They run here and there to convert people, influencing synagogues and churches, and influencing believers. But the product of their work is not the good work that the gospel produces. It is evil. They make their disciples doubly worthy of hell. They are evil workers.
And then he adds a master stroke when he calls them in the third place: “Beware of the mutilation!” This is unbelievable. Talk about offensive, that is offensive. It’s a terrible way to describe them. They prided themselves on circumcision. Paul was using a play on words for the word circumcision. You see, the Judaizers came around saying, “We are of the circumcision,” teaching that if you are to be saved, you have to be circumcised. Paul doesn’t give them the dignity of calling them the circumcision party. He calls them the “concision,” “mutilation.” You know what the word means? It means “mutilators,” “butchers.” The NAS translates it as “false circumcision.” In fact, the word “mutilation” means these false teachers can poison your soul so severely that they will utterly distort your view of the gospel and ruin your soul. You get into them, and they will butcher you. They go around saying they are God’s preachers teaching circumcision, but they are nothing but mutilators. Not just mutilators of your flesh, but mutilators of your souls. They can damage and cause an utterly ruinous effect on a man’s soul.
Oh, they come with their speeches; they come with plausible arguments and acceptable reasons, but they are out not simply to cut off foreskins but to mutilate souls and take them to hell with their works righteousness. So Paul says there are three antidotes against false teaching, RRR. You have to not only positively rejoice in the Lord and repeat central truths, but you also have to be on your guard continuously, watch out, and be alert to the danger of these Judaizers. They are dogs, they are evil workers, and they are mutilators. Paul is actually turning the tables, as these Jews would call Gentiles “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “mutilators.” He turns it around and says, “these are they.”
Application
Now, what are we to learn from this warning? Well, let me set before you three very simple but vital lines of application this morning.
Number One: Constant Watchfulness
Constant watchfulness for false teaching is not a small part of continuous Christian duty and responsibility. There is no evidence that the Judaizers had already come into the Philippian church, but knowing their patterns, they will attack the church. Paul says, “Beware, beware, beware.” They are not good, harmless people; they are spiritual dogs, evil workers, and mutilators. They will bite you and infect you with their virus, and make you join their evil work, and they are mutilators who will butcher your souls.
Would to God these infections would have died in the first century; these monsters still lurk around our church, seeking whom they may devour. With our remaining sin, there is a subtle attraction you and I have for these teachings more than for the gospel truth. Give them a little room, and we may fall. Therefore, constant watchfulness is not a little but a great duty.
And as with the Philippians, so with us. You see, it is not enough to be positively rejoicing in the Lord and growing by hearing central truths repeatedly. Some people think, “Oh, if we grow in truth, we can escape false teaching.” If that were enough, and if it were enough for Paul to say, “rejoice in the Lord” once, why did he say “BBB” three times? He should have just said “RRR.” Some people say, “Oh, Pastor, let’s not talk about false teachers or what others do. Why simply judge them? God will judge them. Let us only positively learn and preach the truth and rejoice in the Lord.”
Do you realize that is a wrong, unbiblical mentality? This passage teaches that rebuking and exposing false teachers is part of a Christian’s and a church’s duty. What can be a worse rebuke than this… “dogs,” “evil workers,” “mutilators”—and then to be watchful, to be on alert for false teachers? It is a vital part of the ministry and Christian duty. When men get wiser than God, that is when we become infected with all forms of spiritual sickness and evil.
I, as a pastor, and the deacons and members, all need to obey this command and cultivate a spirit of military, spiritual watchfulness… like the military who guard the borders of our country so that enemies don’t cross. We have to stand on a watchtower and observe any kind of slight wrong teaching at the church’s borders. The challenge today is that they may not physically come into our homes; they come to us through TV and mobile phones. In just a one-minute reel, you listen, and they bite you and inject you with their poison and leave their infection in your souls. We are not sure how many of you are getting affected. Think about it… some of you don’t take Bible truth, church, and confession seriously because of some kind of poison working in your souls. Maybe you are already infected. Brethren, learn… if your mind gets infected with their ideas, they will twist and throw you into hell. It is so important… “beware, beware, beware.” Will you take false teaching seriously? If you are not alert, you will get infected… and it’s no use crying after getting infected.
Second Lesson: Holy Harshness
Holy harshness, and angry rebuke against false teaching are not inconsistent with biblical love and gentleness. We saw from the beginning how Paul was so emotional with love for the Philippians—”I yearn with the compassion of Jesus Christ.” He spoke about the sensitive, empathetic love that Timothy and Epaphroditus had for the Philippian church. All of Chapters 1 and 2 are overflowing with love. Yet, in the very next verse in Chapter 3, when he turns to false teachers, the same apostle, with the same heart of love and empathy, says, “beware the dogs, beware evil workers, beware the mutilators.”
You see, the language of holy harshness and a rough rebuke to false teachers is not at all inconsistent. Some people tell us when we rebuke false teachers, “There is no love or compassion in the church; we should not judge others.” How wrong are those arguments? In fact, this will be the language if you have true love. Why? Because the dangers to the church at Philippi are real dangers; their eternal souls will perish if they get infected with false teaching. He knows the dangers of false teaching.
