Philippians 3:1-3
"Has Your Joy Sprung a Leak? "
Gospelcom Bible Gateway
"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. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit,rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh
INTRODUCTION:
A. Do you know the value of shock to get the message across?
B. Paul uses repetition and strong language to get a message of grace across to the Philippians
C. THe keynote of Philippians is joy even though it is written from a Roan prison
D. 12 times mentions joy and rejoicing
E. Joy is not normally an emotion you find in a prisoner ye that
F. Only one of three things could therefore be in Paul
Paul is a nut case, He is lying, He is on to something
Billy Sunday once stated, "If you have no joy in your life as Christian you
I. You joy must be guarded (1)
A. The Command For It
1. Present active indicative - "keep on rejoicing in the Lord" or "be constantly rejoicing in the Lord"
2. Joy is something quite apart from what is going on around us. It is what is going on within us
3. Joy is something that has to be guarded since circumstances coupled take it away
4. Joy is not automatic. It is a choice or a learned response
5. 1 Sam 30 "...and David encouraged himself in the Lord"
B. The Character of It
1. In the Lord Joy is a by-product of a relationship with the Lord.
2. Do you experience joy in all things? If not, where are you looking for it?
3. Christian joy is not mind over matter it is having an on-going reality check and looking at where God is and what He is doing (Romans 8:28)
4. What things in your life rob you of your joy? Why are you allowing these things to do so
C. Thr Commitment to It
II. Legalism must be avoided (2)
A. This is a warning to the church who has in its midst false teachers (Judiaizers)
B. What was the reason for Paul's rough language in this verse?
1. Legalism can send the wrong message
2. Beware of dogs
a. What was a "dog"? A term of contempt used by non-Jews Deut 23:18 "You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God. "
b. Legalists can bite, tear and devour grace.
3. Beware of evil workers - They will do evil but call it good
a. Boot-strap religion. Emphasizing "my work"
b. Good work is a by-product and result of a relationship of salvation. When it becomes the foundation of salvation it becomes evil works
4. Beware of the mutilation
a. If you want to get to heaven you must be circumcised (Acts 15:1)
b. Those rituals can't save you in fact it is a mutilation
c. Performing un-necessary surgery
d. It is the finished work of Jesus Christ not circumcision
III. Your identity must be comprehended (3)
A. Legalism and grace are polar opposites
B. We need to understand who we are
C. Romans 2:28-29 28For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. 29No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.
D. Legalism maximizes the work of the flesh and minimizes the work of Jesus Christ while grace is the opposite
E. We are the true dependers (we have no confidence in the flesh). God helps the helpless not those who help themselves.
APPLICATION:
1. What makes you most happy? Is it based on the right things? How permanent is your joy?
2. How catious (discerning) are you around "grace-stealers?" How can they threaten your contentment in Christ? Why are they so unstable?
MEMORY VERSE FOR THIS WEEK:
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.