Philippians 3:1-14

We read Philippians 3:1-14 and talk about why Paul warns so sharply against trusting religious credentials. We wrestle with counting our “good” as loss so we can know Christ, keep obeying through hardship, and press on without living in the past. 
• Paul’s repeated warnings as a safeguard for faith 
• who Paul may mean by “dogs” and “mutilators of the flesh” 
• spiritual circumcision as being set apart by the Spirit 
• Paul’s religious credentials and how pride can hide in ministry 
• why Paul calls former gains “loss” and even “garbage” 
• righteousness from God through faith in Christ, not law keeping 
• knowing Christ through resurrection power and suffering 
• pressing on toward the goal by letting go of the past, good and bad 
Read it, pause it, go read it. 

Transcript

Welcome And Friendly Banter

SPEAKER_01 0:12

You are listening to the Regular Guys Bible Study Podcast, the Bible study for regular guys by regular guys. We are your host, Ken and Steve, and we are just regular guys studying the Bible together. Not theologians. Alright, Steve. I'm feeling pretty good. Last time, I think I was exhausted when we started this thing. This time. Yeah, this time I'm not feeling exhausted. I feel good. I feel like I'm rested. Uh yeah, I feel good.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I feel kind of tired because I did my leg workout today.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Uh, you know what I did? I worked out this morning before work.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

I prefer that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah. It's uh it it sets me up for the day. So worked out early, took a shower. The problem with it is I was still sweating after my shower. I hate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

You have to wait at least 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah, I didn't have time. Didn't

Setting Up Philippians 3:1-14

SPEAKER_01 1:20

have time. So, but that was okay. Um, I got over that quick. Um, but I feel good. All right. Uh, but we're on Philippians chapter 3. Um, we are just gonna go uh verse 1 through verse 14 today. Um so if you haven't read it inclusive, not just 1 and 14. Um, but if you haven't read it, pause it, go read it. Um, you know, think about it, pray about it, see what God's saying. Um if you have read it, then you know, there's just hold on and we're gonna start talking. Um, and hopefully with content that makes sense. You do you think so, Steve? What are the odds? I think the odds are pretty good. Um I think yeah, I think it's pretty straightforward stuff.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

You think not, Steve? No, I think it is.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

I think I think it's not, Steve. I really wish we had a video podcast, by the way. I want people to see you in your little tank top. Steve's wearing a tank top.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

It's not a halter top like you were wishing.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

You probably need one.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Hold your man boobs up, Steve. You gotta.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

All right, guys. I can see why we don't have a video podcast.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Uh because that would be um vulgar.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

No, because we'd have even fewer listeners than we do right now.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Oh, quit it, Steve. Our our listeners are faithful and you know, they do stuff. As long as, you know, the truth is I sometimes we let our listeners down when we have these a month break. Um so I appreciate those who have stuck with us after those long breaks. All right, but let's go ahead and get started. Um, let's do Philippians chapter 3, uh 1 through 14. Who's gonna read this, Steve?

Reading The Passage Aloud

SPEAKER_01 3:50

You want to do rock, paper, scissors?

SPEAKER_02 3:52

We could split it up. It's seven and seven. Oh, almost. It's six and eight.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Why is it so? What?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Rock, paper, scissors?

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Or you're just gonna further my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh, for it is we who are the circumcision, and we who serve God by his spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. Though I though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee, as for zeal, persecuting the church, as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider lost for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from the God comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

All right. Thanks, Steve. Um, I think there were some connection issues during that meeting.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

It was weird.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

I was not, I don't think that was you at all. It was just the connection breaking up. Uh-huh. Um because you

Why Paul Repeats Warnings

SPEAKER_01 6:30

are a fabulous reader.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Uh well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

All right. Um, do you have a summary for this one, Steve? No. I didn't write one down, but I'll I'll um try my best.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Um, so uh basically to be fair, the last chapter we had a month to read. I had plenty of time to come up with summaries and things. This one we had less than a week.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

That's true. I know. I'm not blaming you, Steve. Okay, um, I didn't come up with one either, but it's always good to think about a summary of what we just read, I think. So um, and uh more less than a summary. It's it's kind of in a couple of sections here. So at first he's saying, you know, watch out for those people who think they have you have to do stuff, you have to be special uh law-abiding Jews to be a Christian. Um and then he talks about himself, about you know, if that were true, then um I would be the best of all, right? Because I because of you know how I lived.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

