Well, good evening, everyone. As we already mentioned, we're going to be looking at the second half of the chapter from this morning, Philippians chapter 3. So if you have your Bibles and turn to Philippians 3, we'll read the whole chapter again just to remind us of the context, and then we'll look at verses 10 to the end, to 21. So Philippians chapter 3.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit.
Rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I also might have confidence in the flesh, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so. circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. Concerning the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church.
Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Pressing On: Not Yet Perfected
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule.
Let us be of the same mind.
Following Paul's Example
Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame. who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. Well, let us pray.
Dear Father in heaven, again, we stand here before you, Lord, and we ask for the ministry of your Spirit that He would be here among us, that He would aid and assist in ministering Your Word and preaching Your Word and expounding it and opening it up to Your people here. Lord, we pray that Your saints here would be edified, that we would see Christ, and that we would understand that Christ is the reason for why we have been saved, and that we would strive, like Paul tells us here, to run that race, and to live a life that is pleasing to you, and a life that brings glory to your name. Father, we pray for your blessing on us today. Please, please, Be among us, watch over us, and open our hearts and our minds to receive this Word.
We ask this all in Jesus' name. Amen.
Introduction
So this morning, we looked at the first nine verses of this chapter, and we looked at what Paul meant by this statement to the Philippians in verse 1, to rejoice in the Lord. And we saw that to rejoice meant to be fully satisfied in the Lord. And we looked at what that meant specifically in regards to our justification, what makes us right with God.
Sanctification Defined
And now in the rest of this chapter, Paul explains what it means for the rest of our walk as Christians, what we would call sanctification. And it's very important that we understand and that we maintain this distinction here between justification and sanctification.
Justification and Sanctification Distinguished
Justification is that legal declaration that God makes on the sinner that the sinner is now in right standing with him, that he is saved. And as we saw this morning, that is only possible through the work of the Lord Jesus. There's nothing that man contributes to his salvation, to him being declared right with God. God can only declare someone right with him who has Christ's righteousness imputed to their account and Christ's atonement as payment. for their sin.
And we saw that this imputation happens through faith, that a person receives these benefits when they believe in Christ as one who has done it all for them. Now, sanctification, on the other hand, is that process that begins the moment a person is justified and continues on through their entire life. It's that process of overcoming sin in our lives and of being conformed to the image of Christ. And again, it's very important that we understand that this begins after or at the moment of conversion.
It is not the cause of salvation. We were created in Christ Jesus for good works, not because of good works, the apostle says in Ephesians chapter 2. This morning I spoke about a lot of things that I said were good but had no value for our salvation. And what that means is that things like church attendance and our private devotions, our moral reform, cleaning up our life, these are all good things when we give them their proper place.
And their proper place is after salvation, as part of that process of sanctification. In regards to church attendance, don't get me wrong, even prior to salvation, obviously it's a good thing to be in a church, in a good gospel-preaching church. But there's that tendency that we have to place a value on our church attendance. And, you know, thinking that, you know, I'm a Christian because I go to church.
You know, that's what Christians do. I go to church and therefore that makes me a Christian. Or just thinking that our church attendance might somehow earn God's favor in a certain way in regards to our salvation. So if you're an unbeliever here tonight, please don't think that I'm saying stay away from church until you're saved.
In fact, you should be doing the exact opposite, but understand my point. We come to church to hear and be taught and believe the gospel. We don't come to church to earn God's favor. So there is this change that comes. after conversion, and that's what Paul wants us to understand here in the rest of this chapter.
Because when we preach a doctrine of justification by faith, the charge is so quickly given, the biblical doctrine of justification by faith, I should say, the charge comes so often that if we tell sinners that you contribute nothing to your salvation, well, then they're just going to continue on in their sin. If we tell them that their works have no value, and they just need to believe in Christ, then they'll profess to believe in him and continue on to live however they want. And Paul knows this, and we also see this in Romans 5. He anticipates that question, and he says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not, he says. God forbid, the King James puts it. So, because having a right understanding of what we talked about this morning and a right understanding of who we are as new creatures in Christ, continuing in sin without any change is not possible for someone who is in Christ. It's not that they will immediately become perfect or even near perfect, but rather that a noticeable process starts in their life.
