Tag: the cross

PHILIPPIANS #16. PEOPLE OF THE CROSS

On By Pastor TomIn Bible, Bible Teaching, Philippians, Podcast, Religion, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment
Wooden cross on grassy mountain ridge with sunrise and clouds in background
A wooden cross stands atop a mountain ridge overlooking a foggy valley at sunrise.

The cross of Christ calls us to humility, and to look beyond this world to our eternal joy in fellowship with Christ. This is just plain weird to most of the world. We need the examples of other Christians to help us live this way, and at the same time, we should be willing to be that example for someone else. Above all, we focus on the promises of God for eternal life in the New Creation.

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PHILIPPIANS #16. Philippians 3:16—4:1.

16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things. 20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
​1 So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. (Philippians 3:16 – 4:1, CSB)

In 1993, basketball star Charles Barkley declared in a Nike advertisement: “I am not a role model. I am not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”

It’s important to know that at the time, Barkley had a “bad boy” image, and had been criticized for some of his off-court words and actions. I remember the cultural moment pretty clearly, The ad made it seem like he was encouraging kids to look to their parents, and there’s  a great deal of truth to that. But that ad was kind of a sanitized version of what was really going on in that cultural moment. There were other interviews and comments, and overall, the main thing Barkley seemed to be saying is that he felt that he didn’t have a responsibility to live in a way that others could constructively imitate. He suggested that he should be allowed to live his own life however he wanted, and he didn’t owe anything to the public. Marvel comics is famous for the line: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Barkley, at that time, seemed to be flatly contradicting this. He didn’t say it this way, but he gave the impression that in his view, with great power comes the right to do whatever the heck he pleases. He rejected any responsibility he had to others. He declared himself free from obligation, free to please only himself.

Two thousand years earlier, the apostle Paul vehemently disagreed with Charles Barkley’s perspective. We have a responsibility to live the kinds of lives that others can imitate. You might think you aren’t very far along as a Christian, and that might possibly be true in some cases, but, says Paul, you have the responsibility to live up to what you do know, so far. We don’t get to be like Charles Barkley, and live to please ourselves, and not care who might need us to be an example.

Now, I want to make something clear: this is not about our salvation, or about how God views us. Paul has made it abundantly clear already that we don’t put any confidence in our flesh—good, or bad—to make a difference in God’s love for us. So, being an example for others to imitate is not about earning points with God. Instead, it is about letting God use us to bless others.

One amazing gift that we have is that we have thousands of generations of Christians to look toward for examples to imitate. I can be inspired by the examples of my Dad, or of some of the missionaries I knew growing up. I can also look to C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Martin Luther, Irenaeus, and the apostle Paul himself. What a gift to have such a wealth of people I can learn from!

A second important point: no one except Jesus is a perfect example, not even Paul. I think about whether I could say to others: “Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us.” I think there are ways in which I could say that. But there are other areas in my life that I don’t think would be a good example to imitate. Thankfully, this isn’t about perfection. But it is about stepping up (unlike Charles Barkley) and letting your life be lived for something other than your own preferences.

Paul’s next sentence flows on naturally from this one:

“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things.”

Who is Paul talking about? I think he’s talking about people who claim to be Christians. At the time that Paul wrote there were probably fewer than 10,000 Christians in the entire world. Most people had not even heard of Christ in the first place, so it would be strange for Paul to think of them and be brought to tears that they were “enemies of the cross of Christ.” It makes far more sense that Paul is talking about some people who claim to be Christians, but still live as “enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Next question: What does it mean to live as an enemy of the cross of Christ, especially if such a person is claiming to be a Christian? One place to start is to understand the meaning of “the cross of Christ.” In the first place, Jesus called all who want to follow him:

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25, ESV)

Taking up our cross means dying to our flesh. It means being identified with the humble death of Jesus. It means that we are no longer are own people, but we belong to Jesus, even (maybe “especially”) when it feels like a part of us has to die as we follow him. Paul described his own experience like this:

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Bible commentator Matthew Henry puts it like this:

Christ came by his cross to crucify the world to us and us to the world; and those who mind earthly things act directly contrary to the cross of Christ, and this great design of it.

