Stand Firm in the Lord!

March 6, 2007 by admin.

Philippians 3:17–4:1

3/4/07

In Christ Jesus, the Savior whose work won for us our heavenly citizenship, dear fellow redeemed,

How many of you here this morning have at some time in your life picked up a bat and stepped in to face a pitcher throwing a baseball your way with all his might? Remember how scary that was the very first time you did it? When the pitcher reached back in his windup and hurled that little white sphere in your direction, it must have felt like every one of your brain cells was telling you to duck, dive, or bail – anything to make sure that you didn’t get plunked in the head.

As some of you know, for the last few summers I’ve done some coaching down at the local YMCA. When the first baseball practice rolls around, it’s inevitable that some of the kids assigned to my team have never faced live pitching before. It’s also inevitable that most of them, when that first pitch is thrown their way, will instinctively back out of the batter’s box to avoid any potential harm. One of the first things we have to teach them is to not be afraid, to stay in there, to keep their eye on the ball – to stand firm!

In our lives as Christians, we tend to have the same hesitancies when it comes to facing what the world throws our way. And yet instead of bailing out and giving in to our fears, the words before us this morning help us stand up and stand strong, with our eyes set on things that truly matter. Today the apostle Paul encourages us to:

“Stand Firm in the Lord!” I. Don’t be swayed by this world’s pleasures II. Look to Jesus and heaven’s treasures

The Philippian congregation was very dear to Paul. Although he truly loved all the churches he served, this group of believers had a special place in his heart. They seemed to have the same mission-mindedness, the same love for God and his will that Paul did. Just look at some of the terms he uses to describe them in the last verse of our text (v 1): “my brothers, you whom I love and long for,” “my joy and crown,” “dear friends.” And yet, even though these were some strong Christians, Paul knew that the devil works overtime on those who call themselves followers of the Savior. One thing Paul had seen happen in other churches was believers running with the wrong crowd, foolishly thinking that such a course wouldn’t cause them any spiritual harm. He didn’t want this to happen to the believers in Philippi. So he reminds them to keep embracing the spiritual and to avoid the worldly, to stand firm in the Lord.

Paul doesn’t ask these believers to reinvent the wheel when it comes to godly living. They had plenty of examples to follow, including his own (v 17), “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” In effect, Paul was telling them, “Do as I say and as I do!” But he wasn’t bragging or tooting his own horn. Before he became a Christian he describes himself as “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (1 Ti 1:13). But even after Jesus found him on that road to Damascus and the Holy Spirit worked faith in his heart, Paul still lamented the constant struggle against sin that was raging inside him. In Romans he admits (7:15), “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Make no mistake about it, Paul was a sinner – and he knew it! But he also knew what kept him and many other believers on the straight and narrow. In 1 Corinthians he writes (1:11), “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Paul didn’t want the Philippians to think highly of what he had done, but to think highly of what God had done in him. It was the Lord who had turned him around, pulled him away from his life of sin, and set him on the path of righteousness. So instead of looking around at the world for examples, Paul urges these Christians, whom he calls “brothers,” to find their role models within the family of believers and “to take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Literally, they were to try and be “carbon-copies” of those Christians who had learned to stand firm in the Lord.

The temptation to be just the opposite was always going to be there. Paul warns them not to be swayed by the world’s pleasures (vv 18,19), “For, as I have often told you before and now say 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 on earthly things.” Keep in mind that many of these Philippian Christians had a pagan background, featuring a lifestyle that encouraged immorality and giving in to sinful appetites and desires. So the temptation to return to such a self-indulgent way of living must have been, at times, quite compelling. That’s why Paul speaks out against these “enemies of the cross of Christ,” against those who lived only for themselves and were so easily swayed by this world’s pleasures. Without Christ in their lives, they chose a new deity: “their god is their stomach.” They lived only to please the cravings of their sinful flesh, and instead of feeling ashamed of what they do, they actually flaunted what they did and boasted about their sins – “their glory is in their shame.” Without Christ, they had no reason to long for the life that is to come. Consequently, “their mind is on earthly things.” And if you only think about this life, you’re on a deadly path. “Their destiny is destruction.”

