Marks of a True Christian
- David Fairchild
- Jul 18, 2004
- Series: Philippians
Philippians 3:1-3
1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
INTRODUCTION
If you are new to Kaleo, we want to welcome you as we gather to study through the scriptures. What we believe to be most profitable, and most in keeping with the instruction from the bible is to simply teach book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse through the entire bible until we die or until Jesus returns, which in that case you won’t be needing me to teach you, He is a much better bible teacher than I am.
We have been studying the book of Philippians together for the last several weeks and will be in this book for about 8-10 more weeks. After we finish Philippians we are going to take on Ecclesiastes for about 6 months, which is one of my favorite books of the bible and should prove to be extremely profitable for us considering the point of history we live in and the culture we find ourselves part of. Ecclesiastes will take on the tough questions of the philosophers and skeptics because it is a philosophic work from a skeptic that sounds like he’s been listening to Morrissey on an endless loop. If you like ‘emo’ music and think black is a beautiful color, the words of Solomon will sound very familiar to you.
Today we are going to be continuing in the book of Philippians and will start the second half of this book as we study the first three verses of chapter 3.
This morning we are going to consider what a true Christian is. We are going to look at 5 different marks of a true Christian. This flows nicely with what Brian spoke about regarding the marks of a true church since the church is comprised of people. It’s important when we consider what the true church is that we never forget that we are not talking about a building or a social group that happens to meet on Sunday morning. We are talking about a group of people that make up the body of Christ who is our head.
It’s also important that we consider who is and who is not a Christian because the bible seems to talk considerably about the distinction of who is really a child of God and who is a pretender.
Even though we live in an age when we are to be tolerant and politically correct and affirm everyone and their beliefs, the bible seems to paint for us a different picture. Jesus and the Apostle’s didn’t seem to have much difficulty telling people they may not be a true child of God.
In a sobering and shocking passage of scripture, Jesus warns false professors in Matthew 7:21-23-
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
It is an issue that is very important for us to consider. In this church we will have people that will come in and tell you things that are not true. People that actively oppose the true Gospel and all the while they are convinced they are in a right standing with God. They may even try to teach you what they believe to win you to their side.
So it is important that we can discern for ourselves to see if we are found in the faith and also discern others that claim to be our brothers and sisters to see if they are legitimate lovers of Christ who follow Him and Him alone. Today I want you to consider these two things; are you a true Christian and can you tell what one looks like?
What we find in Scripture is a litmus test to determine whether or not we are the real deal. The litmus test is theological, moral, and social. 2 billion people think they are Christian in this world. I have a sneaking suspicion that many don’t have a clue what it means to be a Christian and are only one by name not by life or belief.
Ask yourself:
Theologically- Do you love Jesus? Is Jesus God who came in the flesh and took upon Himself your sins and paid the ultimate penalty of death on the cross so you would have life? Do you believe He rose from the dead and will come again to take His people to be with Him forever? Do you believe He is the only way to have your sins forgiven? When Jesus says “I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE, and no one comes to the Father but by Me” do you say amen (John 14:6)?
Morally- Do you hate sin? Do you follow Christ? Is your love for Christ strong enough that it keeps you from living in a perpetual state of sinful actions? Can others tell by your life that you are a believer in Christ because you live like one? When the Apostle John says “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him” (1 John 2:5) do you agree?
Socially- Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you desire to be around them? Is it a burden for you to come to the gathering of God’s people or is it a blessing? Do you desire close relationships with others that are true children of God? When we read in 1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” do we follow that socially and prove our salvation?
These are the basic tests to determine whether or not we are legit and this morning we will be primarily dealing with the first two.
Some of you have bought into the lie of other world religions that have no assurance of their standing before God because their salvation is dependent upon their performance, and they have either lowered the bar so they can easily reach it, or they just flat out lie about their own self righteousness so they can delude themselves into some comfort. Others have such insecurities and don’t think they can ever really know they are a true Christian until they die.
