A False Walk is a False Faith

Converts who taught others that without circumcision, a person couldn't be saved.

Look at verse 2 in chapter 3. Very strong language. Paul says, beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the mutilation.

Now in verse 19, he lumps them in with those who revel in Christian liberty to the point that they don't even care about righteousness,

Christian libertarians. Both are doomed to destruction. One is legalistic and one is immoral.

The acts of, really the aspects of legalism and antinomianism that mark a false

Christian, two ends of a similar spectrum. A definition that is helpful in the terms of legalism and antinomianism describes two false teachings regarding the relationship between the law and the gospel.

Legalism is the insistence that a person is accepted by God on the basis of his law -keeping.

It teaches that we are declared righteous before God through our own observance of either

God's law or man -made rules and regulations. Antinomianism says that God does not require a believer to obey the moral law, like the

Ten Commandments. In its more extreme and perverted form, antinomianism permits immoral behavior based on the leniency of God's grace.

In his short essay on antinomianism, James Henley Thornwell made the following illustrative statement about these two errors into which

God's people are often prone to fall. Quote, the natural vibration of the mind is from the extreme of legalism to that of licentiousness, and nothing but the grace of God can fix it in the proper medium of divine truth.

The gospel, like its blessed master, is always crucified between two thieves, legalists of all sorts on the one hand and antinomians on the other.

The former robbing the Savior of the glory of his work and the other robbing him of the glory of his work within us.

In an article titled The Two Gospel Thieves, the author pointed this out. When our

Lord Jesus interacted with the lawyers, the scribes, and the Pharisees during his earthly ministry, he noted that they were those who were seeking to justify themselves before men on the basis of what they did.

They wanted the acknowledgment and praise of men. When Jesus gave the story of the

Pharisee and the tax collector, he noted that the Pharisee had convinced himself that God's grace had made him better than others and that he was therefore accepted by God on the basis of what he did or did not do.

The tax collector, on the other hand, put his head down, beat his breast, and cried out in heartfelt desperation,

Have mercy on me, a sinner. And Jesus explained that the tax collector went home justified rather than the

Pharisee. This account proves that the heart of legalism is self -trust for standing before God.

On the other hand, to say Jesus paid it all is unequivocally biblical.

To say Jesus did it all to merit all of our saving blessings is also gloriously biblical.

To say Jesus did it all so you don't have to do anything is, whether intentional or not, absolutely unbiblical.

Jesus does not repent and believe the gospel for me, though repentance and faith are a gift from God.

Jesus does not live the Christian life for me, though he supplies me all the grace for the

Christian life by virtue of my union with him in his death and resurrection. If we err in a theological imbalance between the truth claims and the commands of Jesus, we will fall into the ditch of antinomianism.

Legalism or lawlessness may be a sign of a false conversion.

In today's passage, Paul gives a frightening description of the destination of false

Christians versus the glorious destination of true followers of Christ so that you can make a genuine self -evaluation to which one you are.

Two destinations based on whether you are a false Christian. Eternal destruction in verses 17 through 19 or everlasting life in verses 20 through 21.

Two destinations based on whether you are a false Christian. Eternal destruction or everlasting life.

Paul says this in verse 17, brothers join in following my example and look for those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

Paul starts this section of contrasting the two destinations with the command. He begins by reminding the

Philippians who he is talking to. And although the word brothers is a masculine plural noun,

Paul intended this instruction for every believer. Chapter 1, verse 1,

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who were at Philippi with the overseers and deacons.

No doubt, Paul intended the male leadership to communicate this to everyone in the church, to all the believers, both male and female.

That's why we see this in various translations as brethren, for example, in the

King James or the NASB. The practice would have been for the elders to read a letter out loud to the congregation of believers.

This was for everyone in the church. This command is for all. The command is simple, join in following my example.

But it's an interesting construction. The verb in the Greek is actually omitted. There is a verb here that means to become.

