Flesh and blood examples are powerful in our life, either for good or bad. May God helps to emulate the good examples and shun the bad!
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Good And Bad Examples In The Christian Life
Philippians 3:17-19
The apostle Paul’s teaching in Philippians chapter 3 utilizes many analogies.
He begins in verses 1-11, using the analogy of an Accountant. Just as an accountant puts everything into the debit or the credit columns, so too Paul had learned to put all the things he once put his confidence in into the debit column, and the thing he had despised (knowing Christ) he said was gain. It was of inestimable value.
Then in verses 12-16, Paul uses the analogy of an athlete running for the prize. Paul says that just as the athlete doesn’t look back, but strains every nerve toward the tape, so too he forgets what lies behind and reaches forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Then in verses 17-21, Paul uses the analogy of an alien. In verse 20, he says that their citizenship is in heaven. Their true home is heaven, not this earth. They are like a U.S. ambassador who lives in a foreign country, but whose true citizenship is always in the United States. This world is not our real home.
Well, this morning we come to Philippians 3:17-19, which speaks about examples in the Christian life. Paul mentions good examples in verse 17, and bad examples in verses 18-19.
I don’t think we really realize how much we learn through examples of others, and how much they influence us, either for good or bad. This is why it is so vital that all of us are committed members of a local church. It is in the church that we see flesh and blood examples of people who are living out the truth of God’s Word.
Take for example the boy growing up with the example of an hot-tempered and abusive father who is a heavy drinker and beats his mother regularly. That example is going to have an influence on his life.
Or take the godly example of an older Christian who has walked with the Lord many years, who takes time each week to meet with a younger believer, and show them how to live for the Lord through prayer and bible study and witnessing and serving in their local church. That too will have a powerful influence for good.
The reason an example is such a powerful motivator is that it is something we can see and observe. It’s not an abstract theological principle. It is truth clothed in flesh and blood.
God has given us the example of Christ. 1 Peter 2:21, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”
Paul told Timothy he must be an example to the church in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”
Paul told Titus in Titus 2:7, “in all things, show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified…”
So, let’s take a look at both good examples and bad examples this morning, and how they can help us to live out the Christian life.
1. Good Examples in the Christian Life
Example of Paul: Paul writes to the Philippian church and tells them to follow his example, just as a father might take his son to work with him, and tell him to do what he is doing. And, he doesn’t seem embarrassed or hesitant in the least to tell them this.
Application: Can you say this? Are you comfortable telling others to follow your example? How would you feel if a young believer followed you around all day long to observe how you lived? They watch how you treat and speak to your spouse and your children. They see how you treat people at your work. They watch how you spend your time. It ought to be our aim to so live that we are not ashamed of others watching our lives and then following our example!
Example of Others:
Those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Who would this be? Well, it might be believers like Timothy, or Epaphroditus. In Hebrews 13:7 it says, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” This is speaking about spiritual leaders in the body of Christ. They are the ones who led you and spoke the word of God to you. The church is to consider the result of their conduct. What kind of life do they live? What is the result of living that kind of life? Then they are to imitate their faith. In 1 Peter 5:1-4 Peter is exhorting his fellow elders, and one of the things he tells them is they must “prove to be examples to the flock.”
One of the things I have been reminded of lately is that the job of an Elder is not just to accurately teach the Word to the people. It is also to accurately live the Word before the people! Both are essential. If I only accurately teach the Word but fail to live it out, I am a hypocrite, and will prove to be useless and unfruitful as a shepherd of God’s people.
Pattern: We use a pattern for many things, don’t we? If you are making a dress, you use the pattern to know how to cut out the cloth. A kindergarten teacher might lay a pattern over a piece of paper so that the five year old can trace the lines according to the pattern. A pattern is helpful for beginners. All of us start out as beginners in the Christian life. We need a pattern. Look around for one, but please don’t expect to see any perfect patterns! There is only 1 – Jesus Christ.
Application: Are you imitating the lives of believers that you esteem and respect? Think about it? Which Christians do you look up to? Which believers do you respect because you have observed the result of their conduct? Now that you have identified them, are you deliberately seeking to imitate their faith? We ought to! In fact, we are commanded to. God wants you to imitate the godly examples of others. Think of a virtue in the life of an esteemed believer. Then determine that you will actually seek to imitate that godly quality in your own life. Don’t let this be merely theory! Determine that you will apply the Word today!
2. Bad Examples In The Christian Life
Not only must we follow good examples in our Christian, but we must also shun bad examples. Paul brings up some bad examples in verses 18-19.
For many. Take note of that. We might think that the kind of people Paul is going to describe might appear once in a blue moon. Not so! There are many bad examples like those he is about to describe. In fact, it is probably going to be much easier to spot a bad example than a good one.
Walk. When the Bible uses the word “walk” it is talking about how a person lives, how they conduct themselves. So Paul is describing the way these folks lived in a negative fashion.
Of whom I often told you. When Paul was visiting the Philippians, he reminded them on several occasions about these folks, and warned them not to follow their example. In fact in Acts 20:31 Paul said that for a period of three years he did not cease to warn each one with tears. Paul didn’t just warn the church once. He did so over and over.
And now tell you even weeping. Imagine the scene. Paul is in prison, chained to a soldier, writing this letter, and as he writes, tears stream down his face. He is broken-hearted as he considers them. Why? Well, because their end is destruction. They will perish forever. They will be lost eternally. And also, because of the damaging effects they have on the church. Some may be persuaded to live like them, and that breaks Paul’s heart as well.
