Everything's Possible - Day 26

Philippians 3: 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

Here, Paul does not seem to be speaking of those who do not proclaim Christ as their savior, but those who do and yet still live as if they have no salvation. He is saddened by their unwillingness to give up the things of this life and to continue to head for destruction. They can’t seem to see beyond their lives on this earth, and they just allow their appetites and desires here on earth to control their passions.

Paul mentions four descriptions of these false teachers. They are not just Christians who misunderstood a portion of the gospel. These are unsaved individuals who reject the gospel itself and who will experience destruction apart from faith in Christ. Second, for false teachers, Paul notes their focus on greed. Many false teachers, then and now, seek money in order to make a profit (1 Timothy 6:5) rather than truly serving God. In contrast to Christ-like believers, false teachers are more concerned with their own desires than the needs of other people (Romans 16:18).
Third, these false teachers call evil good and promote sinful actions as being right. More than simply excusing sin, they celebrate it and take pride in it. And fourthly, the goal of false teachers is not on Christ and being with him for eternity. In contrast with Paul’s teachings throughout chapter 3, their goal is on the here and now. Their only thought is what they can get out of life and other people today.

All four of these traits are posed as the opposite of what believers should pursue in following Christ. Believers are to know Christ, be humble, promote what is right, and set their minds on heavenly things.

Paul has deep concerns for the Philippian church, which might be taken in by these false teachers and lose their salvation.

In today’s world, many people are “okay with Jesus.” While I’m not 100% sure what this means, I am glad people feel positive about Jesus. The only problem is that we are not really asked to be okay with Jesus; rather, we are asked to see Jesus as both God and human. The question of scripture and the historical question of Christianity is, “Who do you say that I am?” The way that we answer this question determines what we really think of Jesus. As Jesus did not make reasonable claims, but claimed that God was his father and he had a pre-existence in heaven, we have to come to some understanding of who he really is. To claim that Jesus was a “good man” and that we are okay with him does not really answer this question in a way that makes sense and in a way that we can center our lives around.

Scripture and Jesus, by his words, do not give us the opportunity to think of him as less than God, and to do so makes us as foolish as those false teachers in Philippi.

What do you think about Jesus?
Do you know anyone who is “okay with Jesus?” What does that mean to you or to them?
How can we continue to share the good news that Jesus is Lord with people around us?