Change is necessary. It's not necessary as a means of salvation. but it's a necessary result of the change that has occurred in the heart. Changes in outward life start to happen because of a change in the inward change that has happened. Faith without works is dead, James says.
It's not that the works are necessary for faith to be there, but it's because the change in the heart that produced faith also produces good works. And that's what Paul tells us here in verse 10 says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. So this sentence is a continuation of the previous verse here, and it's all what's included in being in Christ here. But that last clause there of being conformed to his death, it might be put at the beginning of the verse to give us a better understanding of what it means.
So having been conformed to his death, now I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. So then what does it mean to be conformed to his death?
Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1–11
Turn to Romans chapter 6 with me for a minute. Romans chapter 6, Paul gives us a much clearer illustration of what this means. Verses 1 to 11, we'll read them all so we can understand what he means here. Romans chapter 6.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we, who died to sin, live any longer in it?
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death, therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly also we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we also shall live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.
Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Conformed to Christ's Death
So if you remember what we said this morning about the natural man in Romans 8 and in Isaiah 64, that prior to conversion they are not able to do any good works, and that is because they are slaves of sin, meaning that the fallen human sinful nature that we have is only capable of sin. Every desire is sinful, every action is produced by that desire, and therefore it is sinful. But once a person is in Christ, Paul says here in verse 6 here in Romans, Now that that old nature is crucified with Christ, the body of sin is done away with, and we are no longer slaves of sin. So there is this change that happens by the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person at conversion.
They become dead to sin, Paul says. Now, that doesn't mean dead to the practice of sin, but dead to the reign of sin. So sin no longer reigns. It no longer controls everything we do.
That sin-controlled nature is put to death there. And now because of that supernatural change that happens in the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, having been conformed to His death, we are raised as a new creature in Him, a new creation. So if you're still in Romans 6, look at verse 4 again.
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:9–11
Now flip ahead to chapter 8 in Romans here for a minute. Chapter 8. Reading verses 9 to 11, Romans 8, But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
The New Nature and Resurrection Power
So our old nature has been put to death, or maybe we could say it's been given a mortal blow, and we are no longer under the complete control of that sinful nature. We have been given a new nature, one that desires to serve and please God. So there is a real change that happens in the heart of a person at conversion, and that change will produce real, visible changes in the lives of believers. So we can go back to Philippians again.
And that's what Paul means here when he says the power of his resurrection. That same power that God used to raise Christ from the dead is that same power by which he creates in us a new nature. Now this change, it happens at conversion, but it's not complete until we are in heaven with him. We have been broken free from that control of sin and given a new nature, but the old nature is still present.
And it's still something that we must strive continually to put to death, as well as that new nature, we must press on to conform that nature to the image of Christ. And we'll see more of that in a minute. And now just briefly, what he says here, that I may know him, the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings. Now, regarding this, some commentators apply this to the physical sufferings of Paul, that part of being in Christ is suffering for his sake.
And there may be truth to that. But I think in this context here, he's speaking of the benefits. of being in Christ and receiving the reward for which Christ suffered. That is the forgiveness of sin. So all these things here, the power of his resurrection conformed to his death, fellowship of his sufferings, these are benefits of being in Christ.
John Gill here says, this so signifies a sharing in and a participation of the benefits arising from them, that's Christ's sufferings, such as reconciliation for sin, peace with God, pardon, righteousness, and nearness to God. So this is tied into verse 9 here, where in addition to the righteousness that we receive from Christ, we also receive the forgiveness of our sins through Christ's atonement, just what we saw in Colossians 2 this morning. So, and now verse 11, here he says, Now, what Paul does not mean here is that it is now up to him to earn and obtain for himself the resurrection of his body. He's been very clear, and he's not wavering now, that he's been saved completely by the work of Christ. and that Christ has secured for him the resurrection.
