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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Beware of evil workers. They think they're doing good, but they're doing evil. Why is it evil? Because basically, when you're saying I'm saved by works, you're saying what Jesus did on the cross.
is not enough. I must add to what he did by what I do. And that's very, very dangerous. That's legalism. And then to get even Harsher Beware of the mutilation.
Do you know what he's referring to? Jewish circumcision Every eighth Day. Or the eighth day of a male child's life, a Jewish child is circumcised. That's the ritual. of the law has been going on since the Old Testament.
Paul refers to circumcision if you are saying. You have to be circumcised in order to be saved. He calls it a mutilation. And the word he uses for mutilation referred to Gentile. Pagan mutilation.
The Gentile temples would have rites where the Gentile pagans would cut themselves when they would worship their gods. Remember when Elijah was on Mount Carmel and the prophets of Baal would cut themselves and dance around that. That little fire they were building. It's that kind of mutilation, pagan mutilation. He's saying, if you are trusting in circumcision for your salvation and Judaism, ritual for your salvation.
He calls him a dog, but he's saying, What you are doing is no better. Than pagan Gentile mutilation. How strong is that? Very, very strong.
Now why would Paul be so Tough on them. Because legalists and legalism Mutilates God's grace. It takes this beautiful free gift that God confers his righteousness upon you and tears it to shreds like a dog and mutilates the beautiful grace of God. That's why Paul is strong. Beware.
Of dogs, beware of evil workers. These are people who are saying you're saved by good works, and beware of the mutilation. And so you know he is talking about circumcision, verse three: for we are. The circumcision, I would insert a word there. We are the true circumcision.
He's speaking obviously of a spiritual cutting away rather than simply the ritual. We are the true circumcision who worship God. In the spirit And we rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. When the Apostle Peter went to a Gentile's house named Cornelius. And Cornelius had gotten a vision.
Peter came and shared the gospel with him. When Peter got back to Jerusalem, There were men within the church at Jerusalem who rebuked Peter. And this is what they said: you went into the house of a Gentile. And you ate with him. Shame on you.
You went into the house of a non-Jewish person. Peter said, God showed me that I cannot call unclean what God has cleansed. Then a few chapters later in chapter 15, After Paul's first missionary journey, he goes back to Jerusalem. There's a conflict about what is going on in that northern city of Antioch. You remember when the apostles convened together?
And There's a group of people in the church. They're Jewish believers. But they say to the council in Jerusalem, unless A person is circumcised and keeps the law of Moses, he cannot be saved. That was the straw that breaks the camel's back. That's when Peter and Paul stood up and.
Showed how God opened the door of faith to the non-Jewish world, the Gentiles, simply by believing. And it was a huge pivot. And it was a wonderful moment in church history.
So we are the circumcision who worship God. In the spirit We rejoice in Christ Jesus. That word rejoice, I would retranslate it, and I don't want to mess with the text too much, but. The idea behind this term, rejoice, in this verse, is we were boasting in Jesus. We're bragging about him.
We want to honor him. We're boasting in Jesus and what he has done rather than boasting in ourselves and what we have done. It's what he did for us on the cross that I am bragging about. I'm not bragging about anything that I've done. That's the idea.
We're rejoicing or boasting or bragging or honoring. Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in our flesh I cannot earn my way to heaven. You see, he's speaking about legalism. Legalism minimizes what Jesus did on the cross and maximizes what we do for him. Whereas the gospel minimizes what we do and maximizes what he has done.
That's why it's good news. Doesn't mean we don't do good works, but the good works. Are not the basis Of our salvation. The good works are the byproduct of our salvation. The basis is grace, faith.
And then once we come to him. Receive his grace by faith, the byproduct of that relationship. are good works. but we don't trust in those works.
Now, he makes it very, very personal. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I'm more so. And now he gives his His background, his pedigree. He's like the who's who of Jewish Leaders Okay.
And he says, Circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Concerning righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me These I have counted loss. For Christ. Notice what Paul puts on the list as he's going through his.
Testimony, his background. Saying this is who I was. First of all, I was circumcised on the eighth day. You know, he mentioned circumcision as the mutilation. You say, I was circumcised.
And what he says is this. I'm not only Jewish. I was born into Judaism. I wasn't converted. I wasn't a proselyte into Judaism.
I was born into it. I was a Jew by birth. as well as ritual. Circumcise the eighth day. of the stock of Israel, Of the tribe of Benjamin.