Now, when Paul is talking about “enemies of the cross” I do NOT think he is referring to ordinary Christians who sometimes struggle to surrender everything to Jesus. I think he has in mind people who deny, in heart and mind and action, the call of Christ to surrender to him, to be humble, and even to lose all things in order to gain Christ.

In our present Christian culture I can think of at least one group of people who call themselves Christians, but deny the cross: Those who follow the “Prosperity Gospel” in its various forms. The heart of the prosperity gospel is that if we follow God, he will fulfill our dreams. If you do right, you will be blessed, and if you aren’t blessed in obvious, worldly ways (like financially, or having obedient children, or a great marriage, or a big influence, etc.) then it is your fault for not doing it well enough, or, God is testing you (but only temporarily). Such folks maintain that if you do and say the right things, eventually, in this life, God must bless you (according to your view of “blessing”).

However, the way of the cross is completely foreign here. The idea that you might have to actually give up your non-sinful dreams is considered a lie of the devil. Christ calls us to die to ourselves, and that sometimes means dying to things that are not necessarily wrong or sinful. The gospel of Prosperity calls us to cultivate our own desires, and use God as a means to get them. The cross, however, calls everything else rubbish, as Paul said earlier in the chapter. Prosperity says suffering is an aberration, it’s wrong, it shouldn’t happen. To the way of Prosperity, suffering means we have done something wrong. We must try to avoid suffering by thinking and speaking the right ways, so that we don’t bring hardship upon ourselves. But the way of the cross says:

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, (Philippians 3:10, NLT)

Just to be sure we understand about the enemies of the cross, Paul describes them a bit more:

19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. (Philippians 3:19, NLT)

We see here the similarities with modern prosperity preaching. Their focus is on what they desire in this present life. They brag about promotions, and riches, and larger houses and a “bigger life.” They do often “give glory to God” for it, but that always strikes me as a kind of formulaic lip service thing they do to “make the system work.” And they are “giving glory” not to a God who calls us to trust beyond what we understand, but rather, to a god who gives us what we want.

I know this might be a bit strange, but I think one of the best illustrations of this attitude is Peter Gabriel’s song, Big Time. Give it a listen, if possible (but wait until you’re done with the sermon!) with headphones, or a system that has plenty of bass. It’s fun, but it’s also sad, when we remember there are so many people like that.

Here’s another contrast between enemies of the cross and followers of Jesus (the way of the cross): enemies of the cross are looking for approval and acceptance from the people of this world, while followers of Jesus die to their desires to be accepted by those who don’t love Jesus.

For example, I find this is a temptation for me with regard to my intellect. I am an intellectual. I’m tempted to be proud about it, which leads me to want the respect and recognition of other intellectuals. But, I’ve had to face the fact that it is not intellectually respectable to insist that God made the world—not even when I have good intellectual arguments for saying so. Above all, it is not intellectually respectable to claim that a human body was fully dead, and then was raised again to life. Again, I think I have rational reasons for believing the resurrection, but even so, following Jesus usually means dying to my desire to be considered “respectable” by my fellow intellectuals. In fact, many people would reject my self-designation as an intellectual, precisely because I do trust Jesus and believe the Bible.

Some corporate environments are all about “getting ahead,” chasing the next promotion, gaining more influence, and so on. The humble path of the cross is not a respectable alternative in such places. If you really follow Jesus, you might stand out in your workplace as kind of weird. Sometimes, you might even be called out for not being a team player (which means, in this context, not fully engaging in the corporate culture).

Another important part of “the cross” is humility. People today wear crosses around their necks, or get cross tattoos. It’s considered a cool symbol. But in New Testament times, when Paul was writing, the cross was seen primarily as the worst thing that could happen to a person. It was humiliating. It’s like the electric chair to us, or lethal injection. To accept the cross of Christ is to be identified with humility. So one mark of enemies of the cross is that they are not humble.

I think it is striking that Paul’s final word on these “enemies of the cross” is that they are focused on this (mortal) life. They are after what they can get, here and now.

