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

Shall we open our Bibles together to Philippians  chapter 3 as this morning we continue in the   examination of the opening three verses of this  great chapter. We've entitled this section,   "The Distinctive Qualities of the True Christian."  And that is such a very very important subject. Christianity has always been centered  around the gospel of Jesus Christ. It   has always been centered around the message  of salvation. The heart and soul of the New   Testament is the gospel of grace, the gospel  which saves men from sin, death and hell,   which makes them children of God and heirs of  heaven. That is our message. And, of course,   the saving gospel message which we proclaim is  based on the finished work of the Lord Jesus   Christ. Now that therefore is the ringing theme  of the New Testament. You look in to the gospels   and what is the gospel record? It is the record  of Jesus Christ, the one who came and who lived   and who died and who rose again and that record is  given to us, says John in the fourth gospel, that   we might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that  in believing we might have life through His name.

When you come to the book of Acts, what do you  have? You have the proclamation of the gospel of   Christ. And in its proclamation is the extension  of the church starting in Jerusalem and extending   to Samaria and extending to the uttermost parts  of the world. Then when you come to the epistles,   what is the theme of the epistles? Whether it's  Paul or whether it's James or whether it's Peter   or whether it's John or whether it's Jude, every  writer is extolling the virtues of the gospel,   elucidating the elements of the gospel, enriching  our understanding of the gospel that Jesus Christ   has come into the world to save sinners.  When you come to the book of Revelation,   again you have the focus on the culmination of  the gospel in the exalted Christ taking His place   as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You have in  the book of Revelation further expansion of the   elements of the gospel as we see the Lamb of  God in a new setting before the throne of God,   as we see the Savior gathered with  the redeemed in glory yet to come.

So from the gospels through the book of  Acts through the epistles and out in to   Revelation to the conclusion of the New  Testament, the theme is always the saving   gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the heart  and soul of New Testament teaching. And   that is precisely why that as over the years  we teach through primarily the New Testament,   we are constantly intersecting on the significance  and the meaning of the gospel. We are not   surprised then that it is a constant theme in  this ongoing exposition of God's revelation. But having said all of that, I want to note for  you that there is a corollary theme as well.   There is another thread that runs through the  whole of the New Testament and that has to do   with this fact, that salvation must be assessed  as to its reality. The message is salvation but   following close on the heels of that is a very  constant occupation of the New Testament writers   by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the  matter of who is a real believer and who might   be deceived. It starts all the way back with John  the Baptist. When John the Baptist confronts the   religious leadership of Jerusalem, those who have  come down from the temple mount to assess what  

John is doing, those who claim to know God and  be the people of God, yea the favorites of God,   he says to them, "Let me see the fruit of your  life." To find out whether your motives are right   and whether there is genuine repentance, show  me the fruit that is fit for repentance. Again   calling in to question the fact that someone  who believes they are right with God might   not be. There was a genuineness questioned  then that was posed by John the Baptist. It isn't much further into the first gospel  of Matthew that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is   given in which in chapter 7 He says, "There  will come a day when many people will say,   Lord, Lord, we have prophesied in Your name  and we've done many wonderful works in Your   name and we've cast out demons in Your  name. And He will say, Depart from Me,   you workers of iniquity, I never knew you." Again,  Jesus Himself pointing to the fact that there are   people who think they know Him, think they serve  Him, think they represent Him but are deceived.

You come in to the thirteenth chapter of Matthew  and He gives parables. And in those parables you   find there are some people who appear to have a  legitimate response to the gospel, but they wither   away and die. There are some people who appear  to have a legitimate response to the gospel,   but they love the world and the things of the  world too much to yield their lives to Christ   in a genuine way and they fall away. You have the  very clear description that where God sows wheat,   the enemy comes and sows tares; where God  plants the true, the enemy puts the false. You come in to the book of Acts and you aren't  very far into the book of Acts before you meet   a man who claims to be a believer in Jesus  Christ...and we shall see him in a few moments   this morning...but who in fact is not a true  believer in Jesus Christ. He is deceived and   would be a deceiver. We're not surprised at such  a man for we have already encountered Judas. You come in to the epistles and you find that  it is of great concern to the writers of the   epistles that there be an understanding of the  genuine reality of salvation. So the Apostle Paul,   for example, takes on those who say they  know God but do not really know God. He   writes about them in Romans. He writes about  them in Galatians. And then you find that John   the Apostle is eminently concerned about who  is a real Christian and who is not. In fact,  

