The Distinctive Qualities of the True Christian, Part 4 (Philippians 3:3) John MacArthur

May I invite you to take your Bible and  turn to Philippians chapter 3 as we return   again to this wonderful portion  of Scripture, verses 1 through 3. The Scripture says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice  in the Lord. To write the same things again is   no trouble to me and it is a safeguard for you.  Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers,   beware of the false circumcision, for  we are the true circumcision who worship   in the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ  Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh." We come in our study now finally to verse 3,  that great great definition of a Christian as   one who worships in the Spirit of God, glories in  Christ Jesus and puts no confidence in the flesh.   We've been looking at this portion  of Scripture from the vantage point   of discerning the distinctive qualities of the  true Christian. We have looked at some implicit   qualities in verses 1 and 2, and finally now we  come to the main point of the text, the explicit   qualities in verse 3. These are the things  that identify a Christian as a true Christian.

Paul says we are the true circumcision. Meaning  that we have a circumcision that is inward. We   have a cleansing that is inward, not just outward.  The false circumcision has an outward mark,   and you know well that the Jews thought that  their outward external physical circumcision   gave them special privilege with God. He says  that is a false circumcision. That which is   outward is meaningless. It is the circumcision  that is inward that marks the true Christian.   So we are the true circumcision, not cleansed on  the outside by surgery but cleansed on the inside   by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, the Apostle  Paul here then is contrasting in verses 2 and 3   the false with the true. I pointed out last time  that that is a rather common thing in Scripture.   The New Testament is very concerned to compare  the false believer with the true believer. Now you   might think that that is something that occupies  our church and this time and my ministry and not   everyone's or every time or every ministry, but  that's not the case. Throughout the history of   the church since the New Testament it has been a  major thrust to speak to the matter of who is a   true Christian and who is not. And so I speak to  you in continuity, I speak to you as one coming   out of a long line of those who speak for God,  pastor/teachers and spokesmen for the Word of  

God who must affirm to you the distinctions  between a true and false believer. The false   believer we have already considered in verse 2 and  now we consider the true believer. But before we   look specifically at the characteristics,  let me share a little bit of background. A couple of months ago I had a privilege.  I received a letter inviting me to write   the foreword to a book. That in itself is not  unusual, I receive letters like that all the time,   people asking me to write a foreword to a book  is not at all unusual. But what was very unusual   about this request was that the book was written  in 1661. Usually when I receive a manuscript,   it comes from the author and the author  asks if I would be willing to write a   foreword. In this case, the author is long  in the presence of the Lord over 300 years. So to receive a book written in 1661 and be  asked if I would write the foreword was a   unique experience. And as I proceeded to read  the book, peruse it, scan its great truths,   I became very excited about it. It was  written by one of the Puritans by the   name of Matthew Mead, M-e-a-d. The title  of it is, The Almost Christian Discovered,   typically archaic Puritan language,  The Almost Christian Discovered.

He wrote the book because he wanted to  address a very significant problem. The   problem he wanted to address was the fact  that there were many people who thought   they were saved and weren't. There were many  people who claimed to be saved, and weren't.   So he was addressing the problem 300 years  ago that Paul was addressing nearly 2,000   years ago that we are now addressing  today. Because as I told you last time,   in the New Testament where the gospel  is presented, it is often followed up by   instruction as to how to tell a true respondent  to the gospel from a false and deceived one. I had occasion recently to receive the book  with my foreword in it. And by the way, it is   now available in the bookstore. And I reread it  and I was fascinated as I went through the book,   and I want to share just a couple of things with  you that came out of it, more than a couple,   a list. In fact, I want to distill a hundred  and twenty pages into a brief few words.