It's an imperative command. The phrase join in following my example is actually a noun that literally says fellow imitator, fellow imitator.

The ESV translates this join in imitating me. And the reason this construction is interesting in verse 17 is because the word

Paul uses here is not the same noun imitator used in other passages.

In fact, this is a compound word meaning fellow imitator or joint imitator.

And it is not found anywhere else in the New Testament. This joint imitator term is only used once in the

New Testament. And it's here in this verse. We need to pay attention to this. The command has a unique implication.

Paul literally says, I command you, brethren, to become joint imitators with me.

And I believe there are several implications we can understand here. We see this same kind of language to imitate throughout much of Paul's writings in the

New Testament. First Thessalonians chapter 1 says you became imitators of us and of the

Lord as you received word and much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 4,

I urge you then be imitators of me. First Corinthians 11, be imitators of me as I am of Christ.

Ephesians 5, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. Hebrews 6, so that you may not be sluggish.

Be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Another implication to the specific nature of Paul's compound word, fellow imitator, is possibly the timing of the writing.

I gave those examples to you in order. First it was Thessalonians 51 AD, then

Corinthians 55, Ephesians in 61 AD, about a year before Philippians in 62,

Hebrews was 67 to 69 right after the second letter to Timothy and shortly before Paul's death.

It seems likely that Paul's exhortation to follow his example and become an imitator may have been more urgent as he was getting older and he was contemplating the finality of his time on earth.

Paul is talking about following his example of living. This is clear to see in his second command in the verse, to look for those who follow the example of Paul and his ministry partners.

This section of verse 17 is sometimes translated as keep your eyes on or observe those who are walking according to the example, as in the

ESV or the NASB translations. This is specific in a practical way of living.

This is a practical way of living as a human model, to follow in sharing and suffering, being bold to proclaim the gospel, a disciplined devotion and prayer life, and pursuing

Christ -likeness and godliness. One of the themes of the letter to the Philippians is joy, but I think one could argue a main theme is pursuing

Christ -likeness as well. The theme of joy is seen as a result of pursuing

Christ in the believer's life. Joy is not active in Paul's life because he's living the good life.

This is a prison letter. When a believer pursues Christ and proclaims the gospel, has a disciplined devotion and prayer life, and pursues godliness, it will result in joy, despite the suffering of whatever the situation is, despite the suffering of God -given trials.

And that's the example Paul has set. The contrast of earthly versus heavenly flows throughout this letter.

And you can try to trace this with me. I'll go a little bit quick here, but chapter one, verses 15 through 17, those with a pure motive of love versus those with a motive of selfish ambition.

Chapter one, verses 27 and 28, living together for the faith versus those who oppose the faith.

Chapter two, the first three verses, having affection, sympathy, and humility versus those with conceited and selfish ambition who only look out for their own interests.

Chapter two, verses 12 through 14, those who have a fearful reverence of God versus those who grumble and complain.

Chapter two, verses 20 through 22, being genuinely concerned for others versus those who only seek their own interest.

Chapter three, verses two and three, those who think they're justified by works versus those who are justified by God alone.

And then our passage this morning, professing Christians who revel in worldly liberties and don't pursue godliness versus true believers who pursue

Christlikeness and demonstrating godliness. There are two perspectives in life.

It's earthly or heavenly. Earthly versus heavenly. As we've seen from Paul's contrast in his logical flow of thought, what you believe affects how you live.

What you believe affects how you live. Another implication to the specific nature of Paul's compound word fellow imitator is possibly the urgency, the urgency of the writing, the urgency of the two destinations, destruction or paradise, mainly the focus on the destruction of those who don't follow after Paul's example.

There may be several reasons Paul uses a different word here for imitator, the time of his writing and the deep desire for the

Philippians to not succumb to false teaching. The terrible consequence of destruction and rejecting the example he has set, as well as the example his ministry partners have set.

