On This Earth, You May Live One of Two Lives

Intro

Approval. You ever think about the role of approval in our lives? I think most everyone wants approval from somebody. We are dying and crying for approval. Our world cries out for approval. Why is that? Think on that for a moment. Why does everyone want approval? I would submit the idea that perhaps the reason we seek approval so much is because we know, deep down, that our behavior does not always merit approval. We can all point to times in our own lives where we don’t even approve of ourselves. And we find ourselves struggling with self-approval, so we look for approval from outside of ourselves.

This is one of the reasons middle school and high school can be so weird for students. There’s a currency in high school, and it’s called peer-approval. How many and which peers approve of you determine your social class in high school. Some call them cliques, but it’s really not about cliques. It’s about social status. And that social status is determined by whom you receive approval and inclusion from.

And sooner, rather than later, as you continue to hang around those folks and grow accustomed to their approval, you pick up their habits, their clothing styles, their choices.

Here’s the simple truth that sits behind that… You will become like those whose approval you seek.

That sets us up for what Paul has to say here in this text…

One Path Leads to Life

Philippians 3:17 (ESV)

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

Paul wants the Philippians to imitate him because he is following Christ! He also wants them to see other examples and follow them as well.

And we do this by finding people to imitate! Here’s the deal. We all imitate the people around us. We conform our actions, habits, and personalities to fit in with the people who surround us.

You know, every brain has what’s called a reward-response reaction. The brain rewards behaviors that are seen as positive with pleasure. And studies show that that reward-response is literally changed when we are surrounded by peers who have an influencing relationship in our lives.

So who you choose to hang out with is vital to your spiritual health. You knew that much, right? But think about the fact that the people you allow to influence you literally wire your brain to fit in and bond your thinking to the way they think. Teenagers, listen up, this is especially true of you… As your brain is developing, these responses are so much more easily triggered. Who you hang out with matters.

Paul may not have known all of this about the wiring of the human brain, but God did. And Paul knew that the influence of others in our lives has a profound impact.

So choose to imitate those in your life who are pointing you to the Lord!

A couple of weeks ago, I read a headline of an article that said, “If you want to be a pastor, be someone worth imitating.” Just the headline… Didn’t know if I could handle the article. You ever find yourself in that position? Yeah, I know if I read that, I’m gonna get really convicted and have to change some things. So I put it off. Then I finally read it. Sure, I was convicted, but I was also strengthened. The truth is, we’re all being watched. The examples we set for believers around us are acts of discipleship.

Paul believes he is living his life pursuing God to the best of his ability. I hope we all can get to a point where we can say, “imitate me.” Not in a sense of perfection or “having it all together.” None of us have it all together. Don’t hear Paul saying, “I’m perfect.”

I had this conversation with a young Mormon missionary on the plane ride home Monday. You know, in Mormon life, if you find yourself in sin, you have to re-repent all over again to receive salvation in Jesus. If you die without repenting from your latest sin, you die in your sin! Very works-based. So I took this young man to the book of Romans… Which has a lot to say about sin and the nature of salvation. And we made it all the way through 11 chapters. When we got to 7, he was stumped. Why? Because that’s where Paul talks about his current battle with sin. He struggles with it. In the present tense. He’s not perfect. Even as he’s writing this, he details his sin life. To this young Mormon missionary, who has believed one must be perfect to write scripture, it was an absolute bomb.

Christians, we do this, too. We think in order to attend church or something like that, we’ve gotta be perfect. This couldn’t be further from the truth. But we should all aspire to live lives worth imitating. Be someone worth imitating!

And if you are someone worth imitating, you need to find ways to make your life available to the people around you. Invite younger Christians along for the ride. Let them see your example. Take time to mentor someone. Look, the church is intergenerational, but all too often, we just let people of different age groups silo off into things that allow them to sit comfortably with other people who are exactly like them. They have the same taste in music, same style of dress, etc. Step out of those false boundaries and into the lives of younger Christians. We need one another.

This is how we lead one another along the path of life that comes from our salvation. Those who are saved will persevere until the end, and this is a big part of that perseverance.

Next, Paul moves to the alternative of a life influenced by godly brothers and sisters…

One Path Leads to Destruction

Philippians 3:18–19 (ESV)

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.