Do you see that some of you sitting here… your whole mindset and emotional state are so against the Bible? When I taught about the love of Paul, how he longed for the Philippians, and we saw Timothy and Epaphroditus, all with empathetic love, he almost became sick. You just enjoyed it… “wow, so nice to hear.” Now, “oh, calling others ‘beware of dogs,’ ‘evil workers’… Pastor is so harsh.” Yesterday, I saw your title… “oh, what is he… has he gone mad… We probably should skip this, not study in detail.”
If that was the inner reaction of your mind and spirit, you have a defective inward biblical Christian religious experience. I repeat, you have a defective inward religious experience. If your heart does not rise with an equal desire and zeal to embrace the holy harshness of Philippians 3, then please listen carefully. All that sentimental love you feel… is not really Holy Spirit-produced love. Some of us may naturally have some feeling of love and think that is Holy Spirit love. You have a wrong Christian mindset. Your inward religious experience is defective. You have to pray to God to bring you into line with the biblical mindset. Because we saw in Psalm 119 that the true work of grace is, “When I see all your commandments, I will not be ashamed. I esteem all of thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way. I hate every false way.” There are emotional feelings of hatred. If you don’t have that hatred, a harsh, unempathetic hatred for a false way, your Christian experience is wrong. I hate all the ways that do not match up to the way of Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. I hate it so much, I abhor it, and consider it as unclean dogs, evil work, and the work of mutilators.
If you have not developed that hatred… you are all fussy and sentimental. Examine your Christian experience and state. Every true Christian who is born of the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit that produces the fruits of a mindset and emotional reactions of love, joy, and peace—all emotions. We have to test if these emotions are from the Holy Spirit. How? If they are aligned with the emotions He has expressed in this book. There is an affinity of the Holy Spirit-produced experience within believers to every word that the Holy Spirit has inscribed without in His word. Jonathan Edwards wrote a classic book, Religious Affections… many emotions that may seem 80% Christian may be coming from the devil. Not all emotions or good feelings are Holy Spirit-produced. Scripture says, “test the spirits.” We don’t know… unless we compare our emotions with God’s word. That is why we commit ourselves to verse-by-verse exposition… that’s not a ritual or tradition, and it is certainly not the easiest course to take in terms of preaching; it is labor, labor, labor. We want to get into the spirit and emotions of those words… our experience should be aligned with the Holy Spirit-expressed emotions in Scripture. Otherwise, we are living in a great deceptive world.
We have to examine our emotions… our mindset… is it coming from the Holy Spirit? The same Holy Spirit who made Paul love so much also made him hate false teachers. The same Spirit was in Jesus, who loved so much but hated the false teachers and their teaching; He called them “children of hell.” If you don’t have their emotions and reactions… how can you say your experience is Holy Spirit-produced? Your sentimental love or compassion which does not have this hatred for all false ways is all Holy Spirit-produced? Oh, what a searching application. We all have to pray with the Psalmist, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We have to do this.
Now, where do you stand? If you don’t have this kind of reaction to false teachers, this hateful emotion, you may be having some wrong spirit. Your experience has to have both emotions: on one side, this empathetic love of the previous chapters, and the emotion of hate in this chapter, the harshness of “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “mutilators.” Otherwise, it is not a true biblical experience. You have to pray to God to get this true experience and be aligned with the Holy Spirit’s writings.
Final Point of Application
It is essential to paint error in its most ugly colors so that the people of God may not be deceived by its fair speech. You see, when the Judaizers approach people, their speech was fair. It was impressive. It was believable… They would appeal to the flesh, which is noble in the flesh… their arguments are very strong… “Don’t you respect the whole of God’s revelation? See the whole Old Testament history; how much it emphasizes circumcision. It was a sign of God’s covenant… Abraham was circumcised, all the seed of Abraham should have this sign, Jacob’s children killed a whole town in this matter, God was about to kill Moses because he didn’t circumcise his child…” and so on.
The apostle wishes to fortify the Philippians, and he does so by painting error in its ugliest colors, so that no matter how fair its speech may be, the Philippians, the moment they hear speech that says “Christ plus circumcision,” these words will come to their mind: “Dogs, evil workers, mutilators.” That’s why he did it. And when the sensualist would come along and say, “Oh, isn’t it marvelous to be absolutely free from the law? It can never touch you with condemning authority. You’re accepted in the beloved, your sins are pardoned… what a freedom… no law for us… no Sabbath for us… so don’t worry about holiness…”
Paul says, “I want you armed beforehand with a strong language, scathing language.” Again, he is painting error in its most ugly colors so that the people of God may not be deceived by its fair speech. In Acts 20, he says, “I have not ceased to warn you at Ephesus night and day with tears for the space of three years. I’ve warned you about perverse men rising up from within; I’ve warned you about grievous wolves from without.” A warning ministry was a part of his life.
Don’t we do that as parents if we truly love our kids? And we know the danger of an accident… we will probably use all harsh language to explain what will happen if they run into the road and are hit by a lorry… what will happen to their heads and hands… they will be crushed… blood… they may die as a child… that is not harsh… that is the language of concerned love and warning. Or we want to explain to them the dangers of gang rapists… will we use nice words… “oh, they are men created in God’s image… we should be kind… not insult them.” If I love my child, I will say, “My daughter, beware of dogs… evil workers… mutilation…”
And so, dear people, it’s not a matter of a temperamental or envious spirit when we speak of other churches and false teachers in rebuking languages. If they preach the truth, we will be the first ones to praise them. They don’t… but they are hindering people from coming to the gospel and getting saved. Their only job is to take people to hell.
