Category Archives: Philippians

Christian Growth

Gallery June 27, 2004 David

Christian Growth
June 27, 2004	Sermon by DRW	Passage Philippians 1.1-11

Father,

I pray that you would allow us to see our growth in You. Be blessed as we come to understand better our identity, our growth, and our goal as Christians. Enable us this day to be changed by Your Spirit to reflect in a greater way Your Son that our lives may glorify, praise, and honor You. Teach us this day the wonderful truths contained in Your Word. Amen.

Would you please turn to Philippians 1.1-11.

Before we begin, let’s recall a little background to the passage we are about to study. By the way, when I first began at EFCC, this is the book the high school went through in our Wednesday Bible studies. Paul is writing to a church that owed its very existence to his ministry. It was his preaching that had opened the heart of Lydia to respond to the gospel. He had gone through flogging and imprisonment. His testimony had converted the jailer and his family. It was Paul who had strengthened and encouraged the young, new church. You can read about it in Acts 16.

And now Paul is is basically on death row. He is “in chains for Christ” as he says in v 13. He doesn’t know whether he will be released or executed.

As for the Philippians, they face the pressure of persecution. There are those among them who are distorting the gospel by their teaching, and leading the others away from a sound faith. There is some tension and hostility within the fellowship.

Paul’s eyes are wide open to the problems actual and potential. But for all that, this is an overwhelmingly positive letter. Why? Because it is full of God. In these first eleven verses that are thirteen direct references to God and Christ. It is saturated with Jesus, and full of excitement about what God is doing in the lives of those Christians in Philippi.

Paul is torn between the prospect of being executed and the prospect of being released from prison. For his own sake he would prefer to die and go to Christ. But for the sake of the church he knows that he still has work to do. He says in 25:

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.

How would you react if someone took you aside and asked you about how you are progressing and finding joy in the faith? If you are anything like me there would be a twinge of guilt. I would prefer that people didn’t ask how my progress in the faith was progressing. The reason is that my progress seems to be too little and taking way too much time. The effort I put in, at times, is so half-hearted. Steps forward seem to be accompanied by just as many steps back. As one writer quipped: “Three steps forward and two steps back.” Better to draw a discreet veil over the whole thing, I thought as I pondered my title for this morning: Christian Growth. It is too shaming. Too depressing.

But then I began to study this passage. And I made a tremendously encouraging rediscovery. You see, that twinge of guilt at the thought of what I consider my lack of progress is quite telling. It reveals who I think is primarily responsible for my progress in the faith. Me. It is basically down to me, so I should be feeling guilty. I was saved by grace. But the quality of my Christian life is up to me. Wrong. That is precisely what Paul preached against in the book of Galatians. Now of course there is a right balance to be struck here. I must not abdicate all responsibility for my growth as a Christian.

The chief characteristic of someone living their life the way God created them to live it, who have confidence in God’s work in their life will be the characteristic of joy.

Joy comes from being centered in God. It comes from the liberation of knowing that every aspect of our Christian lives is lived by grace. Not only have I been saved by grace, but I am being saved by grace and I will be saved by grace, through faith – that is, through depending on the person and work of Christ to accomplish what needs to be accomplished, rather than by depending on what I can do. The truth is, Christ is taking us to heaven. We are not making our own way there. What a relief. What freedom. If it is up to me, I’m in trouble. Thank God it is not.

Let’s see how that works out in these verses. We can see three aspects of what it is to be a Christian here. Verses 1-2 focus on THE CHRISTIAN’S IDENTITY; verses 3-8 on THE CHRISTIAN’S PROGRESS; verses 9-11 on THE CHRISTIAN’S GOAL.

First, THE CHRISTIAN’S IDENTITY (v 1-2)

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul calls himself and his co-worker Timothy “servants”. Why? Far from exalting himself, he is drawing attention to the fact that he is not a free agent. He is not in control of his own life. It is not up to Paul what he does. It is up to Christ. Christ calls the shots. And what was true for Paul and Timothy was true also for the Philippians and it is true for every Christian. As Christians, like Paul, we are servants of the Lord of Lords. He deploys us. He commands. We are not our own.

