Message 43 - By Leroy Surface
Goodness or Godliness
Have you mistaken your goodness for godliness?
“...your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew
it goeth away.
Hosea 6:4
For we
are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the
law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal,
persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless. But what things were gain to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
Philippians 3:3-8
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Goodness or Godliness
…your
goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
Hosea 6:4
But
what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I
may win Christ….
Philippians 3:7-8
There is a plague upon the modern day churches. It is a disease of the soul that has damned
untold millions in this last generation.
On one hand, it is the spirit of Laodicea; “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked” (Revelation 3:17). On the other hand, it is the spirit of
Sardis; “thou hast a name that thou
livest, and art dead” (Revelation
3:1). Multitudes, especially in
America, have believed the lie that Paul warned Timothy against in I Timothy 6:5, “…that gain is godliness,” exhorting him, “from such withdraw thyself.” Few, however, in this generation seem
to have ever come to understand the words of Paul in the verse that follows (I Timothy 6:6), “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
There are many who will agree with me in my rejection of that which
is called the “prosperity gospel,”
which is simply spelled out in the words “…gain
is godliness,” but there will be many of these who will not understand my
rejection of another rising phenomenon in the church, the belief that “…goodness is godliness.” Error is often hard to detect at its
beginning, because it is a tree that has not yet put forth its fruit, and, as
Jesus tells us, “by their fruits shall ye
know them” (Matthew 7:20). Very often an “error” is nothing more than a “truth”
which has been reversed. For example,
Paul knew that “gain” is not “godliness;” but that the truth is found
in the opposite, which he taught as, “godliness
with contentment is great gain.” We
have yet to see the final fruit of the movement that promotes “goodness” as “godliness,” but we can know that it will be a very corrupt fruit,
which was seen in the days of Christ and the apostles as the doctrine of the Pharisees
(Matthew 16:12). “Goodness”
is not “godliness,” but let me
hasten to say, “godliness” is “very good.” The text for my message is found in Philippians 3:1-8.
Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed
is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers,
beware of the concision. For we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh.
Philippians 3:1-3
...beware
of dogs...
This is a difficult phrase with which to begin the message, but it
is one that must be dealt with. In Matthew 7:6, Jesus said, “Give
not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” This verse is easier to understand if we say, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,
lest they rend you; neither cast ye
your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet.”
What coarse words these seem to be; words that obviously refer to
entire categories of people as “dogs”
and “swine,” yet, these are the words
of Jesus Himself. Jesus is not referring
to races or nations of people as “dogs”
and “swine.” After his resurrection, he instructed his
disciples to “…go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Certainly there is no one of any race, color, language, or ethnic
background that is excluded. Jesus never
identified the “dogs” and “swine” he spoke of, but they identify
themselves. The “dogs” are those who will “turn
again and rend you,” if you seek to give them the “holy things of God.” The “swine” are those who will “trample under foot” the precious “pearls” of truth. We are not to judge any people to be “dogs” or “swine,” but they are among us; in our nation, in our culture, and
even in our local churches, and they will identify themselves. They are those who have absolutely no use for
the wonderful gospel we preach. It means
nothing to them, no more than pearls would mean to pigs, or holy things would
mean to dogs. That’s the way many
people are about the precious things of God; they have no use for them and they
cannot receive them. The Scripture says “…the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14). Again, in Romans 8:7 we read, “…the
carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.”
...beware
of evil workers…
There were many false teachers and even false apostles that came
into the first century church. These are
the ones Paul identifies as “evil
workers.” They are those he speaks
of in Philippians 3:18-19, “…for many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they
are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God
is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” These evil workers are everywhere today. They prey upon the carnal and the
unregenerate that are in the churches.
Paul foretells of these in II
Timothy 4:3-4 when he says, “…the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.” They have millions who
follow them.
…beware
of the concision...
