Imitate Those Who Pursue the Prize
Philippians 3:17-21
The Bible teaches two truths that we must hold together if we are going to understand the Christian life.
One is that everyone who trusts Christ will persevere in faith and enter heaven. This is taught in verses like Philippians 1:6, where Paul says that the good work God starts in us, he will continue all the way until the day of Christ Jesus.
So if you are trusting Christ right now as your Savior, Lord, and Treasure you can be certain that your sins are all forgiven and that God will keep you persevering in faith all the way to heaven. That does not mean you will be sinless. But it means that when you sin, God will turn your heart back to Christ. So everyone who trusts Christ will persevere in faith and enter heaven. That’s one truth.
The other is that everyone who trusts Christ must persevere in faith to enter heaven. This is taught in verses like Matthew 24:13, where Jesus says that it is the one who endures to the end who will be saved.
It’s not that your persevering in faith earns heaven. It’s that your persevering shows that you have the kind of faith which connects you to Jesus who does earn heaven. But what this means is that we cannot willfully pursue sin with the thought that we will still enter heaven, because if we don’t persevere that would mean we won’t enter heaven.
So it’s crucial that we hold these two truths together. Everyone who trusts Christ will persevere in faith and enter heaven. And everyone who trusts Christ must persevere in faith to enter heaven.
The reason I mention that is because in chapter 1 of Philippians Paul emphasizes the first truth – that everyone who trusts Christ will persevere in faith and enter heaven. But in chapter 3 Paul emphasizes the second truth – that everyone who trusts Christ must persevere in faith to enter heaven.
But while we are here in chapter 3, it’s crucial that we not forget the first truth. In chapter 3 Paul says that we will be found in Christ, clothed with his righteousness on that final day, and raised from the dead IF we count everything else as loss, and press on to trust Christ.
But we should not become fearful and say “I’m not sure I will make it all the way to the end. What if I face temptations stronger than me? What if I face trials that overwhelm me?” No, we must also keep in mind that because we are trusting Christ right now, that means God himself will keep us persevering in faith so we will enter heaven.
So with that in mind let’s read Philippians 3:17-21 –
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
So what does Paul call his readers to do? Read the first five words of verse 17 again –
17 Brothers, join in imitating me …
Paul calls his readers to join together in imitating him. And what is it about Paul that we should imitate? It’s what Paul has been talking about in verses 8-14 –
- Verse 8 -- he counts everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. We should imitate him in that.
- Also verse 8 – he counts everything else as rubbish so that he can gain Christ. We should imitate him in that.
- Verse 13 – he forgets what lies behind and strains forward to what lies ahead. We should imitate him in that.
- Verse 14 – he presses on toward the goal for the prize of Jesus Christ. We should imitate him in that.
So what would this look like in real life? Here’s an example. Let’s say that yesterday you bumped into your neighbor. And he mentions that he just received a huge promotion with massive salary and stock options and perks. You tell them you’re happy for him, and you wish and well. But later you find yourself snapping at your wife and your kids, and you can tell something is bothering you.
And when you look inside your heart you can see what’s bothering you – it’s that you are jealous about your neighbor’s promotion. The fact that you are jealous shows that you are no longer trusting Jesus as your all-satisfying Treasure. You are trusting promotions and salary and stock options and perks as your all-satisfying Treasure. And because you don’t have the promotion and salary, you are feeling jealous, and empty, and bothered.
But Paul calls you to imitate him. So what would Paul do? He would see that his sin has blinded him to the surpassing worth of Christ. I mean think about it – you have relationship with Jesus Christ, the son of God, who loved you so much that he gave himself up for you. In Christ you have forgiveness for all your sins, and are clothed with his perfect righteousness. You have times where he pours his love into your heart so much that you are completely filled, and you know that he promises to work all your circumstances to bring you the greatest joy in him now and forever.
But at this moment you don’t care about all that you have in Christ. Sin has blinded you to Christ so all you care about is promotions and salaries and options and perks.
So what would Paul do? He would go to war against this sin. He would pray for the power of the Spirit to change his heart. He would open up God’s word and pray over the truths of Scripture until he experiences the Holy Spirit setting him free from sin’s blinding power, so he once again sees and feels Christ as his all-satisfying treasure.
So that’s what Paul would do when he found himself sinning, or not obeying, or loving something else more than Jesus, or not being serious about reaching out to his neighbors, or bearing a grudge against someone in his home group, or not caring for his family very well.
