Last week, I spoke to you about the authority of Scripture because it was something that the Lord had been teaching me and challenging me about. We ended with Philippians 3:12-14, and said how Paul here was communicating that we are not perfect, and we’ll never be, but we still strive for Christ. We still press on to understand and live under the authority of Christ’s Word. So, I thought it best to pick up here and discuss WHY the authority of Scripture is so important.
Turn to Philippians 3:15
Now, we know we are to submit to the authority of God’s word. And we do this because it leads us a deeper relationship with Jesus, but, it is also because of something else. And, that is that our spiritual citizenship is now in heaven. This is important. We now belong to Christ.
Here in Bolivia, and here in this church, we have a wide variety of people from several different countries. All of us are aware of our political citizenship. We generally know the rules we have to follow, we have an idea of how to pay our taxes, and we typically feel varying degrees of patriotism for our countries. Another thing, we are pretty aware of our own cultures. Some of us prefer to greet others with a handshake, others with a kiss. We know what to do at meal time and how to eat different foods, just like everyone else from our culture. We spend our lives living in a culture that we spent years of growing up in to learn. Why, because we are citizens of our culture. And, our culture is determined by our citizenship. It’s where we have our sense of belonging.
I’ve had several Bolivians over to our house and I generally like to prepare soul food, food from the southern US. I find it interesting, and kind of funny, that they generally don’t know how to eat the food. They watch us to see what we do and then they copy it. I get even more amazed when I find out that what is the epitome of good eats for me, is simply mediocre for them. Why is this? We are from different cultures. Culture isn’t just a difference of language or greetings, or our politics. Different cultures means different ways of seeing things, different perceptions, different ideas. Even our brains work differently. And different isn’t bad, but different can be stressful and confusing.
My experience learning to live in Bolivia has been one long episode of Culture Shock. Why is there no Saturday shopping, no one-stop shopping? Why do I always have to kiss people on the cheek when greeting them, why is there no simple bank draft solution for bill paying?
Now the reason I bring this up is that we learn to be citizens in the framework of our culture. Our allegiances and ideals are shaped by the culture we live in. Though the terminology is different, citizenship and culture are inevitably linked. And this is important because when we commit our lives to Christ, we are making a spiritual move. We are literally removing ourselves from our culture of sin and death to a culture of life in Christ. And it takes time to adjust. But the adjustment can be made easier only if we understand what is going on. This is why my good friends Joe and Denise wanted to make my family so aware of culture shock when we first arrived and what it does to you. Knowing and preparing helps us to be successful. In the same way, I think we should be preparing ourselves for those moments of spiritual culture shock. Because I think it’s something that doesn't just affect new believers. It affects all believers, because we basically live in the midst of both cultures, because we live in the world. The hard part is learning that we are not OF the world.
So, how do we do this? We turn to the authority. Remember 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” I’d think this falls into the “training in righteousness” category.
Okay, Let’s read Philippians 3:15-21, and see how we need to apply this in our lives.
“Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”
I love Paul’s wording here. He is basically making an argument that can’t be challenged without rewriting someone’s entire way of thinking. First, he appeals to “maturity” (some translations use perfection) which is a desirable trait. “Let those of us who are mature.” Who doesn’t want to be in the mature club? But then he follows up with “if you think differently,” obviously recognizing the part of humanity that craves to be contra-everything.
Who hasn’t put an opinion on Facebook, to only have half the world not agree, and the other half not agree with you or them? We have a tendency to seek the “contra-position.” Paul, in a very secular sense, was a philosopher and he understood the rules of philosophy and logic. This is why he was so useful in the growth of the early church.
So, he says, “those who think differently” and then follows it with a confident, “God will reveal that also to you.” He was careful to say that you were not wrong, but that God hasn’t yet revealed it to you. So, the hearers of this letter have a choice. They can think like Paul and be part of the “mature” club, having had God reveal truth to them. Or, they suffer shame that God hasn’t revealed something to them and so they not mature believers.
I think this is something to look at because it lets us know how important Paul saw this teaching. He didn’t want it easily argued.
“Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
Paul says, “Let’s focus on what we do have.” And what is it that we have attained? Paul, before explaining what we’ve attained, interjects this appeal:
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
So, he says, “hey, we’ve attained something great, so we need to keep our eyes on the good examples. Don’t look to those who are not believers. (Remember last week we said that the flesh is an enemy of God and all those who walk according to the flesh walk as enemies of the cross?). Don’t look to secular men for your example. Look to those champions of the faith. Those other people may look good, but they are only seeking what satisfies their flesh. “Their god is their belly.” They are focused on making the most out of an earthly existence, not paying attention to eternity. “Their minds are set on earthly things.” Remember scripture says in 2 Corinthians to look to what is unseen and not what is seen. We don’t focus on this temporary existence, but we focus on eternity.
After this interjection, Paul reveals what we have attained and why we focus on eternity rather than “earthly things”:
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.”
I think I understand this so much better now, living in a foreign country, than I ever did before. To live in Bolivia, we have to do so much, jump through so many hoops, just to get a resident visa. And, that even expires. Then, we have to renew and turn in lots of paperwork. It’s a chore, it isn’t fun, and sometimes it’s painful. But it’s required. This is in no way comparable to what Jesus did for us, but Christ, through his work on the cross, purchased citizenship for us. We are not deserving, and in this state of being (flesh and all), we really were not welcome. It was impossible for us to ever meet the requirement of citizenship. We were doomed to die for eternity, as citizens of the flesh. But Jesus, in his mercy and grace and love, suffered the wrath of God for our sake to attain for us this heavenly citizenship. Yes, we still live as part of this world, but we can’t deny the fact that as believers, we have to learn a new culture, we have to learn new laws, we have to learn a new way of thinking. We are not in the world, but not of it.
But the great things is we aren’t doing it on our own. Sometimes, I feel depressed, frustrated, irritated, etc at living in a culture that I don’t fully understand. I mean, seriously, why is everything closed on Saturday afternoon?! But I’m not doing this on my own. I look to the strength that Christ will supply. This is how it is in our walk with Christ.
I love the promise and declaration that Paul makes in the previous chapter (Philippians 2). “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Those wants, those thoughts, those new ways of seeing things, are the work of God in my heart. Now, how does God work in us? He works in us through the Holy Spirit.
Last week we talked about the authority of Scripture, but we also talked about how the Holy Spirit works in us. We see all through Scripture that the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to testify to Christ and to testify to the truth. The Holy Spirit confirms in us what God’s word says. When we believe God’s word with the confidence that his Spirit brings us, we then, gradually as an instinct, walk according to Spirit. We, then, begin to think in accordance with God’s word. When we become heavenly citizens through the blood shed by Christ on Calvary and when we begin to walk in new life because Christ has conquered death, we have got to also begin to focus on the His Word. If we want our thinking and our new culture to align with the culture of heaven and with the mind of Christ, we have to steep ourselves in God’s word. We must meditate in God’s word.
As citizens of Bolivia, or the States, or Canada, or wherever you may be from, you work to know about your country. You spend time understanding what’s going on there, the needs, the resources, the news. If you don’t, and please don’t take offense, you probably aren’t considered a very good citizen, because you don’t concern yourself with your country’s welfare. How many of us, as citizens of heaven, aren’t too concerned with what’s going on in our nation? How many of us have so easily let our eyes slip from eternity and simply rest on our own problems in this life? How much time and energy have we stolen from our new citizenship to place on the world around us? How often have we been overwhelmed or over-focused on the social needs and justice in the world around us?
Now, are we to turn a deaf ear to these things? Do we ignore the world around us? We, most certainly, do not. But we have to assess our reasons. We have to examine our motivations. We have to measure our thoughts, ideals, attitudes, opinions, outlooks, on God’s word. It is the citizenship manual of heaven. In it, we find Christ. Through it, the Holy Spirit molds and conforms us to good “citizenship.”
Have you ever heard that expression, “so heavenly minded, they aren’t of any earthly good”? A while back, I was thinking about that idea and wrote a somewhat sloppy blog called, “so earthly minded, they aren’t of any heavenly good.” I, personally, don’t like either of those expressions now.
First of all, if we are in Christ, according to Colossians 3:2, our “minds should be set on the things above.”
The word for “mind” there in the original language, refers to the exercises and affections of the mind. It includes opinions and ways of thinking. So, if we are told here to “set our minds,” that means that our thinking should be shaped by “things above.” By heaven. And this can only happen when our thoughts are on God’s word. God’s Word, which reveals Christ to us, is our link to heaven. This is the key to our “cultural adaptation” to this new heavenly citizenship. God’s word.
