“Citizens of Heaven”
[Philippians 3:17-4:1]
November 2, 2014 Second Reformed Church
Where is your citizenship?
Does
the place of your citizenship affect the way you live?
Paul
tells the Philippians – and us – it must.
Paul
explained in the preceding verses that the Christian life is a strenuous life –
straining and striving forward in the race of faith towards holiness – without
which no one will see God – by the Power of the Holy Spirit – leaving behind
the paralyzing guilt of past sins which have been forgiven, and the
accomplishments which cause us sinful pride and keep us from moving
forward. We are in a race – a race in
which we will surely get to the end – because Christ is there and is bringing
us to the end as those for whom He died.
Earlier
Paul gave us a list of his goals – the goals towards which we all – as
Christians – ought to be striving and straining: That we would know Jesus Christ as our Lord
and Savior in a very personal way – becoming united with Him in belief and
life. That we would live and long for
the full power of the Resurrection in our lives – that our spiritual
resurrection would be perfected and we would be like Him in all ways. That we would share in suffering for the sake
of Christ and His Gospel – submitting ourselves wholly to the Will of the
Father in whatever His Hand would have for us.
And that we would have as our sure hope the resurrection of our bodies –
made like unto Him – at His Coming – when we are received into the fullness of
His Kingdom in the restored earth.
This
morning’s text continues as Paul tells the Philippians – and us:
First,
we are to imitate those who imitate Christ.
Second,
we are not to imitate those who strive for Hell.
And
third, our citizenship is in Heaven.
And,
so Paul writes:
First,
we are to imitate those who imitate Christ.
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and
keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”
At first glance, this might seem
pretty arrogant: Paul tells them to imitate
Paul? Is Paul saying he is so special
and so above everyone else that we should all strive to be like him?
Now, remember, Paul has just told
them to imitate the humility of Christ – if Paul was telling them to imitate
Paul, he would be going against the very things he had already admonished them
and told them about himself.
Paul admits his continual struggle
with sin – as we all have as we strive towards holiness – as the Holy Spirit
works sanctification in us:
“For I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I
do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I
who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells
in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not
the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do
not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:15-20, ESV).
Paul was not giving a blanket
command to be like him – to imitate him.
Nor was he giving blanket command for us to follow his companions – or
you or me or whoever our spiritual hero might be – all of us continue to struggle
and sin until Christ returns.
No, Paul’s command to imitate him
and others who “walk according to the example you have in us” was aimed at
imitating each other as we see each other drawing closer in the knowledge of
Jesus, in living the life that we are given in our salvation – our spiritual
resurrection, in suffering for the sake of the Gospel in obedience to the
Father, and in striving forward in the hope of the physical resurrection at the
end of the age.
So, in the ways that we see Paul and
other Christians living the life of faith, striving towards holiness, seeking
to be obedient and pleasing to the Father – in those ways we should imitate
each other. That is why we need to be
with Christians who are more mature than us or who have different gifts and
struggles than us – then we can see in them the way that they imitate Christ
and seek to do the same.
There is nothing pleasing to God in
imitating Paul or any other Christian, per
se, but as we imitate the ways in which they have well imitated Christ, we
make gains in our sanctification – in our becoming holy – which is the race of
faith that we are engaged in.
When we see someone who is committed
to the Word of God, prayer, obedience, trust in the Providence of the Father,
and so forth – as Jesus is – we ought to imitate that, because it will help us
to grow into the men and women God has called us to be.
Yet, we must be careful as we look
to imitate people and be sure that they are truly following Christ and being
like Him. There are many false prophets
and confused people who think they are being Christ-like, but are not. There are people who want to trap us and
confuse us and do the very things that are against Christ. And that is where Paul moves to in this
passage:
Second, we are not to imitate those
who strive for Hell.
“For many, of whom I have often told
you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their
shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
Paul loved the Philippians very much
and was deeply concerned for them – that is an example we should follow – we
ought to love each other very much as brothers and sisters of Jesus and sons
and daughters of God – and we ought to be very concerned for each other as we
seek to be like Christ and run the race of faith that is set out before
us. We ought to long for the good of
each other and watch out for each other and help each other to be the men and
women God calls us to be – conformed and transformed into the Image of Christ. And as we see each other stray, we ought to
bring each other back.
