Philippians 3: - 4:1
December 30, 2007

Paul again says to rejoice in the Lord. The refrain reverberates throughout the epistle. In the first two chapters alone, Paul refers to joy or rejoicing at least nine times. So, again, he says to rejoice. He says it is no trouble for him to write it, and it is a safe thing to say. That means that it is a worthy saying that brings comfort to those who remember it.

3:2 – Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil doers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh…

In verse 2 and on, Paul is telling the readers to watch out for the “dogs” who do evil among the followers. Personally, I do not feel that dogs are objects of fear, of evil, in fact, I like dogs. So, who are the dogs Paul is talking about? Paul uses this visual to give the image of vicious packs of dogs that roam through the cities and cause havoc among the people. He isn’t talking about Rover. Dogs, in that part of the world, would roam the cities, looking for easy food to take, whether it was scraps on the ground, refuse in the garbage dumps, a quick bite at the market, or, sometimes, grabbing a baby left alone. Those dogs, those kinds of dogs, are not domesticated, but have reverted back to their wild side. They are vicious, self serving, capable of much terror and destruction. Those are the type of dogs Paul is referring to. Not Fido.

Paul is singling out those who intend to do evil to the followers of Christ. They come in the guise of Leaders of the church who seek, not the good of Christ, but their own wealth, glory, and adulation. They are self seeking, not selfless. They are those who try to insert their own ideas, beliefs and actions into the life of the church to the detriment of the church, itself. They use extra-biblical methods and beliefs to sway people to their side. They will mistranslate scripture to make it appear that their belief is the correct one. They make you feel that, because you don’t do it the way they do, if you do not believe the way they do, you are somehow inferior, un-Holy, or even lost to Christ. Has anyone come across people like this? Can you give an example? Those are the dogs Paul is talking about. That is why Paul praised the Berians for their diligent searching of scripture. They didn’t blindly follow what Paul wrote and said, but searched out the scripture to make sure it was truth.

It is the same in our church. None of the elders expect you to blindly follow us if we teach or preach on something. Search the scriptures to see if what we say is true. Keep your Bible open, checking to make sure we are not spreading untruths. We encourage you to search the scriptures as often as you can. If you have a question about something we said, come ask us for an explanation. We can search the Bible together.

One of the phrases Paul uses is “mutilator of the flesh”. What he is talking about are those who insisted that the followers had to become circumcised before being allowed to worship. How is this wrong, you may ask? Didn’t God command the Israelites to do this? Turn to Romans 2: 25-29. The outward sign of circumcision should be a reflection of what is inside your heart. The people of Israel were counting on circumcision as a means of salvation, a works righteousness. In other words, if they were circumcised, they had a step up on everybody else. What Romans is saying is that circumcision of the heart (Spiritual rebirth) is of great value, but circumcision of the flesh is of no value to God. The Israelites were counting on mutilated flesh, not a changed heart, to aid them in gaining heaven. People mutilate themselves; God changes the heart without mutilation.
(Read Deut. 30:6) The outward signs were worthless, as Paul found out. It was what was inside that mattered.

Paul says in verse 3 that they, the followers of Christ, were the real circumcision, who worship God by the Spirit, who glory in Christ Jesus, who put no confidence in the flesh. Again, this is talking about a difference between faith and works, trusting in God verses doing it yourself.