We sometimes say the Roman Catholic Church is not Christianity at all. This is not an insult to anyone, but when you really read the Bible and see what happens in the Roman Catholic Church… there is no relationship… Martin Luther listed 95 things; we can list 9,500 things the Roman Catholic Church does against the Bible. Just as those who thought religious rituals like circumcision save people, the Roman Catholic Church twists the gospel, changed baptism to baby baptism, and made the Lord’s Supper into an idolatrous ritual, and church service into a mystical mass. It blinds and deceives crores of people from coming to the true gospel and being saved by adding works… starting with infant baptism, burning candles, prostrating before Mary, running down the beads, then all life is works, works… never attaining an assurance of salvation. No one there dies with an assurance of salvation; the best is purgatory… what a twisting of the true gospel.
When Pentecostals come to you and say that believing the gospel and Christ alone is not enough, you need anointing and tongues. They gather big crowds in the name of Christ, give all false promises to people, and deceive people. They never explain one verse in the Bible properly. There is no Holy Spirit-written truth at all, and their experiences don’t match with any of these Bible experiences. In the name of offering worship, they are offering strange fire and worshiping a calf in the name of Jehovah.
Starting from Dinakaran, Mohan C. Lazarus, Paul Thangiah, Bethel AG Johnson, and John Jebaraj, we call them false churches and false preachers. If Paul had been there… he would have called them dogs, evil workers, and mutilators. They are butchering souls and earning money. They do not serve God or spread the true gospel work.
Likewise with liberalism, which has abandoned the gospel of the grace of God for the gospel of social action… there is no strict truth; doctrines are all important… “you just do good works… you are saved…” That is liberalism. Twisting means… that time, circumcision… now, how many dogs teach you have to be baptized to be saved? Beloved, salvation is by grace and grace alone.
If you sit here this morning and don’t know anything about Christ, I hope one thing has come through to you. It does make a difference what you believe. You believe wrongly, albeit ever so sincerely, and you’ll be damned. Men are saved by the truth. And it’s only as that truth is known and believed and submitted to that you can have any hope of salvation.
Let me tell you the gospel truth… you can be saved only when you throw everything from your mind and believe this… Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. You are saved by grace through faith alone… not by any works… you believe what Jesus did… you are saved.
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Have you ever seen a counterfeit or duplicate currency note? It will look exactly like the original; everything is the same. You cannot find the difference in any way, but only when you go to the bank do they have a sensor scan that will show it is a duplicate note. If it is 500 or 1000, that’s okay. Imagine if someone gave you 50 lakhs of duplicate currency notes, maybe for selling a house. What a shock and disappointment when you realize it is all duplicate?
The Bible teaches that Satan is a master at counterfeiting all that God does. One of the biggest ways he takes people to hell is through false Christianity. The majority in every generation easily fall into it because we all have a heart that is an expert in deceiving us. We never realize that the greatest traitor to our soul is our own heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
There was a peculiar and very practical blessing from God in last week’s pastors’ conference. In one sentence, if we had advertised what we studied last week to all the pastors’ wives and children, the entire country’s pastors’ families would have forced the pastors to attend this. It was very practical and useful. But every time, what breaks my heart is that there are new pastors who come—genuine men—but they have been deceived by false Christianity for 40 or 50 years, sacrificed so much, and when they hear the truth, they go with an unbearable shock to know they have been deceived for so many years, and their lives destroyed by false teaching. It always breaks my heart to think, “oh, if we can just somehow reach the whole nation and show them the Bible truth.”
If this is so tragic, can you imagine what a shock it will be on the Day of Judgment? There will stand many who thought they were saved but were not. Can you imagine the eternal disappointment of knowing that on the Day of Judgment, when it is too late and you cannot do anything? If it’s a 50 lakh currency, okay, maybe you can manage somehow, like in the conference before we die, we know the truth, okay, do something. What can we do on the Day of Judgment?
If we want to avoid that eternal shock and not live in our own deceptive world, blinded by our own sinful heart, we have to put ourselves through the strict spiritual scan of God’s word and see if our Christianity is true. Has there been a true work of grace in my heart? Naturally, our deceptive hearts hate to do that. Whatever the Bible says, “I am a believer for 30 or 40 years.” But the greatest good we can do for our souls is to examine whether we are in the faith. That is why our Lord, the apostles, and all true preachers, as soon as they preach the gospel, they warn about false faiths.
Matthew Mead, a Puritan, wrote a book titled “The Almost Christian.” I copied his title for my sermon today. He is not alive, so no copyright problem. Although in Philippians 3:3 we will look at the signs of a true Christian, it will be impactful if we first look at what he says about false Christians. An “almost Christian” is like counterfeit currency in every way; they look like a true Christian, but they are a false Christian, and they will go to hell. Matthew describes how far a person can go, look exactly like a Christian, and he himself may not realize it, and still not be a true Christian… how far a person can advance toward heaven and still not truly be saved. If you can, let me encourage you to read the book, online in English, but let me give you a brief list of his points. See if you are on this list.