The bible is emphatic that we can know we have moved from death to life because it is proven by what we believe and how we live out our belief. If you are here this morning and are struggling with whether or not you are a true Christian, I want you to think deeply and ask yourself honestly if you pass the test. If you are trying to add to your salvation what is already secured because you have a hard time believing that you are really God’s child, I hope you take comfort from this and stop trying to add to what is already finished.
Also, let’s not beat around the bush, think about those people that you go to for advice and consider your good friends. Those people that you receive counsel from and follow their instruction. Are they the real deal? You need to know this because if they are not, you may be receiving advice that is completely contrary to God’s word because you trust them.
So, let’s jump in and see what these marks are of a true Christian.
STUDY
I. TRUE CHRISTIANS REJOICE IN THE LORD
Verse 1b- Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.
Paul starts by saying “finally” which can be better translated “so then” or “furthermore.” This issue of joy is obviously an important theme since it is the crux of the letter to the church at
Paul makes a connection with rejoicing to a relationship that exists in the Lord. The source of our joy is found in our life in Christ.
This isn’t some flittering temporary emotion like happiness, which is a word related to “happenstance,” which is a feeling of exhilaration that happens because of favorable events. This joy is so much deeper that it continues even in the midst of suffering, weakness, pain and even death.
This kind of biblical joy produces a deep confidence and security in the future because it is based on trust in God’s purpose, God’s plan, and it is based on His power, not ours.
It is the kind of joy that kills that crippling fear each of us experience as we foolishly live in vain trying to bottle happiness and control events. It is a joy that releases us, not to be passive, but to live passionately for God as we trust ultimately in Him alone. As the samurai say “only when you are prepared to die, can you truly live.”
This relationship is founded upon One who is unshakeable and immovable, so that when the circumstances of our life rise and fall our joy is not stolen because we find it is something eternal.
This joy is not a humanly produced emotion. It is commanded, but the command is conditional that the source is God alone. It is an act of our will to obey God, but it’s only produced supernaturally as a result of walking in the Spirit.
Matthew Henry is right: "Wherever there is true grace there is a desire for more grace. When Paul said, "Don't be drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Eph. 5:18), his aim was to make God-aholics out of all believers. The Spirit is not deadening, He is addicting. The evidence that you have him is that you want more of him.
C.S. Lewis noted, “if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels (Matthew 5:10-12; Romans 8:18; 1 Peter 1:4), it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. As Jesus expressed it to the Christians in
Or, as Moses warned his contemporaries, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies” (Deuteronomy 28:47).
Too much desire or passion is not our problem, rather, man’s problem is a lack of passion for God, a lack of desire to obtain the inexpressible joys that God calls His children to have.
A true Christian rejoices, not in what happens to him, not in what he does, not in what others think about him, he rejoices in the Lord, the only source of lasting joy.
Since the Gospel shows us that we are sinful and needful of God’s grace, since it’s truth is the bedrock of what we believe, it’s important that it’s never perverted or twisted. That leads us to the second mark.
The second mark of a true Christian is discernment of truth and lies.
II. TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE DISCERNING
Verses 1b-2- For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
After telling the believers at
This invective is so strong and so insulting because he has an obligation to warn those he loves to be discerning. Paul passionately defends the true Gospel by taking a verbal switch out and beating those that would oppose it.
Turn with me to Galatians 1:6-10- 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Paul knows that discernment, like faith, needs to grow and mature in a Christian. So God called pastors and elders to warn the church of false teachers (Ephesians 4:11-14).
In Titus 1:9-13 Paul gives a description of an elder that they would hold… 9 fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
The construction of this insult is called an assonance, which is a poetic way of constructing a sentence. He begins each word with the Greek “blepo” which means to look out or beware. Paul then uses words that all start with the Greek “k.”
He says first to “blepo kuon” beware of the dogs. There is no way we can accurately translate this insult because the word doesn’t have the same sting in the English than it did in the Greek.
To call someone a dog, even to this day in the middle east, especially to someone who is Jewish, is a cutting insult.
The word “kuon” is one of two words used in the Greek for dog, the other being “kunarion” which is the word for a lap dog or a pet, “kuon” is used for wild scavengers that roam in packs and feed on garbage. They are flea-ridden mongrels that occasionally attack humans. These kind of dogs were despised. Jews would often refer to Gentiles as “kuon.”
