How High Can We Go? Series

An officer of the American Flying Corps told of his experience during World War II. He

went out over the ocean alone, and he saw a storm coming rapidly toward him. It was blacker

than midnight. He looked down to see if he could go beneath it, but the ocean was already

boiling with fury. His only alternative was to climb. He turned his frail craft upward and began

to mount. He reached 2000 feet, then 2500, then 3000, then 3500, and then the storm struck

him. It was like a hurricane, cyclone, and typhoon all in one. It was so black he couldn't see,

and the hail struck like bullets.

He kept climbing to 6500 feet, and suddenly he broke through into the glory of sunlight like

he never saw it before. The splendor was so dazzling that he felt he was in another world. He

began to quote Scripture and to praise God. His way out was up, and this is the way to deal with

all the storms of life-look up and climb. Set your affections on things above, says Paul. His own

testimony in Phil 3:14 was, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in

Christ Jesus." I'm pressing on the upward way to higher ground is to be the theme song of every

Christian. The Christian is to constantly hear the call expressed in the poem of James G. Clark.

I saw I the mountains stand

Silent, wonderful and grand,

Looking out across the land.

When the golden light was falling

On distant dome and spire,

And I heard a low voice calling

Come up higher, come up higher,

From the low lands and the mire,

From the mist of earth desire,

From the vain pursuit of pelf,

From attitude of self,

Come up higher, come up higher.

Every aspiration, however, calls for a balancing attitude to prevent a virtue from developing

into a vice. Paul is well aware that you can never climb too high, and you can never set your

sights too high. The sky is the limit. We aim no lower than perfection and Christlikeness. But

Paul also knows that the higher you go the greater is the danger of pride. Pride can bring you

toppling from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell. Pride goes before a fall, and the history

of Satan and men illustrates this truth abundantly.

Paul, therefore, right after urging Christians to total surrender of their bodies and minds to

Christ, which will lead them to the heights of knowing God's perfect will, gives a word of

warning. Those who climb high and have their minds transformed so that their thoughts rise

above those of the world are in danger of thinking of themselves more highly than they ought.

Paul is a master of the balanced life, and that is why we see both the negatives and the positives

so often in his writings. Be not conformed, but be transformed he says in verse 2, and now in

verse 3 he gives us another negative and positive to keep us steady as we climb. Let's look first at

the negative advice.

I. NEGATIVE.

Paul is very serious about this matter, and so stresses the fact that he speaks with authority as

one to whom God has shown special grace. He also stresses that it applies to every man that is

among them. The danger of pride is not just for a few. It is for all. No Christian can avoid this

danger. Those in higher places are more conspicuous in their danger, but Paul urges this truth on

every believer not to think of himself more highly than he ought. We can never climb too high in

Christlikeness, nor can we ever think too highly of Christ, but we can think too highly of

ourselves. Paul says do not do it, for this is a kind of conformity to the world that can hurt you

and your testimony seriously.

A contemporary example of this is the experience of J. B. Phillips who became famous for the

Phillips Translation of the New Testament, plus a number of other books. As a parish priest in

London he began to translate the Bible for youth who would no longer read the KJV. This was in

1941. C. S. Lewis saw part of his translation and was impressed. He wrote to him saying, "It is

like seeing an old picture which has been cleaned." He urged him to do more of the New

Testament. He did, and the response was amazing. He became world famous, and was asked to

preach and lecture everywhere. His life was suddenly one of travel and honor. His books were

sold all over the world. He wrote, "And all the while something was going on which I did not see