In verse 4, Paul gives a rundown of his credentials. A man who writes might give a list of publications; a lawyer or doctor would have letters behind their name, signifying their education; religious leaders are sometimes called Pastor, Preacher, Priest, Reverend, Bishop, or Pope to signify their position in the hierarchy. Their title establishes their level of attainment, their standing among the learned. Credentials establish authority, knowledge, ability. A highly credentialed person is one who should be listened to, who should have the wisdom and understanding to make a difference when you seek their help. Credentials are important, to a point. If you are going to have surgery, you want to make sure the doctor has the ability to fix you. You want to have confidence that he has sufficient knowledge to perform the task. You look for his credentials. Say you have a choice between a surgeon who has written books on the subject; asked to talk at symposiums; a graduate of Johns Hopkins, or a general practitioner who received his degree from ITT Peterson School of Doctoring? Who would you choose? Paul’s credentials are impressive. Let’s look at what Paul had achieved. He was born a Jew, circumcised on the eighth day, meaning his family was also Jewish and observant, followers of the Law; of the tribe of Benjamin, meaning he was living close to Jerusalem, able to attend Temple worship; a Pharisee, meaning he was very legalistic in following the Mosaic Law and the traditions imposed by the leaders; zealous in persecuting those who followed “The Way”, Christians; as for following the Law, spotless, perfect, blameless.

Paul was well on his way to becoming a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leadership. Paul studied under some of the greatest and most respected teachers of his time. He zealously defended his religion from those he thought were destroying it. Paul was on the ladder to success and climbing fast. He was on his way to heaven, or so he thought. In the book of Acts, in chapter 7 we find the stoning of Stephen. Stephen was preaching the good news to those in attendance at the Sanhedrin, and got stoned for his words. The first verse of Chapter 8 says that not only was Paul (then called Saul) there during the stoning, he was giving his approval. In Chapter 9, Saul asked approval from the high priest to go to Damascus, hoping to go to the temples there and seek out any followers of Christ, in order to take them as prisoners. He was zealous in his defense of his church. It was on the road to Damascus where Paul found out the worth of his credentials.


Paul writes, “whatever gain I had, I counted it as loss for the sake of Christ.” Everything Paul achieved, everything Paul had worked for, everything he strived to attain, were now counted as loss. Worth nothing. His whole reason for living, totally gone.

All his knowledge, respect from his peers, admiration from those lower than him, all the glory he received from his zealousness were now counted as rubbish, garbage. He could take the plaques off the walls, erase the letters behind his name, and turn in his badge of authority. They were worthless to him, now. God had changed him. All he had worked for, the striving, the gaining of the glory of God, he now attained, without his effort, without his work.


He now had Christ, gained Christ, not of his own righteousness, but the righteousness from God that depends on faith, not works. He now knew the love of his savior, given freely to him, not earned for his own great works.

Paul realized that God doesn’t want righteousness through our works, he wants faith in his Son and the works He did. If anybody could have attained heaven from their own works, it most likely would have been Paul. And yet he counted it as rubbish. It is not works that save, it is faith in the Son of God, Jesus, who died for our sins, who washes away the sins of the flesh so that our soul is right with God.

There are those who say we must work toward our righteousness. They believe that we cannot come to God until we are holy and blameless first. We must go through rituals and purifications before we even think of praying to God. These are the “dogs” Paul is warning about. These are the ones who put barriers blocking the way to God, adding extra-biblical works to those who are seeking God.

There are some, maybe even in this church, who feel that they are not worthy to come and worship God, because they are not yet blameless, pure. They strive to become better people, trying to be nicer, to work harder, to show themselves as good people. The problem with that is, they will never feel as if they are worthy, because they are counting on their own actions, their own efforts, their own works to be acceptable to God. Paul realized all his efforts were worthless, and so are the efforts of those who try to attain God through their own effort.

Next week will be communion. A time to commune with, to be with, the God most high. To sit and feast with God. Who should take communion? The one who says, I am ready, I am worthy, I have made myself worthy of sitting with God? Or rather, the one who says, Father, thank you for including me, thank you for loving me, thank you for accepting me as one of your own even though I am a sinner? Which one? On our own effort, we will never be worthy, never be acceptable, never dare to sit with God on high.