Then not only are we servants of Christ Jesus, we are also “saints in Christ Jesus”. Paul certainly recognizes the particular leadership role of some of the Philippian Christians. There are the overseers and the deacons. Appropriate leadership structures are needed in any church. But the significance of those leaders does not lie in such roles. It lies in their relationship to God through Christ, as with everybody else. They are all “saints”. They have all been chosen and set apart by God to belong to him. They have been rescued from a life of rebellion and now they are the possession of Christ Jesus. They are holy. They are sanctified.

It is vital for us to grasp this. It is right that as Christians we struggle for holiness of living. But we must understand where we are starting from. It is not that holiness is an unattainable goal on the far horizon that seems to move farther and farther away the more we move towards it.

Holiness is something that we have been given in Christ. We have been taken into his possession. So it is not primarily in order to be holy that we should live lives of holiness. It is because we are holy. We are saints.

1.27 : “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” That is, live in the light of what Jesus has already done for you. Not to prove your worth or to earn your keep. But because of who you are, and what Jesus has made you. A saint.

A Christian is a servant of Christ. A Christian is a saint in Christ. A Christian is a sibling with Christ. A Christian is a subject of Christ.

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father… ” The Christian belongs in the family of God not only in the sense that all mankind is the creation of God and dependent on him. This is much more personal, much more intimate. The miracle of grace is this: that God is our Father as he is the Father of Jesus. By grace we are adopted into the nuclear family of God our Father, our “Abba”, our Dad. And in this sense Jesus is our brother.

It is not just that he shares our humanity (which he does, totally). It is that he has brought us into the inner circle of his relationship with the Father. We have open access to the Father through the Son. We share his Sonship. We are siblings with Jesus.

If that does not create a deep, inexhaustible, subterranean reservoir of joy in your life, then either you are not yet a Christian, or you have failed to grasp the immensity of the privilege that is yours. Jesus is your brother. Because you deserve it? No. No more than the fact that you are your parents child because you worked for it. God has done it for you.

Servant of Christ. Saint in Christ. Sibling with Christ. And subject of Christ. “Grace and peace to you from … the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not only are we on his staff, and in his possession, and in his family. We have a place in his kingdom.

Jesus is our King. He reigns at the right hand of God. There are no elections for him, and there is no legitimate or loyal opposition to his government, for he is eternally and rightfully King. He has supreme power. And he is in the process of returning not only for his people but to give the whole universe back to its rightful owner. No other authority has a claim on our lives that can override his claim. “Our citizenship” says Paul in 3.20, “is in heaven”. And the Lord Jesus Christ has power that enables him “to bring everything under his control.”

Such is our identity as Christians. Servants. Saints. Siblings. and Subjects. And we haven’t even got beyond the greeting yet! But that is OK because when we have begun to understand who we are as Christians, then the nature of Christian growth begins to fall into place. The notion of progress is put into a proper perspective.

The Christian has already been given everything in Christ. We have already been transformed by grace through faith. We are a new creation. And now God is growing us, like a master gardener. And that is what you can see in vv 3-8.

So secondly: THE CHRISTIAN’S PROGRESS (vv 3-8)

“I thank my God every time I remember you” Paul says in v 3. Why? Because it is the Lord who is responsible for the progress that they have made in their faith. He it was who brought them to faith. He it is who is nurturing them and caring for them, and ensuring that their faith develops.

He doesn’t say to them “Well done, you guys. I know it’s been hard but you’ve stuck at it. Great job! Pat yourselves on the back, and keep going.” He looks at them, sees their progress, and turns to God with gratitude in his heart for what God is doing among them.

Now of course that is encouraging for the Philippians. After all, he is telling them what he is praying. This is not just between him and God. He is making it public, because he wants them to draw strength from the fact that he can see God at work in their lives. But he leaves no room for pride. The credit goes to God and not them.

Perhaps we should be more alert to similar opportunities around us. What do you do if you see someone growing in faith? Do you do nothing? That is a missed opportunity. Do you tell them they are doing well? If you are not careful, that may encourage a misplaced pride. Do you give thanks to God and say nothing? Surely better, but still a missed opportunity. Or do you do what Paul is doing here, and give thanks to God, but tell them that you are praying for them?