“The concision” is a title that Paul coined and used in
this one place, to identify those who preached that a Gentile must receive
circumcision “after the manner of Moses”
before they could be saved. Paul refused
any longer to call these particular Jews “the
circumcision,” but claimed that title for those who trusted in Christ,
saying in the next verse, “For we are the
circumcision.” Paul labeled those
who sought to force circumcision and the Law of Moses upon the Gentile
believers as “the concision,” which
is a derogatory term he developed by combining two separate Greek words into
one new word, “katatome.” It’s meaning, according to Strong’s Greek
Dictionary, is “a cutting down (off), that is, mutilation.” In plain English, the apostle dubbed them as “The
Mutilators,” and found them guilty of breaking the very Law they sought
to impose on the Gentiles by making “cuttings”
in their flesh. In Leviticus 21:5, Moses says, “They shall not make
baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their
beard, nor make any cuttings in their
flesh.” Paul places “the concision” in the same category as “evil workers,” when he says, “beware of the concision.”
…for
we are the circumcision…
“The Circumcision” was a very honorable term among the
Jews. Circumcision had originally been
given to Abraham when he was ninety nine years old as a “sign” of the righteousness of faith he possessed before he was
circumcised. To the Jew under the Law of
Moses, circumcision was the “sign”
that they were the chosen people of God.
Sadly, for most of their history, circumcision was not a sign of
righteousness, but a sign of “elitism,”
which God hates; “we are the chosen
ones.” Jeremiah, in the days leading up to the Babylonian captivity said, “…all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised
in the heart” (Jeremiah 9:26).
Paul preached a different circumcision. He preached “the circumcision of Christ,” which is the circumcision of the
heart that is made “without hands.” Paul describes it as “…putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). Sin is cut
out of the heart and nature of man by the circumcision of Christ. This is what we call salvation. God not only forgives us; he changes us, from
the inside out. He gives us a new heart,
and a new spirit, and He promises, “…I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel
36:27). What a wonderful promise this is. Paul says, “We are the circumcision!”
We are those who have received the circumcision of Christ which is “made without hands.” Paul tells us in Romans 2:29, “…circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not
of men, but of God.” This is the
true circumcision, and upon this basis, Paul says to the believers, whether
they are Gentile or Jew, “We are the
circumcision.”
This is a drastic change in Paul’s view of “The Circumcision.” Seven
years before, when writing to the Galatians, Paul spoke of the Jews who
promoted circumcision among the Gentile believers as “the circumcision.” He did
not hold them in high regard, but he still gave to them that honorable
title. About five years before, when writing
to the Gentile believers at Rome, he spoke of the Gentiles as “the uncircumcision” and the Jews as “the circumcision.” At the time Paul writes this letter to the
Philippians, however, he is in a Roman prison.
He was arrested when some Jews at Jerusalem, “the circumcision,” found him in the temple, and stirred up a mob
against him, crying, “Men of Israel,
help: This is the man, that teacheth all men
everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought
Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place” (Acts 21:28). Verses 31-32 say, “And as they went about to kill him, tidings
came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an
uproar. Who immediately took soldiers
and centurions, and ran down unto them.”
Paul was delivered out of the hands of those Jews of “the circumcision” who would have killed
him on the spot except for the intervention of the Roman soldiers who arrested
him, put him in chains, and placed him in protective custody. In his letter to the Philippians he will not
honor the unbelieving Jews with the title “The
Circumcision;” they are “The
Concision,” that is, “The
Mutilators.” Paul now understands
that it is only those who receive the “circumcision of Christ” that are “The Circumcision.”
…which
worship God in the spirit…
The Greek word “latreuo,” which is translated as “worship” in this verse, is defined by Strong’s Greek Dictionary as
“to minister (to God), i.e. render,
religious homage.” This phrase should be understood as “…which serve God in the Spirit.” We neither “worship” nor “serve God”
in rituals and ceremonies. When Paul
spoke to the idol worshipers at Mars Hill, he told them about “…the unknow
God…whom ye ignorantly worship,” saying, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord
of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands,
as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all
things” (Acts 17:24-25). The “service”
that Paul and those with him “rendered”
to God had turned the world upside down in their generation. It was not the works of their hands or
programs of man that accomplished this, but they “served God in the Spirit,” and it was God who did the works.