“A man may have much knowledge about Christ, God, and the whole Bible, reading for years, with full expert knowledge of the Bible, and yet be but an almost Christian.” None of that knowledge was illuminated by the Holy Spirit and changed his heart; it stayed as head knowledge.
“A man may have a great and eminent gift of preaching, yet be but an almost Christian.” Many would have heard Judas preaching and been saved, but Judas was a false Christian. Many will say on Judgment Day, “Lord, we preached in you,” but they were not saved. Gifts are common; God gives gifts for helping others, but those are not signs of true salvation.
“A man may have a high testimony, a profession of religion.” He may have had a great experience at one time. He may say, “I am reformed, I believe in the Confession of Faith, I do all external duties, I come to church, pray, read the Bible, and learn all as a good habit, even preach, do miracles, and cast out demons,” like we see in Matthew 7. Yet he is but an almost Christian.
“A man may go so far as hating sin but be an almost Christian.” He hates sin for the consequences of sin and not the nature of sin, what it does to God and Christ. He may have guilt and conviction of sin from a natural conscience without the Spirit’s work. That will not make him repent from sin. He may even mourn for sin, like Esau with tears, and even confess sin, like Pharaoh, Saul, or Judas, under the torture of conscience and God’s punishment, but not truly turn from sin, which only a Holy Spirit conviction can do. He may outwardly leave some sin temporarily but love sin in his heart.
“A man may make great vows and promises, strong resolutions against his sin and to follow Christ, yet be but an almost Christian.” Many make a determination temporarily when their conscience tortures them, under some punishment from God, but later that conscience’s accusations fade, and they go back to their sin and do not follow Christ. A natural, unsanctified heart may go to an extent of leaving sin and promising to follow Christ temporarily, but it will not persevere.
“A man may be a member of the church and yet be but an almost Christian.” The five foolish virgins joined themselves to the wise. The Lord said the church will always have tares among the wheat. Many may be members of the church of Christ and not members of Christ, not in a living, vital union with Christ, the head of the church.
“A man may have great hopes of heaven, he will surely go to heaven, and yet be but an almost Christian.” Hope is not a passive grace; true heaven’s hope gives great motivation to action. John says he who has true hope of heaven, that hope purifies himself as Christ is pure. That hope fills the heart with rejoicing in this life. There is a hope of hypocrites that neither fills them with joy nor sanctifies their heart. Very subtly, those who have false hope have great confidence of going to heaven without a doubt, and those with true hope may fear about their eternal condition.
“A man may have visible changes, an altered life, and yet be but an almost Christian.” This is as Herod was. It is said, “when he heard John the Baptist, he did many things, and heard him gladly.” Saul was under a great change when he met the Lord’s prophets; he turned prophet, too. Simon Magus’s life was such that even the apostles initially thought he was saved. Every change in life is not a change by salvation grace. A civil change, a social change, age and mind mature, responsibility changes, with more age, the power of lusts decreases, and there is an external moral change. Common restraining grace may cause a moral outward change yet not a spiritually saving change; outwardly—and yet not inwardly.
“A man may be very zealous and do many things in matters of religion and yet be but an almost Christian.” Jehu was very zealous in his service, yet he was a base hypocrite. Joash was a great reformer in Jehoiada the priest’s time; it is said, “He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” But when Jehoiada died, Joash’s zeal for God died with him, and he became a base wretch. How can zeal be wrong? There is a blind zeal, a scripture-less and against zeal, a zeal without knowledge, like the Jews had; a wrong zeal for outward religion; a selfish zeal, not for God’s kingdom, but for our selfish plans and goals.
“A man may be much in prayers and yet be but an almost Christian.” “Pastor, we do 21 days of fasting and prayer… We are true children of God.” So did the Pharisees; we know how the Lord not only said they are hypocrites but also children of the devil. A man may pray under a pretense, as a covering for some sin—so did those devout Pharisees. “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.” A man may pray a lot for temporal, worldly things very fervently. Affliction and the pressure of sickness, financial problems, and outward evils will make a man pray. Even an idol worshiper, in a difficult time, he prays. That is not a sign of salvation. A man may pray a lot publicly and yet be far from God in prayer. “This people draw near to me with their mouths, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
“A man may SUFFER for Christ, sacrifice many things for Christ, and yet be but an almost Christian.” Every suffering for Christ is not suffering as a true Christian, maybe for a few Christian principles. How many people suffer for principles, for a nation, for a group? A man may suffer for Christ for that profession of religion that is upon him. A man may suffer for Christ and yet have no true love for Christ. 1 Corinthians 13 tells, “Though I give all I have and give my body to be burned, I can do all that without true love.” People do things out of an opinion of meriting God’s favor by our sufferings, as the Roman Catholic people do. Out of vain glory or for applause among professors, some have died so that their names might live. Or out of a design for profit, as Judas forsook all for Christ, hoping to get greater profit.
“A man may claim to have a common faith but not a saving faith.” A dead faith without works. Faith in general things: “yes, I believe Jesus is the savior of sinners,” but a personal application: “I am a sinner, and he is my savior.” Faith of understanding, agreeing to Bible teaching, a faith that doesn’t affect the heart and life, no experience of faith, never a broken heart, a transformed heart, just head knowledge. It is not a believing head, but a believing heart that makes a Christian!
