Intro
In our study of Philippians, we find ourselves in the last seven verses of chapter 3. In the verses just prior to this text Paul introduced the metaphor of running a race like they run in the Olympics. His instruction there was that we keep our focus on the finish line; we do not look back; we run diligently to win the prize before us. The prize is Christ. The prize is knowing Christ more and more deeply.
In our text today Paul gives further instruction for running that race. Here he emphasizes staying on course. To win, a runner must stay on course. He must not get off track. He must not veer from his lane. In keeping with that theme, I have entitled this message “Staying on Track.”
Over the years I have seen many people begin their race with zeal, only to get side-traced somewhere along the way.i Some got diverted by some worldly pleasure or personal ambition.ii Others were sidetracked by a false doctrine.
There are numerous things that can capture the Christian’s attention and rob him of the prize. I listened to a celebrity whose name is well-known by everybody here. In his late teens he was gloriously filled with the Holy Spirit. He characterized it as “a once in a life-time experience.” He never rejected that experience. In fact, now in his later years he is publicly affirming it. But he does indicate that he didn’t always keep that relationship with God central in his life. For many years his time and energy were largely consumed with acting. And he was very successful doing that. We can get side-tracked by a career, and the more successful we are, the more tempted we are to invest more in the endeavor. I praise God that this famous person has the courage to publicly testify about his experience with God. That’s not easy to do in the Hollywood environment. His name is Denzel Washington, and you can hear his testimony on YouTube.iii
I’ve known people who got sidetracked with some hobby that just took more and more of their time and energy. One gifted man I knew loved to race motorcycles. He was very good at it. He won many trophies. But it kept him out of church on the weekends. He knew the Lord but that hobby took much more of his time and attention than running the race Paul is talking about in Philippians 3. I have no doubt that I will see him in heaven. But the issue is “what might have been.” I wonder what God would have done through that man had he not gotten sidetracked. It doesn’t have to be an evil thing. Just getting the priorities wrong can do it. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God. We must make our pursuit of God number one. Anything thing short of that can take us off course.
The most heartbreaking diversions I’ve seen, come when someone is deceived by a false teaching. That does not happen overnight, and there is always more involved than just an intellectual misunderstanding. Deception is more of a heart issue than an intellectual issue. That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart. . . .”iv
Spiritual pride is often the prelude to doctrinal deception. It’s hard to help a person who is deluded with a false doctrine. The pride that accompanies the deception often causes him to think he knows more than the person trying to correct them. I knew a couple in one church I attended who decided they were already in a glorified state of perfection. I saw no glory emanating from their bodies. I was surprised that anybody could come to that conclusion. But nobody could persuade them otherwise, even though Scripture and practical experience confirm it is not true. They felt they were specially chosen by God to receive this revelation. They felt they had “higher knowledge” than the pastor and other leaders. The deception shipwrecked people’s lives.
Paul does three things in our text that can help Christians stay on track.v I believe they are particularly important in the times in which we live today.vi
(1) He calls people to embrace what he has said in this chapter (vs 15-17).
(2) He cautions Christians against teachers who might mislead them (vs 18-19).
(3) He confirms the Christian’s destiny in Christ as a focus for their lives (vs 20-21).
I. Paul’s CALL for agreement with what he has said prior to this:
Phil. 3:15-17: “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. 17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”
First, Paul calls for agreement with the mindset he has presented in this letter. The Greek word phroneo occurs twice in verse 15. First it is translated “view of things” and then in the second sentence it is translated “think.” “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things [phroneo]. And if on some point you think [phroneo] differently, that too God will make clear to you.”vii The reason I point this out is the pervasiveness of this term in the letter.
In 1:7 he references his own thinking about the believers in Philippi. “It is right for me to feel [phroneo] this way about all of you. . . .” The King James Version translates it “think.” The New King James Version says, “just as it is right for me to think this of you all. . . .” He is referring to the way he thinks about things, in particular his mindset about the Philippian Christians.
In Philippians 2:2 he writes, “then make my joy complete by being like-minded [phroneo], having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind [phroneo]. Philippians 2:5 is possibly the most important reference. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset [phroneo] as Christ Jesus.” Then he goes on to describe Christ’s view of life during his incarnation.
Back in our text the repetition of this Greek word is more obscure in the NIV although the translation is appropriate. The New King James Version translates 3:15: “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind [phroneo].” In some Greek texts it is also in verse 16. The NKJV reads: “Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind [phroneo].viii Then in 3:19 Paul condemns the mindset of false teachers. “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in theirshame. Their mind [phroneo] is set on earthly things.” The way they view life, their “world view” is wrong.
