Nothing to Boast Of

TRANSCRIPT

I greet you all in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our text for today's message is taken from Philippians chapter 3, verse 3 to 6. In the preceding verses, Paul had warned the Philippians to beware of false teachers and the Judaizers who were like dogs. He called them "dogs" because they were spiritually vicious, dirty, and dangerous. They were evil workers who pretended to be serving God, but in reality, they were serving their own selfish reasons—pride, promoting their own self-interest— instead of the cause of Jesus Christ. They were of the circumcision, which means they trusted in the fact that they were physically circumcised. Outwardly, they had this show of spirituality, performing all the religious ceremonies, but inwardly, they were not transformed; their hearts were detached from God. Basically, they were unbelievers. In contrast, Paul said in verse 3, "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit." In other words, we are different; we are true believers. We not only have the physical mark of circumcision, but inwardly, we are spiritually cleansed, we are transformed. And as true believers, we worship God in the spirit. We have learned about that in our previous message.

Today, we will continue with the second part of verse 3 “… and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” The word "rejoice" can be translated as "glory" or "boast". It is to boast with great joy, what a person is proud of, something that you are proud of, you boast about it, you glory in it . Depending on the context, it can be used in a positive or negative sense. It can be a godly and appropriate boasting, or it can be a prideful and inappropriate boasting of one's accomplishments and abilities. Let me give you an example: if you say, "Rejoice in your wealth, rejoice in your strength, rejoice in your victory," it means your wealth, your strength, your victory are the basis of your boasting. It is ungodly and inappropriate. So, the object in this phrase is very important because it indicates the basis of Paul's boasting in Christ Jesus. When you say, "Rejoice in Christ Jesus," it means Christ Jesus is the basis of your boasting.

The false believers would boast about their own works and their religious activities, believing that on the basis of those things, they are able to please God, they are able to earn their own salvation. The true believers know that all these things mean nothing. By the grace of God, we are what we are, as Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." In and of ourselves, we have absolutely nothing to boast about, and we must give credit to the only One to whom credit is due—our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So, rejoice in Christ Jesus. He's the basis for our boasting, our rejoicing.

The title of our message is "Nothing to Boast Of." Paul went on to say, "and have no confidence in the flesh." The flesh represents that part of us that is fallen and unredeemed, that part of us that is human. As believers, we are redeemed; we are saved; we are the new creature in Christ. This inner man is transformed by God's Word and His Spirit. But as long as the believer still lives on this earth, as long as the believer is still alive, he is living in this mortal body known as the flesh. The flesh is that part of us which is sinful, and to put our confidence in the flesh means to trust in our own human ability apart from God.

True believers know that the flesh cannot do anything to please God. By our own sinful efforts and abilities, we can never save ourselves. Therefore, we must not put our confidence in the flesh. To further reinforce this point, Paul shared his own personal testimony of how he was once so proud and confident of himself and his own good works. That was in the past. He knew these were the things the false teachers and Judaizers were proud of. Look at verse 4: "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more". In other words, ‘although I myself could have confidence in the flesh, if anyone thinks he has any reason or basis to trust in the flesh, I have even more reasons to think so.’ Now, please do not think that Paul was proud or egotistic. He was not thinking of himself as spiritually more superior than the rest. No, he was sharing this not to show off, but in fact, to his own shame. He was sharing this for the sake of argument. It was for the sake of showing those false believers that it was totally foolish to put our confidence in the flesh.

Isn't it true that people like to look at credentials? They are impressed with worldly accomplishments. They respect those people with long resumes. They admire those people who are successful. They look up to those who have accumulated much wealth. That is how the world functions. But sadly, it is happening in the church as well. Today, many churches look to worldly credentials. They want pastors who have graduated from prestigious Bible seminaries. They will only ordain elders or elect deacons if they are successful, wealthy, and influential. Their mentality is, ‘as long as he is a CEO of a multinational corporation, that is all that matters. If he can run the company, he can run the church.’ God forbids.

