looking at Philippians chapter
3 this morning. I'm entitling the message in
a form of a very important question, vital question. From Philippians
chapter 3, I want to answer this question. What is salvation? What is salvation? Or better,
who is salvation? What is, or who is, salvation? The answer is clearly declared
and found in this chapter 3, as it is in all the Word of God,
but specifically, look at verse 9, Philippians chapter 3, at
verse 9. Paul said, "...and be found in
Him." He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ being found
in Christ. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Now,
what a blessing to have the righteousness of God charged to your account.
Not going about to establish a righteousness of your own,
but to have the very righteousness of God revealed in the gospel
imputed counted and reckoned and charged to you. And that's exactly what Paul
said in Romans chapter 4. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who had freely imputed His righteousness
to us by His grace. Now the answer is clear. The
Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our Savior totally, completely
and only. He is the only God our Savior,
and being our Savior, He is what He's called. He is our salvation. Simeon said, Lord, let me depart
in peace. I'm ready to die. Mine eyes have
seen the Savior. Thy salvation. Call His name
Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sin. Salvation by the grace of God,
the mercy of God, the love of God is only revealed and found
in Him. Now, where do you want to be
found when the Lord comes back? I want to be found in Him. I
want to be found in Him. I want to be found in Him. Now remember from our study in
the book of Acts, Acts chapter 16, Paul spent some time in Philippi
preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord blessed
his ministry to the calling out of some of the Lord's elect.
The Lord had an elect people in that city. Lydia, whose heart
the Lord opened, that Philippian jailer, the Lord saved him, believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and no doubt there were many others,
the church there at Philippi had a small beginning of God
calling out his people, and it grew and grew and grew, so much
so that they established several congregation of believers and
Paul writes back to them while he is in prison there in Rome
for two years for the gospel. Paul never forgot them even though
he had been so mistreated and so abused and so accused falsely
and put in prison awaiting execution, but he never forgets these people
to whom he preached and to whom he loves in the Lord. He writes
back to them with this love letter, penned by Paul, but given by
God the Holy Spirit, from a Roman jail cell, and he says to them
once again, salvation is of the Lord, and salvation is in the
Lord Jesus Christ. This is the record that God has
given to us the eternal life, 1 John 5 11, and this life is
in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son, whatever
else you have, you don't have life and salvation if you're
not one with Christ by this union of faith. Now let's go back to
verse 1 and work our way down to verse 9, 10, 11. Finally,
my brethren, finally, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice
in the Lord. This is often repeated. And Paul
is in prison, and he writes back to rejoice. Look back at Philippians
chapter 1 verse 18, What then, notwithstanding every way, whether
in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do
rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice. So we have every reason to rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at chapter 2, verse 16. Holding forth the word of life,
that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I've not run
in vain, neither labored in vain. And again, look over in chapter
4. Look at verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always, rejoice
in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Even though
Paul was in prison, he never considered himself the prisoner
of Rome, but rather he often called himself the prisoner of
the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what our circumstances
may be, believers can always find abundant reason to rejoice
in the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in Him. We rejoice in the greatness
of His person, We studied last week, who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God? Who is the
Lord Jesus Christ? He's God, our Savior. So we rejoice in the greatness
of His person. We rejoice in the power of His
blood. The blood of bulls and goats
cannot take away sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all our sin. He said their sin and their
iniquity will I remember no more. Don't you rejoice to know that
your sin is put away in Christ and Him crucified? So we rejoice
in His greatness of His person, the power of His cleansing blood.
We rejoice in the glory of His love. God committed His love
toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Hearing His love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us. And He sent His Son to be
the sacrifice for our sin. We rejoice and marvel in His
wise and good providence that He brings our way and which we
experience every day. We know that all things are working
together for good to them who love God, to them who are called
according to God's purpose. And we rejoice in the power of
His everlasting intercession for us. The Lord ever lived to
intercede for us right now, seated on the throne of glory, interceding
for us. So we rejoice in the Lord. And
then verse 2, he says, beware of this. So we rejoice in the
Lord to write the same thing, to preach the same thing to you
indeed. To me, it's not a burden, it's
not grievous. It's safe for you. It is safe
to hear the gospel repeated over and over and over again. I've
been standing here for more than 28 years preaching the same thing. It's not a burden. It's not grievous.
It's safe to hear the gospel. And then he says, beware of this.