Paul clearly has in mind Timothy and Epaphroditus. Of Timothy, he said in chapter two, verse 22, but you know

Timothy's proven worth. How as a son with a father, he has served with me in the gospel.

Of Epaphroditus, he said in chapter two, verse 25, Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need.

And Paul gives a second command, keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example they have in us.

It seems reasonable to conclude that the us is Paul and Timothy, since Paul includes

Timothy as the other source of the letter. Therefore, the examples the Philippians are to keep their eyes on would be everyone else

Paul refers to in his letter, both the ones he names and those that remain unnamed.

Remember Euodia and Syntyche, who Paul said have labored side by side with me.

We also have Clement and even some unnamed fellow workers who Paul says in chapter four, verse three, along with Euodia and Syntyche, their names are written in the book of life.

The word Paul uses translated as the term, keep your eyes is the word watch.

It's similar to the word Paul uses in chapter three, verse two, look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

The word in chapter three, verse two, is to perceive with the eye, to learn about something that is hazardous.

The word Paul uses here in verse 17 is to pay close attention to, as to look out for this.

It conveys the idea of taking notice of something. Paul gives the first command, become like a joint imitator with me, then he follows up with the command, pay close attention and take notice of those who are already doing that.

Those who walk according to the example you have in Timothy and I. The word for walk is to live, to live.

He's talking about the conduct of one's life or a certain way of behavior. And specifically, the way is the design or pattern they have witnessed in their brothers and sisters in the church who serve alongside

Paul and Timothy. Paul is giving them a very real archetype, serving as a model to follow.

We need to consider Paul's humility as a servant leader, following Christ's example. Paul's not talking about lording his authority over them.

Paul's example is in humility and pursuing Christ. To get an idea of this kind of example, we can look at the

Apostle Peter's explanation of the office of the elder in his first letter, 1

Peter chapter 5, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

In a similar way, Paul has humility in mind here in Philippians. Paul is giving the practical example of gospel proclamation, a disciplined devotion and prayer life, pursuing godliness as these will result in joy despite the suffering of God -given trials.

And he says this is for every believer to follow, not church leaders only, every believer.

What's key to our understanding this morning is what Paul challenged the Philippians to pursue.

He exhorted them to pursue Christ by following his own pattern or example. But he exhorted them to live to pursue

Christ -likeness, not Paul -likeness. His exhortation did not mean that the

Philippians should copy everything Paul did. He had just got done stating that he was not perfect.

Look at chapter 3, verse 12. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also

I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Paul's point was focus.

He said as he focused his life on being like Christ, they should do the same.

Keep in mind the availability of the gospel eyewitness accounts. The gospels that we have today would not have been in circulation.

Whatever accounts were on paper at that time would have been circulated from church to church, from one group of believers to the next.

And that means Paul could not simply tell the Philippians, just go read the New Testament to see what Christ is like. So he exhorted them to see what

Christ was like with living examples. For this reason, Paul pleaded with them to imitate him.

Paul was a hand -picked apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He pursued to live for Christ.

The apostle could tell other believers to follow his example. And that forces the question, as a professing believer, can you do the same?

Can you do the same? Think about it like this, ask yourself, what kind of follower would a new

Christian be if he or she imitated you? What kind of disciple would that person be if they followed your example?

Are you following Paul's example? What kind of disciple would you have? What kind of follower would a new

Christian become if he or she imitated your life in Christ? Paul continues, verse 18, for many, many walk of whom

I often told you and now tell you even crying as enemies of the cross.

Paul follows up his commands with a warning that they are to be on the lookout for false teachers.

The warning comes in a contrast by describing the opposite of the good examples he says to take note of in verse 17.

Unlike the good examples the Philippians have in role models like Paul and Timothy, Paul now gives the reason why it's important to observe and take notice of those who follow his example because there are many others who do not.

He says there's a large number, many, many. The word usually communicates a quantity pertaining to a great number of people.

