2026-09-11 Philippians 3 Wednesday Part 2

0:00Today is the day you have. Welcome to Today in the Word with Pastor Bob Larson of Calvary Chapel Caldwell. Pastor Bob will be with us in just a few minutes, but first we'd like to let you know that Calvary Chapel is located on the corner of 10th and Everett across from the library in downtown Caldwell. We have two Sunday morning services at 9.30 and 11.30. If you prefer Saturday nights, we have a Saturday night service at 7 p.m. We also have a midweek service Wednesday night at 7 p.m. You can watch Today in the Word on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. on ABC, Channel 6.1. Join us as we broadcast Calvary Chapel Caldwell's Sunday morning church services. Where Pastor Bob teaches you how to apply the truths in your Bible to your everyday experiences so that you might enjoy better life. This is episode three. For we are the circumcision who worship God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. So the Jews thought that because they had God's law, the Old Testament, and they were

1:00circumcised, they thought that meant they were automatically righteous in God's eyes, that they were Jews and they were circumcised, so they believed somehow that secured their salvation. Then one of the rabbis said, no circumcised man will ever see hell, right? And we know that Jesus didn't teach that. The Bible doesn't teach that. You can't just live on some religious tradition. I met some friends many years ago who started coming to Calvary Chapel. They were Lutherans and they told me that they got baptized when they were babies and they were told, look, because you're baptized, you're going to heaven. That's that. It doesn't matter how you live. And I said, so you can sell cocaine and you can drink whiskey and snort cocaine or whatever that is, snort cocaine and drink whiskey, whatever. You can do all that and you're still going to heaven because you got baptized. Oh, yeah, live however you want. Now the Bible doesn't teach that, right? And so they were trusting in a religious ritual to make them right with God. But Paul says the religious act of circumcision has no value if you're not living a right kind of life. Paul taught the Romans that true circumcision is of the heart, not of the flesh.

2:01In Romans 228, he said, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly nor is he circumcision that which is outwardly in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit. So the idea of circumcision is that they would be a spiritual person rather than a fleshly person, not to live after the flesh, right, to remove the flesh, to live in the spirit. And so the cutting off of the flesh was the idea that they were denying the fleshly life. So it was to the Jew very similar to baptism, right? And where baptism signifies something that's going on on the inside, dead to the flesh, walking in the spirit, it's an outward sign. You go under the water, it's a picture of the old selfish, carnal life being put to death, coming out of the water, walking in the newness of life filled with the spirit. And so Paul is saying that religious rituals and traditions mean nothing if you're not walking in the spirit, right? So just going to church. Now this is a problem because some people put their trust in these religious rituals

3:03and some people teach that they have this value that they don't have. Verse 3 says, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. So he's saying, don't have any confidence in your own works for salvation, right? Now, we know there are religions that teach that you're only going to go to heaven if you do a bunch of good works. The Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible teaches, we're going to heaven, we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and it's nothing of our own works, right? In fact, most of you know Ephesians 289 for by grace you've been saved through faith and that nod of yourselves. And in case you didn't know what that means, that it's not of yourself, it is a gift of God. And in case you don't know what a gift is, not of works, that's any one should boast, right? So he tells us God's plan for salvation is that it's a free gift. We don't do any works to earn it. It's a gift, right? And then he tells us, why does he do it that way? That it's a gift that none of us can boast. None of us are going to get to heaven and look over at somebody else and say, how did you get in here?

4:04I mean, they're going to say the same way you did by grace, right? You know, when I was younger, when I first got started going to church, I was playing golf with these guys and there were guys that I had partied with before I was a Christian. And one of them said to me, we're teeing off and they said, so you think you're going to have it, huh, Bob? And I said, yep. And they said, well, how do you think you're going to trick God into that? I'm like, I don't have to trick him at all. Jesus down the cross my sin and they're like, what are you smoking? And I was like, anyway, but you know, for me, I was very clear about it. When I read the Bible through a couple of times, like, oh, this is a gift. It's not something I earn or deserve, right? And that's what Paul's saying that when people try to tell you that if you don't do this and this and this, then you're not saved. Salvation is a gift of God, right? So he says in verse four, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I'm more so. In other words, Paul's saying, look, if anyone thinks they should get to heaven because of their good works, right? Through legalism, even though he said, look, it's not a thing.

