Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. I'd like to welcome you to today's
broadcast. I'm glad you could join us. And
if you'd like to follow along in your Bibles, I'll be preaching
from the book of Philippians chapter three. I started this
last week in the, in the message of rejoicing in Christ. And today
I want to pick up at verse three and go on through some of these
verses on this subject. Where is my confidence? Where is my confidence? Now we
all, If we claim to be Christian, if we claim to be saved, we base
that on some particular ground or action or something that we
can point to in which we have confidence. I know I'm saved. Because of what? Why? Based on what? Well, the Bible
tells us that confidence is only to be in Christ by the grace
of God. If you'll look at verse three,
I dealt with this verse last week, but let's start here. Where
Paul says, for we are the circumcision, he's talking about spiritual
circumcision there. Circumcision of the heart, which
is the new birth. Being born again by the Spirit
through the word of God. You must be born again or you
cannot see. the kingdom of God, that is with
spiritual eyes, and you cannot enter the kingdom of God. And
the evidence of the new birth is we worship God in the spirit,
we worship God as the Holy Spirit guides us in the truth, and we
worship God from our spirit in the heart, sincerely and in truth. And we rejoice in Christ Jesus,
means we have confidence in Christ Jesus, we boast in Christ Jesus. We glory in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. And so my question today is,
where is my confidence? And I hope you'll apply that
question to yourself. Where is your confidence? Now,
Paul defines exactly what he means by rejoicing in Christ,
having confidence in Christ, and having no confidence in the
flesh. And it's very interesting. Now,
I want you to see this. We're gonna look at verse four.
He starts out by showing what he means by the flesh. And I
mentioned this last week, how the flesh in the Bible context
determines its meaning. Flesh can sometimes mean the
physical body. Jesus Christ had a physical body,
but he had no sin. He was made flesh and dwelt among
us. But sometimes the word flesh
is an emblem for the evil sinful principles that run through us,
run through our minds, affections, and will. Evil thoughts, evil
motives, evil goals. We could go right on and on.
Sin. And that's all that an unbeliever
is. But even believers, we still
have those sin principles. Some people call that the old
nature. And that's okay if you don't take it too far. But when
we're born again, we're given a new spirit, new life, a new
heart, a new knowledge. Whereas we're given faith to
believe and repentance, we're given the gift of repentance.
And so when Paul says, I have no confidence in the flesh, look
at what he's talking about. Look at verse four. He says,
though I might also have confidence in the flesh. Now what Paul's
about to do here, he's going to show something that's very
interesting. He's going to show, look, I don't have any confidence
in the flesh. I used to. Before I was born again by the
Spirit, I had confidence in the flesh and I had no confidence
in Christ. But now I have confidence, but
having been born again, circumcised in the heart, now I have confidence
in Christ and no confidence in the flesh. But he's saying, though
I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any sinner could
boast in the flesh, Paul was saying, I could. Now Paul is
not just bragging here, but basically here's what he's telling us.
If any sinner could have been saved by their works, by their
attempts to keep the law, I could have. And look at what he says. He says, if any other man, verse
four, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might
trust in the flesh, I more. And so he's actually saying,
and understand now that what Paul is writing here is inspired
by the Holy Spirit. It's not just Paul bragging.
But he said, if somebody comes to me and expresses their confidence
of salvation because of what they've done or what they haven't
done or how they've tried to keep the law, he's saying, I
can do better than them. I'm more. Well, Paul, what were
you doing? He says in verse five, circumcised
the eighth day. Now, you know what he's saying
there? He says that even as an infant, Even as an infant, he
was keeping the law of circumcision. That's physical circumcision.
Because when a baby was born, on the eighth day after that
baby was born, it was to be circumcised. And the reason for the eighth
day, I don't have time to go into that today. But circumcision
back then, physical circumcision, was a type, a picture, of the
new birth, circumcision of the heart. And that comes, the new
birth, being born again, circumcision of the heart, is the fruit and
the result, the product, if you will, the issue, if you will,
of the work of Christ on the cross, which he finished indicating
the seventh day. He finished the work, and then
he rested, and as a result, his people will be born again. All
right? And that's what that's about.
