Rev. David Holwick ZL PHILIPPIANS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 19, 2017
Philippians 3:1-11
DOUBLE-ENTRY SALVATION
I. Keeping track of accounts.
A. The great-grandfather of QuickBooks.
In 1958 it was bought at an auction for around $125.
(I was three years old back then.)
This week the painting was auctioned again - for $450 million.
Pretty profitable!
I am referring, of course, to the painting "Salvator Mundi"
by Leonardo da Vinci.
What did da Vinci himself value?
In 1495 he wrote down a list of things he wanted to do.
He wanted to learn hydraulics so he could design a canal.
He wanted to do a pencil drawing of Milan.
He wanted to learn math from Luca Pacioli.
Today, Luca Pacioli is celebrated as the most famous accountant
who ever lived.
He popularized what is known as double-entry bookkeeping.
With this system, every transaction is recorded twice.
If you sell a widget for a dollar, you must account for both
the widget and the dollar.
This allows very complex transactions over long periods of time
to be kept in balance.
The BBC calls it one of the 50 things that have been most
important in shaping the modern economy.
If you use QuickBooks, you owe some gratitude to Mr. Pacioli.
#65975
B. Many today take a QuickBooks approach to spirituality.
1) They add up how nice they are, how decent, and subtract
some of their lesser qualities.
a) If the ledger comes out on the positive side, they get
to go to heaven.
2) Paul says God uses a different accounting method to reach
his decision.
a) With this method, many will end up looking like Enron.
b) How will you fare when you stand before Him?
II. Most religions take a ledger approach.
A. Ancient Egyptians, modern Muslims, and the karma of Hindus.
1) Everything is a balancing act.
a) The goal is to come out heavier with goodness so you
tip the scales in your favor.
b) This sounds fair, doesn't it?
c) Decent people (like us) are more deserving than bad,
evil people.
2) The downside is that you deserve all the credit.
a) The better you are, the more you can brag about your
spiritual status.
b) The Russian author Leo Tolstoy portrayed this.
He gained worldwide fame for his novels "War and Peace"
and "Anna Karenina".
But his spirituality was more important to him.
Tolstoy claimed his goal was to perfectly live the
Sermon on the Mount.
His Christian pacifism was to be a huge influence on
Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
But the reality of his spirituality was less shining.
Writer Paul Johnson says there is a persistent myth
today that Count Leo Tolstoy was a great Christian.
Some even consider him a saint.
But this is palpably false.
In fact, Tolstoy was a self-righteous egoist who felt
himself to be "God's older brother."
Tolstoy once arrogantly penned these words in his diary:
"I have not yet met a single man who was morally
as good as I. ...
I do not remember an instance in my life when I was
not attracted to what is good and was not ready
to sacrifice anything to it."
And yet Tolstoy was a serial adulterer and neglected
his family.
Tolstoy's diary goes on to say that he felt in his
soul "immeasurable grandeur."
He was baffled by the failure of other men to recognize
his qualities: "Why does nobody love me?
I am not a fool, not deformed, not a bad man, not an
ignoramus. It is incomprehensible."
#2675
c) Paul saw a lot of this attitude in his own culture.
B. It wasn't sour grapes on his part.
1) Under the ledger system, Paul came out looking pretty good.
a) In verses 5 and 6 he brags about his advantages.
1> He was circumcised at the correct time, 8 days.
2> He belonged to the chosen people, the Jews.
3> He even knew his tribe, the same one the first
king of Israel belonged to (and Saul's namesake).
4> They were not wishy-washy Greek-speaking Jews, but
kosher Hebrew-speaking ones.
b) He even belonged to the hyper-strict sect of the
Pharisees.
1> They pop up in the gospels a lot - they really
had it in for Jesus.)
2) Paul's commitment extended to actions.
a) He proved his devotion by beating up heretics like
Christians.
b) Under the Jewish law system, he was faultless.
c) Paul probably did not mean that he was 100% morally
perfect, but he was absolutely scrupulous in
keeping the letter of the law.
