Who is a true Christian? What are the marks of someone who is truly saved? Paul gives us three marks of a true Christian in Philippians 3:3 – he worships in the Spirit of God, he glories in Christ Jesus, and he puts no confidence in the flesh.
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3 Marks Of A True Christian
Philippians 3:3
You will recall that in our last message we took rejoicing as the watchword for 2022. Rejoicing is commanded, it is to be continual, it is in Christ, it is for Christians, and it must be contended for.
The reason Paul told the Philippians to fight for their joy was because there some folks that were out to steal their joy through legalism. We call them “Judaizers.” After Paul planted a church in a city, these guys would come in and start telling the new Gentile Christians that it was great that they had come to faith in Christ, but that was not enough. They had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. It was this very problem that caused Paul to write the epistle to the Galatians. In other words, they said that Christ alone was not enough. They preached Christ plus. And, of course, the word “plus” transformed their message from a message of grace to a message of works. In effect, the Judaizers were skilled at getting new Christians’ eyes off of the Lord and onto themselves. And, in so doing, they killed their joy. Whenever you take your eyes off of the Lord and put them on your own performance, joy goes out the window.
This is why Paul wrote in verse 2, “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.” These Judaizers were false teachers. They were like dogs – filthy, wild, and scavenging. Although they pretended to be workers of righteousness, they were, in fact, evil workers, because they promoted human pride. And they were the false circumcision. They boasted of the fact that they were righteous because they had been circumcised in the flesh and were keeping the law of Moses.
Now, that last phrase in verse two, “false circumcision”, gives Paul an occasion to tell the Philippians what the true circumcision was. And, as he does so, he’s really giving them a lesson about what a true Christian is. If you have ever wondered how you could tell what a true Christian was, this message is for you. If you were to boil down all of the things that go into a true Christian into only 3, what would they be?
Well Paul tells us. They would be worshiping in the Spirit of God, glorying in Christ Jesus, and putting no confidence in the flesh.
We are the true circumcision. Paul is contrasting the Judaizers with the Philippian Christians. He’s saying that the Judaizers claim to be the true covenant people of God, because they have the physical mark of the covenant in their flesh. But Paul turns the tables on them, and says, “No, YOU are not the true covenant people of God. We are.” In other words, just because they have the outward mark of the covenant in their flesh and had kept some external laws, did not make them the covenant people of God. Something much more radical had to happen for that to be true.
The circumcision the Judaizers had experienced was in the flesh. The only circumcision that really counted was the circumcision of the heart. Paul wrote about this heart circumcision in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” There you have Paul’s teaching on the circumcision that really counts. Not the flesh, but the heart. Not by men, but by the Spirit. The praise doesn’t come from men, but from God.
Paul wasn’t pulling this teaching out of thin air. In Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses wrote, “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.” Moses spoke of a circumcision which only God could perform. And the result was that the person with the circumcised heart would love God. I believe he was referring to the new birth, or regeneration.
So, when Paul said, “for we are the true circumcision”, I believe he was saying that we are the true covenant people of God, because the Spirit of God has performed surgery on our hearts, giving us the ability to truly love God through being born again.
Well, then, what are the three marks of a true Christian?
1. A True Christian Worships In The Spirit Of God
Of course, the Judaizers would have claimed to worship God. But their worship consisted of observing external rituals, and sacrifices, and keeping the Jewish festivals. It was all about rites and ordinances.
In John 4, Jesus had a conversation about this very thing with the woman of Samaria. She wanted to know where God should be worshiped. Her people, the Samaritans, worshiped God on Mt. Gerazim. They were a half-breed, half Jews and half Gentiles. The Jews didn’t want anything to do with them, and would not give them access to the worship of God in the Jewish temple. So they decided they would construct their own system of worship. They built their own temple on Mt. Gerazim with their own set of rules. This woman knew that Jesus was a prophet because he had told her all about her life and her sin. So she asked Him to set her straight about where the right place for worship was – Mt. Gerazim or Jerusalem?
In verse 21, Jesus responds, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” In other words, worship is not about going to a certain place. Worship is to be done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is conducted in spirit, in the heart. And within a generation the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, making it impossible to worship there anyway. Worship should be happening wherever a Christian is.
Then in verse 22, Jesus gives her some more information, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” He told her that she worshiped what she did not know. The Samaritans were ignorant of the true and living God. They only accepted the Pentateuch, so there were many truths about God that they were ignorant of. They had developed their own worship which was a mixed bag of paganism and Judaism. So, what is Jesus telling her. First, worship is not performed in a certain place, it is performed in spirit. Second, you can’t worship however you want. Worship must be performed according to truth.
