Philippians: Living as an Example of Christ

Text: Philippians 3:17-21

Theme: We can walk as one who is a "citizen of heaven" or as one who is "an enemy of the cross of Christ."

What kind of example are you to those around you? I was fortunate to grow up in a good family environment. My parents taught me and my brother the importance of doing good and being good examples. To sully one’s family name was disrespectful, and about the worst thing anyone could do. They believed that doing good and being an example would help us succeed in our future families, careers and life. My parents believed in education, helping those less fortunate, respecting other people's opinions and ideas. Being loyal and responsible were of the utmost importance. When you demonstrate good behavior, you become an inspiration to others. You encourage others to want to do better and push themselves to higher levels.

As Christians we have another family that we are to be a good example to. One of the hallmarks of the Christian faith is serving as an example of the Christian faith to others. We find this admonition everywhere in the New Testament ...

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, ESV)

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV)

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)

“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:13–14, ESV)

In this passage we see ...

The Encouragement to Walk Like Paul

The Discouragement to Walk like the "Enemies of the Cross"

Motivations to Walk like Paul

I. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO WALK LIKE PAUL

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (Philippians 3:17, ESV)

1. man, what a statement!

2. in verses 9-10 Paul has just set forth his life ambition to be more Christlike

a. now, Paul does not hesitate to tell the Philippians to follow his example

A. THE POWER OF EXAMPLE IS AN ESSENTIAL

ILLUS. The famous medical missionary and author, Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in life—it is the only thing.”

1. how many of us sitting here can say we’ve been influenced positively in our Christian life by the spiritual example(s) of other believers?

a. on the other hand, most of us here can also attest that we’ve been influenced negatively—even discouraged—by the sinful behavior of other believers

ILLUS. A Lifeway survey of the top-ten reasons why people leave a church found that the 4th reason was being hurt over the behavior of someone at church.

2. in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews we find God’s Roll Call of Faith

a. these were men and women who exemplified faith and faithful living

b. at the end of the chapter we read, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.” (Hebrews 11:39, NIV84)

c. immediately following the author reminds us that we are to emulate this cloud of witnesses

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NIV84)

1) here were believers who threw off hindrances, and who threw off sin that entangles, and in perseverance they ran the believer’s race that God Himself has marked out for us ... i.e. Be holy as I am holy

3. as Christians, we need Christian examples we can follow, and we need to be examples for other Christians to follow

B. PAUL ENCOURAGED THE PHILIPPIANS TO FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE IN CHRISTIAN LIVING

1. Paul regularly encouraged others to follow his example

“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9, ESV)

“I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” (1 Corinthians 4:16, ESV)

ILLUS. John Cardinal O'Connor of New York once said in an interview: "Living in this chaotic environment, I've come to realize that unless you have a very close relationship with God and unless you personally are living as exemplary a life as you can, then what you say to people isn't going to have much of an impact."

2. now, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve always struggled with these statements by the Apostle

a. yes, he’s one of the finest examples of the Christ-like life in the New Testament, and throughout all the annals of Christendom; still it seems to take some real chutzpah to proclaim I urge you, then, be imitators of me

b. yet, this is exactly what the Apostle is doing

3. when you consider the totality of the Apostle’s wirtings, Paul is not putting himself on a pedestal

a. Paul certainly has his flaws

1) he could get angry and snarky

ILLUS. In the 23rd chapter of the Book of Acts, Paul has been brought before the Sanhedrin for preaching the gospel, and a riot has ensued—stirred up by Jewish trouble makers. After he testifies that his conscience is clear about the gospel he has preached, the High Priest ordered a guard to strike Paul across the mouth. With that Paul angrily responds “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”” (Acts 23:3, ESV). But then with his very next breath apologized when he realized it was the Chief Priest.

2) he could be prideful

ILLUS. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 he tells us that he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him from becoming conceited, i.e. from becoming prideful.

3) he could hold grudges

ILLUS. In Acts 15 he and Barnabas are discussing a second missionary trip. Barnabas wants to give his nephew, John Mark, a second chance. Remember it was this young man who had deserted them on the first missionary trip when things got difficult. Paul absolutely refuses, and the disagreement becomes sharp, and they go their separate ways.

b. but Paul is encouraging the Philippians to follow him, an imperfect sinner, as he pursued the goal of Christlikeness

4. had Paul been perfect, he would not have been an example believers could follow

a. they might look at Paul’s life, throw their hands up in despair, thinking, “I could never, ever measure up to that man’s life!”

b. but Paul reveals himself to be a man with flaws—just like us—who shows us how to handle pride, resist temptation, and put sin to death

c. Christ is our perfect standard, our perfect model, and our perfect pattern to follow

1) but Christ never pursued perfection or spiritual maturity since he always had both

