Message from David

Philippians 3 : 17 – 21

Previously Paul has written about his personal testimony regarding the journey of faith. His view is that the mature way of thinking is to understand that we each have some way to go before we reach the goal set before us. Although he admits that he has yet to attain the goal, we are to follow his example:

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3 : 13 – 14)

Philippians 3 : 17 – 21

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

Again in our verses for today Paul exhorts us to follow his example, and not just his but all those around us who are living in accordance with his instructions.

18:  For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Quite often Paul appears to be hard and uncompromising in his attitude to his correspondents but again and again we find that when faced with peoples’ sinfulness he is moved to tears because he is fully aware of the fate that awaits them. This is the great incentive for urgent evangelism, people need to know that Christ died for them!

19:  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

There have been debates as to who Paul is referring to here, but for us, these many centuries later, it really doesn’t make much difference, we only have to observe the world around us to understand the temptations that Paul is describing in these four statements that represent the life which is the absolute opposite of the Christian way that Paul proposes. Let us examine them in reverse order:

Their mind is on earthly things.

They are totally focused on things of this world, they live a materialistic life of self-indulgence and self-satisfaction with no regard to their Father God or his demands on their lives. They may claim to be spiritual but only within their own terms and ideas.

And their glory is in their shame.

They boast and are proud of the things that they should be ashamed of and propagate the idea that their way of life is normal and generally acceptable. Isaiah noticed these trends in his day:

20:  Doom to you who call evil good and good evil, Who put darkness in place of light and light in place of darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

21:  Doom to you who think you’re so smart, who hold such a high opinion of yourselves! (Isaiah 5 verse 20 – 21 (The Message)

Their god is their stomach

These people only focus on their own physical appetites and desires whether they be sexual, material or gastronomic. In fact the focus of their worship is inward self-admiring rather than outward looking towards God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

Their destiny is destruction.

Paul explains that the final outcome of this kind life can only end in eternal separation from God.

Paul’s warning is timeless in that we see the same temptations all around us and it is so easy to slip into the values of the world. In Romans 12 Paul urges us to be different:

. 1:  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.

2:  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12 : 1 & 2)

There is a subtle temptation to accept the idea that the church should compromise its Christian moral standards to those of the society around it therefore making it “more relevant.” From its inception the church of Jesus Christ has always been a counterculture, consistent in its mutual love and compassion for others, following the moral and ethical teaching of Jesus and bearing the good news that Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, offers a wonderful new life not just now but into eternity. People don’t like to be told that they are sinful and in error and therefore want to silence the message of the church or dilute it to the stage where it is ineffective.

20:  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21:  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Paul concludes by reminding us that we are not of this world but are citizens of the Kingdom of God awaiting the return of our Saviour, Jesus Christ in Glory so that we can receive our heavenly bodies and live with him throughout eternity.

This world is not my home
I’m just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue

The angels beckon me
From heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home
In this world anymore


Category: Sermons , The Bridge , Verse of the day