January 24, 2023: Philippians 3:17-19 - Many are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ
“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose is god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” - Philippians 3:17-19
Paul is talking to his fellow believers in Christ, telling them to keep pressing on in their faith, keeping their eyes on the “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul is an example of how they should live their lives; they should keep reaching forward to Christ. They should be of the same mind as him. Why? Because within the church of believers, there are those who have strayed and now are enemies of the cross of Christ. Does Paul happily report this news to them? No! He weeps for them, as we all should when we see people who professed to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ but are not. There are many who would argue, myself included, that they were never saved. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:18-19:
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
Satan has indeed infiltrated the church, not only with people attending the church but also with false pastors and false teachers, in order to deceive many. As Paul wrote to Timothy:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
Returning to today’s text, Paul calls them “the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” How many people have we seen in past five years of so who once said they were Christians but have departed from the faith or who still say they are Christian but whose actions speak otherwise? I know that we as Christians are not perfect, we still sin, each and every day. But when you publicly defend and support that which God has called sin, you are not keeping His commandments. I believe you are putting yourself at risk of being deceived by Satan because you did not heed Paul’s warning to be of the same mind, keeping our focus on Jesus Christ and His word, no matter how difficult it gets to live as a Christian in a world that hates Jesus. God’s word does not change because a culture embraces and promotes that which God calls sin. Those who embrace that which God calls sin and rejects the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is an enemy of the cross of Christ.
Running a race, especially a long one, is difficult; if it were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not. It takes work, it takes dedication, it requires getting out there and running on all kinds of days. We run when the day is just absolutely gorgeous, the sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and we enjoy every minute of it. But what about the days when it’s extremely hot, cold, rainy, or windy? What about the days when that headwind is blowing right in your face, slowing you down, making you wonder why you’re even out there in it when everyone else is inside, comfortable, and safe? Similarly, running our race of faith can and will be difficult. To many it might seem that when we first got saved, it was so easy and everything was just beautiful! We were running along at ease, enjoying the view with a new set of eyes that God gave us, where everything looked different. But then, the view changed. Now, we are running uphill, in the wind, in inclement weather, and we are being persecuted for our faith. People who used to be our friends no longer want to have anything to do with us; they mock us or avoid us because of our faith. And, it’s not just our friends, our coworkers may scoff at us, and joining with them is the entertainment industry, the media, the government, the educational system, and even members of our own family. Instead of being on the sidelines encouraging us as we run this race of faith, they are booing and hissing at us, calling us narrow-minded fools for Christ. How many have stopped running their race of faith because of the pressure, the backlash, the difficulties in running this race of faith? How many have decided to go back to following the world instead of Christ? How many have bought into the lies of the devil that all roads lead to heaven, you can get to heaven just by being “good”, or even denying that one goes to heaven or hell when they die?
How did Paul describe those who did go back to following the world instead of Christ? He said, “they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” Let us examine each one of these four consequences.
Enemies of the Cross: Peter spoke on this regarding not only false prophets and false teachers but also those who choose to follow them: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Peter 2:1-3) These truly are enemies of the cross. Instead of speaking the truth of God, they speak lies of the devil, deceiving many, leading them straight to hell, to destruction.
Whose End is Their Destruction: Notice that Paul said that “many” are the “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction.” This aligns with what Jesus Himself told His disciples, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It is only by remaining in Christ that we will have life; all others will be destroyed, for they chose the broad way.
Whose God is Their Belly: Peter describes the end for those who have departed from the faith and chose their earthly comforts over their eternal destination.“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” (2 Peter 2:20-22) For the many, their race of faith became too difficult, and they did not hunger for the truth of God - the bread of life - but for the empty lies of the devil that will forever keep them dissatisfied, for now and through their eternity.
Whose Glory is in Their Shame - Who Set Their Mind on Earthly Things: The many, the ones Paul was referring to, did not keep their focus on Christ above but on the things of the earth. To them, their temporary lives on this earth meant more to them than their eternal lives. Thus, they chose to believe in and support whatever the culture of the moment was embracing. Look at our world today - what is it embracing? Is it embracing life? No, absolutely not! It is a culture that is obsessed with darkness and is obsessed with death. What are those things associated with? Satan. As Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Here, the “thief” is Satan, the devil. What does our culture today, especially in America, support? Does it support the family unit, as designed by God, to promote life? No, it hates the family unit and is doing everything it can to destroy it. Even our vice president this week omitted the key words of “right to life’ in which she quoted the Declaration of Independence during her remarks about access to abortion. Without life, one has nothing! The world today is an enemy of the cross of Christ, who Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”
The race of faith requires endurance to the end, the time when we will cross the finish line and we see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, face-to-face. Until then, will we keep our focus on Him, being of the same mind as other believers in Christ, remembering the examples of Paul and others of how we ought to live our lives for Jesus, or will we set our mind on things of the earth, like so many have sadly done, to their own destruction, to their own peril? Will our glory be in Him or in our shame? Every single one of us will bow down before Jesus one day. When it is your turn, what will He say to you? Will He say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? (Matthew 25:41). Or, will He say to you, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?’” (Matthew 25:34) ✝️