Philippians 3:1-3<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n A. Have you ever heard a preacher in his sermon say, “Now in conclusion”<\/p>\n 1. So you reach for the song book … but he continues on and on and on<\/p>\n 2. Paul begins this chapter with the words “Finally, my brethren” – and continues on for two more chapters<\/p>\n B. Greek scholars suggest that the word “finally” (loipon) can be a transition word, a word that introduces a new thought<\/p>\n C. This section of scripture has a very important message: “Rejoice in the Lord, always…”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n DISCUSSION<\/strong><\/p>\n A. REMINDER<\/p>\n 1. The need to rejoice is a recurring theme in this epistle (1:18; 2:17, 18, 28)<\/p>\n a. The word “rejoice” is in the present tense and suggests a continual rejoicing<\/p>\n b. Here in Philippians 3:1, Paul makes a significant addition – Rejoice IN THE LORD<\/p>\n c. Perhaps Paul’s point was, that no matter what tragedy might befall them, the Philippians were “in the Lord” and therefore always had reason to rejoice<\/p>\n 2. You may lose your possessions or your money<\/p>\n a. Your mate may desert you, or your children may disappoint you<\/p>\n b. Your health may fail, or your steps may falter<\/p>\n c. You are still “in the Lord” – so rejoice!<\/p>\n 3. One preacher wrote, “One cannot always rejoice in payday and fair weather, but the Christian can always ‘rejoice in the Lord’”<\/p>\n 4. All of us need to be reminded to “rejoice in the Lord”<\/p>\n B. REPETITION<\/p>\n 1. Philippians 3:1b<\/p>\n 2. We learn a very valuable lesson from this: Repetition of basic truths is not bad<\/p>\n a. Repetition can be overdone, but some is needed<\/p>\n b. Every educator knows repetition is how one learns<\/p>\n 3. Repetition is a safeguard<\/p>\n a. 2 Peter 1:11-12<\/p>\n b. Marshall Keeble – His mom making lye soap.<\/p>\n 4. Sadly, some complain, “Don’t keep telling us the old truths! We want something new and different!”<\/p>\n a. Paul anticipated that this would happen… _ 2 Timothy 4:3-4<\/p>\n b. Many present day audiences, reversing Paul’s thought, find lack of novelty and continued repetition grievous and irksome<\/p>\n c. If the gospel is to be communicated, novelty is not the concern – the vital question is not, “Is it new? – But is it true?”<\/p>\n 5. We must never succumb to the pressure of preaching a different gospel<\/p>\n a. Galatians 1:6-10<\/p>\n b. We must never grow weary of sharing basic truths – for this will strengthen and safeguard our listeners<\/p>\n c. Paul told the young preacher to-<\/p>\n 1) 2 Timothy 4:2<\/p>\n 2) Marshall – “in season and out of season” – when they want it and when they don’t<\/p>\n C. RENUNCIATION<\/p>\n 1. Philippians 3:2<\/p>\n 2. Paul has been focusing on people who he loved, but next he turns his attention to those who would harm them<\/p>\n 3. Who was threatening the spiritual safety of Paul’s beloved Philippians?<\/p>\n a. It was probably the Judaizing teachers<\/p>\n b. When Paul was discussing Judaizing teachers in 2 Corinthians, he used similar terms to the ones he uses in our present text of study (2 Cor. 11:13)<\/p>\n c. Judaizing teachers were Jews who had become Christians but still held on the law of Moses and taught that Christians needed to embrace Judaism<\/p>\n d. Acts 15:1, 5<\/p>\n e. Paul had reason to believe that this heresy posed a danger to the church in Philippi<\/p>\n f. To understand just how serious this warning was we need to put our self in the mindset of a Jew<\/p>\n 4. Paul said, “Beware of dogs”<\/p>\n a. Don’t think of dogs as pampered pets, but a dogs which prowl about eastern cities, without a home and without an owner, feeding on the refuse and filth of the streets, quarrelling among themselves, and attacking the passer-by.<\/p>\n b. The term “dogs” is always used in a derogatory sense in the scriptures<\/p>\n c. For example, Psalm 22:16<\/p>\n d. There is a touch of irony here. The rabbis said the Gentile world were like dogs – but Paul said these Judaizing teachers were like dogs<\/p>\n 5. Paul said, “Beware of evil workers”<\/p>\n a. The Judaizing teachers doubtless thought of themselves as workers of good, but the apostle said they were just the opposite<\/p>\n b. Why? They were guilty of adding to the word of God<\/p>\n c. Revelation 22:18<\/p>\n 6. Paul said, “Beware of the concision”<\/p>\n a. “beware of the false circumcision” (NAS) – “look out for those who mutilate the flesh” (RSV)<\/p>\n b. They had taken the rite of circumcision and made it nothing more than bodily mutilation<\/p>\n c. Nothing is wrong with circumcision as an optional medical practice, but when people tried to bind it on Christians as a required religious ceremony, Paul labeled it as “mutilation”<\/p>\n d. Galatians 5:6<\/p>\n 7. Most of us have seen warning signs – “Warning, Bridge out” – etc. We ignore such signs at our own risk<\/p>\n a. Paul is giving the Philippians warnings<\/p>\n b. The Bible gives us many warnings as well and we must give serious heed<\/p>\n D. REVELATION<\/p>\n 1. Philippians 3:3<\/p>\n 2. Paul is saying, in effect, “Today Christians are the true Jews, the true children of God<\/p>\n a. Romans 2:28-29<\/p>\n b. Circumcision was a sign of a covenant relationship under the old law – today Christians are God’s covenant people<\/p>\n 3. After asserting that Christians are God’s covenant people, Paul lists three characteristics of the “true circumcision”<\/p>\n a. “Worship by the Spirit of God” or “worship God in the spirit” (KJV)<\/p>\n 1) Worship as revealed by the Spirit (Bible)<\/p>\n 2) Worship in the spirit – correct attitude<\/p>\n 3) Both are taught in John 4:24<\/p>\n b. “Glory in Christ Jesus”<\/p>\n 1) The false teacher gloried in the rites and rituals<\/p>\n 2) But we are to glory in the Lord – not in ourselves<\/p>\n c. “Have no confidence in the flesh”<\/p>\n 1) In the context, the meaning is not to put any confidence in the fleshly ceremony of circumcision<\/p>\n 2) Through application, we must not put any confidence in what we have done – do not brag about what we have done<\/p>\n 3) Nothing is more unbecoming than a bragging Christian<\/p>\n CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/p>\n A. From this lesson I hope that we learn that no matter what happens, we must do as Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord”<\/p>\n B. True rejoicing in the Lord can only come if we are Christians<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sermon – Rejoice in the Lord Philippians 3:1-3 INTRODUCTION A. Have you ever heard a preacher in his sermon say, “Now in conclusion” 1. So you reach for the song book … but he continues on and on and on 2. Paul begins this chapter with the words “Finally, my brethren” – and continues on … Continue reading “Sermon – Rejoice in the Lord – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}