2) Paul, however, was a fellow traveler on the path toward the unattainable spiritual perfection of Christ that made him a model to others

3) here has a man who modeled virtue, morality, overcoming the flesh, victory over temptation, worship, service to God, patient endurance in suffering, handling possessions, and handling relationships

C. PAUL ENCOURAGED THE PHILIPPIANS TO FOLLOW OTHER EXAMPLES IN CHRISTIAN LIVING

vs. 17b “ ... and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

1. Paul tells these believers to find other believers who are worthy of emulation and then pattern your spiritual walk after theirs

“Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.” (Psalm 37:37, NASB95)

a. a Christian should strive to live so that our loving spirit, vibrant faith, and purity of life are never diluted by inconsistency

2. one of the truisms of the Christian faith is that it is caught as much as it is taught

a. oh yes ... it must be taught ... Christianity is a faith, but it is a faith with clearly delineated doctrines, and a clear theology

1) there are some things you must believe, that if you don’t believe you’re simply not a Christian (the deity of Christ comes to mind)

2) the Bible prioritizes teaching as the primary method of helping future generations know Christ and grow in maturity

b. but yes ... it is also caught ... Christianity is a faith that is exemplified in the lives of those who have confessed Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord, and who consistently live for him year-in and year-out, serving as a pattern of Christ-likeness for others to imitate

1) Timothy and Epaphroditus, Paul’s companions, certainly were such example

3. why did Paul direct his readers, especially the Corinthians, to reflect back on the history of God’s people?

a. he directs them to the Red Sea, he tells them to look at Abraham, look at Moses, look at David ... all of them as examples of faith who sought to obey God

b. the cloud of witnesses invoked in Hebrews 11 are not just a bunch of dead people who lived a long time ago, and who have no relevance or connection to us

1) they are examples of faith

c. we are to root ourselves in the history of God’s people—imitating their virtues and shunning their failures

“Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; ... .”” (1 Corinthians 10:6–7, ESV)

4. church history is full of examples of Christians living faithfully for God that we ought to read about, and emulate

II. THE DISCOURAGEMENT TO WALK LIKE THE "ENEMIES OF THE CROSS"

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Philippians 3:18, ESV)

1. just as there are those in the body of Christ we should follow as examples so to there are those in the body of Christ whose example we should avoid

a. scholars are divided over who these enemies of the cross of Christ are

1) some believe that Paul is describing the Judaizers whom he refers to as dogs, evildoers and mutilators of the flesh in Phil. 3:2

2) other scholars believe that Paul is describing nacient Gnosticism that would become a wide-spread heresy a generation after Paul

b. these are folks who may say they are saved, but they live as enemies of the cross of Christ

1) whoever these people are they deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning sacrifice to change lives

2. if I had to identify these folks today, they’d be secularist Christians vs. confessing Christians

a. secularist Christians are people who call themselves Christian, but who for all practical purposes are secular

1) they live in a world centered on their social relationships, in which God has no everyday role

2) they do not expect God’s help, fear God's judgment, or believe that things happen according to God’s will

ILLUS. In 2005 sociologist Christian Smith coined the term "moralistic therapeutic deism" to describe the religious outlook of many Americans today. He writes that these secularist Christians characteristically believe that God created the world and wants everyone to be nice to each other, but he has little day-to-day involvement in life. Occasionally his help may be needed as a therapist or handyman, but for the most part God is on call rather than on active duty.

3) secular Christians may believe that there is a God, but he has at best a peripheral role in their worldview

4) these people will insist that they are indeed a Christian, but they deny the power of the gospel, and God’s authority over their lives

b. you bring enough of these people together in one congregation and now you have a secularist Church vs. a confessing Church

A. THEIR DESCRIPTION CHARACTER AND END

1. the deity they serve —vs. 19b whose god is their appetite

a. appetite translates a word which refers anatomically to the abdomen, particularly the stomach

1) Paul is using it metaphorically to refer to all unrestrained sensual, fleshly, bodily desires

2) their real God is their sensual impulses

b. Jude described such people as "ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 4)

2. the disgrace they bear —vs. 19c whose glory is in their shame

a. shockingly, these enemies of the cross boasted in the very things that brought them shame (or should have)

ILLUS. In July of 2020 clergy from the United Methodist and Episcopalian Church lead a prayer rally “blessing” a local abortion clinic in Cleveland. United Methodist Church pastor, Reverend Laura Young, says she believes pro-life protesters in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities have “misguided faith.” She says, “As faith leaders committed to justice, honesty, and liberty, we are troubled by the decades-long campaign of harassment against Planned Parenthood and those they serve. ... Our religious traditions call us to offer compassion, not judgment. People who work for Planned Parenthood give care and respect to those in need, doing God’s work.” Later in the article which reported the story Reverend Laura Young said the 2015 undercover videos exposing the Planned Parenthood’s organ harvesting business “are simply an attack on women’s health care.”

