Champions Of The Cross
Text: Philippians 3:15-21
Introduction
1. Illustration: British Pastor and Scholar John Stott, in his book The Cross of Christ, wrote about the centrality of the Cross in the Christian Faith. He wrote, "...the cross transforms everything. It gives us a new worshipping relationship to God, a new and balanced understanding of ourselves, a new incentive to give ourselves in mission, a new love for our enemies, and a new courage to face the perplexities of suffering" (17).
2. The cross is to Christianity as the flag is to our nation.
a. Just as we defend the flag out of a sense of patriotism, we should defend the cross out of a sense of discipleship.
b. We are called to be champions of the cross.
3. According to Paul, Champions Of The Cross...
a. Emulate Good Examples
b. Avoid Bad Examples
c. Live In Eager Expectation
4. Let's stand together as we read Phil. 3:15-21
Proposition: As champions of the cross we are to lift high the cross of Christ.
Transition: Champions of the cross...
I. Emulate Good Examples (15-17).
A. Pattern Your Lives
1. Mark Twain once said that "Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. However, Paul says quite the opposite. Hey says we should strive to follow a good example.
2. First he starts out with the idea of being spiritually mature. He says, "Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you."
a. Agree on these things probably refers to the whole narrative, including the rejection of his Jewish past.
b. But it especially includes his "participation in Christ's sufferings by being conformed to his death" and his eager pursuit of the heavenly prize.
c. But then Paul makes a surprising qualification: And if on some point you disagree, I believe God will make plain to you.
d. Although some have seen here a hint of conflict between Paul and some in the community, that is most unlikely since Paul's tone carries not a whiff of the odor of controversy.
e. Indeed, his words are almost nonchalant ”a kind of "throwaway" sentence” which makes one think that no great issue can be in view.
f. That not all of them would necessarily see things his way is implied, but that much has been implied throughout the letter.
g. Most likely this is another matter to be understood in the context of friendship.
h. But throughout the letter he purposely avoids any hint of this kind of superior-to-inferior expression of friendship; in fact he goes out of his way to make sure that their friendship is understood (Fee).
3. Paul then shows the necessity of moving forward in our spiritual walk when he says, "But we must hold on to the progress we have already made."
a. Paul seems to be calling them to live in keeping with how they have already followed Christ, before they ever received this letter.
b. Given his longtime and loving relationship with this church, and his frequent stops there, it is hard to imagine that in this letter he is telling them anything new.
c. In fact in 3:1 he has said quite the opposite, that it is not burdensome for him to "write the same things" again as a "safeguard."
d. Thus both the Christ narrative, which is foundational for his, and his own story are not new; rather they tell the "old, old story" all over again.
e. This is what he and they have already attained, even if some are now slacking off in some way and for some reason.
f. The best explanation of the "why" of all this is the one suggested before, that in the face of opposition and some internal dissension, some of the Philippians have lost their vision for and focus on their crucified and risen Lord, including his coming again.
g. Even in a Roman prison Paul has not lost his vision; here he urges them to follow his example and to see their participation in Christ's sufferings as Christ's way of "conforming them to his death," so that they, with Paul, may joyously gain the prize of his eternal presence (Fee).
4. Paul then confidently tells them to follow his example. He says, "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example."
a. For Paul correct thinking must lead to right living.
b. Paul used these two key words for discipleship: pattern and example.
c. Paul challenged the Philippians to pursue Christlikeness by following Paul’s own example and the examples of others whose lives were based on his.
d. This was not egotism on Paul’s part, for Paul always focused on Jesus Christ and urged the believers to also follow the example of others who followed Christ.
e. They should not follow false teachers or the enemies of the cross that we'll talk about in just a minute (3:18).
f. Instead, as Paul focused his life on being like Christ, so should they.
g. The Gospels may not yet have been in circulation, so Paul could not tell them to read the Bible to see what Christ was like.
h. Therefore he urged them to imitate him as a practical guide for conduct.
i. That Paul could tell people to follow his example is a testimony to his character. Can you do the same? What kind of follower would a new Christian become if he or she imitated you?
