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Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, that's in the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless.
But what things were again to me, those I counted lost for Christ. He Dulles, and I count all things but lost for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do constant but done, that I may win Christ to be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ.
The righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.
And the fellowship of his sufferings be made comfortable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus, brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.
But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect. Be thus minded, and if and anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Nevertheless, where to we have already attained? Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walks always. Ye have us for an example, example for many walk, of whom I have told you often. And now I'll tell you even weeping. And they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Whose end is destruction, Whose God is our belly, and whose glory is in their shame, Who mine earthly things? For our conversation is in heaven. For whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, And it may be fashion like unto His glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able even to subdue.
All things unto himself.
I wonder if I could just say a little in connection with circumcision. Here we find the warnings in the second verse. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. All these things would hinder us from giving the Lord Jesus His rightful place in our lives. If we are occupied with the shameless evil of this world, or taken up with false teachings, or proud of ourselves what we have done, and then we're not coming to the end of self.
But circumcision is really the end of self. And if we look back in the Old Testament and see about circumcision, I think it helps us to understand it. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, circumcision did not take place. No one was circumcised in the wilderness. The reason being that in the wilderness the flesh was under trial and the people were being tested. And as we have in Deuteronomy, it humbled them. It proved them. It showed them what was in their hearts.
The flesh, I say, was being tested but as soon as they had crossed the Jordan, figuring our death with Christ. But then the first thing that they are told is to make sharp knives, not for the people of the land, but for themselves, to lift the sharp knife upon himself, to see, as it were, the end of the old man. Our old position, our old standing, our old man is crucified with him, to see the end of that as before God.
And so before there was any possession of the land, any victory, like there was a Jericho, those sheriff knives were not made for the people of the land, they were made for themselves. How important for us, brethren, that if there is going to be any progress in our souls, in the knowledge of Christ and of what we have in him, the knife must be upon himself. And all those things that we have noticed here, dogs, evil workers, the concision, all are those things that.
Itself might have its place, but in circumcision we see the end of that. And so in our worship and in our service, how important this is. I believe that we see as our brother mentioned in his prayer, that Christ must be all. And the theme, as our brother mentioned on yesterday in the chapter, is Christ as the object seen as running in a race, with Christ as the object before us. But we know that just as we have to lay aside weights to run in a race, so we need to be exercised about those things that would hinder us.
00:05:36
Now Paul, as we had in the verses we commenced with today, had all the advantages of a man in the flesh. And that is, there was all that in which he could glory religiously. He could glory that he had been born into the favored nation, that the circumcision had been carried out in a literal way upon him, that he was of the tribe that was faithful when the others went away. All those things would have made him a proud Pharisee, but he had to see the end of all that.
Because he met the Lord, and His very zeal that He had only led him to be against that supreme purpose of God, gathering out the assembly. And so we see what he is bringing before us, and I believe we need it. For our souls, brethren, is laying aside and the knife upon those things that would in any way exalt itself, whether in our worship, or in our service, or in our whole life, that Christ might be the object before us.
And that those things might be put in the place where God puts them, reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.
But alive under God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why just mention this? Because I believe it's the introduction to the chapter and of the truth that follows here about running in the race with Christ before us.
On circumcision by thinking of Colossians, which is looking to Christ his head. Christ is all and in the second chapter and in verse some nine it says for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That's what we should be looking to always.
But verse 10 says, You are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the flesh of sins, ought not be there in putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Then it goes on to being baptized with him, and risen with him, and so on.
But it's that kind of circumcision we're talking about. It's a circumcised heart, isn't it? It's taking away everything that we had before and making him all and in all. It's lovely, isn't it, that we can have that privilege of finding our wall in him. This was really the real problem with Joe, wasn't it? He? He was his religiously wonderful in that sense.
As Paul, Paul here is speaking, I believe in verse four, though I might have confidence in the flesh. He's Speaking of religious flesh. Religious flesh is obnoxious to God. Religious places isn't any better than any other place. And so Paul here had confidence in the flesh. Well, you know, it might be nice just to look at a verse or two in Job out thinking in Job 27 because I believe this is that righteousness that's coming up in our next verses.
And so it might be nice to see the man who God had to work with to cut off a lot before he could bless him. Job.
Chapter 27 I think and job here says.
Verse six. My righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. How solemn. But why did he say that? Well, you know God said to Satan, have you considered my servant? You see, he was.
He had light. He belonged to God. Have you considered my servant Job? There's none like him in all the earth. That was true. What Job was thinking about here was true. But Job, of course, was pleased with Job. It's his righteousness, what he was doing. God could hold up to Satan now if he turned to 32. Job 32 and.