In contrast, Paul says that we are citizens of heaven, and our hearts are looking toward that eternal home, and the appearance, at last, of our savior, Jesus. That doesn’t mean that we should not find joy or happiness here and now, in this life. It doesn’t mean that we can’t work hard to buy a needed vehicle, or look forward to a vacation, or enjoy sweet moments with our loved ones. But I do think it means we limit how much time and energy we spend on trying to make this life as comfortable as possible. Above all it means that our focus, energy and desire is mainly aimed at the life to come. C.S. Lewis said many useful things about this:

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next…

It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you’ll get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you’ll get neither.” C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So, focusing on the coming New Creation doesn’t lead us to neglect this world. It leads us to neglect our own earthly goals and desires for those of our savior, Jesus. And that often turns out to benefit this present world.

I think sometimes we forget how weird Christians ought to look to those who do not walk with Jesus. What Paul is saying is that we do not value what they value. We don’t pursue what they pursue, or worry about what they worry about. We are “not from around here.” We are citizens of a country that we haven’t yet been to, and it’s a country about which the world knows nothing. In fact the values of our heavenly country are strange to this world. If we are imitators of Jesus, and Paul and other mature believers, we are going to look strange, humble and unimportant to many others.

Paul adds:

He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.

We should trust that there will come a time when our humility is lifted up by God.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, (1 Peter 5:6, CSB)

We will share in the glorious joy of the Lord. If we entrust our needs to the Lord now, someday we will find that the sufferings of this present life are not worth mentioning compared to the glory that is revealed to us (Romans 8:18). We can be OK with a life here and now that is far less than perfect, because we will have infinitely longer to enjoy a life that is more than we could ever ask or imagine, in the New Creation.

Paul closes this section with this exhortation:

So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

How do we stand firm? By

  • 1) living up to what we know;
  • 2) Imitating other believers who are, in some ways, more mature than us, while at the same time being willing to be role models ourselves;
  • 3) Recognizing that the way of the cross is completely different from the ways of the world;
  • 4)Looking forward to our eternal future with Jesus in the New Creation.

COLOSSIANS #4: WALKING WORTHY, BEARING FRUIT

On By Pastor TomIn Christianity, Colossians, Podcast, Religion, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

close up of fruits hanging on tree
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 When we truly believe the gospel, it changes us. We enter into a new relationship with God, a relationship that the Bible compares to marriage. Just as with marriage, this new relationship means we live differently than we did before we entered into it. It changes us. If we find we are not changed, then perhaps we need to meditate on the cross, where both the depth of our sin, and the greatness of God’s love are demonstrated.

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Colossians #4. Colossians 1:9-10

As we start on this text today, I want to remind you of  part of the process I go through in preparing these messages. The word of God is living and active. I think there are many directions a sermon might go, based upon this text, because there is so much here. I don’t mean you could get anything at all out of any given text, but I do think in each one, there are a variety of things to emphasize, and many different possible ways to apply the meaning of the Bible to our lives. I try to prepare these messages while depending on the Holy Spirit to lead me. So, I have gone one direction that the Spirit seemed to lead me this time, for this text. There are other possible things to emphasize here. But I trust that someone needs to hear what I will say this time.

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God

“For this reason also.” We shouldn’t pass over this phrase lately. Paul is about to launch into a long prayer for the Colossians. There is much we can learn from the prayer. But the reason for the prayer is that the Colossians have received the gospel, and responded in faith. None of what comes next is possible without that reason. In many ways, in the world view of our faith, there is only one thing that is important: how to do you respond to Jesus Christ? Everything else in the world depends upon that question. If that question is answered with faith, then everything in the universe is eternally shifted to grace, joy and life. When Paul writes about growing in Jesus, we need to understand that such things are only possible because Jesus has first given us his grace. We can’t endure patiently, or bear fruit, or walk worthy of Lord on our own. It happens only because Jesus has first saved us, and next, given us His Holy Spirit to empower how we live. Paul is not praying these things so that the Colossians can be saved; no, he is praying these things precisely because they have already been saved.