When someone does that for us it can be a powerful spur. It helps us to see what progress we are making, and encourages us, and at the same time turns our minds towards God, and ensures that we give him the glory. Then we can have a growing heart without a growing head, swollen with pride.

Thanks to God is followed by joy in gospel partnership. Vv 4-5:

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…

Let’s not fail to notice the extent of Paul’s praying that is revealed here. Paul’s praying for his fellow Christians is not an occasional thought, an arrow prayer now and then. There are two “all’s” and an “always” just in v 4.

Paul is continually in prayer for those who are on his heart. And he rejoices in the fellowship that he shares with them. What is this fellowship? Not just a chat and a joke and cup of coffee. It is working with them in their common task of gospel ministry. This is what has brought me great joy over the years I have ministered here. There have been many faithful followers of Christ in fellowship with me in the ministry here over the years. I think of Eddie, Brian, Ben, to those you see here today, Christine, Cindy, and Erik. I can almost say that each one of you have played an integral part in the work of this church.

Such ministry is the work not just of some, but of the whole church. Paul singles no one out here. Evangelism is a task for all of us, not for specialists alone. It is a task undertaken not alone but together. It requires the whole range of gifts that are present in the church. And it rejoices Paul’s heart when he sees everybody pulling together consistently to further the cause of the gospel, as had been happening in Philippi right from the time when the first Philippians had become Christians. There is a strong bond of love between him and his brothers and sisters in Christ. V 8:

God can testify how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

But he goes on, v 6:

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Lest they miss the point, he spells it out in such a way that they cannot fail to get his meaning. The progress of the gospel among them, and the progress that they have been making in the faith, is not their work. It is God’s.

God began it. God is carrying it on. And for all the obstacles and hardships and detours that they may make, God will ensure that it gets finished. Because what he begins he finishes. He doesn’t forget. He doesn’t get distracted. He cannot be overcome by a higher power because there isn’t one. Paul knows that. No wonder then that he is confident. Not that there aren’t problems to be sorted out. That’s why he is writing to them. But the final outcome is not in doubt.

God’s grace wins through, and, as he says in v 7: “all of you share in God’s grace with me.”. There is no question then that they will reach the goal that God is leading them towards. That is a truth that needs to be engraved on that the heart of every Christian. It frees us from fear. It fills us with just the kind of assurance that God wants for us: an assurance based on confidence in him and his power to keep us safe in him to the end.

Our own goals for our lives are often very fragile and uncertain. It is as well to recognize that, so that we are not too devastated when they crumble before our eyes. But we need to know that God’s goals will be accomplished. Then we can have the freedom and boldness to follow Christ however risky the path looks, because we know that our lives are secure in his loving and powerful hands.

So let’s ask ourselves whether we share Paul’s attitudes in relation to his fellow believers and partners in the work of the gospel. What are his feelings towards them? They are these: thanks to God; joy in gospel partnership; confidence in good work; and affection through grace shared. These are my feelings toward each one of you too.

But what exactly is the good work that God is doing among them? What are God’s goals for our lives? Paul expands on that in the last three verses of this passage: vv 9-11.

So to my third and last heading: THE CHRISTIAN’S GOAL (vv 9-11)

V 9: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more…”

Paul doesn’t specify the object of this love. But love for God and love for others cannot in the end be separated. That is we worship God and fellowship with others. No doubt he wants to see both kinds of love grow. And it is to be abundant growth.

And love depends on an understanding of the truth. So Paul continues:

that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…

We grow in proportion as we know. This can be seen in the area of discipleship. Ignorance stunts growth. And knowledge of God comes through Christ.

Jesus said:

No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Knowledge of God is a gift of God. It comes through Jesus by revelation. Paul talks in 1Timothy 4.3 about Christians as “those who believe and know the truth.”

Truth is an essential ingredient in Christian experience. But with it must come the discernment to apply it to our lives. In Colossians 1.9 Paul says:

…we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Knowing God, knowing the truth, and knowing how to please God all belong together. So in Philemon v 6 Paul says:

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding [that is, knowledge] of every good thing we have in Christ.

We cannot begin to live lives that please God unless we have a knowledge of the blessings that are to be found in Jesus, and at the same time it is as we live for Christ – in this example by being active in sharing our faith – that our grasp on the blessings that Jesus brings gets tighter, and our understanding grows. This is through evangelism.