True worship is defined by Jesus in the fourth chapter of John. The “woman at the well” in Samaria brought
up the subject; “Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to
worship” (John 4:20). Jesus
answers her in verses 21-23, “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye
shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye
worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the
Jews. But the hour cometh, and
now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to
worship him.” Notice the words of Jesus concerning worship
by the Samaritans; “You (Samaritans) worship, but you don’t know what you
worship.”
There are millions of people in America today who go to church on
Sundays to “worship,” but they don’t
really know what they worship. They are
just going through motions. In our
churches today, there are people who lift their hands toward heaven and do not
know what they are worshiping. I knew a
tent evangelist once that expected his organist to play continuously from the
start to the finish of every service, including while he was preaching. One night, as the people were rejoicing at
the close of the service, he started playing “Old Mac Donald had a Farm,” and not one in that congregation of
several hundred ever knew the difference; they just kept shouting and dancing,
because they didn’t know what they were worshiping. They didn’t understand.
The Greek word for “worship”
in the fourth chapter of John is “proskuneo,” which
is defined in Strong’s Greek Dictionary as “to
fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage.”
The Samaritans prostrated themselves before their gods in worship, but
as Jesus said, they did not know what they worshiped. They did not understand that they were
surrendering themselves to serve devils.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “…you
don’t know what you worship.” His
words concerning the Jew’s worship were not much better; “We (Jews) know what we
worship because salvation is of the Jews.”
The Jews “prostrated
themselves” before the true God, but it was only a form, because their “heart” was not broken and prostrated
before Him. They believed that as long
as they were circumcised the eighth day, they could go into the temple and “prostrate” their body in ceremonial
prayer and they would be “worshiping
God.” Their “worship” was altogether in form and ceremony. Jesus told the woman at the well, as I
paraphrase, “The true worshiper does not
worship (prostrate their body) in the
mountain or in the temple at Jerusalem.
The true worshiper “prostrates their heart” in Spirit and in truth, for
the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:21-23). It is wrong
to “prostrate our body” before God if
our heart is not also “prostrate before
Him.” Those who worshiped “in the mountain” didn’t know “what” they worshiped; those who
worshiped in Jerusalem didn’t know “why” they
worshiped. The Samaritan could lift up
their hands in the mountain and it would be nothing but excitement. The Jew could lift up their hands in the
temple and it would be nothing but a dead form.
There are those, however, who lift up their hands to the Father and know
who and why they are worshiping. These
are those whose spirit is broken and contrite before God. David said it first in Psalm 51:17; “The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.” It is the prophet Jeremiah
who tells us the acceptable way to “lift
up our hands” in worship to God. He
says, “Let us search and try our ways,
and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands
unto God in the heavens” (Lamentations
3:40-41). Whenever and wherever the “true worshiper” lifts up their hands to
God, their “heart” will always be in
their hands, an acceptable offering to our God.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.
Matthew 6:5-6
Notice something that Jesus says about “the hypocrites;” they “love
to pray.” Jesus qualifies this
statement, however, saying, “they love to
pray standing in the synagogues.” In fact, they “love to pray” anywhere they can “be seen of men.” Prayer and
“true worship” is done daily, and it
is done in secret. Whenever I hear
public prayers that are filled with beautiful adjectives, and long flowing
sentences, I know that particular prayer was given to be heard by men and not
by God. I have known many ministers who
love to appoint others to pray publicly so their “spirituality” can be judged by the content of their prayer. I also know that the most effectual prayers are
in “groanings
which cannot be uttered” (Romans
8:26). God is not impressed with
our “forms.” Paul warned Timothy about those who are “…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God; having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof” (II
Timothy 3:4-5). He told him, “From such turn away.” These are those
who have a “formula” for godliness; “do these things, act in this manner, and
God will be pleased,” yet they deny the “power”
thereof, which speaks of the Holy Ghost.
I can assure you that Jesus, being born to a Jewish mother, was
circumcised the eighth day, and fulfilled all the dead forms and ceremonies of
the Jews until He was thirty years of age.
At that time, the Holy Ghost came upon Him while at John’s baptism and
everyone heard the words of the Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Never again, after that, did Jesus observe a “form” because He was the “reality.” Paul says, “We are the circumcision, which worship
(serve) God in the Spirit.” We have
no need for the “form” because we
have received the reality.