Beware of dogs. He's talking about false preachers. He's talking about evil workers. He's talking about beware of
those who would promote salvation by the deeds of the flesh or
by the deeds of the law. Beware. Be careful. Take heed. Danger ahead. Many warnings in
the scripture about false religion, false preachers, and a false
gospel. You remember Paul said in Galatians
1, though we or an angel preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached, let him be damned. There's just
one gospel, one Lord, one faith, one salvation in Christ alone. So beware of those who would
preach something more or something less. Christ is everything in
salvation. He's the Alpha, the Omega of
salvation. Paul here warned the church about
those who would try to add something to the work of Christ. It is
certainly an evil thing to say that the Lord Jesus Christ and
Him crucified is not enough. That you must bring something,
you must do something, you must add something. That's evil. He
says over here in the book of Galatians, If you want to turn,
you can. Galatians chapter 2, he said,
I do not frustrate the grace of God, verse 21, for if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. That's one of
my favorite verses. If righteousness come by the
law, I'm not going to frustrate, distort, or confuse the grace
of God. If righteousness is by the law, no need for Christ to
come. If we can be justified by the
deeds of the law, No need for Christ to come and die for our
sin. Then the death of Christ is not
necessary. So, our only hope of salvation is
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Look at verse 3, Philippians
3, verse 3. He said, The circumcision. Now I'm talking
here about being the elect of God. We are the true Israel of
God. And circumcision here is not
the outward circumcision in the flesh as he describes that in
the book of Galatians. It's a circumcision made without
hand in the heart. And that's exactly what the Apostle
Paul, if you find Romans chapter 2, describes that circumcision
of God as an inward thing. It's not being a direct descendant
of Abraham. In Christ shall thy seed be called. Romans chapter 2, look at verse
18. For he is not a Jew which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward
in the flesh, But he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and that
circumcision is of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter,
whose praise is not of men, but of God. You see, God's people
have been operated on by God the Holy Spirit with the word
of truth, the sword of the spirit, which is quick and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword. That is who the elect of God
is. That is who the true Israel of
God is. And here's the evidences of being
circumcised in the heart. He's talking about the regenerating
work of God the Holy Spirit in the heart. He mentioned these
three things, which worship God in His Spirit. worship God in the Spirit, they
rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they have no confidence in
the flesh. Not mine, not yours, not any
man's flesh whatsoever. Paul's writing to these Gentiles
and he said, you're the true Israel of God. Because God has
operated on you in the heart. Circumcision is that of the heart
made without hands. And God's people, they do worship
God in spirit, in their heart. The Father seeketh such that
you worship Him in spirit and in truth. We don't worship God
without signs and deeds and wonders and any different thing. It's
a heart work. God looks on the heart. We worship
God in the Spirit in our heart. And then, secondly, he said,
we rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We rejoice in Christ
Jesus. Of His fullness have we all received
grace for grace. All the fullness of God dwells
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're complete in Him. We have
every reason to rejoice in Him. And then it says there, we have
no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in the flesh. Before
or after regeneration or conversion. This flesh, this flesh is just
what it is. Flesh. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh. In the flesh, no man completes
God. In the flesh is nothing but Sinful,
sinful flesh. The flesh in regeneration is
not sanctified. It's the spirit, the inward man,
the new man that's sanctified in Christ Jesus. The flesh is
nothing but flesh. Those who trust in the flesh,
Jeremiah said, those who trust in the flesh are cursed of God. Blessed is the man that trusts
in the Lord, but those who would trust in the flesh, fleshly deeds,
or something I've done that might recommend me to God, we have
no confidence in that, do we? None whatsoever. Now, in verse 4, 5, and 6, the
Apostle Paul gives his religious credentials. He said, if anyone
would have a reason to glory in the flesh, it might be me.
If anyone had any confidence in the flesh, or had reason to
have confidence in the flesh, it would be me. If any man thinketh
whereof he might trust in the flesh, he said, I would have
more reason than anybody. And then he gives this list here.
circumcised the eighth day, the most valid circumcision of a
stock of Israel. He was a true descendant, fleshly
descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. But that didn't recommend
him to God. Our Lord said to those Jews,
remember you're of your father the devil. They said, we be the
children of Abraham. No, you're not. No you're not. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel of a tribe of Benjamin, favorite son of
Jacob. Hebrew of Hebrews, his mama,
his daddy. He had a long line. He looked
up his genealogy and everybody in his genealogy, they were Hebrews
right back to Abraham. He said concerning or touching
the law, he said I was a Pharisee. Remember those Pharisees? They thought so much of themselves.
Remember that Pharisee that went to the temple and bragged on
himself, Lord, I've done this. Lord, I've prayed, I've fasted,
I've done all these works and I'm not like that old publican
over there. A Pharisee. The Lord had such sharp
rebukes for the Pharisee, didn't he? He said, you are they which
justify yourselves before men, but God knows your heart. That
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the
sight of God. Touching the law, he said, I
was a Pharisee. Boy, he was a zealous one too.
