1. 1. Imitate those who need work and have been smacked.
What is the mature position that “all of us, then, who are mature” should take ( vs. 15)? We will need to go back a little ways to vss. 12-14 where Paul acknowledges more than once that it means to recognize that we have not arrived in fully knowing Jesus or obtaining Christlikeness yet but must continue to press on.
For Paul, immature Christians are not those who don’t know anything but who somehow believe that they need to learn no more, that they are somehow safe, that they have arrived with no more reason to learn or grow, and who dismiss the skills that they had once attained (3:16). Such a dismissal can have dire consequences. Consider the epic tragedy of Brad Gobright. Brad Gobright was a well-known, lovable, dirt-bag climber, known for incredible feats of climbing and a delightful silliness. All of that, however, came to a tragic end this past year when he was rappelling off of a climb and failed to tie a stopper knot in the end of his rope. A stopper knot is the easiest knot in the world. It’s simply an over-hand knot that keeps you from slipping off of the end of your rope as your descending (often because you can’t always see below you). Brad, however, didn’t feel the need to do that this past year. He didn’t think he needed to practice the simple things that keep one safe and so slipped off of the end of his rope. He didn’t live up to what he had already attained and learned with tragic consequences.
Maturity is the belief that this side of Jesus’ return we must always “chase” him (vs. 14). There is no finish line in this life and everyone is watching. Do you want to find a mature believer to help you in the faith? Do you wish to locate a mature Christian who can provide you an example. Then keep your eyes on those whose eyes aren’t on themselves. Listen for people who humbly recognize that they have more to learn and need to grow. People who say things like: “Shucks, I was wrong.” “Forgive me. I have more to learn.” “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” When I was a young pastor I made a mistake that left me having to apologize to a number of people in the church. I will never forget standing in front of a few of them when my lead pastor put his arm around me and said, “Sorry, friends. We will do better next time but make no mistake. We will still make mistakes.” And I recognized at the time – “That’s the mature Christian response.”
But Paul goes further. He also wants the Philippians to follow his example in 3:17. The word “example” comes from the Greek word typos, which refers to a blow that leaves an imprint, like what is left by a stamp or chisel. It required force to leave a mark. Paul presents his own life as the typos that has made an imprint upon the lives of his associates and that is worthy of imitation. But Paul himself is not the true stamp.
Paul models his life on Christ, reflected in the words “for to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (1:22). He calls them to think and act in humility and self-sacrificial service towards each other by looking to Jesus, who acted in humility and self-sacrificial service towards humanity in his incarnation and in his crucifixion (2:1-11).
Jesus Christ is the real typos that made an imprint on the life of Paul. This is a certain kind of living that requires a certain mindset: not asserting your own rights, considering the needs of others as more important than your own, admitting weakness and frailty. Such a chiseled life took Jesus to the cross. It landed Paul in prison. Paul’s call to imitate him is, in fact, a call to be chiseled by Jesus and that will be a blow – to your ego, to self-centeredness, to self-fulfillment, to self. So beware of Christian examples who have no chiseled marks – mature ones always do.