In 4:2 the word appears again: “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind [phroneo] in the Lord.” Finally, in 4:10 the word is translated concern: “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern [phroneo] for me. Indeed, you were concerned [phroneo], but you had no opportunity to show it.”
Why have I taken time to point out these occurrences of phroneo in this letter? Paul’s emphasis on mindset tends to get lost in the translation into English. A major objective in writing this letter is to get these Philippians thinking right. If our thinking is wrong, our behavior will be wrong as well. Ultimately Paul wants them to live right. But that does not happen unless the thinking is right. We are studying this passage today because we want revelation from God’s word to shape the way we view things; we want to think the way God wants us to think.ix
In verse 15 Paul is calling on these believers to view life the way he does.x The Greek word oun, translated “moreover” or “therefore” in the KJV, connects our text with the previous verses.xi While Paul is connecting this exhortation with all that he has previously said, he is particularly wanting them to focus their lives on Christ and the goal of knowing Him more fully. He concluded that passage in verses 13-14: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
So, he is saying first of all: get your thinking right. Your attitude and goals in life should be consistent with what I have just described to you. Your mindset should be the same as Christ demonstrated when he was here on earth. If you claim to be a mature believer, then it follows that you would think this way. So Paul writes in 3:15: “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things.”
Then in the next sentence he adds, “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” If you differ with me on some of this, I’m trusting God to reveal the truth to you. I’m not going to strive with; I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to trust God to make it clear to you. Paul’s not saying it’s okay to adopt a different way of thinking. He’s simply acknowledging that God graciously showed him these truths, and God will graciously show them as well.
Having left any debate at that, Paul says in the next sentence: “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” Regardless of what level you agree with me doctrinally on all this, at least live according to the truth you have. Right thinking, sound doctrine should always lead to right living. Christianity is not a list of orthodox doctrines and creeds. Paul is clearly calling for sound doctrine. But the goal behind sound teaching is a life lived in fellowship with the Lord, doing those things that are pleasing to Him.
It’s hard to get further revelation if we won’t do what we already know. Paul is believing God to give more light to those who might not embrace everything he has said. But he knows that a key to getting more light is found in obedience to the light we have.xii If God just kept giving more and more light, He would be heaping on us more and more responsibility which would result in stricter judgment (Luke 12:48). Do you want more revelation from the Lord? Ask Him for it. But you must also do what you already know to do.
In verse 17 Paul tells these believers to follow his example. “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. . . .“ Notice the call to unity in this: “Join together.”xiii This is another theme that runs through this whole letter. He offers himself as a uniting influence. He offers himself as someone they can safely follow and should follow. The New Living Translation says, “pattern your lives after mine.”
That’s a bold thing to say. If we are not following Christ, it would be a foolish thing to say. Leaders want followers. But if they are spiritually blind and going in the wrong direction, they not only bring destruction on themselves but on all those who are following them.xiv The more followers they get, the more accountability they have and the more judgment they will experience. Paul makes this bold invitation because he knows in his heart that he is following the Lord. In fact, he says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
As long as we are following after Christ the way Paul describes in this chapter, we should be inviting a following. When a person stands in a pulpit and presents himself as a pastor, he is calling people to follow him. He is not just saying “do as I say.” By the position he assumes, he is also saying, “Do as I do.” That is a big responsibility. But Paul gladly accepts it for the sake of these believers.
Paul also tells these believers to identify and follow other godly leaders as well. In verse 17 he adds, “and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” There are other leaders who are passionate about the Lord and are worthy examples as well. Learn from them and model your life after their example.
A true disciple of the Lord will want his followers to learn from other godly leaders in addition to himself. It should set off our alarms if a leader depicts himself as the only one with the truth. That’s what cult leaders do. If I have the truth, there are others who will be confirming that truth. It may not be a majority. When the Church is in a backslidden condition it will not be the majority. But God always has people who love Him and obey Him. It is a safety for believers to hear them. It brings better balance and perspective. Paul says here, “Don’t just follow me. Follow people whose lives demonstrate dedication to Christ. Identify these people and hear what they have to say. But don’t just hear, live the kind of life they are living.”xv
I have rejoiced this week hearing godly leaders like Mike Bickle, Mario Murillo, and others. Thank God there are godly voices lifting up the name of Jesus. We even have access to great leaders from the past like Charles Spurgeon, Charles Finney, Billy Graham, Steve Hill, and Derek Prince. We don’t have to agree with everything these godly people say in order to receive from their ministries. I encourage you to capitalize on the vast resources available to us.
