Spirit vs. Flesh [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright.

He was sinless. He lived a life of obedience unto the father is the son of God's son of man, he died so that anyone who trusts in him would have his sacrifice applied as if you had made it, and would have his righteousness applied as if you had lived in and there is no other way that's faster and write to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new life. I'm Dino Britt excited for you to hear the teaching today.

In the series. Unspeakable joy is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastor@an.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860. More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright I get you ready for some good news. Beloved your right standing with God is not Jesus plus some of your own righteousness. Your Pl. in God's family now and for all eternity in the inheritance of spiritual inheritance that is yours is yours purely holy fully because of what Christ is done and none of what you've done where Philippians chapter 3 and we come to this passage which Paul here gets animated emotional angry, insistent and passionate. He reminds me in these verses serve his temperament on a grander scale in his epistle to the Galatians where they had so much challenge of these Judaizers they were coming in and teaching this Jesus plus other things and here Paul is not addressing a church that is just riddled with this kind of heresy, but he is telling, then you need to be on the lookout and we pick up reading at verse two of Philippians chapter 3 lookout for the dogs lookout for evildoers lookout for those who mutilate the flesh, for we are the circumcision, who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh. Also, if anyone else thinks he is reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews is the law, a Pharisee to seal a persecutor of the church as a righteousness under the law, blameless, but what ever again. I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

And did I count everything is lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God. The depends on faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him and his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead CS Lewis in his famous Screwtape letters depicts a senior level named Screwtape who is writing to a junior devil. His nephew, wormwood. In chapter 25 Screwtape is giving wormwood advice on how to lure his subject. That would be Christian away from the pure gospel Screwtape sets what they want. If men become Christians at all is to keep them in a state of mind. I call Christianity and you know, Christianity, and the crisis Christianity and the new psychology, Christianity and the new order Christianity and psychical research, Christianity and vegetarianism, Christianity, and spelling reforms if they must be Christians let them at least to be Christians. The difference substitute for the faith itself some fashion with the Christian coloring. The temptation for us as Christians is not primarily that we would abandon God altogether. Temptation for most Christians is not that you be lured away from the gospel entirely. The temptation is to add something to it. The temptation pulse. It was his concern to the Thessalonians as it is. Eve was tempted you would be lured away from the simplicity and purity of the gospel for a gospel that becomes even 1% diluted, mixed or poisoned by something that's not the gospel is a gospel that is robbed of its power and what happened is that in the early church received intensely in the letter to the Galatians, but here in chapter 3 Philippians you see the same thing.

There were teachers who called Judaizers that were teaching. Essentially this yes your Christians by faith in Christ. Yes Jesus died for you but if you want to be fully accepted and fully qualified. If you will be totally included in the family of God, then you ought to also keep certain Jewish customs made eating kosher food keeping Sabbath on festival in the right way, or in this particular case or observing the Jewish practice of circumcision. The reason that this type of temptation comes is because it's primal, it is it is innate within us.

From the time that Adam and Eve fell into sin, and they begin hiding from God, and hiding from one another. Their deep longing. The question of the heart of broken humanity is what must I do to regain right standing. What must I do to be accepted another something with me. What must I do what can I so when the first sons were born in Cain and Abel each brought their offerings to the Lord and the Lord showed favor approval upon Abel's offering but not Cain's. The rejection of it was too much for Cain, so was to be accepted, he rose up in bitterness and he killed his brother. And so it goes on down through the line. Jacob steals his brother's blessing and he so weeps bitterly and he says to his father having only one blessing was my blessing. Father what must I do to be blessed, and he with an embittered soul wanted to kill his brother and then Jacob has all these many sons and Joseph. The young one receive his favor, but the other brother see that they don't have the favor their father in the hearts cry. What must we do really included and in their bitterness they want to kill Joseph and on and on it goes. The heart is so desperate to know what must I do to be one of the ones who is included in the inner circle of favor that we're longing for. So when Judaizers come and they begin to announce a message that says here's what you do become like the Jewish people. Even though you're a Gentile Christian and practice circumcision and you will be amongst the special ones and where Lord invite is interesting though most people and even the Jewish people tend to associate the command for circumcision with Moses and Mosaic law. It actually began with Abraham and Paul speaks of this in Romans chapter 4, saying he received Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that the righteous, the righteousness would be counted to them as well so really this this right of circumcision began as a sign of God's grace covenantal grace to Abraham, it became associated with Moses in the law, the Jewish tradition as a sign of the covenant assigned to be in part of the family of God, and during what we call the inner test of mental. That time in which the Bible is silent or not.

