Following Without Falling

Philippians 3:16-19

Where is your life going? If you were to ask 10 people on the street that question, what you think would be their answer? From my experience, I have found that many people are simply drifting. They may have some short-term goals in life, but they have never really given any thought to the big picture. Even when you look at many of their short-term goals, you find that they have no idea of how to get there. Sadly, many people give more thought to their vacations than they give to their life.

Even when you know where you want to go, you still need to know how to get there. You either need a map in order to plot your course, or you need a guide to direct you. And if you have the opportunity to choose between the two, a guide is much better than a map. With a guide, all you need to do is simply follow.

As a Christian, do you know where you’re going? Do you have a goal? Do you have a map? Do you have a guide? How you know that you are on the right road?

In the previous verses of our study, the apostle Paul expressed his passion to know Christ. There is no doubt that Christ was Paul’s goal in life and for eternity. We see in Paul an unquenchable desire to know Christ. We see in him an unstoppable determination to follow Christ. Paul knew his goal and he knew how to get there. It was as simple as following Christ.

If we call ourselves Christians, then the goal of our lives ought to be Christ. Just as he called those first disciples, Jesus calls us to follow him. The salvation call of Christ is still "follow me." But how can we fully follow Jesus and avoid the wrong turns along the way? There are certainly many pitfalls, many twists in the road. Sometimes we come to a fork in the road. Which way do we go? Yogi Berra once said that when you come to a fork in the road –– take it! Unfortunately, I have taken that advice to often. Sometimes that fork leads to a cliff. So how do we follow without falling?

In our text today Paul gives us some important pointers for following Christ. They are very practical ways to keep our focus on what is important in our walk with God.

Here we have a challenge. It is a challenge to live in light of what we have already attained in Christ. It is a challenge to live up to who we are and what we have. And just who are you and what do you have? Well, let’s take a look at that. In terms of what you have as a Christian; you have far more than you think. So many Christians have no idea of just how much they have been given in Christ.

First of all, you have been given forgiveness. When you came to Christ, he forgave your sins. He gave you right standing before God. He both forgives and forgets your sins. Is that something worth having? You bet! The alternative is to receive justice. But I don’t want justice. I am guilty of breaking God’s law. I want mercy. And that is what you and I receive, God’s mercy to forgive our sins. In Christ, you have been forgiven. It’s a precious possession.

In Christ, you have also been given the new birth. You have been born again. In the new birth, you are given a new life. It is a spiritual rebirth in which you are born from above. God’s Spirit comes in to live within you and give you the power to live for him. The old way of life begins to pass away and a new you begins to emerge. Is that something worth having? Absolutely!

Because of the new birth, you are now part of God’s family. You become a child of God. The God of the universe is now your Father and you are his son or daughter. What an amazing and wonderful circumstance this is. You are now royalty. You are a child of the King. It is as if you were a beggar on the street, homeless and without a future, and suddenly you are adopted by the King and made a prince or princess. Is this something worth having? Yes! Would you give this back? Never!

In addition to all of this, we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide us. Jesus told us that he would send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and to guide us into the truth. We have a guide for life. He is always with us. He points the way. He comforts us. He encourages us. He lets us know that we can make it and that we should never ever give up. Are you thankful for his abiding presence in your life? Is the Holy Spirit a gift worth having? No doubt about it!

Because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we have insight into God’s word. The Bible teaches that those who do not know Christ are blind to spiritual truths. But as Christians our eyes are opened. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, who inspired the word of God, will reveal what the word of God means to us. We can now read and understand God’s written word because we have the Holy Spirit as our teacher. Are you glad you have the Holy Spirit to teach you? I know I am!

Additionally, we have God’s love imparted to us. Now God gives us his love–– the capacity to love one another unselfishly. We can now love one another with the God kind of love––agape love. This is not ordinary love. This is supernatural love. Because we are the recipients of God’s love, now we are free to love others unconditionally. Is this worth having? We all need it!

Furthermore, the Bible teaches us that all the promises of God are in the affirmative insofar as we are concerned. All of the promises of God are yes and amen. In other words, we can stand on the promises. We can base our lives on the promises. We can live by the promises. Would you give back a single promise? I know I would not!

If that is not enough, let’s look at some more. If you are a Christian, then Jesus is your advocate. In other words, Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the throne of God making intercession for us. He is there pleading our cause. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Jesus is the advocate for the brethren. When Satan accuses us before God, Jesus excuses us based on the fact that he has already paid for our sins with the price of his blood. Would you fire your advocate? Never in a million years!

We also have been given all of the spiritual weapons we need to defeat the enemy. The Bible teaches that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. We have been given the spiritual armor to withstand the attack of the enemy. We have been given the weapons to defeat the enemy. Do you need those weapons? I know I do. Are you glad you have them? Certainly!

Finally, we have been given a home in heaven. Our eternal destiny is certain. Our future is secure. One day we will see Jesus and we will be with him forever. Heaven will be a place of eternal joy. There will be no suffering or sorrow, no sickness or death, no pain or regrets. What a wonderful hope we have. Are you willing to surrender it? Not on your life!

