The Cross-Friendly Life - Philippians 3:17-19 Series

Philippians 3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say 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 on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Close to Home

In this passage Paul talks about people who are enemies of the cross of Christ and their end is destruction. You hear that and think, “Wow, those people must really be bad.” What kind of horrible sins are these people guilty of? Did they exterminate six million Jews? Are they rapists or murderers? Then you read more and you see that the horrible sin these people are guilty of is that their god is their stomach and their mind is on earthly things. You see that and think, “Wow, that hits a little closer to home than I expected.” Their god is their stomach? Isn’t it true that every person in this room is guilty of sometimes elevating our physical appetites and impulses to the level where we obey those appetites more than we obey God? We are fighting against that, and with varying levels of success, but isn’t it true that we all tend to do that to some degree? And the other part – their mind is on earthly things. Who here isn’t guilty of having earthly mindset in times when we should be having an eternal mindset? The indictments in this passage hit so close to home that when we read that every one of these people ends in destruction, and they are living as enemies of the cross of Christ, that gets our attention. Paul is warning about a horrible fate that is connected to a lifestyle that really isn’t all that unimaginable that we could fall into it.

But thankfully God has given us this passage of Scripture to protect us from falling into it. And so this passage is of great interest to anyone who wants to be a friend of the cross of Christ rather than an enemy of the cross of Christ.

One Command

The good news is there is only one command in this whole passage, so at least it’s not complicated. The command is in verse 17 and the whole rest of the chapter just gives reasons to obey the command.

Philippians 3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

That is the command, which has two parts – follow Paul’s example, and follow the example of people who are following Paul’s example. Then he tells us why, which is indicated by the word for. 17 [follow my example] …18 For… and then he goes on to explain why it’s so important to follow godly examples. I’m telling you this right up front because this is one of those passages where it is really easy to get lost in the details and lose sight of the main point. The main point is this: Follow godly examples in the way you live.

The Need for Example

That is not optional. This is a command. It doesn’t say, “Follow godly examples if you’re a people person, but if you’re more of a loner and you like to be by yourself, don’t worry about it.” Every one of us must do this because the Christian life is not something you can get the hang of just by listening to instruction. We all know what it’s like to read about something and not really get it, but then someone shows you, and then you finally get it. Someone says, “Do this, this, and this.”

“Huh?”

Then they show you – “Ohhh, I see” and you get it. The Christian life is one of those things. There are so many things Scripture calls us to do in the Christian life that, if we never see some other person doing it, we will never be able to get the hang of it.

Be On the Lookout

Now, I want to urge you to take note of the words, take note.

17 … take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

The Greek word there is the same word translated watch out in verse 2 where he said watch out for those dogs. We need to be on the lookout for false teachers who will lead us astray, and we also need to be on the lookout for godly examples that we can follow. And the fact that you have to watch out for them shows that you are not necessarily going to be able to spot these people unless you put some effort into it. You have to be watching for them. Be on the lookout for anyone who is living according to the pattern laid down by the apostles in Scripture so you can follow their example.