This would include the Jewish converts who are strict legalists. And this would include the

Greek converts who paid no attention to obedience. Clearly there is a link in the context to the opponents of the faith.

In chapter 1, look at verses 15 through 17, Paul says some to be sure are preaching

Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill.

The latter do it out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim

Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives thinking to cause me affliction in my chains.

These opponents of Paul are marked as opponents of the very gospel they proclaim.

He says for the believers not to be frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation and that from God.

Philippians 128. Of course in the immediate context we know Paul is referring to the

Judaizers. We have verse 2 of chapter 3. The Judaizers who demand obedience to the right of circumcision for the attaining of God's grace or righteousness.

Paul says the opponents are many and he's heartbroken about it. The tragic thing for these people is not just that they're self -deceived, but they want to teach other people the error of their own ways.

They're proud about it. Not only are they misled, but they are also actively and intentionally trying to mislead others.

And Paul says he's had to warn the Philippians before. This is not the first time this issue has been brought up.

The word often signifies that there is a need of constant warning. A constant warning and reminder is needed.

Paul used similar language and gave an in -depth explanation of false teachers in his second letter to the

Corinthians. For such men are false prophets, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

Their end will correspond to their deed, 2 Corinthians 11. This is a spiritual matter.

This is a spiritual matter. Paul takes no satisfaction in saying this.

He feels devastated for them. This word translated crying conveys the idea of weeping and tears.

Paul is lamenting. This is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. He knows where they're headed, for destruction.

The word is the same used in Luke 19 .41. And as Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he cried over it.

This is the same word Luke used to describe Jesus on weeping and lamenting with tears over the imminent destruction of Jerusalem.

Paul is lamenting over the fact that these false converts have succumbed to false teachers. And now they live their lives as enemies of the cross of Christ, meaning they are enemies of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

They are enemies of the cross. They are enemies of the gospel. They are enemies of God. There's only one possible end for the enemies of God, destruction.

The implication is stunning for us, absolutely stunning. Those who have no desire for obedience and revel in the liberty and debauchery of sin are enemies of God, whether they claim to be followers of Christ or not.

Those who claim to be followers of Christ that add human obedience and self -righteousness to justification and salvation are enemies of God.

Look at verse 19, he says, whose end is destruction, whose God is their stomach, and glory is in their shame, who set their thoughts on earthly things.

Paul is referring to the professing Christians that teach another gospel.

They promote error and their gospel is twisted. We see two ends of the spectrum in the letter.

Those that preach the true gospel, but they abuse its grace and they enjoy every kind of liberty, reveling in sin, there is no pursuit of godliness.

Christian liberty to such an extreme that they don't obey the Lord's command to even pursue holiness.

The other end of the spectrum are the ones who preach a false gospel, admonishing everyone to adhere to the

Old Testament law, claiming that religious obedience produces righteousness. And Paul had called out the

Judaizers who promote obedience and justification in verse 2. They live for human obedience and self -righteousness.

Paul now moves on to call out those who live for their own appetites and not for the glory of God.

But notice, he lumps them together. Both are professing believers.

Both groups are identified as enemies of the cross. Both groups will face the same end.

The word Paul uses here is a word that means the destruction that one experiences both completely and in the process of ruin.

It literally conveys annihilation. Paul used the same word in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica when he spoke about the punishment of those who are enemies of the cross.

It's a warning of what to expect at Christ's return for those who do not truly know

Jesus. It is a very similar warning to what we see here in Philippians. In 2

Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul wrote this. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering, since indeed

God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the

Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know

God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the

Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our

Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our

God and the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the exact same language here in verse 19 of Philippians.

The Judaizers do not obey the gospel. The Christian libertarians do not obey the gospel.

Both groups do not know God. Paul lumps both groups as enemies of the cross.

He describes those that do not obey the gospel like this. For those who are self -seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

They live for themselves. As Paul says, their God is their belly. He's using the literal word for stomach with a powerful illustration.

