Phil 3 Finally! Rejoice in the Lord outline

Phil 3  Finally! Rejoice in the Lord

"Finally" but then goes on for 2 more chapters.  "Daddy, what does the pastor mean when he says, "Finally"; to which his father responded, "Absolutely nothing, son." "Now then".  The Big protection is to Rejoice in the Lord! It's a command. joy is not an emotion. Joy isn't a temperamental characteristic. Joy isn't related to circumstances or health or bank accounts.  To rejoice in the Lord means that you find in the Lord your source of joy; He is the highest object of your joy; He is the treasure and fellowship of joy.  It is also a safeguard. A protection. Like a protective barrier. Matthew Henry,  "The joy of the Lord is a divine armor against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and puts our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks . . . the taste of joy in our mouths makes the tempter's offerings seem bland by comparison." Psalm 34:5, 'They looked unto Him and were radiant.'  'Emerson came into our house this morning with a sunbeam in his face.'  Peter described it as joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is a duty for us to cultivate this joy.  Don’t murmur and complain; or find fault with God's dealings; resist the temptation to depression.   Moreover, we are to rejoice 'in the Lord.' 'In His presence is fulness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore,’   the 'deep, sweet well of joy.' We may not be able to rejoice in our circumstances, friends, or prospects, but we can always rejoice in Jesus Christ. Rejoice at home too. 'Thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the Lord thy God giveth thee';   iv. 4. To quote his own words, 'To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe.' Apparently, he was constantly exhorting them to Christian joy.

To Maintain Joy Your Must Be Aware

Beware of dogs.   quarrelsome and contentious folk,  defiling in their influence. Is there one whose influence lowers the tone of our own life? Perhaps his coarseness and abusive speech rubs off on you too.

'Beware of evil workers.'   fanatical,  unbalanced, and unable to distinguish between essentials and non-essential beliefs, magnifying some microscopical point in Christianity until it blinds the eye to the symmetry, proportion, and beauty of Heaven's glorious scheme. These people are the ' Cranks ' of our Churches;  they exaggerate trifles ; they catch up every new theory and vagary, and follow it to the detriment of truth and love. It is impossible to exaggerate the harm that these people do, or the desirability of keeping clear of them, they are the pests of every Christian community they enter.  Exaggerating a truth can be as bad as denying a truth.

Beware of the false circumcision (NASB) mutilation. The Apostle's life was embittered by the antagonism of the Judaising teachers who dogged his steps. They did not deny that Jesus was the Messiah, or that His Gospel was the power of God unto salvation, but they insisted that the Gentile converts could only come to the fulness of Gospel privilege through the Law of Moses; they urged that Gentiles must become Jews before they could be Christians; they asserted that if the new converts were not circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Throughout his whole career, the Apostle offered the most strenuous opposition to these men and their teaching. He went so far as to say that they were traitors.  As in every generation so also in ours we must beware of those who say that we must pass through certain outward rites before they can be saved. In addition to faith in our Lord, there must be certain acts of obedience to the institutions of the Church. They demand baptism, baptizing of all children in the family, attendance at the confessional, strict obedience to fasts, acts of self-denial, as conditions of salvation. Against all these we must be steadfastly on our guard, because they obscure and belittle the Gospel, and divert men's thoughts from Him who is the only way to the Father.    It is specially difficult to be on our guard against these false teachers, because they approach us under the guise of being earnest Christians.  They show  sympathy to the church, and have religious feelings. It is not so difficult to watch against the outwardly profane and rebellious, but even the most careful can be caught up by those who seem more religious  or more spiritual. And the super spiritual are not adverse to lying about others to achieve power in the church. It was therefore that the Apostle feared that “as the serpent beguiled Eve with his subtlety, so the minds of his converts should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ (2 Cor.10:3). It is when Satan comes to us as an angel of light that he is most to be dreaded. We should examine ourselves first to keep our hearts close to the Lord.

To Maintain Joy Your Must Be Self-Aware

Do we worship God in the spirit ? The word translated worship  λατρεύοντες  means first to do servant's work, then to do religious service, and sometimes priestly duty. Do we understand what it is to live in the temple of worship, performing every duty as to the Lord i Is our worship, whether in public or private, mechanical in outward posture and routine, or do we know what it is to worship the Father 'in spirit and in truth,' and 'to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.’  