If the Elihu God is he verse one, so these three men cease to answer Job.
00:10:09
Because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then came Eli, who and he says at the end of verse two, Job justified himself rather than God.
And then?
If we look at 33, as you can see the problem progressing here in 33.
Births 12 Behold, in this job thou art not just.
I will answer the.
That God is greater than man. Job had to learn this God is greater than man verse 17.
Well verse 14 God speaketh once ye twice, yet man perceiveth it not. Why does God speak verse 17? That he may withdraw man from his works. That should be purpose works and high pride from man. That is the problem with joy. His works were fine.
They were wonderful. So appalled.
But it was it was pleased with himself and then 34 or just finished as it goes on in 34 verse 5 for Job hath said I am righteous. Now we've hit it now you got right to the root. I am righteous.
And then chapter 35, verse two, Eli, who is speaking God is he? That's what it means. Think as thou this to be right Job, that thou said my righteousness is more than God's. Think of it my righteousness is more than God's verse 7.
If thou be righteous.
What giveth thou God?
I don't exercise all of us.
If there's any righteousness, what give us thou God, and then I believe the.
Final thing.
If I could find it quicker I would take too much time.
Uh.
I can't find it right off. I think that's enough and all wasting time, but we came to the core, you know, there's not one thing we can give to God. Nothing. Everything we do, brethren, that'll be lasting is the result of God and the Spirit of God in our Christ working through the Spirit in US. Nothing else that really lessens from our life. I think first, perhaps thinking of it in the last chapter, is it in the sixth verse?
Wherefore I abhor myself.
He didn't abhor himself before he was exalting himself, even though a real believer and going through this trial. And I think there's a danger of this too, brethren, when we get into trial, we can look at our own righteousness as we call it, and say, why should this happen to me? Because I've been such a wonderful Christian. I don't know why this should come on me. And this was the whole problem with Joe. And it's a slow lesson. It's a lesson that we never fully learned down here, that the flesh profiteth nothing. And so.
Job had to come to that point where he before he had abhorred his friends, he had abhorred other people, but in the presence of God he abhorred himself and Ohio needful this is for us. And then we see God gave him twice as much as what we he had before. And brethren, if we can learn in some little way the lesson of this precious chapter, then Christ will become more to us because we'll sink into insignificance about ourselves and just be occupied with Him and what we have in him.
And the final thing in the chapter as it ends is not only as there can be here some moral conformity to Christ, but what a wonderful day when we'll be morally and physically like him. That's the ultimate. That's what is God's desire for us, and he's seeking to bring us to the end of self.
A few verses in Exodus.
4th chapter. There's a little portion there that has often puzzled.
Shoot the puzzle. Me too, very much.
But I think it's so important as what has been brought out that God can not have anything to do with the flesh must be put today.
At the end of the chapter there, verse 24, Moses was coming from the presence of the Lord and he was going to return to his people. He has a mission from God, but God weighs our soul retroactive. We may say here is an incident for 24 says and it came to pass by the way to the end in the end.
00:15:16
The Lord met him and sought to kill him. Well, puzzled about that, what does this mean? Here the Lord thought to kill him when he wanted to send him to Egypt. Well, let's just read a few more verses. Then the pora took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, surely a bloody husband, I'll talk to me. So he let him go. Then she said, a bloody husband to ask because of his circumcision.
What we see here that Moses being away 40 years out of Egypt, he had a family and here was a son. And what did motors do? He neglected to abide by God's ordinance to circumcise his son.
But here was the servant of the Lord, who was going to go out in service for the Lord.
Who fight neglect showed that he was not walking in the good of it. He was going to serve the Lord in a similar way that a certain man by the name of Moses did it 40 years before that.
And what did he do? He slew an Egyptian. It was in the energy of the flesh, wasn't it? And God hears with him, he's a murderer here. He says he sought to kill him.
Well, that's what men deserves. That's his guilt before God.
So Moses entering a path of service for the Lord, the Lord had to remind him Moses.
If I am to use you, you have to understand what really circumstances speaks of, and that if you have neglected it, you neglect thy stunned circumcision. You're not fit to be a servant for me. There's still a guilt that's outstanding that has never been met.
But when we see that it was in the flesh, and circumcision brings us in newness of life before God, this was true. Moses had to live in the good of that that in order to be a true servant of the Lord.
I split it to my brother and I enjoyed it often. This principle still plainly brought out here because Moses is the greatest in in the Old Testament of bringing to us God's mind and God's law, but he must here realize and begin. God can have nothing to do with the flesh. It must be put to death.
The wonderful thing, just as we were looking at in Colossians 2, I'll read it again, verse 11, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the flesh. Circumcision doesn't deal with our guilt, it deals with our state, that is.