the epistle of 1 John is a series of tests. Those  who are true Christians, he says in chapter 1,   don't deny sin, they acknowledge it. Those who are  true Christians, he says in chapter 2, walk the   way Jesus walked, love their brothers, obey the  Word, hate the world. In chapter 3 he says true   Christians do not continue over and over again to  practice sin. In chapter 4 he says true Christians   are characterized by their love for God and their  love for one another. And then in chapter 5 he   gives the thesis for his epistle. Verse 13, "These  things I have written to you who believe in the   name of the Son of God in order that you may know  that you have eternal life." This is an assurance   epistle. It is designed for those who believe  to know they have eternal life. In other words,   to provide tests by which you can measure your  salvation. By the way, the gospel of John also   has a thesis in chapter 20 verse 31, "These things  are written in order that you might believe." So   the gospel of John is written to unbelievers in  order that they might believe. The epistle of   John is written to believers in order that  they might know that their faith is real.

And so, you see then these two themes in  the Scripture...the gospel and the reality   of salvation running right along  behind it. You come, for example,   to the epistle of James and James offers test of  genuine faith. The first one is perseverance in   trials in chapter 1. And then he discusses  the matter of blame in temptation. A true   believer accepts the responsibility for his  own sin, false ones would tend to blame God,   very much like John chapter 1 denying sin.  In this case, denying one as the source of   temptation. James discusses the fact that  true believers have a proper response to   the Word of God. He discusses the fact that  true believers are impartial in their love,   they're righteous in their behavior, James chapter  2. Their tongue will manifest their heart, chapter   3. In chapter 4 James discusses the fact that true  Christians don't love the world, they're at enmity   with the world. Their whole involvement with the  system will reveal where they are spiritually.

And so, whether you're talking about James or  John or Paul or even Peter who also is concerned   to elicit a genuine faith, or whether you're  talking about Jude who is very concerned about   the false among the true who are polluting the  church, or whether you're talking about the book   of Revelation where you have a church that has  a name that it lives but in reality is dead, and   where you have people who say they're Christians  but Christ will spew them out of His mouth, all   through the New Testament you have this concurrent  duality...the gospel and the measure of true   salvation. And those two things run along from  the beginning to the end of the New Testament. It is thus then our lot in studying the New  Testament to constantly be coming face to face   with this issue. Not only the issue of the gospel,  but the issue of who is a true believer. That,   by the way, is the precise issue in Philippians  chapter 3. It is the exact issue to which the   Apostle Paul is addressing his attention. In  verse 2 he speaks of the false circumcision,   the religious Judaizing Jews and he says they  are dogs, they are evil workers and they are the   mutilation. And we went in to that last time.  He contrasts in verse 3 the true circumcision,  

the real believers who are marked  as those who worship in the Spirit   of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put  no confidence in the flesh. Again we can   see very clearly that the Apostle Paul  is concerned about spiritual reality. Back in chapter 1 verse 28 the whole  matter of true salvation is brought up   as he mentions the opponents and speaks of  their destruction but the salvation of the   true believers. Here he elucidates a little  more on that same subject in verses 2 and 3. Now all of that to say this, it is over and over  and over again the lot of a Bible student in the   New Testament to have to come to grips with  this issue which obviously in my mind says   this...God is eminently concerned that the lost  become saved and He is equally concerned that   no one be deceived about the reality of  their spiritual condition. Because there   are many who believe that their in a right  relationship with God when in fact they're   not...they're not. In 2 Corinthians 13:5 you have  sort of a summation of all of this. Paul writes,   "Test yourselves to see if you are in the  faith...examine yourselves or do you not recognize  

this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in  you unless indeed you fail the test." Imagine,   he is saying...can you really recognize that Jesus  Christ is in you? Can you put yourself to the test   and come to that assurance? You must...you must  test yourself, you must examine yourself. How   do you do that? Well as I said, starting with John  the Baptist, fruits of repentance, all the way out   to Revelation where you have the characteristics  of a church that lives and the characteristic of   a church that says it lives but doesn't live,  you have this long and continually repeated   list of marks and characteristics and qualities  by which we can assess our spiritual condition. It is not enough to just preach the gospel  in its simplicity and majesty and beauty   and assume that everyone's response to that  is sufficient, or right, or God-ordained. We   must examine. And so, the New Testament is  loaded with the tests for a true Christian.