Matthew Mead has a long section  in the book of about 120 pages   in which he addresses how far a  person can go and still not be a   true Christian...how far a person can  advance toward heaven, toward Christ,   toward God and still not truly be saved.  And these are the things he suggests. "A man may have much knowledge about Christ and   yet be but almost a Christian. A man  may have a great and eminent gift,   yet be but almost a Christian." He means  by that a speaking gift, a leadership gift. "A man may have a high profession of religion.  He may be much in external duties of goodness   and yet be but almost a Christian. A  man may go far in opposing his own sin   and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may  hate sin and yet be but almost a Christian.   A man may make great vows and promises, strong  purposes and resolutions against his sin and yet   be but almost a Christian. A man may maintain a  strife and a combat against sin and yet be but  

almost a Christian. "A man may be a member of  the church and yet be but almost a Christian.   A man may have great hopes of heaven and yet be  but almost a Christian. A man may under visible   changes, altered life and yet be but almost a  Christian. A man may be very zealous in matters   of religion and yet be but almost a Christian. A  man may be much in prayers and yet be but almost   a Christian. A man may even suffer for Christ's  sake and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may   outwardly obey the commandments and yet be but  almost a Christian. A man may perform external   worship yet be but almost a Christian. And a man  may have faith and yet be but almost a Christian." Amazing list, isn't it? In fact, if you were to  kind of reverse the list and read it another way,   it would sound like you were describing  Christians, someone who has the knowledge of   God and Christ, someone who has great and eminent  and gifts, someone who professes true religion,   who does duties of goodness, someone who opposes  his sin, hates his sin, makes great vows and   promises, strong purposes and resolutions against  his sin, a man who strives in combat against sin,   a man who is a member of a church who has hopes of  heaven, whose life has had some visible changes,   who is zealous in matters of religion,  who praise, who may even suffer because  

of his association with Christ, who outwardly  seems to obey the commandments and performs   external worship and believes. You might  say, "Well, that's got to be a Christian." Matthew Mead is right in assessing, however,  that you can have all of those things and be   but only almost a Christian. These are not enough.  These are not enough. Well what does it take? What   is the evidence? What is the mark of the true  Christian? Well, we go from the outside to the   inside when we come to verse 3. And let me just  share with you these three simple statements that   identify the true Christian. They have  nothing to do with his outward conduct,   his outward profession, his outward goodness. They  have nothing to do with his church membership.   They have nothing to do with his religious  duties. They have nothing to do with his   external professions. They have nothing to do with  the fact that he might not like sin in the world,   he might not even like sin in his own life.  They have to do with what is inside. They   have to do with his character, with his nature,  with something that no one sees, but eventually   that everyone sees because it works its way  out. And that's what I want to share with you.

I want you to understand it very very thoroughly  so listen carefully. Number one, a true Christian   is one who worships in or by the Spirit of God.  That is to say his worship is supernatural, not   natural. His worship is generated by the Spirit  of God not by his own will, his own desires or   by some ceremonies or some ritual or some liturgy  or some structure or some code. He is a worshiper   of God but his worship is that which is produced  from the inside by the indwelling Holy Spirit.   And thus it is transcendent worship, it reaches  a plain beyond the external. The world frankly,   folks, is filled with people who worship. But  their worship is not prompted by the Spirit   of God dwelling in them. It is prompted  by culture, it is prompted by tradition,   it is prompted by guilt, it is prompted by fear.  It is prompted by a desire to be accepted. It is   prompted by self-righteousness. It is prompted  by a desire to be a popular person. It can be   prompted by a myriad of things. It is prompted  by the desire to expiate sin, to remove guilt,   to solve problems, to gain blessings. It  could be prompted by many many things.

But the only true worship is that  which is prompted by the Spirit of   God indwelling. And the only people the  Spirit of God indwells are Christians.   Therefore they are the only ones  who worship by the Spirit of God. The first then quality that marks a true Christian  is worship. There is deep within the true believer   a longing to glorify God, a longing to worship  God, to serve God. Now let me see if I can't   dissect this term "worship" a little bit for  you so you'll get an understanding of it. The first quality then that marks a true believer  is worship. We should not be surprised by that.   That is our character. Go back with me to John  chapter 4 and I would just put you in touch with   a passage of Scripture that really does elucidate  this point as well as any in Scripture. Jesus in   John 4 is confronting a Samaritan woman. She  has discovered by what He has said about her   life that He knows everything about her and  that that knowledge was not available to Him   through normal means so He must be a man of  God. He told her all about her dissolute life,   all about her immorality, all the men she's lived  with and so forth. And she understood that He was   speaking on a supernatural level so in verse 19  she says, "I perceive that You're a prophet."   He knows...she knows, that is, that He has got  some supernatural source for His information.