“A man may do all, as to external duties and worship, that a true Christian can, and, when he has done all, be but an almost Christian.”
Amazing list, isn’t it? All of us are covered. In fact, all Christians are included. If a man or woman can do all this and still be an “almost Christian,” then…
He pleads, “My brothers and sisters, a very common mistake we all make is to misjudge our spiritual condition with proud thoughts, and so perish in our own delusions. The world is full of these foolish builders who lay the foundation of their hopes of eternal salvation upon the sand.” Now, my brethren, would you want to mistake the way to heaven? Would you want to be found the greatest fools on the last day? Oh, the greatest fool is one who gains the whole world and loses his soul. Fools for eternity? If you want to be that fool, never examine your heart. If you want to be wise, do a thorough examination, and pray for, and labor for a thorough work of conversion! Beg of God that he would make a saving change in your souls, that you may be not “almost,” but “altogether” Christians! All other changes without a saving change by God’s grace in the heart only make us almost Christians.
Now, the great question is, what are the true, undeniable signs of a true Christian? In the midst of all the false notes, what are those signs through which you can identify true currency? That is what brings us to today’s Philippians passage. In the marvelous verse of Philippians 3:3, we have the most accurate description of a true Christian, a true child of God. I think this is the most deepest, inimitable, and authentic marks of a true Christian anywhere in the Bible. Very briefly, with the genius of Holy Spirit wisdom, Paul lists the most marvelous objective signs of a true believer. They have nothing to do with his outward conduct, external religious duties, or his church membership. They have to do with what he is inside, his character, and his nature. Something that no one sees.
Paul, after he gave a strong warning against these false teachers, the Judaizers, who tell us to be circumcised and add external things to the gospel of Christ, says, contrasting them, that they are a “mutilation.” Philippians 3:3: “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
First, he describes true Christians as the circumcision and then gives three signs of those who are truly circumcised. First, let us understand why he calls us “the true circumcision.”
Circumcision was the divinely ordained sign of God’s covenant relationship in the Old Testament. In Genesis 17:1-14, God, entering into a covenant with Abraham, commanded him to circumcise all his children as a sign of his covenant people, and that passage closes with this threat that if one would not undergo that mark, he should be cut off from the people of God. It began to be a sign of God’s special people throughout Old Testament history, so important that they divided the world into “the circumcision” and “the uncircumcision,” all Gentiles as uncircumcised. After our Lord died and rose again, just as all Old Testament sacrifices and rituals were fulfilled and done away with, so physical circumcision was fulfilled and removed in the New Testament.
But in the New Testament, it took on a spiritual meaning—the circumcision of the heart. Romans 2:28-29 says, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
So we see circumcision of the heart. What is that? Just like Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament rituals… by His death, resurrection, when He ascended, and was glorified in heaven, and as a sign of His glorification, He sent the crowning gift of the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit fulfills the old shadow of physical circumcision by His glorious work of regenerating a sinner.
So circumcision of the heart is the true regeneration work of God in the heart of an insensitive, hard, “cow-skin” sinner whose heart was earlier dead to God, with no feeling or emotion toward God. But by this great operation of circumcision of the heart, God, cutting off the filth of the sinful flesh, God enlightens his mind, takes away the heart of stone, gives him a heart of flesh, and frees his sin-enslaved will.
By this operation, God removes the insensitive foreskin of the heart, and the sinner, by repentance and faith, becomes very sensitive to God and realizes the infinite grace in Jesus Christ, freely, willingly, and joyfully turning to God from self and sin. It is the greatest miraculous work of God in the human heart and so great that God uses the same power that raised Jesus from the dead to do this operation. Colossians 2:11 says, “you are circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands.” Only those who are regenerated or circumcised of heart become true covenant people of God.
When these Judaizers, who don’t understand this glory of the marvelous work of God in the heart, come and teach that to be accepted by God you have to be a Jew and be circumcised physically, it becomes a dangerous heretical teaching. Paul calls them dogs, evil workers, and mutilators. In contrast to them, he says, “we are the true circumcision.” Jew or Gentile, those who are regenerated through the message of the gospel, we and we alone are the true circumcision; we are the true covenant people of God. This circumcision is done not merely by the knife of Moses in the physical body, but by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit and the sword of God’s word in our heart. So that is why Paul describes true Christians as the true circumcision.
Now he goes on and explains three signs if this circumcision of the heart has happened in our hearts. Paul lays out three marks of a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl who is truly regenerated, saved by the power of the Holy Spirit, and united to Jesus Christ in a saving relationship. WRC—Worship, Rejoice, Confidence. It is not just one; all who are truly saved will have all three. If you don’t have any one of them, you are not truly saved and united with Jesus Christ. The more our experience and life is like this, the more we can have the assurance that we are truly saved. So let us study this in detail. Today we will cover only the first.
First Sign: Worship
“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit.”
If there has been a true circumcision of the heart, it will reveal itself not just in outward activities. It will reveal itself in worshipping God in spirit. The first mark of a true believer is worship. False believers can fake this. Everyone is worshiping now, on every street, at temples, churches, and in songs. Paul says a truly regenerated Christian is known by the kind of worship—worship God in the spirit. Allow this term to sink in your hearts. What does “worship in spirit” mean? How strange this term is for you… you are so far from a true salvation experience… A Christian is described firstly by his proper act, worship; and by the proper object thereof, God; and by the proper part and seat thereof, in the spirit.