Now would you please note just by way  of brief review, the Apostle Paul was   preaching the gospel of salvation by grace  through faith, plus or minus nothing. He was   preaching Christ crucified and faith in  Christ as the means by which the gift of   grace was received. He was preaching the gospel  of grace, no works at all whatsoever involved.   And as he moved around and preached that and  established churches, he was being followed by   some Jews. And these Jews were of a mind  to believe that yes Christ and His death   and resurrection is important, but God will not  accept you, even though you believe in Christ,   and even though you believe He died and rose  again, God will not accept you unless you are   circumcised...and if you're a woman you believe  in the right of circumcision, which can only be   done to man. But you must affirm physical  circumcision, surgical circumcision because   that's the mark of God's people. Secondly, you  must keep all the ceremonies and laws of Moses.

So, Paul would establish a church. Into town would  come these Jews. They would be accepted because   they would affirm Christ. They would affirm  the gospel. And then they would say...However,   that's not enough, you have to be circumcised and  you have to keep the law of Moses. It reached such   a pinnacle that it became the major concern of  the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 as we saw   last week. Major issue. So you had people on the  one side who were saying salvation is by grace   and works. God does His part in Christ, you  do your part by being circumcised and keeping   Mosaic law. And on the other hand, you had  those who said salvation is by grace through   faith plus and minus nothing...no works  at all, no circumcision, no ceremonies,   no necessity to please God by your own merit,  your own effort. So you had those two views. Paul takes the view of the Judaizers and he  identifies it in verse 2. He calls them dogs,   evil workers and the mutilation. Very clear terms.  They are dogs. Why? Unclean outcasts. They are   evil workers. Why? Because they think they're  doing good, they're working good but the fact is   they're working evil, because they're attempting  to please God by their own self- effort. And he   calls them the mutilation because they do not have  a true cleansing which circumcision symbolized,  

all they have is a physical surgery that's nothing  more than a mutilation. He really lets them have   it. They are not real, they are not genuine. They  are dogs, outcasts. They are workers of evil,   not good. Everything they do is filthy rags,  they cannot attain to God by their own effort and   they are nothing more than outwardly mutilated  group rather than an inwardly cleansed group. But on the other hand, he comes then in verse 3 to  the true circumcision. Now remember, circumcision   was always an outward symbol of an inward reality.  And it symbolized the need for a cleansed life and   a cleansed heart. And we went over that a couple  of weeks ago. And so he is saying we are the true   circumcision, not the physical but the spiritually  cleansed. We have been spiritually made clean. And   how do we know the true circumcision? Three  things characterize them. Three things...they   worship in the Spirit of God, they glory in  Christ Jesus and they put no confidence in the   flesh. Those are absolutely monumental things.  In fact, it's almost as if you could take the   New Testament list of all of the tests for true  salvation and make them in to a mountain range   and these three would sort of rise above as the  pinnacles. Paul under the genius and the amazing  

economy of words that is available only to the  infinite mind of the Holy Spirit has reduced   the whole thing to three statements. Here are the  tests, the distinctive tests of true Christianity.   And you will notice that they do not speak of  what you do, they do not speak of function,   they speak of attitude. Worship by the Spirit of  God, glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence   in the flesh. Those are the things that are  the distinctive qualities of true Christianity. Now I'm not in any hurry to get through this.  This I've told you in the past is, I think,   my favorite description of a Christian. It's the  description of a Christian that I like the best   because it's the most comprehensive of any  short sort of pithy definition. But before   we look at these three characteristics,  would you indulge me for just a moment? When I was back in college and I  was learning forensics and I was   learning debate and I was learning speech  and oratory and rhetoric and all of that,   they used to tell us that the best way  to make your point sometimes is to come   at it from the negative. And so may I do  that for you this morning? May I come at   this whole thing from a negative before we  get in to the particulars of the positive?

You say, "What do you mean?" This is what I mean.   I want to give to you some characteristics  that do not verify your salvation. All right?   Some characteristics that do not verify  the reality of your salvation. You can't   look at these. These are not appropriate  tests. And I think you will be surprised. Number one...I'll give you five of them...number  one, the first inappropriate non-proof of   salvation is a past conversion or...I'll say it  this way...a past supposed conversion event...a   past supposed conversion event. You  say, "What do you mean by that?"   I mean that some people think they're  Christians because of some event in   the past. They prayed with the Sunday-school  teacher. They prayed with their mother. They   prayed with their father. They went forward in  a church service. They signed a card. They were   at a youth meeting and a guy spoke at camp  and they went down and they prayed a prayer.   Or they knelt by their bed. Some point in the  past...well, you know, I was over there, I was   in northern California one time in a church  in so-and-so and I prayed the prayer. Okay?