True worship is not something you have learned how to do. There is no “method” of true worship. It
is in fact the “worshiper” who must
be true; only then can we worship God freely and without pretense. I believe with all of my heart that the “true worshiper” must also be filled
with the Holy Ghost. Man in his carnal
nature cannot find the words to worship God as He ought to be worshiped. There are no methods we can learn that will
satisfy Him. The natural man, which Paul
says cannot receive the things of God (I
Corinthians 2:14), cannot offer to God that which He will receive. It is the “spiritual
man (or woman),” full of the Holy
Ghost, who will “worship God in the
Spirit.”
…rejoice
in Christ Jesus…
During a revival meeting in Granbury Missouri, I preached one night
on “true worship.” The next day I was
visiting with Pastor Seldon Harris in the front yard
of his home, when he abruptly said, “My
dog worships me.” His dog was shut up
in the backyard and sitting by the gate, watching us. Brother Seldon
started walking in the direction of the dog, and as he approached the gate, the
dog began to tremble with expectancy.
Brother Seldon opened the gate that separated
between them, and the dog got down on his stomach with his head between his
paws and his body actually quivered as he waited to see what Brother Seldon would do. I
thought to myself, “That dog is afraid of
Brother Seldon,” but before I could finish the
thought, he reached his hand toward the dog, and it jumped up, leaping,
barking, and rejoicing. The dog was so
happy because his master had reached his hand toward him. I was amazed.
No one had taught this dog how to worship and rejoice. Everything he did was a spontaneous response
to a master who loved him, fed him, gave him shelter, and took time to play
with him. Why would we need instructions
on how to rejoice in the one who “…loved
us, and gave Himself for us?” O that
we were all as those who would “wait at
the gate” until He opens it; who would “tremble”
in His presence until He reaches His hand toward us, and then “break forth in joy” in His wonderful
presence. The Prophet Isaiah sees a time
of spontaneous joy in Isaiah 52:9; “Break
forth into joy, sing together…for the LORD hath comforted his people, he
hath redeemed Jerusalem.” This is a prophecy of the redemption Jesus made
for us on the cross (cause for rejoicing), and the out pouring of the Holy
Ghost (the Comforter; John 14:26) on
the Day of Pentecost (breaking forth into joy).
…and
have no confidence in the flesh…
Paul will explain what it means “…to
have NO confidence in the flesh”
by first explaining what it means “…to have confidence in the flesh” In
the following verses he gives a litany of seven things that gave him reason to “trust in the flesh,” even more than
others in the Jews religion. “Though I might also have confidence in the
flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the
flesh, I more: Circumcised the
eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew
of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a
Pharisee; Concerning zeal,
persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6).
1. …circumcised
the eighth day… Saul of Tarsus was not a “proselyte
Jew” which is proven by his circumcision on the eighth day.
2. …of the
stock of Israel… He was a direct descendant of Jacob, who
was renamed Israel when he “prevailed
with God” (Genesis 32:28).
3. …of the tribe of Benjamin… Not only was Saul a direct descendant of Jacob, but his descent was
through Benjamin, who was the youngest son of both Jacob and his beloved wife,
Rachel. Six of the twelve tribes
descended from Jacob through Rachel’s sister, Leah. Four of the tribes descended from Jacob
through slave girls. Only Joseph and
Benjamin were born to Rachel, who was Jacob’s first love.
4. …an
Hebrew of the Hebrews… This term is used to show that both of
Saul’s parents were Jews. A person was
legally a Jew if only their mother was Jewish, but Saul was a Jew twice
over.
5. …touching
the law, a Pharisee… Of all the sects of Judaism, the Pharisee was the most devoted to
the Law of Moses. They obeyed it in
every detail, very zealous for the Law.
They were the “holiness people”
of the Old Covenant.
6. …concerning
zeal, persecuting the church… Saul proved his great zeal for the Law of Moses by seeking the “legal” imprisonment or death of every
Jew that turned away from it to trust in Christ.