So Paul prays, too, for growth in holiness (v 10):

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

Purity is what you might call “inner holiness” – a profound Christ-centeredness of mind and heart. Blamelessness you could call “outer holiness”. It is the outworking in life and example of that inner quality of obedience to God’s will.

Then finally Paul prays that they will be …

…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

This is a picture of a full crop ready for harvest; effective service flowing from a loving, willing and mature obedience. And once again this is not something we can produce in ourselves apart from Jesus. It is the result of the work of Jesus. It is through him alone that such fruit can grow. This is ministry.

What is the harvest that Paul is looking towards? It is “the day of Christ” (v 10); the Second Coming; the Day of Judgement. And what is this harvest for? What is the purpose of it all? What is all this abundant growth in aid of? It is all “to the glory and praise of God” (v 11).

Paul’s praying always heads like an arrow for the glory of God. And there is nothing that glorifies God more than the spiritual growth of his people. Why? Because that growth is not in the end up to us. When it happens, we can take no credit for it. It is an answer to prayer. It is a work of grace in the lives of those who are servants of Christ, saints in Christ, siblings with Christ, and subjects of Christ. What a relief. What freedom.

So when we are challenged about our spiritual growth, let’s learn not to wince with guilt, but to rejoice. God is growing his people, as the master gardener.

Let’s with Paul be grateful to God for all he is doing amongst us and in us – rejoicing in our gospel partnership; full of affection for one another through the grace that we share; and confident that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus – to his glory and praise. Let us fulfill his purposes in our lives by trusting him to do this great work in us, as he has been doing, and going out and allowing him to work through us, as you have been doing.

Let’s pray:

Father, I pray for each person in this room. Grant us knowledge of Your Word that will transform us. Grant us knowledge of You that will transform others because of the work You have been doing in our lives. Let us live to glorify You, to bring others to praise and honor You as our lives are lived in praise and honor of You. Amen.

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New Testament, Philippians, Sermons

Pressing On!

Gallery March 17, 2004 David

Pressing On!
March 17, 2004	Sermon by DRW	Passage Philippians 3.10-4.1

I really like Boba. It is a milk tea with balls of tapioca in it. I remember giving Coach Brent, Coach Jackie, and Mr. McGee an opportunity to taste it a few years ago. They refused to take a drink. Most places that sell Boba don’t sell it before ten in the morning. I wanted one to drink, stopped in, and ask Joe if he could make me one. I told him that I really wanted one. He told me it would take ten to fifteen minutes. That seemed like quite a bit of time. So, I told Joe to forget about it and the wait wasn’t worth it.

Why did I change my mind? I really wanted one and then when I found out what it would cost, I didn’t think it was worth it. How often we say we want something. And then we find out how much it’ll cost – in terms of time, or trouble, or money or whatever. And suddenly it doesn’t seem worth it.

There is a verse in Philippians 3.10 that is wonderful. It presents us with a goal in life that is magnificent. Paul tells us the thing he most wanted in life: “I want to know Christ.”

And when you think how much he’d lost for knowing Christ, that is remarkable. Just think what it had cost Paul to be a Christian. Think what he was in Philippians 3.5: he’d been a respected Pharisee. He’d studied at the best Jewish theological college; he was a rising star; he was well-respected.

Then think of him now. He’s in prison because the Jews didn’t like what he said about Jesus. His old friends had disowned him. He’s on trial for his life. He’s no longer respected or liked or popular or comfortable. And all because he’s a Christian. And still he says, v10: “I want to know Christ.”

For most of us, I don’t know what it costs us to know Jesus as Lord. What it costs at home – trying to be a witness to parents or family and friends; trying to bring friends to know the Lord, with no guarantees that they’ll ultimately want to. I don’t know what it costs at school – what issues we’ve had to take a stand on, what isolation we’ve experienced, how we may have been disadvantaged or discriminated against. I don’t know what the public struggle with peer-pressure has cost you, or the private struggle with temptation. I don’t know what knowing Christ has cost you emotionally, mentally, physically, socially.

But I do know that if you’re a Christian, it has cost you. And that either you have faced, or sometime will face, the question: “s it worth it?”