So that’s what Paul means when he says “brothers, join in imitating me.” But notice the rest of what he says in verse 17 –
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
So why does Paul mention other examples besides himself? Paul did not think it was enough to say “imitate me.” He thought he also needed to say “imitate others, besides me and the apostles.” But why? I think it’s because he knows how subtle Satan is.
Here’s what I mean. Satan rarely tries to make us out and out disobey God’s word. Instead, he tempts us to say things like – “it’s beautiful that Paul lives that way. But of course, he’s an apostle. I’m not. And surely he’s not expecting me to live the way he does. I mean, that’s not how ordinary Christians live, is it?”
But Paul’s answer is – Yes, that is how ordinary Christians live. The only way we will gain Christ, be found in him clothed with his righteousness, and be raised from the dead to enter heaven, is by persevering in faith like Paul does. If we are going to gain heaven we must fight the fight of faith to keep treasuring Christ.
So that’s verse 17. Then, in the next section Paul gives us to reasons to motivate us so we will live this way. So how does Paul motivate us to do this? In verses 18-21 Paul gives two reasons.
The first reason is what’s true of those who don’t imitate Paul. That’s the point of verses 18-19. Let’s start reading in verse 17 to get the flow of thought –
–
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
So what’s true of those who don’t imitate Paul? Three things --
First, they are enemies of the cross of Christ.” Why? It’s because the cross shows that Jesus Christ is the supreme treasure – look at the glory of his love – and it shows that we can turn to him as we are and be forgiven and changed and brought into heart satisfying relationship with him. So when we turn from Christ, and treasure promotions and salary and options more than Christ -- we have become enemies of the cross. So that’s why we should imitate Paul – because otherwise we will be enemies of the cross.
Second, “their end will be destruction.” That means they will face eternal destruction in hell. Maybe this is one of the reasons Paul speaks about these people with tears -- because those who don’t fight the fight of faith to keep treasuring Christ will be destroyed in hell. So that’s why we should imitate Paul – because otherwise we will face eternal destruction.
Third, “their God is their belly.” What does that mean? I think that by belly Paul is talking about God given, normal, good desires for things like food or drink or sex or sleep or comfort. But when we make these our treasure, when we seek our joy in these things, then we make them into our God. Because whatever we seek our joy in is our God. But your belly isn’t God! God is God. So that’s why we should imitate Paul – and fight the fight of faith keep treasuring Christ – because otherwise our God will be our belly.
Fourth, “they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Earthly things are nothing compared to God and his glorious Son Jesus Christ. Earthly things fade away. Earthly things get old. Earthly things don’t satisfy. And so if we glory in earthly things, if we worship earthly things, we will end up ashamed. So that’s why we should imitate Paul – because otherwise we are glorying in something that will bring us shame.
So one reason we should imitate Paul is because of what’s true about those who don’t. But Paul gives a second reason in verses 20-21 – it’s because of what’s true about those who do imitate Paul.
Let’s read those verses –
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
First, “our citizenship is in heaven.” If we are imitating Paul, and fighting the fight of faith to keep treasuring Christ, then that shows we have been saved, and our certain destiny is heaven. So that’s why we should imitate Paul – so that our destiny will be heaven.
Second, “from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Everybody agrees that this world needs a Savior. But the Savior is not more money, or improved education, or better communication. None of those do what’s needed, because our problem is deeper. Our problem is sin. The earth has been ravaged by sin, and we see the effects of that in our own hearts and decaying bodies. But those who imitate Paul, and fight the fight of faith to keep treasuring Christ, await the Savior, Lord Jesus Christ. He will surely return at the end of history and save us and this world from all the effects of sin.
Third, Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. Thousands of years ago, because of Adam and Eve, sin’s curse came into the world. And one of the effects of sin’s curse is that our bodies are lowly -- you reach your prime at around 18, and it’s downhill from there on. Not only that, but our bodies are prone to sin – so they often well up with jealousy, or fear, or pride -- and that blinds us to seeing and feeling the glory of Christ.
So think about your body. When Jesus returns, he will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. So not only will we be free from pain and sickness and death – but our bodies will no longer well up with sin, and we will easily see and feel the glory of Christ.
Questions?
So here’s why we should imitate Paul in fighting the fight of faith to keep treasuring Christ –
It’s because if we don’t –
- we will be enemies of the cross of Christ,
- our end will be destruction,
- our God will be our belly,
- we will glory in things that are shameful.
But if we do –
- our citizenship is in heaven,
- Jesus will come back to us and save us from all the effects of sin,
- and he will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.
Listen. There is a God. Heaven is real. Jesus will come back.
If we are trusting Christ we will persevere in faith and enter heaven. And we must persevere in faith to enter heaven.
So – persevere in faith.