Live as Citizens of Heaven
Notes
Transcript
Every good citizen of the USA knows and has recited the pledge of allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
I am sure you all know our pledge of allegiance and have quoted it many times. But, I personally have a problem pledging my full allegiance to the United States of America. Don’t get me wrong. I love our country. I am gratefully that God allowed me to grow up in this great republic. I think it is the greatest nation on earth. And yet I have real issues pledging my full allegiance to it. Why?
Because since the moment I trusted Christ Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my allegiance has been transformed. I think this ought to be true of every believer. Every believer in Jesus Christ ought to have a new and higher pledge of allegiance.
In Philippians 1:27 I think the Apostle Paul is arguing for that very thing. As believers we owe our allegiance, not to an earthly kingdom, but to a heavenly one. Believers in Christ have a new pledge of allegiance and it ought to change everything about how we live.
Why do I think that? Before we get to our text I want to take a moment and explain why it is a biblical idea that believers in Jesus no longer owe their allegiance to any earthly kingdom.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Something supernatural happens to us the moment of our conversion! We are delivered from the this present domain- a domain or a realm or a rule or an authority of darkness- and we are transferred (Aorist tense- moved from one sphere to another) to a new kingdom. We are made citizens of a new kingdom and it is the kingdom of His believed Son (Jesus Christ)!
Domain of darkness? what it that?
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Satan is the god of this world, he is the prince of the power of the air, he has been given temporary authority over the kingdoms of this world. Everything he does is a cosmic battle against the kingdom of God. As a result there is no nation of this earth that currently bows the knee to Jesus, nor will there ever be in this age. All the nations as a whole are characterized by rebellion against God and against His Messiah.
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Thus we must understand that until Jesus comes back and establishes His earthly kingdom, we are living in an evil age where the world as a whole will never follow Jesus, or love righteousness, or welcome the truth! Because of this believers are characterized in a very consistent and particular manner in the NT.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The church is actually called a holy nation- we are a new nation, a new people, who have been called out of darkness! We no longer belong the nations of darkness of this world. We are now a people of God! We are a nation- we are citizens of heaven!
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
We are considered as exiles, as strangers, as foreigners in this world. It doesn’t matter what country you live in, if you are a believer you are considered by God, according to the NT, a foreigner or a sojourner.
And as such your allegiance is not to any earthly kingdom, but you have been given a new pledge of allegiance. One this is fitting of the heavenly kingdom to which you belong.
Our question this morning is what is the pledge of allegiance for the NT local church?
I believe Paul give us a very clear principle in Philippians 1:27 that lays out for everyone of us what our new pledge of allegiance ought to be.
As citizens of Heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ
As citizens of Heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ
Here is the principle! Notice what it is not… it is not a long list of rules and regulations. It is not a list of do’s and don’ts. It is a principle that is based on the logic of the doctrine. Paul always starts his letters with doctrine, with theology and then based on that doctrine gives principles to live by. And if we will adopt this principle as our pledge of allegiance as a people of God, as a holy nation, as citizens of heaven- it will radically change every part of our lives.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ!
27Μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Only (Just one thing!)
In a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Placed at the front of the sentence for emphasis!
πολιτεύεσθε
live as citizens
πόλις G4484 (polis), city, city-state; πολίτης G4489 (politēs), citizen; πολιτεύομαι G4488 (politeuomai), to be a citizen, take part in government, live, conduct one’s life
To conduct one’s life, to be a citizen, have one’s citizenship/home, discharge your obligations as citizens.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
Live as a colony of heaven!
Paul is masterfully using the history of the city of Philippi to get his point across. Philippi was a Roman colony. Paul’s readers lived in a city that was a Roman military colony directly related to the capital city of Rome. As Roman subjects, the Philippian Christians owed their allegiance to the far-off capital city of Rome.
So Paul is using this historical situation. You know what it means to live as a colony of Rome don’t you Philippians. It means even though you are hundreds of miles from Rome, you still live by the rules and laws of your capitol city. You live for the advancement and welfare of Rome. You live for the glory and the honor of Rome. You know what it means to live as a colony of Rome and thus as citizens of Rome.
Well, Paul says, you have a new pledge of allegiance now. You are to live as a colony of heaven and thus as citizens of heaven. You are under the mandates and the laws of your new capitol. You are now are to live for the advancement and welfare of your heavenly kingdom. You now are to live for the glory and honor of heaven and of your new king- Jesus Christ! Your new pledge of allegiance is to live as good citizens of heaven!
How do you do that most effectively? What is the one thing you must keep in mind if you are to be good citizens of heaven?
Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ! That’s it! Do this one principle, the this one truth govern you- live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ.
What does it mean to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ?
It means living that recommends to others the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It means living lives that represents the gospel as attractive to others.
Your conduct should be such that it recommends Jesus to the world. Or your conduct should so represent Jesus that it makes the gospel attractive to others.
Jesus said it this way!
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 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.
Your conduct should be so wondrously transformed by the power of God in the gospel that your lives become beautiful to others. And they give glory to your Father in heaven. That is your pledge of allegiance as a citizen of heaven!
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
As citizens of heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel.
Illustration:
Have you ever traveled to a foreign country? There is a certain sense that when we are in a foreign country we don’t want to act in such a way that would cause other countries to think poorly of our homeland. We don’t want to act in such a way that would leave a bad taste in their mouths for America. We don’t want to behave in such a way that would cause anyone to say, “stupid Americans”!
I would argue that the way the world views America has declined sharply in the last few years. Due to recent events including elections, riots, COVID, and especially the way the media has portrayed these events to the world- the opinion of America has deteriorated. Maybe even to the point that much of the world would think- I would never want to live there. Now, this is not universally the case- there are still many many people would want desperately to live in our country- this is why we have a boarder crisis on our hands.
My point is this we know that it is to go into another country and to take a pride in our homeland and to feel that the honour of our country perhaps rests upon us. This is the appeal that the Apostle is making to the church at Philippi.
We must let our citizenship be something that governs us, that rules us, and controls us.
“In other words, we are to realize, as Christian people, that the honour of the homeland is in our hands, so that when we ask the questions: ‘What am I to do as a Christian? How am I to live as a Christian?’ , we do not want to be given a list of rules and regulations. The name of God, the name of Christ, the very reputation of heaven, as it were, is in our hands. Therefore we must live a life as citizens that is always mindful of that fact.” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Application:
There is a disturbing trend among believers right now in the way the conduct themselves on social media. They get on Facebook or some other platform- and there is no other way to put it- they are just rude! They are insulting- they mock and they attempt to humiliate and they tear down those whose political views or healthcare views or educational view differ from their own. It must stop! As citizens of heaven your pledge of allegiance means the honor and the reputation of heaven is in your hands! Think about the eternal consequences before you post another meme on Instagram.
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
Friends what is our new pledge of allegiance?
As citizens of Heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ
As citizens of Heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ
The honor of your homeland is in your hands! The prestige of Christ and of the power of the gospel is in your hands! Live your lives in such a way that recommends to others the gospel of Jesus Christ. Live lives that represents the gospel as attractive to others.
Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven!
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, only let our citizenship be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ!