Citizens of Heaven

Introduction

We are going to continue our study from the book of Philippians but before I read the passage, I wanted to highlight the benefit of preaching through an entire book of the Bible. I know that it can be painstakingly slow and some of the messages may not seem relevant to your current situation. But the benefit of this approach to preaching is that you are forced to cover topics and passages that we might be tempted to overlook or skip because we feel uncomfortable or we mistake it as being unimportant. But as we mature as a church, we begin to recognize more and more that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, reproof, for correction and training in righteousness. As our church begins to go through our staff transitions and starts the process of looking for new pastors, this passage from Philippians gives us a wealth of wisdom in terms of what we need to be careful of and what we should be looking for.

Passage

Philippians 3:17–4:1 ESV

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

Body

There are two questions that we want to answer from this passage:

Who are the enemies of the cross?

Who are the citizens of heaven?

One of the topics that is rarely talked about in the church is the dangers of false teachers, bad leaders, and even inauthentic Christians. But clearly Paul and the other apostles listened to the clear warnings of Jesus and passed this teaching on to the church. Consider this sampling of verses among many that are found in the NT.

Matthew 24:11 ESV

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

2 Peter 2:1 ESV

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

1 John 4:1 ESV

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

It is to our detriment, not to heed these warnings that we find in the Biblical record and to understand that we are still under this very same threat. Things have not changed and things may be even worse because of our modern views on the nature of truth. The early church was not afraid to make a distinction between genuine authentic leaders versus those who simply played the part and that is what we see in the first two verses of our passage from Philippians. In the first verse, Paul issues the challenge for the believers in the church to imitate him and to focus their attention on the leadership team that has been serving them faithfully namely, Timothy and Epaphroditus. These are leaders who have proven their worth and they have shown their willingness to serve their brothers and sisters humbly even to the point of sacrificing their own well-being. In contrast, in the next verse Paul tells them of other leaders, most likely itinerant speakers that had gained influence in the church, but in reality they were enemies of the cross. As the young people say these days, these leaders were sus!

Now, I understand why we tend to avoid thinking about these passages that warn us about the leaders who we choose to follow. As Christians, we don’t want to seem judgmental and we want to give the benefit of the doubt even if we might have some concerns. I remember when Mark Driscoll was an extremely popular pastor up in Seattle and had the fastest growing church in America. He was touted as the golden child of the new Calvinism and the face of Christianity for the next generation. But in the midst of that, there were all sorts of warning signs that most everyone overlooked or simply ignored. Unfortunately, he is now the subject of a popular podcast, the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, which I heard was really well done and highlights the perils of ignoring red flags based on a leader’s charisma, gifting, or influence. And far from being an isolated incident, we have to realize that these patterns are actually more normative that we want to admit.

Malcolm Gladwell has a very informative book on the dangers of strangers and in the book he recounts a whole litany of stories of people who were shocked by the secret life of some of their colleagues and friends that they had worked with for years. Even within the CIA where agents are trained to be suspicious of everything, there was a Cuban spy for over a decade in one of the most high profile cases of espionage in America. When people close to the Cuban spy were asked if there were any warnings signs, each of them confessed there were some odd behaviors but they never linked that to their worst fears because they quickly dismissed it out of hand. This is how the Bernie Maddoffs and Larry Nassars of the world are able to use their power to abuse others for so long. There are some key takeaways from the book that explain why these types of scandals happen so frequently in our society.

People tend to trust one another by default.

A small number of people do not naturally trust others.

The suppression of other people’s treachery is not necessarily the result of conspiracy.

How people look and behave doesn’t necessarily align with what they think and feel.

Face-to-face interactions can be misleading when assessing another’s person’s character.

Jesus was acutely aware of these issues in the heart of man and that this is a danger especially within the church where people generally tend to let their guard down. And he warned us with a word picture that has stood the test of time.

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Just as blind trust can have dire consequences in the secular world, it can be even more destructive in religious settings. Think of how many people have been hurt by the sexual abuse in the Catholic church or the abuses of power in certain evangelical churches. One important step in avoiding leaders like these is understanding that there is a big difference between judging someone as opposed to having God-given discernment in regards to the true nature and intentions of people who presents themselves as spiritual leaders. Spiritual discernment is extremely critical in evaluating your leaders because no one is going to tell you outright, “Hey, you need to be careful because I’m an enemy of the cross.” In fact, they will probably say exactly what Paul says, “Follow the example that I set.”