But what he's saying here is that he's now in a process in which he must persevere, in that he must be disciplined, and then at the end of that comes the final resurrection of the saints upon the return of Christ. He knows that this is not going to be an easy process, but by any means, as he says here, he's going to get there. And he explains more of that in verse 12 here. Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." So, for one, we can't miss the sovereignty of God in salvation here in this last statement. that Christ has also laid hold of me.
So we know that Christ is the one who has laid hold of us. He's the one who seeks and saves. It's not of Him who wills nor of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy, Romans 9 tells us. And so it's God, by His Spirit, changes a man's heart and makes him willing in the day of His power.
But Paul says that now he's pressing toward that for which Christ laid hold of him. So he's pressing toward the goal of why Christ saved him. There's a reason why Paul has been saved. So the end is not salvation.
Salvation is the means to the end. So Christ has a purpose for saving us. And what is that purpose? Turn to Ephesians chapter 2 for a minute.
Ephesians 2. Verse 8 through 10, "'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.'" Now turn it to Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2.
Verse 11 to 14. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. 1st Thessalonians 4 says this is the will of God your sanctification Romans 8 29 for whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son So we know that the ultimate purpose in redemption is the glory of God. And that purpose of each individual believer is to bring glory to God. And that's achieved through our continued conformity to Christ, putting to death that old nature and the sin that it brings, and fanning the flames, as it were, of that new life that has been created in us.
This is what the old boys called mortification of the old man and vivification of the new man. So putting to death the old man, bringing to life the new man. And that's Christ's purpose for saving you, that you would bring glory to him through your life by becoming like him. So knowing that we have been laid hold of Christ should not cause us to become idle.
It is not that now that we are saved, the journey is over, I have arrived, now I just go through the motions of life on this earth until he calls me home. But it's not that. The moment of salvation is not the end of the journey, it's the beginning of the journey. And it's the beginning of the journey that you will be on for the rest of your life.
The Westminster Catechism, the first question says, what is the chief end of man? And the answer is not the chief end of man is to be saved. but rather the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Chief end meaning the purpose. So to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Now this only begins at salvation where God is glorified as the sinner rests fully satisfied in the finished work of Christ on their behalf. That's what we saw this morning is the beginning. And now Paul wants us to see the middle, that process, and that process that takes dedication on our part. So he says here that he's not already perfected.
He has not yet come to a complete knowledge of Christ. He has not yet come to a complete realization of the power of the resurrection and of being conformed to Christ's death. These are things that he wanted to experience more of. He wanted to grow more in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wanted to experience that power of the resurrection as a new creature in Christ and through his conformity to the image of Christ and the mortification of his old nature as he's conformed to Christ in his death. And he's in that process. He's pushing for that goal. And in verse 13 here, he repeats himself again.
Philippians verse 13. He says, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
Forgetting What Is Behind
So he says, I know I haven't attained, I haven't reached the end. But the thing that I do know is that everything that lies behind me, I forget about and I press on towards that goal. So what Paul does not mean here is that is by looking back here, is that looking back to where we were before Christ, our sinfulness and what Christ has done for us. That's not what he's talking about, because those are good things to look back on, because when we look at that, that doesn't detract from Christ, but that just rather serves to sharpen that vision of Christ and to make us just to love him more for what he has done for us.
And it should be a means to spur us on in pressing forward. But what Paul means here is that looking back here, he's talking about looking back on how far we've come in that process, in our own sanctification. So it's not stopping along the way to rest and congratulate ourselves for how well that we're doing. So all those good things that I mentioned earlier, those good works that take place in our lives, we still do not allow those things to detract from Christ and from the end goal.
