This document summarizes a sermon given on Philippians 3:9b about righteousness coming through faith in Christ rather than works of the law. It discusses faith being evidenced in invisible spiritual realities and provides examples from Hebrews 11 of people in the Bible who lived by faith like Abraham, Noah, Enoch and Sarah. Their faith was imperfect at times but God still credited it to them as righteousness. It also references a sermon or book about the gospel being found in the stars as God promised Abraham his descendants would be as numerous. The key point is that righteousness comes from God through faith in Christ.

1. PHILIPPIANS
CHAPTER 3
Verse 9
February 5, 2012
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
On Monday, April 23rd, as a project of this SS class, we will host a banquet to honor
waiters and waitresses at The South, 627 East Silas Brown, Jackson, MS 39201
Today we will be studying the righteousness of Christ which comes to us on the basis
of faith.
Philippians 3:9b
“not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is
through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”
Philippians 3:9b
FAITH:
Forsaking
All
I
Trust
Him
The Triumphs of Faith Hebrews 11:1
1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world,
faith is the “sense” that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.
The great theme of our time is naturalism, the belief that only what can be found and
measured in nature is “real.”
• Faith has its reasons.
• We aren’t talking about a “blind leap” of faith, but the reasons can’t be
measured in a laboratory, they have to be understood spiritually.
• Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying
that faith has its reasons.
• Its tests are not those of the physical senses.

2. “Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the
organ which enables people to see the invisible order.” (Bruce)
Of things hoped for . . . of things not seen:
• If you have the substance before you, if you can see it, what use is there for
faith?
• Faith is needed for what we can’t see and can’t touch.
• Faith gives understanding to the invisible world.
• Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason.
• We may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published,
and has impacted society more than any other book.
• But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God.
• God wants the element of faith involved.
• This is a belief beyond reason, but not in contradiction to reason.
Faith is the substance . . . the evidence:
• Faith is not a bare belief or intellectual understanding.
• It is a willingness to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to.
The Triumphs of Faith Hebrews 11:1-12
1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.”
(These great examples of godliness all had different circumstances and personalities,
but the patriarchs all had one thing in common – faith!)
Heb 11:3
3 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that
what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he
obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and
through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”
(The difference was that Abel’s sacrifice was made by faith and faith is not always
rewarded on earth).
Heb 11:5
5 “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT
FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his
being taken up he was pleasing to God.”
6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is and that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him”.
• God will reveal Himself to those with seeking hearts. Jeremiah 29:13
• 13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

3. Heb 11:7
7 “ By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence
prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the
world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
• (Prepared an ark: Real faith will always do something).
ABRAHAM
• From Adam to Abraham was about 2,000 years.
• From Abraham to the first coming of Jesus was about 2,000 years.
• From Jesus’ first coming until today has been about 2,000 years.
Heb 11:8
8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he
was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was
going.
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in
tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder
is God.”
• A resident alien or a sojourner is evident.
• The way they talk, the way they dress, their mannerisms, their entertainment;
their citizenship and their friends, all speak of their native home.
• If someone is the same in all these areas as the “natives,” they are no longer
Sojourners, aliens - they are permanent residents.
• Christians shouldn’t get “green cards” for planet earth!
Dwelt is the ancient Greek word paroikos, describing a “resident alien” - one who lives
somewhere, but doesn’t have permanent status there. (hotel earth)
By faith, Abraham obeyed: Abraham did step out in faith, going to a new place God
had promised him; but his faith was less than perfect.
This is seen by comparing Genesis 12:1-5 with Acts 7:2-4, where it is evident that
Abraham first went half way to the place God called him to go, and only eventually
obeyed completely.
• Yet now, thousands of years later, God does not “remember” the delayed
obedience, only the faith.
Heb 11:11
11 “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper
time of life, since she considered Him faithful Who had promised.”
• Sarah’s faith was not perfect.
• She first laughed in unbelief (Genesis 18:9-15) and then she learned to laugh in
faith (Genesis 21:6).

4. Genesis 21:6
6 “ Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with
me.’”
Because she judged Him (considered Him) faithful who had promised:
• Faith boils down to judging that God is faithful to and able to keep His promises.
• It was this faith that enabled Sarah to receive strength to conceive seed.
• God gave the strength, but Sarah had to receive it by faith.
Heb 11:12
12 “Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as
many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE
SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.” Hebrews 11:1-12
ABRAM AND THE STARS
Genesis 15
Genesis 15:1-6
1 “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not
fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.”
2 Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir
of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is
my heir.”
4 Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your
heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”
5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the
stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants
be.”
6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Genesis 15:1-6
The Gospel in the Stars by Joseph Augustus Seiss (1884)
Philippians 3:9b
“not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is
through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”
Philippians 3:9 b
God credited/reckoned the righteousness of Christ to our account based on faith.
Faith is the confident, continuous confession of total dependence on and trust in
Jesus Christ for the necessary requirements to enter God's kingdom.
Speaking of the “necessary requirements to enter God's kingdom”, who was able to
complete our recent assignment:
“In your opinion…?”