5:07He said, look, I was raised in religion and legalism. And he's saying in verse four, you know, I should be more confident about that than all the rest of you because I was more religious than the rest of you. And then now he tells them, hey, if you think being a legalistic, religious person is how to get to heaven, see if you can top this. Then in verse five, he goes on to say circumcised on the eighth day. So in other words, he's saying on the eighth day, he started his religious legalistic path when he was eight days old, right? That he was a Jew born into that, you know, the Jewish nation got circumcised in the stock of Israel. So he's saying, I'm a descendant of Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel, the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. He said that blood's in my veins of the tribe of Benjamin. Remember, the first king of Israel came from the tribe of Benjamin. Who knows what his name was? Saul. And what was Paul's name before God changed it? Saul. I say, I mean, he's saying, look, I'm the king of religious dudes, right? He says, Hebrew of Hebrews. He's saying, my mom was a Hebrew, my dad was a Hebrew.

6:08I grew up speaking Hebrew and Aramaic. In other words, he's saying, look, I'm a pure, bred Hebrew Jew, right? Concerning the law of Pharisee. So the Pharisees were the religious leaders of that day. They were very strict legalists, right? And the Pharisees were strict legalists. And the Sadducees were the religious liberals. And that's why they were sadducees. You like what? That's just how you know the difference, right? So it was a Pharisee. So it was a religious leader, right? I mean, everybody thought he was super spiritual. He goes on to verse six, concerning zeal, persecuting the church. So he's like, look, I'm a Hebrew. I'm a Pharisee. I'm the most religious guy you could ever meet. And he goes on to say, in verse six, persecuting the church. So Paul said, I was the most zealous, legalistic, religious person who could meet. And the Christians, I persecuted them, right? And you know, those guys are saying, hey, you have to be circumcised to get to heaven. And he's saying, look, that doesn't hold a candle.

7:10What I did, I went to churches and arrested Christians and put them in prison, right? To be executed. That's the kind of religious, fanatic I was with Paul saying. And imagine that, right? Just that Paul was like, he said, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. So Paul said, I was a Pharisee. I lived a very moral life. I did all the things that the law said. And basically what he's saying is, I'm an expert in legalism and legalistic religion. And now Paul's saying, those are my credentials when I teach about legalistic religion versus a personal relationship with God. Now, most of you know that those are two very different things. A personal relationship with God where you pray and you have your own relationship with God, you read your Bible, you pray, he talks to you, right? He directs your life versus a religious person who goes to church and it just does what they're told from some dude with a weird hat or something. You know what I mean? Just whatever that it's not personal, it's just like a ritualistic thing.

8:11Verse 70 says, but one things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. So there was a time in Paul's life when he considered all those things versus four through six as gain, right? Being a Pharisee, I mean, that's kind of the, top of the heap of religious people and he's saying that was something to be proud about. But he's saying, even though these things were gained to me, I count them lost for Christ. So he's saying in his eyes, it's better to have a personal relationship with God than to be somebody important in the religious world. Verse 7, but what things were gained to me, these things I have counted lost for Christ. So he's saying, when I came to know the truth about Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, all these things that I considered to be gained, they just count lost. When he says count lost, it means damaging. In other words, he's saying that all those things that I thought were so important, being a Pharisee, being a Hebrew, all those things, he said they were actually doing me harm. He says, when he goes on to say that these things that I have counted lost for Christ, at this point, Paul had been a Christian for 30 years

9:14and now he has 30 years to contemplate which was better. Being a Pharisee, a religious legalistic person, a persecuting people, right? Or having a personal relationship with Jesus. And what he's saying is, now after 30 years, I feel the same that a personal relationship with Jesus is better. And I think it's good for all of us to think about what kind of life it produces to have a personal relationship with Jesus versus not. And you know, when I first became a Christian, I used to think, why couldn't I have been born into a really nice family? A mom and dad that stayed together for 50 years and that we were rich and had a house in Hawaii and I grew up playing on the beach, surfing. Why did I have to be born into a family who didn't go to church and party and had all these crazy things going on, right? But now I look at it and I look back and I think, you know what, I'm thankful for whatever's happened in my life because now I can weigh it out. I can say, okay, never go to church, never read the Bible. No, nothing about morality from the biblical perspective