So we saw this morning when we looked at verse 8 that Paul, he had counted all those things at loss and he continued to count everything at loss so that he might gain Christ. Now, self-examination. is a good thing, something that we should all be doing as believers, looking at our lives and to see if we're evidencing those changes, the fruits of the Spirit. But when we do see the fruits of the Spirit, they're a cause for rejoicing in Christ as assurance that we have been laid hold of by Him. That's not something to congratulate ourselves about.
We must press on. Remember Jesus' words. He says, no one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. You are not very effective at plowing if you're constantly looking behind you.
If you want to plow in straight rows, you look forward. Someone who's running a race doesn't look back as he runs. This is going to cause him to run slower and lose that race. He doesn't look back to see how far he's come and give himself a pat on the back.
Because that's going to distract from pressing towards that goal of winning the race. So we do not look back at our achievements in our walk with Christ, certain sins that we've overcome, and congratulate ourselves, thinking that now we've arrived. But we press on, we continue this fight, Paul says here. Spurgeon says, the Christian church is the child of spiritual war.
She only lives as she fights and rides forth, conquering and to conquer. God deliver us from the self-congratulatory spirit, however it may come, and make us long and pine after something better." So he's speaking of that pursuing on, always pressing forward. So Paul here also wants us to continue to press on. And look at the end of verse 14 here, and he adds, he adds, "...I press toward the goal for the prize of the upper call of God in Christ Jesus." In Christ Jesus here, that's a reminder to us that our salvation, our reward, this prize is all because of Christ.
It's not because of how hard we've pressed, it's all because of Christ. Remember what he said in verse one this morning. that for me to write these same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. And this is one of those little reminders again from Paul here for our own safety, just to always remember that we're here because of Christ. And again, we also must note here that in Christ, is also referring to our pressing on.
So we're pressing on in Christ, meaning we're not pressing on in our own strength, but we do so by the power of Christ. Remember, in Ephesians 2, it says that we are Christ's workmanship. So He is at work in our lives to conform us into His image. Philippians 2 verse 13 here says, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure.
And even prior to that in chapter 1 of Philippians verse 6, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ. So take courage. This fight is not something that you are on your own with. Paul Washer always says that to try and do this is like trying to pick yourself off the ground by your own bootstraps.
It's not possible. So we have to be in much prayer. dependence on Christ for this, because we don't want this to drive you to a spirit of fatalism where we take all responsibility away from us. Paul is calling us here to be disciplined, and we're not robots, but we have been given a rational mind and the ability to use that and the responsibility to use that, and that's what Paul wants us to to understand here. Jerry Bridges, in his book, The Discipline of Grace, he gives the example of an airplane.
And the two wings of the airplane, he calls discipline and dependence. So just like an airplane must have both wings properly attached in order to fly, we must exercise both discipline on our part and dependence on Christ in our life of sanctification. We must be disciplined in our actions of pressing forward to that goal, but always dependent on Christ for the power to do so. And always remember Jesus' words in John 15 5,
Walking by the Same Rule
And now in verse 15, And 16 here, he says, Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind.
So, Paul again, he's encouraging them to always... Always keep this in mind. Like I said this morning, we're so quick to allow those little things to slide in and to take away from being fully satisfied in Christ. We have to be on constant guard against this, even as we have just seen, even our own successes in if you want to call them that, in our sanctification, and allowing those things to detract from Christ's work in us.
So to be of the same mind here means to be fully trusting in Christ for justification and in salvation, as well as for our own sanctification, and then being disciplined and committed to fully pressing on in our growth in grace and knowledge and conformity to Christ. And then Paul's also given us the statement here that if any of you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. So now remember from this morning, the Philippian believers were constantly being harassed by these Judaizers who taught them that they needed to adhere to the law of Moses in order to be saved. And now these men would have been very convincing because they didn't deny Christ.