Now that she knows He represents and speaks for  God and that He's plugged in to the supernatural,   she wants some information herself. So  she wants to know about worship. She is a   Samaritan. The Samaritans had set up worship on  Mount Gerizim, they were half-breeds, half Jew,   half Gentile. They had been rejected by the Jews  who were very zealous of their racial purity,.   And these intermarrying half-breeds were hated  and despised by the Jews. Therefore they were   not given access to the temple at Jerusalem, nor  to the worship that was conducted there. So they   had to develop their own system of worship which  they did in Samaria on Mount Gerizim. Since they   also did not have the Scripture, they accepted  only the Pentateuch, not the whole Old Testament,   they were limited as to what they knew. So they  had developed a highbred kind of independent   worship on their own mountain according to their  own rules. She then says to Jesus, she knows He's   a Jew and a prophet of God, verse 20, "Our fathers  worshiped in this mountain...Mount Gerizim...and   You say that in Jerusalem, you Jews, you  people, that in Jerusalem is the place where men   ought to worship." In other words, she's saying,  "What place do you worship? You're a prophet of   God. I've been confused by this. The Jews say  it's Jerusalem. Our fathers say it's here. What   is the right place to worship? Now that I'm being  confronted by this man of God, I want to deal with   my life, I want to worship God, I want to make my  life right, which mountain do I go to?" In effect,  

verse 21, "Jesus says to her, Woman, believe Me,  an hour is coming when neither in this mountain   nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father."  He's simply saying the hour is very soon to come   when you will see that it is not relevant which  mountain you worship in. It is not an issue of   where in the sense of geography. It is an issue  of spirit. It's what's in you wherever you are,   not where you are. And so what He is saying  to her is that worship is a way of life,   worship is a way of life in total. He's saying,  "Lady, the time is going to come very soon when   it will be eminently clear to everyone that  worship is not in a place." And of course,   it wasn't long until the destruction of  Jerusalem ended worship there. And so,   he is simply pointing out to her that worship  is something on the inside, not at a place. And the second thing He says about worship  is in verse 22. He says, "You worship that   which you do not know." He confronts the fact that  Samaritan worship was ignorant. They only accepted   the Pentateuch therefore they were limited as  to their understanding of the Old Testament of   God's revelation and therefore of God. So they  had developed their own kind of highbred worship   and it had a lot of paganism mixed into  it. So He says to her two things...one,   I want to make this clear, worship is not in a  place, it's in spirit. Two, worship isn't done  

any way you desire to concoct it, it's done  according to truth. So He says in verse 22,   "We worship that which we know for salvation is  from the Jews." In other words, God has brought   revelation about salvation through the Jews. The  writers of Scripture were Jews, to the Jews was   given the Scripture, the oracles of God, as  Paul says in Romans chapter 3 and chapter 9. So, the Jews then had the truth in Scripture.  The Samaritans didn't have that so they were   worshiping in ignorance. The time was coming  when no place would be THE place. And worship   was to be in spirit and truth. Now that is  the essence of worship. It isn't where you   are. There are a lot of people who go to church  to worship, go to temples to worship. We've got   temples up and down this block, as you know. In  the middle is a Jewish synagogue that is in a   sense a substitute for the temple which no longer  exists for Israel. On the other end you've got   a Buddhist Temple where people go to worship. On  this end is Grace Community Church where I'm sure   there are some people who think they go there  to worship. You don't go anywhere to worship,   you worship as a way of life because worship  is in what? Spirit, in spirit, in heart,   it's internal. All we do here is collect all  of you worshipers for corporate expression.  

You don't have to come here to worship. You  can worship anywhere you are, I hope you do.   Worship is in spirit. And worship is according  to revelation, according to truth. What God has   revealed in this book, not anyway you want to do  it. It isn't being done right anywhere else on   this block, by the way. Because it isn't  being done according to the Word of God. A lot of people who worship in ignorance, the  world is filled with them, and who worship in   a place, that's not true worship. So He  says in verse 23, "An hour is coming and   now is with My arrival, the Messiah, when the  true worshipers shall worship the Father in   spirit and truth...now notice this...for such  people the Father seeks to be His worshipers." Let me ask you a question. Why did God save you?  To be...what?...a worshiper. That's what it says.   You were saved to be a worshiper. God is Spirit,  verse 24, and those who worship Him must worship   in Spirit and truth. You see, God saved you to be  a worshiper. So what is the truest thing about a   Christian? A Christian is a...what?...a worshiper.  That's exactly what Philippians 3:3 said. What is   the true circumcision? Those who worship in  the Spirit of God. And if you worship in the   Spirit of God, how you going to worship? You're  going to worship in spirit and in truth. You see,  

