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Guest (Male): Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you tuned in today. At Connect with Skip, our passion is to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus through solid, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that's both clear and practical. Every message you hear is designed to strengthen your faith and help you live out God's truth wherever He's placed you.

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Skip Heitzig: I don't know if you have heard the name Billy Sunday or if you know much about who he was. Billy Sunday was a professional baseball player. He was a centerfielder for Chicago who got converted and became an evangelist. He was a fiery evangelist, so much so that when he would speak, people would remark on the joy and enthusiasm that emanated from Billy Sunday. He spoke a lot on the subject of joy.

One of the things he said is, "Don't look as if your Christianity hurts you." Isn't that good? There are too many people who say, "I'm a Christian." They wince their way through life. He also said, "The trouble with many people is that they have just enough religion to make them miserable." But my favorite quote by Billy Sunday on the subject of joy is this: "If you have no joy, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere."

My question to you this morning is, have you sprung a leak? Have you sprung a leak in joy? Has your joy sprung a leak? There are a number of things in life that can challenge anybody's joy. Circumstances can, people can, everyday problems can, overwork, sin, doubt, disease, chronic pain—those are just a few things that can challenge our joy. However, if those things steal your joy, you've got a problem.

And the biggest problem is Paul the Apostle. You say, "Skip, how do you figure that's our biggest problem?" Because if those things can steal your joy, you've got an apostle, you've got someone telling you to be joyful who has every reason not to be joyful. We already know from studying this book that Paul writes this from a jail cell. He does not know if the verdict's going to be life or death.

But before we even read this text, let me remind you of something else Paul wrote. This is 2 Corinthians 11, a paragraph that he wrote. Listen to Paul describing his Christian background up to this point. He said, "I have worked harder, I have been put in jail more often, I have been whipped times without number, faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes, three times I have been beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, once I spent a whole night and day adrift at sea."

"I have traveled many weary miles, I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then besides all of this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along."

So how are you doing? With this guy's background, and yet Paul the Apostle felt he was so anchored to Jesus Christ, so trusting in Jesus for his future, that he felt there was no way he could not have joy. He couldn't help but be joyful. And that has been a keynote in this letter up to this point. We've noted that. I want you to notice it one more time. Go back to chapter 1, verse 3, and just notice this.

This prisoner in jail, facing death possibly, verse 3 says, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy." Verse 18, chapter 1: "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." Chapter 2, verse 16: "Holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain."

"Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith—in other words, if this costs me my very life and I die in the process—I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me." Now let's skip ahead. Look at chapter 4, verse 4: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice."

If you were to go back and go through this letter and count how many times Paul uses joy or rejoice or rejoicing, you would count fourteen times in all, just in this letter. Now with that as our background, let's look at our verses this morning, Philippians chapter 3, and we're only going to look at three verses: 1, 2, and 3. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe."

"Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Immediately you notice that though he's talking about rejoicing, he uses some pretty strong language, very vivid warnings. Why? I think he wants to shock them a bit. I think he wants their attention. Their joy is being threatened, and he wants to keep them safe from the things and the people that are a challenge to their joy, that are possibly robbing them of joy.

Sometimes when you give instructions to people, they've heard them before, so they're not listening. And so you introduce an element of shock to draw them in so they get the point. Let me give you an example. There was a principal of a school, a junior high school, in Oregon. He had a problem. Some of the girls in that junior high were wearing lipstick. They would go in the girls' room and put lipstick on, but then they would press their lips up against the mirror, leaving dozens of lip prints in the restroom.

So the principal kindly asked them not to do that, instructing them why. "We have to clean it up every time you do that. Please don't do it." You think it helped? Not at all. They kept doing it. So he thought, "I have to get a little more creative." So he invited all the girls into the restroom and said, "I'm going to give you a demonstration. This is how hard it is to clean the mirror."

So he got all the girls in the room and said, "Now girls, when you put your lip prints up there, we have to clean it every day, and here's a custodian to show you that it's not that easy of a task." They were just sort of in their little cliques talking and not really paying attention and giggling. So he says, "I'm going to demonstrate." He tells the custodian to demonstrate cleaning the mirror in the bathroom. So the custodian gets the long-handled squeegee, dips it in the toilet, scrubs the marks off, and squeegees it off. Since that day, there have been no more lip prints on the mirrors in the girls' restroom.

He's a pretty smart guy, isn't he? That little shock value changed everything. Well, Paul does the same thing in these three verses, especially in verse 2. What I want to show you here are three defenses that will stop leaking joy. Three defenses that will help you against your joy leaking out. First of all, joy must be guarded. Look at verse 1: "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord."

Just because Paul says "finally" here doesn't mean he's done. He's got a whole half of a book left. So he's a preacher. When he says "finally," it doesn't mean finally. It means, "I have a whole second half of the book to go." So it doesn't mean he's lying, it just means that the word translated here should probably have been translated more appropriately as "furthermore," or "also," or "on another vein." That's what the word can mean. It's translated here "finally." He's going to use this word again in chapter 4, verse 8. When he does it that time, he is closing the letter down.

