Properly Placed Confidence - Philippians 3:4–9

It is not unusual during this time of the year to reflect and take inventory of the state of affairs of our life. It is certainly on our minds after Christmas as the year is coming to a close. We are challenged as we are on the brink of a new year to be introspective, to evaluate what we have accomplished over the past year. What were our goals from the past year, and did we meet those goals? We are also challenged to look to the new year and set goals going forward. Part of that reflecting on the past year and looking to the coming year should include a spiritual inventory. What is the state of our souls? It is not the only time, but certainly an appropriate time, to reflect on our relationship with God. 

We see the apostle Paul in our passage this morning reflecting on his walk with God. He gives a picture of his life before God saved him and he describes the new life in Christ that he now has. And what we will see is the Apostle’s recounting of his life before Christ and his life after Christ was a tale of misplaced confidence. We will see that before Christ, Paul’s confidence was in who he was and/or what he had done. But that is not what Paul has confidence in after his encounter on the road to Damascus. And this passage that we will look at this morning challenges us as well to look at what we place our confidence in to justify us before God. Do we have a properly placed confidence in how we are justified?

So, we join God this morning in the book of Philippians, chapter 3 verses 4-9, where Paul writes and God says, “ 4 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: 5 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; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss 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 9 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 that depends on faith”. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you humbly this morning acknowledging our dependence upon you to meet all our needs. We depend on the work of the Holy Spirit and the inspired Word to reveal truth to us. I pray that you would illuminate your Word this morning. Let us see the condition of our hearts clearly, where we struggle and fall short. Grant us wisdom and discernment to not only listen to your Word this morning but to hear and understand it. Thank you for your graciousness towards us. We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Though finance and accounting have never been strong suits of mine, admittedly I tended to avoid anything related to those subjects in college, I certainly understand the value of having a knowledge of the basic principles of finance and accounting. Certainly, to function as a responsible steward of the resources and income God provides to us and our families, we need to understand some basic principles of asset or money management. I personally keep up with my budget in a simple Excel spreadsheet. There is, however, a more official tool in accounting called a T-square that is used to track assets and liabilities. Those of you with a background in accounting or finance may use this. Essentially you draw a T on a piece of paper and in the left column or left side, you list your assets and in the right column or right side you list your liabilities. Assets represent a net gain in value, while liabilities represent a net loss in value. In other words, assets are positive - liabilities are negative. Assets are gains and liabilities are losses. Assets are profits and liabilities are what is owed.

In verses 4-9 of Philippians 3, and really going back to verse 3, we see Paul warning the Philippians about those who are teaching that who you are and what you do is necessary for justification or right standing before God. In essence, it is looking at justification before God, or salvation, in the form of a T-square, with things like lineage, heritage, religious zeal, and good works as assets for justification before God. It is thinking that who you are and what you do add value to your position before God. There were false teachers inside and the church at Philippi who were teaching that those “assets” could give you confidence before God. Yet, what Paul wanted the Philippians and us to see is because of our fallen nature, we mistakenly put confidence in who we are and what we’ve done to secure our right standing before God. The merits of who we are and/or what we have done should not give us confidence before God because they do not count as assets before our heavenly Father. We do not have a righteousness of our own. We cannot earn a righteousness of our own. What we find in Scripture is the answer to the problem of where our confidence before God is to be found. And where is our confidence to be found? Simply, it is found in Christ. God the Father sent God the Son to live the righteous life that was required of mankind. And because Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, we do not have to rely on who we are and what we have done but can put our complete confidence in the person and work of Christ.

That is what Paul teaches us in today’s passage. You can see in this outlined in your worship guide there on page 6. Those who put their confidence in who they are and what they have done are not justified before God. But those who put their confidence in who Christ is and what Christ has done are justified before God.