That’s why Jesus goes on to say in verse 23, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Did you hear that? The Father seeks people to be His worshipers. The Father sought you to be a worshiper? He saved you to worship Him.
The first mark of a true Christian is that he worships in the Spirit of God. What makes him different is not that he worships. Lots of people worship. In fact, it is natural for man to worship. God created him to worship. The problem is that he worships the wrong thing. He might worship a false God, or he might worship a person, or fame, or power, or money. What makes a Christian different is not that he worships. It is that he worships God by the Spirit. He doesn’t merely go through external rituals or rites like the Judaizers. His worship is prompted by and directed by and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He worships from the inside according to God’s Word. People all over the world worship in special places, in ways that are not according to Scripture. However, they are not true worshipers. They are false worshipers. They may think they are true worshipers, but they are deceived. To be a true worshiper, a person must worship in spirit and truth.
If a Christian worships in the Spirit of God, that means his worship is supernatural. His worship is produced within his heart by the Holy Spirit. Many people worship, but their worship comes from tradition or culture, or guilt or fear, or desire for the praise of man. The true Christian worships as he is energized and directed by the Holy Spirit.
The word for worship, “latreuo”, means to serve or to worship. To worship is not just to sing songs, or to pray. It also has to do with how you serve God. That’s why worship is something we do all the time, every day. In Romans 12:1 Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” What is your spiritual service of worship? Presenting your bodies to God as a sacrifice. When do we do that? Every day, all the time! In Hebrews 13:16 it says, “Do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Did you know doing good and sharing is worship? That means when you do good and share you are worshiping God.
So, worship is what we do when we love and adore God. It might look like singing, shouting, praising, bowing, rejoicing, delighting, serving, obeying, sharing, or doing good. All of that which springs from our life because of our love for God is worship. And all of it is prompted by the Spirit of God. So, the first mark of a true Christian is that he worships God by the Holy Spirit.
My friend, are you a worshiper? Do you worship God? I’m not asking you if you attend church, or occasionally read your Bible, or go through certain motions or religious routines. I’m asking if you truly worship God from your heart as the Holy Spirit moves within you? Does your love for God result in service to others?
2. A True Christian Glories In Christ Jesus
The second mark of a true Christian is that he glories in Christ Jesus. Now, what exactly does that mean? The word for “glory” has a range of meaning that includes glory, boast, exult, and rejoice. Perhaps it is translated most often as “boast.”
We find it in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Galatians 6:14, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Romans 5:11, “And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
Paul is saying that one of the marks of a true Christian is that he boasts in, rejoices in, and glories in Christ Jesus.
The true Christian has put his whole trust in Jesus Christ, and he has absolute confidence that Christ won’t let him down. So, he boasts of Him. The Judaizers were boasting in what they had done – circumcision and law-keeping. Paul says anyone who does that is the false circumcision. The true circumcision will never boast in himself, but in Christ alone!
The true Christian finds Jesus Christ to be his all in all. Christ is the worthy One! Christ is the One who has done everything. Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and became flesh. Jesus obeyed the Father and resisted the temptations of the devil. Jesus obeyed the Father, and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. Jesus accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do. Jesus obeyed the Father, and drank the cup of wrath. Jesus obeyed the Father and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Then, to show that the Father had accepted His death as a true payment for sin, He rose from the dead three days later.
Jesus purchased his redemption. Jesus procured the forgiveness of all his sins. Jesus brought about his adoption, and justification. It is because of Christ that he is not condemned, and is a new creature, and has received eternal life. It is because of Jesus that he is no longer under the curse of the law. Jesus did ALL of this! That’s why we boast in Him alone. There is no other ground of boasting.
Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow!
3. A True Christian Puts No Confidence In The Flesh
This was the very thing that the Judaizers were doing. They were putting their confidence in the flesh, in the circumcision of their flesh. Their confidence was in what they could do, what they could contribute. It had to do with law keeping and circumcision.
In contrast to that, Paul says that the true Christian puts NO confidence in the flesh. The Holy Spirit teaches the true Christian how weak and sinful he is. He teaches him that apart from Christ he can do no nothing (Jn. 15:5). He teaches him that in his flesh dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18). He teaches him “cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jer.17:5).
What does Paul mean here by “flesh”? He probably meant our human nature without divine enablement. Flesh is what we are by nature. The idea is that the true Christian will put no confidence in himself to be acceptable to God. He will put no confidence in his genealogy, or that he is an Israelite, or that he is of a certain tribe of Israel, or that he has been circumcised, or that he has kept all the feasts and festivals, or that he brings an acceptable animal to be sacrificed for his sins.