They said that you could believe in him. That was fine, but that just wasn't enough. You needed to add your own law-keeping in order to be saved. Now, there may have been new or weak believers in Philippi, and they could have tended towards this doctrine even in spite of Paul's warning.
So, Paul's trusting here that in time that they would be led by the Spirit to understand these things, because ultimately the Spirit is the revealer of truth. I remember a conversation that I had with a friend once regarding these things, sovereignty of God, that kind of thing, election, and I was trying to explain to him all the, I was giving him all the verses. I was coming from a logical standpoint, trying to explain to him the necessity of it. And he wasn't having it at all.
But it was several days later, I got a text from him, and he says, dude, you're right. God really is sovereign. And the funny thing was, he was reading in Ephesians 2 those very same verses that I had been quoting to him earlier. Now the Holy Spirit was working in him, you know, several days later as he went through and didn't even realize that they were the verses that I had been trying to convince him with.
So it just shows the Holy Spirit is necessary there. And this is encouraging because there are many believers out there, you know, new or immature believers, maybe those who haven't been taught right doctrines and, you know, are just newly converted. Now, they know Christ is the Savior, they know Christ is their Savior, but they might not understand all these things. Now, hopefully they're using the means of grace that God has given here, that the Spirit gives for edification. and growth, which is one is the church attendance and as well as reading the Bible prayerfully.
But ultimately, it is the Spirit that does reveal these truths. It's the Spirit who shines the light into the hearts. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 4, he says, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. So it is God who reveals these truths of the gospel at conversion, and God who continues to reveal truth in our growth in grace and knowledge. So all of the most clearest, most logical presentation of the gospel without the Spirit is nothing.
We need the Holy Spirit to reveal that truth. And we also, oh, we always need to remember this, too, as we converse with other believers. See, Paul doesn't, Paul's not coming down with a hammer on them here, but he's rather, he comes alongside them. He empathizes with them by sharing his own experience.
He gives himself as an example. So there may be a time when it's necessary. I think we see Paul do that with the Galatians. He comes down a lot harder on them, but maybe they were being more obstinate in their refusal to listen to Paul.
We don't know exactly. But here, he's just, Paul gives his own experience to the Philippians there as an example. So, and again, you know, Paul had, there was good reason here because from man's perspective, to boast in the flesh, if there was anyone who could do it, it was Paul. We saw that this morning.
But he, you know, he says away with that all. If you want to have Christ, you have to count, he says, I have to count all these things as loss so that I could gain Christ. And so do you. So now I need to press on to run that race, and so do you.
And that's what he says in verse 17 here. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. So he says, just that, follow my example. Note others who are following my example.
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ, he says to the Corinthians. So if there ever was an example to follow, it's Paul constantly pressing forward. And that's why he could say, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Because as long as I live, I'm knowing more of Christ.
I'm experiencing more of that power of Christ's death and resurrection as I press on. And if I die, then I get to fully understand and experience these things. So, he was constantly growing in Christ, never going backwards. So, definitely use Paul as your example.
Enemies of the Cross
And then, in verse 18, he gives that warning again. just like he did earlier in the chapter. There are many who say that they are Christians, but in reality, they're enemies of the cross of Christ here. He says, for many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. So, because as we saw this morning, you either have all of Christ or none of him.
To try and mingle the two, to try to make salvation a matter of Christ and is to take away from the cross of Christ, that's to be an enemy of the cross. And also just note Paul's concern here for the believers and his sorrow over this perversion of the gospel. He says, I tell you, even weeping, Paul was determined to preach nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. So for Paul to know that there were men going around trying to pollute and pervert that pure gospel brought much grief to him.
And he also, he had such a desire to present the church of Christ as that chaste virgin, to present the church to Christ as that chaste virgin. 2 Corinthians 11, he says here. So he strove for the purity of the church. He labored in birth pains till Christ be formed in you, he said to the Galatians. So it pained him to see these Judaizers infiltrating the church and polluting it.