But be discerning because there is also a lot of false doctrine out there. Many are falling away from the faith because they found something out there that tickled their ears. It was more
sensational and made them feel more important. It professed to be higher knowledge when it actually came from the lower pits of hell. Notice next in our text:
II. Paul’s CAUTION against leaders who would lead them astray.
Verses 18-19: “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”
Notice how often Paul warns against false teachers and deception. This has to be done. It is not a pleasant task. Paul does it “with tears.” He weeps because of the destruction the false teachers face. He weeps because of the havoc and destruction they are bringing into the churches. He weeps because of the damage being done to God’s people. The error in doctrine is not just an abstract, intellectual matter. It translates into broken lives and eternal damnation. Paul would build up a church, and these false teachers would come in behind him tearing it down.
The Hebrew word translated Satan means “adversary, one who withstands.”xvi Whatever God is doing, Satan is opposing. While God is leading believers into truth, Satan is trying to lead them into error. God sends His ministers to establish Christ’s followers in sound doctrine. Satan sends his ministers to lead people into false doctrine. We all wish it weren’t so, but it is so! And we have to deal with it. Paul is dealing with it in our text.
Who are these false teachers? They may be the same people he warned of in 3:2.xvii Those were legalist Judaizers who led people away from the simplicity of Christ.xviii But the description here is 3:18 doesn’t fit that group very well. It’s probably a different group. It doesn’t matter much. Either way those people are dead and gone. What matters is the description Paul gives of these people. That helps us identify false prophets in our day.
Paul refers to them as “enemies of the cross of Christ.” I can’t imagine any worse title. Imagine the horror of standing before Christ at the Great White Throne Judgement as an enemy of the cross: the cross where our Savior suffered and died to provide salvation for all who will receive it. To stand as an adulterer or thief or murderer on that day would surely be less terrifying than to stand as one who hated and opposed the way of salvation bought with the precious blood of Christ. By their stand against what Christ did at Calvary, these people have positioned themselves as the worst of the worst. Not only have they opposed God’s provision of mercy, but they have led others into the same stance.xix I shudder to think of the horror they face on the day of judgment.
They are enemies of cross in the sense that they reject and oppose the doctrine of atonement. They count the blood of the covenant a common thing (Heb. 10:29). Jesus’s death on the cross was unlike any other death. The thief on the cross next to Him was there because he deserved to be there. Even if he were not a thief, he was a sinner and “the wages of sin is death.”xx But Jesus was the pure Son of God. He was without sin.xxi He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He was wounded for our transgression, not His own.xxii All the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to this one monumental event. Without the cross there could be no salvation. For “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”xxiii
To reject atonement through the cross of Christ is to reject the only hope of salvation. There are not many ways to heaven. There is only one way to heaven. That is through Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Peter wrote in his first epistle, “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). In Colossians 1:14 Paul tells us we have redemption “through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (NKJV). Anyone who rejects salvation through Christ’s death on the cross is an enemy of the cross. For these false teachers, the cross is a stumbling block and foolishness to their intellect.xxiv They mock the idea that blood shed on a Roman cross 2000 years ago could cancel one’s sin and buy salvation. Their thinking is more enlightened than that. Even if they once believed it, they have now evolved beyond that. They are enemies of the cross because they have rejected the atonement in Christ’s death at Calvary.
These false teachers are also enemies of the cross because they reject the way of the cross. Jesus plainly said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The path of following Christ is one of self-denial. It requires taking up a personal cross daily. Paul said, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14, NKJV).
Following Christ means I lay down my self-centered life; I do what He wants me to do, not what my flesh wants to do. But these false teachers reject the crucified life. “Their god is their stomach.” They live in self-indulgence and promise that same liberty to others. The description Paul gives of these people points to antinomianism.xxv We have no part in the work of atonement. Jesus alone paid that price. But there is a cross for every true follower of Christ—a cross of self-denial and obedience to the Lord. Thomas Shepherd understood this when he wrote:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
And there’s a cross for me.xxvi
Next week we will look at the four characteristics of these “enemies of the cross” in verse 19. We will also see the contrast in verses 20-21 where Paul confirms the Christian’s destiny in Christ.
Today we have heard Paul’s call to view life the way he describes it in this chapter and to follow his example as he follows Christ. The logical question that follows that study is this: are you following Paul’s pattern of life? Is Christ the central, consuming passion of your life? Do you count other things as rubbish compared to knowing Him better and better? Or has something else captured your attention and affection? Let’s take a moment and let the Lord apply today’s message to each one of us personally. What is God telling you to do about this message? What is pointing His finger at in your life? Now is the time to fully commit to the Lord. Now is the time to embrace His priorities for your life. Now is the time to say “yes” to Jesus without any reservations. If God is telling you to lay something down, make that decision today. He will give you strength to follow through with the decision.