And Paul must have known that that question would be in the minds of the Philippian Christians. In Philippians 1.27-30, Paul tells us:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then… I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you… For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

They knew what it was to be poorly received as Christians; to be argued against for what they said and how they lived; to be frightened by how negative the reaction could be. They knew what it was to wobble in their faith. To ask, “Is it really worth it?” And to help them, Paul lets them in on what kept him going.

Let’s return to Philippians 3.10:

“I want to know Christ,” he says, “And the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” [ie, I want to keep going whatever the cost – even if it is death.]

Well, what gets someone to that point of Christian maturity where they can say, ‘I want to know Christ, whatever it costs’? The answer lies in this morning’s passage: the person who says, “I want to know Christ whatever it costs,” is a person whose eyes are fixed on heaven, and on the cross.

1. Press on all the way to heaven (v12-16)

To people who were wobbling in their faith, Paul says, in verse 12-16:

“The way I keep going is this: I press on with my eyes fixed on heaven. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect. But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.”

He’s just been telling us what his goal in life is. Verse 10: to know Christ personally; to experience God’s power so that he can serve Christ as he should, and be the person Christ wants him to be; to be willing to go all the way in obedience – no half-measures or half-heartedness.

That was Paul’s goal. But he wasn’t claiming to have achieved it: “NOT that I have already attained all this, or have already been made perfect” (v12); “Brothers, I do NOT consider myself YET to have taken hold of it” (v13) Paul knew that that would be true only beyond the grave. So he says, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” So we can know Christ personally. But we can only know him imperfectly this side of heaven. We are going to experience what it is to be raised from the dead in a new resurrection body when we’ll be sin-free. But not yet, not this side of heaven.

And because that’s the way things are, Paul says “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (v12), and “I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus” (v14). [And by the way he doesn’t mean he has to earn his place in heaven. He’s just using an illustration to make the point that his eyes are on the finishing line.]

And our mistake as Christians is to forget the not yet. We forget that most of the benefits of knowing Christ come beyond this life. So we get dissatisfied, and feel like giving up, and ask, “Is it worth it?” And that’s the mistake Paul is out to correct.

So, for instance, we say (rightly) that the Christian life is a personal relationship with Jesus. But it’s a “long-distance” relationship with someone we can’t see. It’s indirect, praying and reading the Bible and living by trust. And Paul says, “Yes, but we haven’t got it all yet. One day we will be with him. We will see him. We won’t struggle with doubt any more. But that’s future, not yet.

Or take the struggle of witnessing for the Lord. The lack of interest or negative reactions to invitations keep us from telling people about Jesus. When heaven comes, this struggle will end, as well. But that’s future, not yet.

Or take the struggle of personal holiness. The sinful nature doesn’t get any less sinful as the Christian life goes on. The strength and frequency of many temptations remains the same. They’re quite a bit like the Energizer Bunny. They just keep coming and coming and coming. But, says Paul, we haven’t got it all yet. But we will. We will have resurrection bodies in which we are perfectly sin-free. No more letting the Lord down. No more shame-faced confession, over and over again. No more despairing with ourselves and giving up. That struggle will also end. But that’s also future, not yet.

Paul is saying: don’t calculate the” worthwhile-ness” of the Christian life purely on the present. No-one in their right minds would be a Christian purely on the strength of the difference it makes in the present. Because the difference it makes in the present is that it makes it harder. It gives you struggles and problems you didn’t have as a non-Christian. It’s like that quote about marriage: “A wife is a great help to a man in all the problems he’d never have had as a bachelor.” Well likewise, knowing Christ creates new problems in the here and now. And no-one would be a Christian purely on the difference it makes to the here and now. At least, that’s what Paul says elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 15. Where he says: if Christ wasn’t really raised from the dead, nor will we be. And if that’s the case, there’s no life after death; the here-and-now is all there is. And then he says this. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor 15.19). But there is a heaven. It’s real. And Paul says in verses 13 and 14:

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.

So he forgets what’s behind. He doesn’t dwell on what he’s lost. Position, popularity, freedom, comfort. Why dwell on the state of your prison cell when Jesus has said, “In my Father’s house are any rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14.1-3)? He doesn’t dwell on the cost because it looks very small against the certainty of heaven. And nor should we. The Lord never trivializes the cost. Jesus knows from experience how real it is. But he calls us to get it into perspective.