No past event of a supposed conversion is  a verifier of true salvation. Let me tell   you what I mean now, listen very carefully. It  is no proof...it is no proof that a person is   not a Christian because they cannot remember  when they were converted. Did you understand   that? It is no proof that a person is not a  Christian because they cannot remember when   they were converted. How many of you do not  know when you were converted as to time and   place and date? Put your hand up. Amazing, they  don't have an event. There was no event. There   was no moment in which in their own mind they  knew the time and the place and the event. Now   I would daresay that those people in large members  were raised in Christian families. And they came   through a process of believing. And they do not  know that moment in time when they went from not   believing to believing because they never did not  believe. And so they can't nail down that event.

Or, some of you people may have  lived in a pagan situation,   you may have been raised in an unsaved  family, and maybe at some point you began   to be exposed to the gospel and you  were more and more exposed to it and   you realized one day that you had committed  your life to Christ but you can't necessarily   identify the moment in time because the Lord was  taking you through a process of opening your heart   to an understanding of the Word of God. Listen,  I say it again, it is no proof that a person is   not a Christian because they don't have an  event, because they can't identify a moment. I can't. There was never a moment when I didn't  believe. I can't nail down THE event in my life.   And even if there was an event it wouldn't  necessarily mean that I was a Christian. So   let me say it that way. Nor is it any proof  that a person is a Christian because they   had an event. You have to have both of  those. Just because you walked an aisle,   prayed a prayer, signed a card, went to camp,  did whatever, that in itself is not a proof.

Let me give you a classic illustration. Turn  in your Bible to Acts chapter 8 verse 9. Now,   by the way, let me say this while you're turning  to Acts 8, there are conversions that do occur   at an event. That's not what I'm saying. But  that's not the proof of the conversion. Look   at chapter 8 verse 9, "There was a certain man  named Simon...must have been a Jew since that is   a Jewish name...he formerly was practicing magic  in the city. He was in Samaria. And astonishing   the people of Samaria claiming to be someone  great." Now magic would be probably some demon   activity. He may have been...he may have been a  clever deceiver but I think he was involved in   some Satanic activity that his magic was demonic.  "And everybody from the smallest to the greatest,"   verse 10, "were giving attention to him saying,  This man is what is called the great power of   God." That's typical of the world. They've got it  exactly backwards, right? They think he's of God,   he's actually of Satan. But he had  some tremendous Satanic demonic power.

"And they were...verse 11...giving him  attention because he had for a long time   astonished them with his magic arts." Now when  Philip arrives, now you've got a true man of God,   now the man of Satan is going to be exposed. So  you've got a true man of God and the comparison   is going to be clear. "So they believed  Philip preaching the good news about the   kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,  they were being baptized, men and women alike."   Philip was having this tremendous tremendous  response. Now watch verse 13. "And even Simon   himself...what?...believed." He had an event. Some  time some place Philip preaching, Philip preached,   he responded. I don't know how the format worked  but he had his event. "And he was baptized." So Simon could look back and say, "I remember the  day Philip preached and I remember the day I heard   the message and I remember the day I prayed the  prayer and I remember the day I was baptized."   Right? He had his event. That was his event. And  not only that, he continued on with Philip. He   followed him. "Philip was continuing to preach  and not only that he was doing signs and great   miracles and Simon was observing those and he was  constantly amazed." You say, "Why was he amazed?"   Because the power of God is infinitely greater  than the power of Simon or the power of Satan. And   what he was seeing was not the blunted depraved  wonders of a vile being, Satan and his demons,   but the pure unadulterated majestic power of  the living God flowing through Philip. And the  

level of achievement was way beyond anything  Simon had ever experienced or accomplished. Now, go down to verse 18. "The Apostles lay hands  on these people that believe and they received the   Holy Spirit. And Simon," verse 18, "saw that the  Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the   hands of the Apostles. He offered them money  and he said, Give me this authority or power   as well so that everyone on whom I lay my hands  may receive the Holy Spirit." I want that. Man,   can I get rich with that. That's the  greatest trick I've ever seen. Why? Well,   what happened was the Apostles were laying hands  on these new believers and I am convinced without   any equivocation that they began to speak in  languages. Just like they did on the day of   Pentecost because that was the whole point...to  associate them with the same church that was born   on Pentecost. These were half-breed Samaritans  and they were one with the Jews in Christ. And so   when they began to do this miraculous speaking of  languages and this phenomenon occurred there and   it may have even been a phenomenon like Acts 2.  We don't know. With the Spirit descending in that   kind of manner. It doesn't say that but there was  enough there to convince Simon that this was some   kind of power. And so he said, "I'll pay anything  for that power. I'll pay anything for that power."   Now it becomes apparent to us that the reason  Simon had an event was because he wanted to   be able to do bigger tricks. Right? He  wanted the magic. The motive was wrong.