Any mention from the Bible is what's happening for 300 years before Christ, we nonetheless have history about what was going all the Jewish people and one of the things that happen according to Maccabean literature. Is it on the under the terrifying reign of Antioch is the fourth the Jewish people were so persecuted and one of the ways they were persecuted, was or is a prohibition of circumcision and babies that were circumcised were to be killed along with their mothers. So I mentioned this bit of history to make this point. On the one hand, it's quite understandable that circumcision could become a big focus for the people. It is something that had begun with Abraham or something. Continue with the traditions of Moses. It was something that they had been persecuted over as a sign of their identity so you could see how it would be an apt symbol for Judaizers to use to say to these new Gentile converts. Yes, you have Jesus.

But since you're not Jewish. You also need to practice this part of Jewish identity. If you want to be really really included in know for sure that your fully accepted and Paul says no that's Alan Wright will have more teaching in a moment from today's important series is not actually reserved for those who have no problems. Have you ever assume that some people are just born with a joyful personality, so get ready for some good news. Julie is a fruit of the spirit available to all in Christ, no matter the circumstances of life there. Paul was in jail when he read his epistle to the Philippians he spoke of joy 16 times matter what you're going through. You too can discover the secret to unspeakable joy as pastor at NYPD through a life building exploration of Philippians. When you make a gift to sharing in night ministries today will send you the new CD album the secret and unspeakable joy our way of saying thank you for your partnership. Your gifts are the only way we are able to continue broadcasting the message of grace all over the nation. Happiness may rise and fall with happenstance, but Julie is ever present in the spirit to become a partner today and discover joint like never before. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan night ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at work in today's teaching now continues here once again is in fact the matter is emotional. He is adamant he's angry you first see this in the language that is using it first two look out for the dogs, evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh. Dogs usually a term reserved for Gentiles to here Paul seems to be applying to these Jewish Judaizers. The dog was a despised animal evildoers. Think about this brothers and sisters. Paul is speaking to people they haven't murdered anybody. These people have committed heinous crimes there just saying you get circumcised and he calls them evildoers is not just saying what this is a little bit of a problem now to correct a little bit of theology here. He's calling them evil. All sin, evildoers, and then he says, and they are ones who mutilate the flesh, such such overblown language because the circumcision on a mutilation is but he's overblown this thing is more on the word there for mutilation and just just a moment.

He also uses figures of speech here that Paul doesn't normally he doesn't normally follow the, the, the way of Greek argument, but here he does using figures of speech that would've been familiar to those in it heard philosophers in Greek argument.

The first thing that you see is the repetition of the same word and the ESV as lookout lookout look out and it is a is a Greek word is just a means to be aware lookout for this lookout for the lookout for this is threefold repetition shows is fervency and then there's a play on words that he uses here that's important that we miss our English translation because the word for circumcision is parent told me and Paul calls these Judaizers the mutilators of the flesh in the work that is catatonia so it's a play on words instead of the paradigm in which a circumcision of their catatonia is is is is this is like cutting deep and lacerating.

See the languages using a also you should know this uses alliteration which brings emphasis to what he saying here sometimes in English where you repeat something in one sentence and it in numbers of words. Start with the same sound. It brings this emphasis to it like that and that's what Paul's doing here the word for dogs in Greek is Kumar's evildoers as cockatoos and mutilators is cut atonement so you read this and is like these could not talk to Scott C and then Paul does something that he doesn't do very often only a couple places in the New Testament we see is writing he goes in this autobiographical sort of boasting is like in the Blazers as I'm out of my mind for even have to say these things you but he begins to list just how Jewish he is just how by their standards.

He would be deemed righteous. What he's saying is that Judaizers I could preach your sermon better than you are. If I wanted to. Nobody would be in more of a position to insist on people becoming more Jewish than I because he saying look at me as I was born in Judaism wasn't converted. I born in this. I was circumcised properly.

On the eighth day as an infant. I am Jewish by birth and by genealogy I can tell you the tribe I came from the tribe of Benjamin. I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews I speak Hebrew. My parents became my family was Hebrew there Hebrew of Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin on thoroughly Jewish and you think these Judaizers are talking about keeping the little loss limit to what I was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were more potatoes about keeping the law than any other sect within Judaism is on a Pharisee.

I was the best of the Pharisees and he says not only that, he said you think these people are zealous for the calls to how zealous I was also zealous about Judaism. I was persecuting the Christians I was killing the Christians became a more zealous and that usually saying is that I did Judaizers to compare their fleshly righteousness to mine. If we were waging war over who had the greatest credentials of their Julius their Hebraic faith in the break room I would win that battle every time he saying, but I cannot love that when it comes to my salvation. I counted as nothing lists closing like my simple man about this. Why is he so insistent you can understand all is not so much saying that circumcision is wrong.