You remember, he received special permission not to only persecute
believers there in Judea, but to go to the north, into Syria,
Damascus, and find anybody who called upon the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and have them arrested and put to death. And he said,
Amen. I like it. That's a good thing. Concerning
zeal, oh, he persecuted believers, didn't he? touching the righteousness
which is in the law, Saul of Tarsus thought he had honored
the law of God. Saul of Tarsus thought he had
never violated one time any commandment. Like that young, rich ruler that
came to the Lord. And he said, what must I do to
be saved? And the Lord gave him this and
this and they said, I've done all that. Some think that was
Saul of Tarsus that came to the Lord that way. Concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, he said,
Saul of Tarsus said, I was blameless. No one could hold me guilty before
God. But something happened to him.
Look at verse 7. But God, but God, but God who was rich in
mercy, or in great love with which He loved us, even when
we were dead in sin, but God, but what things were gained to
me. He thought all those things that he had, recommended him
to God. Don't people naturally think
the same thing today? They naturally think their religious
baggage somehow recommends them to God. Their church membership,
their baptism, all their works they've done, all these different
things, they think somehow that recommends them to God. He said, what things were gained
to me Those I count now lost. Lost. They're not a gain. They're
a loss. They're a loss. Everything, that
which meant everything to Saul of Tarsus at one time, now being
taught of God, made an object of the Lord's mercy, what was
a plus and a gain to him is now nothing but loss. Now the Lord
Jesus Christ is all and in all. Christ is all! Christ is all. That's our testimony, is it not?
The Lord Jesus Christ is all. He's all my righteousness. He's
all my salvation. He's all my sanctification. He's
all my pardon. He's all my remission. He's everything in salvation.
Christ is all. One old preacher of the past
said this, Christ is all from the Father to us. In the fullness
of time, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. Christ is all
from the Father. Christ is all to the Father. He said, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. And Christ is all in the Gospel,
is He not? justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, that
He might be a just God and Savior, that He might be just and the
Justifier, and then Christ is all not only from the Father,
Christ is all to the Father, Christ is all in the Gospel,
and Christ is all in the worship of God. In the worship of God. Remember our Lord said, I am
the way, I am the truth, I am the life, And then he said, N-O,
no man come to the Father but by and through me. I'm the door.
I'm the way. Christ is all and in all. When
Christ was revealed to old Saul of Tarsus, he saw all of his
religious credentials as worthless, all his righteousness as filthy
rags, all his religious merit badges as lost, dung, rubbish. Can you say that? I count everything
lost, dung, and rubbish that I might win Christ and be found
in him. When I was a young boy, the Boy
Scouts were such a big part of my life growing up. and they
had that goal of being an Eagle Scout, and they held that for
something that you attained unto, and you gained that Eagle Scout
rank by so many merit badges. You had to do this program, hiking,
camping, tying knots, and all the different things, and when
you got so many merit badges, you became an Eagle Scout. A lot of people have the same
idea in religion that you earn certain merit badges to be a
Christian or to be a saint of God. That's not so. That makes
salvation by works, doesn't it? Salvation by grace. Has the Lord
taught you these things that He taught Saul of Tarsus? that
everything that one time you thought recommended you to God,
now you know nothing but Christ the Lord Jesus Christ is all
my salvation. He's all my salvation. He's not
a part of it. He's all of it. Has the Lord
taught you that all of your righteousnesses in His sight are nothing but
filthy rags? There's none righteous, no, not
one. There's none to understand. There's none to seek after God.
Let every mouth be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. That's what He teaches us when
He reveals the Gospel unto us. What things were gained to me,
those I count lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless. Look at verse
8. Yea, doubtless. This is doubtless now. No doubt
here. With confidence here. I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord. The excellency of the knowledge.