What we were in the flesh has been dealt with by God and judged.
Romans 8 says that he condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. So it isn't that we have to do anything to the flesh, God has already dealt with it at the cross.
He has judged it at the cross. Moses neglected that, and that was the whole purpose of the book of Job, was to bring Job to the realization, though he had done so many wonderful things and could boast in them, that there's something wrong with your nature, Job, there's something wrong with your heart, The spring from which all this that you're glorying in comes is rotten. And so he had to come to that where he abhorred, not what he had done.
Because he hadn't really done anything that was so terribly wrong, but he had hoard himself.
And that's the truth of circumcision. And when Paul says we are the circumcision, we are those against whom the flesh has been judged. That is, God has judged the flesh. We are those that own that, that are in the realization of that, that there's no good in the first man. There's no good in us, there's no good in me and you and each of us Not a question of our guilt so much which deals with our sins, but it's a question of our state. It deals with the first question that the Lord put to man, Adam.
Where art thou? Not so much. What hast thou done? We look at that first, but where? Ourselves. And when it comes to that, brethren, we're all in the same boat. We're all the same. We're all, we all come from a stock which is rotten to the core, alienated from the life of God. Now that ought to eliminate pride from us. It ought to. But sad to say, the flesh is still there, though it's been judged.
00:20:28
And that ugly thing we were talking at the dinner table about one.
Whose signal cardinal sin is pride. Well, I was talking about myself if I was talking about that one. I was talking about every one of you here. Because our greatest evil that we have to deal with is pride. That's the root principle of the flesh.
And aren't we glad that the judgment of God has come against that at the cross? All that we are, Everything that would exalt self, everything that would put importance to me. Our brother at the beginning of the meeting prayed that Christ might be exalted. What is the greatest hindrance to that? I heard a message recently where a brother said the only thing that can read. He was speaking on grace, the only thing that can really hinder the grace of God.
In our hearts and God working that which he's pleased to work with us is what Peter says. And I will have to read it. I can't quote it. It's in First Peter five, first Peter 5.
Verse 5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.
Yeah, all of you be Subject 1 to another and be clothed with humility.
For God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.
Now that's the one thing that he resists in us in that pride, and he's dealing with each of us to deliver us from that. We've already, we already are the circumcision. The sword has been executed of judgment against the flesh. We're not called upon to do that, but to own it and to conduct ourselves accordingly. We are the circumcision. Brother Bauman was saying that.
Religious flesh is as bad as worldly flesh and so on. I think it's 10 times worse.
I think religious flesh is the worst kind of flesh there is. Notice what Jude says. Woe to them. They've gone in the way of Cain. That was religious flesh. Cain was a worshipper without blood, without a sacrifice. Religious flesh, what was pronounced, given themselves up to the error of Balaam for reward, preaching error against the people of God for the sake of base gain, and perished in the game saying of Korra.
Setting aside the apostleship and the priesthood of Christ, saying we don't need him.
We can make it on our own religious flesh without Christ. Absolutely the worst.
Form of the flesh you can conceive of, and yet it looks so nice.
To the world, to the religious world, it's the nicest looking and it's the worst of the flesh. Religious flesh. Well, we are the circumcision, and that's what religious flesh will not have they. So yes, we've all sinned, but we're not through and through bad to the very core of our being rotten from head to toe. They won't own that. But that's what the circumcision owns, isn't it? That's what circumcision means. There's nothing good in US from head to toe.
But now we have Christ as our life, as our righteousness, as our joy, as our peace. We have Him for everything.
Circumcised, that took place once for all, and for us it was accomplished at the cross of Calvary. But we remember with the children of Israel, while circumcision was not repeated and couldn't be still after they had a victory, they needed to go back to that spot of circumcision, Gilgal, and then to go forward from that point. And so while it's important for us to realize that the act of circumcision in that sense took place when the Lord Jesus not only bore our sins, but died under sin.
But there is that practical application of it to us. Maybe a brother stands up and preaches well. Well, he can get proud and think he was a good preacher. Or he can get back to Gilgal and say, well, if I did anything, it wasn't any credit to me. It was the Lord's goodness that he was pleased to give me the words to speak. And so that's getting back to Gilgal. That is the practical application of circumcision to our lives day by day.
00:25:08
And in that it's an unending thing. When the children of Israel neglected Gilgal, as we know, then there was a defeat at AI, only a little city, a difficulty they thought they could easily overcome. But they were helpless when they didn't go back and recognize that any victory in that land was of the Lord, not because by the strength of their arms or anything like that. So the practical application of it, I believe, is important for us, although the fact of it took place at Calvary once and for all.