7. …touching
the righteousness which is in the law, blameless… Almost forty years before the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the
scriptures speak of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist,
saying of them, “they were both righteous
before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless” (Luke 1:6). The common view the church holds of Saul of
Tarsus is based upon what he became after he consented to the death of
Stephen. Until that time, even though he
was not among the believers, Saul of Tarsus was comparable to Zacharias and
Elizabeth concerning his righteousness under the Law. He had, as very few Jews had, reached a state
of “perfection” in “walking in all the commandments and
ordinances.” There was no one who
could place blame on Him. If anyone
would have been accepted by God by keeping the commandments and ordinances
blameless, it would have been Saul of Tarsus.
Many believe that if a person could have kept the Law of Moses
perfectly it would have saved them. This
is the kind of thinking that to this day, holds multitudes in bondage to
religious principles and works of man which they think will present them
faultless before God if they keep them perfectly. The apostle Paul repudiates this kind of
thinking in Romans 3:20 when he
says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” It is not only since Christ has “abolished the Law” that it cannot
justify man, because it was not given to “justify
man,” but to “identify sin;”and
having identified sin, the Law had no power to “take it away,” but only to condemn the sinner. Saul of Tarsus kept the commandments and
ordinances of the Law of Moses blamelessly, and it could not save him; neither
can it save us.
He
therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you,
doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as
Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:5-6
Abraham “believed God” and
was accepted by God. Saul of Tarsus kept
all the righteousness of the Law of Moses blamelessly and was not accepted by
God, because he did not “believe God.” If he had believed God, he would have
accepted Jesus Christ when he first heard the gospel from Stephen. The apostle John tells us in I John 10-12, “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son. He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the
Son of God hath not life.” The
reverse of this is also true, “He that
hath not life, hath not the Son of God.”
The “record” that God gives is
that eternal life is only in His Son, Jesus Christ, and they are
inseparable. We cannot receive “life” without receiving the Son, and we
cannot have the Son and not have “life.”
As a child, Saul of Tarsus grew up studying the scriptures of the
law and the prophets. As a student he
sat at the feet of the greatest of all the Jewish teachers of that day,
Gamaliel. As a young man, he “…profited in the Jews’ religion” above
many others his own age, “being more
exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father’s” (Galatians 1:14).
Unlike Paul, I was not born to Jewish parents, nor was I
circumcised the eighth day. I was born
to godly Pentecostal parents. My
grandmother received the Holy Ghost in 1904, in the early days of the
Pentecostal revival of the twentieth century.
My dad had been saved and filled with the Spirit under the ministry of
Charles Parham, considered by many in that time to be the “father of modern day Pentecost.”
I was raised in a Pentecostal church and slept on a Pentecostal
pallet. I can remember as a very small
child playing in the wood shavings in the great tent revivals of that day. My parents filled me with goodness, and
reinforced it with a willow switch. I
was a “good child,” and became a “good” young man. My greatest hindrance to getting saved was
that I was good. I was baptized in water
as a young teenager, and became the youth leader in two different churches
before I was saved. I didn’t know that I
wasn’t saved, because I was “good.” As I said before, the great hindrance that
kept me from salvation was that I was good, and I trusted in my goodness. My son, Keith, tells about framing the
arguments he would make when he stood before God in the judgment. He believed he could convince God to receive
him, because he was so good. Yeah! It wasn’t but about two or three years later
that he was sitting on a bar stool in a night club feeling spiritually superior
to all the “drunks” around him. He was “better”
than they were, because he understood all about God. That “barstool,”
which no child of God would ever be found sitting on, was actually one of
the things that brought that “good”
young man down to the “O wretched man”
of Romans 7:24, where God could save
him.
I can tell you that Keith was a good boy. Our house burned to the ground in 1972 when
Keith was only eleven years old, and we lost everything except the clothes we
were wearing at the time. When I rebuilt
the house in 1973, Keith was by my side every hour he wasn’t in school. When all the boys in the neighborhood would
get together in the vacant lot to play ball, Keith would come to help in
rebuilding the house. He would be beside
me on the roof, handing me shingles, or handing me tools while I was working
inside. When he was thirteen years old,
he could operate a printing press as well as I could, and spent many hours in
the office printing the gospel. There
was so much goodness in this young man, but he had never been saved, and his “goodness” became his greatest hindrance
to salvation.
