Preached Sunday, July 22, 2012 from Philippians 3:17-4:1
Theme: In this passage, Paul gives us four principles for faithfully ‘walking the walk’ of the Christian life.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
This morning, we come to some of the most passionate and personal words that the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians. He wrote these words to his beloved brothers and sisters while far away from them in a Roman prison cell. But when reading them, you almost feel that—if he could have spoken these words to them personally—he’d be leaning forward toward them, clasping their hands in his own, looking them in the eye, and saying them with deep earnestness and love in his voice. It’s as if so much of their spiritual well-being—and even the eternal joy they would experience in heaven—depended on them believing and fully doing what he is about to say to them.
Starting at Philippians 3:17, and then going on to the first verse of chapter four, we read these words:
Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved (Philippians 3:17-4:1).* * * * * * * * * *
Paul speaks here of the believer’s “walk”. One of Paul’s favorite analogies for the Christian life is as a “walk”; because calling it a “walk” takes things out of the realm of theory and places them into the realm of real-life practice—into the places of life where we put our feet. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul wrote, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called . . .” In Ephesians 5:8, he wrote, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light . . .” In Ephesians 5:15-16, he wrote, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Calling it a “walk” is the perfect way to describe how we are to put our Christian faith into sincere, real-life action through our daily conduct.
When we speak in this way of the Christian ‘walk’, it sometimes reminds me of the big blue and yellow IKEA store on the other side of town. There are two things that I really love about that place; and neither of them has to do with the countless isles and piles of stuff that the store sells. To be perfectly honest, I’m not all that interested in the merchandise. It’s good stuff—but it’s not why I love going there. The first thing I like about the store is the Swedish meatballs that they serve in the cafeteria. I’d be willing to put up with going through the whole rest of the store; just so long as I could have a plate of Swedish meatballs and gravy when it was all over. I literally measure my progress through an IKEA store by how close we’re getting to the meatballs! But the second thing I like is the long line of arrows on the floor. The arrows show you exactly where to walk in order to make your way through all the countless maze of departments within the store. You could get hopelessly lost without them. And I think that the reason I love all those arrows so much is because. if you keep true and faithful to them, and carefully walk where they tell you to walk, they will eventually lead you past all the merchandise to where the Swedish meatballs are located at the end.
Well; Paul is letting us know that God—in His great mercy to us—has not left us to figure out on our own how to live the Christian life. We would get lost if He did. Instead, He has as it were placed ‘arrows on the floor’ of life for us through His word. It’s our job to “walk” in accordance with the instructions He has laid out for us in the Scriptures. That’s how we are to put our Christian life into practical, every-day action—by a faithful ‘walk’ according to God’s instructions. They lead us to the ‘feast’ He has prepared for us at the end.
Now; Paul was very concerned that his brothers and sisters faithfully ‘walk the walk’ of the Christian life. In Philippians 3, he lets them know that there are some who would seek to pull them away from that faithful walk by diverting their attention away from the sufficiency of what Jesus did for them on the cross; and who would seek instead to get them to try to earn God’s favor through a conformity to religious rituals and rules and regulations. In Philippians 3:9, he set himself up as an example of confident trust in Christ; and showed them that he himself sought to “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”
But this didn’t mean that he was passive about putting his Christian life into action. Even though he was far from where he should be, he diligently sought to live out—in actual practice—the righteousness that God had given him by faith in Jesus. In verses 12-16, he wrote;
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind (v. 12-16).
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And this leads us to this morning’s passage. In it, Paul sets before us some specific principles about faithfully “walking the walk” of the Christian life.
Look with me at this passage; and you see that first principle is to . . .
1. PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO WHO’S ‘WALK’ YOU IMITATE (3:17).
Paul begins by saying, “Brethren, join in following my example . . .” Literally, the idea is that others were following his example; and he was encouraging the Philippians to do the same. In the New International Version, it’s translated, “Join with others in following my example, brothers . . .”