Last Sunday I spent some time talking about the god of materialism that can so easily sway us from letting the Lord be our guide through life. Today we hear Paul echoing much the same thing. Throughout the Scriptures we’re told repeatedly not to be swayed by the things of this world. And yet we constantly buckle at the knees and give in to the worldly philosophy that it’s O.K. to just “live for today,” it’s not wrong to “do your own thing,” and when it comes to right and wrong, “to each his own.” Instead of recognizing our sins and leaving them at the cross of our Lord, we revel in them and allow worldly pleasures to crowd our Savior into the background. We’re often like the seed in Jesus’ parable that was sown among the thorns. We “hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (Mk 4:18,19). We become too earth-bound and world-oriented when we allow ourselves to be swayed by the world’s pleasures.

There’s a cure for such a temptation. It involves finding a more solid base, putting our trust in something that will last instead of in things that will fade away. If we hope to plant our feet on solid ground, then it’s imperative that we stand firm in the Lord. Instead of being swayed by this world’s pleasures, let’s look to Jesus and heaven’s treasures.

It’s important for us to realize that as Christians we may live in the world but we’re never to consider ourselves permanent citizens of the world. We have a better place to call our own (v 20), “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” What a contrast between those who look to Jesus and those who are enemies of the cross! Here Paul echoes the old adage, “As Christians we live in the world, but we don’t let the world live in us.” We have no permanent address here on this earth. Our forwarding address is in heaven! Our homes are in the mansions of paradise, prepared for us by Christ himself!

That’s why we take our stand, a firm stand, in the Lord. Everything that counts, everything that matters, everything that is going to last is in heaven. That’s why we “eagerly await” our Savior’s return. Just think of how anxious you become for something special here on this earth, like the arrival of spring break or of that special trip you’ve been planning for some time. You find yourself thinking about it all the time, just waiting for that time to come. How much more ought we to anticipate the day we’ll be with our Lord in heaven! Unlike special events here on this earth, our citizenship in heaven guarantees an eternity that will never end!

And when we get there, we’ll experience a makeover second to none (v 21), “[Jesus], 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.” Sin has really done a number on our bodies. These things get sick, grow weak, and become tired. Someday they’ll wear out completely and stop working, and we’ll die. But then comes the ultimate rags-to-riches, sinner-to-saint, earth-to-eternity transformation! Jesus will redo, refashion, rejuvenate, and retool what sin and death have corroded and corrupted. He will victoriously and gloriously change us into the best we can be! Our sin-scarred bodies will be no more, replaced instead with a body that resembles that of our Lord’s! The righteousness won for us on the cross by our Savior will be in full view for us to display when our bodies are raised up in glory – all part of the treasures awaiting us in heaven!

That transformation will be possible only because of a transformation that has already taken place in each one of us. By nature, we all were born as spiritual misfits. We didn’t belong in God’s kingdom. We didn’t want anything to do with him, so instead we became citizens of this sinful world and residents of the devil’s kingdom. But God loved us too much to let us live as outsiders. Instead he sent his Son to make everything right — to “transform” us — so we could be adopted into his family. Jesus took care of all the paperwork by paying the price of our adoption, signing our names in the Book of Life in his very own blood, permanently granting us citizenship forever in heaven.

Citizenship in the United States is usually something that can take some time to acquire. But I read recently that in Brazil they have a lottery in which something like one out of every 1000 people who apply can be granted “free immediate” American citizenship. These people are considered to be the lucky ones.

You are one of the blessed. Jesus has done everything to make you a citizen of heaven. It’s almost as if you’ve won some kind of citizen lottery. Jesus did all the work, and you receive all the benefits!

So stay put, hang in there, and “stand firm in the Lord.” Don’t throw your citizenship away by being swayed by the world’s pleasures. Instead, keep looking to Jesus and heaven’s treasures. Then with joy and confidence you’ll always be able to rejoice and sing (CW 417:1), “I’m but a stranger here; Heav’n is my home!”

Amen

–Pastor Jonathan Rockhoff

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