you were saved to be a true worshiper. So how  can you tell a true worshiper? How can you tell   a true Christian? They worship God from the inside  according to the Word of God. The world is filled   with people, now mark it again, who worship in a  place according to a design that is not biblical,   they're not true worshipers. They are the false  circumcision, not the true. They are deceived. Now let's take the word "worship" for just a  moment, going back to Philippians 3...the word   "worship" here is the word latreuo. We get the  word "liturgy" from it. It means to minister,   to serve, to worship. It's a big encompassing  word. Let me give you what I think might be   the best way to define it. It means to render  respectful spiritual service. Some people think   worship is just saying things that praise God,  singing things that praise God, thinking things   that praise God. That's worship but that's not all  it is. Worship finally comes down to how you live.   It does. It finally comes down to how you live.  In Hebrews it says, "Do good and share." Why?   "For with such spiritual sacrifice, such worship  God is well pleased." You see, every part of your   life is worship. The word latreuo means worship  but it also means service. It isn't just ethereal,   it isn't just cognitive, it's immensely pragmatic  and practical. It does mean that you render from  

the heart homage, glory, honor, praise, adoration,  respect to God. It does mean that you sing with   all your heart to the Lord, as we've done this  morning. It does mean that you pray and extol   His virtues. But it doesn't end there. It also  means that you serve Him. That's worship, too.   In fact, the priest of the Old Testament when he  led in worship led by doing deeds of sacrifice.   So, this is what we've been saved to do...to  worship God. Now let me help you to understand   maybe some of the ingredients, just a simple  little way to look at it. It involves some   components. If you want to look at your heart and  say, "Do I worship God?" Here's a little list of   things to expect to find. The heart of worship,  first of all, loves God and loves Christ. Let's   call that affection. There will be within you a  great affection for Christ, a great love for God   and Christ. You will feel that. You will express  that. When songs of praise are song, your heart   will be lifted up. When you read through the Word  of God you will be so encouraged and you will feel   such love for God and love for Christ, affection.  You see, Romans 8:7 says that the unsaved person   hates God. The saved person loves God. Love...in  fact, we are to love Him with all our heart, soul,  

mind and strength. But there's a love  for God, there's affection for Christ. There are people who fear God, who fear Christ.  But the true Christian has a healthy sense of awe,   but has an overwhelming sense of  love for God and Christ. There's   an affection there. It may not be  all it ought to be, but it's there. Secondly, there will be a delight in God and a  delight in Christ. More than love there will not   only be the emotion of affection but there will be  the emotion of delight. This is joy...this is joy.   In other words, your thoughts about God bring  you joy. Your thoughts about Christ bring you   delight. You love to think about Christ.  You love to talk about Christ. You love to   read about Christ. There's a delight in all  of that. The contemplation of who God is,   who Christ is, what God has done for  you, what Christ has done for you,   the contemplation of all of that brings  you joy. There's a delight there.

Let me give you a third word  to think about. There is a   confidence there...there's a confidence  there. We could even call it peace.   The true Christian in worshiping is adoring  with affection, is delighting with joy,   and is also enjoying a confidence that brings  peace. That's part of worship. In other words,   there's a...there's a sense that I'm  not concerned about my own prosperity,   I'm not concerned about my own things, I...I am  so at peace in my relationship to the eternal   God and the eternal Christ that my confidence  is all in Him. That's such a marvelous thing.

Now, where do you get love and where do you get  joy and where do you get peace? Galatians 5,   "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..."  You see, it's the Holy Spirit that produces this.   That's why he says we worship by the Spirit  of God, or we worship in the Spirit of God,   either word. It is the Spirit of God that comes  to take residence in us that produces affection   for Christ, delight in Christ and peace from  Christ. And that's the character of our worship.   There's a loving element, there's a rejoicing  element, there's a peaceful element. Have you ever noticed the music that  we sing? Some of it is just rejoicing,   isn't it? Some of it is just almost fun, and it  should be, exhilarating, thrilling. Some of it is   meditative and deep and loving and adoring. And  some of it is calm and gentle and peaceful. See,   all of those are simply ways in which the song  writers have put these qualities of worship   into musical expression. That's what the Spirit  produces...love, joy, peace in Christ, in God.

