Jesus and Jesus Alone

“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord …” This is verse one of Philippians 3, written by the Apostle Paul. I don’t imagine Paul giving advice that he did not take. I believe that he not only encouraged the believers at Philippi to rejoice in the Lord, but that he also rejoiced in God despite being imprisoned. We see evidence of this in Acts 16.

Both Paul and Silas were in prison, but it is written that they “prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25). Rejoicing in the Lord in difficulties is not something that most people typically do. In trouble, we tend to try to figure a way out of it on our own, or we ask God to deliver us from it. While praying to God for deliverance is almost second nature to many, praising God while in need of deliverance isn’t.

The last thing on our minds is praising God when we are in trials. If anything, we might start questioning God—wondering why He permitted such difficulties in the first place. But praise? Praise isn’t usually our first response to hardships.

And yet, I’ve found that praising God during difficulties isn’t just about lifting God up. I’ve found that it lifts us up, too. When we focus on God’s character … His love, His devotion, His patience, His kindness, our spirits become lifted in worship as we lift His name on high. When we focus on the goodness of God … His plan of salvation, His power and how He delivers, how He maintains and sustains us … we began to trust that God can pull us through now just as He did before. And when we think about the essence of God … His holiness, His glory, His massiveness, and His beauty … we become thankful that we have access to such a divine, supreme being.

Rejoicing in the Lord is crucial for every believer in every season of our lives. May the Holy Spirit remind us to praise God. May we be reminded to rejoice even when joy seems to be running from us. Lord, help us to rejoice in You even when we don’t understand You or Your plan, even when we are frustrated with the mountains in our lives, even if we become upset with You. Lord, refocus us, recenter our faith, and remind us to rejoice in You as we ought.

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Paul wrote to the Philippians to not only rejoice in the Lord, but also to be alert. “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh …” (Philippians 3:2) Dogs? I thought that was interesting vocabulary. But Revelation 22:15 also mentions dogs. In that scripture, we see that dogs, sorcerers, murderers, idolaters, the sexually immoral, and all who love and practice falsehood will not enter into heaven.

Most of the descriptions listed here are self-explanatory, but dogs? Not so much. Yet, traditionally speaking, if anyone refers to you as a dog, you know that it is not a compliment. Today, humans who are referred to as dogs can mean a couple of things. Men who are called dogs are usually liars and cheaters in romantic relationships. Women who are referred to as female dogs are considered mean, cruel, or condescending.

In biblical times, dogs were considered unclean scavengers. They were regarded as lowly animals and were not esteemed as the domesticated furry friends we know today. In fact, if you recall the story of David and Goliath, Goliath scoffed at David and asked him, “Am I a dog, that you would come at me with sticks?” Goliath took David’s stand against him as an insult, and using a dog as a reference illustrated just how insulted Goliath was. Dogs were considered low, unclean creations. No one in the past or the present desires to be likened to a dog.

So, Paul’s call to look out for dogs, evildoers, and mutilators of the flesh was a call to remain pure and to stick to the gospel of Jesus Christ. An evildoer is self-explanatory, and mutilators of the flesh is a reference to circumcision. Some Jews believed it was necessary to continue the practice of circumcision to maintain righteousness according to the law. However, Paul encouraged the believers at Philippi to look out for these types of people. He told them to look out for those who had confidence in their flesh to achieve righteousness.

“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 3:3). Paul explained that he was a devout Hebrew who followed the law, but he was not confident in receiving righteousness from following the law. He said that if anyone were to have confidence in righteousness through keeping the law, it should have been him because he was of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised, and had more zeal and knowledge in the law than most. Yet, his trust to receive righteousness was not in keeping the law, but in having faith in God through Jesus Christ.

We can only have access to God the Father because of the righteousness we have through Jesus. This is not to say that we aren’t to put forth an effort to fight against the flesh. Romans 8 tells us that the flesh cannot please God. It tells us that the Holy Spirit within us wars against the flesh. So, when we fight against the flesh, that is an action … it is a deed. Any type of action besides having faith in God can be considered a deed.

And what does James 2 tell us about deeds? “Faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead” (v. 17). James writes about Abraham and how his decision to sacrifice Issac was an action—it was a deed. James then writes “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? … You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” (James 2:22,24). Therefore, it is not meant for believers to only believe. Because without “working out our own salvation” or without our works, faith is dead.

Yet, it is not our fighting against our flesh that allows us access to God. It is not our actions that saved and washed us from our sins—that comes from Jesus and Jesus alone. Yes, there are commandments that we are told to keep… to flee sexual immorality, to avoid gossip, to avoid being liars, murderers, idolaters, and the like. But only Jesus bridges the gap of sin between God and man.

And so, reader, that’s all I have for you today. Know that we are to rejoice in the Lord at all times, we are to avoid people who will cause us to stray from the truth of the gospel, and we are to know that access to God is achieved through Jesus and Jesus alone.

I pray this message has blessed you! May God keep you. Until next time, take care.

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Thanks for your time,

Quin Arrington