Happy Father’s Day! I know men aren’t known for reading directions or labels but…
In our lawsuit liability culture, companies must go to great lengths to avoid lawsuits, and they do it by putting some of the strangest warning labels on their products. Every year there is a contest for the Wacky Warning Labels, looking for “the most absurd and silly warning labels attached to everyday products.”
One winner had this warning on a one-inch tall water-absorbent grow toy that looks like an Easter Bunny: “This toy is in no way intended to represent living people. Any resemblance is purely coincidental and not intended to harm anyone.”
On another Wacky Warning Label winner was found on a cellphone battery booster. It said: “Get Rid of Children”.
Some other notable warning labels read: “Remove child before folding” – a warning found on a baby stroller; “Danger: Avoid Death” – a warning label on a small tractor; “Harmful if swallowed” – a warning found on a bass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook; A wood router included the following warning label: “This product is not intended for use as a dental drill”; and finally, “May cause drowsiness” – a warning label for Nytol One-a-Night sleeping pills. (www.centerforamerica.org/wwl_11/)
Sometimes, man-made rules and regulations for spiritual growth can sound like these warning labels. As result, a Christian trying to conform to those warnings could lose the joy of being in Christ.
“Beware” Philippians 3:1-11.
REVIEW: It is good to recall that the letter of Philippians is written to very young Christians, to encourage them to find Christ-centered, Spirit empowered joy in living, serving, sharing, and resting in Christ. They needed to learn how to survive not only in a very difficult secular culture, but they needed to learn how to be a church in the world. It is important that they keep their joy in Christ’s redemption.
I invite you to study with me Philippians 3, where the Bible tells us how to maintain our joy.
Philippians 3:1 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.
True joy is a fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5:17). Here Paul reinforces the theme of joy in Christ in the opening line of Chapter 3. Paul states “rejoice in the Lord” yet, he knows there are threats out there. His warning serves as a “safeguard” (asphales) for the Philippi church, but don’t hinder their Christian growth.
It is interesting that this Greek word for “safe” is the opposite of another word meaning “to trip up, or cause to stumble.” Paul’s ideal is for these believers to stand firm, to be steady and be secure.
In other words, what the Apostle Paul writes about is to protect a believer’s joy in Christ. Therefore…
Beware of Joy Robbers
Philippians 3:2 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
Verse 2 has some very strong language. Three times he uses the word “beware!”
Paul uses three word to distinguish the characteristics of a single religious group called Judaizers. Judaizers are Jewish extremists that believed circumcision and other works were necessary for maintaining salvation. Let’s take a look at these three characteristics:
First, Paul calls the Judaizers “dogs.” Now, Paul doesn’t have in mind the pet golden retriever, who’s so nice and gentle with children. In that day, Rabbis called Gentiles “dogs” because they were dirty and unclean. Interestingly that means Paul is calling a fellow Jew, the ones who were leading people astray through their false teaching, “dirty dogs!”
Second, Paul calls the Judaizers “evil workers.” The term “worker” (ergates) is a term that is typically used in a positive sense of a laborer or missionary. But here Paul adds the adjective “evil” (kakos) to denote a religious worker who perverts God’s purposes. Thus, this activity is a spirit of treason.
Third, Paul calls the Judaizers “mutilation.” The term implies a “false circumcision” (katatome) and is often translated “cut off.” One of the Judaizers’ greatest source of pride was circumcision and it is interpreted by Paul as mutilation. He is saying, “YOU mutilated the flesh of these young brethren!”
It is interesting that we’ve had to watch out for these kind of people since the church began. And they have never gone away!
The early church called them Judaizers, because they insisted that Gentiles had to follow Jewish rituals. Basically, they were saying that faith in Christ was not enough. You must believe, sure. But you must believe AND do something else.
These Judaizers would follow Paul and gain access to these new converts and say something like: “You believe in Jesus – that’s nice, but that’s not enough. If you really want to be close to God, you must believe and be circumcised; you must believe and keep these rituals and traditions.
Sadly, we still need to watch out for this philosophy today. A believer knows that having faith in Christ is a beginning and we need more instruction to change the way we live. But there is nothing we must believe and do for salvation other than what Christ has done for us to have a true relationship with GOD.
When we add to what Christ has done, it will rob us of our joy. It will distract you from spiritually growing in the Spirit. In verse 2, Paul called them “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “mutilators of the flesh” for that reason.
Paul doesn’t mince words here. It’s very clear. There are religious philosophies that will rob your joy in Christ.
That happens with performance-based faith. If you believe this or follow this…It wears people out; and in many cases, it discourages believers from developing a real spiritual relationship with Jesus. Some of these practices cast the shadow of doubt on knowing salvation. Later, in verse 11, Paul will convey that the joy of salvation and the ability to live for Him is because of the power of Jesus resurrection.
Paul’s next point is that a believer in Christ is already accepted by God. We don’t need to do anything else to earn His acceptance.
Philippians 3:3-4 “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:”
Paul says, we who trust Christ and not ourselves, we who worship by the Spirit of God, we are the true circumcision – not in the flesh, but in the heart.
We don’t need to get on the treadmill of religious activity or any additional demands. Now, treadmills are fun if you want to get a little exercise, but for many people, religion feels like running on a treadmill: they’re working hard but getting nowhere. And that’s good imagery for the way many people approach the Christian life, especially when you consider the history behind the treadmill.