Look at verse 4. “though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.” This refers back to what he was discussing in the beginning of chapter 3. One of the struggles that the church of Philippi faced, and that Paul contends with here is there were those in the church who taught that characteristics such as heritage or lineage, religious zeal, good works, and religious rites such as circumcision are required for salvation, for our right standing before God. These false teachers were typically known as Judaizers. The Judaizers that Paul is addressing are those who championed the law of Moses, specifically circumcision, as a requirement of salvation. Paul is identifying these false teachers by stressing they are true neither to the law of Moses nor to the gospel that Paul preached. They are adding works of the flesh to salvation and claiming confidence in their justification before God through those works of the flesh. Why did Paul criticize them so harshly? Because they tried to add these “assets”, most of which pertained to Jewish laws and customs, to the work of Christ in order to be justified before God.

Yet Paul asserts that Christians are the true circumcision because true circumcision is of the heart. So, in verses 4-7, we see Paul addressing the problem of misplaced confidence that these false teachers were espousing. And Paul does an interesting thing here, he engages in mock boasting. He lays out his qualifications in comparison to the Judaizers. His point in doing this is to show that if anyone could boast or have confidence in their flesh, particularly as it pertains to Jewishness, it would be him. Dr. Steve Lawson writes, “What Paul means is, if mere religious efforts could gain anyone acceptance with God, then I am at the head of the list. Put another way, if anyone could find salvation through their self-righteousness, it was me.” Paul goes on to list all the things in which he once put his confidence.

What were these “assets”? If Paul were to make a T-square before he was converted, what would he list on the assets side? We see them starting in verse 5. Now as we listen to this list from Paul, our tendency will be to snub our noses at those who would claim these assets for acceptance before God. But we must beware of relying on our own assets, or works, in much the same way to justify us before the Father.

Let’s look at each of these briefly. Verse 5: “circumcised on the 8th day” - Paul explains that he had an impressive beginning. His parents obeyed the Mosaic law to the tee by circumcising Paul when he was eight days old. What about you? Perhaps you had the right beginning. Born and raised in the church? Baptized or dedicated as an infant? Do you have confidence, maybe in just a small way, that right beginning will justify you before God? Next, we see “Of the people of Israel” - Paul had an impressive nationality, God’s chosen nation of Israel. Many today trust in being a citizen of a nation with a Christian heritage. Next is, “of the tribe of Benjamin” - Paul had impressive lineage. He was part of the right family. He had a prestigious Jewish heritage. Do you rely on the spiritual heritage of your family tree to justify you before God? Let’s continue, “a Hebrew of Hebrews” - Paul had an impressive upbringing. Perhaps you also had an impressive upbringing. Were you raised by godly, Christian parents? How much of their faith do you claim as your own? Paul continues, “as to the law, a Pharisee” - Paul had impressive standards. He read the Scriptures. He believed the Scriptures. He studied the Scriptures. He prayed faithfully. He obeyed the Mosaic law essentially perfectly from an outward human perspective. Have you ever thought, “I actually have obeyed most of God’s laws?” Do you somehow use that to justify yourself before God? In verse 6 Paul writes, “as to zeal” - Paul had impressive sincerity. He was not wishing washy or lukewarm in what he believed. Have you ever thought, “I am sure God accepts me because I am so passionate about Christianity and the Bible? Finally, we see Paul claim, “As to righteousness under the Law, blameless” - Paul had impressive morality. He was a good dude. He was a nice Jewish boy. We would have looked at Paul back then and thought, “Paul is as straight as an arrow.” He was outwardly moral. What about you? Are you a “good person”? Would people say there goes an upstanding man or woman? Do you think that will save you?

Certainly, there are some who would not answer yes to any of these questions. They would not claim to be “religious” or morally upright. But it is not those people that he has in mind in this particular instance. It is those who answer yes to some or all of the above stated assets as justifying them before God. In verses 7-10, Paul shows us that confidence in those things were of absolutely no value when it comes to our justification before God. In fact, those assets that he possessed were in fact detrimental. They were hindrances. 

