“Losing My Religion” Philippians 3.1-11 Background (v.2): False teachers known as Judaizers. I call them the “Jesus PLUS” crowd because they went around, often after Paul, falsely teaching that in addition to Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, one must also follow Jewish rituals & regulations. In short, they taught that Christ’s sacrificial death & resurrection was not enough… and that’s a false gospel. This “Gospel of Addition” obviously infuriated Paul – just as it should anger us. A Gospel of Addition is a “Gospel of Works.” It is a false gospel. Paul calls these false teachers “evildoers” and “dogs.” Dogs was a term used by some Jews to refer to Gentiles – those who were spiritually unclean. The irony is that Paul, a Jew, was not referring to Gentiles. He called the Judaizers – Jewish false teachers – “dogs” and “evildoers” because they taught a false gospel that turned people away from the true gospel by attempting to draw them to a religion that only resulted in mutilated flesh (sarcastically referring to circumcision). Judaizers taught that Jesus plus OT ceremonial laws = Salvation. Faith in Christ alone faith alone was good enough; man had to add to it. That’s a false gospel! 1. Man-Centered Religion (vv.4-8a) No one knew more about man-centered religion and ritual than Paul (formerly Saul). a. Confidence in the self…. Man’s Achievements 1) His Ancestry a) The “right” ritual at the “right” time b) The “right” people c) The “right” family d) The “right” tradition 2) His Achievements a) The “right” education b) The “right” virtue b. Counted as “loss” & “rubbish” If religion was ever good enough, Paul (Saul) was good enough, but notice what Paul writes next. v.7: 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… 1) Paul considered all things (his accomplishments, accumulations, actions, and accolades) as loss (it’s value & worth) and saw it as loss & rubbish. He considered it all as detriment & excrement compared to knowing Jesus. Paul literally says that he considers his religious credentials & self-serving desires as a pile of mature – discarded & worthless – for sake of knowing Christ. His former illustrious accomplishments were now repulsive to him, not because they were necessarily bad, but because they kept him from knowing Christ. 2) Paul not only counts all things as loss, but has also suffered the loss of all things – his place in Judaism, his home, and everything else. The man who once pursued & persecuted Christ was now pursued & persecuted for Christ. c. Jesus + Anything Ruins Everything Christ is sufficient. We don’t need a man-centered religion. We need a… 2. Christ-Centered Faith (vv.3, 8b-11) Putting faith & trust in Christ – worshiping Him as the source of joy, the One who provides peace in the midst of life’s storms, and comfort in our loss. No confidence in the flesh means no saving confidence in “anything outside of Christ.” a. Confidence in God… Jesus’ Accomplishment Confidence in God begins with seeing clearly & accurately the truth of the human condition – when we see for the first time our hopelessness & inability before the Lord. At that moment we are no longer confident in the flesh – that confidence is obliterated! That confidence in self is gone! Now the place once filled by great self-confidence is seen for what it really is… a bottomless pit of despair that we cannot fill. That’s when it happens. Our great confidence in self is replaced by our great need for Christ and by faith we are released from our bondage to sin & our attempts to earn God’s favor and realize God’s amazing grace & love shown to us in Jesus. We receive God’s gift of salvation. b. Counted as “gain” & “righteousness” All that we are, the things that once held our confidence, things that once stopped us from trusting Christ are now moved from the gain column to the loss column and replaced by one thing – the righteousness from God that depends on faith in Jesus because… c. Jesus + Nothing Changes Everything Application 1. Jesus does not call us to religion, He calls us to a relationship. 2. Religious ritual & activity just that… ritual & activity. These things are meaningless UNLESS they flow from a transformed heart… for Jesus Christ. 3. Jesus does not call us to go through the motions so we look like something we’re not. He calls us to be transformed in Him, by Him, for Him. 4. Progress & Joy in the faith means losing our religion & believing Christ’s gospel. “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8 Grace & Peace, Pastor Chris #ProgressAndJoy
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:40:11 +0000
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