Now look what happens. Peter is a very confrontive  guy. "Peter looks at him...verse 20...and says,   May your silver perish with you." Now what  does that tell you? Where was Simon headed?   What does perish imply? Hell. Your money perish  with you. Follow this, "Because you thought you   could obtain the gift of God with money. You  have no part or portion in this matter. Your   heart is not right before God. Repent of  the wickedness, pray the Lord, if possible,   the intention of your heart may be forgiven you,  for I see you are in the gall of bitterness,   you are in the bondage of iniquity." Now there's  a spiritual characterization of Simon. You want   to know what he was like? Here's his spiritual  condition. He was going to perish. He thought   he could buy the gift of God with money. He had  no part and no portion in the true coming of the   Holy Spirit. His heart was not right before  God. He was wicked and needed to repent. The   intent of his heart was wicked and needed to  be forgiven. He was in the gall of bitterness   and he was a slave of iniquity. Now you tell  me, was he a Christian? No way. Did he have an   event? Yes. The event in isolation from the life  proves nothing. That is why I say it is no proof   that a man is not a Christian because he can't  point to an event, nor is it a proof that a man   is a Christian because he had an event. And yet I  tell you, the church is filled with people who are   banking salvation on a past event...particularly  do parents find themselves saying..."Well, I know  

my son or daughter is living an undisciplined  life, a godless life, rejecting the Lord,   rejecting the church but I remember when they  received Christ at the age of so-and-so." That   event doesn't mean anything...unless it was a  real change. And if there was a real change,   then you don't need to look at the event because  you can see the change. And what do you look for?   Do they worship God? Do they glory in Christ  Jesus? Do they reject the flesh? See. You don't   look at the event. A moment of believing whatever  kind of believing it was didn't save Simon. Let me give you a second non-proof. Living by  a moral code, living by a moral code. People,   say, "Ah, So-and-so must be a good Christian,  very very moral person." Listen, many people   are moral...many people. Many people live by high  standards of honesty, charity, kindness, morality,   ethics...many people. Look at the Mormons.  Very ethical on the surface...very moral, very   charitable, very kind, very honest ostensibly.  That's what they propagate. A lot of people like   that. There are a lot of unsaved people in  liberal churches who are very compassionate,   very ethical. They are set to live according  to the Ten Commandments. Many of them trying  

to live according to the Sermon on the Mount.  Live out the quote/unquote "golden rule."   Many ethical people living by a moral code. That  in itself does not verify salvation because you   can subscribe yourself to a moral code for  a multiplicity of reasons. Right? Fear,   some people live by a moral code because  they're afraid of God. They're afraid of God.   Some people live by a moral code because they  want to please their parents. And it's very   important that their parents be pleased because  they're under their parents. In other words,   mentally they feel the bondage of parental  pressure to live by a certain code. There   are some people who live by a moral code  because they believe that if they do,   that will get them to heaven. Or they believe if  they do God will reward them somehow in this life   by making them rich...or famous or successful.  There are some people who live by a moral code   just to avoid a dirty conscience and guilt. I  mean, there could be a lot of reasons for that.

But that is not synonymous with salvation  because there are so many reasons why people   could live and do live by a moral code. Let  me give you an illustration of that. Go back   to Matthew chapter 19 and here you meet a very  familiar personality in Matthew chapter 19 and   verse 16. Here comes a rich young ruler as we  know him and he says in verse 16, "Teacher,   what good thing shall I do that I may obtain  eternal life?" Now the guy confesses I don't have   eternal life, I don't have any hope for the  future, I'm worried about dying. I don't know   where I'm going. He was not secure. He was  afraid of the future. "I want eternal life." Now mark it in your mind...he knew he didn't  have eternal life. The point is this, he hadn't   attained what he wanted. He hadn't yet attained  what he wanted. How had he been trying to attain   it? Well, Jesus brings that out because Jesus says  to him, "If you want to enter into the life," in   verse 17, "keep the commandments." In other words,  if you want to do it the way you're trying to do   it, then just keep the commandments. He says,  "Which ones? Jesus said, You shall not commit   murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall  not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor   your father and mother and you shall love your  neighbor as yourself. And the young man said to   Him, All these things I have kept, what am I still  lacking?" Is that amazing? What he is saying is   this, I never murdered anybody, I never committed  adultery with anybody, I never stole from anyone,   I have not purposely borne false witness against  someone, I have done my best to honor my father  