The belly or stomach is the organ of nourishment. The NASB translates this verse, whose

God is their appetite. Whose God is their appetite, lowercase g. These professing

Christians live for themselves and they pursue whatever makes them happy without any thought to worshiping

God with their living. Not only that, but they're proud about it. They're proud about it.

Remember, the word for glory in the Greek can convey a kind of boasting. Paul is talking about honor as enhancement or recognition of status or performance.

Think about it like fame, recognition, or renown. They assign themselves honor and prestige by living for their own earthly pursuits.

The term Paul uses here for earthly is pertaining to the characteristics of earth as opposed to heaven.

We get that. Earthly versus heavenly. But Paul is using the word as it relates to worldly things with the implication of personal gratification.

These are self -deceived, professing Christians. They do not live their lives as an act of worship, as a response to God's grace in the gospel.

They are religious legalists who brag in their self -righteous obedience. Or they are religious reprobates who intentionally don't pursue godliness.

In both cases, they're proud of it and they encourage others to join in. God gives us some very helpful supporting scripture about this idea of earthly mindset.

In Romans chapter 8, Paul explains the problem. He says, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. And in Colossians chapter 3,

Paul gives the solution. He says, set your mind on things that are above. Not on the things that are here on earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you. Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetous, being coveting.

He says it's idolatry. The earthly mindset is living as if there is no

God despite claiming to know him. A false walk is a false faith.

The characteristics of the false convert. And to a degree, there is a consistent pattern to their walk.

These are professing Christians that show no spiritual progress because they suffer from worldly thinking.

They actually don't care. They have no desire for godliness. They are proud if they check any religious box of piety.

They love to criticize church leaders. They are extremely critical of the pastor and his teaching.

They do not have any form of a real prayer life. They are consistently not engaged in reading the word of God.

They are not involved in any regular discipleship. They have zero interest in serving in church or even attending church.

They may regularly find excuses why not to serve even if there is a genuine need.

They do not engage in evangelism of any kind. They have no compassion or mercy for the lost.

They are gossips who spend more time talking about God's people than lovingly serving God's people.

They know how to fit in and they know how to talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk.

They do not have true faith. They are destined for destruction.

A false walk is a false faith. Admittedly, this is a tough section, a strong exhortation, tough love.

Paul gets tough with people who live to appease their appetites because he loves them.

The kind of professing believers who believe so strongly in their self -righteous obedience that they have become slaves to pride.

The kind of believers so concerned with trivial earthly matters that during worship their minds wander about things that are not eternal.

And we may all struggle here. I'm talking about in one ear, out the other. You don't even care. You're not actually here to hear from God.

You just hear. The person that just doesn't care about eternal things, trivial earthly matters.

Or their secular vocation has become the God of their lives. I mean, think about that.

Are you so consumed with work that worship is inconvenient? I can't go to worship.

I have to work. Maybe it's the busyness of your social life outside of the body of believers.

So busy, there is no time for prayer. Too busy.

Paul says these kind of so -called believers are headed for destruction because all they can think about in this life is earthly things.

All they can think about is this life here on earth. Much of the earthly pursuit is meaningless if you don't have

Christ. I would say all. It's all meaningless if you're not living for Christ. Is too much of your time spent on efforts that will not endure in eternity?

Are you seeking earthly pleasures? Is your purpose to satisfy your physical desires?

The true follower of Christ will not seek their own purposes and desires. The true follower of Christ will follow

Christ. As Christians, we must set our minds on knowing

Christ, not on the empty, meaningless pursuits of this world.

But people love to pretend. We just love to pretend. I mean, think about it like when you were a young kid, maybe you liked to dress up as a princess if you're a lady or a nurse, or maybe the boys dressed up as firefighters or police officers.

You had it down, watched your favorite TV shows, but if you dressed up as a fireman and went to the firehouse or the fire station, said, here,

I'm here, I'm a fireman, they'd laugh you out of the building. I'm a police officer.