And these men here, he says in verse 9, their end is destruction. So in verse 19, sorry, their end is destruction. He knows that Christ is ultimately going to separate, you know, the wheat and the chaff, the sheep and the goats. So those who pollute the pure gospel of Jesus Christ will find their end in destruction, in hell.
And John Gill here says, Gil is great, by the way. Now I understand why Pastor Butler loves him so much. It's very insightful on so much here. So he says, heresies such as strike at the efficacy of Christ's cross, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice are damnable ones and bring upon men swift destruction.
Now remember what Paul also said to the Galatians. He said, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you, even if it's an angel from heaven, let him be anathema, which means damned. So you cannot get the gospel wrong. You cannot teach Christ and my good works.
It must be Christ alone. And then he says their glory is their shame. So all the things that they've boasted about will become the things that bring about their downfall if they do not repent before it's too late. So were they teaching that you had to add works in order to merit salvation?
Well, that doctrine would bring them to shame when they came to stand before God without that perfect righteousness of Christ. or if they were teaching that they could just continue on in sin, you know, that grace may abound, you know, teaching and priding oneself in this doctrine is sure to bring about shame and destruction, because it shows, teaching that doctrine shows that the heart has not been renewed by the Holy Spirit. So, because these men, they were not about the advancement of the kingdom of heaven, but they were self-seeking, they were earthly-minded. Their God is their belly, he says here, their mind is set on earthly things. So they didn't have a kingdom mentality, so to speak, kingdom of heaven.
They had no desire to be useful in that kingdom of Christ.
Citizens of Heaven
And look at verse 20 here, he says, for our citizenship is in heaven. from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." So we are citizens of heaven. We have been delivered from that kingdom of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love, he says in Colossians. So our citizenship now is in heaven, and we must live with that perspective. And Paul also now shows us what the end will be here as well in verse 21.
So we also eagerly, sorry, verse 20, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. So he gives us a glimpse of what that end will be, that we will receive our glorious resurrected body. and there will be no more sin and sorrow. And that's what we all have to look forward to. But we must press on in achieving that purpose for which we were saved.
Remember that it is a process. It's not, I'm saved and now I do my own thing until I die and then at the end of the age I receive my glorified body back. I'm free of sin and everything's great. It's not to be looked at that way.
It's a process that we're in the middle of. It's not justification and then glorification, it's justification sanctification, and then glorification. So we are all now in that sanctification phase, that pressing on stage, and that's what Paul wants us to understand in this passage here.
Application
So in conclusion here, first of all, if you are an unbeliever here tonight, you do not believe in the Lord Jesus, you need to understand that this is not a prescription of how to be saved. do these things, clean up your life, get rid of sin out of your life, press on, and you will be saved. Absolutely not. If you were not here this morning, then I would suggest maybe go back and listen to that message if you have time. We talked very clearly about how it is that a man can be saved.
That was about justification. You know, what's making us right with God. And what makes us right with God is not our own works in any way. It's the perfect work of the Lord Jesus.
His perfect life to earn eternal life and His atonement on the cross to pay for sin. So pressing on, pressing towards the mark, you know, all that we've talked about tonight, that cannot earn your salvation. You need to start at the beginning. You need to go back, believe on Christ, trusting in His work on your behalf, resting fully satisfied in what He has done to secure your salvation.
We are justified by faith, by faith alone. And then that process of sanctification starts and you and you press on where you press on to be conformed to the image of Christ. So please, please understand those distinctions there. And now, believer, are you growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, like Peter tells us to?
Remember, there's a reason why you have been saved. It's to bring glory to Christ through your sanctification and conformity to him. And that doesn't happen on its own. Paul wants us, we need to press forward on that quest.
And the first thing that he wants us, you know, is to know him more and more. Like he says in verse 10, that I may know him. The prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 9, he says, So the best way to know more of God and know more of the person and work of Christ is to read and study His Word regularly. So He has revealed so much of who He is in His Word.