Here is Paul, a Jew, calling these false Jewish teachers “dogs.” They are unclean, spiritually defiled, vicious and dangerous. These kind of dogs are to be avoided at all costs because they seek to make the “good news” which is the Gospel, nothing more than another fleshly attempt to earn God’s favor by impressing Him with your actions.
Any teacher that teaches salvation by works is in fact a “dog” as Paul says. Anyone that would assume their own works could equal that of Christ’s finished work and sacrifice on the cross is damnable.
Paul seems harsh and unloving because we live in a climate of diversity and tolerance at any cost. Even in the church it’s considered unloving if you point out doctrinal error. For me to say that Mormon’s are not Christian, to say that Jehovah’s Witnesses are false prophets, to say that Christian Scientists are neither Christians nor scientists, to say that Scientology is science fiction, or to take a stand on doctrinal and theological truth’s is to be considered unloving and unkind.
The problem is that truth and love are not mutually exclusive, and Christians are called to both (Ephesians 4:15). We are called to discernment, and we are called to make judgments.
The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Anyone who opposes that fundamental doctrine and teaches otherwise are savage wolves (Matthew 7:15), that hold to demon doctrines (1 Timothy 4:1), who lead people on the broad road to hell (Matthew 7:14).
The reason we are afraid of such confrontation is because we don’t believe in muscular Christianity. We nod our heads every time someone says “judge not lest ye be judged” even when it comes from unbelievers.
How do we reconcile the kind of judging that Jesus condemns in Matthew 7, with Paul’s command to judge in 1 Corinthians 6? Well let’s turn to Matthew 7:1-6.
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Verse 5 tells us who Jesus is speaking to, hypocrites! We are not allowed to be hypocrites. The issue is hypocrisy, not judging. We are not allowed to be self-righteous and condemning of others when we are doing the very same thing they are. If you are having an affair, you are not allowed to condemn others until you quit what you are doing? The list goes on but the point is, we are not allowed to condemn people hypocritically.
John 7:24 says "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Then in verse 7:6 he says we are not to give what is holy to the “kuon” the scavenger dogs. How will you know who the dog’s are unless you judge? How will you know who the pigs are that you are warned not to throw you pearls before unless you judge?
Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 6:
1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? 5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?
Paul rebukes them for not judging and for not having even one person who will make righteous judgments.
Paul continues in his insult by telling them to “beware of evil workers.”
These are the false teachers that work hard to spread lies. Most often the evil workers work harder at spreading lies than we do at spreading truth. We’re frustrated at the evil workers but instead of standing up and proclaiming truth, we adopt a passive posture and sit back and do nothing.
These workers are evil because they think so highly of their work and so lightly of Christ’s. They climb this ladder their whole life only to find at the end it was leaning on the wrong wall. There are not worshippers of God, they are worshippers of themselves and their own works. Paul calls them “evil” when they thought they were holy.
Then Paul gives the last dig which is another scathing insult. He says to the Philippians to “beware of the mutilation.” In other words, beware of the false circumcision.
For the Jewish people, circumcision has always been part of their distinguishing mark of God’s covenant with their forefather, Abraham. They identify so closely with circumcision that they refer to gentiles as the uncircumcision and themselves as the circumcision.
Every Jewish boy was commanded to be circumcised on the 8th day after his birth. It was such a significant thing that uncircumcised males were cut-off from the covenant community.
Circumcision graphically portrayed man’s depravity, which is shown in the procreative act because it is then that the sin nature passed on to a new generation. It was a symbol or emblem showing man his need to be cleansed from sin at the core of his being. The bloodshed at circumcision symbolized the need for a sacrifice to accomplish cleansing.
Yet, like baptism in the New Covenant, this act was to reflect an inward reality. In Paul’s day circumcision had become nothing more than a ritual without it’s spiritual significance.
The Jewish people legalistically observed outward religious ceremonies, but their hearts had become so detached from God that their circumcision was useless.