At this point Paul tells us 5 things about this group.
1) That they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, who is Paul talking about? It is fairly obvious that he is talking about professing Christians. He would expect unbelievers to live worldly lives. But he is broken over these people. They must have professed faith in Christ, but were continuing to live ungodly lives.
Some believe he is talking about the Judaizers, because he was addressing them in verse 2 when he said, “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.” The Judaizers were legalists who said a person could not be saved unless they were circumcised and kept the law of Moses. The church in Jerusalem rejected this teaching.
However, it doesn’t seem like Paul has these legalists in mind, because he describes them as fleshly and carnal, not legal and ascetic. So, it is more likely that he has in mind people who turned the grace of God into licentiousness. Paul spoke about this tendency in Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” This situation is also mentioned in 1 Peter 2:16, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” Jude 4 says, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
I have met people like this. They so emphasize the grace of God, that they are able to minimize their sin, because “God’s infinite grace covers all their sin.” This person even believed it was okay for her to divorce her husband and get remarried because of God’s amazing grace. This teaching has been called “hyper-grace”. It over emphasizes the grace of God and excludes other vital teachings like confession of sin, repentance, and holy living. They teach that when we were saved all of our sins, past, present and future were all forgiven, so there is no need to confess those sins to God. They also teach we are not bound to obey Jesus’ teachings because they were part of the Old Covenant.
But, why would Paul call them the “enemies of the cross of Christ”? I believe it is because they were standing against God’s purpose in Christ’s death. Jesus did not just die to take away your sins; He died to deliver you from sinning! He not only died to justify you; He also died to sanctify you.
Ephesians 5:25-26, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her…”
Romans 6:6, “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”
Titus 2:14, “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
So one of the great purposes of the cross of Christ is to make His people holy. But these carnal professing believers are fighting the purposes of the cross. Thus, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
2) Whose end is destruction. This is talking about their ultimate end. They are headed for eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power (2 Thess. 1:9).
Application: This verse is telling us that people who made a profession of faith, and then went on to live ungodly carnal lives, will face God’s eternal punishment. What is ultimately important is not what you say, but how you live. Yes, it is important to confess Jesus as Lord, but if your life doesn’t match that confession, it is all in vain. Brothers and sisters, on Judgment Day, God will judge your works to see if there is real evidence that you were a Christian. I once read a quote that said, “If you were convicted in a court of law for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Jesus even said “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Many, Many, Many! Don’t be one of them. Determine before God that you will follow Christ truly, and obey His commands.
3) Whose god is their appetite. The word for “appetite” can mean “womb, or belly.” The KJV translates this, “whose god is their belly.” These people live for their fleshly desires. In fact, you might say that they worship their sensual desires. That is their master passion in life. They live to satisfy their bodily cravings, whether that is sex, or food, or drink, or cigarettes, or liquor, or drugs. You know it is a good thing when we enjoy food and drink and sexual intimacy and give God glory for it. But it is a bad thing when we make a god of food and drink and sexual intimacy.
Application: Brothers and sisters, make sure you do not serve and bow down to your bodily appetites. That’s one of the healthy aspects of fasting. It forces us to bow down to God and refuse our bodily appetites for a time. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” The person whose god is their appetite, has been mastered by his own bodily desires. Don’t let that happen. Fight it with all your might!
4) Whose glory is in their shame. When Paul speaks of “glory”, he is speaking about boasting. These people actually boast about things of which they should be ashamed. What is he referring to? They had given themselves over to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and they were not ashamed. Instead they boasted that the grace of God was so great, that it didn’t matter if they indulged their flesh or not. They actually boasted about their freedom in Christ to do what they wanted, even if that meant disobeying the very commands of Jesus Christ. Oh, my friends it is one thing to fail the Lord in a moment of weakness. But it is another to boast about doing the things you ought be ashamed of!
5) Who set their minds on earthly things. Earthly things would be things of this world. Paul says in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” They were absorbed with and preoccupied by the things of the world. Material things. Perhaps it was an unhealthy fixation on material things. They were always thinking about the next thing they wanted – a new car, or boat, or jet ski, or motorcycle, or suit, or whatever. And they thought of those things so much that they seldom gave any thought to the things above.
Application: Brothers and sisters, how much time do you give to setting your mind on the things above? How much time do you devote to setting your mind on earthly things? This will tell you where your heart is.
Conclusion
My friends, true conversion always results in a transformed life. These “believers” had not experienced a transformed life. They were living just like the ungodly world around them. They had made a god out of their appetite, they boasted in things of which they should have been ashamed, and were setting their minds on earthly things. They looked just like the unsaved. What about you? What does your life look like when no one is looking? Does it resemble the world more or Christ more? The answer to that question will give you a pretty good indication whether your faith is real or not.
One more thought before we are done. We must shun the example of worldly professing Christians. The Bible does say, “bad company corrupts good morals.” You will find that to be absolutely true in your life. If you hang out with worldly people, don’t be surprised if you start acting worldly yourself. Psalm 1 says, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”
Paul exhorts the Philippians to follow his example and the example of other godly men. And then he mentions the bad example of these other folks. Why? Surely, so that they would avoid their ungodly examples.
The example of others will have an influence on our life. Make sure that the example that you allow to influence you, are good examples that will spur you on to greater love for Christ and holiness! Let’s pray.
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