Spiritual living, the Christian life, is a process of pursuing Christlikeness. We must become more and more like Jesus Christ. Simply stated, that is the Christian life. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. When you were growing up, no doubt there were people who you looked up to. Maybe it was your mom and dad, or perhaps an actor, an athlete, some other celebrity. You might have tried to dress and talk and act like they did. It's human nature to mimic those we admire. Now, it may sound strange, but that trait can really help you grow spiritually.
You just need to know the right examples to follow. So who are some biblical characters you should imitate, and how can their imperfect lives, their struggles and their failures, help you become more like Christ? Find out today as John MacArthur continues his series, Reaching for the Prize. And now here's John with the lesson. Philippians chapter 3 verses 17 to 21. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has, even to subject all things to Himself.
Now this great and thrilling passage, as I said, continues the theme of pursuing the prize. It focuses us back on that which we discussed in detail in our last message, and that is that the goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus Christ. And if I might remind you of that very simple and basic truth, you might say to yourself, That seems basic enough. Is it necessary for us even to be reminded?
And my response to that is, I think so. In this very complex Christian culture in which we live, where there are so many viewpoints and so many theologies and so many seminars and so many formulas and so many exercises, quote unquote, in Christian growth, sometimes I think we can totally cloud the real issues. Spiritual living, the Christian life, is a process of pursuing Christ-likeness. The Christian life is a process of pursuing Christ-likeness.
That in simple terms is the direction of the whole matter of sanctification. We must become more and more like Jesus Christ. Simply stated, that is the Christian life.
As I said, there are so many books and so many tapes and so many formulas and so many different viewpoints of things that sometimes reality in its simplicity gets totally lost. If I might, I want to call us back to this matter of simply pursuing Christ-likeness. You remember when Jesus came and called His disciples, He said, Follow Me.
And that particular command has not been replaced or improved upon. The whole matter of the Christian life and Christianity is this matter of following Christ to become more and more like Him. The Apostle John said that if you belong to Christ, if you abide in Christ, then you ought to walk as Christ walked.
The Apostle Paul writing to the Galatians said, I have pain until Christ is fully formed in you. And writing to the Corinthians, he said a couple of times, Be followers of me as I am of Christ. But most significant perhaps to us is the Word of God the Father. Romans 8 records for us that God the Father's purpose in saving us was that we might be conformed to the image of His Son. Christ called us to be like Him. John reminds us to be like Him.
Paul is in pain until we are like Him. And that is because that was God's purpose in the beginning, that we be made like Jesus Christ. Now, the goal then of every Christian's life is to be like Christ. That is the goal.
That is the thing which we pursue. That is the purpose of our time here and that is the pursuit of our sanctification. It then becomes the lifelong objective of every Christian to become more and more and more like Jesus Christ.
That is as basic as it can be stated. Just to remind ourselves that this is the general theme of the text, go back to verse 12 for a moment where we started last time. Paul says, "'Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.'" Paul says, "'I haven't arrived at perfection.
I am not like Christ, but that's why God laid hold of me and that's what I desire. I haven't arrived. I haven't obtained it, but I press on.'" Then he says it again in verse 13, "'Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet.'" Now why would he say it twice?
Why does he repeat it? Well, I think there's a sort of polemic here. It may well have been that the Judaizers who were confusing the Philippian church were claiming that through circumcision and law keeping they had attained some kind of perfection. It seems as though Paul is arguing against something as much as just stating a case. Nonetheless, the point he makes is that I haven't arrived, but one thing I do. I love that.
Now with that statement, Paul has reduced the Christian life to its lowest common denominator. What do you do, Paul? One thing. What is that one thing? Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal. What's the goal?
Christ's likeness. For the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. By the way, we noted last time that the goal and the prize are the same thing. The goal is Christ's likeness. We pursue it, we don't ever reach it in this life, but it becomes the prize that God gives us in the life to come. What is our goal here is our prize there. We will someday be made like Christ.
Until that day when we receive the prize, we pursue that as the goal. So Paul is saying, look, I haven't arrived. There's no perfection here.
He is not a perfectionist. He doesn't believe that you can reach a point where your sin is eradicated, where you no longer sin or transgress against God. That was not his experience, nor was that found in anything that he had received by way of revelation from the Spirit of God. So he is saying, I'm in a pursuit and my life is boiled down to one thing, to be like Christ. You say, well now wait a minute, don't we have more things to do than that? Aren't we supposed to be glorifying God? Yes, and the more you glorify God, the more you're like Christ. Aren't we supposed to be evangelizing the lost?
Yes, and the more you do that, the more you're like Christ, because he said he came to seek and to save that which was lost. The goal of the Christian life and the pursuit of sanctification is simply reduced to Christ's likeness. Now that leaves us with a necessity to understand two things.
