Beware of False Piety! - Philippians 3:1-6
Beware of False Piety! - Philippians 3:1-6
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 17, 2009 AM
How often have you seen children at play and some little killjoy just has to retort, “That’s not how you are supposed to do that!” or “You’re not following the rules!” Could this be the first glimmers of legalism in the life of this juvenile Pharisee? How would you describe legalism? Where does it come from and why does it occur? I suspect that we begin to allow legalism to creep into our lives, and especially our theology, because we have an unfounded sense of self-doubt or guilt. We then find security in following a set of guidelines or rules. What one person says is living a holy life can be a way to try to get you to adhere to their preconceived piety and their own brand of legalism. Scripture teaches us to be aware of false piety.
Paul would shout, “Beware of false piety!” because it often finds comfort in legalism. We discover that the Philippians had their legalistic detractors as well. They were a group of folks called “Judiazers,” who wanted their fellow Christians to go back and adhere to their brand of legalism. For them it was Jesus plus following the Old Testament law. Placing your faith in Jesus and also doing all the requirements of the law because after all, isn’t God’s law eternal? Sounds good, makes you proud to know you have been living righteous and can make a check mark on your list of good things to do for the Lord, right? Except it ignores one glaring fact: Believers in Christ are saved by grace through faith and not by following the law, least you begin to boast and think you can earn your way into God’s grace. Paul writes the Philippians and tells them, “Beware of false piety!” Let’s see what Paul says about this, shall we?
READ: Philippians 3:1-6
Aretha Franklin sang, “Chain, chain, chain… chain of fools,” and her song could fit well with what Paul was addressing here with the Philippians because there were fools in Philippi that wanted to wrap chains around believers in Christ after they had been set free from such legalism. You may ask, “How do we keep ourselves from falling into the same trap of legalism?” (Great question!) Paul would say…
I. Beware false piety by remembering who saved you in the first place! (Vv. 1, 3-4a)
1. Remembering to rejoice in Jesus, means repetition is good for the soul! Notice that Paul writes them “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!” No, he was not coming to an end of his letter, but rather the thought he had begun in the previous chapter! Namely, that their “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” who died to set people free from legalism and the law! They were to remember to rejoice in this! So, before stressing the serious danger of putting confidence in their worldly “flesh,” Paul wanted them to be reminded of who saved them. He used the word “rejoice” at least seven times in this letter and so it was important for Paul, the Philippians, and thereby for us as well! He continues by relating that “It is no trouble (literally ‘no problem’) for me to write the same things to you again!” Paul had no trouble in telling them again that their faith was founded squarely on Jesus Christ and not in following the law or any good works they could try to do to appease God or to sooth their own guilty conscience. He wrote the Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) He would bluntly write, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…” period! (Galatians 3:25-26) And, Paul saw this reminder as “a safeguard for” the Philippians and all Christians! He continues, “For it is we (Christians) who are the circumcision, we (Christians) who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh!” It was good for them to remind themselves of the fact of their faith in Jesus alone! Sola Fide! Paul is telling them to beware false piety by remembering who saved them in the first place!
EXAMPLE: Vernon Grounds writes that “Perhaps no one since the apostle Paul has written more graphically about the experience of spiritual bondage than the great theologian Augustine (AD 354–430). Although blessed with extraordinary intelligence, in his younger years he had wallowed in deep depravity. Looking back, Augustine gave this account of his struggle: ‘I was bound by the iron chain of my own will. I was rather an unwilling sufferer than a willing actor. And yet it was through me that habit had become an armed enemy against me, because I had willingly come to be what I unwillingly found myself to be.’ Many of us have gone through a similar struggle.” Grounds is correct, we want deliverance from sin yet find ourselves unable to shake off the chains of our habitual lifestyle. However, as we turn in faith to Jesus Christ alone, we are liberated and can repeat the words of the old hymn: “Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to Thee.” We would do well to beware of false piety by remembering who saved us in the first place!