All it takes is for a person who is successful, a person who seems to have it all—you name it, he has it—and he says to you, "All these things mean nothing. All these things that I have so-called achieved or accumulated are but dung or rubbish. I have left all these things behind for something far greater, and that is for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the knowledge of Him." That is precisely what the Apostle Paul was trying to do here. It was as if he was saying, "You boast about who you are and what you have achieved through your own efforts and abilities. In the past, before my conversion, I used to think like you. I used to think that these things were gain, they were my spiritual assets. But after my conversion, after I met the Lord Jesus Christ, I consider all these things but loss—nothing. Only one thing is important to me, and that is my Lord Himself." So, here Paul was speaking about his religious credentials, not to show off, but to show that it is total foolishness to trust in the flesh, to put our confidence in all these things.

There are seven things he talks about here. You can categorise them into two parts: things that he inherited and things that he earned or achieved.

I. Things he inherited

Firstly, let us consider the things he inherited. Look at verse 5: "Circumcised the eighth day". Paul began with circumcision because that was a major emphasis to the Judaizers. The Judaizers esteemed circumcision most highly. Paul was a Jew by birth, and he went through the rite of circumcision on the eighth day after his birth. Most certainly, Paul was not in control of being circumcised on the eighth day. That was something his parents did. His parents were the ones who brought him to be circumcised. So, there was nothing, absolutely nothing, for him to be proud of. In a similar fashion, some people would boast about being baptised as a baby. Others would boast about being baptised at a very young age, or they have been attending and participating in the Lord's Supper for as long as they could remember, or they have always been in the Sunday School. But as far as our salvation is concerned, no one can be saved by observing all these spiritual ceremonies. Not one.

The second thing is, "I am of the stock of Israel" or "I am of the nation of Israel." Some of the Judaizers were Gentile converts; they were not Jews. Paul himself was a Jew by birth, a member of God's chosen people, a physical descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, whatever God had promised his forefathers, he stood to inherit all the blessings of being part of the covenant nation. Remember, God declared to the Israelites, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). So, he said to all these false teachers and Judaizers, including the readers, the Philippians, "I am of the nation of Israel." Some people are proud of their race. They may be born in a first-world country with the freedom of worship and a strong Christian heritage, where the streets are filled with huge, massive churches. And then they look down on those who are from a third-world country where the influence of the Gospel is not great and with little resources. They worship in a small, tiny church. It is so sad. This should never happen. Whether in a big church or a small church, it has no spiritual significance as far as our salvation is concerned. You can be saved in a tiny little church in a third-world country; you can also be saved in a huge, massive church in a first-world country. It has no spiritual significance to your salvation.

The third thing is, "I am of the tribe of Benjamin." The tribe of Benjamin was one of the most prominent tribes in Israel. Benjamin was the younger of the two sons born to Jacob's favourite wife, Rachel. He was the last of Jacob's sons to be born, the only one born in the promised land. Saul, Israel's first king, was a Benjamite. Mordecai, the one who was used by God, together with Esther, to deliver the Jews from genocide in the book of Esther, was also a Benjamite. When the kingdom was divided into two during the time of Rehoboam, the ten tribes joined the northern kingdom and they worshipped the golden calves at Dan and at Bethel. Only the tribe of Benjamin joined Judah to form the southern kingdom, and they continued to worship at Jerusalem according to God's command. So, the people were very familiar with the tribe of Benjamin, and they looked up to this particular tribe. And Paul said, "I am from the tribe of Benjamin." During Paul’s times, many of the Jews no longer knew which tribe they belonged to, why? Due to intermarriages during the years of exile. So, because of all the intermarriages and dispersion, many of them lost track of which tribe they belonged to. But Paul's family remained pure Benjamites, and he was able to trace his roots to the tribe of Benjamin.

Next, Paul said, "I am an Hebrew of the Hebrews." The phrase "an Hebrew of the Hebrews" is very interesting. It means in Hebrew, in the highest degree. Just like Ecclesiastes 1 verse 2 says, "Vanity of vanities," it means vanity in the highest degree. When the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom in 586 BC, the Jews were taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. So, for 70 years, they lived in Babylon. After the 70 years, they returned from exile to Jerusalem. However, the other Jews were dispersed, and they formed Jewish communities throughout the ancient world. Soon, those dispersed Jews were influenced by other cultures, and they spoke other languages. For example, during the time of Alexander the Great, who conquered much of the ancient world, the Jews living in those regions were influenced by the Greek culture and spoke the Greek language. They were known as Hellenistic Jews.