ENDNOTES
i Cf. Gal. 1:6-7.
ii Cf. 1 John 2:15-17; Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019) 95-110.
iii “Denzel Washington Shares ‘The Encounter with the Holy Spirit,’” Your Living Manna on YouTube. Accessed 9/4/20 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BcTGExOs-w.
iv All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version unless indicated otherwise.
v Nobody is above the possibility of deception. We depend daily upon the Holy Spirt to lead us into truth (John 16:13). Paul warned in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (NKJV).
vi Cf. Matt. 24:4-5; 2 Tim. 3; 1 John 2:18-19; Tow, Authentic Christianity, 111-120.
vii In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul uses the term when referring to an immature way of thinking. “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought [phroneo] like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (RSV). Paul uses the term 23 times in the New Testament. Phroneo is a key to understanding Paul’s message in Philippians.
viii Metzger says the additional phrase in the Textus Receptus were probably added as explanatory words. With or without the phrase, the meaning is essentially the same. Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (United Bible Societies, 2002) 548-549.
ix Rom. 12:2. Sadly many have had their world view corrupted by philosophies of men such as Carl Marx, Adolf Hitler, etc. (2 Cor. 11:3; Col. 2:4, 8).
x The object one chooses to pursue in life is profoundly important. In Romans 8 Paul contrasts living “according to the flesh” with living “according to the Spirit.” He writes in verses 5-8, “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on [phroneo] what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind [phronema] governed by the flesh is death, but the mind [phronema] governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind [phronema]governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” In Philippians 3 Paul has called on his readers to set their minds on Christ and their relationship with Him. As Goetzmann says, “the way one thinks is intimately related to the way one lives, whether in Christ, in the Spirit and by faith, or alternatively in the flesh, in sin and in spiritual death. A man’s thinking and striving cannot be seen in isolation from the overall direction of his life; the latter will be reflected in the aims which he sets himself. This close inter-relationship between life and thought is echoed by the wide range of meanings attaching to phroneo. It expresses not merely an activity of the intellect, but also a movement of the will; it is both interest and decision at the same time.” Colin Brown, ed, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, 1967 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986) s. v. “Mind,” by J. Goetzmann, 617.
xi Because of the wealth of revelation in this letter we must study it a few verses at a time. However, I have tried to affirm the link with what has already said so that we keep the passage being studies in context. Each study is like a link in a chain that needs to be properly attached to the links on each side of it.
xii Cf. John 7:17.
xiii The Greek word summimetes is from sun (together with) and mimetes (an imitator). It means “an imitator of or follower with others, a joint follower (Phil. 3:17).” Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers, Inc., 1992) s.v. #4831, p. 1328.
xiv Matt. 15:14; Luke 6:39.
xv Notice in our text, the criterion we should use is that they live the way Paul lived. The Pharisees were saying a lot of good things, but they did not live the life (Matt. 23:1-4). When Paul asks people to follow him, he invites them to examine his lifestyle (1 Thess. 2). The examination of a teacher’s lifestyle can be difficult in this age of mass media. It’s not just what they say (as important as that is) but how they live as well. Cf. 1 Thess. 5:12; 2 Thess. 3:7).
xvi Strong’s Concordance, no. 7854.
xvii Wiersbe thinks it is likely Paul is talking about the Judaizers already mentioned in verse 2. Barton, et al. agree with Wiersbe but recognize that “some scholars think Paul was referring to another false teaching that had surfaced called ‘antinomianism.” But Fee says, “they are unlikely to be the same as those mentioned in v. 2.” Fee analyzes this issue extensively and concludes, “He is probably describing some itinerants, whose view of the faith is such that it allows them a great deal of undisciplined self-indulgence.” Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Joyful, 1974 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1986) 115-116; B. B. Barton, M. Fackler, L. Taylor, and D. Veerman, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1995) 103-105; Gordon Fee, Paul’s
Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, N. B. Stonehouse, F. Bruce, G. Fee, and J. Green, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 366-375.
xviii Cf. Gal. 1:6-7; 4:17; 5:6.
xix Cf. Luke 11;52.
xx Rom. 6:23 (KJV).
xxi Heb. 4:15.
xxii Isa. 53:5.
xxiii Heb. 9:22 (RSV).
xxiv 1 Cor. 1:23.
xxv Antinomianism combines the Latin prefix “anti” which means “against” with the Greek word for law (nomos). Here is the dictionary definition of antinomian: “one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary for salvation.” Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993) 81.
xxvi Thomas Shepherd, “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?” in Hymns of Glorious Praise (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1969) 352.