1> The spirit of the law was something different...
2> Paul never missed Sunday School, but something
was eating away at him.
C. If you had to get by on your status, what would you point to?
1) I am sure everyone here is proud to be an American.
a) It is common for us to think we are the greatest nation.
2) You may have a lot of education under your belt,
perhaps college or a masters.
3) Maybe you have been very successful and accumulated
considerable wealth.
a) Do any of these things make you acceptable in God's eyes?
III. It is all a pile of...
A. The real meaning of "garbage." 3:8
1) The Greek word is much stronger than that.
a) Some say the best translation is "manure."
b) I'll call it poop.
2) Note that this is what Paul is calling all his religious
accomplishments, not his failings.
a) The things he used to count on are less than worthless
to him now.
b) And the people who were promoting the old attitude in
the church?
1> In verse 2 he calls them "dogs."
2> Dogs were not pets in Jewish society but scavengers.
A> They ate the garbage in the streets.
B> It is not a nice thing to be called a dog.
B. Most people are following the poop system.
1) They put their confidence in their accomplishments.
2) Their religion is morality and ritual but not relationship.
a) Paul wants nothing to do with it.
b) As Pastor Mark Driscoll puts it, "Jesus plus anything
ruins everything."
c) There is only one thing Paul wanted.
IV. Paul wanted Jesus.
A. Right standing with God can only come from one source. 3:9
1) Only Jesus can provide it.
a) Religion and good works and morality cannot.
b) Only the death of Jesus on the cross can save us.
2) Only our faith can receive it.
a) Faith is saying I believe in what Jesus did for me.
b) Faith is saying I will seek him and obey him.
B. We don't need accounting, but a relationship.
1) Paul wanted to know Jesus intimately.
a) Nothing else compared to it.
b) Nothing else was worth getting in the way of it.
c) So Paul chucked all the benefits of his background.
2) He wanted to experience the supernatural power of Christ's
resurrection.
3) He even wanted to participate in the sufferings of Jesus.
a) Not that we can add to the cross, but we can appreciate
Jesus even more when we are persecuted for him.
b) Even death was not too great a price to pay.
4) In the end, he knew he would receive the ultimate gift.
a) Resurrection to a new eternal life with God.
V. Do you know Jesus?
A. The song "Knowing You" by Graham Kendrick portrays it well.
All I once held dear
Built my life upon
All this world reveres
And wars to own
All I once thought gain
I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now
Compared to this
Knowing You Jesus
Knowing You
There is no greater thing
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love You Lord
B. Don't let religion get in the way.
1) Maybe some of you have missed out on the great truth here.
a) You're a religious person, a good person, a moral person.
b) You go to church, but you've never put your trust in
Jesus Christ.
c) We think if your bad works are a minimum and your good
works outnumber them then you will make it.
d) To be good enough to get to God, you'd have to be as
good as God.
2) Maybe you've been like Paul, trusting rituals.
a) You were baptized as a kid.
1> Never confuse the symbol with the substance.
2> That never builds a relationship with Christ.
b) Rituals are symbols, not realities.
1> Religious heritage or church membership cannot save.
2> Only a relationship with Jesus works.
3) In all of the religious accomplishments Paul mentions
in verse 4, God is not mentioned once.
a) You can be religious and not know Christ.
b) Or you can know Christ and put your full confidence
in him alone.
c) Which will you do?
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2675 “Tolstoy Was No Christian,” by R. Kent Hughes in his commentary
“James: Faith That Works,” 1991, page 130.
#65975 “How Will You Fare In God's Accounting?” by Rev. David Holwick,
December 2, 2017, adapted from "Is this the most influential
work in the history of capitalism?" by Tim Harford, BBC World
Service, 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy, October 23,
2017; <http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41582244>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Full featured Documentation generator