I dressed up as a kid. I'm playing house. Dressing up as that thing doesn't make you that thing.

And many of you are just playing church. You're playing church like you're playing house.

You come here and you listen to a message and you really don't care in your heart. But you're not going to fool the

Lord. God knows in your heart whether you really believe Him or not. So, if you're playing church, who are you trying to pretend for?

I hope it's not for anybody here. I mean, think about the reality of false

Christians and pretending to be something you're not. Think about it like this.

Let's just do a little test here. Turn to your neighbor, turn to whoever's sitting next to you, say, good morning, have a good day, it's fun.

The reality is that somebody that you just said good morning to may end up spending eternity in hell because they're playing church.

This is very real. Two destinations based on whether you are a false

Christian. Number one, eternal destruction. Eternal destruction in the lake of fire where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched, actually in the very presence of the

Lord Jesus Christ. Two destinations based on whether you're a false Christian. Eternal destruction in the lake of fire where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched in the presence of the

Lord Jesus Christ. And secondly, everlasting life in verses 20 and 21.

Look at verse 20. For our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a

Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul transitions in verse 20 to explain the positive implication of the reasons for the commands in verse 17.

He starts his thought with a coordinating conjunction that is used to express cause, clarification, or inference.

The word is commonly used as a marker of cause or reason and it can be an adversative translated but in some translations it is also widely used as a marker for clarification where it is also translated as for.

And that's what we see here in the legacy standard Bible, clarification. That's how

Paul is using the word in verse 20. For our citizenship is in heaven.

To explain or clarify the commands in verse 17 in light of the destruction of false believers, we shouldn't read the word but here as an adversative or a contrast if you have the

ESV. Think of it as a transition to explanation.

Paul is saying but you see our citizenship is in heaven. It literally reads our commonwealth is in heaven.

The word means commonwealth or state. It denotes a colony of foreigners or relocated veterans.

And in the historical context of the letter, it makes perfect sense. One commentator pointed this out in the historical introduction of the city.

Philippi, which is the city of Philip, received its name from Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the

Great. Attracted by the nearby gold mines, Philip conquered the region in the fourth century BC.

In the second century BC, Philippi became part of the Roman province of Macedonia.

The city existed in relative obscurity for the next two centuries until one of the most famous events in Roman history, if not the world, brought it recognition and expansion.

In 42 BC, the forces of Antony and Octavian defeated those of Brutus and Cassius at the

Battle of Philippi, thus ending the Roman Republic and ushering in the empire.

After the battle, Philippi became a Roman colony and many veterans of the Roman army settled there.

As a colony, Philippi had autonomy from the provincial government and the same rights granted to cities in Italy, including the use of Roman law, exemption from some taxes, and Roman citizenship for its residents.

Being a colony was also the source of much civic pride for the Philippians, who used

Latin as their official language, adopted Roman customs, and modeled their city government after that of Italian cities.

Talk about a group that was prone to worldly thinking. The language Paul is using here is a strong exhortation that cut right to the heart of the

Philippians. He is calling them out. Paul is warning them about the extreme dangers of worldly thinking and being swept away by false teaching, adopting a false sense of security by accepting a false version of the gospel that is revealed by a false faith, by a false walk.

This is a strong reminder to live for Christ and stop playing church. Paul is saying true believers live like true believers and they make up a colony that is waiting for the return of Christ.

A believer's home is not on earth. It is in heaven, from paradise, from heaven, the dwelling place of God Almighty.

Believers eagerly await one who rescues, a deliverer, a savior, the

Christ, exclusive to only one person in all of human history,

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, the Messiah, The historical context of Rome is that citizens of a

Roman colony were expected to promote the interests of Rome. It was the duty of a

Roman citizen to maintain the dignity of the city. If that's true of an earthly citizen, then a citizen of heaven should want to promote heaven's interests.