b. this is the most extreme form of wickedness—when the sinner's most wretched conduct before God is his highest point of self-exaltation

3. the disposition they display —vs. 19d who set their minds on earthly things

a. their earthly focus offers evidence that these enemies of the cross are not saved

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, ESV)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15, ESV)

4. the doom they face —vs. 19a whose end is destruction

a. having rejected the one and only truth of salvation—the cross of Christ—all enemies of the cross face the same fate

b. their end will be eternal destruction in hell

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thessalonians 1:9, ESV)

5. of these enemies of the cross, the apostle says there are many of them v. 18

a. it causes the apostle want to weep

6. just as there are confessing Christians we ought to emulate there are secularist Christians

III. MOTIVATIONS TO WALK LIKE PAUL

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 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. 1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” (Philippians 3:20–4:1, ESV)

1. I’m not going to say much about these verse because they’ll be the focus of next Sunday evening’s message

a. but in vs. 20 Paul give us three reasons why we are to live exemplary lives in order to serve as examples of the faith

1) 1st, we are to live exemplary lives because we are ambassadors of another kingdom

a) our citizenship is in heaven

2) 2nd, we are to live exemplary lives because our Savior died to make us holy

a) we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

b) in Christ, we are a new creation ... we’re not what we were—sinner condemned unclean—but now we’re saints of God, and are to live as such

3) 3rd, we are to live exemplary lives out of gratitude for the promise of what we will be

a) who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body

IV. APPLICATION

1. Jesus said: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14)

a. He said that we should shine as lights in this world so that others “may see [our] good works and glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)

2. God has called us to live the way of life of genuine Christianity

a. our love for and our obedience to God’s commandments are a witness of our practicing Jesus Christ’s own original Christianity, the way that He and His apostles lived and taught

3. when the Apostle Paul says follow my example the implication is that he expects the Philippian believers to be examples to the people around them

a. Paul is teaching nothing new hear, but is reiterating when Jesus himself taught

4. the question is, Where do we start?

a. in writing to Timothy, Paul encourage him to be an example in five areas of his life

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, ESV)

A. Speech

1. in Matthew 12:34–37, Jesus warned,“ ... For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:34–37, ESV)

a. a man’s speech reflects what is in his heart

b. all types of sinful speech must be avoided by a child of God

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:25, ESV)

B. Conduct

1. we are required to be a model of righteous living who manifest our biblical convictions in every area of his life

a. a biblical message paired with an ungodly lifestyle is nothing but blatant hypocrisy

2. Scripture is replete with exhortations to godly living

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:12, ESV)

C. Love

1. Biblical love is far different from the emotion our culture calls love

a. it involves self-sacrificing service on behalf of others regardless of how one feels

2.in Philippians 2:25–30, Paul commended Epaphroditus, who, like the apostle himself, had nearly died from his loveing service to others in the cause of Christ

D. Faith

1. faith here does not refer to belief, but to faithfulness or unswerving commitment

a. he’s talking about faithfulness to Christ and to his Church

E. Purity

1. live a life of moral cleaness that is representative of your new life in Christ

a. don’t go back to the old ways of reckless wild excesses and debauchery

b. while the word can mean purity of life in a general sense, it primarily refers to purity in the area of sexuality, both in actions and in the intentions of the heart

2. the abandonment of an emphasis on this Christian character trait is reaping the whirlwind in the Church

ILLUS. Every week we seem to hear of another Christian leader who has fallen into sexual sin. The latest casualty was Ravi Zacharias. He died in May of 2020 just weeks after being diagnosed with a rare cancer. He grew up in India, came to Christ as a teenager, and as an adult was known worldwide as one of the finest Christian apologists of our era. His ministry spanned forty years; he was the author of 30 books.

Earlier this month his organization notified staff, donors, and supporters on Wednesday that there is convincing and credible evidence that Ravi Zacharias “engaged in sexual misconduct over the course of many years.” What makes the event even sadder is that a number of his business partners new of the misconduct, and never called for him to repent.

3. few things are more damaging to the witness of the church then very public immorality by its members

4. so Paul calls us to be example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity

Finally, we are to stand firm in the Lord. Philippian 4:1 is really the conclusion of chapter 3. Therefore means, in light of this truth of His coming, stand firm in the Lord. Notice Paul’s tender heart for these people, whom he calls “my beloved brethren,” “my joy and my crown,” and again, “my beloved.” He longs to see them, and especially to see them standing firm in the Lord, not swayed by these false teachers. Remember, Christianity is knowing Christ Himself, and being found in Him. He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). He is our all in all (Col. 3:11). He is our sufficiency for every need, our refuge, our rock in times of trouble. Stand firm in the Lord!