So study it, prayerfully, of course, to find Him there. And there's no formula. It's not, you know, if you read seven days a week for two hours a day, you know, then that'll work. I've even heard once seven verses, seven times a day, seven days a week.
There's no formula. It's just read your Bible prayerfully with the goal to learn more about Christ. And church attendance is another way to learn more of Him. Ephesians 4 says that pastors and teachers are gifts from Christ to His people as a means for their edification.
So use these means to learn more of Christ. He's your savior, the bridegroom. So we should have this desire to learn more about him until we get to see him face to face. And because so often it seems like church attendance is looked at more just like a tradition.
It's something that Christians do rather than realizing that it's something that God has explicitly said is there for the very purpose of your edification and for you being built up in a knowledge of Christ. And now Paul also wants us to experience more of the power of Christ's death and resurrection in our own lives. So that is that process of sanctification. We're progressing in holiness.
So putting to death sin in our lives, like I said earlier, and fanning the flames of that new life that has been created in us. And that is evidenced by doing good works. See, holiness is not locking yourself away in a monastery and pouring over the Word of God all day. It's not sitting on your couch or your office all day reading and praying.
Now, as attractive as that sounds some days, you know, and studying God's Word and praying are very good things. we do need to be producing those fruits of the spirit in our lives and practically carrying them out through good works. So sometimes I feel that we look at sanctification as only the mortification of the old man, and we forget about that other side. We think that as long as I stop doing these certain sins, then I'm doing good. And that's true, but that's only half.
The other half is of the life of sanctification, This bringing to life new good works Titus chapter 2 we read it already, but you know, he says they're Zealous being zealous for good works. That's how we bring glory to Christ We evidence good works in our lives and we and we are we're zealous for them. Remember this remember we talk about what zeal was this morning? It's that fervor or passion with for a cause and our cause is the glory of Christ and we need to have that fervor that that Passion to bring glory to him through our good works The Confession of Faith states in chapter 16, paragraph 2, that these good works are done in obedience to God.
These good works done in obedience to God's commandments are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith, and by them, believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that having their fruits unto holiness, they may have the end everlasting life. So what is a good work, just practically speaking? So our confession says here that it's anything that's done in obedience to the commandments, or going back one paragraph says anything that's done, anything that he has commanded in his holy word. And as Jesus said that all the law, all those commandments hang on these two things, love to God and love to your neighbor.
So good works are things that express love to God and or love to your neighbor. So Sam Waldron, he says that good works are concrete expressions of kindness and generosity, of a practical and financial kind. So it's very practical. It's just not living for yourself anymore.
You're not on this earth for yourself. You're part of the kingdom of heaven. We need to always keep that in focus, that we are citizens of heaven. So if your whole life is dedicated to your job, your business, building your earthly kingdom, I encourage you, examine yourself.
Hard work is good, it's biblical, but it cannot be our sole focus. You must realize that you are part of that great kingdom of heaven. Now, I don't want to get all, you know, Rick Warren purpose-driven life on you, but you need to understand that you were saved for a purpose. That purpose was not to advance your own little empire on this earth.
That purpose was to bring glory to Christ through the advancement of His kingdom on this earth. And as believers, we have all been commanded to be useful in that kingdom. This doesn't mean, you know, sell your business, quit your job, and go reach the untouched tribes of the Amazon. God does not call everyone to that.
Kind of work. So how do how do I know what God has called me to? Well, you know that that might just mean making disciples of the ones who sit around your dinner table every night. It might not be clear if you're called to be a missionary, but if you have children, then you're clearly called to be a godly mother or a godly father.
If you're married, you're called to be a godly husband or a godly wife, the way that he has laid out for in his word. So you have the front line, so to speak, right in your own house. So start there. Now, but armies are not made up of only soldiers on the front lines.