Flowing out of that a couple of things come,  one is devotion. Because of that there is an   unusual devotion to God and Christ. We're  talking inwardly now. In the heart there's   a total devotion to God and Christ. We could say  it this way, it is a love that knows no rival,   it is a delight that knows no equal, it is a  peace that knows no comparison. Nothing competes,   nothing really can compete. The love and the joy  and the peace that we feel toward Christ knows no   equal...knows no competition, has no rival. That's  the kind of worshiping heart we're talking about. Matthew 4:10, Jesus said, "You shall worship  the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve."   That's the characteristic of a true believer. We  are the true worshipers whom the Father sought   to worship Him. So, how do you know you're  a true Christian? Worship from the heart,   not because you do external things, but because  you love God, you love Christ, you delight in   them. There's a sense of joy. You have a peace in  that relationship that passes all understanding,   a calm in the midst of the storm, and all of  that causes you to be singularly devoted to   Christ and God and you look nowhere else for what  only they can provide, right? That's a worshiping  

heart. And believe me, only the Holy Spirit can  produce that...only the Holy Spirit can produce   that. The Holy Spirit is the divine initiator  at work in the depths of the human heart. He   transforms a person's life so as to promote  worship. And only the Spirit can do that. So we say again that true Christians are not known  because they attend church, because they perform   religious rituals, because they do certain good  duties, Christians are known by what's in their   heart. Now let me give you a corollary to that.  Consequently you and I can't always know who is   a real Christian, right? Because we look  at somebody doing stuff on the outside,   we can't see the heart. Man is stuck with the  outward appearance but who sees the heart? God   does. Let me take it a step further. You're the  only one who can really know your own heart. First   Corinthians 2, "No man knows the spirit of the man  but the man." That's why 2 Corinthians 13:5 says,   "Examine yourselves." I can't examine you. You can  fool me because you can do all the outward duties.   You can be an almost Christian and I can't  tell the difference. God knows it, don't you be   deceived, you examine your heart. Do you worship  God like this? Or is your worship simply something  

you do in a place and according to your own  rules? Or do you worship in spirit and in truth,   loving God, delighting in Him, enjoying the  peace and confidence and assurance that comes   because all your trust is in Him, being devoted  to Him faithfully and having no rival? That's   the essence of what forms true worship. And then  out of that kind of relationship comes praise,   and adoration, and service. And you  live your life as an act of worship,   you live your life as a living sacrifice, holy  and acceptable unto God, Romans 12. And that's   the way you are to live your life, it is a  living sacrifice...it is an act of worship. Second quality in Philippians that marks a  Christian and we'll just briefly look at the last   two, it says a Christian also glories in Christ  Jesus. What does this mean? Well, the word "glory"   is a marvelous word, kauchaomai(?). The verb  means to boast, only to boast with exultant joy,   to boast in the sense that this is what I am most  proud of. It is a word that Paul uses, I think,  

35 times and all the other New Testament writers  put together only use it twice...Paul loved it. It   could be used in a bad way. In Galatians 6:13  he talked about those who boast in the flesh,   but in the next verse Galatians 6:14 he talked  about boasting in the cross. What does he mean?   He means my joyful boast as a believer is  all in Christ Jesus. That is the character   of a true believer. What are you saying  by that? What I am saying by that is this,   that the true Christian gives all the credit for  all that he is to Christ...that's the bottom line. You know how you can tell a false Christian? They  talk credit, they believe that because of their   religious duties they've earned favor with God, or  if they do more good things than bad things, God   will accept them. They believe that they have the  ability to please God in some way and gain merit   for themselves, gain approval for themselves. One  of the most mind boggling errors that I've ever   read about is the Catholic theology that says that  by my deeds I can not only earn merit for myself,   but if I earn more merit than I need to get into  heaven, my extra merit goes into the treasury of   merit to be applied to somebody else to get them  out of purgatory. What that says is not only can  