Many people trust in their religious works for salvation. With them, it is not their “circumcision” at eight days, but their
water baptism at twelve years of age, or in some cases when they were just an
infant. These things most often become
stumbling stones toward salvation because people “trust” in them. How many
times have I asked a person if they were saved, and they answered, “I was baptized when I was twelve years
old,” or maybe, “I’ve been a member
of the church all my life.” I didn’t
ask whether they were baptized or whether they belonged to a church; I asked
them if they were saved, but people always point to the things they “trust in” seeking to confirm that they
are saved. Every ordinance and every
ceremony a person obeys can become a hindrance to salvation rather than a
benefit, because those are the things people trust in. Saul of Tarsus could say, “I know that God will receive me because I’m
an Israelite; besides that, I’m of the tribe of Benjamin, and mom and dad had
me circumcised when I was only eight year days old. I’m a Pharisee, and live a holy life in every
outward thing. As a Pharisee, I also
believe in angels, and I believe in the resurrection. I’m not like those dead Sadducees who don’t
believe in angels, or the resurrection. I’m
a Pharisee! And I know that God will receive me.”
Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee.
The Pharisees were the best of all the Jewish sects, but they were the
ones Jesus rebuked the most. They were a
holiness people in every outward thing.
Their obedience to the Law of Moses was such that Jesus said in John 15: 22, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now
they have no cloke (no covering) for
their sin.” Jesus said to them in Matthew 23: 27-28, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye
also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity.”
I have a Jewish friend who believed that Jesus was his Messiah
until he heard a famous preacher speak in his Synagogue. That man told them that Jesus did not come
into the world as the Jewish Messiah, but that He came only to bring salvation
to the Gentiles. According to the
teaching of this famous preacher, the Gentiles are saved through faith in
Christ, but the Jew is saved by keeping the Ten Commandments. After hearing this heretical teaching, my
friend told me he no longer believed that Jesus is his Messiah. He pointed his finger at me and said, “Your religion is nothing but blood and
gore.” He did this because I preach
that without the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no remission
of sin for either a Jew or a Gentile. I
thought it was a strange thing to hear from a man whose religion, once
slaughtered, in one day, a hundred and twenty thousand lambs on the altar of
sacrifice (I Kings 8:63). I sat in the office of my friend, one of the
richest men in Houston Texas, as he denounced everything he once believed about
Jesus Christ because he believed the lie a “Christian”
minister had told him. He said, “I will receive my Messiah when he comes,
regardless of who he is, and he will receive me, because I keep the Ten
Commandments.” My friend is only one
of millions of Jews who continue to believe a lie because of “Christian” ministers who have sold out
for Jewish money, and will not tell them the truth. These heretical teachers teach that there are
two covenants; the Old Covenant for the Jew, and the New Covenant for the
Gentile. They tell the Jew, “…if you keep the Ten Commandments, God will
receive you, and you can accept your Messiah when you see him at His coming.” This teaching damns every Jew who believes
it. It takes away all hope of salvation
for the Jew, because it gives him a false hope; “I keep the Ten Commandments... he will receive me, because I’m not a
murderer, I’m not an adulterer, I’m not a thief, and I’m not a liar.”
Many Gentiles trust in the same things; God will receive me,
because “I am good!” They are like the Pharisee who went into the
temple to pray, “God, I thank thee, that
I am not as other men...,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of
all that I possess” (Luke 18:11). When I read this man’s prayer, what I hear
him saying is, “God, I thank thee that I
am good! You must receive me, because I am good.” In the next verse, Luke 18:12, the publican could not even lift his eyes toward heaven,
but beat upon his breast, and cried, “God,
be merciful to me a sinner.” That
man, who came into the temple a sinner, went home justified. The Pharisee, who trusted in his own
goodness, went home condemned in his heart exactly as Cain had done two
thousand years before; very angry, with fallen countenance, and hatred in his
heart against his brother (Genesis 4:5). The Pharisee thought he was a better man than
the publican, and when they came into the temple he certainly was, according to
every test of the Law of Moses. However,
when the publican went home justified, he was certainly a better man than the
Pharisee because his heart had been made pure by God. He was truly holy, because “true holiness (Ephesians 4:24)” issues
out of a heart that is made pure by the blood of the Lamb.