There's cooks, there's cleaners, there's medics, doctors, generals. So, being a useful part of the kingdom of heaven doesn't mean that you need to be on the front lines in the mission field or preaching on a street corner. You know, sometimes it just comes in the part of reaching out to someone with a little encouragement. I received a message this past week.
I was in my office wondering what in the world I was thinking that I was going to be in the pulpit Sunday morning. And I received a message from a dear brother that just said, brother, the same spirit that raises Jim up every Sunday is the same spirit that can raise you up. And it's those little things that just mean so much at a time like that. You know, those little things here.
And like Waldron said, things, acts of practical and financial aid. So, if you've been blessed financially, you know, perhaps then your financial support is needed to advance the gospel somewhere. So, we all have different gifts and abilities. We all need to use these gifts and abilities as different members of that body of Christ working together in His kingdom.
And we don't need to... We don't need to hold workshops on how to determine which spiritual gift you have, that kind of thing. Paul is very straightforward to the Corinthians. Pursue love, he says.
So, you know, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. It's pretty simple. So, ask yourself and think about it. What am I doing to advance the kingdom of Christ on this earth so that his name will receive glory?
Remember, Christ didn't save you just so that you didn't have to suffer eternity in hell. It was not just for you. He saved you as a means to bring Him glory, not only in your salvation itself, but in your life of sanctification on this earth. So whatever you do, make sure your focus is always on Christ, knowing that He brought you into His kingdom for His glory.
And one more thing here. It's comforting to have this little glimpse of the end here, isn't it? The glorification. To know that we are part of the kingdom of Christ, citizens of heaven, and that one day He will return in glory to bring you home.
Because there's so much evil in this world. We see it more and more with each passing day here. And to know that we are no longer citizens of this evil world, but we are part of the kingdom of the one who has conquered evil. Look at the end of verse 21.
Here he says, according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. So he has subdued all things. We are on the winning team, brothers and sisters. So take courage and press on because we have that future glory awaiting us.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus. The strife will not be long. This day the noise of battle, the next the victor's song. To those who vanquish evil, a crown of life shall be.
They with the king of glory shall reign eternally. And I want to close with the next verse, chapter 4, verse 1. Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved. So stand fast in Christ.
Stand fast in Him for your justification. Stand fast in Him for your sanctification. And one day, you will stand fast with Him in glory. Amen.
Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, again we thank you, Lord, for this beautiful passage of Scripture where we see Christ in his glory. Christ and all that he has done for us, Lord, we praise you for your great grace. We praise you for redemption, for purposing to save a multitude. of people that no man could number, and as a means to bring glory to your most holy name. And Lord, I pray that we would each be striving and pressing on, as Paul says, to bring glory to your name, that we would make much of Christ and that we would be a reflection of the love that you have shown to us, and we would be a reflection of that to others around us.
Lord, help us in this fight to press on daily. Lord, the battle is real. We strive in our own selves with putting to death this old nature, and also with so much evil around us. Lord, we just pray for much grace, for much courage, that we would put on that full armor of God, that we would be able to withstand the wiles of the devil.
And Lord, I just pray that you would go with us in this week, be with each one here. Help us to strive to do all things for your honor, Lord, in all the daily things that we do. Some things that seem so mundane and feel so mundane and repetitive and little, but that we would just seek by the grace of God to bring glory to your name. And Father, we ask that today that Would be a would have been a means of edification for your people here to see Christ in his glory And we pray that those here who are who are not in Christ who are not safe in him Would see him as that only way of salvation that they would trust in him knowing that they do not have a righteousness that can avail with you, but that Christ, that you are offering a perfect righteousness, one that is acceptable in your sight, and the righteousness of Christ.
And by faith they would receive that, to be found in Him, not having their own righteousness, but that righteousness which is from God by faith. Lord, I pray this all in the name of our Savior. Amen. We'll have a time of meditation.
When the piano is finished, you are dismissed.