Mark Twain is quoted as saying that you can tell if something you did was morally good if you “felt good afterward.” Oh, really? So then, if it left you “feeling bad,” it was therefore morally wrong? Twain’s statement can be understood in two ways: One is that good or bad conduct can produce good or bad feelings. The other is that feelings determine what is good or bad! Wow! That is inherently dangerous because our feelings are never a reliable indicator of moral conduct. False piety produces a false sense of feeling righteous, holiness, and security. However, Paul teaches to…
II. Beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what you believe! (Vv. 2, 4b-6)
1. It means staying alert for those who want to rob you of your faith! Rightly so Paul would have none of it and bluntly writes them to “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.” (Aren’t you glad Paul is so sensitive to those who disagreed with him?) Paul used the term “mutilators” to describe those Jews who mutilated the gospel by insisting on their felt need to mutilate the flesh in order to be rightly related to God! Yet in our day and age these folks still exist and still give those of us who speak the truth of the gospel a frustrating time. Just as these Judiazers wanted to “mutilate” the Philippians’ “flesh” again by being circumcised, we find those today who desire the same thing! They want Christians to be tied up and chained to rules and guidelines of eating, drinking, or what to wear or not wear. Paul would tell the Romans that “circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.” (Romans 2:29) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:17-18) What these phony pious people were doing was trying to get their fellow Christians to adhere to the old set of regulations that Christ had totally fulfilled through His death, burial, and resurrection! And, Paul understood this false theology! He had been part and parcel of it and writes that “I myself have reasons for such confidence.” He did because he had onetime “put confidence in the flesh!” Being “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 legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:5-6) Paul therefore knew what they were up against! This is why he writes them to beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what they believed!
EXAMPLE: Part of the training to be a US Secret Service agent includes learning to detect counterfeit money. Agents-in-training make a thorough study of the genuine bills--not the phonies--so that they can spot the fake currency immediately because of its contrast to the real thing. The child of God can learn a lesson from this. While it is helpful to study false religions and be fully aware of their dangerous dogmas, the best defense against such error is to be so familiar with God's Word that whenever we encounter error, we will spot it at once and won't fall for it. Today many are being led astray because they don't recognize how they are being deceived. For example, if a person isn't solidly grounded in the teaching of salvation by grace, he may swallow the line of the legalists who inject human works into the matter of being saved. A thorough knowledge of essential biblical doctrines is the only way to detect counterfeit theologies. This is why we are to beware of false piety by keeping careful watch over what we believe!
Conclusion:
It isn’t for nothing that the Bible warns us early on in its pages that “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) False piety does just that. It gives us a false sense of self-worth. Paul teaches us to beware false piety by remembering who saved us in the first place and to beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what we believe!
---
This article is the copyrighted 2009 © property of Lee Hemen and may not be copied or reproduced in any way shape or form without using the full text of this entire article, and getting the permission of its author.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 17, 2009 AM
How often have you seen children at play and some little killjoy just has to retort, “That’s not how you are supposed to do that!” or “You’re not following the rules!” Could this be the first glimmers of legalism in the life of this juvenile Pharisee? How would you describe legalism? Where does it come from and why does it occur? I suspect that we begin to allow legalism to creep into our lives, and especially our theology, because we have an unfounded sense of self-doubt or guilt. We then find security in following a set of guidelines or rules. What one person says is living a holy life can be a way to try to get you to adhere to their preconceived piety and their own brand of legalism. Scripture teaches us to be aware of false piety.
Paul would shout, “Beware of false piety!” because it often finds comfort in legalism. We discover that the Philippians had their legalistic detractors as well. They were a group of folks called “Judiazers,” who wanted their fellow Christians to go back and adhere to their brand of legalism. For them it was Jesus plus following the Old Testament law. Placing your faith in Jesus and also doing all the requirements of the law because after all, isn’t God’s law eternal? Sounds good, makes you proud to know you have been living righteous and can make a check mark on your list of good things to do for the Lord, right? Except it ignores one glaring fact: Believers in Christ are saved by grace through faith and not by following the law, least you begin to boast and think you can earn your way into God’s grace. Paul writes the Philippians and tells them, “Beware of false piety!” Let’s see what Paul says about this, shall we?
READ: Philippians 3:1-6
Aretha Franklin sang, “Chain, chain, chain… chain of fools,” and her song could fit well with what Paul was addressing here with the Philippians because there were fools in Philippi that wanted to wrap chains around believers in Christ after they had been set free from such legalism. You may ask, “How do we keep ourselves from falling into the same trap of legalism?” (Great question!) Paul would say…
I. Beware false piety by remembering who saved you in the first place! (Vv. 1, 3-4a)
1. Remembering to rejoice in Jesus, means repetition is good for the soul! Notice that Paul writes them “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!” No, he was not coming to an end of his letter, but rather the thought he had begun in the previous chapter! Namely, that their “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” who died to set people free from legalism and the law! They were to remember to rejoice in this! So, before stressing the serious danger of putting confidence in their worldly “flesh,” Paul wanted them to be reminded of who saved them. He used the word “rejoice” at least seven times in this letter and so it was important for Paul, the Philippians, and thereby for us as well! He continues by relating that “It is no trouble (literally ‘no problem’) for me to write the same things to you again!” Paul had no trouble in telling them again that their faith was founded squarely on Jesus Christ and not in following the law or any good works they could try to do to appease God or to sooth their own guilty conscience. He wrote the Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) He would bluntly write, “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…” period! (Galatians 3:25-26) And, Paul saw this reminder as “a safeguard for” the Philippians and all Christians! He continues, “For it is we (Christians) who are the circumcision, we (Christians) who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh!” It was good for them to remind themselves of the fact of their faith in Jesus alone! Sola Fide! Paul is telling them to beware false piety by remembering who saved them in the first place!