And this was not simply because Paul wanted to place himself up on a pedestal, and be thought of by everyone as the ultimate example of a godly walk. If you were to ask me, of course, I’d say that he truly was the greatest example of a Christian who ever lived! I believe that God gave Paul to us—in part—to set the example for us of the Christian life in action. But it wasn’t because of what Paul was, in and of himself, that he would call others to imitate his walk. It was because he—more than any other sinner who ever walked the earth—sought so diligently to follow the pattern of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, he put it this way; “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
It was as if he was saying, “Dear brothers and sisters; I am a sinner just like you. In fact, I was a greater sinner than anyone else could be. But even though I admit that I have not yet arrived to perfection in the way I live for the Lord Jesus, I am earnestly pressing on. I am seeking—with all my being—to follow the example that the Lord Jesus Christ set for us when He walked upon this earth. So; just like a little child would look up to the example of his or her godly father, or just like a youngster would look up to the example of a godly older brother, you look up to me and follow my example. I love you and want God’s best for you. And I am going in the direction you should go. I’m laying down a safe and reliable pattern for you to follow. So look carefully at my footsteps and follow me!” It’s as he said in Philippians 4:9, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
And Paul didn’t want his readers to follow just his example alone; but also the example of other godly men and women that God has placed in their lives. He went on to say, “. . . and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Jesus has set the initial pattern for us; and Paul followed that pattern faithfully. He set that pattern before Timothy also—who helped Paul write this letter, and who is a part of the “us” that Paul mentions. And other godly men and women who have gone before also faithfully followed the pattern of Paul and Timothy. And now we’re encouraged to follow their examples too.
Dear brothers and sisters; do you give careful thought to who’s example you imitate? Who are those examples? Where is their life heading? I believe that Paul is encouraging us to think carefully about the examples we follow in life—not simply because it would be nice to imitate an example if that’s the kind of thing we might like to do. Rather, he was urging us to do this because we—by nature—WILL imitate an example. It’s built into our nature to do so; and we cannot do otherwise. You might say that we cannot choose whether or not we will imitate the example of others; but we can choose which examples we will imitate. If we choose to reject godly examples, we will—by default—imitate ungodly ones.
So many people today choose to follow ungodly examples that are ‘powerful’, or ‘attractive’, or ‘trend-setting’ in terms of this world’s values; but whose lives are leading to destruction and loss. May God help us to choose our examples wisely; and imitate the walk of those who seek to imitate Christ.
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Now; one very good reason I believe that Paul wanted his fellow Christians in Philippi to think carefully about the examples they imitated was because the danger of being fooled into following the wrong example was very great. In verse 18, Paul wrote, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ . . .”
And this leads us to another principle about “walking the walk”; that is, that we must . . .
2. RECOGNIZE THAT SOME ‘WALK’ WHO ARE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS (3:18-19).
This was, apparently, something that Paul had warned the Philippians about before—not just once, but several times. It was because they could easily be fooled into thinking that someone was a worthy example of the Christian life when—in fact—they were not. Do you notice that the ones he was warning them about were “many” who “walk”? In other words, these phony ‘examples’ where making an outward profession of being those who followed Jesus. They apparently even had the outward appearance of “walking” on the path. You might say that they appeared to be “in the fold”. But Paul knew that—deep inside—they were the enemies of the cross of Jesus.
He doesn’t say that they presented themselves as enemies of “Christianity”. Nor does he even say that they appeared to be enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They may have even talked as if they loved the Lord Jesus and truly admired His ‘religion’. But they were being deceitful. To be specific, they were hostile to the idea that God would send His Son to die for us; and that we are made completely righteous in God’s sight by faith in God’s atonement for our sins on the cross. And I believe Paul was even thinking of some specific people when he wrote those words—and it saddened him so much that he actually wept as they were being penned.
Do you remember what the Lord Jesus once taught us about this? He said;
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
Paul goes on to mention some more of their characteristics—showing why they would be dangerous examples to follow. He said that they were those “whose end is destruction”. They looked like they were people who would lead you to eternal life; but they themselves are heading for eternal loss. They were like the “false apostles” that Paul wrote of in 2 Corinthians 11;
. . . deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
He says that they are those “whose god is their belly”. They are only concerned with what will benefit themselves and fill their stomaches. They are like the false teachers that Paul spoke of in 1 Timothy 6:5; “. . . men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain . . .” (1 Timothy 6:3-5). He also says that they are those “whose glory is in their shame”. When you get in deep into their hearts, they are ashamed of the things of God, and are proud of the things they ought to be ashamed of. They are like what Paul spoke of at the end of Romans 1; those “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). And finally, they are those “who set their mind on earthly things.” They show themselves to be the enemies of the cross by the fact that they focus their hopes on a bunch of religious rules and regulations in order to “earn” God’s favor by their own power. As Paul wrote in Colossians 2;
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—”Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh (Colossians 2:20-23).