Nor does Paul dwell on his regrets. Remember verse 6: he had more than most to regret. He persecuted Christians to death in his non-Christian existence. He had blood on his hands. But he’s a forgiven man. And Paul knows that if God has forgiven the past, he can put it behind himself, too. And so can we.

Maybe some of us need to hear that, particularly. I can’t remember how many times I have had people who became Christians later in life or who were Christians but squandered away their youth come up to me and tell me with tears in their eyes that they wished they had gotten right with God sooner. “I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time,” they tell me. People need to hear verse 13: from now on, “One thing: forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead, press on…heavenwards’

Or maybe there’s a particular thing in our past which dogs our footsteps. Something on our consciences for which we find it hard to accept forgiveness. Well, regrets are right and proper. But they can keep us from the other right and proper thing, which is to believe God’s forgiveness of our past – our pre-Christian past, and our past since coming to Christ. “Forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead, I press on…heavenwards,” said Paul. And so should we.

That’s what kept Paul going. Don’t calculate things as if the here and now was all there is, he says to us. The best is yet to come, so press on all the way to heaven.

Then verse 15:

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Doesn’t that overturn our natural ideas of what makes a mature Christian? We tend to think of ourselves as “nearly there” in the Christian life; almost “arrived’; bordering on first class holiness. We grow very easily satisfied with ourselves. We lose the urgency we had in our early Christian days for holiness and serving the Lord more. Perhaps we even look back and think we were a bit foolish when we first became Christians. But that isn’t maturity, according to Paul. That’s stagnation.

And I guess we tend to think that older Christians or Christian leaders are “nearly there’. They’ve pretty much arrived, we tell ourselves, putting them up on a pedestal. I remember thinking that leaders and pastors don’t struggle with pride or lust or envy or temper anymore because they have grown so much in Christ. I then became a pastor and realized what dangerous nonsense those pedestals are. And how dangerous it is as a leader of any sort to let people put you on a pedestal.

What a contrast with verse 15. The mature people are the ones who know they haven’t arrived; who are dissatisfied with themselves; who are still pressing on in holiness; who are more concerned, not less, to find time to read the Bible and pray; who as they get to know the Lord better detect more within themselves, not less, that’s imperfect and needs God to change it. And Paul says, literally, “If somehow you think differently, God will reveal this to you.” In other words, if you think differently about maturity, you need God to change your mind. Because the really mature are the ones who know how far they still have to go.

Then verse 16:

Only, let us live up to what we’ve already attained.

We’re all at different stages in the Christian life. Some know God better than others. Some know better what to aim for than others. That’s not the point. I’m to live up to how well I know the Lord, and you’re to live up to how well you know him. What matters is not so much where we’ve got to, or what we know, but whether we’re moving forwards.

Press on all the way to heaven.

The second point I see in this passage:

2. Beware here-and-now religion (v17-19)

Paul knew that there were other religious voices in Philippi apart from his own. And he knew they’d be attractive to hard-pressed Christians for one simple reason: the religion they offered was much easier. So he has to say, verse 17:

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

I take it that the pattern Paul gave is in Philippians 2.6-11. That passage is really the centrepiece of the letter – the jewel at the heart of Philippians. It’s the pattern of Jesus death and resurrection: costly obedience NOW, and glory LATER. That’s the pattern that Paul lived by. So he could rejoice in a prison cell facing death – because he knew the deal was: suffering now, glory later. Back in chapter 2, Timothy could happily work his socks off for the gospel (2.19-24) and Epaphroditus risk his life for it (2.25-30) – because they knew the deal was: suffering now, glory later. If the Lord Jesus had been obedient to the point of death, what right did they have to a more comfortable ride in the Christian life? “No servant is above his Master,” after all. (John 13.16, 15.20)

And Paul says (v17): follow those who live by that pattern: costly obedience now, because they’re sure of heaven to come. And he has to warn them against following others in verses 18 and 19:

For, as I have often told you before, and now say again with tears, there are many who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their “god” is their stomach and their “glory” is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

In other words, beware: there are plenty of religious people who live according to a different pattern – a pattern that makes for an easy life, here and now. He’s talking about people who had a religion, but a religion without the cross of Christ.