But lived up to their standards.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

All that stuff is worthless. All that stuff, even though I was I had all that, and I could brag about that, it it's meaningless.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

He had all that and a bag of chips.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

He did have, well, it was a um, they didn't they didn't call them bags of chips back then. It was actually a mason, not a mason jar, but a clay jar filled with potatoes. Uh it's a little different, but it's the same. Um anyway, um, and then he goes on to say uh but um you know uh uh uh what does he say after that? Let's see.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Twelve, what's uh let's see.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Oh it's just and then he goes into talking about you know how to press on for salvation um and don't don't worry about your past um just look at what's ahead. So that's my my sort of summary. It's it's not really much of a summary. I don't know what I'm doing. It's just talking about the sections that he talks about. Um what are your notes, Steve? I got something about you know, I got stuff.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Right out of the gate.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

We only have one book of Philippians. Well, we have second Philippians. No, I'm just joking.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Um yeah, but that doesn't mean I was like, wait, no, we don't.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

But the truth is we don't have every letter Paul ever wrote. Right? True. Um, and um, yeah, so he could have easily written them before this that said, Hey, watch out for these people, uh, these evil Jewish Christian or I don't know, these evil people trying to tell you you have to be um circumcised and follow the law. Watch out for those people.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Um so I read most of this in ESV, and it said to write the same things to you is no trouble to me, and it is safe for you. Where is the uh NIV, which I was just there, where'd it go? Um, no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

All right, so because of that, yes, I read both. I also read the NLT because I wanted to see how they interpreted the these the saying.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

I have a theory, but go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Okay, go ahead. No, share your theory. You I'm interrupting you.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

No, uh all right. Um and I just came up with it as we were going through it again. Because you mentioned we don't have all his letters.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

And for him to write more letters, it's security that one or more of them might survive. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:30

That's my theory.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Oh, that's your theory. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

All right. Um, oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. All right. Well, this is what the here's blah blah. Here's how the NLT translates that. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

So um, I don't know how accurate that is, um, but it makes sense, I think. Yeah. So all right. So uh should we move on? I think we should. Excuse me.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Well, welcome to the show. That's your host, Ken

Who Are The Dogs

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Strickland.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Oh, yeah, that was me. Right. I'm pretty sure they could tell. That is ridiculous. All right, anyway. All right, the next verse it says, watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. And I earlier I kept wanting to put a label on these people, but my question is, who is he talking about?

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Who are these people? Um, I think you pointed it out earlier.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

I think it's the Jews that either the Jews that have uh uh become Christians but are pushing for circumcision or perhaps just Jews in general.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, my theory on this is that it is Jewish uh believers. Because uh and I was just telling a Jewish uh friend at work this uh he loves to talk about our differences and um um and he's very open to talking about it, but you know, the the Christianity is the continuation of the Jewish faith, right? So the Jews who believed that Jesus was the Christ, they wanted to keep, you know, I mean, you know, they believed that Jesus was the Christ, but they've been using these traditions that they have held the law for centuries, right? And so they're wanting to hold to it, and they're saying, okay, yes, we are accepting of the Gentiles, but you have to do all this stuff still, just like holding on to the old covenant. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

And Christ said he was the new covenant, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:18

So so I think these are Jewish believers, um, and not just the Jews. I think the Jews would just not they're just not going to accept the Gentiles no matter what, right? Unless they convert to Judaism.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Which you know what my note is for this verse?

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Nope.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

I think dogs back then were more of the guard dog type and less the cute lovable ones like I have.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, and I'm not sure they were guard dogs. I think they were more like eating the trash on the street. Yeah. Because you remember uh there's um uh a woman, a gentile woman touch touches Jesus' rose, and he reprimands her and calls her a dog. And she says, even the dogs lick eat the crumbs from the master's table or something like that. Uh yeah, I actually I think you might be closer to right as a guard dog rather than a just mangy creature run roaming around. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Yeah, I don't think they were cute little fluffy things to sit on your lap.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

No, I don't think so, Steve. Yeah. I think uh yeah, we've gotten soft, especially people like you with those two little or three little, no, too little now.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