There are three aspects of this worship in spirit: historical context, what is involved in it, and how it is expressed.
Historical context… why does he use this as the first? It is a beautiful contrast to Old Testament Jewish worship. One of the peculiar blessings of the nation of Israel as the covenant people of God through circumcision was that they had the privilege of worshiping one true living God. There was only one nation to whom God had revealed from heaven how to worship him through rituals; he taught them a way of ritual access to him. There was only one nation that could claim that its Tabernacle or temple, its priestly altars, and its service and sacrifices were revealed directly from Heaven. They prided themselves in these great privileges. Paul in Romans 9:4 says, “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship of God, and the promises.”
Notice how the apostle strikes at the heart of the pride of these Judaizers who glory in external ritual worship, saying God himself revealed it. But do you know who are the true circumcision? Not those who teach that we go back to the ritual worship of the Old Testament. But we who worship God by the Spirit of God. And why does he say that? Because all that ritual worship of the Old Testament pointed to the reality of New Testament spiritual worship. Hebrews shows they were called shadows, elementary, and baby toys to show what the fulfillment of spiritual reality is when the people of God were at an infant stage.
All of it pointed to Jesus’ atoning work. When Christ perfectly finished His work, and rose, and ascended, and was glorified, and as a sign of His glorification, He sent the crowning gift of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies and rituals. That Holy Spirit has fulfilled the old circumcision by regenerating us. The first fruit of that regeneration work is the worship of God in spirit and truth.
What is involved in “worship in spirit”? First, we get the sense that this is not external or related to physical worship. Worship in spirit is done in faith. The word “Spirit” is not caused by external, visible places, idols, or images. “Go to a big temple,” “go to the RC church and see the statue of Jesus hanging”… you close your eyes and worship at a temple, outward circumstances… all that is false worship. Worship in spirit is supernatural, not natural. True worship is generated from the inside by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is a transcendent worship; it reaches a plane beyond the external and physical. “Worship in spirit” is through faith. The book of Hebrews says from Genesis that God accepted Abel’s worship but rejected Cain’s. Why? Because Abel worshiped in faith. It is not born from some visible, physical, external pomp. Why do we come here to worship? We don’t have any external signs, a stage, or idols, because we believe God is here. We trust His promise… when we gather as two or three, He is here. All these ordinances of preaching, praying, singing psalms, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper… though all are outside, they are outward acts of a spiritual reality. These duties are the ways in which God has promised to meet with His people and appointed us to expect His grace. So first, “worship in spirit” involves faith.
“Worship in spirit” will have the fruits of the Spirit. Why will a regenerated believer want to worship? What is the first fruit of the Holy Spirit? Love. Worship in spirit is done out of love. This circumcision of the heart gives such affection, esteem, and love to God, that we want to worship God. There is a deep sense of the excellency of God impressed upon their hearts. They are more amazed by His glory, like when God revealed His glory to Moses. The natural, spontaneous tendency, with no one telling him, was, in Exodus 34:8, “He made haste, and bowed himself to the earth, and worshipped.” There will be a Spirit-produced compulsion that He ought to be worshipped and served. The Holy Spirit will write the first commandment, “Thou shall worship the Lord alone with all thy heart,” with reverence, considering God’s majesty and our own vileness.
The Catechism also states that He will publicly acquit believers. He will sentence them as blameless. What does it mean to be acquitted by Christ? It means to be freed and cleared from all guilt and punishment for sin. What a glorious thing! When I was saved on this earth, He acquitted me of my sins in the secrecy of my heart and in the court of heaven, but on that day, it will be a public acquittal before all people, angels, and the Father. What a wonderful thought! On the last day of judgment, which will accuse all mankind for their sins and sentence them to eternal wrath, for true believers in that same judgment, it will not be a punishment for their sins but a public acquittal from all guilt and punishment of sins. Currently, it is a secret that I am a justified person. On that day, it will be publicly declared. Now it is a subjective certainty, and then it will be a full assurance. A believer may doubt this now, but not on that day.
Oh, now, only when my assurance is strong do I have peace, and when it goes down, I have doubts and troubles. But then, it will be an eternal, unshakable, unchangeable reality! Imagine now, with faith itself, my heart is so filled with joy when I know I am righteous before God and all my sins are forgiven. Then, when I am publicly and eternally acquitted of all my sins and declared righteous forever before the universe, and the verdict is eternally sealed, what joy and peace will flood my heart! That is why judgment is a glorious, blessed hope. We wait for that public acquittal. What a blessed day it will be to know for certain that all my sins are forgiven and I am made righteous, publicly, eternally, and unchangeably.
The same judgment is as awful for a sinner as it is joyful for a believer. It has a dark side and a light side. The dark side: the books shall be opened, the book of conscience, all their sins laid bare, their thoughts, heart passions, and actions. Being convicted, they will be speechless. The same voice which will convict and punish them, saying, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” will, on that same day, publicly acquit the believer of all his sins and say, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The day of judgment will be a day of jubilee for them.
