THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS #14

THE SAME OLD THINGSDATE:

TEXT: Philippians 3:1-3

INTRODUCTION

Let me begin by saying a word in defense of long-winded preachers

Paul's sermon to the Philippians has lasted 2 chapters

He says here in v.1 – “Finally my brethren,” and then preaches for another 2 chapters  

Actually, Paul was not stating that he was about to close

But when he made this statement in 3:1, “Finally my brethren,” the word that he used means “the rest”

He was saying, “I have spoken to you about a certain matter, now, let me talk to you about the rest of the things on my heart” 

He does say, “Finally, brethren,” in 4:8, and closes …

I don’t know if Paul was longwinded …

But I do know that he didn't hesitate to preach on The Same Old Things

He says in v.1, “To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe”  

The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3The “same things” that Paul referred to were things that he had previously written them about

He repeats himself for a purpose

He says that “it is safe”

For their protection

He adds that it was “not grievous” for him to do so

The word “grievous” speaks of something that is troublesome

Paul was saying that it was safe and needful for them to hear again what he had to say

Paul was Concerned about their Spiritual Safety

He wanted to protect their Christian life from certain dangers

II Peter 3:1, 2 – “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:” ”That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before…”

I want to preach to you on this thought

“The Same Old Things”

~~~OPENING PRAYER~~~

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3Notice the reasons

He Wanted to Safe Guard them from:  

I. A “COLD” HEART!

Paul begins by saying in v.1 – “rejoice in the Lord”

He tells them that he doesn't want their heart to become cold

Ill. I think of what Matthew 24:14 says, "…many are called and few are chosen." One little boy in Sunday school quoted it, “Many are cold and a few are frozen” I think he was closer than he realized

Ill. A song leader, who couldn't get the congregation to sing, paused between stanzas and pointed to an uncooperative man and said, "Sir, would you stand and lead us in a frown."

God never meant for the Christian life to be a Burden but a Blessing

It’s not to be the kind of life that should make us look like we are gonna cry

It should be the kind of life that makes us want a shout!  

In this book, Paul as repeated over and over again the need for a joyful Christian life

For example, we read in: 

1: 18 – “I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice”

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3 1:26 – “That your rejoicing may be more abundant

in Jesus Christ...”

2:2 –“Fulfill ye my joy”

2: 18 – “For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me”

4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”  

Ill. A little boy was so excited about a hand out he had received in Sunday school entitled, "Joy from God." And on the Church bus going home, his paper blew out the window. The little boy shouted to the driver, "Stop the bus. I've lost the joy of God."  

Here's Paul’s exhortation –

Don't let your heart become cold

Keep yourself happy in Jesus

Keep your soul filled with praise

Don't let your Christian life become old

Notice what Paul says about the matter of rejoicing: 

A. That Rejoicing is ‘Commanded’

Paul said – "Rejoice in the Lord"

Notice this is an instruction, not a suggestion

Rejoicing in the Lord is not an option 4

The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3

It’s commanded of us as believers

Just as we are commanded to be Holy as believers

We are commanded to be Happy as believers

How can you command someone to be happy?

The truth is that we let things rob us of our joy in the Lord

How can we obey this command and keep our souls rejoicing?

Notice that this rejoicing is "in the Lord”

The secret is to not let anything come between you and your Lord

This Rejoicing is ‘Commanded’

B. This Rejoicing is to be ‘Continual’

The tense of the command is to keep on rejoicing in the Lord (continual)

Ill. As one writer said, "Go on constantly rejoicing in the Lord"

Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”

Circumstances shouldn’t dictate our joy

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3

Again the key is “in the Lord”

If your happiness depends on good things

Then when bad things happen, you’ll be stripped of your joy

But if the Lord is the Source and Reason of your joy

It will be a joy that is Constant and Continual

Because it is ‘Commanded’ and we want to obey

We will learn to let it be ‘Continual’

Paul wanted to Safe Guard them from:

A “COLD” HEART

II. A “CORRUPTED” LIFE!

The 2nd Same Old Thing that was worth repeating was that there are those who seek to corrupt us

Notice v.2 – “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision”

Just like in Paul's day (today) there are false teachers who would try to corrupt us doctrinally and spiritually

Jesus on several occasions warned about false teachers

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3

He told us to be on our toes and watch out for their corrupted teachings

He said in Matthew 24:4, 5

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many”

Peter said basically the same thing in II Peter 2:1

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction”

These false teachers are on the radio and TV

Their books can be found in the bookstores

They are, Popular, Persuasive and Plentiful

Paul’s Same Old Thing was to safeguard the Philippian believers from being corrupted by False Teachers

Paul said – “Beware”

Watch out for them was his Command

Notice how he described these false teachers:

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3

A. They Were ‘Devouring’  

Paul called them "dogs”

When he spoke of dogs he was not talking about cultured canines

He was speaking of the filthy scavengers that existed in his day

In those days there were packs of mangy, flea-bitten, vicious, starved scavengers that ran the streets and garbage dumps

They did nothing but Devour and Destroy

I don't know of a better description of false teachers and prophets than "dogs" (Matt.7:6, 15; II Pet.2:19-22)