10:16or read the Bible, pray, have a personal relationship with God and see what that produces. And here's the thing, half my life will not quite half, but a good portion of it. I never went to church and then probably now, the majority of the other half my life, going to church, reading the Bible, trying to do what's right in the biblical perspective and this is in my mind, the way I'm out and it's like, why would I ever go back, right? I mean, if somebody came up to me today with a suitcase full of money, $10 million, hey, we'll give you this money if you go back to being an idiot and you start snorting cocaine and doing drugs and go to parties and so many diseases you can get, right? I mean, how many girls you can meet, right? I wouldn't do it. And you're like, come on, Bob, you wouldn't do it. No, because it's pretty empty and it just doesn't feel the void. After you do those things, enough of them, you're just like, but when you're following Jesus, like helping people, loving people, blessing people, there's just something that seems inside of you. This is right, this is what's right.

11:18And then I see it in my family, my wife, my kids, right? And just such a different experience than I grew up in a non-Christian home and my dad was great, he's a fun guy, but we never went to church. And so there were a lot of problems that came from not knowing the Bible and not knowing that the Bible says there is absolute right and wrong. See, as a non-Christian family, we believed there was no absolute right and wrong. Whatever's right for you is for you and for you, it might not be right for me, but it might be right. We just believed whatever you wanted to believe. And that caused a lot of trouble. And I have told you before one time, one of my daughter-in-law's was talking to my dad here at church and my dad was telling her some story about me, story about me stealing a car or something. And then she came and asked me about it and I said, Dad, what, I didn't do that, what are you telling her? And he's like, yeah, you were rare and he's telling me. And I said, you know why, dad, you never took me to church. And then he was like, and then he never told any more stories after that. So I was like, yeah, when I was a kid, he was telling my kids, yeah, your dad, he'd cost when he was a little kid and we're sitting there at the family table having dinner.

12:20And I'd say, Dad, where do you think I learned to cost? We all look to each other. Ah, yeah. Everybody here knows, okay, onto the next topic, all right? But we're gonna stop there for about a time. Thank you for joining us for today in the Worth. We'd like to share with you a couple of things that are going on here at Calvary Chapel. Calvary Kids of Caldwell is currently enrolling infants to 12-year-olds. We are a licensed daycare offering infant and toddler care, as well as pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and after school programs. We provide Christian-based learning programs at affordable rates with flexible options to accommodate most work and pay schedules. We are located in downtown Caldwell and are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call to 08453. 965, three to request more information or visit us online at calvarycaldwell.com. Calvary Chapel Caldwell would like to invite you to our Saturday night service at 7 p.m. This is an alternative for those who cannot make it to our Sunday morning services. Like us on Facebook at Calvary Chapel Caldwell

13:22or check out our website at calvarycaldwell.com. You can watch today in the word on Sunday mornings at 10.30 a.m. on the CW channel 2.2. Join us as we broadcast Calvary Chapel Caldwell's Sunday Morning Church Services, where Pastor Bob teaches you how to apply the truth in your Bible to everyday experiences so that you might enjoy a better life. If you would like to listen to Pastor Bob's message today and its entirety, you can visit our YouTube page. Just search Calvary Chapel Caldwell and you can see all of the latest messages from Pastor Bob. Make sure to click the notification bell so you know when. We post new content. If you are not currently attending a church and are in the Caldwell area, we'd like to invite you to one of our services. We're located on the corner of 10th and Everett across the street from the library in downtown Caldwell. You can also visit us on the web at calvarycaldwell.com. If today in the word has ministered to you and you would like to support this radio outreach ministry, we encourage you to pray for us. You can also partner with us financially. Simply visit calvarycaldwell.com to make a donation. Thank you for joining us for today in the word.

14:23May the Lord bless you and may you have a great day. Today is the day you have made.