Promoting heaven's interests on earth is promoting God's interest to live in the will of God to lead lives worthy of heavenly citizenship.

For many Christians today, they have failed to transfer their citizenship to heaven.

Many, many so -called Christians are enamored with seeking earthly pleasures and rewards instead of heavenly ones.

The Apostle Paul exhorted the Philippian believers to remember that they are citizens of heaven by living a pursuit of Christlikeness, to live a life that resembles where the

Lord Jesus Christ lives. Have you transferred your citizenship from earth to heaven, or do you live to gain prestige and self -satisfaction?

Are you promoting heaven's interests today? The Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by His working through which

He is able to even subject all things to Himself. Verse 21, the

Puritan commentators noted this on verse 21, not only shall He come as our

Savior but also as our Glorifier, not only to make the body like His own but to subdue all things, even death itself, as well as Satan and sin.

He gave a sample of the coming transfiguration on the mount, not a change of identity but of fashion or form.

Our spiritual resurrection now is the pledge of our bodily resurrection to glory hereafter.

As Christ's glorified body was essentially identical with His body of humiliation, so our resurrection bodies as believers, since they shall be like His, shall be identical essentially with our present bodies and yet spiritual bodies.

Our hope is that Christ, by His rising from the dead, hath obtained the power and is become the pattern of our resurrection.

In verse 20, Paul made it clear that believers eagerly wait for the Christ. In verse 21, he explains what we are waiting for, the transformation, where Jesus will change us into His image.

The word Paul uses here to change the form of something. Jesus will change our humble state or condition of the physical to be like His resurrected body.

Paul says the Lord's body is glorious. He's talking about the condition of being bright or shining and radiance and brightness.

It's the idea of splendor. It is a word that describes humans involved in transcendent circumstances and also transcendent beings.

This is an angelic, divine glory, otherworldly, but also used especially to describe

God Himself. The concept has been used to denote the glory and majesty of God in general.

In the immediate context, Paul is exhorting the Philippians to live for Christ so that they may attain the resurrection.

Look at chapter 3, starting in verse 8, talking about the suffering, the loss of things.

He says, more than that, I count all these things to be lost because of the surpassing value of knowing

Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all these things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain

Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know

Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that which for also

I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself as laying hold of it yet, but one thing

I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Everything Paul is talking about leads to the resurrection and the return of Christ.

Paul says that believers are waiting for a sin -free, glorified, resurrected body.

Paul gives a wonderful description of the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15 when he writes this.

Paul says, the Scriptures tell us the first man, Adam, became a living person, but the last

Adam, that is Christ, is a life -giving spirit. What comes first is the natural body.

Then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

Earthly people are like the earthly man, and the heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret.

We will not all die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown.

For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we who are living will also be transformed.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die.

Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this

Scripture will be fulfilled. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

But thank God, He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the

Lord. For you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. That's a great supporting

Scripture from Paul. It helps us understand what he is referring to when he says believers will be transformed or transfigured into the image of Christ.

Our earthly bodies are subject to pain and suffering and the weakness of sin.

The resurrected, sin -free, glorified body will be immortal and imperishable.

And this leads us into the area of eschatology, the study of the last things or the end times.

As a church body, we hold to certain truths regarding the end times and the return of Christ.

We teach the personal bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We teach that the righteous judgments of God will be poured out on an unbelieving world, and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth.

We teach that this time of the Lord's reign will be a time characterized by harmony, justice, peace, and righteousness.

We teach that the resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment, they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire.

We teach that the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, wherein only righteousness dwells.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled his redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the

Father, that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever.

Paul says, our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a

Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.

By the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself, Paul says

Jesus has divine power that makes him capable of transformation just as he subjects all things to himself.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.

Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

But there is an order to this resurrection. Christ was raised as the first of the harvest, then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

After that, the end will come, when he will turn the kingdom over to God the

Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power, for Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the scriptures say God has put all things under his authority.

Of course, when it says all things are under his authority, that does not include God himself who gave Christ his authority.