and my mother and I have tried to love my  neighbor as myself...I've done all those things. Mark it in your mind. He had done all those things  at least to the level that he assessed them which   would not be a true level. He hadn't truly done  them, but his deceitful heart would lie to him   about what he had done. But he thought he had  kept it all. That was his goal...keep the Ten   Commandments, keep the Ten Commandments. So here  he's got a life of keeping the Ten Commandments.   He comes to Jesus and says, "All this keeping of  the Ten Commandments and I'm telling you I don't   have...what?...eternal life." Because eternal life  is not the product of that. Sure he hadn't kept   them in their fullness. Jesus said, "That  when I said you shall not commit murder,   I meant you shouldn't hate either." That's behind  the murder. "And when I said you shouldn't commit   adultery, I meant that you shouldn't even look  on a woman to lust after her or you've committed   it in your heart." No, he hadn't fully kept  those things. But on the surface he had done   his best to keep them all. But he knew he still  didn't have eternal life. The point is this,   you can live by the highest ethical code, the one  given in Exodus 20, the very Ten Commandments of   God and still not have eternal life because  the one does not necessarily mean the other.   A moral life didn't save him. And yet he was  trying to live a moral life in order to get   eternal life. So a past event doesn't assure  your salvation and neither does living by a  

moral code because you could do that for  a lot of reasons...a lot of people do. Thirdly, another, I think, misconception,  another element of this negative approach,   what does not verify salvation, is knowledge of  the truth...knowledge of the truth. We used to   call it head knowledge. Have you ever heard that  phrase? Head knowledge instead of heart knowledge.   There are a lot of people who know the facts about  Christ. They know the facts about God. They know   God is God. They know God is three in one. They  know Christ is the Son of God. They know Christ   is deity. They know Christ came into the world  and did miracles. They know Christ died on a   cross. They know that He died a substitutionary  death. They know He rose again the third day,   that He offers salvation by grace. And they  know all of that in their head, but that's not   synonymous with salvation. It's not what you know.  In fact, the Pharisees and the scribes like the   other Jews that I've just mentioned, like Simon  who was looking at an event, like the rich young   ruler who was looking at a moral ethical standard,  other Jews knew all about Christ from His birth   on. They knew everything about Him. They knew all  of His miracles were legitimate. There was no way   they ever argued against them. They never denied  them. Do you realize that? Do you realize that   throughout the whole miraculous ministry of Jesus  Christ no one ever denied any of His miracles?   They couldn't deny them, they were undeniable,  absolutely undeniable. So they knew it in their   minds. They knew everything He did. That's why  He says in Matthew 12, "You can't be saved,   you've committed an unpardonable sin." Why?  "You've seen it all, you've heard it all,   you've experienced it all, and you won't  believe. You have it all in your mind."

It's the same thing in Hebrews 6. You've been  enlightened, you've tasted the heavenly gift,   you've tasted the powers of the age to come,  but you won't believe, you won't receive. It   is not enough to have a head knowledge. Faith  without works is...what? Dead. And James 2:19,   "The devils believe but they tremble." They're  not saved. You can believe it's all true. I had a friend through the years and for as long  as I've known him, and it's probably 25 years,   he says, "I believe, I believe, I believe it all.  But I'm not going to commit my life to it until   I'm through enjoying the things that I want to  enjoy." Head knowledge doesn't mean anything.   Because someone talks about Christ, talks about  God...knowledge isn't the means of salvation,   head knowledge. The Jews had all of  that. Many people have that. The classic   illustration is a man among the Twelve...what's  his name? Judas...what more information could   that man have had in his head? He had it all.  He had it all. Three years under the tutelage   of the living Son of God, he knew it all. He  saw it all. He felt it all. He experienced   it all. And he never ever was saved. He went  to his own place when he committed suicide.