But he says, he says, circumcised the eighth day according to the
law. Verse five, of the stock of Israel. Now, he's talking
about himself physically. Of the tribe of Benjamin, an
honored tribe. And Hebrew of Hebrews, Not a
mixed blood, but a pure blood Hebrew. Now what he's doing there,
here's what Paul's saying. Before I was born again of the
Spirit, before I was brought to faith in Christ to plead his
blood, his righteousness as my only ground of salvation, here
are things that I had confidence in of the flesh. And he's saying first I had confidence
in what I was. I was circumcised the eighth
day. I was of the stock of Israel. I was of the tribe of Benjamin.
I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. Paul, before he was saved, thought
those things recommended him to God. Gave him a leg up, as
it were, with God. And he says in verse five, as
touching the law, a Pharisee. Now we have ideas about the Pharisees,
but basically, What Paul's talking about, a Pharisee is one who
was zealous of the law, who went above and beyond to keep the
law. They were the super religious,
okay? And he's saying that, touching
the law, I was a Pharisee. I wasn't just a lukewarm person. I was hot-blooded for the law. And then he says in verse six,
concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Now you know what
Paul's saying there is that before he was saved, he looked at the
true church of the living God as being heretical, being cursed. And you know the stories about
Paul, how he held the coats of those who stoned the evangelist
Stephen, how after that he made havoc of the church because he
thought it was heresy. He was convinced in his unbelieving
mind that Jesus of Nazareth was an imposter and that his followers
were heretics. And under the old covenant law,
any of those were to be put to death. And so he says, I persecuted
the church. That was my zeal. He was zealous
in his cause. And then he says, touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Now what he's
talking about is his outward character and conduct. Nobody
could rightfully accuse Paul of being a lawbreaker according
to the old covenant law. And so, look at verse seven now. Now keep in mind, all those things
he described, that's what he puts in the category of the flesh.
His best. And then he says in verse seven,
but what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Now, that's what happens when
a sinner is born again by the Spirit under the truth. Everything
that that sinner thought that recommended unto God, his works,
his decisions, Anything, just like Paul, he comes to see that
those things that he thought gained him access to God, blessings
from God, salvation from God, that they are nothing, loss for
Christ. Christ is everything, those things
are lost. It's like an accountant. He has
a prophet column and a lost column. Before he was born again, all
these things were in the prophet column. I was circumcised the
eighth day. I was of the stock of Israel,
Hebrew of Hebrews. All these things, touching the
law, Pharisee, keeping the law, those were in the prophet column.
And what was in the lost column? Jesus of Nazareth and his followers
and his heretical doctrine. But then something switched.
There was a radical change of mind. A radical change of heart. Where all those things he put
in the prophet column, he now puts in the lost column. They
didn't gain me anything. They were sinful. They were iniquity.
They didn't glorify God. They didn't exalt Christ. They
didn't humble the sinner. And now they're in the lost column.
And now Christ and His gospel, that's all there is in the prophet
column. You see that? Now you know what
he's describing here as evidence of the new birth? He's describing
true faith, God-given faith, and true repentance. This is
where it comes down to. When God the Holy Spirit circumcises
the heart, the mind, the affections, the will, He cuts away the filth
of the flesh. Those things that we thought
were gain, He cuts them away. He exposes them to be evil deeds,
sinful acts, based on a wrong motive and aimed toward a wrong
goal. And He cuts them away and puts
them in the lost column. and he brings in Christ. And
that's the gift of faith. For by grace, Ephesians 2.8 and
9, for by grace are you saved. Not of, for by grace are you
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the
gift of God, lest any man should boast. So, he puts it all in
the lost column. And Christ is in the prophet
column. faith in Christ, and repentance
of dead works. All of those things that Paul
listed in verses four and five, four through six, they are the
dead works of an unbeliever that appear righteous unto men, but
they're a stench in the nostrils of God, aimed towards salvation. So verse seven, but what things
were gained to me? Those I counted lost for Christ. Now, here's the question. Where
is my confidence? Where is your confidence? Is
your confidence totally in Christ? Is it totally his blood to wash
away all your sins? Is it totally his righteousness
imputed, charged, accounted for your justification? Or is it
anything else? Because you see, most people
today, their confidence is not really in Christ, though they
may be deceived into thinking He is. Most people today who
call themselves Christians, I find, their confidence is in their
faith. You say, well, you're just splitting
hairs there. No, I'm not. They sit under a false message
that tells them that God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody,
not to secure the salvation of anybody, but it was just some
kind of a blanket pardon that has no effect, no success, unless
you make the difference by your believing and your repenting.