Then when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority so that God, who gave his

Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything, everywhere.

The idea of the mortal versus the spiritual is that now on earth we have weak mortal bodies, the body of our humble state.

The idea of weak mortal bodies should not imply any negative attitude toward the human body. We are made in the image of God.

What it should imply is that the bodies we will receive when we are raised from the dead will be glorious, a glorious body like Christ's resurrected body.

The struggle with pain, over. Physical limitations, over. Disabilities, over.

The struggle with sin, over. As Christians, we have a wonderful hope in the resurrection.

This is what Paul's talking about, eagerly awaiting, means this is the most important thing.

You think about it, even when someone comes to visit you from out of town, you're excited about seeing them for the first time.

Go back to when you're a kid and you're thinking about Christmas morning the next day, and you can't sleep at night because you just want it so bad, the anticipation.

That pales in comparison to the eager waiting that we should have. When you haven't seen a friend or family member, maybe a brother, parent, child for a long period of time, and then you know that they're coming into town or you're going to go see them, just seeing their face, hearing their voice, looking into their eyes, and it's all you can think about.

You think about it when you go to bed, you think about it when you wake up, and the eager anticipation is just consuming.

To eagerly await the return of Christ, that's what Paul is talking about here. Two destinations based on whether you are a false

Christian, eternal destruction in 17 through 19, and everlasting life in verses 20 and 21.

Everlasting life in eternal glory and joy with the Lord Jesus in a glorified, sin -free body for true followers of Christ.

In this section of Scripture, Paul criticized not only the self -righteous Judaizers, but also self -indulgent

Christians. The kind of people who claim to be Christians, but don't live up to Christ's model of servanthood and self -sacrifice.

And I'm not talking about perfection. Paul says he had not obtained perfection. The argument is from greater to lesser.

If Paul, the great apostle of Christ, had not, then the other believers had not. Paul is not talking about people who try and fail.

He's talking about people who don't try at all, whether religious self -righteous hypocrites or the self -seeking reprobates.

They both live as if there's no God. Both groups do not know God. These kind of false

Christians satisfy their own desires before even thinking about the needs of others. The God -given freedom in Christ does not mean freedom to be selfish.

The gift of grace in the gospel means taking every opportunity to serve other people, both brothers and sisters in Christ, and the unbelieving

God has placed in your life. The gift of God's grace in the gospel means becoming the best

Christian you can be while you're still here on earth, because you're representing Christ to the unbelievers in your life, not perfection, intention.

There's a big difference, not perfection, but intention. I read this illustration on this to help me think about what it means to be a false

Christian. Throughout the Bible, one test for assurance of salvation that is given to Christians is the test of obedience.

First John 2 tells us how we can know if we are truly saved by God for sure or not. First John 2, verses 3 -6, we know that we have come to know

Him if we keep His commands. Whoever says, I know Him, but does not do what

He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys

His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him.

Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. The test of salvation is clear.

We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands. If you never obey

God, if you have no concern to do His will, if your life reflects nothing of Jesus' life, or if you consistently walk in darkness, there is no reason for assurance of faith.

But let us also be careful here not to create a doctrine out of one verse rather than placing that doctrine within the whole context of Scripture.

None of us obey God perfectly. None of us love Him as we should all the time. Therefore, obedience alone is not the only test to know whether or not your faith is genuine.

True Christians sin, but true Christians also have conviction of sin.

We confess and repent. In verses 17 -21,

Paul gives a frightening description of the destination of false Christians versus the glorious destination of true followers of Christ so that you can make a genuine self -evaluation of which one you are.

Eternal destruction in the lake of fire, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched in the presence of the

Lord Jesus Christ, or everlasting life in eternal glory and joy with the

Lord Jesus in a glorified, sin -free body for true followers of Christ.

Which one are you today? If you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, today is the day that you can turn to Him for mercy, and as Isaiah said,