No, too now.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Yeah, sorry. Sorry about that. I it's yeah, it it's pretty new. Um all right. So anyway, that's all I wanted to say about that.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Uh all

What Spiritual Circumcision Means

SPEAKER_02 16:00

I got to say about why.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Um and then he calls us uh for it is we who are the circumcision.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Why does you know what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 16:16

I don't know, but it makes me think that we're these little pieces of flesh cut off from someone's weewe.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

No we calamari anyone? Oh gosh. He's not saying we are the the foreskins that have been cut off. We are the circumcision, not not the physically circumcised, but the spiritually circumcised are the circumcision.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

I I think it means that so one of the reasons the Jews were circumcised was to set them apart from the other people. Now, how you go around and recognize each other, I guess you drop your pants or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

But you know, it it seemed like they always knew if somebody was circumcised or not. I think um in um I it's not like they had very tight-fitting clothing like we do nowadays, right? And so I think it was much more um let it all hang out? I think like in certain areas people would just see each other. It's just how it was. Uh no one even thought about it, except for are you circumcised or not?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Well, that settles it. When you have your pool party, I'm going skinny dipping.

SPEAKER_01 17:52

That settles it. I'm not having a pool party. That's a right. Um, all right. What okay, then he goes into, you know, um this thing about who he is as a Jew.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Uh so yeah, four through six. I think he's like on this small tangent where he's talking about his credentials and how great of a Old Testament Jew he was. But he does also bring up his sin, how he persecuted the church.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

No, that's that was the positive. As for a Jew. I mean, that's he was so zealous that he even persecuted the church.

Paul’s Credentials And Our Pride

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Uh I mean, yes, I think he sees it as sin, but it's also showing how good of a Jew he was.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Yeah. So um what did you have?

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Um you know, I just in this section, it just made me think a little bit about um there have been times, I'm I'm not not now, but there have been times in my uh ministry at churches and stuff where I felt pretty proud of all the stuff I did. You know? And I think we can still fall into this, right? Oh, absolutely. Um, even though lots of I think a lot of churches are still legalistic. Yes. Um, churches are legalistic, but we um personally need to avoid the legalism, the patting on our of our backs, you know, going, oh, look at look at what I'm doing for the church. Um because that's not while those are good things, right? Service is good. Um it's the expectation of what we should be doing. Um you know, you don't pat yourself on the back when you eat your vegetables. It's what you should be doing.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Unless you start to choke on it.

unknown 20:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Yeah, okay. That's true. Um I didn't think about that. That really just ruins my whole argument.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Yeah, I think that throws it out the window. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Um so yeah, that's all I had for that section. Um let's see. Then he goes into what is more seven through eight.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

I wrote down that he says loss three times. Um but righteousness is also mentioned three times in the entire paragraph, not just seven and eight.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

Not self-made righteousness, but um from God because of faith in his son.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Okay, I now consider loss.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Uh whatever were gains, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

All right, consider them garbage. So, what does it mean that they're loss? A waste of time is how I see it.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

That's exactly what I was thinking. That's it. I was trying to to um articulate in my head, and that's That's the thing I was gonna say. A waste of time. He considers they're now yeah, they were just a pointless waste of time um because of Christ.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Um let's see.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

All right, uh let's see, and then we go into um Isaiah ten. Well let's see, and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which through faith in but that which is through

Gains Counted As Loss

SPEAKER_01 22:40

faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Um so basically he's saying um actually this is the gospel presentation, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:59

It's not by works, it's by faith in Christ. Only by faith.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Um as Brad says, Jesus plus nothing.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Yes, Jesus plus nothing plus faith.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

No, yes. Anyway, I want to know Christ. This is chapter uh verse 10. I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. All right, what is he saying here?

SPEAKER_02 23:44

I I don't know, but I could do without that part.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

What the sufferings?

SPEAKER_02 23:49

I don't want to suffer like Christ did.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Um yeah, yeah, his sufferings was was tough.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Um I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection participation in his sufferings. Um you know, I would I would say Paul has already participated in a lot of suffering.

SPEAKER_02 24:19

He's been stoned how many times and should have died and shipwrecked by snake shipwrecked three times, I think, or twice. I get the stone number of stonings and shipwrecks uh confused, but um I mean God chose him for this work, and part of me wonders if he had to go through so much um suffering using his words to make up for his persecution of the church beforehand.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah, I don't know. Um I don't know if he felt that way about it um or not. Um you know, God God sends us places and we might not get there. Um if if you think about, or it might God might send us a roundabout way to get there. Um and all we can do is be obedient at the moment. Um, so this is I'm I'm taking a side step here. But um, as you know, um not too long ago, I took a new job, right?

SPEAKER_02 25:39

You did?

SPEAKER_01 25:40

You okay, you know this, Steve. And actually, our listeners know this if they've been listening. But I took a new job and it was an act of faith, and I felt like

Righteousness Comes By Faith

SPEAKER_01 25:50

God was. I mean, there's no question, and I'm not gonna say I felt like there's no question to me that God wanted me to do this. And now, you know, they have we have had like three or four reorgs since I've been there, and now there's this big layoff coming, and I think there's a pretty good chance I get laid off. Um and so, you know, um, somebody said, Well, you know, why would why would God let you be laid off if this is, you know, if he wanted you to go there? Um, and you know, you could ask the same thing about Paul, right? If if Jesus wanted you to go to this place, why and and you did, why would he shipwreck you on the way there?

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Um or allow them to stone you.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Or yeah, why? Um, and the truth is it's about obedience, it's not necessarily about uh, or you could say it's the journey, not the destination. So right, um God said to do what this thing, right? And I did the thing. It doesn't mean it's a permanent situation. What it does, it puts me where God wants me. Um and whether that changes soon, so be it. Um that's as long as we are where God wants us, then that is the place we should be.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

Well said, Ken. That's my little soapbox.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

I gotta be careful while I get down.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

As long as it's not wet soap, you'll be okay, I think.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

What is a soapbox?

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Did did soap used

Knowing Christ Through Suffering

SPEAKER_01 27:40

to ship in a box?

SPEAKER_02 27:42

That's the only thing I can assume. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

All right. Um all right. So where were we? I don't even know where we were now, Steve.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Uh we were around nine and ten.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Oh, yeah, we're just done ten.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

Um I have something for thirteen.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

I do too. All right. Um why don't why don't we read? Let me read 12 through 14 again just to just to get people's minds there. Not that I have already obtained all this, this meaning, uh meaning like um, you know, suffering for Christ and and all of this stuff. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heaven heavenward in Christ Jesus. All right, what did what is your comment, Steve?

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Don't live in the past. Grab hold of your faith in Christ and move forward. God will guide you. Oh, wait, that's 15. That's next week.

SPEAKER_01 29:08

Oh my goodness. Now, what are we gonna do? I guess I can edit that out.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

Okay. Yeah, like I'm but yeah, I think don't live in the past. It's good healthy advice. You you hear people saying, Oh, well, I could never get in heaven. You don't know what I've done. I'm terrible.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

Yeah, that's true. And there's a Paul. And I think there's two I you know, um, when our pastor Brad talked about this, he only talked about the bad. But the truth is, forget about the past, the good you've done and the bad you've done.

SPEAKER_02 29:53

Um, and in fact, don't don't rest on your laurels, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Don't rest on, wow, look at all that good I did, and then that's it. Forget about that. Who cares? It's you are still called to press on, keep

Forgetting The Past And Pressing On

SPEAKER_01 30:10

pressing forward. Um and um Brad only said, you know, Paul was talking about his his bad, the bad he's done. But the reality is when you when I read this as a whole, I kind of think Paul might be saying, I'm I've got to forget about the good things I've done. Um just as much as saying forget about the bad things. Um because it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

What I've done before does not matter. I need to press on. I like that. All right. I said something you like on that note.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

I think I need to be done.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

I think you're right.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

All right. Um, all right, so next week, guys, we are going to read um the end of chapter three and um the beginning of chapter four. So we're gonna kind of um have a podcast that kind of spans chapter three and a little of chapter four. Um so um, you know, read that. Read more than just chapter three.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

You hear what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Well, that's not yet, Steve. I gotta press the button. And then it starts the thing. And plus, you're on the wrong key. You're close, though, actually. I think you are actually a uh harming up.

Next Reading And Closing

SPEAKER_01 31:40

I think it worked. All right, guys, thanks for joining us today. It is a chasm LLC production, all rights reserved.