Philippians 3:12–21 - Mind the Gap!
/Philippians 3:12–21
God prompts us to respond to His grace by living differently from the enemies of the cross of Christ
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Therefore, let all of us who are mature continue to think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you too. 16Only let us think the same thing and walk in line with what we already have attained.
17Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body. – EHV
Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, in Your bountiful goodness, keep us safe from every evil of body and soul. Make us ready, with cheerful hearts, to do whatever pleases You; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Verse of the Day:
Alleluia. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Alleluia. (Ephesians 2:10)
Sermon Text:
This Sunday our theme switches up again. As the end of the season of Pentecost draws ever nearer, our thoughts also turn to the End of Days, Judgment Day. In fact, ever since Jesus’ Ascension into heaven Christianity has been living in state of expectation for this end when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, taking His people to be with Him forever in heaven and condemning the unbeliever to the eternal fire of hell. That’s ultimately why Jesus speaks so powerfully to powers that be in our Gospel Lesson in that parable of the vineyard. They were not ready at all. In fact, they stood opposed to God, even as the religious elite of His day. But it’s our Epistle Lesson that ultimately reminds us how we are to walk in the End Times, the time between Jesus saving work and His return again in glory.
Paul begins by telling us, 12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. Press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you. I suppose that would have been a fitting theme as well this morning. I know we don’t usually talk this way as Lutherans focused on the grace of our God, but Paul is telling us that the way we live is important this morning. Oh, not to win our salvation, Paul is clear. Christ Jesus has already taken hold of us. We are saved at the cross when Jesus provides our righteousness even as He washes away our sin in the flood of His precious blood therein. But in so doing, He has freed us from sin so that we might live for Him first and foremost and then for our neighbor. Again, this is not what saves us but it is what we have been saved, freed to do. As a result we live with our eyes on the prize.
So Paul continues, 13Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Now Paul begins to show us what that looks like. The verbs are descriptive. “Pressing on”, “straining” or “stretching”. Sin is a pervasive force in our lives. It’s everywhere and difficult to avoid. No, the Christian life is no walk in the park, even though it is so often painted as such. Instead, it is a struggle as we toss of the sin and the worldly attachments and stretch for the glories of heaven we so eagerly yearn for. Heaven is the goal and our lives as God’s people will reflect that.
Of course, there are examples for us to follow and examples meant to serve as a warning along the way as well. 17Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. We can think of the great hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11 which takes us from Adam and Eve, through the patriarchs, judges, prophets, kings, martyrs. There are the apostles, Paul and others. There are contemporaries, Christians who have finished their race in our lifetimes and others still running with us, that all serve as examples for us in the way we are to press on toward our goal, stretch out toward the heaven Jesus has won for us. But there is the negative side as well.
Isn’t it interesting that as Paul weeps for them, the thing that seems to have tripped them up is ultimately the very First Commandment of God. “You shall have no other gods” we are told and Luther explains, “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Simple enough, until our sinful natures start doing what they do best. They turn inward. Professor Deutschlander always called it, “navel gazing.” They get us to think about ourselves, what we want, what we like, what we love and put all of our focus there. Sin even gets us to celebrate our poor priorities as set God aside for any number of other things in the world around us. I’m sure you could supply a long list of earthly things that slowly or forcefully push God or time spent with Him from the throne in this life of ours. They may not even be all that bad but when they are number one and not God then our worship is in the wrong place.
“Their end is destruction” says Paul. You are never lost because you took a step away from the well worn path out in the woods. But when we think we know better and sting any number of steps away from it the end result, well, it’s far better not to wander away from God and the blessings He has provided, the heaven He has won for us.
How are you doing with that by the way? Earthly things have a way of distracting me. Money, Rest, I try to provide the very best for my family, for my friends and none of it is necessarily evil but when any of it even attempts to be lacking, well, fear, love, and trust betray that I have plenty of god’s I shouldn’t and one wonders if I can really provide the best aside from a keen focus on my God for my family and my friends. Turns out I’m a sinner all over again. Paul was too. It’s why he says, “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal” and again, “I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet.” It’s why we press and stretch. It’s why we struggle here.
Ah, but brothers and sisters, don’t forget that as we walk in this world, pressing and striving to live with the goal in view that Christ has already taken hold of you. That’s so important. In fact, it is everything. It’s why Paul burst forth at the end with the needed reminder, our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.
Ah, yes, our citizenship, it drives us even as it reminds us of the Savior we await in these later days. He is the one kept that perfect focus as His feet hit the dusty roads of our world for us. Never straying from the fear, love, and trust He deserved and which He gave to God. Even when it meant His very life, He did not withhold it, but willingly gave it for you and for me that He might take hold of us and make us citizens of something far better than the fleeting glories of this world. In resurrection and Ascension are not only reminders of what waits but of the power He wields for His people that faith may become sight transformed forever as we stand with Him for all eternity. That’s what is ours by grace and through faith and it’s why our lives have meaning and purpose. It’s why the way we live matters. It would be pretty fool hardy to throw all of that away so we press and we strain wrapped in the means of grace which set us at the foot of the cross where forgiveness was made ours, show us the empty tomb for the strength to live as people purchased and won by our loving God, even as we yearn for the eternal joys, the glory of heaven.
If you have ever been to London, then you know that one of the quickest ways around the city is by riding “the tube”, the subway. It’ll take you within walking distance of any of the amazing sites of the city. However, when using “the London Underground” you’ll see a common sign posted regularly. “Mind the Gap” reminds users of the area between the train car and the station platform. When boarding and exiting this gap posses a tripping hazard or worse. We might say, “watch your step.” Brothers and sisters, as we walk the walk of God’s dear children, dearly loved, God urges us to avoid the pitfalls of the pleasure and treasure of earthly life and to step out confidently with Him at our sides. Yes, Mind the Gap until we see the glories of heaven. Amen.