We count upon that, we see that, and we can have in the Lord's presence the grace here cannot your own? You're bought with a price, and again, what hast thou that thou hast not received?
Circumcised the 8th day gave him a righteousness of his own and being of the tribal Benjamin, a Hebrew, another source of righteousness and being a Pharisee, more righteousness and then zeal, the churches persecuting the church. He was even righteous and that that's all his own. But Paul is trying to bring out here how he got rid of that at least for a time. You know, we have the righteousness which is of God.
Everyone of us have that righteousness which is of God. You don't lose it just because you go into your own righteousness. It's sad. If we go into our own righteousness, we still have the righteousness which is of God. And so Paul says in the ninth verse, not my own righteousness, which is of the law, but.
The righteousness at the end, which is of God, how is it faith? That's simple, isn't it? Faith? It's faith in Christ because there's no other. But that's the righteousness we have our standing at. It never changes. And how sad it is if we seek to find anything of our own righteousness after we have the righteousness which is of God. And just to point that out, since we've had Job, look at Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 14.
Bringing in four of the of the great trials, four of the great judgments, I should say famine.
Verse 12 famine and beast and sword in verse 17 and pestilence and of course that was all brought on the children of Israel. And then the verse I have in mind 20/14/20 Ezekiel, though Noah, Daniel unnoticed Job yeah, Job the one we've been talking about. We're in it these great judgments as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter. They shall but deliver their own souls.
By their righteousness. Now this is the righteousness by faith, this what takes you through and it's individual, it's personal. I can't help my son or my daughter with the righteousness I have in God, my faith in Christ. They have to have it. They have to have it, each one of us. But I believe that's what Paul begins to bring out. Our own righteousness just falls away. It ought to fall away when we realize what we have and the power we have.
In belonging to Christ. Wonderful, isn't it?
We're having breakfast yesterday morning in a Denny's restaurant and Kalamazoo, MI and we overheard 2 gentlemen at the table next to ours talking church business. And the one gentleman I think was the younger one of the two was a perhaps a young pastor in a particular church and he was concerned that he had been there for over 2 years and never had a performance review and this was a great concern to him. He says nobody in the two years that I've been there has ever sat down and walked me through.
The past two years and told me what I've done right and what I haven't done right and how things are going. They want to know what the the aims for the church are for the one, three and five years down the road. But they've never had a performance review for me. And I was thinking of that in connection with our chapter here. The apostle Paul was, as it were, giving a performance review of himself as a man in the flesh and we can glory in perhaps certain things that.
Others commend us for and pat us on the back for in a performance review for any of us who workout in the world. And we know that they're almost mandatory anymore. You're a teacher, you go through a performance review and if you're in a an office, you have performance reviews regularly and so on. And although you dread them, you always come away generally anyway, feeling that they were kind of good. They made you feel kind of good. Well, the apostle Paul could look at this as giving himself a performance review and he could look good in the flesh, couldn't he? With all of these things that we have been.
00:30:15
Reading about here, but the pledge process? Nothing. I was thinking of a verse in Isaiah 49.
In verse four, then, I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for not and in vain. Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God. I'm thinking how wonderful it is that as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our judgment is with the Lord and our work is with our God. And first of all, he never forgets anything that's done in His name and for His glory.
He's not unrighteous to forget your labor of love your sacrifice and get in Hebrews 6 And secondly, the Lord is going to the Lord is going to manifest all that has been done for him, but it's going to be, I believe at the judgment seat of Christ. Is that not correct And so as believers in the Lord, we labor on for the Lord in the presence of the Lord, in the fear of the Lord and in communion with the Lord, Not looking for performance reviews from this world what it may think or not think of it.
The servant here said, I've labored in vain, and so on. We could get discouraged perhaps, but our work is with the Lord or is with our God, and our judgment is with the Lord. The Lord judges righteously, and according to His righteous judgment He will reward. So I was thinking how it could apply, I believe, to our chapter.
The Apostle Paul could glory in the flesh. Perhaps this young pastor felt that if he was given more encouragement from his church or his congregation or board of elders, whatever the body would be that would perform this performance review, go through it with him, that he would be more effective or whatever it might happen to be. Well, I, I went to him afterwards as we were leaving and I said, you know, the Apostle Paul thought about his performance review. And he and Timothy tells us, I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of glory.
Crown of righteousness. Well, the older man that was sitting with him, he just said Amen.
Comment.
Here.
Are not bad things. They are good things. They were given by God in the old economy, and Paul himself is learning how they had been discontinued.
We have coming here, not just the circumcision, which we've gone through so nicely.
