Whose Side Are You Standing On? - Philippians 3:17-21
Whose Side Are You Standing On? - Philippians 3:17-21
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 14, 2009 AM
We have many examples throughout our lives that influence us in how we live our lives. People become patterns for us for good or bad. These examples are important. In fact, studies have shown that if parents are abusive, alcoholic, promiscuous, or live other abusive kinds of lifestyles then their children have a far greater chance of growing up to be the same. Good examples therefore are good in life. What happens if the life we used to live was not such a good example? The Bible teaches us that there is hope in such a situation. However, there are also those who use Christians or churches as examples, or rather excuses, as to why they do not believe or do not attend. Folks have many reasons for rejecting the gospel. They will say it is because of something a Christian or a church did or did not do for them at some point in time. “I went to church and no one spoke to me.” “I bought something from someone who said they were a ‘Christian’ and they didn’t treat me very good!”
The examples my own father gave me while growing up have stayed with me. He taught me the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly. I learned my sense of humor from my father, consistent discipline, to always be a gentleman, and to tell the truth. However, I also learned what it meant not to save a dime and to grow up poor. From that I did learn sacrifice and the value of money. I also learned the importance of getting and keeping a job, which, while my Dad was a hard worker, he did not stay at one job very long. He got easily bored. I learned the value of a getting an education. My father was just shy of one semester of getting his college degree and regretted it his entire life. And, finally, I learned to love God from my father. Sitting on hard wooden pews listening to the droning of the parish priest go on and on in Latin, all the while watching my father’s devotion, I was instilled with a sense of the sacred and what it meant to yearn for the answers of eternity.
Patterns are important whether it is making a bird house or being an example for others to follow. And so we discover that it does matter whose side we stand on in life. Christians are patterns for others as they watch our lives in Christ. Paul teaches us that a life lived for the Lord can be a good example or we can stand as an ungodly example for others to follow. Let’s see what he says.
Paul writes the Philippians, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.” (Philippians 3:17-21)
First, Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord! Standing tall is more than height, it is holiness. Just as Paul had told the Ephesians, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” (Ephesians 5:1-2) he also told the Philippians to “join with others in following my example.” What example did Paul follow? The example Paul followed was that of Jesus. He would bluntly tell others, “Therefore I urge you to imitate me… Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1) And this is the encouragement that all believers should follow. Jesus is the perfect example or person to pattern our lives after. Just as young children often want to be like their parents we, as the children of God, should want to be like Jesus. We should, as Paul suggests, “take note of those who live according to the pattern” that he has given us in Jesus. The believer’s life should be an open book, so-to-speak, for others to see and in fact it is whether we want to be or not. Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord.
He began working as a copy boy at the Detroit Free Press when he was 13. When his father died, the young man dropped out of school at age 17 to work full-time to help support his family. One of his jobs was clipping “filler” articles (often in verse). He soon decided that he might as well write short poems rather than insert the nonsense written by others. His first published poem appeared in 1898. He went on to write over 11,000 poems, many of them syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected in 20 books. He was an Episcopalian with a strong spiritual sensitivity. His name was Edgar Guest and he wrote these familiar words: “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day; I’d rather one would walk with me than merely tell the way; The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear, And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds, For to see good put in action is what everybody needs. I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done; I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do. For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give. But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.” (Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959) B. B. McKinney wrote the same idea with the following words: “While passing through this world of sin, and others your life shall view, Be clean and pure without, within; let others see Jesus in you. Your life's a book before their eyes, they're reading it through and through; Say, does it point them to the skies, do others see Jesus in you? Then live for Christ both day and night, be faithful, be brave and true, and lead the lost to life and Christ. Let others see Jesus in you. Refrain: Let others see Jesus in you, Let others see Jesus in you. Keep telling the story, be faithful and true; Let others see Jesus in you.” Christians are to stand tall with Paul in Christ.
Second, Paul warns Christians against standing with the world! One foot in the world means you are standing in deep do-do! Notice that Paul was actually broken-hearted, “with tears,” when he saw perhaps fellow believers or others living as “enemies of the cross of Christ.” What a wonderful confessional picture of Paul we have here. He actually wept over those who had wandered away from living their lives for the Lord! Why would this affect Paul so much? Because Paul knew that their “destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” They would be destroyed by their own sinful passions that controlled their lives. The only thing they would enjoy would be the pleasure of the moment. That was their shameful glory. We discover with Paul that Christians should weep for several reasons for those who are not living for the Lord: 1) Because they are in danger of defeating themselves spiritually and their relationship with God; 2) Because they are going to have to reveal how they lived ungodly lives before the Lord Himself one day; and, 3) Because they harm the cause of Christ! However, Paul reminds his readers, “our citizenship is in heaven.” And, therefore, “we [should] eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ!” Who, when He returns to claim his own, “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Believers should never be loyal to the world and its passions because we are to remember that “this world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31) All Christians everywhere know this to be true because it is based squarely on “the power that enables [Jesus] to bring everything under his control!” In fact, the beautiful truth is that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Christians should not stand with the world.
We live in a day and age where 40% of all live births are to single mothers. Sadly, many children will not have the influence of a consistent father figure in their lives. Those that are born into two-parent households, 40% will experience the devastation of divorcing parents. The problem? We are far too selfishly motivated, fond of ourselves, and desire only what is best for us for the moment and do not have our eyes fixed on “the author and perfecter of our faith,” Jesus Christ. Paul teaches us that it is important whose side we are standing on. Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord and he related that Christians should not stand with the world.