But
what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I
may win Christ…
Philippians 3:7-8
…what
things were gain to me…
The things people trust in before they surrender to Jesus Christ
become obstacles to their salvation.
When Paul says “what things were
gain to me…,” he is speaking of his ancestry, lineage, denomination,
position, zeal, and righteousness, which he had under the Law of Moses. His “righteousness”
was perfect, far beyond that of anyone he knew. According to his own words, he had “…profited in the Jews’ religion above many
my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions
of my fathers” (Galatians 1:14).
…those
I counted loss for Christ…
Notice the “past tense”
in Paul’s words. He speaks of the things
he had once trusted in, and had “lost”
when he met Jesus. It was only after he
has met Jesus that Saul of Tarsus could have this attitude. Until the moment of his conversion, Saul was
willing to persecute and kill Christians in “defense”
of those things he trusted in. The Greek
word, which was translated “loss,”
actually means “detriment.” After meeting Jesus, he understands that
everything he had believed and trusted in, and thought to be “great gain,” was in reality a detriment
and “great loss” to him. Notice the word “for” in this verse. It is
used once in this verse and twice in the next verse. In each case it should have been translated
from the Greek word “dia”
as “through.” Many people struggle for years, trying to
change themselves enough to please God; they try to lay down enough of their
life to satisfy Him, and their entire lifetime on this earth is a struggle,
trying to please God. Saul of Tarsus did
not give up anything for Christ; he “lost it all through Christ.”
As long as a person has a false hope, that person will never trust
in Jesus. Jesus is not a “greater hope;” He is the “only hope” of salvation. No one will receive “the hope of salvation” before they become “hopeless.” It is said that
in the nineteenth century (the 1800s), Charles Finney preached the gospel like
a prosecuting attorney. He would seek to
uncover any hope of salvation a sinner might have apart from Jesus Christ, and
utterly destroy it until the sinner, drowning in despair and without hope,
would begin to call upon Jesus for salvation.
That is a far cry from the modern “sinner’s
prayer,” which so many trust in today.
The front row seats in Finney’s meetings were not reserved for the “rich and famous” as in today’s
crusades; instead, they were reserved for “awakened
sinners;” those who would come night after night as “askers, seekers,” and “knockers” (Luke 11:9), until the
heavens would open to them. They would
be present in every service; faithfully “seeking,”
because that which was set before them was “greater
riches” than all the treasures this world had, and has, to offer.
…yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss…
Notice the present tense in the words, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss….” It is no longer only the “false hopes” he had once trusted in; it is everything else of this
present world that he speaks of. Over
twenty five years have passed since Saul of Tarsus gave up those things he once
trusted in to receive Jesus. At the time
he writes these words, Paul is in prison at Rome, and as he reflects on
everything he has suffered at the hands of unbelievers he reiterates and even
strengthens his surrender to Jesus Christ of twenty five years before. It’s as though he says, “Twenty five years ago when I met Jesus, though my eyes were blinded,
my understanding was opened, and I knew that everything I had trusted in had
only kept me from Him. Twenty five
years later, I sit in a Roman prison because of the testimony of Jesus, and I
have suffered the loss of everything, but it means nothing to me because I have
Christ.”
…for the excellency of the
knowledge
of
Christ Jesus my Lord…
Within three days of his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was baptized
with the Holy Ghost. At that point, he
had received more of God than the vast majority of “believers” receive in their lifetime. Within three years he had received the
revelation of the gospel of Christ directly from God. Jesus Christ had been revealed “to”
him when He was converted. Now, only
three years later, Christ Jesus was revealed “in” him (Galatians 1:15-16), and he was ready,
prepared by God, to preach “the
unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians
3:8)” among the Gentiles. After only three years of walking with Christ
in the Spirit, Saul of Tarsus knew Jesus better than Peter, or any of the other
apostles had known Him after three years of walking with Him in the flesh. This is what he calls “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.” It is available to every child of God who has
received the Spirit, but it cannot be received from man, or be taught by
man.
