Sunday, February 6, 2000   

1. Christ came to die for sinners (Romans 5:8).

2. He was buried and on the third day he arose that you and I might rise from the dead.

3. Christ ascended up into heaven and one day believers will ascend to be with Him. Because the believer has Christ as Savior, he can "rejoice in the Lord."

I. VERSE 1, REASONS TO REJOICE

     A. "Rejoice in the Lord." There is one thing that the world cannot take away from the true believers: "Joy in the Lord." We could call this the inerasableness of Christian joy.

          1. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature..." We are told that the Lord Jesus will never leave or forsake those who are in Christ. We rejoice because we are "in the Lord."

               a. John 16:22: Jesus said, "Your joy no man taketh from you."

               b. The child of God can lose everything, all material possessions, all friends; but he can never lose Christ. We cannot lose Him because He will not let us (John 6:39-40).

               c. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39).

          2. In the midst of all his trials, Paul rejoiced in the Lord.

               a. In prison, chained to a Roman soldier night and day, Paul rejoiced in the Lord.

               b. Paul didn't get under the circumstances for he knew that the cure for discouragement was looking for Jesus, setting your eyes on Him, riveting your thoughts and fears on Him.

          3. Child of God remember that Romans 8:28 is still in the book. It is still true: "All things work together for good to them that love God...."

               a. No matter how dark the storm clouds, Jesus is still the Lord. No matter how great the sorrow that causes our tears to flow, Jesus is still Lord. No matter how sore the trails of life-- "rejoice in the Lord."

               b. Friend, I don't know what you are facing. But I do know this; if you'll trust Him, Jesus will help you. "Rejoice in the Lord."

               c. "Paul's exhortation is for us too. If we dwell on our sorrows, we will become depressed. If we feed our depression, it will grow until it sours all of life and renders us useless" (Phillips 123).

          4. Paul knew the church at Philippi was about to face the same kind of trials he was facing; so he challenges them and encourages them to "rejoice in the Lord."

     B. The necessity of repetition is emphasized by Paul: "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous..."

          1. Good teachers are not afraid to repeat themselves. They teach students by having them read it, hear it, and write it.

               a. We learn our multiplication tables by repetition. We learn the alphabet by repetition until they become second nature to us, until they become engrafted in our minds.

               b. There are foods that are essential, and we do not tire of them.

          2. The great saving truths of Christianity do not change and must be repeated. We live in a day when folks want something new, something novel. The doctrines of grace, the old story of Jesus and His love need to be repeated. We cannot hear them too often. "Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word..."

               a. The fancy things of prophecy and current events may be attractive and they have their place, but we must major on the major things, the fundamental truths must be often repeated.

               b. Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..."

               c. The great truths are to be second nature to believers!

II. VERSES 2-3, REASONS TO BEWARE!

     A. "Beware of dogs." There are dangers and believers need to beware.

          1. In the Bible days, dogs were always regarded as unclean. Dogs bark, and dogs bite. In Paul's day, dogs roamed in packs eating anything they could find, caryying infectious diseases with them.

          2. The Jews called Gentiles dogs. Here Paul says to the proud self-righteous Jewish teachers: "You call other dogs, but you are the dogs, barking out your perversion of the Gospel." Beware of dogs that pervert the simple Gospel wreaking havoc among the sheep.

     B. Verse 2b, Beware of evil workers."

          1. These are workers of evil things teaching that sinners are saved by grace plus good works, especially the good works of the Law.

     a. Their good works are in reality evil works, works of the flesh that glorify the workers and not the Lord Jesus Christ.

     b. The Bible clearly teaches that no man can be saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

          2. We must be careful to preach and teach the Word of God lest we give our own opinions and become workers of evil.

     C. Verse 2c, "Beware of the concision." The word translated "concision" here literally means "mutilation."

          1. The Judaizers taught that circumcision was an essential part of salvation.

               a. Paul says that circumcision is, of itself, a mutilation. It is not a part of salvation.

               b. The circumcision demanded by the Jews of Gentile converts was not bet     ter than the heathenish cutting of the flesh.

          2. The cross of Christ renders the religious act of circumcision void (Colossians 2:11-14).

     D. Verse 3, Christians do not need to add to grace any act of the flesh to be saved such as circumcision, baptism, the Lord's Supper, etc.

          1. Christians are those who are truly circumcised not with an outward mark in the flesh, but with the inner circumcision of the heart spoken of by the prophets. Paul gives three signs of true circumcision.

          2. "Worship God in Spirit."

                a. Not liturgy or ritual- Spirit!

               b. True Christians worship God, not form and observances, which are of the flesh. He doesn't depend on good works of the flesh (John 4:23-24).

          3. "Rejoice in Christ Jesus." The word for rejoice here means to glory or boast. Our boast is in Christ.

               a. True believers do not boast in themselves as those who depend on works do.

               b. The true believer has nothing to boast about (Ephesians 2:9).

     c. Our boast is in what Christ has done for us.

          4. "No confidence in the flesh."

               a. We do not trust in ourselves; we trust in Christ.

               b. The Bible has nothing good to say about this flesh (Romans 7:18).

               c. The Jews trusted in circumcision and good works. They trusted in themselves.

               d. The Christian trusts in Christ and Christ alone (Acts 16:31).

CONCLUSION: Boast in the Lord, not in self.