The flesh entirely set aside, but what he was born into of the stock of Israel. They placed the blessing up to the cross. After the law was given was in Israel that nation to which he was born. The particular tribe he knew, and called the Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law. A Pharisee concerning zeal persecuting the church. Oh the energy.
That he used.
He thought in a godly way, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless, but then he says what things that were gained to me those I counted loss for Christ, for he had learned that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth and going back to Colossians 2. We've had a nice portion there and about circumcision, but we go on and find that the.
The cross of Christ delivers us from all the ordinances as well.
That were given under the law, those things which were God-given and were right for the Jew to practice.
Up until.
The message came from heaven.
Two, Paul of Christianity, which he himself as a Jew have to learn practically and then give the message to us that we Gentiles never were under ordinances. But look at verse 14 of Colossians 2, which particularly was for the Jew blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way.
Nailing it to the cross, I say to the Jew, because it was given to them. But if we go to Romans 3, we find that the test of a Jew included the Gentiles.
00:35:06
In the 3rd of.
The Romans.
And the 19 verse.
Now we know that what things so ever the Law says, it saith to them who are under the Law, The Jew Paul was one of them. But what for? That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, because that nation put their Messiah on the cross, and in that very act cut off all hope of the flesh ever being recovered.
Which never could have been recovered, but there it was in Christ on the cross.
Now Christianity comes in and gives us length and liberty. We're never under ordinances, and this chapter we're in and the portion we're in need to be taken to heart because we.
Like to develop our own ordinances, we'll call them our own thoughts and ideas and creeds and standards to do certain things this way to such and such a time. I'm not talking about godly order, which we have.
Instruction of balance. But we have to be careful. We fall into setting up certain standards for the flesh ourselves. But all of this is done away, and what does away with it is the sight of Christ and glory. Paul was caught up there, and he saw Christ in glory, and never more did he ever have any desire for any of those good things which were given as a test to the first man up until Christ came. But God was patient.
In extracting the nation from the law, I'll use a statement of her brother John Lloyd, who some of you remember.
John said God didn't just come along and jerk the carpet out from under the Jews. He didn't do that way. He gave them those 40 years we heard about yesterday. And slowly he extracted them from those things which had been given, which were for them as a test in the flesh. And slowly he removed them from it. And the only thing that would remove them from it was Christ, a sight of Christ and glory. And it's the only thing that will keep a Gentile, a Christian, from developing his own ordinances and his own ideas.
Is Christ and the liberty of grace?
This was the grand starting point after he had learned the emptiness of all that he was as a man in the flesh. He met the Lord Jesus as we see on the road to Damascus and we noticed how he says in the seventh verse I counted and in the eighth verse I count. That's the present tense. That is Christ was now everything to him. Christ was his righteousness and there can be no real service to the Lord until.
A Sinner has come totally to the end of himself, realizing he has no righteousness before God whatever, and when he comes to that point, then God has brought him into a position, as it tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 18. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is the standing of every believer. He has been made the righteousness of God in Christ. Now to try and establish some righteousness of our own after we are saved is really a denial of that standing into which we have been brought.
But there is the Christian race before us, and we are to press on with Christ as the object before our souls.
And in that sense, there is a practical righteousness developed in our lives. But we have to.
See the difference between our standing and our faith? Our standing is in Christ, and many dear Christians are slow to come to this point. They see their sins are put away, but they don't see the end of the old man before God. And I believe that's so important, and that's what he's brought before us in this chapter. When you receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior, not only were your sins put away wonderful as that is cleansed in the precious blood of Christ, but God brought you into a place of favor and acceptance so perfect it cannot be more perfect.
There's nothing connected with yourself or your own righteousness at all. We are made the righteousness of God in Him. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. And so I believe it's important for us. As I say, many see their sins gone and then they go about to try and establish something to make themselves as they think, good Christians. As our brother was saying, look over the past year and think, well, I made a pretty good job of how I got along.
00:40:10
And so it's really self and not starting out from the point that self came to its total end in the work of Christ. Our sins put away, self put away. We stand in this new standing before God and there can be no proper effectual service for the Lord. There can be no true worship until we see the end that not only of our sins, but the end of self as before God. And know how lovely this is to sit down in the Lord's presence, as I said.
Not how well we can sing that some preacher who has a few initials after his name for some qualifications, but that Christ is everything, whether it's in our worship or our service. But we must have this starting point. And Paul is establishing this, showing that if people want to boast about what they have, he has something. But he saw the end of all that. And as I say, when he was saved, he said I count, I counted in the seventh verse.
But after going on for many years, he could still say, I count all things. And what did he think of self? A little bit more of self. Now after he was saved. Well, in the seventh verse he says he counted all that in which he might have gloried as lost. But he goes much farther in the eighth verse. For the but lost, for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and to count them but done.