In the world, believers were neglected, slandered, and unappreciated. They were even accused alongside evil people. Moses and Paul, who left so much worldly fame and name for Christ, were thought of as fools. We are thought of as fools for leaving worldly enjoyment to serve Christ and struggle so much day and night, to take on the reproach of Christ instead of enjoying life. But on that day, oh, when acknowledged by Christ, He will “bring forth their righteousness as the light” (Psalm 37:6). He will wipe away tears from their eyes and dust from their names. This is the comfort for all believers. Whatever people may say, the saints, when reproached, may comfort themselves with the day of judgment, in which Christ will say who are His, and they shall shine as the sun.
Note that this public acquittal will be done according to works, not by faith. That is why every verse in the Bible that talks about judgment speaks about every person, even believers, who will be judged according to works. The rule for assessing a person’s condition will be only works, even for believers. How is that? Are we not saved by faith? Yes, but on that day of public judgment, our heart faith cannot be used as evidence for acquittal in a public judgment. What do we need? Works. We will be acquitted not on the basis of faith alone but on the works that our true faith produced. Those works will be displayed before the universe as evidence of our true salvation. The fact that we have truly believed in Christ and that Christ has atoned for all our sins and declared us righteous will be proven by the undeniable proof of works of faith. He will openly vindicate us. The word “vindicate” means to clear from suspicion, to uphold by evidence, and to justify or validate the rightness of an action. This is because true faith will always reveal itself in acts of faith and love for other believers. Doing these things did not make them sheep; doing these things were manifestations that they were sheep. What you did for one of these least ones hangs on your eternal destiny. “I didn’t care; I came to church once on Sunday, and as soon as it was over, I ran away.” Examine if you are a sheep.
Firstly, it will not be a day of judgment for our sins. Secondly, it will be an acknowledgment by Christ before the universe that we are His. Thirdly, we will be publicly acquitted by Christ. Fourthly, that day will be a day of rewards based on our works.
How glorious! Not only will we be acknowledged and acquitted, but we will also receive rewards that Christ enabled us to perform through his grace. It will be a day of reward for all faithfulness to his truth and kingdom, and for suffering for righteousness. Jesus promised that those who endure persecution, love their enemies, and obediently serve their Master will be richly rewarded (Matthew 5:11-12; 25:23; Luke 6:35; 1 Corinthians 3:14). He does not say exactly what these rewards are, but we can assume they will cheer us exceedingly. Matthew 5:11-12 says, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”
God’s final judgment will bestow a great reward. In 1 Corinthians 3, we know God will test everything we do for his kingdom and reward us on that day. It speaks of rewards for those who work in the building of the church, God’s kingdom. Every effort for the Gospel and for the church will be rewarded. The things that will earn us eternal rewards are the efforts we put in for the Gospel and for building God’s kingdom using our gifts and talents. People who have been instrumental in God’s hands for building the church will receive an eternal reward for that labor.
Matthew 25:14, the parable of the talents, warns us not to bury our talent but to multiply it by using it for the kingdom’s growth. The person who did not use it and had no fruit is shown as an unbeliever, called a wicked and unprofitable servant, and punished eternally. But others who showed fruit received degrees of reward. The man who had five talents was set over five cities, and the man with two was set over two.
The Bible also talks about crowns. They are incorruptible crowns, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9, for those who are faithful to Scripture, obedient, and self-sacrificing. This includes the crown of righteousness. On that day, believers will not stand there wringing their hands, wailing over missed opportunities. There will be no jealousy or competition. The Bible says there will be degrees of rewards, but all in heaven will be perfectly happy.
Fifth, believers will judge angels and sinful people with Christ. This is where your head will spin. Scriptures assert that true believers will be given both the privilege and the awesome responsibility to share with Christ in the final judgment on unbelievers and even on fallen angels. There is a clear passage rebuking a fighting church that was even dragging another brother into court. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 says to find a wise brother among you to resolve your case. The reason he gives is in verse 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? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?”
He’s arguing from the greater to the lesser. “Don’t you know?” Apparently, this is something he taught them in his 18 months of ministry among the Corinthians, clearly teaching that believers will participate in the judgment of the world. I don’t know how and what, but my Bible says this, and I, instead of cringing in false humility, believe it. Christ has lifted me to such glory! Not only will I not be judged, but I will judge not just sinners but even fallen angels.
All judgment is given to Christ. He will sit on the throne and judge. Look at what Christ says he will do with the position and the throne. Writing to the seven suffering churches, he gives seven promises to overcomers. Revelation 3:21 says, “He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne.” It is as if there is no end to our blessings. “I love my people so much in my union; I will bestow as much as possible to confer upon my creatures. They will be supremely blessed and glorified with me; I will even widen my throne and make them sit with me, and they will participate even in the final, climactic act of the Messianic judgment of the universe.” Lord, that’s too good to be true.
I feel like saying, “Hey, world, you spit me out as nothing. Beware, I am going to be your judge one day!” See the riches of the inheritance of the saints. On that great day, we will not only not be judged for our sins, but we will be acknowledged, confessed, publicly acquitted, rewarded, and given the honor of judging the world and angels with Christ.