With that understanding, let’s see what the Holy Spirit, through Paul desires for those of us who follow Jesus. That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

Understand that this is passive. It is God, through the Holy Spirit who fills you with knowledge of his will, and gives you wisdom, and a spiritual way of looking at the world. We cannot fill ourselves with these things. It comes from the Holy Spirit.

10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”  But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. (NLT 1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

So, spiritual wisdom and understanding are given as free gifts of God. Now, we can, however, if we choose, interfere with the Spirit’s work in our minds and hearts. For instance, one of the indispensable tools used by the Holy Spirit is the Bible, the Word of God. If we choose to remain ignorant of the Bible, we make it extremely difficult for the Spirit to accomplish his work of filling us with spiritual knowledge and understanding. If we give more influence in our lives to the things of the world than the things of God, it will be harder for this prayer to be fulfilled. I’ve used this analogy before, but it is worthwhile. Imagine you have two dogs inside you, fighting each other for dominance of your soul. Which dog will win? The one that you feed. You feed your flesh-person by indulging its desires, by spending your time and energy and focus on the things of this world. You feed your Spirit-person by reading the Bible, by spending time with other Christians who are following Jesus, by worshipping Jesus, and praying, and doing the good things Jesus asks you to do. I don’t mean it is all up to you. If you give him room, God will supply the power and will to feed the Spirit-dog. But we have to let him, and part of letting him is allowing him to change our behavior.

All this is very much related to the next verse:

so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,

Where I live, this is one of the most neglected concepts of the Christian faith. I live near Nashville, TN, in an area that is sometimes called “The Bible Belt” because it is known to be a place where people are religious. Sometimes, Nashville is even called “The buckle of the Bible belt” because we have several huge Christian publishing companies here, we are the center of Christian music in the Western world, and the area is filled with big churches.

But in the middle of all this religion, it is surprising to find a huge number of people who are quite ignorant about what Christianity really means. You see, people around here are pretty good at telling others that Jesus died for their sins. They are good at explaining that you need to “get saved.” But what so few churches near me seem to teach is that all this results in a change of life. If you repent and “get saved,” then it makes a difference in how you live. You begin to walk in a way that is worthy of the Lord, pleasing to Him. You begin to bear the fruit of good works. You start growing in the knowledge of God, and are strengthened with His power so that you can endure patiently and joyfully.

I have met Christians who claim they are “saved” but who regularly have sex outside of marriage, who often get drunk or high, who cheat their bosses, or their customers, or the government, out of money when they think they’ll get away with it, and so on. But someone who is truly saved does not continue to do these things. Perhaps, if such a person did them in the past, they might fail once in a while, and fall back into the old ways. But those old ways are no longer the pattern of life for someone who belongs to Jesus. If you continue with such things as a regular, normal part of your life, you are walking away from Jesus. It is like you are standing with one foot on a dock, and the other on a boat that is pulling away from the dock. If you don’t make a choice between living as the world does or following Jesus, a choice will be made for you.

Now, someone may have a question something like this: “I get the general idea, but what does having sex, or getting drunk, or cheating the government have to do with loving God or not? Why can’t I love God, and still do those things? What’s the connection?”

I understand the question. I don’t have a complete answer, but let’s think about loving other human beings for a moment. My wife Kari really likes a clean house. When she sees dirty dishes, or junk laying around, or clothes on the floor, she feels compelled to clean it up. Therefore, when I leave messes around the house, Kari can’t relax. It creates a problem for her. I don’t entirely understand this. On the other hand, if I take time to really listen to Kari, I find it makes more sense. Now, knowing that a messy house is a problem for Kari, I have a choice. If I really love her, and want to show her I love her, I try to clean up after myself. My love for her changes my behavior.

Now, from the outside, someone may ask, “What does cleaning up your lunch-dishes have to do with love and marriage?” It may seem, to someone who doesn’t know Kari, like the two things are unrelated. But in real life, this is how love works. Kari has told me clearly it is important to her. Therefore, the loving thing for me to do is clear. I may not completely understand why, but what I need to do is not confusing at all. Any of you who have been married very long should understand this sort of thing. We all have things that are important to us that seem difficult to explain, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are important. When we love someone, what is important to them becomes important to us.