So, our minds are supposed to be set on heaven. Heavenly minded. But, the reason we should be so heavenly minded, is so that we CAN be of earthly good. I can’t seek to do good in this earth and only focus on this earth. We established last week that there is no good outside of God and no righteousness outside of Christ. So, if I seek to do good with my mind set on earthly things, I cannot accomplish good. No matter how good the world may say it is.
However, if my mind is set on things above. If I am (in the words of Paul in Philippians 3:14 “pressing on toward the prize of the goal of the upward call in God through Christ Jesus,” I will inevitably bring some earthly goodness. Why? Because God is concerned with his creation.
God’s concern with creation is why we see in scripture that “we’ll be known by our love for one another.” This concern is why John and James talk bout taking care of orphans and widows and serving the poor. It is this concern that prompts us to “care for the least of these” because it is the same “as if we are doing it for Christ.” Heavenly mindedness/concern involves connecting with God’s heart for his creation. The more God’s word becomes real in my life and the more I allow (by study of the Word) the Holy Spirit to work in me, the more my heart and my mind will be set on God’s plan for his creation. The more I walk in Spirit and seek God’s word, the easier it is for me to learn and be apart of this new citizenship (new culture), the more I will begin to think and act like a citizen of heaven.
Some things in our culture, are habit and instinct. Others require thought. Some of those that require thought, over time become habit. How many vote in elections? How many kiss someone on the cheek when you greet someone? Who goes and waits for hours to renew your carnet? Who goes to a restaurant and just chooses a place to sit? Some things you do because you know you’re obligated to. Others, you simply do because it is the habit of your culture. It took us 4 months before we realized that Bolivians generally seat themselves in restaurants. It still doesn’t feel natural for us because we are used to having to wait on a host or hostess to take us to a designated seat.
As we grow in Christ, and as we learn day by day to act like citizens of heaven, some things will feel unnatural. Others will grow into habit. For some of us, going to wash a poor baby may feel unnatural. Going to build a house for a poor person may feel pretty awkward. Handing a beggar a coin, may feel like a waste of money. Taking in an orphaned child or visiting widows may make us uncomfortable and we may feel inadequate. Some things may cause us great fear. This is why we rely on the Spirit of Christ Jesus in our lives. Who creates in us a love for the poor, a desire to care for the orphans, an appreciation for widows, and calms the fears in us as we learn what it means to be a citizen of heaven.
Some may say this sounds like a form of “works mentality” that we have to do things for our salvation or to prove we are Christians. Please don’t confuse my words. Better yet, listen to the words of scripture.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
I love that old quote by William Sekker who was a puritan preacher during the great awakening. He said, “We are most certainly not saved by our works, yet we are most certainly saved unto works.”
It isn’t our works which saves us, our works don’t make us a citizen of heaven, but Christ’s work of salvation in us, will produce works. It will produce a heavenly outlook and a desire to affect this world for Jesus. In this verse in Ephesians, there are some important things we need to see. But if we aren’t careful, we won’t see them.
First, we see that it is by Grace we are saved. Salvation is a free gift of God, so that we cannot boast about our salvation. This is pretty well understood (or at least is generally taught like it is). But, look at what he says next. “We are his workmanship.” Most of us would stop there and simply say that this is referring to God’s creation of man. But it isn’t. The next phrase is what we english teachers call an appositive phrase. It is meant to define the noun that preceded the clause. Paul says, “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” This clarification means that we are not talking about the creation of man, but the creation of a believer. We are talking about the new creation we are in Christ Jesus. And what does it say that we are created for? For good works, “which God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.”
Scripture tells us that God “does everything according to counsel of his will.” God works all of eternity to suit his plans and purposes. And when we come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, we get an amazing opportunity to be an active part in those plans. And, in our lives, this consist of doing the will of the father through our individual callings and obedience.
It is not our works that saves us. But our salvation will, indeed, produce works in our lives. This is because salvation leads to a love of the father. And because we love him, we desire to please him. And because he loves us, he send us the Holy Spirit to conform us to his image, to make us good citizens of heaven.
James says three times in Chapter 2 that faith without works is dead. Because, where sincere faith exist, works will always be the by-product. Not because we are supposed to do them or have to do them to maintain salvation. But because “God works in us to will and to do for his pleasure.” This is what it means to be a citizen of heaven. To be anchored in God’s word and to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, confirming Christ, and to make us confident in the Truth of God’s word.
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