In Victorian England, treadmills were not found in air-conditioned health clubs. They were found in prisons. Treadmills, or treadwheels, as they were called, were used as a form of punishment. Now, some treadwheels were productive, grinding wheat or transporting water, but others were purely punitive in nature, designed to humiliate the prisoner. That’s because the prisoner was forced to spend most of his day walking up the inclined plane of the treadmill, knowing that all his hard labor was useless. He couldn’t even feel productive at the end of the day. The only thing he could do was wait for the day when he would have “paid his debt” to society and be set free. (Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me, Crossway, 2010, pp. 87-91; www.PreachihngToday.com)
It is sad to know that a lot of Christians are fed a lie, like that prisoner on the treadmill. They work hard at trying to be a better Christian without much to show for it. They get humiliated, feeling like they need to do all this hard labor, and yet still struggling with the same sins year after year after year.
Well, there is good news for them and for all who are on the treadmill of religion: Christ has already paid our debt and set us free. We are no longer sentenced to be chained to the treadmill of religious activity. Because of Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection, God has accepted us fully, and every believer can enjoy their relationship with Him. Next believers should also…
BEWARE OF SELF- RIGHTEOUSNESS.
That means we must only depend on Christ who died for us and rose again and put our confidence in the Lord, and in Him alone. We must never trust in rituals, or tradition and never to place our confidence in anything but Christ.
Philippians 3:4-6 “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.”
Paul could beat the Judaizers at their deception, He was circumcised when he was 8 days old. He was a true descendant of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin (the same as Israel’s 1st king). Both of his parents were Jews – “a Hebrew of Hebrews.” And he was a member of the strictest sect of Judaism – a Pharisee. No one could match his zeal, and he kept the law better than all of them. Paul could outdo the Judaizers on every count. Yet, He continues…
Philippians 3:7 “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.”
None of Paul’s achievements or credentials could get him closer to Christ, in fact, he considered them all liabilities. He stopped putting his confidence in religion. He stopped counting on them to get him closer to God.
We cannot count on ritual achievements. We cannot depend on religious status. We cannot rely on any efforts, no matter how noble they are, to obtain righteousness.
Instead, believe in Christ and find righteousness and a true relationship with God through Christ. Depend on Jesus just like Paul did.
Philippians 3:8-9 “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 Christand 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;
With faith in Christ, we find true righteousness, not a contrived righteousness, based on conformity to some external standard, but a real, genuine righteousness, which is based on Jesus Christ death and resurrection.
Christ has done all the work for us. He lived a perfect life on our behalf. He died on the cross on our behalf, to pay the penalty for our sins, and He rose again on our behalf. Now He offers His own righteousness to anyone who believes in Him.
All that is left is to believe in Christ and find joy in Him. Live your life in dependence upon the Lord, and find a closeness with the Living God, which is worth more than any earthly achievement.
In verse 8, Paul said, “I count everything… as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” AND…
BEWARE OF SUPERFICIAL LIVING.
Philippians 3:10-11 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul stopped counting on religious rituals and status. He considered them all trash, and he put his trust in Christ, for one reason, and one reason only, so he could know this Christ, His Messiah, intimately — not just know ABOUT Him, but KNOW Him intimately, as a close friend. That meant that he could experience, in his everyday life, the power of Christ’s resurrection, even though it also meant sharing in his sufferings.
But it was all worth it to Paul. Knowing Christ was worth any of loss. Because, when you have Christ, you don’t need anything else. You have salvation, you have eternal life, you have power to live in the here and now.
That’s Joni Erickson Tada’s testimony after living as a quadriplegic for nearly 50 years. In an interview with World magazine, Joni reflected on the diving accident that changed her life. As a 14-year-old, Joni had embraced Jesus as her savior, but in her words she had “confused the abundant Christian life with the great American dream.” Joni said:
“I was a Christian and would lose weight, get good grades, get voted captain of the hockey team, go to college, marry a wonderful man who made $250,000 a year, and we’d have 2.5 children. It was me focused: What can God do for me? I almost thought that I had done God a great big favor by accepting Jesus …. [And my boyfriend and I] were doing some things together that were wrong.”
“In April 1967, I came home from a Friday night date … and cried, ‘Oh God… I’m staining your reputation by saying I’m a Christian, yet doing one thing Friday night and another Sunday morning. I’m a hypocrite… I want you to change my life… Please do something in my life that will jerk it right side up because I’m making a mess of the Christian faith in my life and I don’t want that. I want to glorify you.’ Then, I had the diving accident about three months later.
Immediately after the accident, Joni told God, “You’ll never be trusted with another of my prayers.” But after struggling with anguish and anger Joni said, “I prayed one short prayer that changed my life: ‘Oh God, if I can’t die, show me how to live.’ She said, “That was probably the most powerful prayer I had ever prayed.” (Marvin Olasky, “Loving Life,” World, 1-12-13; www.PreachingToday.com)
Joni lost the use of her arms and legs; but even more significant than that, she lost all of her own hypocritical self-righteousness. As a result, she gained life-changing intimacy with Christ, who did not heal her from her paralysis. Instead, He simply gave her Himself and used her in ways far beyond anything she could have ever thought possible.
Here is a summary of what Paul taught these believers at Philippi and us,
- The power of the resurrection means that no one has to try to live up to some type of religious standard.
- We need to beware of joy robbers, these are people that add some kind of performance for a relationship with Jesus.
- There is no longer any need for any confidence in religious rituals or tradition.
The good news: knowing Him, fellowshipping with Him and the power of the resurrection means that no one needs to meet performance demands to find joy in Christ.
If you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone, may today, Father’s Day 2020, be the day that you become a child of the heavenly Father by placing your faith in His Son. He is all, you need to know that you have eternity in heaven and the freedom to grow in righteousness now!