I by merit earn my own salvation, but I can over  earn it and apply what is left to someone else's   salvation. There is no treasury of merit for the  super achievers. And a true believer will never   claim any merit and never claim any credit. The  true believer will always boast only in Christ   Jesus. That's why 1 Corinthians 1:31 Paul says,  "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord," and he   says it again in 2 Corinthians 10:17. You see,  those whose hearts have been circumcised find   their only point of pride is in Christ. Paul says,  "I am what I am by the grace of God." Christ is   the focus, Christ is the all and all. Paul says  in 1 Corinthians 2:2, "I am determined to know   nothing among you except Jesus Christ." That's  all...that's all I want to know, that's all I want   you to know. He gets all the credit, He gets all  the glory, He is all my pride, He is all my boast.

And Paul expands it down in verses 8 and  9, in fact he's going to expand all these   things as we shall see in future weeks. He  says, "I count all things to be loss..."   what are you talking about? All the things  that are true about me, all my good works,   all my pedigree...he's just given his pedigree  there. He said all of that is loss. He says,   "I have suffered the loss of all things  and I count them but manure in gaining   Christ." Christ is everything, I'm  nothing. That's a true Christian. Now you may go to church and you may sing  songs, but if you are feeling that you have   done something to earn your salvation and you've  stacked up merit with God, and you should get a   little of the credit and you're glorying and  boasting and exalting is not only in Christ,   you're not a Christian. The true Christian puts  all the credit where the credit must be put.   See, that means they've come and committed  everything to Christ...all my pride is Christ,   all my joy is Christ, all my boast is Christ,  all my life is Christ...right? People say,   "Well do you mean that when you become a Christian  you have to acknowledge Jesus as Lord?" Yes...you   literally give Him your life, He becomes all  your joy and all your delight and all boast.

Oh there are a lot of people who want  Christ's grace, but not His government.   There are a lot of people who want Christ to  be priest who pays the penalty for their sin,   but not prophet who tells them what they must  do and certainly not king who has authority   over them. A lot of people will take Christ  as priest, paid the penalty for their sin.   A lot of people want the benefits of the cross  who don't want to bow to the crown. A lot of   people want heaven but not the narrow way.  There are a lot of people who want the gift   but won't want to take it in empty hands. A  lot of people want the pearl but won't sell   all. But for the true Christian, Christ  is all...Christ is all...Christ is all. He is our life, is He not? He's our Lord  and Savior, He's our life. He's our pride,   He's our boast. We glory in nothing but the cross  of Christ. We are determined to know nothing but   the cross of Christ. All the credit is His, all  the glory is His. That's the true Christian.

One writer says, "Christians are the  circumcision precisely because they take   no pride in what they might do by themselves  to earn God's favor, but only in what God in   His favor has already done for them in  Christ Jesus," end quote. That's right. We have the attitude of the prodigal.  We come to God and say, "Father,   I have sinned against heaven and in Your sight  and I am no more worthy to be called Your son."   I'm not worthy of anything. All the glory is  Yours...all boasting is in Christ. The true   Christian is consumed with Christ. Paul says in  Romans 15:17, "Therefore in Christ Jesus I have   found reason for boasting...in Christ." How  about you? Is all your boast in Christ? All   your pride in what He's done for you? All your  rejoicing in Him? Is all your life in Him? Is   He all and all to you? Do you live for Christ,  breathe for Christ? That's a true Christian.

And lastly, the third thing he says about a true  Christian is they have no confidence in the flesh.   This goes along with the other two, doesn't it?  If all the glory goes to God and all the boast   is in Christ, then you certainly can't put any  confidence in the flesh, what did it earn you?   What did it get you? What did it gain you? All  the flesh will do is destroy you. What do you   mean flesh? Unredeemed humanness...my own ability  apart from God. And I have no confidence in the   flesh. That's different than the Jews. The Jews  placed all their confidence in the flesh. They   were descended from Abraham physically. They  had a physical surgery called circumcision.   They physically performed the ceremonies and  they outwardly did the duties of the Mosaic   Law and the traditions, it was all the flesh.  And you know what? It got them nothing. Romans   3:19 and 20 says that, "No one...no one will be  redeemed by the flesh." By the deeds of the flesh   nobody gets justified. Man' unredeemed humanness  has no ability, all it can do is sin, sin, sin,   sin. And confidence in the flesh damns the soul.  Reads Romans 3:19 to 20, that's what it says. It   shuts out true salvation, it is the religion of  human achievement, it is false, it is damning.