Paul was deeply concerned that those
who had not received Christ would be taken far from Him and that those who had
believed would be deceived and stray away from Christ. And that should cause us tears – we ought to
weep when our brothers and sisters start imitating lies.
Paul says that these walk as enemies
of Christ.
Remember – Paul was willing to give
up everything, including his life to see the Gospel advance. The Gospel is the answer to how a person can
be right with God – we are all born sinners, dead in sin, enemies of God,
haters of the truth – we are unable to do anything to save ourselves – to make
us right with God – to escape the worthy judgment of God for our sin. But God came to earth in the Person of Jesus,
lived a perfect – sinless – holy life, died for the sins of all those who will
believe, and physically rose from the dead – ascending back to His throne –
victorious over sin and death and Hell, having paid the price for all those who
will believe to be made right with God.
Jesus Alone and no other – ever – is the Way for anyone to be made right
with God. To say otherwise is to be an
enemy of Christ.
Paul was likely referring to the
Judaizers, who we have talked about – those who say that Jesus is not enough
for salvation – salvation is Jesus plus our good works. We must – they say – help Jesus complete our
salvation. They are enemies of Christ.
Charles Finney – one of the great
revivalist preachers of the Second Great Awakening in the United States
preached that Jesus was a great example for us to follow, but not necessary for
our salvation. (http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/articles/charles_finney_vs_westminster_confession.shtml) Enemy of
Christ.
Roman Catholic doctrine says that
Jesus is not enough for salvation – we must do good works to help Jesus save
us. (http://carm.org/roman-catholic-view-justification)
Enemy of Christ. (I thank God that many
Roman Catholics do not believe what the church teaches!)
Joel Osteen said he is not sure if
Jesus is necessary for everyone’s salvation.
(http://www.av1611.org/osteen.html) Enemy of Christ.
Robert Schuller says that sin is
nothing more than low self-esteem, so we need better self-esteem, not Christ’s
Sacrifice. (http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/schuller/quotes-se.htm) Enemy of
Christ.
There are movements within our
denomination which say that the biblical writers were wrong and we need to just
love everybody and not worry about sin.
(Cf. http://thatreformedblog.com/2014/10/20/all-things-being-equal/) Enemy of Christ.
We could go on and on. Know that Paul was right in his day and
nothing has changed, as he wrote, “For the time is coming when people will not
endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV).
These false teachers and false
doctrines will end in destruction. God
is Holy and cannot tolerate sin. We
ought to grieve for those inside and outside of the church who believe these
enemies of Christ are teaching the Gospel.
They are not. Beware! Don’t fall into believing them. They are teaching against God and His Salvation
through Jesus Christ Alone.
Paul says that “their god is their
belly.” They are obsessed with earthly
rules and not with salvation. They try
to enslave people into keeping rules that were only for Ancient Israel – like
circumcision – or rules that were invented by other people which have no basis
in the Scripture. For example, I was
told, when I was in high school, if I listened to rock music, grew my hair
long, and studied philosophy, I would go to Hell. Those are lies of the devil created to entrap
us and leave us hopeless.
Paul says these people, “glory in
their shame.” They are prideful about
their money and earthly possessions and seeming wellbeing. Have you ever heard someone say that if you
have enough faith, you will be healthy and wealthy? They are working for their own ambition, not
for the progress of the Gospel. It is a
lie of the devil. God blesses from His Hand
as He wills and uses suffering to His Glory as well.
“Their minds are set on earthly
things.” Be happy. Be healthy.
Be wealthy. Love each other. Be helpful people. There is nothing wrong with any of those
things – but that is not the Gospel. Someone
who thinks or teaches that that is the Gospel is striving towards Hell.
Don’t imitate people who do not believe
and clearly present the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We who truly believe that salvation
is in Jesus Alone have our minds and lives set on a different hope.
And
third, our citizenship is in Heaven.
“But
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. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long
for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”
As opposed to those who are striving
towards Hell, “our citizenship is in heaven.”
What does that mean?
Well, I live in the United States,
so I am citizen of the United States.
But my friend Howard lives in the United States, and he is a citizen of
Scotland. So it can’t mean where we
live.
I
am a citizen of the United States, so all the rights and privileges of the
United States are mine, right. That is
closer to the meaning Paul is getting at.