But Paul was different; he remained committed to the Hebrew tradition. He spoke the Hebrew language; he followed the customs of the Hebrew people. In fact, he even left Tarsus to go to Jerusalem to study under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel. His devotion and loyalty to the Hebrew tradition was well known among the Jewish people. How do we know? If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Acts 26 verse 4. Paul said to King Agrippa, "My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews". In other words, ‘all the Jews know how I have lived my life, how I have followed the Hebrew tradition from my youth because from the beginning of my youth, I was among the Jewish people in my own nation, Israel, and at Jerusalem. So, they knew me, how I was a true Hebrew.’ That was why he used the phrase "an Hebrew of the Hebrews." He was not influenced by the other cultures; he remained committed, spoke the language of Hebrew, followed the customs and the other traditions.

Dear friends, perhaps you are born into a Christian family. You come from a family of five generations of Christians. Your parents were Christians; your grandparents were Christians; your great-grandparents were Christians, and so forth. Praise the Lord for the Christian heritage. Thank God for all the benefits and advantages you have received from the Christian heritage. But one thing you must realise is that coming from a Christian family, coming from a family of five generations of Christians, cannot save you. Some people trust and put their confidence in the church. Like for example, they are proud to be part of the Bible-Presbyterian movement. "I am a Bible-Presbyterian." But that cannot save you. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can save you. Why do you want to put your trust and your confidence in all these things that cannot save you? And Paul went on to say in Acts 26 verse 5, "Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee” In other words, ‘the Jews knew me. They watched me from my youth how I have live according to the Hebrew tradition, they knew that I belong to the strictest Jewish group, the Pharisees.’ This brings us to our second point and that is “Things he achieved.”

II. Things he achieved

Back to our text in Philippians chapter 3. The Pharisees were supremely devoted to the law. Here in verse 5, the word "law" does not only refer to the Old Testament; but it includes all the traditions that have been added to it. In fact, the word "Pharisees" means "be separated" or "be set apart," signifying that this group of people were separated, set apart to the law. To be a Pharisee was to be a member of the most respected religious group at that time, a group of men who had devoted their entire lives to study the law, understand the law, interpret the law, guard and obey the law. That was why Paul said, "as touching the law, or concerning the law I am a Pharisee." According to the Jewish historian Josephus, during that time, they had only about six thousand Pharisees. So, you imagine six thousand Pharisees who were well respected, influential, who had all these religious powers over the common people, and Paul was one of them. So, as far as his knowledge and understanding of the law is concerned, he was far more superior than all the other Jews.

What can we learn from here? Bible knowledge is good. We need Bible knowledge, but it is good only if it is put into rightful application. Some people have good Bible knowledge, and they are proud of it. They want everyone to know that they have very strong biblical knowledge. They want people to respect them for their good Bible knowledge; they boast about it. Recently, in one of our Bible studies, someone said this: "We must have a big head and a big heart." A big head not in the sense of being proud, a big head meaning having this knowledge of God's Word. But as well as a heart that is big enough to apply that knowledge into our lives. How true. Right? But some people have a big head but a small heart or no heart at all, and that is most detrimental.

Verse 6, Paul said “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church”. In the past, Paul was so zealous of his Jewish heritage that he would persecute anyone who stood in the way of Judaism, anyone who stood in the way, he would persecute. In fact, he was so zealous in persecuting the Christians that he was present when Stephen was being stoned to death. Stephen was the first Christian martyr in the book of Acts; he was a deacon, and he was stoned to death. The Bible tells us that the persecutors took off their coats and laid them at the feet of Paul, who at that time was called Saul. Perhaps he was the one who gave them the green light to stone Stephen, and he did not stop after Stephen's death. He went on to persecute the Christians most violently.