So, what are you to do, if you have this feeling, this desire to work towards God’s acceptance? Nothing. There is nothing you can do, except believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and his love for you. You are not perfect, and you will never be perfect, as long as you are on this earth. Listen to this… you cannot make Christ your own, because he has already made you his own. You are already God’s child, if you believe in his Son. Paul say to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. Forget that you were lost to God, that you sinned against God. Forget what you were, you are now a new creation, changed forever from what you were to a child of God. Take off the old, take on the new. REJOICE. That is the message of Philippians, rejoice in God, rejoice in the Lord. Do not take on the countenance of one who is lost, be joyful, for you are found.

This time of year is when people take stock of their lives and make vows to change. They may decide to lose weight, they may vow to be happier, they may decide to change their spending habits, whatever. The fact is that people desire to change, they are not happy with the way they are. For the most part, these things fail. Why? Because we are still sinners; and sin controls the flesh.

Instead of trying to do it yourself, look to God for help. Seek out God, and you will be better able to defeat the desires of the flesh. Let the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, help you with your desires. Want to lose weight? Save money? Practice self control. Want to feel loved? Practice love, kindness. Tired of being angry, bitter, anxious? Practice patience, gentleness. Want more happiness? Practice joy, goodness. Want more of God and less of you? Practice faithfulness in reading his word and praying to him. Want less anxiety? Let the peace of God come upon you. Are you dissatisfied with your life? Seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Luke 12:31)

I want to lose a lot of weight, I need to lose a lot of weight. I need to control my blood sugar. Instead of worrying about it, instead of grumbling and complaining about the foods I can or cannot eat, I am going to seek God. He can help me say no to bad food and yes to good food. I will pray that he helps me exercise. I will be more diligent in my prayers, seeking the will of God, not the will of Jeff. As Paul said, “ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Less of me, more of God. More of God, less of me.

We are to imitate those who follow Jesus, those who do the right things. Paul says to imitate him, to follow his example and of those who walk in the same way. Do not follow those who walk as enemies of Christ. They act according to their own wishes, their own desires, their own pleasures. Destruction will be their end, regardless of how much they seem to prosper. They glory in things of the flesh, they worship the body. They revel in the things that are unnatural, shameful. Their mind is set on those things that are earthly. We see it all the time. It is almost a source of pride how open and free we are. On the TV and in the movies, Christians are found to be the ones who are stupid, bigoted, arrogant, crazy, or the worst of the sinners. The name of the Lord is no longer reverent, it is a swear word. Sexuality runs rampant is commercials, movies, books, and in fashion. A girl recently petitioned Nordstom’s to start selling more modest clothing. Why? Because modesty wasn’t the “in” fashion, and all they were selling were bare midriff, low cleavage, short short fashions, and these were for the 13 year olds. Do you remember reading about that? Homosexuality is being slammed in our faces. Unless a TV show has a homosexual on it being depicted in a favorable light, it probably won’t even get on the air. Advertising goes out of its way to make you feel that you are lacking in whatever they are selling. You are made to feel as if you will be a social outcast if you do not use their product. Everyone is encouraged to be dissatisfied with their life. If you don’t have the latest new thing, if you don’t go buy it NOW, NOW, NOW, you are somehow deficient. How many of you feel we are of the world too much?

We are to be in the world, but not of the world. Praise God that our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. Seek those that are following God, not man. Imitate them, not sinful man. Do not look to those who appear to be wealthy in material things, instead, seek out those who are wealthy in Spiritual things and imitate them.

While we are in the world, we wait. We wait for the Savior, the one who will transform our lowly bodies into heavenly, imperishable bodies. By the power of Jesus, we will be transformed. Therefore, stand firm in the Lord, knowing that he has the power that enables him to change our bodies as he has changed our hearts.

How can we not rejoice? How can we not give thanks to the Lord our God? He has changed our hearts, and he will change our bodies to everlasting bodies that will see no impurity, no disease, no death. Rejoice. Our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. Rejoice. It is not by our works, but by the power of the Holy God, that we are saved. Rejoice. We are not yet holy; we are still a work in transition, being transformed by God every day. Rejoice.