First, notice Paul’s heart. This isn’t an angry, spit-slinging preacher on a high-horse. This is a concerned, humble leader in the church. “Many,” he says, “walk as enemies of Christ.” That’s something to be lamented. When he talks about this, he’s probably not talking about people outside of the community of faith. He’s talking about people who have expressed faith in Christ, but have turned and walked another way. Or perhaps those who had convinced others they were a Christian, but were using the church for their own gain the whole time.

Listen, the news story is out there in the public, but hear me clearly. If you hear silence from the pulpit on the issue that was put forth in the news this week, it’s not because our church is trying to cover anything up. I don’t care what facebook commenters have to say. The truth is I’m willing to engage with anyone on this topic in good-faith dialogue. Our membership has been fully informed the whole time. We haven’t made a public statement because no one has asked for a statement.

What you can rest assured of, if you are visiting today and wondering about the news of Chris Codding, is that we’ve removed him, we’ve cooperated with the authorities, and we support Detective Amy Nails and her investigation. Listen, she and I talk just about every week, and I’ll tell you, she is a grade-A investigator. Our church not only cooperates with her investigation, we are seeking to actively support the investigation. And we’ve been doing so from the very beginning of all of this. From the moment we were made aware of allegations, up to this very point, we have been seeking to support the investigation and support survivors of abuse.

Here’s what I will say about someone who could do such a thing. The actions described in the allegations are not the actions of a redeemed believer in Christ. Those would be the actions of a dark manipulator, seeking to use a position of church authority for evil gain. Truth like this needs to come from the pulpit because the office of pastor is a high calling, and a refusal to talk about abuses of power in such a way diminishes the church’s witness and cheapens what the Bible has to say about such things.

We’ll let the legal process play out, and I’m not going to speak in such a way that interferes with investigations and court proceedings. What you can also rest assured of is that our church believes that what is outlined in these charges is heinous. Pure evil. And we are not ignoring it. When it’s all over, I’ll have more to say, and our church will have more to say. But we won’t sweep it under any rugs. And we certainly won’t pretend nothing happened.

Now look, it’s easy to ogle at a situation and say, “Yeah, glad that’s not me.” It’s easy to look at things that are heinous and ignore what’s going on in our own lives. Where are you bowing the knee to things that are unbiblical? Where are you saying, “Yeah, I’m a Christian,” and then immediately doing something that you know is unbiblical?

Like going into the Publix with your Jesus shirt on, and proceeding to give the cashier the worst customer experience in decades. Or it’s like getting in your car with your Jesus bumper sticker and proceeding to cut people off in downtown Cassville traffic. Or it’s telling people you’re a Christian and then spreading office gossip on the regular.

We are a people of the Truth. And to continue being a people of the truth, we must live as people of the Truth. Not just claim to be a people of the Truth, but to put your money where your mouth is and live it. That, again, is the act of persevering. Sanctification always follows justification. Justification is when Christ saves you. Sanctification is what happens after you are saved. You are made more like Christ. Things in your life, habits, etc. begin to be changed.

I fear for Christians who want the benefits of Christ without the walk of Christ. We’ll take the label, but we’ll leave the lifestyle, thanks. This is not the kind of life Christ has called you to live. And maybe you’re feeling conviction about that right now. Listen, I encourage you, turn from worldly living. Turn from trying to impress your worldly friends. Instead of trying to impress your non-believing friends, why don’t you try to influence them?

We all conform to the groups we choose. So choose a group that leads you toward Christ… Not away from Him.

And that’s really the question this Scripture brings up. Which path will you choose? The one that leads to life? Or the one that leads to destruction?

Which Will You Live?

Deuteronomy 30:19 (ESV)

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

In Deuteronomy, God puts it this way. Which will you choose? Do you want eternal life? What’s keeping you?

For those who are truly saved, Paul has this to say:

Philippians 3:20–4:1 (ESV)

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.

Paul believes that those who are saved are guaranteed a holy lifestyle. If your citizenship is in Heaven, you will see sanctification. You will be, over the course of your life, made more and more like Jesus. Some of us grow slow, while others grow like weeds. Some of us veer off-course. But those who are saved will be made new. Make no mistake. That’s not saying those who have walked an aisle. That’s not saying those who have told people they are Christians. That is those who are saved forever, made new in Christ. Those who persevere to the end.

Those who wait for a Savior.

Therefore, beloved… Stand firm in Christ… To the end.