Remain in the Lord! (Sermon Recap)

REMAIN IN THE LORD! (SERMON RECAP)

In our most recent sermon we reflected on Philippians 3:1-3. The apostle Paul writes,

"Finally, brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh–" (Philippians 3:1-3 ESV)

Here's the idea: Since we who believe in Jesus are God's true people ("we are the circumcision") who render true worship to God and rejoice/glory in an all-sufficient Savior and reject any fleshly efforts to enhance our standing with God, we must be vigilant ("look out") to resist any false teachers ("dogs," "evildoers," "those who mutilate the flesh") who attempt to draw us away from the truth of the gospel. Paul warns us about the false teachers and reminds us of the everlastingly rich heritage that we have in Christ, in order to safeguard us from the destabilizing winds of anti-gospel heresies and keep us in the right way of God's gracious salvation.

To put it simply: if we would continue to "rejoice in the Lord," then we must take care to remain in the Lord who gives us joy. As we delight in a growing knowledge of all that we are and have in Christ, then we will be the more attuned to discern and dismiss the encroachments of error. May our God and Father grant us the grace to do so!

You can read the whole sermon here.