The
city of Philippi, which was on the eastern border of Greece, was a commonwealth
of Rome, so the people who were residents of Philippi were considered citizens
of Rome – with all the rights and privileges of a Roman who lived in Rome.
So,
though we are living in the United States – or wherever else on earth, and
though our legal citizenship may be in the United States or Scotland, or
somewhere else, we also have citizenship in Heaven – not because we are there
now, but because Jesus is there and all the rights and privileges of a resident
of Heaven are given to those who believe through Jesus.
Just
as the Philippians had the rights and privileges of Rome because Rome owned Philippi,
we have the rights and privileges of Heaven because we have been bought – we
who believe are owned by Heaven.
How
is that?
Paul
explains – in writing against sexual sin – “Or do you not know that your body
is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not
your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1
Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV).
And
writing against the Judaizers, Paul wrote, “You were bought with a price; do
not become bondservants of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23, ESV).
Similar
to the way Philippi became part of Rome, through the Blood of Christ, with
which He purchased us, we are part of Heaven – we are owned by Christ – we are
citizens of Heaven.
And
just as the citizens of Philippi had to live in a way the pleased Rome, so we
are to live in a way that pleases Heaven – that is, God.
We
are to live in a way that is pleasing to God – pursuing faithfulness and
obedience and holiness as we run the race of faith. We are to seek God’s Pleasure in all things,
in thanksgiving for His making us His through Jesus.
We
are to be waiting in hope for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will come
from Heaven through the clouds, just as He ascended forty days after the
Resurrection. We are to be in expectant
hope that He is returning! We do not
know the day or the hour, but he is coming, so we should always be ready –
excited and hopeful and ready.
As
Jesus said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake.
For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a
journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his
work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you
do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly
and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark
13:32-37, ESV).
As
we wait for Him with hope, seeking to become more like Him, we hold onto the
promise that Jesus is the Lord of Heaven and earth – the Almighty God over all
of Creation – Who is returning and will cause all of we who believe – living
and dead – to be raised and changed into a glorious body like His Body.
Paul
told the Romans that this is the great hope of the Creation itself – that all
of the material Creation will be made right – restored and perfected – the
greatest sign of which will be our physical bodies becoming like the physical
body Jesus has now:
“For the creation waits with eager
longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the
creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole
creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And
not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies” (Romans 8:19-23, ESV).
Are you looking forward in joy for
that day when Jesus returns and all those you love who have believed will be
raised in their physical bodies to be welcomed with us as citizens of Heaven
into the Kingdom of God? Are you looking
forward to that day when Jesus – in His physical body – will be among us always
to worship and adore? Are you striving
forward in holiness for the joy of hearing Jesus open His mouth to say, “Well
done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will
set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, ESV).
Paul ends this section by telling
the Philippians that he loves them and longs for them – that they delighted him
and were like a crown to him, because they received the Gospel of Jesus Christ
preached by Paul. So, he tells them, as
his beloved, to stand firm in the faith.
No matter what happens. No matter what evil should come upon us. No matter what blessings we should
receive. No matter how far we are along
in the race of faith – pursuing holiness.
We must stand firm in the faith.
As we seek to imitate Jesus as we
see how others imitate Him well, we must stand firm in the faith. As we turn away from those who are striving
after Hell – desiring to confuse us and pull us down with them, we must stand
firm in the faith. And as we rejoice in
our citizenship in Heaven – as we rejoice in the fact that, through Christ, we
have the rights and privileges of Heaven, we must stand firm in the faith. As we look forward in great expectation for
the return of Christ and the restoration of the Creation, we must stand firm in
the faith.
If we are citizens of Heaven, we
will stand firm in the faith. We will
proclaim the Gospel, seek its advance, and strive to know Jesus, to know the
power of the Resurrection, to suffer for the Gospel, to obey the Father, and to
look forward to our resurrection of the body.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You that You
have given us examples of godly men and women who help us to see how we may
imitate Jesus all the better. We ask
that You would give us wisdom to see those who strive for Hell for who they are
and to reject their “alternative gospel.”
We thank You for purchasing us through the Blood of Jesus and we humble
ourselves before You that You would make us delightful in Your Sight. For it is Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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