How is that going to happen? Well, there is an objective and a subjective element. The objective element is the Word of God. If we are going to become like Christ, we have to know what Christ was like. If we want to know what Christ is like, then where do we go?
We go to the Bible, right? Because this is the disclosure of Christ. This is the revelation of Christ. The Old Testament sets the scene for him, creates the need for him, announces that he is coming. The gospels record his arrival.
The book of Acts records the immediate impact of that. The epistles delineate the significance of his life and ministry and the revelation talks about the consummation, but Christ is the focus of it all. So as we study the Word of God, we study it in order that we might know what Christ is like.
Beloved, may I encourage you along that line? That's such a basic truth in Christian living, but very often gets lost. We study the Bible for the sake of theology. We study the Bible for the sake of answering someone's questions. We study the Bible for the sake of argument. We study the Bible thinking that somehow imbibing some biblical data is going to impact our spiritual life. And in some cases, of course, it makes a contribution to that end, but the product that God is after in giving us the revelation is that we, in understanding more about Christ, might therefore know better the goal of our own living.
And if you study the Bible for anything less than understanding more about the Christ whom you are to be like, you have missed the point. The second and subjective element in this matter is the work of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to be like Christ, we are dependent on knowing what Christ is like and that means we must study the Word of God. We are also dependent on the spiritual work of changing us into the image of Christ, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3 18 says that as we gaze at the glory that is revealed, the glory of our Lord, the Spirit changes us into His image. So objectively, we are committed to the deep study of the Word. Subjectively, we are committed to submission to the Spirit of God. A Spirit-filled believer who lets the Word about Christ dwell in him richly is one who progresses toward the goal, understood? And that is the simple statement, the bottom line of Christian living.
And I emphasize it because I'm quite confident that it's been fogged in our day and it can be lost as to its simple and very core significance. We are to be like Christ. That is to consume us. Paul says, one thing I do, I press toward that goal of Christ-likeness.
That's the one thing I do. Does that simplify the focus of your spiritual life? You say, how can you reduce life to that? Look back at verse 7. Paul had a very complex life before he was a Christian. He was trying to keep all the laws and traditions and formulas of Judaism, both divine and human.
He was trying to follow all of the privileges and all that they deposited into his account. And in all of it, he found not what he sought. And then you remember on the Damascus road, he was confronted by the living Christ. And immediately coming to the realization of the fact that Christ was everything, verse 7 says, Whatever things previously were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Once I met Christ, I realized that everything in my asset column was a liability.
Everything I thought was gain, I counted loss. I found all I needed in Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but dung, manure, rubbish, trash, garbage, in order that I may gain Christ. You see, Christ is everything to him. And in Christ is everything. Do you need to be reminded of his great statements in Colossians chapter 2, where he says that in Christ, verse 3, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?
That is amazing. That is a comprehensive statement. Where are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge? They are in Christ.
They are all in Christ. The more I know about Christ, the more I know about wisdom and knowledge. That is why verse 6 says, As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.
Pattern your life after him. Verse 9, For in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and in him you have been made complete. Paul understood it. It's all in Christ. Beloved, somehow remind yourself to strip away anything that clouds that or covers that, and get back to that basic glorious reality that we are pursuing Christlikeness. And so when you study the gospels, you study them in order that you might know Christ better. We must be focused on the person of Christ. And when you read the Word of God, let it speak to you of Christ.
Let it reveal the glories of Christ to you. And as you yield yourself to the Spirit of God in obedience, let it be with the desire that he mold you and shape you from one level of glory to the next until you are more and more made like Jesus Christ. Now in verses 12 through 16, Paul exhorted the readers to that. He exhorted all of us to move in that direction, to press toward that mark, that prize, that goal. In fact, in verse 15 he said, If you have a different attitude, if you're not willing to do that, God's going to have to deal with you.
There may be some chastening. And then in verse 16 he says, Whatever standard you've come to, move on from there. Keep pursuing Christlikeness. Here I have somebody say to you, You know, you really ought to read the Bible every day. You really ought to study the Bible every day. And sometimes you say to yourself, Well, I'm doing that, but I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to be learning or what I'm supposed to be getting.
Keep this in mind. The purpose of all of that is to mold you into the image of Jesus Christ. It is to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. It is to let the Spirit of God fill you so that that Christ shaping may take place.
Now, as you come to verse 17, Paul wants to get practical. And he suggests to us that there are three necessary elements in this pursuit that will enhance us as we pursue. Three things that are necessary for pursuing Christlikeness. Number one, following after examples. Number two, fleeing from enemies. And number three, fixing on expectations. Those are the three things he deals with in verses 17 to 21. Following after examples, fleeing from enemies and fixing on expectations.
Let's look at number one. If I am to pursue this goal of Christlikeness, then I need to follow some example to show me how. Look at verse 17. Brethren...that, by the way, is the third time he's used that word in this chapter.
