Stand Firm in the Lord (2)
We are citizens of heaven, called to stand firm in the Lord, called to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ. Our life’s ambition and purpose are to pursue Christ and become like Him. Many things in this world and in this life will try to distract us from this pursuit, will try to prevent us from pursuing Christ but we must stand firm in the Lord. Last week we learned that we stand firm by following the example of Christ, by following the examples of those who imitate Christ, and by being examples of Christ to others. [ADD—young can also be examples for the older ones & peers examples for each other] Paul continues in this passage to explain how and why we should stand firm in the Lord.
1. Stand Firm by Watching Out for the Enemies of the Cross
Verses 18-19 — For, as I have often told you before and now tell you 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 set on earthly things.
Paul urgently calls us to stand firm in the Lord because many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their lives are the exact opposite of Paul’s example, the exact opposite of the example of Christ. Their ways of living is the exact opposite of the ways in which the citizens of heaven live.
In his letters, Paul warns us many times. “So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). And he does so with weeping, with tears, because he grieves over the condition and destiny of these people. They are not experiencing the joy and peace of the new life in Christ and they will not experience the blessings of eternal life. He grieves over the extent of evil in the world. He grieves over those believers who have turned their back on Christ and his cross, who are no longer pursuing Christ. He weeps because these people are a real and present danger to the believers and the church. “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor 11:13-15). He is concerned for the church, thus, these urgent, heartfelt warnings. Are we weeping and grieving for the lost or those who turned away? Or do we delight and take pleasure in their lostness?
The enemies of the cross are all those, who in their beliefs and lifestyles, in words and in deeds, deny all that the cross stands for. They are not willing to die to self, not willing to take up their own crosses and follow Christ. They are not willing to pursue Christ, follow his example, and live a cross-centered life of suffering. They are not willing to be persecuted for the cross of Christ (Gal 6:12). They are not willing to live as kingdom citizens.
Their end, their destiny is destruction — On that final day of judgment, they will go into eternal damnation because of their cross-denying behavior and lives. “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thes 1:8-9).
Their god is their stomach — They seek to satisfy all their physical and sensual desires. They give in to gluttony, greed, and lust pursuing food, drink, sex, money, wealth, and power. The pursuit of personal pleasure and creature comforts displaced the pursuit of Christ and the cross. This is a serious and urgent warning for us who are living in a culture and society that is overwhelmingly materialistic and hedonistic, that is being involved in self-indulgent pleasure-seeking. As one author said, “Today the professed Christian whose own physical and personal needs come before the Lord, whose bodily comforts (what and where he eats, how and where he lives, and what he spends to satisfy his own pleasures) displace the cross, had better take note because his god has become his belly” (Hughes, 157). They obey their bodies and their desires as they would obey God.
That’s why Paul gives the following warning and this applies not only to sexual immorality but to the pursuit of any desires or selfish interests which become idols — “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power, God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Cor 6:12-20)
Beware of anything that hinders us from the passionate pursuit of Christ. Beware of anything that causes us to disobey our Lord. Beware of anything that hinders us from living as kingdom citizens.
Their glory is in their shame — They are proud of and brag about the things they should be ashamed of. They glory in their liberty and freedom, their rights to choose and do as they want. They deny the cross and God’s righteousness. And so, in the final judgment, God’s glory will be manifested but they will be covered with shame as they enter into their eternal destruction.
Their problem and the reason for their way of life is that their mind is set on earthly things. “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:5-8).
What happens when we set our minds on earthly things? What is the fruit of such thinking, attitudes, hearts? James 3 answers, “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (Jam 3:14-16). Do you see? Remember what Paul said earlier in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.”
The way we live, our daily walk, our appetites and how we chose to satisfy them, the things in which we revel, our inner attitudes, what preoccupy and dominate our thoughts, what our hearts and minds are set on — all these things tell whether we are pursuing Christ and his cross or the things of this world and our selfish interests; whether we stand firm in the Lord and live as citizens of heaven.
2. Stand Firm because We are Citizens of Heaven
Verses 20-21 — 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. Therefore … stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
We are citizens of heaven. This does not mean that we are waiting out this life until we can go and live in heaven where we belong. No. Like Philippi was a Roman colony representing Roman culture and rule in Greece, we are a colony of heaven, of God’s kingdom, in this world. Our responsibility and calling is to be missional, to bring the life and rule of heaven to bear on earth; to show the world God’s kingdom. Therefore, our lives are radically different than those of the enemies of the cross. Our lives are in a stark, complete, undeniable contrast to their lives. We set our minds on the things above, the heavenly things, on Christ.
Our primary allegiance is not to the things of this world but to Jesus Christ our Lord and his kingdom. We pursue and obey Christ, not our stomachs. Our destiny is eternal life where we will share the glory of Christ. We are children of God who live as children of the light, shining like stars in the sky in this dark world. And while we live as kingdom citizens we eagerly wait and trust that our Lord is coming back, and He will transform this world into the new creation so that it is full of his glory, full of the life and power of heaven, full of God’s glorious rule.
Let us read what God’s Word is saying about who we are. Let us reflect on that, remember that, and live accordingly. “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26-28). “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22). “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Col 3:11). “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3:1-2).
The only way we are going to make a difference in this world, the only way we can proclaim God’s kingdom, be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, is when we stand firm in the Lord and truly live as citizens of heaven, when we are radically different and counter-cultural, not conforming to the world, not pursuing the things of the world. Stand firm in the Lord, because we are citizens of heaven. To stand firm in the Lord means giving our allegiance to Jesus Christ as the true, one, and only Lord, and not to anything or anyone else.
Stand firm in the Lord! Because … “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. … You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Gal 5:1,13-15).
Stand firm in the Lord! Because … “thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:57-58).
Let us run this race with endurance and perseverance. When you get tired and want to give up, stand firm in the Lord. Take a hold of Christ, hold on to Him, and live up to who we are. Live as citizens of heaven. Stand firm in the Lord.