These are just a few of those things we have in Christ. So when Paul says that we should live up to what we have attained, we need to understand that we have attained a great deal through Christ. We need to understand just who we are in Christ and what we have in Christ and then live like it. We should never see ourselves apart from Christ. And we should live as those who have been blessed with much and have much to share.

We not only need to be reminded of what we have in Christ, we also need to recognize that God has given us examples to follow. We need to follow those who follow Christ.

Paul had given them an example to follow and he encourages them to follow his example. He said the same thing to the church in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 he says, "Follow me as I follow Christ." And here he says essentially the same thing. Although Paul was not perfect and never claimed to be, he was earnestly giving his all to follow Christ.

We need to look to others who are sincerely following Christ. We need others who are walking on the way ahead of us. We need to follow their example. We need others. You see, Christianity is personal but not private. By that I mean that each individual must have a personal commitment to Christ. I can’t decide for you and you can’t decide for me. But after that decision is made, we find that we can’t do it alone. We need help. And that’s why God created the church. The community of God’s people is the place where we receive God’s help.

Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged. We are down. Things aren’t going well. Life has got us by the throat. And at times like these we need encouragement. We need others to encourage us. Hopefully everyone isn’t discouraged. Hopefully there are some of us who are encouraged and can share that encouragement with others.

Sometimes we find ourselves growing complacent. At times like these we need someone to come alongside us and challenge us. If we are going to be the people God has created us to be, we need to be challenged occasionally, perhaps even often. Who will do it? Well, it must be done by people who are not complacent.

Sometimes we not only become complacent but also start to stray. We need people who care about us and our spiritual future to admonish us. Otherwise we will continue down the wrong road.

And when we continue to backslide, we even need a stirring rebuke. The most loving thing that someone can do when we are in that condition is to rebuke us. And if they really love us, and have shown that love over time, we will receive that rebuke as a loving act. It may save us from a lot of unnecessary pain.

The bottom line is that we need help, and God has provided us that help through others. We should listen to them. We should follow them. We should honor them. We should become like them for the sake of someone else that we could help.

Finally, we need to understand that everyone will not rejoice in our following Christ. There will be those who oppose us. We must recognize this, prepare for it, and determine not to be deterred by it. We must not let the fact that others oppose Christianity influence us.

We must remember that the Cross of Christ is an offense to many. The Cross, you see, is a symbol of suffering and sacrifice. On the Cross Jesus laid down his life in payment for our sins. And now the Cross becomes a way of life for us. It is the way of sacrifice. It is the way of selflessness.

We live in a very self-centered society. Our society is focused on what makes us happy now! The values of the Cross are, in many cases, the exact opposite of the values of our world. We should not be surprised that there are many people dead set against Christianity. They want nothing to do with Christianity or Christians. They reject it outright.

There are also those who pervert Christianity. They pervert it by either adding to or subtracting from the gospel. They would never call themselves enemies of the Cross, but their teaching perverts the truth about the Cross. Some teach that Christ’s sacrifice is not enough, that we must add to what he has done. Others say that what we have recorded is only symbol and myth designed to inspire us to lead lives that are good and noble. They subtract from the truth of the gospel and thus pervert it.

Paul describes these people in interesting ways. He says that their destiny is destruction. What does that mean? It probably simply means that they are not true Christians. They may be religious, but being religious doesn’t make one a true Christian. The destiny of the true believer in Christ is heaven, not destruction.

He says that their god is their stomach. The word translated stomach in the original language refers to the midsection. It refers to the place of our appetites. In other words, when we place our appetites as our priorities they become our gods. This does not mean that our appetites are inherently evil. But we can take even good appetites and turn them into obsessions. When we do we become a slave to our appetites, whether for food, or recreation, or rest, or pleasure, or sex.

He goes on to say that their glory is in their shame. In other words, they are proud of what they should be ashamed of. You can find examples of this everywhere today. Just look at some of the talk shows on daytime TV. People literally boast of lifestyles that are perverted and hedonistic. What was shocking behavior just a few years ago is now considered desirable. This is the direction our society is traveling.

As if to sum in all up, he tells us that their mind is on earthly things. This is the bottom line for them. They are not interested in eternity. They are living for today. They are living by the philosophy that you only go around once and so you have to get all you can get.

Paul points out these people because we must watch out for these people. We must not fall into the trap of thinking that this philosophy is acceptable. If we do, we will allow these people to drag us down. We must be on our guard against the philosophy of this world and those who propagate it.

The truth is that these people need Jesus. Our goal should be to share the gospel of Christ with these people in the hope that they might come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Remember who you are in Christ. Remember what you have in Christ. Live up to that. Refuse to live like you are nothing and have nothing. Hold your head up high. You are a child of God.

Follow those who can lead you to be more like Christ. Determine that you are going to be like them. Become someone who encourages others and leads them to be more like Christ.

Watch out for those who are enemies of the Cross. Don’t be discouraged by them. Understand that they need Jesus and share the gospel with them.

If we occupy ourselves with these principles, we will stay on the right road as we seek to follow Christ.

Copyright © 2001 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.

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