F.B. Meyer wrote, "All through the  epistles the flesh stands for self,   the self that seeks to justify itself,  that endeavors to sanctify itself,   that is always fussily endeavoring to win men for  God but has never learned to be submerged beneath   the mighty tide and current of God's Spirit.  If your religious life is one of self-effort   and self-complacency, you must stand back. It  is not for you to handle the priceless pearl,   your eyes cannot detect its superlative  beauty, excellence and worth, but let   all humble souls who have nothing in which to  glory save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,   who put no confidence in themselves but wholly  rest upon the unmerited grace of God, lift up   their faces with exceeding great joy. These  are the true children of Abraham," end quote. What's the key word here? Humility...humility.  True Christians are humble when they look at   themselves. They see their flesh as sinful. What  we're talking about is repentance, folks. God   gives grace to the humble, James 4:6, James 4:10.  God gives grace to the humble. That's part of a   true Christian's character. We're humble about our  own abilities. I can't earn heaven. I can't please   God. I can't merit salvation. I am what I am by  God's grace. So I turn from sinful self-effort  

to salvation by grace through faith. I forsake  any goodness in my own flesh. I rely totally   on Christ, totally on the Holy Spirit, I give  all the glory to God. That's a true Christian.   That's repentance which means  turning from your sinful self. Now listen to what I say as  we draw this to a conclusion,   very important. The almost Christian might  feel a certain natural kind of conviction,   might feel bad about sin, but I want  you to understand the difference...there   is a natural conviction that is chiefly related  to scandalous sins. The unsaved person, the almost   Christian, the religious-but-not-saved person  will feel bad about scandalous sin not because he   or she feels bad about the sin but they feel bad  about its consequence. So we can say it this way,   they feel bad about what their sin produces,  they do not feel bad about the evil in them   that produces the sin. That's the difference.  Natural conviction feels bad about the scandal.   Natural conviction is repulsed by child abuse, by  rape, by mutilation, by cruelty, by mass murder,  

that scandalizes even the natural man.  And he feels convicted that that is wrong   mostly because it impinges upon someone  else...not because in its root it is evil.   So he doesn't like the evil that sin produces, but  he never recognizes the evil that produces sin. He   doesn't understand the wickedness of nature. You  see, natural conviction is chiefly related to the   obvious sins, but true spiritual repentance  touches the deep secret undiscerned sins of   hypocrisy, pride, envy, hardness of heart,  rejection of Christ. That's the difference,   the ones that don't scandalize anybody  because people don't even know about them. Natural conviction deals with my conduct.  Spiritual repentance deals with my condition.   Natural conviction deals with the symptoms.  Spiritual repentance deals with the disease.   Very important. Natural conviction makes a person  shy away from God because they feel fearful.   Spiritual repentance makes a person run to God  for forgiveness. Very different...very different.  

Spiritual repentance means putting no confidence  in the flesh. You know there's nothing in you   that's good, it's rotten to the core. But you  see, a person with natural, just feeling bad   about the scandalous things their sin produces,  feeling badly about what happens on the outside,   feeling bad about their conduct, doesn't  ever deal with the wretchedness of their   condition and doesn't see in the flesh the  inability to ever produce anything good.   So what you have here marking a true Christian  is nothing more than one who sees the filth   and the wickedness of the flesh and  turns in repentance from that to God. What marks a true Christian? Worship in Spirit  and in truth, giving all the credit to Jesus   Christ who is their only pride and joy,  and repentance which turns totally from   the wretchedness of the sinful condition to  accept the salvation that only comes through   God's grace. That's the true circumcision.  Certainly it's my prayer that that is you,  

that you truly know the salvation God sent  His Son to bring. Let's pray together. Our Father, again we've been reminded  today of the majesty of Your Word. O my,   how potently it speaks, how it penetrates our  hearts, how it opens our understanding to the   things that are the way they are and why. Minister  to every heart, may the true circumcision rejoice,   may the false circumcision come to true faith,  save them, Lord. Make them worshipers. Make them   those whose only boast is Christ and who turn  from the flesh to You, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

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