EXAMPLE: Vernon Grounds writes that “Perhaps no one since the apostle Paul has written more graphically about the experience of spiritual bondage than the great theologian Augustine (AD 354–430). Although blessed with extraordinary intelligence, in his younger years he had wallowed in deep depravity. Looking back, Augustine gave this account of his struggle: ‘I was bound by the iron chain of my own will. I was rather an unwilling sufferer than a willing actor. And yet it was through me that habit had become an armed enemy against me, because I had willingly come to be what I unwillingly found myself to be.’ Many of us have gone through a similar struggle.” Grounds is correct, we want deliverance from sin yet find ourselves unable to shake off the chains of our habitual lifestyle. However, as we turn in faith to Jesus Christ alone, we are liberated and can repeat the words of the old hymn: “Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to Thee.” We would do well to beware of false piety by remembering who saved us in the first place!
Mark Twain is quoted as saying that you can tell if something you did was morally good if you “felt good afterward.” Oh, really? So then, if it left you “feeling bad,” it was therefore morally wrong? Twain’s statement can be understood in two ways: One is that good or bad conduct can produce good or bad feelings. The other is that feelings determine what is good or bad! Wow! That is inherently dangerous because our feelings are never a reliable indicator of moral conduct. False piety produces a false sense of feeling righteous, holiness, and security. However, Paul teaches to…
II. Beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what you believe! (Vv. 2, 4b-6)
1. It means staying alert for those who want to rob you of your faith! Rightly so Paul would have none of it and bluntly writes them to “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.” (Aren’t you glad Paul is so sensitive to those who disagreed with him?) Paul used the term “mutilators” to describe those Jews who mutilated the gospel by insisting on their felt need to mutilate the flesh in order to be rightly related to God! Yet in our day and age these folks still exist and still give those of us who speak the truth of the gospel a frustrating time. Just as these Judiazers wanted to “mutilate” the Philippians’ “flesh” again by being circumcised, we find those today who desire the same thing! They want Christians to be tied up and chained to rules and guidelines of eating, drinking, or what to wear or not wear. Paul would tell the Romans that “circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.” (Romans 2:29) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Romans 14:17-18) What these phony pious people were doing was trying to get their fellow Christians to adhere to the old set of regulations that Christ had totally fulfilled through His death, burial, and resurrection! And, Paul understood this false theology! He had been part and parcel of it and writes that “I myself have reasons for such confidence.” He did because he had onetime “put confidence in the flesh!” Being “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 legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:5-6) Paul therefore knew what they were up against! This is why he writes them to beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what they believed!
EXAMPLE: Part of the training to be a US Secret Service agent includes learning to detect counterfeit money. Agents-in-training make a thorough study of the genuine bills--not the phonies--so that they can spot the fake currency immediately because of its contrast to the real thing. The child of God can learn a lesson from this. While it is helpful to study false religions and be fully aware of their dangerous dogmas, the best defense against such error is to be so familiar with God's Word that whenever we encounter error, we will spot it at once and won't fall for it. Today many are being led astray because they don't recognize how they are being deceived. For example, if a person isn't solidly grounded in the teaching of salvation by grace, he may swallow the line of the legalists who inject human works into the matter of being saved. A thorough knowledge of essential biblical doctrines is the only way to detect counterfeit theologies. This is why we are to beware of false piety by keeping careful watch over what we believe!
Conclusion:
It isn’t for nothing that the Bible warns us early on in its pages that “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) False piety does just that. It gives us a false sense of self-worth. Paul teaches us to beware false piety by remembering who saved us in the first place and to beware of false piety by keeping a careful watch over what we believe!
---
This article is the copyrighted 2009 © property of Lee Hemen and may not be copied or reproduced in any way shape or form without using the full text of this entire article, and getting the permission of its author.
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