The Judaizers saw themselves as people set apart for God, and they believed their circumcision demonstrated that reality. But theirs was a false circumcision.
The word used for their act Paul called “katatome” which literally means “mutilation.”
In Galatians 5:12 Paul expressed that truth in a shocking way, he said “I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!” He uses a word that means to cut-off or castrate yourself. Basically he says that they should just take their mutilation to its logical conclusion and cut the whole thing off. Ouch!
God is concerned with a transformed heart. He is not impressed by our observance of baptism or communion or attending the preaching of His word if it isn’t joined with change. We are to do these things as a sign of what we believe inwardly, not as a way to earn God’s favor or perform some act that makes us feel spiritual. Without God having changed our heart we heap judgment upon ourselves for being hypocrites. It is the presence of His Spirit that makes the difference. A child of God has His Spirit dwelling in him and can confidently participate in the signs of salvation.
This moves us to our third mark of a true Christian.
III. TRUE CHRISTIANS WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT
Verse 3a- For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit,
Compared to the mutilators and false circumcision, we are called the true circumcision. Believers have had the flesh of their hearts cut away and are considered the real circumcision. It is spiritual not physical.
Because of this we worship God in the Spirit.
The essence of worship is living a life of obedience service to God. True worship involves every aspect of life. God told the Samaritan woman in John 4 that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth. God has saved believers to worship Him. We are created as beings that are hard wired to worship, but it’s only when our worship is rooted in God that it produces joy and peace. Worship of any other kind only produces death and destruction.
True worshippers love God. They find their source of joy and delight in Him alone. They acknowledge that the “joy of the Lord is [their] strength (Neh. 8:10). True worshippers have a confident trust in God that produces a peace that passes all human understanding.
True worship is “in” the power of the Spirit of God, because only He can produce the love, joy, and peace that characterize true worshippers. They are devoted to God and God has no rival for their affection. The “worship the Lord their God, and serve Him only” (Matthew 4:10).
True worshippers are not marked by attending church or performing religious duties. A mark of a true Christian is one who worship with their whole heart in the Spirit.
They are so aware of the worth of Jesus Christ and what He has done in freeing them to worship Him that they glory in Christ.
The fourth mark of a true Christian is glorying or boasting in Christ.
IV. TRUE CHRISTIANS GLORY IN CHRIST JESUS
Verse 3b- rejoice (glory) in Christ Jesus,
The word rejoice in the Greek is kauchaomai which means to glory or boast.
We being sinful creatures can only be saved by God’s intervening grace. We are saved by His unmerited favor upon us. We realize that we were not seeking Him and yet Christ sought us out. We know that any work that was done to secure our salvation as a child of God was from God Himself and not from our own frail hands.
Because of this, true Christians brag about what God has done. They glory in Christ Jesus and not in themselves because they were recipients of God’s great gift. They couldn’t earn it, weren’t looking for it, and certainly didn’t deserve it and yet Jesus came to die a sinners death in their place so that they would be saved.
The boasting is God’s alone. The bragging is about God’s work. This moves us to our fifth mark of a true Christian. A true Christian will have no confidence in the flesh, but in God.
V. TRUE CHRISTIANS HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH
Verse 3c- and have no confidence in the flesh,
The flesh represents man’s fallen, unredeemed human state. It assumes we have autonomy apart from God. True Christians place no confidence in their flesh. They know that “it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63).
Paul said they he knew that “nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (Romans 7:18). Because it is fallen and unredeemed, the flesh can’t do anything to please God or merit His favor. It only serves sin.
A true Christian does not “walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). No one in their own strength can merit salvation. It’s only those who turn from their sinful self-efforts and embrace the truth of salvation by grace alone through faith alone who are saved.
True repentance will involve much sorrow over the sin and deeds we committed and commit. False repentance involves only a sorrow over the consequences of their sin. False repentance concerns itself with conduct but true repentance with man’s inner condition. False repentance deals with symptoms of the problem, true repentance deals with the problem. Only a true repentance, which puts no confidence in the flesh leads to true salvation.
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