Dear brothers and sisters; beware! There are people out there who look—for all the world—as if they are highly ‘spiritual’. They would want you to follow them. But if you look closely, you’ll find that they are the enemies of the cross of Jesus. They are hostile to the atonement Jesus made for us there; and to the idea that God accepts us as 100% righteous in His sight through our faith in Jesus’ work for us. And to follow these ‘enemies of the cross’ is to follow the path to destruction and loss!
Pay careful attention to who you imitate, dear brothers and sisters! Make sure that you imitate the walk of those who—like Paul—”count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus”!
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We don’t want to follow those whose “end”—as Paul said—is “destruction”; because that’s not where we’re going. We are citizens of a greater and more glorious kingdom. Ours is a destiny of eternal life. We’re on the path that leads to the banquet at the end.
And this leads us to a third principle about the Christian walk . . .
3. REMEMBER THAT YOUR ‘WALK’ MUST REFLECT YOUR TRUE CITIZENSHIP (3:20-21).
You see; Paul was writing this letter to believers who lived in the city of Philippi. And some time before this letter was written, that city had been given the great honor from the emperor of being declared a Roman colony. This meant that, even though the Philippians walked the streets of Philippi in far-off Macedonia, they were officially considered citizens of Rome—and had as much of the honor and rights of Roman citizenship as they would if they were walking the streets of the imperial city itself!
And just as a Philippians would walk in Philippi with the dignity of a Roman citizen, Paul urged his brothers and sisters to walk on earth with the dignity of a citizen of heaven! He wrote; “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Such citizenship should mean something with respect to the way we ‘walk the walk’!
Look at the details. Paul says that our “citizenship” is in heaven. The word itself can be translated “citizenship”; or it can be translated “politics”; or it can even be translated “conversation”—and perhaps all of those possibilities reflect the breadth of what Paul is saying. Wherever we may be living at any one time, our behavior is to be an expression of our true identity; and our true identity is bound up—not on earth—but in our heavenly homeland!
What’s more, we look toward our this homeland for our Lord. We are to live on this earth right now with an eager anticipation of the day when our true Lord and Master Jesus will return for us. And when He comes, He will transform these present “lowly” bodies of ours that are subject to pain, and temptation, and imperfection, and ultimately death—whether these bodies be transformed while we are alive on the earth at the time of His return, or resurrected from the grave—to be “conformed” to His glorious body! What a glorious body He had when He was raised from the dead! And these bodies of ours will be made to suitable to that same glorious homeland where our Savior is right now! We may wonder how such a thing can be done; but He will do it, as Paul said, “according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself”.
And this, dear brothers and sisters, is to impact the way we “walk the walk” in daily Christian living right now. We are to live consistently—here on earth—as people who hold citizenship in heaven and expect to be there soon. As the apostle Paul put it in Colossians 3:1-4;
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
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Now; there’s one more principle to our walk that Paul mentions. And it may seem at first like a contradiction. But Paul goes on to tell us:
4. MAKE SURE YOU ‘STAND FAST’ IN YOUR ‘WALK’ (4:1).
You see; this whole section that we’ve been studying is—really—an expansion of what Paul said way back in Philippians 1:27-30;
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me (v. 27-30).
The way they were to “walk”—if you want to put it this way—was by making sure that they were established, and stable, and ‘stood fast’ in a way that was worthy of the gospel. Even though they were threatened because of their faith in Jesus, or even though they may suffer for the gospel as Paul was suffering, they were not to let themselves be moved from their faithfulness. They were not to let themselves be knocked-off the path that God had laid out for them. They were to “stand fast”—immovably committed to their confidence in the sacrifice that Jesus made for them on the cross. And that’s why Paul closes this section with these words;
Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved (4:1).
Paul loved these dear believers deeply. And the thing that would bring him the greatest joy would be to see them in heaven—hearing Jesus say to them, “Well done!” That’s why he urged them to “stand fast” in their walk and never give up until the day of glory!
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Dear brothers and sisters; you and I are in that walk right now. It won’t be long before we will have reached our journey’s end. And so; let’s be diligent to ‘walk the walk’ in the way we should. Let’s follow the arrows that God has laid out for us in His word.
As Paul would tell us, let’s be careful to imitate the examples of those who truly imitate Christ and ‘walk the walk’ themselves. Let’s be on guard against those who would lead us astray from that walk. Let’s keep our focus on heaven—where our true homeland is—rather than on the things of earth. And when the pressures rise against us, let’s be sure to “stand fast” in our faith to the very end!