The word “confidence” speaks of our trust, our reliance. We put no trust or reliance in ourselves, but we put all our trust and reliance to the point of boasting in Jesus Christ and what He has done.
When we go out witnessing, it is very common to talk to people who are very confident that they are going to heaven. I always like to figure out what their confidence is in. 99 times out of 100 their confidence is in themselves. They will tell you that they are good people, or they treat others the way they want to be treated, or they keep the Golden Rule, or something like that. They are putting confidence in the flesh.
Brothers and sisters, religion without Christ is damning! If you are trusting in your religion, or your religious observance, you will be condemned at the Final Judgment. Many people believe that because they were baptized, they will go to heaven. Or they believe that because they are a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Lutheran, or a Pentecostal, they will be saved. My friends, your religion can send you to hell. It doesn’t matter if you go to church five times a week, take the Lord’s Supper every week, listen to the greatest preachers, and put all your money in the offering plate every Sunday. If your confidence is in Christ plus your good works, or your church membership, or your giving, or your baptism, you will not be saved. Your confidence must be in Christ alone. You must put NO confidence in the flesh.
Conclusion
There are many things that are not a good indication of whether a person is saved.
- A Past “Conversion” Event. I want you to notice something in the text. When Paul gives the marks of a true Christian, he does not point to something they did in their past. He points to what they are doing right now! If you ask most people if they are Christians, they will say, “Of course I am! I went forward at an altar call when I was 10.” “Yes, of course! I gave my life to Christ in the high school youth group.” “Of course I’m a Christian. I raised my hand at a Billy Graham crusade when I was 22.” My friends, your past is worthless if it is not backed up by what you are doing today. In other words, I don’t care how many altar calls you raised your hand at, if you are not worshiping in the Spirit, glorying in Christ Jesus, and putting no confidence in the flesh today. Your life today is what is truly important. Does your life today validate the event you experienced in the past? There are some murderers who claim with absolute confidence that when they go to the electric chair they are going straight to heaven because they asked Jesus into their hearts when they were 6 years old! They are self-deceived. A person who has been converted will live like they have been converted.
- Living A Moral Life. There are many people who live by a high moral code. Many people in cults, or false religious systems, will live a moral life. There are many people in the world that are genuinely nice, caring people. People have many different reasons for living a moral life – afraid of God, desire to please a spouse or parents, or belief that they will earn heaven. But think of the Rich Young Ruler. He had lived a moral life. He said he had obeyed all of the commandments from the youth up, but he came to Jesus and said, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” He had sought to obey the commandments but lacked eternal life. Or think of the apostle Paul. He said that before he was converted, “as to the righteousness which is found in the Law, he was blameless.” Yet he was unconverted.
- Ability To Perform Miracles. Many charismatic preachers and evangelists claim to be able to do miracles. We assume that if anyone is going to be saved, surely it must be them! Yet Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” These people claimed to prophesy, cast out demons and perform miracles. Now, even if that were true, it doesn’t necessary mean they were saved. We have every reason to believe that Judas worked miracles along with the other apostles, yet Judas was damned in the end.
- Biblical Knowledge. Understanding biblical truth is no sure proof someone is saved. Sometimes we refer to this as “head knowledge.” Again, think of Judas. He was one of the 12 disciples who lived with Jesus and heard Him teach daily for 3 years. He had all the knowledge anyone could have had. Yet, he died and went to his own place because he was a son of perdition. Many people understand the facts about Jesus Christ. They understand that he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, worked legitimate miracles, died upon a cross for man’s sins, was buried, and then rose from the dead 3 days later. They understand that salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works. Yet, simply knowing those facts will not save anyone.
- Religious Rituals. The Pharisees performed all of the divinely commanded religious rituals. They observed all the fasts, and feasts, and festivals. They offered animal sacrifices. They went to the temple to worship. Yet, that didn’t save them. And you can pray five times a day on your prayer rug like a Muslim, and attend church every day, and be baptized, but none of that is proof you are saved.
- Professing Christ as Lord. I’m thinking of Matthew 7:21 where Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Multitudes of people make a profession of faith in Christ, but they are deluded. They profess Christ, but they do not possess Christ. They claim to be His, but they are not united to Him. They say they are Christians, but they have never been born of the Spirit. Making a verbal profession of faith is not a sure proof that a person is saved.
None of those things are a sure proof of salvation, but every one of them can be fake.
So, what is proof a person is a true Christian?
- He worships in the Spirit of God.
- He glories in Christ Jesus.
- He puts no confidence in the flesh.
Let me ask you – are you a true Christian? Let’s pray.
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