Benjamin was one of the twelve tribes, and it is a notable tribe because it was the only other tribe. That was loyal to Judah when the kingdom split. Remember the northern ten tribes? And there was Judah down south, the only other tribe that sided with Judah in worshiping God at the place God chose. was Benjamin.
The first king of Israel was the Benjamite. His name was Saul. I'm guessing that Paul aka Saul of Tarsus. was named after King Saul. both from the tribe of Benjamin.
So that King Saul was the namesake For Saul of Tarsus.
So he identified with that loyal tribe. Circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe, the loyal tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. A Jew through and through. A true blue Jew. Hebrew of the Hebrews.
That's A Hebrew born of Hebrew parents. And he says, concerning the law. A Pharisee. This is on his resume.
Now, we who read and are familiar with the New Testament Gospels. We come to the word Pharisee and we go, that's not a good thing to brag about. Jesus got down on those dudes all the time. Yes, he did. But when they first started out, they were the most noble sect.
And they were considered the most ardent followers of the law more than any other brand of Judaism. Pharisee comes from the Hebrew word parashim, which means separated ones. We are separated to do God's will. We are separating ourselves from the world, from the filth. We are completely devoted to God and to his law.
He was completely devoted to the written law and to the oral law. And so those were the Pharisees. Paul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia. But at a young age, he moved to Jerusalem. And He was under the tutelage of a very notable Pharisaic mentor by the name of Gamaliel.
Who happened to be very anti-Christian. Even though he says some things in the book of Acts that seem like he might be siding with them, there are documents written by Gamaliel that show he was not at all siding with Christians, he was opposed to them. But he was diplomatic. Saul of Tarsus, Paul the Apostle, Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, was trained by the great. Leader of the Pharisees, Gamaliel of Jerusalem.
And then, continuing in verse 6. Concerning zeal. Persecuting the church. You want to know how zealous I was, Paul says? I hunted Christians.
I hated them so much. You know the story, right, from the book of Acts. He got letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to go hunt them in Damascus. To drag men and women from the synagogues and be punished, be tortured. Be beaten, be imprisoned.
He was breathing out Acts chapter 9, verse 1, breathing out threats and slaughter against the church. This is connected with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, and direction for real life. And this month, we'd love to thank you with a special collection of resources designed to help you grow stronger in your faith. When you give today, you'll receive biblical wisdom for everyday living.
You'll find biblical encouragement to help you deepen your prayer life, experience God's joy, embrace forgiveness, and stand firm in every season with four of Pastor Skiff's lifestyle booklets. Pray This Way, Technicolored Joy, Unforgiveness, Forgiveness versus Sweet Revenge, and Standing Firm in Unsettling Times. Your gift helps extend the reach of Connect with Skip-Heitzig, connecting more people to God's Word around the world. Request your collection when you give $30 or more at connectwithskip.com slash offer or by calling 800-922-1888. We'll be right back after this special message from Pastor Skip Heitzik about a simple plan to help you grow deeper in God's Word over the next 90 days.
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Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. This goes back not only to the fact that he was Jewish. but that he studied under Gamaliel.
Now, let me add a little bit of history that might help you understand that. There was a Pretty notable prayer that Gamaliel prayed, and here's just a part of it. Gamaliel the Pharisee, the teacher of Paul, the mentor of Saul of Tarsus. Uttered a prayer against the Christians. That said, and I quote.
Let there be no hope to them. who apostatize From the true religion. In other words, Those who leave Judaism, may they have no hope. And let these heretics. How many soever they be, all perish.
in a moment. Paul measured his love for God by his hatred for Christians. By the way, whenever you measure your love for God by hating some other group. You've got the wrong measuring stick.
So, Paul is giving his background, his pedigree. This is how Jewish I was. This is my testimony. I was legalistic, I was into this religion wholeheartedly. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning righteousness which is in the law.
I was blameless. I lived by the book. Have you noticed that religious people are the hardest people to? Witness to You know, my wife was raised an atheist. And people who have no religious background at all, they're atheists, and you tell them they're sinners, they'll go, yeah, I know.
You know, I mean, they know their condition. They know they're without God, at least. Whether they believe in him or not. have just enough Morality to keep them out of trouble. Yet, not enough righteousness to get them into heaven.
because they're trusting their own righteousness. And as long as you are trusting your own good works and righteousness, you'll never have enough to get into heaven. When a person says, I am bankrupt before God and I must receive his righteousness. Then there's hope.