This was really much more than saying, Oh well, they're nothing.
They counted them as objectionable, He counted them as hateful, He counted them as something that he abhorred. And then he says, that I may win Christ, I believe. Here he introduces this thought of running in a race with Christ before him, desiring in his soul that in a practical way there might be that moral conformity to Christ. Because winning Christ here, we possess him as our Savior. We possess him as our righteousness.
But in a practical way is He the object? Has self been left behind, and Christ as the object before our souls? I believe this is very important. First our standing, then the practical application of it and the going on in the Christian life is in a race with Christ as the object.
The Old Testament prophet already states that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
And I believe that's an important scripture to keep in mind. Job has been referred to and Paul, and they certainly have things in common, don't they? Because although Job was not yet under the law, yet he was perfect. And God's testimony about him is very commendable, isn't it?
Yet job.
Was a perfect man.
Yet he had to learn what he was it himself, what his heart was, and he learned that, you know, sometimes when Saints are in trouble and difficulty, they compare themselves to Job. And the trouble and difficulty might be because of their shameful behavior, immoral conduct, and found that in itself is a shameful thing to compare ourselves in such a situation with such a righteous man as joke.
But he learned to applaud himself.
And then we find that Paul could say as to the law, blameless.
Yet he too came to see that there was number value that it wouldn't avail before God, who judged not only actions, but also judged the heart and the thoughts, the desires. He stood condemned. And then we find that he glories now in a righteousness, that he has been declared righteous by God.
And beloved, I believe it's good to get a hold of this, that God has not transferred any amount of righteousness from Christ or from God to us.
That thought is in the minds of many, and I believe some thoughts have even been expressed here to that extent. I don't believe that that is correct.
What it simply means that God looks down upon men on this earth, whether it is Abraham or whether it is you. Today Abraham believed God and God declares him righteous. And today when he sees you or me having faith in the Lord Jesus, he too declares us righteous.
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He doesn't transfer any righteousness of Christ to us or of His own. He declares us righteous. I believe that's an important point to get ahold of. And God's righteousness is seen first of all in that He demands that the sins are paid for.
And his wrath and judgment falling upon his son shows his righteous indignation. But then at the same time.
His righteousness is demonstrated that He is just and declares those just.
That have faith in the Lord Jesus. That's the righteousness of God. We have been made the righteousness of God.
The understanding of the fact that not only are our sins put away, but it's the end of what we were before God.
And so every believer stands before God in a life that never sinned and cannot sin. God sees us in Christ. As you say, it's not transferred righteousness. It's not only the fact that our sins are forgiven, blessed as that is. But how wonderful for every believer to know that as God looks at you, he sees you in Christ. He doesn't see you in that old man that came to an end in the death of Christ. Before God, our old man was crucified with him.
Every believer stands in this new position before God, holy and without blame, before him in love. Until we get hold of that, there's always that conflict with the old man trying to establish our own righteousness or something, but is so blessed to see, brethren, not only our sins forgiven, but an entirely new position into which we have been brought. And I say again, and I think it's important in this chapter, there really can't be true worship or there can't be true service until we realize that.
Because if we only see our sins forgiven, then we're going to think, well, what can I do? And we're going to get occupied with our own part, our own accomplishments and so on, or whether it's in service or whatever. But God starts all over and any worship or any service if it's worship.
It's only by the Spirit that we can worship. If it's service, it's God that worketh in you, both to will and to do. Of His good pleasure God has no lower standard than His own Son. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walks. Oh, how wonderful. And this is what Paul is rejoicing him.
And not having his own righteousness. And now he says, I want to know him better. Such a wonderful person, a one who has done so much for me, who's brought me into this, that I may know him. He wanted to know him and the power of his resurrection. He wanted to enter into and lay hold of in a practical way in his soul, the truth of where God had placed him in Christ. That's good. 21 That would be the verses, verse 28, the Lord Jesus is speaking.
But what thinking?
A certain man had two sons, and he came to the 1St, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered, and said, I will not. But afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered, and said, I go, Sir, and went not. Whither of them twain did the will of his Father. They set up to him the first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you.
That the harlots, the publicans and the harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you. And if you want to read the most scathing denouncement, read the 23rd of Matthew.
Where the Lord Jesus deals with these self-righteous hypocritical Pharisees that set themselves up to be more righteous than others and the Lord Jesus never spoke.
As condemningly to the harlots and publicans as He did to the Pharisees. It was Job that the Lord used to show us the best man, the best man that he could find. A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and his cheweth evil, One whose life was impeccably good. I couldn't even come close to it. I don't believe many here could. He used that man to show that the flesh.