Knowing Him is eternal life. Knowing Him is salvation. I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord for whom I suffered the loss of all things and count
them but manure, dung, rubbish, that I may win Christ. That I
may win Christ and be found in Him. The only way God is known and
God is revealed is in the Lord Jesus Christ. to have a real
knowledge of God as He's revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is eternal life. That I might know Him who is
eternal life. If you look back to John, the
book of John, you remember in the Lord's Prayer, John 17, look
at verse 2. John 17, 2, As thou hast given
Him power over all flesh, that He should give unto Him the heat. Thou hast given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as the
Father hath given to him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. Now let me just read this one
to you. Along with that scripture, we know this. 1 John 5, verse
20. We know that the Son of God has
come. and given us an understanding that we may know Him that is
true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son, Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and this
is eternal life. 1 John 5, 20. He that hath the
Son hath life. Hath life. So, we count all things,
everything else, dung, ruin, loss, that we may be found in
Him that we might gain Christ. And we know that this is a gift
of God. We know that faith is a gift
of God. We know that salvation is a gift of God. The only way
God is known and God is revealed, the only way God is known and
God is revealed is in the Lord Jesus Christ. God who commands
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our heart to give
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God that shines
in the face of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the only mediator. One God, one mediator between
God and men, and that's the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word
would make flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. Now, I want you to turn and read
this with me one more time. 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy
chapter 1. Remember, when Paul writes 2
Timothy, this is also a prison letter. In chapter 1 of 2 Timothy,
writing back to the young preacher, verse 6, he said, Wherefore I
put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God,
which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands. For God hath
not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and
a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor me his prisoner. But be thou
a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the
power of God, saved us and called us. Notice the order there. He
saved us and then He called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace. Purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began, but now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. whereunto I'm appointed
a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which
cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded he's able to
keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. Hold
fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in
faith and in love, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. God called
us, saved us, and called us with a holy calling according to His
own purpose and grace. So we count everything else lost
but Christ. This is every believer's testimony.
We lost the false way and gained the true way. We lost false peace
and gained lasting and real peace. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. We lost spiritual death and have
gained life in Christ Jesus. We lost spiritual bondage and
have gained true freedom and liberty in the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 5 verse 1, Stand fast
therefore in the liberty with which Christ has set us free. That's where our hope is that
I may win Christ and be found in Him. One more verse, verse
9, and be found in Him. To be found in Him, not this
way, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. The righteousness which is of
God by faith. Now, there's a lot in this verse.
Being found in Him. Once lost, now found in Him. This is what all of us need right
now to be found in Christ. This is where salvation, redemption,
and righteousness is found in Him. A lot of people say, well,
I've joined the church. That's not the question. Are
you found in Him? A lot of people say, well, I've
made a religious decision. That's not the question. Are
you found in Him? People say, well, I've got confidence. I've been baptized. That's not
the question. Are you found in Him? How is
a sinner found in Him? Or how does a sinner win and
gain Christ? by His grace, by His grace, not
by anything we do. You remember we studied over
here in Galatians, or excuse me, Philippians chapter 1 verse
6, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun
a good work in you, He will perform it until the day of Christ. You
see, it's not what we do, it's what He has done. Not having
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ. Oh, it's His obedience unto death.
You remember we read that over here in chapter 2, verse 8, being
found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. You see, it's by His
faithfulness. He honored the law of God in
every precept and in every penalty, in His life and in His death.
He magnified the law. He made it honorable. That's
the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel through His faithfulness,
not mine. Not mine. Salvation is not based
upon my faithfulness. Salvation is based upon His faithfulness. And there's a big difference.
Paul says this again over here in the book of Galatians. Turn
over here to chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. Knowing,
verse 16. Galatians 2.16. knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ, the faithfulness,
obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Now, by the faith of Christ,
and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified." Now, I tell you what religious people
have done to this verse. And I know this is so. They take
that word, and if you pick up, even if you pick up what says
the King James Version, you know those Bibles that are distributed
by all the Gideons? in the motel room, and in the
doctor's office, and everywhere else. They changed the words
of this verse. I was sitting in my waiting room
at my dentist the other day, and picked up the Bible, and
turned to this verse. And here's the way it read. Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
faith in Jesus Christ. They took that word, of, and
made it in. You change the whole meaning
of the gospel. He says, by the faithfulness
of Him. Not by faithfulness of me. Or
not even by faith in Him. Now that's how He is received,
by faith. But that's not of yourself. It's
a gift of God. But by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed That's
the gift of God, that we might be justified by the faithful
obedience of Christ, not by the works of the law. For by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Now that's as clear
to me as can be. And that's what I was reading
that morning some 40 years ago, traveling down the interstate.
that I may win Christ and be found in Him. That I may win
Christ and be found in Him. I thought I had to add my righteousness
to Him. I thought I had to bring something,
my obedience or my faithfulness to Him. Oh no, no, no. It's through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God, by faith, His faithfulness. Now, how righteous do you need
to be to stand before God justified? As righteous as God. Oh, wait
a minute, preacher. I can't be that righteous. Every believer in Christ is righteous. He is the Lord, our righteousness. He's made unto us, what? Righteousness. Blessed is that
man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works. Oh, may God help us to understand
these things and believe these things in our heart.