Daily Thoughts from Philippians (15): Self-Effort v the Gospel – Philippians 3:1-7

When the leaders and movers and shakers in the early church met in Jerusalem to consider whether the Gentile converts to the gospel whom Peter and Paul were seeing come to faith should be circumcised, that is, become, in effect, converts to Judaism, the Holy Spirit made clear that they should not (Acts 15).  James and the apostles created a document announcing this, a document that could be carried to the various places where this was a relevant issue.  But it did not stop a group of Jewish teachers who believed that Jesus was the Messiah from preaching that circumcision was indeed necessary, as well as keeping all the Law.  Paul ran into them over and over as they preyed on his converts in the various churches he planted.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out 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 has 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; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:1-7, ESV)

As Paul moves toward the conclusion of his letter, the command to rejoice in the Lord seems to be an apt corrective against what they are doing.  They are not rejoicing in the Lord so much as they are angry and selfish and pushing their agendas, anxious about Paul and their finances, not experiencing the joy that comes from focusing on the progress of the gospel.

But there is also a heretical potential in their self-focus.  Paul has been dogged everywhere he has gone by false teachers who seek to come to his established churches and corrupt the gospel by teaching the need to keep the law, especially circumcision, as a way to please God and be truly saved.  The driving spirit is trusting in their own ability to please God and that is the polar opposite of the message of the gospel.

As Paul himself points out, he had all the reason in the world it seemed to trust his own flesh.  He had the right kind of Jewish upbringing, had the right kind of law obedience, and more zeal than most when it came to living out obedience to God.  But it led him to persecute the church, to be an enemy of God.  And that is what trusting in one’s ability always leads to, because it must ultimately reject God’s offer of salvation as a free gift and establish its own righteousness.

When Paul realized this he considered his confidence in his ability and his accomplishments as a loss rather than a gain.  And he came to view the false teachers therefore as ravenous dogs, as evildoers, and characterized them as mutilators of the flesh (circumcision) rather than the true circumcision of the heart.  The true circumcision cuts away all dependence on the flesh and worships by the power of the Spirit.  And so he warns the Philippians in the sternest of terms against yielding to this false spirit.

We too must be on guard against any teaching that leads us away from dependence on Christ for righteousness.  It will be subtle and play on our innate desire to bring praise to ourselves.  We must not yield.  I see this failure to be on guard most frequently in evangelical sermons where the message seems to be that you can simply do what needs to be done, with no real dependence on Christ.  An unbeliever could comply with the sermon objectives.  The gospel requires Christ, not our self-discipline and exertion.  You’ll see the wrong spirit in your own expectations from your children or other believers that they just shape up and do right.  That, too, does not require the Spirit of God but mere self-effort, which, of course, is never enough.

Discussion Questions for Small Groups

1. What’s the scariest thing you’ve been asked to eat?
2. Why do you think so much of the false teaching 1st century Christians were being bombarded with included Jewish aspects, like circumcision and dietary restrictions?
3. How did Paul, who was steeped in Jewish teaching and tradition escape this false teaching?
4. What was, for Paul, the main problem with the teaching that Gentiles needed to submit to circumcision and the Jewish Law?
5. Have you heard sermons that basically challenged you to be better without the aid of Christ?  How did you respond to them?
6. What part does self-effort approach play in Christian living?