2. 2. The enemy is self-ish
English is often a weird language. But because one never finds one’s own language weird it’s not until you learn another language that you can discover odd features. One of these odd features in English are “self- “ words like self-satisfaction, self-help, and self-fulfillment, etc.. These words are grounded in an identity that views the individual as principle actor for change, the principle place for happiness, the principle role for success. Paul identifies some who are not following good examples and have become “enemies of the cross of Christ” (verse 18). What does that mean “an enemy of the cross”? Why not just enemy of Jesus or God? It may be that we would want to pin down their behavior and habits to something quite specific, perhaps their food practices or maybe even a reference to insistence upon circumcision, but none of that is certain. What is in view is their self-serving practices. Instead of being guided by sacrificial service to others, they are guided by their own desires (“their god is their belly”) and glory. These people have not denied Christ by their confession or words, but have denied Christ by their refusal to believe that following Jesus always takes one further toward sacrifice and death. This is in stark contrast to the way that Paul and his companions have lived with a quiet acknowledgment of an acceptance of suffering -- imprisonment (1:17), death (1:21), sacrifice (2:17), the loss of all things (3:8). They are enemies of the cross of Christ because they refuse to conform to the pattern of humility and self-sacrifice that led Jesus there. This point is exemplified by two brothers: Clarence and Robert Jordan. The first a pastor and founder of an inter-racial farming community in Americus, Georgia as a “demonstration plot” for the kingdom of God. The latter a state Senator and soon-to-be member of the Georgia Supreme Court. Clarence has approached his brother for legal representation against the violence and discrimination that the farm has been experiencing. They have a discussion about what it means to follow Jesus. Robert at one point responds: “I follow Jesus, Clarence, up to a point.” “Could that point by any chance be – the cross?” “That’s right. I follow him to the cross, but not on the cross. I’m not getting myself crucified.” “Then I don’t believe you’re a disciple. You’re an admirer of Jesus, but a disciple of his. I think you ought to go back to the church you belong to, and tell them you’re an admirer not a disciple.” “Well now, if everyone who felt like I do did that, we wouldn’t have a church, would we?” “The question,” Clarence said, “is, do you have a church?”
3. 3. Heaven is not your address. Living in heaven isn’t the goal – the task is to expand heaven’s influence on the earth and “eagerly wait” for Jesus.
“We are citizens of heaven,”Paul declares in vs. 20. And often many modern Christians misunderstand what he means. We naturally suppose he means “and so we’re waiting until we can go and live in heaven where we belong.” But that’s not what he says, and it’s certainly not what he means. If someone in Philippi, said, “We are citizens of Rome,” they certainly wouldn’t mean so we’re looking forward to move to the city and live there. No: the task of the Roman citizen in a place like Philippi was not to move but to bring Roman culture and rule to northern Greece, to expand Roman influence there.
But supposing things got difficult for the Roman citizens in Philippi. Supposing there was a local rebellion, or an attack by raiders from the north. How would they cope? Well, there best bet would be that the emperor himself, who after all was called ‘savior,’ rescuer, would come from Rome to defeat the enemies and establish Roman rule. Paul uses such a vision to announce that even with believers living the gospel – we must still wait for Jesus to come and set things right.
How does one “eagerly wait”?
Remember whose you are before you do what you do. To be a citizen of heaven who eagerly waits for Jesus is to remember that your loyalty is to Jesus and not Caesar. Paul has described the church, and its Lord, in such a way that the Philippians could hardly miss the allusion to Rome and Caesar. The true change in this life will not come from giving our loyalty to another. Sometimes I wonder if part of the political backbiting within the church is simply because we have grown tired of waiting for the true King to return. We have lost hope for Jesus’ return and so look for someone else instead.
When they go low, we must act “heavenly.” There is an old adage: “she is so heavenly minded that she is no earthly good.” But Paul’s point, however, is that we must be heavenly minded if we are to be any earthly good and that heaven is all about earthly good. And that means that we act heavenly no matter what. And just because we are waiting for a savior who must save us – that doesn’t mean that we may act in a different way from what will be, have and do in the next life. If you must call 911 for a loved one experiencing a heart attack, you don’t offer a drink and pack of smokes while you wait. You do the best you can and act as the EMTs will act upon their arrival. You cannot extend God’s kingdom by means that won’t exist in heaven itself. Friends, let us act heavenly in this moment. Let’s use our words – heavenly. Let’s challenge sin – heavenly. Let’s stop making deals that wink at behavior that will not exist in heaven and begin to expand heaven’s influence even now – eagerly – while we wait. Let’s work on ending discrimination, while we wait. Let’s do better for the environment, while we wait. Let’s imagine heaven and act appropriately. For Jesus will come and when he does – more than being afraid of losing our job, or losing our friends, or losing our success, let’s be more worried about standing in front of him and saying, “We knew you were coming but did nothing.”
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