So how can we be discerning as Christians without being judgmental? We can begin by looking at the three characteristics of someone who should be considered an enemy of the cross and you’ll notice that none of them deals with an outright heresy. Cult leaders are easy to detect because they will tell you crazy things that are clearly not within biblical norms. It’s false teachers and bad leaders that are far more difficult to discern because often they will teach you what seems to be correct but they will lead you astray by the way they live and eventually, you start to see the errors in their teaching.

1. They are driven by their appetites.

In the context of leadership in the church, there is a desire for power and influence, not to benefit others but mainly for selfish reasons. Relationships are used solely for the purpose of gaining control and there is a growing a sense of self-importance. I’m the only one that can correctly lead this church and everyone should do what I think is right. Now, where this gets tricky is the fact that someone who has ministry experience will know more than the average person in the congregation but how they use that power is critical to discerning what type of leader you actually have. Is that knowledge used to encourage and strengthen the church or is it used as leverage to show how much they know and use it exercise undue control over the congregation. (Remember, the Bereans checked everything that even the apostle Paul said even as they accepted his words with eagerness. And they were considered more noble for it.)

Acts 17:11 ESV

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

2. They justify their sinful behavior.

In fact, they glory over what should be their shame. Many times this can come out in projecting themselves to be more holy, more godly than they truly are. There is no one who is perfect and all Christians have areas of sin that need to be dealt with and that does not exclude your leaders. In fact, it is especially important for your leaders to be honest about their weakness and not to minimize their own struggles. This doesn’t mean that they have to confess all their sins on the pulpit every Sunday but it does mean that they acknowledge their own failures and the congregation is aware that they are being led by someone that shares many of their same struggles. I love the honesty of the apostle Paul who openly acknowledged that he was not only the least of the saints but the greatest of sinners and he was acutely aware that he could be easily disqualified from finishing his ministry. He says as much in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

I’ve come to realize how much grace is required to finish well and those who do finish are very sensitive to the danger of sin. In contrast, a characteristic of someone who is an enemy of the cross is a refusal to accept the correction of others, to respond to criticism with anger, to see the sin in others but not in themselves. In their minds to accept any rebuke, is an admission of weakness or that they could be wrong. And the reason why this attitude is directly opposed to the cross is the fact that it is in our weakness where God’s strength is perfected.

3. They think in worldly terms.

There are a number of warning sign for someone who brings a worldly mindset to the church. The use of and attitudes towards alcohol. I may seem old school but I have a problem with leaders who drink freely with their congregation and show no regard for those whose are struggling with addiction and abuse caused by alcoholism. Even the way someone deals with their family could be a clue that there is a worldly mindset at work. A pastor of a church that eventually closed down somehow found it okay to move Sunday service to a different time so that he could attend his son’s basketball games. He prioritized a meaningless basketball game over ministry to the family of God.

But perhaps the main warning signs of someone who is could be a false prophet or at least a bad leader is how they handle their finances. Is there care in how they spend their money so as not to stumble others? I was at another church for Sunday worship during the winter break and after the message, I could hear some of the young men talking about the nice shoes the speaker was wearing. I’m not very aware of the sneaker game but I asked my son who buys and sells high end shoes and he estimated the cost to be at least $500. These are things that may not seem out and out sinful but they should give you some pause for concern. Why does anyone need such expensive shoes let alone someone who is serving the church? Again, maybe it was just a gift and there’s nothing to it but nevertheless, it was a distraction away from the gospel that he was preaching. And if that is an on-going pattern of how money is spent, it can be a real issue. Does the leader himself have a faithful record of giving even as he is exhorting the congregation to give their offerings?