He's feeling very warm-hearted toward them, very conciliatory. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Now, that whole verse is just about follow others who are pursuing this prize.
Now, let me talk to you about that for just a moment. I want you to understand it. First of all, Paul is not putting himself on a pedestal, not a pedestal of perfection. Paul is not saying, I'm perfect, be like me. What Paul is saying is, I'm imperfect, follow the way I move toward that perfection. He wants us to understand in verses 12 to 16 that he has not obtained it, that he is not already perfect, that he has not already arrived. And if you read the New Testament, you are very much aware of that. God had to give him a thorn in the flesh to keep him from being too proud because he was prone to pride.
He had to be rebuffed and rebuked significantly for letting his mouth flow against the high priest at the end of the book of Acts and say things that he never should have said. No, he was not a perfect man, and in that lies the significance of his example. In fact, in 1 Timothy 1-15 he said, I am foremost of sinners.
Not I was, but I am. And surely he understood the principle of 1 John 1, 7 and 9 that if you say you have no sin, you make God a liar. So he is not sinless, he has not reached perfection, he has not had his sin nature eradicated. There's no second work of grace here that's put him in a different category from all the rest of the folks.
He is saying, I am a sinner, I have problems with my flesh, but I am pursuing the goal, follow my example. If I were to climb a high mountain, a dangerous climbing expedition alone, which is a very remote possibility, folks. But should it occur, there is a little adventure in me and I should decide to climb this mountain and I should get equipped with all the stuff you need to climb this precarious precipice. Of what significance would it be for a helicopter to fly across the peak of that thing and drop some guy on the top and have that guy up there looking down and shouting, I'm up here, this is where you want to come. If you can just get up here, this is the top. And I'm looking up and I'm down here and he's up there. The problem is, he got up there by a helicopter and he doesn't know the way up either.
He hasn't gone that route. He is not of much help to me. In fact, the more he hollers at me on the way up, the more frustrating it will become. What I would rather have is some guy ahead of me who is climbing the path and says, follow me, I know the way up.
What I need is somebody who models the way up, who shows me the process. How do I deal with my fallen flesh? How do I deal with the struggles of life? How do I deal with disappointment?
How do I deal with trials? How do I deal with pride? How do I deal with temptation? How do I deal with sin? Somebody's got to show me that path because it's only in the overcoming of my sinfulness that I move toward being like Christ. So I have to follow somebody who's battling to overcome sin.
If I'm going to climb this precipice, I want somebody who knows the way with a rope around his waist hooked to mine, who pulls me up the right way. That's Paul. Paul put himself in that position numerous times and he is saying, I'm not the perfect model, that's Christ.
I'm just somebody who can follow on the path of victory. So he says, look at verse 17, join in following my example. Literally the Greek says, be fellow imitators of me or keep on being fellow imitators, sum mimitus, from which you get the word mimic.
Sum means together with. It's a sort of a collective call. He's saying all of you, all of you be fellow imitators of me, mimic me, follow the way that I live my life. Back to verse 14, I am pressing on toward the goal.
You watch how I do it. That's John MacArthur, chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. John's current study here on Grace to You is titled Reaching for the Prize. John, the message today is one you preached several years ago, and it strikes me your teaching essentially is timeless, partly because of your willingness to go against the grain of what is popular today. And by that, I mean your teaching is not filled with references to pop culture and storytelling and jokes. It's just biblical content. So take a minute here to try to explain why you are committed to that kind of verse by verse Bible teaching.
Yeah, well, it comes down to a very basic reality. The Bible is God's revelation, so we want to preach the Bible. But God also revealed it in the biblical context. So I'm convinced because God would never make a mistake that you should teach the Bible in the biblical context.
Now, that might sound obvious to some people, but think about it. It's really popular to take a Bible concept, a Bible truth, and a Bible story and bring it into modern culture, maybe change the illustrations because you're not going to use an ancient illustration or an agricultural illustration, so you kind of update it. And you have now moved the truth of scripture away from its context. And I think the purest understanding of scripture is studying Bible truth in the Bible context. And that means you don't bring the Bible into the modern day. You bring the modern reader into the Bible day. You take the listener back and you recreate the biblical context because context is so critical in shaping an accurate interpretation. So as we do this kind of Bible teaching, we are going to introduce you to the Bible and to the Bible's context, which means history, language, customs, all of those things that are germane to the time and place and thinking of the people when the Lord inspired his word. So we're on the radio here to teach you God's word and teach you God's word in God's way from the word of God.
We know that it doesn't happen by accident. We're here in the midst of ongoing financial, cultural challenges, some of them pretty threatening. But we're here because people like you are still seeing grace to you as vital and important and worth supporting. And that's why we have the opportunity in the ministry that we do. So as we anticipate another year of teaching the Bible, just make sure you stand with us as you're able. And the Lord will make you a full participating partner in what he does to advance his glorious truth.
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