Acts chapter 8 verse 3 says this, let me read for you, "As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women” — arresting men and women — “committed them to prison." So, he created great havoc in the Christian church, went into homes, and arrested people who professed to believe in Jesus Christ, and then put them into prison. In fact, he later on obtained a letter from the high priest to go to Damascus, to go to the synagogues, so that he would arrest the Christians there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be prosecuted. But God did not let that happen because on the road to Damascus, that was when Jesus appeared to him and saved him. Was Paul zealous? Most certainly, but it was a misguided zeal. A person can be sincere and yet be sincerely wrong. Many of the people who believe in the other religions of this world, whether they be the Orthodox Jews, Roman Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, they can be very zealous and sincere, but they are not guided by the truth so their zeal and sincerity are misguided.

Likewise, Christians even in the church today, they can be very zealous and sincere in attending every worship service, they can participate in all the Holy Communions, serving God in all the ministries and involved in the fellowship meetings. But they can be guided only by their own feelings, only by their own emotions. They can be zealous and sincere because of their own motivations and their own self-interest, not guided by the truth of God's Word. That zeal and sincerity is misguided. It means nothing. Once our zeal and sincerity is misguided and it is for any other reasons other than for the glory of God, other than being guided by God’s truth, it means nothing. It is absolutely meaningless.

Finally Paul said, “touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Before his conversion Paul outwardly observed all the righteousness, which was prescribed in the law and those people who knew him could testify that his behaviour was blameless. It was not as if Paul was perfect or sinless. No man is. No man is perfect, no man is sinless. But they could not fault him as far as the outward appearance of righteousness they could not fault him as far as the outward observation of the law is concerned. All they could see was he was righteous, he was blameless.

Dear friends, perhaps you are proud of the way you live your life, you may not say it out aloud but in your heart you may be thinking, ‘I’m better than the rest, I’ve observed all the Commandments, I’ve been righteous, I have not done this, I’ve not done that like the rest of them. I’m pretty much a righteous person.’ Do you know that a person can live a seemingly righteous life outwardly but inwardly his or her heart may not be transformed. It is only an outward appearance of righteousness. And unless you believe God, unless your heart is transformed, all these external observations mean nothing. They cannot save you.

So, in the past, Paul trusted in all these things. He put his confidence in the things he had inherited; he put his trust and confidence in the things he had achieved. But the moment he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, that was when he saw the true holiness, goodness, and glory of God. When he caught a glimpse of that, he realised that all his righteousness were but filthy rags. In the past, he was full of confidence. When he encountered Jesus Christ, he realised that he was totally depraved. He was a desperate sinner in need of salvation, which only Christ alone could provide. That was the reason why he fell down before the Lord on the road to Damascus and called out to him, "Lord."

Dear friends, like the Apostle Paul, when you and I stand before God, the Almighty God, who is 100% holy, 100% just, when we stand before Him in His majesty, do you think you and I can say to Him, ‘Well, look, I was baptised; I was a member of this particular church; I was serving; I gave to the church; I was faithful in my tithing and offerings. Remember my spiritual lineage and heritage. I came from a family of five generations of Christians. And what about my knowledge? I have good biblical knowledge; I understand biblical truth, and I'm righteous. I did not do all those things that people had done, and I did all those things that people would not do.’ None of us can say that before the Almighty God. Absolutely nothing for us to boast of. If our hearts are not transformed, it doesn't matter who we are and what we have done; we are still lost.

But if you and I are believers, and our hearts are transformed, the One who saved us is the Lord himself. Again, nothing for us to boast of. If there's anything we can boast of, it is to boast of Christ and Christ alone. So, dear friends, do not put your trust in the things that you have done. Do not trust in the flesh. Do not trust just because you have been coming to church; you have been singing hymns; you have been worshiping; you have been giving; you are a member here and there. All these things mean nothing if you do not believe God, if your heart is not transformed by Christ himself. And if you are saved, you are transformed by Christ himself, then give credit where credit is due. Glorify Him, rejoice in Christ Jesus, not in ourselves. That is the crux of this passage. Paul says, “All these things mean nothing. If you want to be confident of these things, I have even more reasons to be confident of these things, but I consider all these things as loss, empty, nothing. Only my Lord Jesus Christ is everything." Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this passage. Indeed, we ought not to put our trust and confidence in all these things, but to put our trust and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. All these things mean nothing without Christ. So, help us to remember this truth. Some people may live their lives clinging onto the things they have done, who they are, or even their upbringings, their spiritual heritage. But we know that none of these things can save us. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can save us. Why would we want to put our trust and confidence in all these things? Rather, we want to put our trust and confidence in the only One who can save us, the One who came, who died on the cross, who shed His precious blood to wash away all our sins, the One who came and was buried. Well, on the third day, He rose again from the dead. For He is the life and the resurrection. Jesus Christ alone is able to save us and in Him we put our trust and confidence and in nothing else. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. Things he inherited
• II. Things he achieved

THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS

The Church at Philippi

The Church at Philippi

Philippians 1:1-2

The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)

The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)

Philippians 1:3-5

Elements of True Joy

Elements of True Joy

Philippians 1:3-6

The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)

The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)

Philippians 1:6

What are the Things Most Important to Us?

What are the Things Most Important to Us?

Philippians 1:7-8

Growing in Godliness

Growing in Godliness

Philippians 1:9-11

Message 5: Praying for the Church

Message 5: Praying for the Church

Philippians 1:9-11

Growing in Godliness

Growing in Godliness

Philippians 1:9-11

Are All Things Really Working For Good?

Are All Things Really Working For Good?

Philippians 1:12-14

In Times of Adversity

In Times of Adversity

Philippians 1:12-18

Trouble in the Church

Trouble in the Church

Philippians 1:15-18

For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is Gain

For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is Gain

Philippians 1:19-26

To Live is Christ

To Live is Christ

Philippians 1:19-26

Living Worthy of the Gospel

Living Worthy of the Gospel

Philippians 1:27-30

Live your life worthy of the Gospel

Live your life worthy of the Gospel

Philippians 1:27-30

Let's Have Fellowship

Let's Have Fellowship

Philippians 2:1-4

The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)

The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)

Philippians 2:1-2

Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)

Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)

Philippians 2:3-4

The Ultimate Example

The Ultimate Example

Philippians 2:5-8

The Ultimate Example

The Ultimate Example

Philippians 2:5-11

What Is Christmas?

What Is Christmas?

Philippians 2:6-11

The Greatest Name

The Greatest Name

Philippians 2:9-11

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Philippians 2:12-18

Living a Sanctified Life

Living a Sanctified Life

Philippians 2:12-13

Moving Forward Not Backward

Moving Forward Not Backward

Philippians 2:13-14

Stop Murmuring and Complaining

Stop Murmuring and Complaining

Philippians 2:14-16

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Paul

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Paul

Philippians 2:17-18

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Timothy

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Timothy

Philippians 2:19-24

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment

Philippians 3:1-2

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

Philippians 3:3, John 4:4-30

Nothing to Boast Of

Nothing to Boast Of

Philippians 3:3-6

What Is Gain To Me Is Loss

What Is Gain To Me Is Loss

Philippians 3:7-9

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

Philippians 3:10-11

What are Your Spiritual Goals?

What are Your Spiritual Goals?

Philippians 3:10-11

Pressing Toward The Mark

Pressing Toward The Mark

Philippians 3:12-14

Pressing Toward the Mark

Pressing Toward the Mark

Philippians 3:13-14

Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for You

Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for You

Philippians 3:13-14

How to Know the Will of God

How to Know the Will of God

Philippians 3:15

Who Are You Following?

Who Are You Following?

Philippians 3:16-19

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57

How Do You Stand Fast?

How Do You Stand Fast?

Philippians 4:1

How to Maintain Christian Unity

How to Maintain Christian Unity

Philippians 4:2-3

Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]

Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]

Philippians 4:4-7

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

Philippians 3:3, John 4:4-30

The Cure for Anxiety

The Cure for Anxiety

Philippians 4:6-7

Message 6: Praying for the Troubled

Message 6: Praying for the Troubled

Philippians 4:6-7

Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]

Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]

Philippians 4:8-9

Learning To Be Content [Part 1]

Learning To Be Content [Part 1]

Philippians 4:10-12

Learning To Be Content [Part 2]

Learning To Be Content [Part 2]

Philippians 4:13-19

How To Be An Overcoming Christian

How To Be An Overcoming Christian

Philippians 4:13

My God Shall Supply All Your Needs

My God Shall Supply All Your Needs

Philippians 4:19

Living By Grace and For God's Glory

Living By Grace and For God's Glory

Philippians 4:20-23

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57