A JOYFUL SAFEGUARD

Join your Calvary Chapel family today (Sunday, December 14, at 10:00 a.m.) in the main sanctuary or online through our website (www.calvaryinv.com

Facebook, and YouTube (Calvary Inverness) as we come together to exalt Jesus, build each other up in love, and be equipped to evangelize a lost world by continuing our study in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians (3:1-8).

Paul, after addressing the disunity that threatened his beloved Philippian church, began confronting what seemed to be a group of false teachers who claimed that becoming a Christian was more than simply placing their faith in Jesus Christ.

Like the cults today, these false teachers, instead of going outside the church to evangelize, entered the church secretly to proselytize new converts and pull them away from their secure position in Christ.

When Epaphroditus told Paul what was happening, he didn’t hold back. He said the false teachers were not genuine believers, comparing them to a wild pack of rabid dogs, whose every word and deed was evil. All this was an attempt to cause those who were not rooted and grounded in Christ to stumble.

Therefore, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul gave the church safeguards to help them distinguish truth from lies. Furthermore, if they were willing to listen to his words, they would continue to grow in their faith and become more confident that Christ is enough to secure their salvation.

Paul, aiming to explain why the church shouldn’t permit false teachers to influence believers, listed his extensive spiritual background and his accomplishments in God's name. He believed his external works were enough to declare him righteous, which was before he met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.

Now, the Apostle realized that everything he was and had done was insignificant compared to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He was in prison for his faith, yet he saw it as an honor to be persecuted for His name’s sake. In fact, he considered everything before his conversion worthless.

Nothing could compare to what Christ had done for him. He was filled with peace, joy, faith, and love that motivated him to fight for the church, defending them against the savage wolves that had been released from the pit of Hell. It was his joy to ward them off and see believers live a rich, full life in Christ.

My prayer is that our church, filled with love for God and each other, will continue to uphold the unity of the Spirit and walk humbly before our Lord and Savior so that our ministries stay impactful. Our community will see and recognize that we love God and one another with all our hearts, minds, and strength.

In His Unfailing Love,

Pastor