So Paul had trusted once in his own righteousness, but he says this, but. Here's the great turning point. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss. For Christ. But indeed, I also count all things loss.
For the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And I count them, all those things I just mentioned as. My background, my pedigree. I count them as rubbish.
That I may gain Christ Notice in verse Seven The words gain and loss. You see that? Those are accounting terms. Gain and loss are accounting terms that speak of the profit and loss. Columns on a financial ledger.
So, Paul was doing the math, he was doing the counting, and he discovered one day. He's been working in the wrong column. All the things that he said were positive plus profit, profit. We're actually lost. And he moved them from one column to another column.
He said, All the things I bragged about, I realize. We're not good.
So, what he's basically saying is.
Now that I'm saved, I've learned how to count. And I counted them as loss. Past tense? And then, verse eight: indeed, I also count all things as loss. I made a decision 30 years ago.
To get rid of holding on to my religious background, hiding behind my religious experience, thinking that my religion was enough to make me go to heaven. All of that is in the lost column. I now know how to count. And what's gain is that I have a relationship with Christ. You say, well, don't be so hard on people with religious backgrounds.
Paul, you're being a little too hard on yourself. Why would you say all that? Because Though all of these things may be Even good things. It's good to Go through a ritual that speaks of God like circumcision. It's good to be raised in a religious background, a Hebrew background.
It's good to be separated like a Pharisee was. But here, listen to this carefully. Here's the big principle. A good thing becomes a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing. A good thing becomes a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing.
And they kept Paul from the best thing.
So he says, I've learned how to count. All those things that I thought were good, they're all bad. Because I trusted in them. I hid behind them. And I now count them as lost like I did 30 years ago.
The validity of any choice is its longevity. I made a choice in 1973 to follow Christ. I'm here that many years later. To tell you, it's the best choice I ever made. What I counted then, I still count today.
And that's Paul's idea of I counted. And now I count. I count them as loss for who um For the excellence of the knowledge Of Jesus Christ, my Lord, that personal knowledge, personal relationship, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And count them as It's a very strong word again, rubbish. That I may gain Christ.
You wouldn't get this from our translation. But Rubbish is a softening of the term. It, the word in Greek scubala for rubbish. Can mean rubbish, can mean garbage, but it most often Refers to the excrement. Of an animal.
It's a vulgarity. I count all of that religious stuff. As dumb. Would be it fair translation. Rubbish.
that I may gain Christ. And be found in him. Here it is. Here's the beautiful exchange. Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, trying to keep the law, trying to be right with God by my works, be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness.
which is from God by faith.
Now notice in verse 9 The two little words in Him. And I'm slowing down and drawing your attention to that because. What you need to know is that one of Paul's favorite Descriptions Of a Christian, of Christianity. is that phrase in Christ. Or in him.
Eighty-seven times in Paul's correspondence. He uses this phrase. In Christ, in him. It's one of his favorite terms to describe our relationship with God. It's a good description.
But it's unique to Christianity. Jews don't speak of being in Moses. Buddhists don't say, I'm in Buddha. Muslims don't spock talk about being in Muhammad. Mormons don't say, I'm in Joseph Smith.
But the New Testament says if you believe in Christ, you are in. Christ Jesus. What does that mean? You are identifying, God identifies you as being in Him.
So when God looks at you, he sees him. He identifies you. You are identified with the life. The death The burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's what it means to be in Christ.
If you and I walk together to the parking lot and I watch you get in your car. When I look at you, you are in your car. If I'm at your house and I go inside and I speak to you, and when I look at you, I. I see your house around you. You are in your house.
I see your house. If you say goodbye to me and you say I'm leaving on the 5:15 p.m. flight to Los Angeles tomorrow on such and such an airline, if I look up in my binoculars, if I want to see you, I look up and I see. A plane. You're in it, but I see a plane.
When God looks at you, he sees Jesus Christ. Let that settle upon you. That's what it means to be in Christ. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus Christ.
Now You can't go 60 miles an hour by yourself. But in a car you can. You can't fly through the air at 500 miles per hour by yourself. But in a plane you can. You can't get to heaven by yourself.
But in Christ you can. Get my drift? Do you understand now what it means to be in Christ? When God looks at you. God has taken The sinless nature of Christ, he committed no sin, you and I.
Commit a lot of them. and he exchanged it So God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in him. You're in Christ. We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder.
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