Well, my friend, if that's your case, you don't have confidence
in Christ. You have confidence in your faith,
in yourself. You see, faith is the gift of
God. We don't have faith by nature.
We fell in Adam into sin and death. We're born spiritually
dead. Unless you're born again, you cannot see or hear or enter
the kingdom of God. We don't have, naturally speaking,
the Bible says, the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, neither can he know them. That's the case. There's none that seeketh after
God, there's none that doeth good. In order for a sinner to
have faith in Christ, God has to give him that faith. I've
quoted Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. For by grace are you saved through
faith that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, lest any
man should boast. Well, verse 10 says this. For
we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto, not because
of, unto good works which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. So faith is the gift of God.
And you notice, when Paul came to this conclusion, that he describes
here in Philippians 3, verse seven, where he says, now my
confidence was in my works. Now my confidence is in Christ
and I have no confidence in my works. But what things were gained
to me, those I counted lost for Christ. When Paul came to that
conclusion, he was on the Damascus road Now you remember that story
of Paul on the Damascus Road, I believe it's in Acts chapter
nine, eight or nine, somewhere around there, talking about Paul's
conversion. Now what was Paul doing on the
Damascus Road? Was he going to a prayer meeting?
Was he going to hear the gospel preached? No, Paul had set in
his mind and heart to persecute the church. And he was headed
to Damascus on the Damascus road to arrest believers and bring
them under the judgment of the law and to have them killed,
have them executed. But God miraculously, sovereignly
stopped Paul in his tracks and spoke to him. You remember Christ
said in that vision, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? and
he changed Saul's mind. He changed his mind and brought
him to faith in Christ. Paul was not a willing participant
up to that point, but he was given a new heart, a new mind,
a new will to believe in and follow Christ. That's a gift
from God. And Christ didn't look at Saul and say, now Saul, I
love you and I died for you. If you'll just do your part,
I'll say, no, that's not in the Bible. That's a concoction of
men because it sounds good and it draws crowds and it gets people
feeling good about themselves. Paul came to this conclusion
because God revealed to him the Lord Jesus Christ and the righteousness
that Christ has worked out for the salvation of his people and
compared to his righteousness, all my works are filthy rags. Now look at verse eight of Philippians
three, and I'm gonna come back and go through these in more
detail, but here's how God brought Paul to that conclusion to where
his confidence is in Christ and not in the flesh. He says in
verse eight, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." To
know Christ, who he is, what he accomplished on the cross.
You see, the gospel is not simply a historical statement of the
death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. Yes, he died. Yes, he was buried. Yes, he arose
again the third day. But just to know and believe
those historical facts is not the gospel. The gospel has to
do with who Jesus Christ is. His person, His glorious person,
He is God in human flesh. I read a survey the other day
on the internet where they surveyed so-called Christians and asked
them certain questions. And they asked this question
and said, now you believe that Jesus Christ is your savior,
do you believe he is God? And I think they said somewhere
around 50% said no, and others said they weren't sure. Well,
my friend, if you don't know the person of Christ, you don't
know the gospel. The good news of salvation is
in a person. And who is that person? He's
God manifest in the flesh. That's who Jesus Christ is, God-man. Only one who is both God and
man in one person could do what he had accomplished and ensure
the salvation of his people. And then secondly, it's not just
that he died and was buried in a rose again, but what did he
accomplish when he died? And why was he buried and why
was he arisen again? He accomplished in his death
the complete sure salvation of all for whom he died. That's
what he said, all that the father given me shall come to me and
him that come to me I will in no wise cast out. This is the
will of him that sent me that of all which he hath given me
I should lose nothing but raise it up again at the last day.