They are spiritual scavengers and predators that devour and destroy

Have you ever noticed that the cults and false teachers spend very little time reaching the sinner …

But are always after the saints?

Church people are their primary target

They want to make other church members their converts

B. They Were ‘Depraved’

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3

Paul also calls them “evil workers”

The word “evil” speaks of that which is depraved

These false teachers were corrupt on the inside …

Thus they were what they were on the outside

Ill. As John Phillips describes them, "They were men of fair words and foul conduct"

C. They Were ‘Deceiving’  

Paul spoke of the “concision”

This word was a spin off of the word circumcision

There was a group in that day called the Judaizers

They did not deny that faith was an essential element in salvation

But they added works as a prerequisite for salvation  

Ill. Years ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., was taken ill with a staff infection of the throat. A new medicine call sulphanilamide was tried with amazing success. The publicity of the case caused the drug to be in great demand. A pharmaceutical company in Tennessee conceived the ideal of preparing the drug in a liquid instead of a powder form. They dissolved it in diethylene glycol -a substance very much like anti-freeze for automobiles. It proved to be a costly and fatal preparation. Before its use could be stopped

61 people had died.

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3A harmless lifesaving drug in one form became a fatal death-dealing potion in another form. It was not something that was taken away that made the drug deadly, but something that was added. 

What these false teachers were teaching was just as damnable

They were not taking away anything, only adding to it

False teachers say a lot that is right

But it is the wrong they add to the right that is deceiving

That's how people get hooked on these TV and Radio preachers

They say a lot of right things but they add their personal doctrines to the truth, perverting the truth of God and leading others astray

May I remind you of what the Bible says –

Revelation 22:18 – “For I testify unto every man that heareth the Words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:”

They were not only ‘Devouring’ and ‘Depraved’

But also ‘Deceiving’ the people by what they taught

Three times Paul said, “Beware”

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3You get the ideal that Paul wasn’t bothered that he repeated over again The Same Old Things

He wanted the Philippians believers to safeguard their life from being Spiritually and Doctrinally Corrupted  

Don't give them your time

Don't give them your money

Don't give them your hearing

Don't give them anything

Don't give them a chance to corrupt you

We are to Safeguard ourselves from:

A “COLD” HEART!A “CORRUPTED” LIFE!  

III. A “CONFUSED” MIND! 

Notice v.3 – “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” 

After Paul described the False he described the Genuine

He names the foundation of the Christian faith

(Turn to Hebrews chapter 6)

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3He seems to be saying –

"I want you to be grounded. I don't want you confused and uncertain about these things. I want them settled in your heart”  

May I say, that when it comes to foundational matters of our faith, we need to have it settled

We should not be confused and ignorant of these matters

But have them firmly fixed in our heart and mind

Hebrews 6:1- …  

He says, “For we are the circumcision”

Paul was making reference to a physical ordinance that was symbolic of the Abrahamic covenant

There were Christian Jews who were insisting that in order for one to become a part of the kingdom of God this physical ordinance had to be observed  

Paul says in v.3 that those who have put their faith in Christ are the true circumcision

He was declaring that real circumcision was a spiritual matter and not physical

Colossians 2:11 – “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:”

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3Then he declares three great essentials of those who are truly saved and a part of the kingdom of God

He speaks of certain things one should not be “Confused” about  

A. The ‘Privilege’ of Salvation  

First Paul speaks of how we are to –

"worship God in the Spirit"

To a Jew access to God was limited

It involved a special place (Jerusalem) and a special person (A Jew) – John 4

But Paul declares that we all have access to God and the privilege of worshipping Him  

This is an unlimited access

It is an unhindered access

It is an unrestricted access

It is “in the Spirit,” and “by the Spirit”

We have a personal relationship with God that allows us the privilege of being in God's presence  

The Christian experience is not something physical …

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3It is something spiritual

To the Jew, God dwelt in a Building

But Paul declares God dwells in our Bodies

As believers we don't need a priest to get to God

God has come to us!

That’s the ‘Privilege’ of Salvation    

B. The ‘Person’ of Salvation 

Secondly Paul says – "Rejoice in Christ Jesus"

The word "rejoice" that Paul uses in this case means to "boast in"

Paul is saying that our grounds for boasting is the Lord Jesus  

Ill. The songwriters said it well: Nothing in my hand I bring Simply to Thy Cross I cling. On Christ the solid rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand.

That’s the ‘Privilege’ of Salvation    

The ‘Person’ of Salvation 

C. The ‘Provision’ of Salvation  

Finally Paul says that we are to "have no confidence in the flesh”

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The Same Old Things – Philippians 3:1-3 Paul was saying that salvation does not come by what we do

But by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus

Ephesians 2:8, 9 – “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”

Jesus paid it all  

These things need to be settled in our heart

We are not to be:

“COLD”

“CORRUPTED”

“CONFUSED”

“…To write The Same (Old) Things to you …”

“… to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe” 

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