He's not saying it's a sin to be circumcised. Every child through my not saying it's not a sin to practice circumcision. He saying the San error. The evil is when you attach a significance to it. That is actually void of any real power is by the system as well go in and preach somewhere else and I am a in someone else's church serve their ministry with me prep the conference is there, we can occasionally and I'll preach what I would like to know in that situation I like to know little bit more about the culture of that church. I like to know, for example, asked the pastor.

So what do you where you preach you wear jeans and T-shirt. You wear a coat and tie. I'd like to find that I asked him also as a how long do you normally preach and just ignore that part but I just like to know if he preaches in the in jeans and a T-shirt that I don't want to come in a coat and tie revised or vice versa. And the reason for that is because of the first place.

I want to be sensitive to the culture of that particular environment because I don't want what I'm wearing to be an obstacle to reaching people but there's something more important than that. Let's say I went into a church where the pastoral work on time and I came in in a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops and listen you preach like that and then the Holy Spirit is for God just moved in people's lives were touched. People were saved and delivered.

People receive in ministry and it just a move of God. Just breaks out in the midst of it. I wanted to be afterwords that somebody because somebody would do this summer I would go up to that poem pastor and say will pastor you are aware, Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops. Obviously, God moves when somebody preaches wearing a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops was ridiculous. You don't move God because you got a Hawaiian shirt only because you got a necktie on you can preach in shorts and sandals. Or you can preach a tux say no move of God and the glories of God in the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not dependent upon any such external form, but instead is all rooted in the sufficiency of Christ and what is not right know that is somewhat saying here is, it's not circumcision or nor or circumcision. It doesn't matter if the problem is that you're attaching significance, purpose and power to something that is actually void of all. Galatians 615, Paul says neither circumcision nor on concert on circumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation. As soon as someone suggested you are qualified because you didn't have all the right clothes. He didn't eat the right food because you didn't keep the new festival because you didn't you didn't wear your hair correctly because you didn't do this. In the lap and then your robbing the gospel of its power you're qualified by Jesus or you're not qualified at all. You can add any additional qualification was perfect. He was sinless. He lived a life of perfect obedience unto the father is the son of God is the Son of Man. He died upon the cross so that anyone who trusts in him would have his sacrifice applied as if you had made it, and would have his righteousness applied as if you had lived it, and there is no other way. So why try to add anything to Judaizers essentially teaching if you're Gentile, you become a Christian, you need to get circumcised in order to be fully acceptable to God and and and this is this is this is just Mike and Paul here is he said to the Galatians would you start out in the spirit of this kind of textile team laws as if there some kind of power in that we are the true circumcision is what he saying here. We already are.

Want to worship in spirit and glory in Christ, filled with the spirit worship in the spirit and whose boasting and confidence, and glory in Christ in his finished work and not in ourselves days teaching living by the spirit rather than the flesh in our series unspeakable joy. Allen is back in a moment with additional insight on this for your life in the final word. New sold it seriously and constantly desires joy in other words, Julie is an elusive dream reserve for select who had no problems or for those who were born with a joyful disposition actually enjoys the fruit of the spirit available to all in Christ, no matter what you're facing. You can have the joy of the Lord in the midst the apostle Paul.even his epistle to the Philippians.

While in prison Julie 16 Ehrenreich's newest album, the secretive and speakable Julie chapter by chapter 3 Paul's explanation of the secretive joy when you make a gift sharing a light be delayed new CD out on our way of thinking come apart and discover the secret unspeakable joy. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Wright ministry, six 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor at work now it's it's like a book I read recently in the Holy Spirit is I've heard you asked the question before, why would everybody want to be filled with the spirit and that we talk about joy.

It really is a something you would ask why would you rather live in the flesh than by the spirit. There's something inside all of us.

It is a little bit drawn to the law and it really is a mean you think of of some of the religious movements and in and in ideologies that you see around the world actually become popular and in and think of forms of cults and in religious movements and even within something like the religion of Islam. Whether just so many many rules. Why would people be attracted to this well gives the illusion of control gives the illusion of being able to do something to make yourself right with God gives the illusion of you can make yourself more blessed. This is what's behind Judaizers teaching and that's why Paul is saying he could've preach the Judaizers sermons better than they did. It was a Jew of Judah fiercely of Pharisees. That's not the pathway to life the glory of the gospel is that really takes you out of the equation because it's about Jesus. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan Wright ministry