So it is with God. Why should a clean house be connected with me loving Kari? It is hard to explain, but I can’t deny that it is. Why should our sexual behavior, or honesty, or anything be connected with loving God? I don’t know entirely, but he has made it quite clear that it is. And when I take more time to listen to him, by reading his Word, I find it easier to accept and to understand.

“But wait!” say some of these folks. “God loves me no matter what, right? I am saved by grace, not by my performance, so why does it matter how I live? You’ve been telling me that God does all the work here, so why do I have to change my behavior, even if it is important to him?”

Imagine a woman who is not perfect – she’s never pretended she was. She meets a caring, kind, loving man. This guy knows she has her issues, but he loves her anyway. The woman also falls in love with the man, and they get married. In their marriage vows, the commit to be faithful to one another, to love and honor and serve each other.

Soon after the marriage, the woman starts sleeping with other men, staying away from home for days at a time without calling her husband. She spends all their money without consulting him. When someone asks her why she is treating him so badly, she says this: “Look, my husband says he loves me unconditionally. He said that he knew I wasn’t perfect, but he still loves me. He made a vow when we got married that he would be faithful to me. So, now, because he loves me, and I love him, I can go out and party, and sleep with other men, and ignore his needs and feelings. I can do all this because he loves me. He knows I’m not perfect.”

When we put it in that context, we can all see how ridiculous it is. Why did this woman say her marriage vows, if she doesn’t want to live like she is married? How can she possibly say that it is OK to sleep around, because her husband loves her? The fact that he loves her makes it worse when she betrays him, not better.

The marriage analogy is a good one, because the Bible uses it all the time. We believers are the bride of Christ.

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body. (CSB Ephesians 5:22-30)

1 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (NIV) 2 Corinthians 11:1-3

Jesus often referred to himself as “The Bridegroom,” and Revelation 21 describes the church as the “New Jerusalem, prepared like a bride for her husband.” Now, you see how it is. If this woman’s marriage was real to her, she would never behave like this. In other words, if she really did love her husband, and they really were married, it would make a difference to her. She is acting as if she doesn’t believe that they are truly married.

And that is what happens to many who call themselves Christians. Many people call themselves Christians because they grew up that way, or maybe because they believe in some sort of God, but they aren’t Muslim or Jewish, so they think they must be Christian. Maybe when they were young, someone pressured them into “getting saved.” Maybe, for a while they felt some sort religious impulse, but never really connected to Jesus. But if you truly believe the gospel, it has an effect on your behavior.

If someone does not behave like a Christian, I think the problem is that they don’t really believe the gospel. They don’t really believe that they are sinners who need a savior. They don’t really believe that Jesus died a horrible death on their behalf, or maybe they don’t believe that he needed to. Bad behavior is a symptom of bad belief. The way to correct the problem is not to grit your teeth and try harder, but to truly repent of your sins, and to truly surrender your heart, mind and will to Jesus.

Some people understand this, but they still struggle. I have some advice: ask God to help you truly believe the gospel. Ask him to show you your sin, and show you his love. The best place to look at for this is the cross. The cross shows you how terrible your sin is. See, here’s the thing: we haven’t all done what Adolf Hitler did. But the same evil that lived inside of Hitler lives inside of you and I. Your sin merits a savage, bone-bruising beating. It deserves people surrounding you, mocking you, spitting on you, hating you for no apparent reason. It deserves execution without a proper trial, a brutal, vicious, torturous death that was ultimately considered too barbaric to keep, even by a barbaric people.

The cross also shows you the depth of God’s love for you. Instead of giving you what you deserve for your sin, He took all of that on himself. He took the beating, the mocking, the injustice, the savage, intense, barbaric death-by-torture. His love is so great for you that he did it before you even cared, long before you repented, even while you were indifferent to him, or even while you hated him. He didn’t just keep the house clean for you – he gave his life for you in the most difficult way possible.

Meditate on that depth of sin, that depth of love, and it will be life changing.