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Is rocked.
I abhor myself. Now, had he taken a Skid Row bum, of course you'd say that would have been suitable to abhor himself because of all the sins that he was living in. But here was a man that in the eye of man, no one could find fault with him. The apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, was the same way.
He said, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless, just like Joel, one against whom you couldn't put a finger, you couldn't find a flaw, you couldn't find anything wrong in Saul of Tarsus as far as the eye of man is concerned.
He calls himself the chief of sinners. He calls himself the chief of sinners. Job, the perfect and upright man of the Old Testament that God singles out. He said, I abhor myself and repent, and Dustin ashes. And when we give expression to thoughts as though we are better than others.
We haven't learned our lesson yet, brethren. We haven't learned the very fundamentals of the faith.
I've seen two kinds of pride amongst the gathered Saints, those that have come in from the outside. I was guilty of this. I came in from the outside and I used to be proud of all that I gave up. And those that were raised in the meeting, they never knew of all the evil out there. And so I was a little better because.
I had given up the evils that were out there, and then I found the other kind of pride.
Had by those that were raised in the meeting that they were always in the assembly from childhood, and they could go back to their father and their father's father and so on and so on and trace their lineage and they could be proud in that, that they had never walked in the world. That has a tremendous advantage. And I think of the children of the Saints that have been kept from the world. What a tremendous advantage that is.
But there's a subtle form of pride either way, either way, and that's what we have to deal with is that pride. The the Lord Jesus was the most severe to the Pharisees. He didn't say too much to the Sadducees. He just said you do greatly earn not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God, but the censorious rebukes of the Lord Jesus upon the self-righteous hypocrites.
The Pharisees, those that thought themselves better than others, they hadn't learned what the circumcision really means. And I fear that that's the issue that we all have to address. What we really are, what He saved us from, how far we were, we could not have been farther, we could not have been more lost than we were when He picked us up. Whether you're raised in the meeting or raised in the world, if you're saved, it's by the grace of God. Nothing in US deserving a bit of it.
We say it, we give it out doctrinally, but do we really believe it in our souls? I believe that's the issue that we need to to really address. And when we come to that and see that grace, we don't understand grace.
Where to be the exponents of the grace of God, the trophies of His grace, vessels of mercy?
That's what we are. And when we come into the good of that and gaze at the Lord Jesus and are occupied with the righteousness which is of God in Christ, that which we've been brought into, If we can look up to heaven and point to the man there and say he is my righteousness, Christ our righteousness, clothed with that robe of righteousness. Speaking of Christ, none of our own, not a bit of it to be found in him, not having my own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith.
Oh, that's what we need to come into the good of and that will deliver us from self and all self occupation and self esteem and self exaltation and all that would minister to our pride.
Thank you.
That if you want to find out what circumcision is, I just get a Webster dictionary and look up the word and you'll find that it means that a small piece of flesh is cut off and dies. And that's the basic meaning of circumcision, the flesh is cut off and dies.
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And I just like to call attention to verse seventeen of our chapter, which I believe is a key that we don't want to to.
Not seek quite promptly in our meditation. Verse seventeen of our chapter brethren be followers together of me.
I believe that's the key for us to understand this chapter. But we've noticed how that Paul talks a lot about himself.
Well, why does he talk about a lot about himself?
Is that he just wants to involve himself? Well, of course not. But he wants these Gentile believers to follow him.
In their understanding of what they have in Christ. And it is very interesting to me that in this book of Philippians, in every chapter we have keys like this. That was mentioned yesterday that Philippians has four books and the first book Christ is our life. And in that first chapter you find that Paul.
Says that for him to live his Christ and to die his game. So he shows himself to be an example of what he wants the Philippians to enjoy. In chapter 2 we know that Christ is our pattern and in chapter 2 we find that the apostle Paul caused attention to the fact that he has poured out.
As a drink offering on the sacrifice of the Philippians faith.
And he becomes an example to them. And so in verse 17, we have the key in this chapter that he's telling these things that apply to him.
That he's found in Christ not having his own righteousness, but he he does that in order that they might follow him. And in chapter four he tells us that Christ is the strength of the believer. And he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
So in all the four chapters of Philippians, Paul gives a key in his own life.
That he wants the Gentile believers to follow. So I thought I'd just bring that into focus this morning. But in our chapter where the subject really is Christ, our object.
Paul talks a lot about himself, but it's always with a view that the Gentile believers would follow him.
In the understanding of all of that.
Certainly all of these things that we've enjoyed.