But here "finally" means "furthermore." So, furthermore, or also, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Those words from anybody else would sound very shallow. But when they come from the guy who experienced all that we found out that he experienced, they are very profound words. "Rejoice in the Lord." He's given them a command. In fact, it's what's called a present active indicative, which would be translated this way: "Go on constantly rejoicing," or "Be continually rejoicing."

When I discovered that's what that wording means, that tells me something about joy. Number one, it tells me that joy has much less to do with what's going on around you and much more to do with what's going on inside you. No matter what's going on around you, you can respond to that with joy. Second thing it tells me is that it's not an automatic response. This is something that is a learned response.

Guest (Male): When you give to this ministry, you're helping reach thousands of people every day with God's life-changing truth, encouraging them to know Him and grow in His word. And to thank you for your support this month, we'll send you "The Making of a Biblical Leader: A Practical Guide to Leading Others" by Robert L. Furrow. This practical guide, featuring chapters by Skip and Lenya Heitzig, offers biblical wisdom to help you lead yourself and others with Christ-like integrity. Your gift today helps equip believers around the world to walk in truth and share the hope of Jesus. Request your copy when you give $50 or more to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/offer. Now, here's more from Pastor Skip.

Skip Heitzig: It's a choice that you make to make joy your outlook. How do I know that? Because by the time we get to chapter 4, verse 11, Paul says this. Listen carefully: "I have learned in whatever state I am to be content." It's not automatic. I had to learn that. And I have learned it. So that is now my response.

Some of you will remember when David in the Old Testament, King David, was—before he was king—he was being chased by Saul, and he was very discouraged and very distraught, and he thought he was going to lose his life. We come to 1 Samuel chapter 30, and we are told, "Then David encouraged himself in the Lord." So that's Paul. Paul said, "I will rejoice," and he goes, "Rejoice in the Lord."

Joy was Paul's outlook because Jesus was Paul's uplook. Speaking of that, look at the phrase "Finally, my brethren." He doesn't say "rejoice" period. He says, "Rejoice in the Lord." Why is that important? Because he's not saying rejoice in your circumstances or be dependent on people for your joy. When you rejoice in the Lord, your joy is a byproduct of a relationship with God.

Perhaps one of the reasons you don't experience joy is because you're looking for joy in all the wrong places. You're looking for something or someone else to produce it for you and in you. The way I see it, joy is a spiritual reality check. Let's see. God is still on the throne. Check. I'm a child of God. Check. All things work together for those who love God. Check. All of that produces my response of, "Okay, then I'm going to be joyful."

So I'm not joyful because my circumstances are favorable. Oftentimes they're not favorable. And I'm not joyful because people are wonderful. Because are they always? No. Have you seen the way they drive around here? That's enough to take your joy away. I'm not joyful because I own things or sad because I don't own things. My joy is a byproduct of my relationship with the living, loving Lord of the universe. "Rejoice in the Lord." That qualifies the command.

Look at the next sentence of verse 1. Paul says, "For me to write the same things to you is not tedious or burdensome or irksome or troublesome. It's not tedious." Paul knows he's repeating himself. He's saying the same things to them. "For me to say the same things to you is not tedious." He knows he's repeating himself. Living Bible puts it this way: "I never get tired of telling you this, and it's good for you to hear it again and again."

What does he mean? Well, he's already talked about joy several times, and he's not done. And he knows that people listening or reading this letter could get a little tedious. You're reading Philippians, you're reading along, and he talks about your joy, and then a few verses later, he talks about joy, and a few verses later, rejoice. And after a while you're going, "He keeps saying that. It's getting tedious."

Hearing things repeated can get tedious for some people. When I was a kid, when I was in the bratty stage of being a kid, my parents would tell me things. They would repeat themselves, especially my father. And I had that juvenile, dopey response—rolling my eyes, and I wanted to finish. "I know, I can actually finish your paragraph, Dad. I know exactly what you're going to say. I knew the spiel." And listening to things over and over again got a bit tedious.

Well, I'm a parent now, obviously, and a grandparent, and I see things a little bit differently. I find myself repeating those things and history goes on. A good instructor repeats himself. Let me say that again. Paul says, "I've said this before, I'm saying it again. It's not tedious for me, and it's actually safe for you." Paul is the only one to do that.

Peter, when he writes his letter, says this in 2 Peter chapter 1: "I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it's right as long as I am in this tent—this body—to stir you up by reminding you." Educators have always known the value of repetition. Ask any fitness coach, any athletic coach. My brother's a golf pro, and he will tell you, "You need to make that swing and make those body motions over and over again." And he will have you repeat and repeat and repeat so that muscle memory gets locked in. You repeat it.