Fourthly, this is another non-proof of salvation,  let's call it religious activity...religious   activity, going to church, being baptized, taking  communion, or whatever, lighting candles, praying   beads, doing religious pilgrimages, doing certain  prayers, staying on your knees, marching here,   marching there, whatever it is. Many many people  go through complex religious motions thinking   that all of that religious activity equates to  salvation. I think the perfect parallel to this   is in Matthew 25. You remember you have the ten  virgins, waiting for the wedding. And when the   bridegroom came and went into the chamber to join  the bride for all of the wonderful festivities,   five of the virgins went in and five had to stay  out because five had failed to put...what?...oil   in their lamps. That's a very graphic picture  of Israel, of the unpreparedness of Israel. And   yet it's amazing that they were prepared  up to a point. I mean, they were...they   were from a visual viewpoint no different than  the other five virgins in their wedding garb,   with the lamp in hand, in the right place at  the right time. In somewhat similar character,   ten virgins assumes characterization is  somewhat the same. But the missing factor  

was some had an internal quality that others  didn't have. That's basically what Jesus   is saying there. They had oil. Well oil, some  say, is the Holy Spirit, some say is salvation,   what I take it as is simply the salvation, the  right to enter the Kingdom which includes the   Holy Spirit. Some had all the dress and all the  garb and they were there in the right place at   the right time but without the reality. It was  external and it was not...what?...internal. So   many like that. So they were left out of the  Kingdom. Israel was religious but shut out. Many people today, religious but shut out.  There are some churches where there is reality   and some churches where there's form and  no reality. There are a lot of people who   have a very religious life, very religious.  It's a form of religion without reality.   So religious activity isn't the issue.

Fifthly, and finally, service in the name of  Christ isn't a proof of salvation...service in   the name of Christ isn't a proof of salvation.  Matthew chapter 7, "Many will say to Me, Lord,   Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,  have we not done many wonderful works? Have   we not cast out demons in Your name? And I will  say, Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity,   I never knew you." Saying you represent  Christ is not enough. I'll tell you,   there are a lot of people who say they represent  Jesus Christ, but when their life gets exposed,   you ask the question...do they? Just because you  say you do doesn't mean you do. Just because you   preach Christ doesn't mean you really know Christ.  There have been a lot of people, false people,   preaching a true message, right? A lot. Many many  people doing things for God. I hear about it all   the time. Another expose this week of some guy  with a big time preacher, well known to everybody   with a 20-year- adulterous affair ongoing,  horrible kind of stuff, on and on the expose went,   page after page after page after page of the  dissolute life. And you say, "But he preached   Christ...he preached Christ." Yeah, well that  does not in itself verify his spiritual condition.

So, when you look for the verification of a  person's spiritual condition, where do you look?   Well, Simon had an event but he wasn't saved. And  the rich man had a high high moral ethical code   which he lived by, but he wasn't saved. And the  Pharisees and the scribes and Judas saw everything   that Christ died, heard what he said, particularly  Judas, and he wasn't saved. And there were people   in the church certainly at Sardis in Revelation  that were doing their religious duty and serving   Christ and thinking they were alive, but they  were dead. And there were people in the church at   Laodicea who were doing the same kind of stuff and  Christ spit them out of His mouth. No, there have   been lots of people praying and fasting, giving  money, going through religious motions who will   never enter the Kingdom because, you see, you can  have a past spiritual event, you can live a moral   ethical life because of peer pressure or because  of some motive to gain favor or to avoid judgment,   you can know the gospel in your mind, you can even  believe that it's true, you can be dutiful in your   religious ceremonies, you can go to church,  get baptized, take communion and you can even   render service to Christ, preaching, teaching,  if need be, and still not be a true Christian.

Does that surprise you? Because, you see, any  of those things can be counterfeit. You can   have a counterfeit event. You can have a totally  wrong motive for your moral life. You can know   something to be true in your mind and never  commit your heart to it. And you can carry   out external religious service all you want and  your heart cannot be necessarily right with God. You say, "Well, what marks a true Christian?"  Look at it. Three things...the true circumcision   worship in the Spirit of God. Listen, the first  thing is an overflowing heart of worship. So if   you want to look at your life, don't look...do  I attend a service? Have I been baptized? Ask   yourself, does my heart long to glorify the Lord?  Do I love to praise Him and worship Him? Is it   my heart's desire to serve Him? We're going to  look in detail at these three things next time,   I'm only going to give you a general brush  this morning. But the question you want to   ask is what is my attitude toward God? Because  if I'm a Christian the Spirit is in me and if   the Spirit is in me, then He is prompting me to  worship. And so I'll have a heart of adoration   and a heart of praise and a heart that longs  to serve God from the inside out. So I have to   look at my heart. And so when the Scripture  says "examine yourselves," it starts there  