And that's the knowledge of Christ. He said it's finished. Hebrews 10, 14, for by one offering,
he hath perfected, completed, finished forever them that are
sanctified, those whom God set apart and gave to him before
the world began. That's what he did. He established
righteousness. Look here at Philippians 3, eight
again. I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I've suffered the loss of all things, and do count them
but done that I may win or gain Christ. And look at verse nine.
And be found in him. I wanna be found in Christ. Him as my surety, my substitute,
my redeemer, my representative, my intercessor. not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the faithfulness of Christ, to do what he came
to do." Finish the work. Work out a perfect righteousness.
And he says, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Faith is not our righteousness,
Christ is. But when the Holy Spirit gives
us a new heart, when we're circumcised in heart, when we're born again,
God gives us faith to lay hold of Christ as our righteousness. You see, God doesn't declare
me righteous because I believe. God declares me righteous, and
as a result, He gives me faith to believe. That's what the scripture
teaches. It's not of yourself, not of works, lest any man should,
but it's the gift of God. And that's what we find here.
This is how Paul came to have confidence in Christ. Where is
my confidence? My confidence is not in an experience
that I had in a church where some preacher preached some message,
which I didn't pay attention to, where I walked an aisle and
got baptized. That's not, is your confidence
in something like that? Often I'll hear people, when
they talk about their salvation, they'll always go back in the
past to some experience they've had when they walked an aisle
and they say, quote, gave their heart to Jesus, unquote. You
see, salvation is not giving your heart to Jesus. Salvation
is Christ giving you a new heart and he does own it. It is his
because he gave it to you if you're saved. And they'll often
go back, and that's where their confidence is. I've heard people,
I've seen people in a revival meeting when I was in false religion,
and they would get emotional, and they'd walk an aisle, and
they'd get baptized. And sometimes, some of these people, you'd never
see them in church again. They'd go out and just live like
whatever they wanted to against the word of God. But when they
die, the preacher always preaches them into heaven. because they
gave their heart to Jesus. You see, that's not where our
confidence is to be. Is that where your confidence
is? If it is, it's a pipe dream. Where is my confidence today?
My confidence is in Christ and the righteousness that he worked
out by his obedience unto death, the faithfulness of Christ. And
my hope, my confidence, my assurance, is to be found in Christ. I wanna be in Him. I wanna be
in Him by God-given faith. I wanna be washed in His blood,
clothed in His righteousness imputed, because He's my confidence. He's the Lord, my righteousness.
Peace and assurance has to be based upon something that is
perfectly righteous. And I'm telling you, anything
that I do or anything God does through me, it comes through
this sinful flesh and it's not perfect. It does not equal the
perfection of righteousness that I can only find in Christ. And that's what faith is all
about. Even our faith is imperfect yet because it's mixed with unbelief
and doubt. A believer is not in unbelief,
but unbelief is still in him. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. Isn't that what the disciples
asked the Lord? You ever have moments of doubt? If you ever
complain or murmur, wonder if God has forsaken you, that's
unbelief. But I believe in Christ. I know
whom I have believed in. And I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that
day. And he will not let me go. My confidence is in Christ. Where is your confidence? Where
is my confidence? It's in Christ Jesus. Oh, to
be found in Him. Oh, to know Him. Looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. That's confidence.
That's an assurance of salvation that can only be given to a sinner
by God Almighty. That kind of confidence in Christ
doesn't come except through the new birth. And I hope you'll
enjoy this message. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
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at 1102 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia, 31707. Contact us by
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today and may the Lord be with you.