteous before God. Boast in Him because in Him alone I have full pardon for all of my sins and I am reconciled. I am at peace with God. No longer does God see me as His enemy or do I see God as my enemy. We are to reconcile. In Him I have a new life and a new nature. I am a new creation. The old is gone. In Him, I have strength and power unimaginable by the Holy Spirit. In Him, I have an advocate in heaven who speaks on my behalf. Paul moved from boasting in himself to boasting only in Christ Jesus as he also makes clear. In the third part of that definition, the true Christian puts no confidence in the flesh. Now, in essence, Paul says negatively with that statement. What he had just said positively, it's all Christ. It's all Christ. Not me. It's all Him. And he'll give more detail with regard to that in the verses we read following, which we'll consider next time, the Lord willing. But confidence here has the idea to come to a settled persuasion regarding something. To be persuaded, to be settled on that persuasion. The Judaizers had a settled persuasion, a settled confidence in the flesh, in themselves, in what they were able to do. But the true Christian only has a settled persuasion, a settled confidence in Christ Jesus. And recognizes His own inability. Nothing in My hands I bring. They're empty. Simply. To Christ's cross, I cling. Flesh here is talking about life before or outside of Christ. And Paul makes it clear that the things of this life, family background, education, intelligence, accomplishments, status, for Paul, were rubbish, garbage, throwaways, compared to what he had in Christ. Beloved, the true Christian worships by the Spirit of God. Glories only in Christ Jesus and puts absolutely no confidence in the flesh. However, we must confess that sometimes it's hard to not take comfort in ourselves, isn't it? Sometimes it's hard to not put confidence in our accomplishments or in our abilities or in our possessions or in the things that we see, the reality that we see all around us. And even as Christians, It's sometimes hard to not find a little bit of comfort in the fact that we attended a Christian school or we go to a Christian church or we're part of a youth group or we went to Sunday school or catechism or we are faithful and witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly, these things must count for something. But we need to understand, beloved, that we are not Christians because of any of these things. But by the grace of God, we participate in these things and we strive to live a certain way because we are Christians. These things are evidence of being a Christian, but they do not make one a Christian. It's only because of Jesus Christ that we are Christians. Because He has not left one part of our needed salvation undone. True Christianity does not begin by looking at myself. Am I happy? Am I successful? Am I committing or am I not committing certain sins? Am I this or that? But true Christianity begins with a relationship with God and knowing how I have that relationship, it's only because of the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ and applied to me by the Holy Spirit. And therefore, beloved, what we do in this life and how we live does not determine whether or not you are a true Christian. It does not determine whether or not you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, but all that we do and how we do it and how we interpret the Bible in governing our lives is determined by whether or not you are a true Christian. What is a true Christian? A true Christian looks outside of himself completely. A true Christian glories only in the cross of Jesus who is the only source of true comfort. A true Christian is devoted to the service and worship of God from the heart in thought and word and action empowered by the Holy Spirit. You see, beloved, the only way to have true joy and to keep it is not to find it in ourselves because believe it or not, we will disappoint ourselves. We will disappoint ourselves for to find it in Jesus Christ. And the Word of God guarantees promises that all who look to Him in repentance and faith even the vilest of sinners who truly believes has the guarantee from the Word of God Himself that He will find true and lasting joy in the only Savior Jesus Christ. And we are to be on our guard beloved lest anyone would try to take that joy away and that means that we must know the truth we must love it we must defend it We must fight for it, even as Jesus Christ fought for us and won. May that be our comfort as we boast in Jesus Christ, who alone defines, gives definition to what is a true Christian. Let's pray together. Father, we praise Your most holy name that indeed You have made us who and what we are in Christ Jesus. We praise Your name for that blessed gift of salvation so rich and free, accomplished by Him alone. We pray, Father, that You would drive away from any one of us thoughts toward ourselves. We do confess, Father, that at times we want to take comfort in ourselves, in what we have done for You, in what we continue to do on Your behalf. But Father, may our comfort only be in Christ Jesus, and may we rejoice in that even as we live as Your people called to be saints. Father, we pray too that Your Word may continue to go forth to those who have never heard, even those who understand incorrectly. That many would find their comfort only in Him alone for full and complete salvation. We praise Your most holy name for Your love so everlasting and so true for us. Even when we hated You, even when we were Your enemies, Father, that You have brought us to be Your children in Christ Jesus. We pray with comfort, in Jesus' name alone, Amen.