in the heart. Oh yes, there will be a moral code  by which you live. And there may have been a real   event, there was for all of us a time when we  were saved, even though we don't know it. And   we do have to know the facts. And service will  be a part of our life but all of that will flow   from the inside because we worship God prompted by  the Spirit. It's worship on a supernatural level,   it's not human, it's spiritual,  it's energized by the Holy Spirit. So, you ask yourself then, "Do I love to praise  God? Do I love to talk with Him? Do I love to   learn about Him in His Word? Do I want to  serve Him? Oh sure, sin gets in the way and   interrupts that and confuses my mind sometimes  but isn't there something deep within me that   longs to praise and worship and love God,  to read His Word, to know more about Him,   to serve Him with all my heart?" You see,  that's the evidence coming from the inside.

And the second thing he says, "And glory in  Christ Jesus." That...that verb in the Greek,   "to glory," kauchaomai basically means to boast  but it has the idea of a rejoicing exultant,   almost a hilarious kind of boasting. And  what it's saying here is that if you're   a true Christian all your boasting, all  your rejoicing is going to be in Christ   because all the credit belongs to Him.  So you haven't done anything to earn it. So how do you tell a true Christian? A true  Christian gives all the credit to Christ,   they rejoice in Christ. They're so thankful  for Christ. Christ has done it all.   Whereas the false religionists wants you and  God and everybody else to appreciate what he   has done. The true Christian wants everyone  else to appreciate what Christ has done.

Then finally, not only is the true believer  characterized by worship, by rejoicing in Christ,   but thirdly by humility...humility. That's  the...that is the basic attitude of a genuine   believer..."He puts no confidence in the flesh."  Very humble by the fallen condition of his human   flesh. He doesn't trust it. He doesn't trust in  it. He began in the Spirit and he will continue in   the Spirit. He knows that all the good that comes  to him and through him is by the power of God,   he has no confidence in his flesh to please  God. He knows it can't. So there's a humility   there. There is not a pushing of one's merit,  of one's achievement, but there's humility. How do you identify a true Christian?  Look for one who worships from the heart   that's prompted by the Spirit. Look for one  whose glory and joy and boast is all Christ.   Look for one who when viewing himself is humble.  Therein are the distinctive qualities of a true   Christian. And more detail about them in  our next study next Lord's day. Let's pray.

We say thank You, Father, thank You for Your work  in Christ which has made us the true circumcision,   who are inwardly cleansed and thus are the true  worshipers whom the Father seeks to worship, are   those who rejoice only in Christ, only in Christ.  And like Paul find all their glory in the cross   and those who are humbled. We know James says that  You give grace to those who are humble. Father,   help us to look in to our own hearts this morning  and ask these questions...do I have a desire to   worship God prompted by His Spirit? Do I find  myself ever rejoicing in what Christ has done   for me? And when I look at myself am I humbled  in seeing the sinfulness and the fallenness of   my own flesh? Therein are the distinctive marks  of a true Christian. And then, Lord, if those   things are a part of our lives we can look back  and say, "Yes, that event was real, and yes,   I want to live by a moral standard out of love and  gratitude and obedience to the one who saved me,   and yes my knowledge has gone from my  head to my heart and I know Christ not  

as a fact but as a friend, and yes  I long to worship and serve not to   earn anything but to give glory and  to render to God what is due Him." Father, help no one to trust in these five things  isolated from these three things, but help us to   know that as we examine our hearts to see whether  we're in the faith we must look for a worshiping   attitude, a rejoicing in Christ, and humility  in our own weakness. Reveal to each person here,   O God, their spiritual condition. For those who  are genuine, may Your Spirit fell their hearts   with assurance, may they be overwhelmed with  confidence, may they know the joy of the Lord,   may they know the assurance that they belong  to You. And, O God, for those who in such   an examination find themselves inadequate,  who don't really worship out of the heart,   who don't really glory only in Christ Jesus,  who are not humbled, O God, save them today,   save them. May they pass from death to life, save  them, reach down into the depth and darkness of   their sin and depravity and bring them into Your  light and Your cleansing, Your Kingdom. Save them,   Lord, save them. And we'll give You  all the praise in Christ's name. Amen.

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