Mount Isa Baptist Church

Paul’s Spiritual CV

Philippians 3:1–8

If salvation was by works, Paul had all the credentials, for he was the ideal Jew and legalist. Therefore, in vs.4 - vs.6, Paul pulls the proverbial rug out from under these Jewish false teachers who insisted that to be converted, you had to become a Jew.

In these verses, Paul gives his Spiritual CV.

Paul is adamant that if these Jews had reason to boast in their righteousness, he had more, and he goes on to outline seven reasons for that claim.

1st Reason: “circumcised on the eighth day” - Paul had pride of covenant status, for he was circumcised according to the Law. Many of these people were not born Jews, but they converted into Judaism and were circumcised as adults, but not Paul, he was circumcised on the eighth day. But that ritual did not save him.

2nd Reason: “He was born an Israelite” - They had to convert from another religion to become Jews, but not Paul; he was born a Jew. Paul had pride of race, for he came from the chosen physical seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But this did not save him.

3rd Reason: “He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin” - Although there were those who were born Jews just like Paul, they have no clue as to which tribe they belonged to, but Paul knows. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and out of that tribe came Israel's first King. Paul says he knows his ancestry, unlike the rest of them. Paul had pride of family. But this did not save Paul.

4th Reason: “a Hebrew of Hebrews” - Paul goes on to say some of you only speak Greek because of where you come from. You come from Asia Minor, Rome, from all those places, BUT not me! I speak Greek, BUT I also speak Hebrew. I can read the Scripture in its original language. Paul had pride of Patriotism. He was a true Jew who was born of Jewish parents, who spoke the Hebrew language and who kept the Jewish customs. But this did not save him.

5th Reason: “a Pharisee” - Paul had pride of religion or orthodoxy. The Pharisees were the most religious men who ever lived. Paul reminds them here that he was born and raised as a Pharisee. Raised as a strike group in Judaism, not just one of the locals, especially when it comes to their spirituality. But religion and orthodoxy did not save Paul.

6th Reason: “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church” - Paul had pride of conviction. He was a zealot for what he believed. Paul practised what he believed and preached. No one could say that Saul of Tarsus did not back up what he believed with his life. In fact, he believed so strongly that Christianity was a Jewish cult which was undermining true Judaism that he persecuted the church of Jesus Christ in the name of God. Although this group may have been known for their extraordinary zeal, Paul tells them their zeal falls way short of his zeal. But conviction could not save Paul.

7th Reason: “as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” - Paul had the pride of self-righteousness. As far as men could see, Paul kept the legal, ceremonial and moral aspects of the Mosaic Law as well as any man. When it comes to ticking off all the legalistic boxes, Paul says that he doesn't mealy succeed in ticking some of them, but he ticks every single one of them.

This morning, if we for a moment look at these qualifications which Paul puts together in his CV, we will notice that the first four he inherited, but the last three were down to his own hard work and effort. But in verse 7, Paul makes a shocking declaration: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

What Paul is saying and declaring here is that all the things he has accomplished, these seven attributes which we would POSSIBLY like on someone's CV, in fact, all add up to a big fat zero in God's sight. At the end of verse 8, we see these attributes being considered as rubbish. All the things Paul had placed confidence in, all the things he thought were bringing him merit before God, he put over into the loss column. God changed Paul’s thinking and values through Christ. The works of the flesh were very important to Paul until he was saved, and then he realised how insignificant they were in light of knowing Jesus Christ. They did not draw him closer to God but drew him farther away. He had to cast these works of the flesh off and trust wholly in Jesus Christ for salvation. Paul warns us, “Beware of counterfeit Christianity!”

This morning, maybe you need to examine your heart: True Christians put off all confidence in human merit and trust completely in Christ Jesus for salvation. Beware of any false substitutes this morning! Jeremiah 9: 23-24 says this: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD.’”

Don’t put our confidence in ourselves when it comes to our relationship with God, but once again in Christ alone. Watch out for those who would draw your attention away from Christ. Knowing Christ is the greatest thing of all.

Below is a letter from Pastor Morgan Slykerman with all the details. If you would like to contribute financially, you can do so in three ways:

1. Add your Donation to the Offering Bag in an envelope clearly marked for Cooktown Baptist Church Roofing Fund

2. You can deposit into the MIBC bank account electronically. Please state in the description what the offering is for so all donations are easily identifiable for their intended purpose (Bank account details are toward the bottom of this Newsletter).

3. You can give directly to Cooktown Baptist Church's own Bank Account. The details are at the end of the letter.

To our Brothers and Sisters in Christ

I am writing to make known a need we have for our fellowship. We are in a position where we need to replace our leaking roof and are presently $20,000 short of the funds required. We are reaching out to see if there are any congregations or individuals who may be able to assist us in meeting this shortfall of funds.

The fellowship of Cooktown Baptist Church is the Northernmost Baptist Church in Queensland, Australia. We are comprised of a small group of families who love Jesus and are actively engaged in sharing the gospel in our community. Many within the fellowship are teachers or other staff members of the local Christian School, as well as some retired folk who bless us with their wisdom and experience.

As a group of Christ followers, we are passionate about sharing the gospel, loving God, and loving others. We focus on being genuine in our individual walks with the Lord, and have seen new believers find a home amongst us where they feel valued and safe to grow in their faith as well. Our building is in a central location next to the only grocery store in town and is highly visible to the wider community. We see this as a good thing, as the witness of Jesus is shining boldly into the community.

However, we are currently faced with a challenging situation. We have been blessed with a turn of the 20th Century wooden building as our place of worship. However, maintaining a 120-year-old building comes with many challenges.

2 years ago, we worked together as a congregation and painted the inside of the church. This year in June, we painted the outside of the building. We are now facing a further significant challenge in that our roof also needs replacing. About 12 months ago, we patched lower portions of the roof that were leaking. However, the repairs were not completely successful. Water is still leaking in and causing damage to the building interior. The roof needs a complete replacement to ensure that it is both leak-proof and cyclone-proof.

This year, we have learnt that due to the roof pitch, not all roofing contractors have the capacity to do the job. We had a local contractor organised for the job, but it turns out the scope of the job is beyond his capacity. The materials were purchased at the time and are ready and waiting in the church yard. We have made enquiries with a number of roofing contractors but have so far been unsuccessful in locating a company either locally or further afield with capacity to complete the job.

The wet season is now fast approaching. This week, in faith, we laid hands on the roofing material and asked God to provide. At 0730 the next morning a Cairns based roofing company walked into the local hardware where I work as a bi-vocational job. Upon explaining the situation and on their inspection of the roof, they have returned with a quote and the ability to complete the work before Christmas, which importantly is before the start of our wet season. We rejoice in Gods provision of this contractor; however, their quote is substantially higher than the initial local quote. We now understand that due to the specialist nature of the roof, the installation costs will be charged accordingly.

Our small fellowship gives generously and faithfully; however, the quote for the roof installation is almost the same as our annual income. If others within the church community were able to support us at this time of need, we would be greatly appreciative.

Yours in Christ
Morgan Slykerman
Pastor
Cooktown Baptist Church

Bank Account Details

Cooktown Baptist Fellowship

BSB 014-303 (ANZ)

ACC 2954-26307