Application: Communion – Three Duties: Remember, Examine, Proclaim
Remember Christ
Do you see the colossal glory of Christ’s work on the cross? He overturned the judgment throne in our favor by his work. So when the Lord Jesus sits upon his throne and looks over the mass of humanity, imagine his first act: he looks at his people and welcomes them, saying, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom” (Matthew 25:34). It is as if Christ should say, “Oh, you happy ones, the delight of my soul, the fruit of my sufferings, stand no longer at the bar. You are heirs to the crown of heaven; enter and take possession.” Upon hearing this sentence, with what ravishing joy will the saints be filled! This word, “Come, you blessed,” will be music to their ears and a cordial to their hearts.
This should fill our hearts with great love and thanks, praise and worship for Christ. Oh, what a salvation he has accomplished for us on the cross. Oh, the great, finished work of Christ. Do you see why we will praise Christ’s work on the cross for all eternity? What a glorious, full salvation he purchased for us! How sure is a believer’s atonement and justification, being so ratified privately and publicly in this world, and in the world to come.
This should make us love and long for the day of Christ’s appearing. What are we afraid of? Death, resurrection, judgment—it’s all part of a glorious, blessed hope package. We should eagerly yearn for it. This message should encourage us as Christians to abound in good works and work for Christ’s church. If Christ is going to reward me for even a glass of water for his Gospel and kingdom, how should we spend more of our time to earn eternal rewards? How are you using your talents—your talent of time, efforts, young life, and energy—are you burying them in the ground?
Examine
Remember I kept saying all this is for true believers. I told you what he will do with believers, and that it will be terrible for unbelievers. But you know, it will be the worst day for nominal Christians who believe they are saved but are not. If you are a nominal Christian, may this message not deceive you and give you false security. The Bible repeatedly warns us that the day of judgment will be a day of eternal, greatest shock for many. Many who were sleeping, thinking they were believers, will be shown they are not truly saved. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And, Lord, have we not cast out demons in your name and done many mighty works in your name?” He will say, “I never knew you.” This is shown in the parable of the five foolish virgins and the talents. Any pastor or any church cannot infallibly discern the true state of a person’s soul. In love, we may sometimes assume you are a weak sheep, whereas you may be a goat. We can all learn to behave like Christians, but do not be deceived. While on earth, we may have fooled everyone. On that day, you cannot escape. That great assize, that great gathering before the judgment seat of Christ, will show our true condition.
Some of you really worry about how you will stand on that day if you cannot stand the test of a local church, with no fruits, no good works, swallowed up in worldly cares like in Noah’s days, eating, drinking, and giving in marriage, with no care for the Lord’s coming, and no multiplying of talents. I want to warn and caution you so your blood will not be on my head. These blessings are not for everyone but for those who show their faith in good works.
The most terrible words will be said to people who are not saved. He will not acquit you, because acquittal is not done by faith in the heart alone, but by visible, outward actions. Since your dead faith did not have any actions, not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter, but only he who does the will of my Father. The final judgment for all people is by their actions. You cannot be acquitted that day but condemned. My old pastor would say to examine yourself with judgment day honesty. “If Christ comes today, what actions can he see in my life that he can use to publicly acquit me, to prove I am his sheep?” Oh, otherwise, it will be most terrible for you.
With the most terrible words, Matthew 25:41 says, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Terrible words. “Lord, you are the source of all goodness; are you telling me to depart from you?” “Okay, send me with some blessings.” “No, go with my curse.” “Oh, a curse. Okay, Lord, can you at least send me to some comfortable place?” “Everlasting fire.” “Can we have some good company?” “No, to live and suffer with the devil and his angels for eternity.”
So, you who have eternal souls, if you would stand acquitted on the day of judgment, then truly examine your faith seriously and strive to reveal your faith by actions. Don’t be deceived about the greatest thing for which you were born.
If you want to live wisely, meditate much upon the day of judgment. 1 Peter 1:17 says, “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” Meditating on the judgment can change your life like nothing else. Most people’s lives changed when they meditated on the judgment of God. John Bunyan’s life changed. He couldn’t sleep; his family thought he was mad. But that made him leave the city of destruction and the city of vanity and take the pilgrim path, only by meditating on the coming wrath and the coming judgment. Knowledge of future judgment is always a call for present repentance.
Proclaim Christ
If Christ will confess us before the entire universe with such honor, this should encourage all of us to boldly confess Christ before this world. Let no one be afraid or ashamed to confess who he is, what he has done, and that we belong to him, no matter what loss or danger may threaten them.
If we do not, “But he that denies me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.” He will not acknowledge or confess you. Because Mark 8:38 says, “For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his glorious angels.” You never revealed your faith by confessing Christ.
We saw it is the duty of every believer not just to believe in Christ in their heart but to show that by speaking the truth to people around them. We saw that God could send judgment if we always shut our mouths and never open them to confess Christ. Psalm 119:43 says, “And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances.”
As people who still do not believe in Christ, how can you live in this world without this hope? How will you die? How will you face judgment with all your sins outside of Christ? And you will hang down your heads and not be able to look your judge in the face. How horrible it is going to be for you. You will cry to the mountains and rocks to fall on you and hide you from his face. If you are an unbeliever, if I were you, I would be so jealous of these judgment blessings for believers. What? Not only all sins forgiven, acknowledged, confessed, acquitted, rewarded, and made to judge? And I will be judged eternally for all my sins? No, no. If these are the blessings in Christ, I will not rest for one second until I find myself united to Christ in faith. Oh, you must believe and repent.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 