In our meditation this morning that Paul mentions that applied to him, they're wonderful. But the reason that he writes to these Philippians is that he wants them to have the enjoyment as well. And I think when we see the key to this chapter, that he wants the Philippian believers to follow him into the enjoyment of what they have in Christ, then we'll have an understanding of why he talks so much about himself.
And also will understand why he introduces the chapter by laying aside.
The worthlessness of already had in the Jewish religion. Now you and I know that the Philippian believers were gentiles for the most part.
And so they could not.
Call back in their memories of having any particular religious advantages. So very early in the chapter of the apostle Paul sets aside all of those seeming religious advantages. He sets them aside and says to the Philippian believers, don't worry about it, that you don't have these things. I've had them all, but they don't profit them. And you've got everything that I've got.
And I want you to follow me into the enjoyment of what you Gentile believers have in the Lord Jesus. And I believe that's why he calls attention in verse 2. Some of you weren't here yesterday to get that thought, but there were always those people that bothered early believers by trying to get them back into Judaism. And there was a great bother to those early believers.
And in our chapter, those people who tried to do that are called dogs. They are the unclean animal that wanders around seeking something for its own advantage. And that's quite a quite a thing to call those people. Rather than helping, they were hindering.
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Well, the Apostle Paul sets that all aside and tells now that all of that religious advantage that he had as a Jew and the details we've had, we've talked about quite in detail. He said all of that you Gentile believers don't have. But don't feel bad what I have in Christ. You have too. And I believe that's the point, brethren, and considering all of these verses that he said.
I counted these laws for Christ and now he said, I'm I'm found in Christ not having my own righteousness. And he talks about knowing him and all these other precious things. He wants these Gentile believers to follow him into their proper enjoyment of what they have in Christ just as well as what he has. And so I just wanted to call attention to verse 17.
As a key to this chapter, he is seeking to lead these Gentile believers.
Into the enjoyment of what they had in Christ, just like He had.
Brother I like suspension is put for us all to remember wasn't pointing to himself solely also marked them it says which walked so as you have us for an example.
And what's he talking about verse 16? Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing, and then be followers. And this is what Paul is bringing out, and it's really in Galatians 6. You start at verse 14, but ought to have on my heart is verse 15.
Of Galatians 6, I believe Paul wasn't putting himself as the only one in this particular case. But God forbid that I should glory saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I under the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision. Here's the key here, but a new creation.
As many as walk according to this rule. That's what he's talking about the newness of life. We have that life of Christ, the newness of life and so here he says that our chapter let us walk by that same rule. It's the resurrected life, It's the life of Christ, but he and let us mind the same thing. It's Christ is the head in the whole goal and then he says the followers together of me and mark them.
Which walks, which walk? So ye have us for an example.
I don't think he's alone here on this. He's he's saying I've I've got that desire to lay hold of him. That's my whole desire to lay hold of Christ and I walk with that upward look and as long as your your affections are attached to things up there where he is, your feet are detached from this world. That's really the thought and there are others that he's pointing to as well. We also had said for me to live is Christ.
He says that in the first chapter.
And how important that is, I feel burdened to bring out the need for practical righteousness. What we have been talking about largely here this morning is what our positional righteousness is.
What we have been made and we had no part in this, but now that we are righteous.
Now that we are in a new position before God that is expected of us, that we walk righteously.
Pursue righteousness we have in Second Timothy 2 is the first thing mentioned there, and we find in Revelation that those garments in which the Saints are closed, white garments, which are the righteousnesses of sayings, that's not positional. That is practical. Righteousness is dead, beloved.
Should now be seen but.
We do not live in order to gain God's favor. We live because we have God, favor the way we do and desire to please Him. And we see that also towards the end of this chapter. That is becoming very practical and very important that we bring that in. I believe that we we exercised, that our life might manifest, that there is indeed a new change, that there is a new nature, that we have a divine nature.
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That will please God and will give us the ability by the Spirit's power to live pleasing to God as those who have His favor.
Romans 6 Verse in Romans 6IN connection with what we just said. Romans 611 Likewise reckon he also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.
But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto spin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Now that's practical righteousness he's talking about.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
What then shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants, to obey his servants, you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin. But ye have obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine which was delivered you, being then made free from sin.
He became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as He had you live your members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity, Even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?
By the end of those things is death, but now being made free from sin.
And become servants to God. You have your fruit unto holiness.
And the end everlasting life for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The worst sin possible is to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, into an excuse for sin. It's grace that teaches us how to walk. It's grace that empowers us to live for God. And it's the sense of grace in our souls that will keep us going on for Him.
And produce that practical righteousness. It's not a legal obedience at all, but it's a product of grace, working in the heart by the power of the Spirit of God that enables us to walk as Christ walked when he was here in 193.