Notice the word “for” in
this phrase. Once again, it should have
been translated “through.” No “devout”
human being can simply walk away from that which they have been “devoted to” and “trusted in” for the salvation of their soul unless they have found
something infinitely better, for which they were not looking. Saul of Tarsus was “apprehended” by Jesus Christ.
He was not “seeking Jesus;” he
was seeking Christians, to bind in chains and cast into prisons. It would have been impossible for this man,
so possessed with hatred for “Christians,”
to make a rational decision to “accept
Christ.” Saul of Tarsus hated Jesus
until the instant he heard His voice from heaven saying, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:5). Instantly, he
gave up everything he had trusted in.
Instantly, he became the “willing
servant of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1)” as he, “…trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
…for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things…
Who among us can condemn the rich young ruler who “went away sorrowful” after Jesus had
said to him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go
and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew
19:21)? Who among us would not do
the same as he? The rich young ruler
felt no need for a savior because he had “kept
the commandments from his youth up.” He felt only the need to do one good deed that
was great enough to “push him over the
top” and guarantee him eternal life.
He addressed Jesus as “Good
Master.” The term did not mean that
he viewed Jesus as his Lord, but simply as a “good teacher.” As a “rich young ruler” he probably viewed
himself as equal, if not superior, to Jesus.
If Jesus had told him to “build a
wing on the hospital,” it would have been done. He would have gladly set up a “trust fund” for orphans, or any one of
a dozen different options, but he wasn’t prepared to hear, “sell what you have, give it to the poor …and follow me.” Who among us would do that for a “good teacher?” None of the apostles “forsook all” just to follow a “good
teacher.” When Andrew first met
Jesus, he told his brother Peter, “We
have found the Messiah.” To them, He was “the pearl of great price” (Matthew
13:46). When Philip met Him the next
day, he told Nathanael, “We have found
Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the
prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth…” (John 1:40-45). They had
found “the treasure hid in a field” (Matthew 13:44). These, who found “Him,” forsook everything to follow “Him.” Their “treasure” was “Jesus of Nazareth;” the “Christ;”
the “Son of the living God.” They gladly forsook everything to follow
Jesus. They had found “Him.” Have you found Him?
…and
do count them but dung…
The word “dung” in this
verse is translated from three separate Greek words, which actually say, “…to dogs thrown.” It should be understood to mean “food for dogs.” Everything Saul of Tarsus had trusted in for
salvation before he met Jesus, those religious things he thought were “gain” to him, were nothing more than “food for dogs.” Not only so, but everything that would hinder
him in “obeying the heavenly calling”
was “dog food.” Those who seek to be rich in the “treasures and pleasures of this present
life,” are eating “dog food.” Remember the words of Paul in Philippians 3:2, “Beware of dogs,” and reread the comments on Philippians 3:1-3 at the beginning of this message. The “dogs,”
according to the words of Jesus, are those who find no value in “holy things,” even though they may be
very “religious.” The “things
of Christ” are not food for them, but the “things” they lust after is “food
for dogs;” things, such as “goodness”
instead of godliness, “religion”
instead of redemption, and “earthly
wealth” instead of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:31-33, “…take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things. But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
…that
I may win Christ…
This short phrase has two words that need explanation. The word “that”
is translated from the Greek word “hina,” and means “in
order that.” The word “win” is translated from the Greek word “kerdainō,” which means “to
gain.” It is not the “losing of all things,” but the attitude of the believer when all “things” are lost that “gains” Christ for the believer. We have all seen those “Christians” who continually moan over all the things they “gave up” for Jesus. They could have been “famous,” maybe a “movie
star,” or “rich,” maybe another “Donald Trump,” but they “gave it all up for Jesus.” These people are obviously suffering from “allusions of grandeur” about
themselves, but the truth is, they actually believe they “suffered loss” when they “received
Christ.” They have never found the “treasure;” they have never seen the “pearl of great price,” and they are to
be pitied, because their religion is in vain.
Message 43 - By Leroy
Surface - Goodness or Godliness
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