You see, the trouble with the cross is twofold. For one thing, it’s humbling. It tells us we’re not good enough for God, however good we think we are. It says our sin is so serious it deserves the judgment Jesus faced when he died for us. It says we need saving from judgment and can’t save ourselves. Very humbling. Which is why the message doesn’t go down well. The other thing is that the cross is demanding. If Jesus did that for me, how can I say to him, “I’ll follow you, but only up to this point’? If I follow a Lord who suffered for me, it will mean suffering for him.

So, if you want an easier religion, an easier message and an easier ride, just forget the cross.

And basically, these people in verses 18-19 did exactly that. They had a message about a God with whom you’d be OK if you did the right things. Nothing very humbling there. Nothing that ruffles human pride and says things like, “You’re a sinner and you need to be saved.”

We’re all natural suffering-avoiders. We’d love a more acceptable message that went down better. I remember being with a group of people and I was introduced as a pastor. Everything was great. People were having a great time. People were talking with me about Jesus. Everything was easy-going and jovial – until one guy said, “But you’re not saying that the Jews and Buddhists and Muslims are all wrong, are you?” That’s the crunch, isn’t it? Either I opt for a continuing easy, jovial time. Or I tell the truth. So I said, “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. According to the Christian message, they’re all wrong.” And the joviality disappeared. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. The cross goes down like a lead balloon.

Isn’t that a choice we all have to make on a day-by-day basis. We are having a great time. Then someone says something that goes against what we believe. Our choice is to continue as if nothing happened or to stop and stand up for Jesus. Tough choices.

We’re all natural suffering-avoiders. So we’re all attracted to easy religion: religion that amounts to just a few “add-on’s, but doesn’t actually demand anything of us. I can recall junior high students coming to Christ at camp, all excited, went home and told their parents. And the parents told them, “That’s lovely, dear. I just hope you’re not going to go religious on us.” In other words, don’t take it too seriously. A little bit of Bible reading, yes. But no more. Nothing demanding. Nothing life-involving.

We’re all attracted to easy religion: either other religions, or false versions of Christianity. Versions of Christianity that say you don’t have to speak for Christ, because everyone’s way to God will get them there in the end. That “P.C.” version makes for a quiet life. Or versions of Christianity that say God affirms us as we are, so we don’t actually use words like sin or call on people to repent of sin. Or versions of Christianity that say that God is out to fulfil us completely in the here and now, or to bless us materially or physically without fail in the here and now.

All very easy. All totally false. And if -end of v19 – our minds are on earthly things, if we have no eternal perspective, if in practice we too only really believe in the here and now, we will buy in to them. We will miss out the cross, because that’s what makes for trouble in the here and now.

Which brings us to the last point:

3. Only firm conviction about heaven will make us stand firm in the present (3:20-4:1)

In a way, this just brings us back where we began, pressing on to heaven: Verse 20:

But our citizenship is in heaven [ie, that’s where we belong, we’re just temporary residents down here]. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord dear friends!” (3.20-4.1)

Back in 1:27, Paul’s main command to them was: stand firm. And after another two chapters he sums up, 4:1 “There you have it. That is how you should stand firm. That’s the secret to standing firm.’

And the secret is to be convinced about heaven. That’s what this whole passage has been about – from verse 12 down to 4:1. We’ll only be able to accept costly obedience now if we’re convinced about heaven. We’ll only press on in personal holiness if we’re convinced about heaven. We’ll only witness to Christ in a way that could lose us friends if we’re convinced about heaven. We’ll only stand up for what is right when all others opt for what is wrong if we’re convinced about heaven. We simply can’t and won’t live the Christian life on “here and now” reasons and incentives. It just doesn’t work.

What gets you through the costliness of knowing Christ? What keeps you going as a Christian? Paul says: the prospect of heaven. The Christian life isn’t just life here and now. This is just the waiting room, there is heaven to follow.

Martin Luther was once asked how he lived the Christian life the way he did. He said this: “I live as if Jesus died for me yesterday, rose today, and is coming to take me to heaven tomorrow.” And I said Paul would have said “Amen” to that. Do you?

Scriptural Truths for Today's World