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This article is the copyrighted 2009 © property of Lee Hemen and may not be copied or reproduced in any way shape or form without using the full text of this entire article, and getting the permission of its author.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 14, 2009 AM
We have many examples throughout our lives that influence us in how we live our lives. People become patterns for us for good or bad. These examples are important. In fact, studies have shown that if parents are abusive, alcoholic, promiscuous, or live other abusive kinds of lifestyles then their children have a far greater chance of growing up to be the same. Good examples therefore are good in life. What happens if the life we used to live was not such a good example? The Bible teaches us that there is hope in such a situation. However, there are also those who use Christians or churches as examples, or rather excuses, as to why they do not believe or do not attend. Folks have many reasons for rejecting the gospel. They will say it is because of something a Christian or a church did or did not do for them at some point in time. “I went to church and no one spoke to me.” “I bought something from someone who said they were a ‘Christian’ and they didn’t treat me very good!”
The examples my own father gave me while growing up have stayed with me. He taught me the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly. I learned my sense of humor from my father, consistent discipline, to always be a gentleman, and to tell the truth. However, I also learned what it meant not to save a dime and to grow up poor. From that I did learn sacrifice and the value of money. I also learned the importance of getting and keeping a job, which, while my Dad was a hard worker, he did not stay at one job very long. He got easily bored. I learned the value of a getting an education. My father was just shy of one semester of getting his college degree and regretted it his entire life. And, finally, I learned to love God from my father. Sitting on hard wooden pews listening to the droning of the parish priest go on and on in Latin, all the while watching my father’s devotion, I was instilled with a sense of the sacred and what it meant to yearn for the answers of eternity.
Patterns are important whether it is making a bird house or being an example for others to follow. And so we discover that it does matter whose side we stand on in life. Christians are patterns for others as they watch our lives in Christ. Paul teaches us that a life lived for the Lord can be a good example or we can stand as an ungodly example for others to follow. Let’s see what he says.
Paul writes the Philippians, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.” (Philippians 3:17-21)
First, Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord! Standing tall is more than height, it is holiness. Just as Paul had told the Ephesians, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” (Ephesians 5:1-2) he also told the Philippians to “join with others in following my example.” What example did Paul follow? The example Paul followed was that of Jesus. He would bluntly tell others, “Therefore I urge you to imitate me… Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1) And this is the encouragement that all believers should follow. Jesus is the perfect example or person to pattern our lives after. Just as young children often want to be like their parents we, as the children of God, should want to be like Jesus. We should, as Paul suggests, “take note of those who live according to the pattern” that he has given us in Jesus. The believer’s life should be an open book, so-to-speak, for others to see and in fact it is whether we want to be or not. Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord.
He began working as a copy boy at the Detroit Free Press when he was 13. When his father died, the young man dropped out of school at age 17 to work full-time to help support his family. One of his jobs was clipping “filler” articles (often in verse). He soon decided that he might as well write short poems rather than insert the nonsense written by others. His first published poem appeared in 1898. He went on to write over 11,000 poems, many of them syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected in 20 books. He was an Episcopalian with a strong spiritual sensitivity. His name was Edgar Guest and he wrote these familiar words: “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day; I’d rather one would walk with me than merely tell the way; The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear, And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds, For to see good put in action is what everybody needs. I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done; I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run. And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do. For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give. But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.” (Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959) B. B. McKinney wrote the same idea with the following words: “While passing through this world of sin, and others your life shall view, Be clean and pure without, within; let others see Jesus in you. Your life's a book before their eyes, they're reading it through and through; Say, does it point them to the skies, do others see Jesus in you? Then live for Christ both day and night, be faithful, be brave and true, and lead the lost to life and Christ. Let others see Jesus in you. Refrain: Let others see Jesus in you, Let others see Jesus in you. Keep telling the story, be faithful and true; Let others see Jesus in you.” Christians are to stand tall with Paul in Christ.
Second, Paul warns Christians against standing with the world! One foot in the world means you are standing in deep do-do! Notice that Paul was actually broken-hearted, “with tears,” when he saw perhaps fellow believers or others living as “enemies of the cross of Christ.” What a wonderful confessional picture of Paul we have here. He actually wept over those who had wandered away from living their lives for the Lord! Why would this affect Paul so much? Because Paul knew that their “destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” They would be destroyed by their own sinful passions that controlled their lives. The only thing they would enjoy would be the pleasure of the moment. That was their shameful glory. We discover with Paul that Christians should weep for several reasons for those who are not living for the Lord: 1) Because they are in danger of defeating themselves spiritually and their relationship with God; 2) Because they are going to have to reveal how they lived ungodly lives before the Lord Himself one day; and, 3) Because they harm the cause of Christ! However, Paul reminds his readers, “our citizenship is in heaven.” And, therefore, “we [should] eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ!” Who, when He returns to claim his own, “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Believers should never be loyal to the world and its passions because we are to remember that “this world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:31) All Christians everywhere know this to be true because it is based squarely on “the power that enables [Jesus] to bring everything under his control!” In fact, the beautiful truth is that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Christians should not stand with the world.
We live in a day and age where 40% of all live births are to single mothers. Sadly, many children will not have the influence of a consistent father figure in their lives. Those that are born into two-parent households, 40% will experience the devastation of divorcing parents. The problem? We are far too selfishly motivated, fond of ourselves, and desire only what is best for us for the moment and do not have our eyes fixed on “the author and perfecter of our faith,” Jesus Christ. Paul teaches us that it is important whose side we are standing on. Paul asks Christians to stand tall with him in the Lord and he related that Christians should not stand with the world.
---
This article is the copyrighted 2009 © property of Lee Hemen and may not be copied or reproduced in any way shape or form without using the full text of this entire article, and getting the permission of its author.
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