Now we must be careful here. Paul is not claiming that those things in and of themselves are bad. In fact, some of those traits or “assets” are good, even essential - for the believer. And that is the key, isn’t it? That little prepositional phrase, “for the believer”. For those that are Christians, the benefits of being a part of the covenant community are great. Baptism, a godly family, a godly heritage, morality, zeal for the faith, all play a part in the sanctification of the believer. But they do not and cannot justify a person before God. Paul tells what is required for that.

Look there at verse 7, “But whatever gain I had”. The conjunction “but” identifies a contrast. In verse 7 he writes that all he once counted as gain, as an asset, is of no value. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” None of it counted. Dr. Lawson writes, “Paul immediately saw them (the listed assets) as that which would condemn him - not because they were negative in themselves, but because they were a bad debt when he arrogantly trusted them to secure him justification before God.” He not only is saying that they are not assets, he is saying they are liabilities. “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish”. Not only do they not justify you, but they can condemn you. If you place your confidence in anything but Christ, it tempts you to look to something other than Christ to justify you. So, if Paul were to draw a T-square after his conversion, all the things he list on the left side, as assets, would be moved to the right side - as liabilities. Paul now grasps that the more advantages one perceives to have in the flesh, the greater the temptation to pride and self-confidence. 

What replaced it? What replaced confidence in the assets? What would Paul now list on the left side, the asset side?  Where should we place our confidence? Simply, Christ. The only asset he has is Christ. Faith in Christ. He writes to the Philippians that a believer’s confidence is to be placed wholly and completely in Christ through faith. Paul tells us in verse 8 - “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 that depends on faith.” After listing all of those “assets”, Paul explains that none of those things justify him before God. He is justified by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works.” Instead of being an asset, everything outside of faith in Christ is a liability. Paul calls all those assets rubbish. That Greek word for rubbish refers to that which is not only repulsive to people but also ceremonially defiling before God. They do not make a person righteous before God. As I was thinking about this, it reminded me of the backyard at our home. Some of you may be aware that we have a few animals on our property at home, specifically I was thinking about chickens and a pig. So there will be the occasional mess, if you will, to potentially step on. And when that happens, it is such a reaction of disgust. That is the picture Paul is painting. Paul flings away in disgust whatever interferes with “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Let us notice again, though that Paul specifically has in mind justification, not sanctification. Works of the flesh do make us acceptable before God. In verse 9, Paul explains that after his conversion on the road to Damascus he recognizes that justification is not based upon human attainment of obedience to the law, but entirely and exclusively upon “the righteousness from God”. Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 3:21-24 says “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law (so the believer’s right standing and confidence before God is apart from the law, not connected to any works of the law), although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. So what Paul says in Romans is that justification, or righteousness before God, comes only through faith in Jesus. And that faith is a gift. It is given by God and is in no way owed to man because of who man is or what man has done. The Reformation Study Bible describes verse 9 this way, Christ is the object of his (Paul’s) faith and now that he trust Christ alone, Paul abandons all reliance on his own credentials. Faith is the instrument, not the ground, of justification, and Paul declares justification is “through faith,” never “on account of faith. “ The ground of justification is the merit of Christ. And by faith alone in Christ, we are declared righteous - justified before God, and our works play no part in this. Galatians 2:16 says “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

I’ll close with a quote from John Bunyan’s Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - “One day, as I was passing in the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience, fearing all was not right, suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, “Thy righteousness is in heaven;” and I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God’s right hand: there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, “He wants My righteousness;” for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, The same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” Our properly placed confidence can only be in Christ through faith. We do not and cannot have a righteousness of our own. Our righteousness is wholly other. You see Jesus lived the life that we could not, a life of righteousness and perfect obedience to the Father, and if our confidence is in our Savior and his holiness then we stand justified before God. He was the only one with the right beginning, nationality, lineage, upbringing, standards, sincerity, and morality. And he is the only one who is righteous and justified before God. Because Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, we do not have to rely on who we are and what we have done but can put our confidence in the person and work of Christ.

Let us pray.