(Barton 858).
B. Good Examples
1. A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching. C.H. Spurgeon.
2. Champions of the Cross pattern their lives after those who live godly lives.
a. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT)
And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
b. We should pattern our lives after those who follow Christ.
c. Too many try and pattern their lives after those whose lives are void of godliness and integrity.
d. If we are following Oprah or Justin Bieber we are following the wrong examples.
e. We should pattern our lives after those who live by the standards of God's Word.
f. We should pattern our lives after those who are committed to prayer.
g. We should pattern our lives after those who have committed their lives to the church.
h. We should pattern our lives after those who daily pick up their cross and follow Jesus.
Transition: Champions of the Cross, consequently...
II. Avoid Bad Examples (18-19).
A. Enemies Of The Cross
1. While it's true that Jesus told us to love our enemies, he didn't tell us to follow them. If we true love Jesus then the last thing we want to do is to follow his enemies; that would be treason.
2. That's why Paul says, "For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ."
a. With an explanatory for, Paul proceeds to put his own model in contrast with that of some others, whose "walk" is quite the opposite of his.
b. Who these people are has been grounds for considerable debate, no solution to which is totally satisfactory.
c. Whatever else, they exemplify a "mindset" at odds with Paul's, and therefore with that being urged on the Philippians.
d. Rather than living as disciples, they "walk" as enemies of the cross of Christ (v. 18); and rather than pressing on to gain the final prize (vv. 12-14) and thus eagerly awaiting a Savior from heaven (v. 20), their mind is set on earthly things and therefore their destiny is destruction.
e. Echthros functions in different capacities in the New Testament, but primarily it refers to those who oppose God (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Delta-Epsilon, 2172).
f. In calling them enemies of the cross of Christ Paul is intentionally setting them over against both Christ and himself.
g. According to 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, the cross stands as God's utter contradiction to human wisdom and power, and therefore inevitably creates enemies of those who refuse to go that route (Fee).
3. Paul then further illustrates these enemies of the cross by telling us what is important to them. He says, "They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth."
a. That their destiny is destruction makes it clear that Paul does not consider them to be followers of Christ at all; whether they once were so would at least make sense of his telling the Philippians about them once again even with tears.
b. But in any case, as in 1:28, which it echoes, the language cannot be softened to mean anything other than eternal destruction.
c. Since the way of the cross is central to Paul's concern, the "end" for those who are enemies of the cross is brought forward to a place immediately following.
d. Their god is their appetite and its companion, they brag about shameful things, are especially difficult and therefore have led to all kinds of speculation.
e. Only one thing seems certain: that these two phrases belong with the final one, giving concrete expression to what that one generalizes, namely that they live only for the present; they have set their minds on earthly, not on heavenly, things.
f. Brag is what they delight in; shameful is how they should perceive their behavior.
g. With the final phrase, they think only about life here on earth, we come to where the whole indictment has been heading right along.
h. Two things are significant for understanding. First, they do not simply "think about" earthly things; their "minds are set on" (phronountes)such things, which stands in pointed opposition to Paul's own mindset as portrayed in his personal story.
i. His mind is set altogether on Christ, whose cross serves as pattern for his own life.
j. Second, the earthly things their minds are set on sum up the former two; this is what it means finally to be given over to the stomach as one's deity and to glory in what should be shameful.
k. By their fruit, Paul says, you will know them; by their focus you will also recognize that they are not walking according to the pattern of Christ and his apostle (Fee).
B. Godless Examples
1. Illustration: There are some events you’d just rather not be a part of. For example, on November 2, 2002, a coalition of atheist organizations (such as American Atheists, the Young Atheist Society, and the Institute for Unicorn Research) will be sponsored the "Godless Americans March on Washington". After so many other "marches on Washington", this one had the distinction of being the first march centered around what people don’t believe in. Their web site didn’t explain what the plan would be in case of inclement weather; after all, "acts of God" might be hard to explain (Michael Duduit, Editor Preaching Now Newsletter, August 13, 2002).
2. Champions of the Cross reject those whose lives are in direct opposition to Jesus.
a. Ephesians 4:17-19 (NLT)
With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
b. Why would we want to follow after enemies of Jesus?
c. Why would we want to emulate those whose lives are filled with sin, greed, and selfishness?
d. Instead we should reject them and all that they have to offer.
e. That doesn't mean that we hate them, because as Christians we are called to love.
f. But why would want what they have to offer when Jesus offers us so much more?
Transition: Champions of the Cross also...
III. Live In Eager Expectation (20-21).
A. Eagerly Awaiting
1. Champions are champions for one reason - they win.
a. The champions of the NFL get a trophy called The Lombardi Trophy
b. The champions of the NHL get a trophy called The Stanley Cup.
c. The Champions of the Cross win a trophy called Heaven.
d. It is a place with no more sorrow or pain, and the King's name is Jesus Christ.
2. As Champions of the Cross we wait in expectant faith for that award. Paul puts it this way, "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior."
a. Paul’s speaking of being citizens of heaven struck a chord with the Philippians. Philippi was a Roman colony; those who lived in Philippi had their citizenship in far-off Rome, although most of the Philippians had never been there. Roman citizenship was highly prized during Paul’s time.
b. The Christians in Philippi, as proud as they had been of their Roman citizenship, should have valued even more highly their citizenship in heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
c. The believers should have thought of themselves as “resident aliens” living temporarily in a foreign country with their home elsewhere.
d. One day they would experience all the special privileges of their heavenly citizenship because Christ would return as their Savior.
e. Believers are expecting the Savior to return from heaven to earth at his second coming.
f. While on earth, believers were citizens of their country (the Philippians were citizens of Rome itself and thus under Caesar’s rule), yet absolute loyalty was to the one and only true Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who rules in heaven, where all believers hold their ultimate citizenship (Barton, 859).
g. All of this to reassure the Philippians that the heavenly prize is absolutely worth pursuing.
3. Giving them something to look forward to, Paul said, "He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control."
a. Now, however, instead of thinking about "attaining to the resurrection", Paul thinks in terms of Christ's return. The net result is the same.
b. When Christ returns, he will conquer everything, everywhere. There will be no more sin, no more evil rulers, no more persecution of believers.
c. Christ will be King of kings and Lord of lords, ruler over all.
d. With that same power, he will transform all believers’ weak mortal bodies into glorious bodies like Christ’s resurrected body.
e. Our identities will not change, but our bodies will be like Jesus’ glorified body.
f. This won’t be an external resemblance, but we will share his nature and life (Barton, 859).
g. Therefore, just as knowing Christ now means being conformed into the likeness of his death, so in our final glory we will be conformed into the likeness of his resurrection (Fee).
B. Looking Forward
1. Illustration: G. Campbell Morgan, a preacher from the last century said "To me the second coming is the perpetual light in the path which makes the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that: maybe before the morning breaks the final morning may have dawned. I never begin my work without thinking perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin his own." Now that's living with eager expectation!
2. Champions of the Cross can look forward with great expectation to Jesus return.
a. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (NLT)
We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
b. There is a day coming that will be like no other day.
c. On that day the Lord shall return and take us to be with him forever.
d. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
e. He will heal all our diseases and hurts.
f. He will bring us to that heavenly city whose streets are paved with gold, and we will reign with him there.
g. Look foward to that day with eager expectation for that day!
Conclusion
1. According to Paul, Champions Of The Cross...
a. Emulate Good Examples
b. Avoid Bad Examples
c. Live In Eager Expectation
2. Are you a champion of the cross?
3. Lift high the Cross of Christ,
Tread where His feet have trod,
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up O men of God,
Rise up O men of God