 Do we glory (exult) in Christ Jesus? Is He our boast and pride ? Is following Him our highest ideal? Is the pursuit of His 'Well-done' our loftiest endeavour? Are we amongst those who put no confidence in the flesh ? All through the Epistles the flesh stands for self-the self that seeks to justify itself, that endeavours to sanctify itself, that is always fussily endeavouring to win men for God, but has never learned to be submerged beneath the mighty tide and current of God's Spirit. If your religious life is one of self-effort and self-complacency, you must stand back; it is not for you to handle the priceless pearl ; your eyes cannot detect its superlative beauty, excellence, and worth. But let all humble souls, who have nothing in which to glory, save the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who put no confidence in themselves, but wholly rest upon the unmerited grace of God, lift up their faces with exceeding great joy. These are the true children of Abraham.

Do we put no confidence in the flesh?  In one of His most exquisite parables, our Saviour depicted a man leaving his house in the morning with a heavy bag of gold, and making his way to the market-place, where pearl-sellers displayed the precious ocean gems. He was seeking good pearls, and passed from stall to stall with the eye and touch of the connoisseur; but from each stall he turned away dissatisfied. At last he approached one of the sellers, and saw before him on the tray the most exquisite, perfect, and transparent pearl that his eyes had ever lit on. Asking the price, he discovered that it would take all the pearls he had bought, and all the gold in his pouch, to procure it. When he learnt that to win that he must sell everything else; and so he does. He counts the rest a loss and the pearl far better.  He counted all things else but loss.

You see, now, because of the sacrifice of Christ and His finished work on our behalf, salvation comes through faith in Christ alone.  No physical mark, no symbol, no act, no ritual, no ceremony can ever change the heart or transform the heart anyway – they all pointed to Christ's sacrifice. If it isn't Jesus alone, it is Jesus plus something.  That's legalism at its core. It steals your joy by suggesting that God's love and favour have to be earned and you'd better do more and you'd better be better. God will never be pleased with you unless your hand accomplishes something that can be added to the cross of His Son.  

Phl 3:4-6. Jesus plus baptism. Jesus plus church membership Jesus plus Sabbath worship Jesus plus tithing  Jesus plus pilgrimages Jesus plus prayers   Then . . . maybe . . . God will be satisfied with you – which implies God the Father isn't satisfied with His Son.  Your baptism doesn't save. No one is saved by an act you might do, whether its religious ritual, race, religion, rules or reputation. My orthodoxy won't save me My activity won't save me My sincerity won't save me My ability won't save me. We are those who trust in ourselves least.  We put no confidence in the flesh.

Nothing in my hands I bring Simply to Thy cross I cling.

Foul I to the fountain (of His blood) fly Wash me Saviour or I die.

Just as I am without one plea  But that Thy Blood was shed for me  And that Thou bidst me come to Thee , O Lamb of God I come I come.

3:7,8   Nothing either great or small— Nothing, sinner, no;  Jesus did it, did it all, Long, long ago.  "It is finished!" yes, indeed, Finished every jot:  Sinner, this is all you need— Tell me, is it not? When He, from His lofty throne, Stooped to do and die,  Everything was fully done; Hearken to His cry: Weary, working, burdened one, Wherefore toil you so?  Cease your doing; all was done Long, long ago. Till to Jesus' work you cling By a simple faith,  "Doing" is a deadly thing— "Doing" ends in death. Cast your deadly "doing" down— Down at Jesus' feet;  Stand in Him, in Him alone, Gloriously complete.

1. Don’t put your confidence in a ritual. Baptism won't save you.

2. Don’t put your confidence in your race or ethnic heritage. Being Dutch don't make you much! You can't ride to heaven on your parents religion.

3. Don’t put your confidence in your rank. Being an elder or a deacon doesn’t make you saved.

4. Don’t put your confidence in your tradition. 5. Don’t put your confidence in your rule keeping.

6. Don’t put your confidence in your religious zeal.

7. Don’t put your confidence in your obedience to the law.