It’s easy in a city with so much wealth and successful corporations to assume that money can solve all our problems and we forget that money is also the root of so much evil. As I’ve thought about how we can go about rebuilding our church and filling all the holes, there is one word that the Holy Spirit has constantly reinforcing in my heart, “Money cannot buy the ministry of God.” Again there is an account in the book of Acts where a sorcerer by the name of Simon tries to buy the power the Holy Spirit as he watches the disciples ministering to people with great effect. Peter’s words are important for affluent churches to remembers:

Acts 8:20 ESV

But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

Money has its proper place in the church and that is to serve the purpose of God. There is a legendary story of Thomas Aquinas who walked into the papal office while the offering was being counted and the Pope turned to him and said, “Look at all this offering, now there’s nothing the church cannot do!” And Thomas Aquinas dryly replied, “Except heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, and raise the dead.” The things of God cannot be bought with our money!

I do realize that some of us in this room may have some painful memories of church and you are finding it difficult to trust again but this passage is not just a warning against bad leaders but it also gives us wisdom on how to correctly choose the right leaders. Over and against leaders and inauthentic Christians who have a worldly mindset, Paul reminds the true believer that we are citizens of heaven. It’s interesting that Paul follows his warnings about the enemies of the cross with this powerful reminder of who we are as Christians. It is as if he is saying, “If we were more heavenly minded, we would be a lot more discerning of the things that are corrupted by this world.” If as believers, we do the same things, see the same things, live in the same way, and partake in the same activities, it’s no wonder then that we cannot distinguish the difference between those who walk by the Spirit and those who walk in the flesh.

Unlike our modern world, to be a citizen of the Roman empire was a great honor. It defined your allegiance, your values, and even your rightful place in society. There was clear difference between the rights of a non-citizen versus the privileges of being a citizen of Rome. In the same way, being a citizen of heaven has certain responsiblities along with its privileges. Again we see three characteristics of those who understand that their true home is a far off country.

They eagerly await the return of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Those who say they love the Lord, will also look forward with great anticipation for his returning which makes a lot of sense. If you love someone that has left with the promise that he would return, would you not wait eagerly for any sign of his coming. I believe that the root cause of those Christians leaders that misbehave is that they really don’t believe in the return of their Master. Jesus says as much in the gospels.

Matthew 24:48–50 ESV

But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know

Some people argue that the doctrine of heaven is some form of escapism and maybe that’s based on a distorted view of the life to come but if you know and believe that heaven begins with the return of the King, it changes the way you live, the way you lead, the way you treat others. Anthony Ashley-Cooper who was a famous social reformer and philanthropist in England gave this reason for why he worked tirelessly to limit child labor, to reform the treatment of the mentally ill, and to create better working conditions for the poor.

“I do not think that in the last 40 years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by the thought of our Lord’s return.” The reason why men and women like this work so diligently is becasue of the second characteristic of the heavenly minded.

2. They know that all things will come under rule of Christ. All things will subject to His power. As much as the world seems to be out of control currently, there is no doubt that one day soon the Son of God will rule and reign over this earth and we might as well get a head start on what is inevitable. To place our hopes in the governments of this world or it’s leaders is foolishness. We serve a different master!

3. The heavenly minded know that whatever they are in this life will pale in comparison to the glory and eternal perfection that will be theirs at the resurrection. Those who try to clothes themselves in glory in this life will find that all of that will turn to worthless rags even before they die. True Christians know what will last forever and they live for the glory that goes beyond these few years that we spend here on earth.

Conclusion

Leaders like the apostle Paul know that the most important thing to live for is the eternal salvation of others. For this reason, he wept as he warned the church about the corruption of the gospel from the enemies of the cross. But Paul was so much more than just a guardian of the church and his tears were ample proof of that fact. He had a greater reason for protecting the churches he served, he loved the people and he considered them to be his joy and crown. I’ve always wondered what the crowns we would receive in heaven would be based on and it seems that for Paul, these crowns are directly related to the brothers and sisters he has been called to love and serve in the church. I heard one wise pastor from San Diego say, “Serving God involves narrowing our focus to those things with the highest eternal value.” Those things that hold the greatest value in heaven are the people sitting next to you today. CS Lewis paints this beautiful picture connecting our the resurrection and the relationships that we are called to invest in here.

Then the new earth and sky, the same yet not the same as these, will rise in us as we have risen in Christ. And once again, after who know what aeons of the silence and dark, the birds will sing and the waters flow, and lights and shadows move across the hills, and the faces of our friends laugh upon us with amazed recognition.