Even Aristotle, a couple thousand years ago, said, "It's frequent repetition that produces natural tendency." So he goes, "I've said it before, I'm saying it again. I don't mind saying it again. And by the way, for you, it's actually safe that I say it again and again." Why is it safe? It's safe because he knows that there are joy stealers out there. There are grace killers. There are legalistic people that attach themselves to every congregation.

Joy must be guarded. But number two, legalism must be avoided. And that's his thought when he gets to verse 2. He says, "Beware of dogs." He's not speaking to mailmen who are delivering your mail with a little sign "beware of dog." He's speaking about something different. "Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation."

Notice three times he uses the word "beware." Beware, beware, beware. These are warnings. Who's he warning them against? He's warning them against false teachers called Judaizers. Judaizers—let me explain who they are. I don't even know if you've ever heard the term Judaizers. I'm not speaking about Jewish people. Judaizers were people who mixed the grace of Jesus Christ with the law of the Old Testament. And they believed you needed both in order to be right with God.

So when Peter in Acts chapter 10 goes into a Gentile's house, Cornelius, and shares with him and eats a meal with him, the folks back in Jerusalem, the Judaizers—they were Jewish people, messianic Jews converted to Jesus Christ, trusted in Jesus, but thought, "Peter, you can't do that. You can't go into a Gentile's house and have a meal with him. They're like unclean people." They got all upset.

Why? Because they said, "You have to come through Judaism in order to get to Christ." Paul the Apostle had the same problem. He goes on his first missionary journey. He goes into the synagogues first—to the Jew first, also to the Greek. They kick him out of the synagogues. He preaches to the Greeks in the Areopagus, the Agora. In every city, Gentiles, non-Jews, hear and respond. Well, by the time this filters back to Jerusalem in Acts chapter 15, they're like beside themselves. They throw a fit.

Acts chapter 15, this is what they say in verse 1: "Unless you are circumcised and keep the laws of Moses, you cannot be saved." Those were Judaizers. They attached themselves to the church, and they said the Gentiles had to submit to Jewish rules, and they opposed Paul wherever he went. And so he warns them. By the way, if you're thinking, "Well, those days are long gone. We don't have people like that around today, do we?" Are you nuts?

There's always people who have a list of rules to keep, and you have to go through those rules to be right with God. And by the way, not much different than back then. There's been a movement. It's been popular for some time. It's called the Jewish Roots movement. That's what apologetic teachers will call it. Jewish Roots movement sounds beautiful. That is, let's get in touch with our Jewish roots and find out about the festivals and the prayer shawls and the Hebrew prayers and light the candles and wear the kippah and blow the shofar.

And that's cool. But what they do is a lot of times these are Gentiles, not Jewish people, who are going back to Jewish roots and believe that you have to be under the laws of the Torah in order to be right with God. And so it's dangerous. Paul says, "Beware, beware, beware." Why? Because he knows that being joyful means being careful.

And we learn a lot about the characteristics of these legalists just from looking at this verse. Notice first of all that legalists can be scavengers. That's why Paul says, "Beware of dogs." That's a term of contempt, by the way. You may want to try that. Go up to somebody and go, "You dog." No, don't do that, on second thought.

It was a term—it was like a cuss word. The origin of the term "dog" in Hebrew parlance goes back to Deuteronomy chapter 23. It referred to a male cult prostitute. In Deuteronomy 23, it says, "You shall not bring the wages of a harlot nor the price of a dog to the house of the Lord." Very stark language to describe a male cult prostitute.

Well, as time went on, did you know that orthodox Jews started using the term dog to refer to non-Jews, Gentiles? So Jews, orthodox Jews, would often refer to Gentiles as dogs. Interesting that Paul decided, "I'm going to throw that term back at them." These Judaizers who say that we have to keep the laws of Moses to be saved. "Beware of dogs." He's saying that's who they are.

Now you probably have figured out that the dogs he is referring to are not your groomed little pets that jump up on your lap and that you put those goofy sweaters on and all that stuff. These were vicious, ferocious scavengers who roamed the streets. They were dangerous, they ate filth, they bred disease, and just as a dog tears and devours, so do legalists tear and devour the grace of God. So Paul says, "Watch out for them." Legalists can be scavengers. Beware of dogs.

Second warning: "Beware of evil workers." That's part of their characteristic. Legalists can be evil while thinking that they're good. They think they're good, but Paul calls them evil workers. Okay, so what we have here is a play on words or a play on concept, you might say. Legalists believe that you get right with God by doing good works. "I'm going to go through a ceremony and a ritual and do good. I'm going to try hard and I'm going to earn my way." Paul says those are evil workers.

Guest (Male): We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, remember that as our thanks for your gift of support today, we'll send you "The Making of a Biblical Leader: A Practical Guide to Leading Others" by Robert L. Furrow, featuring chapters by Skip and Lenya Heitzig. This resource will encourage you to grow in faith and lead others with wisdom and grace. When you give, you help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people with the truth of God's word and the hope found in Jesus. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your resource when you do. See you next time.

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