In the Christian life, we are pressing toward a goal. That goal is not the satisfaction of my own needs. That goal is not the satisfaction of my own desire for greater significance.
That is not the goal of my life. The goal of my life is to be like Christ. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Thanks for joining us for a new year of verse-by-verse Bible teaching. Today, John MacArthur continues a study that is showing you how to pursue Christlikeness in a clear, purposeful, God-honoring way. The study is titled, Reaching for the Prize.
John, even though this is our first broadcast of the new year, there's a sense in which nothing has changed for you. There are some habits and routines that have dominated your life for a long time, and I know they're going to continue to do so in 2025. So, before we get to today's lesson, I want you to talk a little bit about those habits, those everyday practices that you depend on, that you're going to continue to look to for spiritual growth and effectiveness in the new year.
Well, you use that word habits wisely, Phil, because I do think we are basically the product of our habits. People will say to me, you know, how do you motivate yourself to serve the Lord? How do you motivate yourself to read the word of God? How do you motivate yourself to live a certain way?
How do you motivate yourself to be self-controlled or disciplined? I don't even think of life like that. I don't think of, I'm trying to find motivation somewhere so that I can do the things that honor the Lord. I live with habits. If you think that you can every day start from square one and try to motivate yourself to do what's right, I mean, that would be impossible.
It's not reasonable to think that way, but I'll tell you what you can do. You can establish good habits, and once they're grooved, you're going to live your life that way. And my habits are to focus on the word of God, to focus on understanding the word of God, so that, you know, the first place I go, like a magnet, is to my desk, to the books, to the Bible, to the word. Whether I'm thinking about writing or editing a book or whether I'm preparing a message to give at the Master's University or the Master's Seminary or some Sunday at Grace Church, I'm in the Word.
And alongside me, no matter where I am, there are books, and I'm reading books that enrich my understanding of theology particularly, and I love Christian biographies because they humble me when I see the greatness of men and women that God has used through the years. So, certain kinds of habits. One of the things I tell young couples is that I've done my best to establish the habit to do for my wife Patricia whatever brings her joy and spiritual benefit. Marriage doesn't seem complicated to me.
Whatever would bring her joy and spiritual benefit, I do that. And cultivating that habit has meant that our marriage has gotten richer and richer and richer through the years. So, we are the products of our habits. And I warn young people a lot, establish good habits when you're young, or you're going to spend your whole life trying to break bad ones. It's much better to have good habits that will sustain you in the right direction to your own joy and blessing.
Thanks, John. Godly habits really are key for spiritual growth. And now, showing you how to cultivate godly habits in the New Year, here again is John MacArthur to continue his study, Reaching for the Prize. Let's open our Bibles then to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3.
You know from this particular text that the heart of the section is found in verse 14. Paul says, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says, I pursue the prize.
I press toward the goal. We have noted all along that the prize and the goal is the same thing. It is to be like Jesus Christ. Now, what are the necessary elements in doing this? Now that will bring us to our text, verse 17. What do we have to have?
What will help us in pursuing the prize? Number one, we suggested last time that we must follow after examples. We must follow after examples.
That was point one in verse 17. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Paul says, look, in this pursuing of the prize, follow the proper examples.
Find those godly pastors and leaders who are above reproach, whose lives are blameless, who are walking the way a believer should walk, who are being obedient. They're not perfect, but the direction of their life is right. They're pursuing the prize and follow them. Now, flip that over.
There's a negative side. That takes us to point two. Not only are we to follow after examples, but two, we are to flee enemies.
We are to flee enemies. Paul is always concerned about this. Look at verse 18. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you, even weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Paul was very concerned, even with the Philippians, that they understand the threat of false teachers. He said, I often told you, and now, present tense, I tell you, even weeping. By the way, that's the only time in the New Testament when Paul actually says he's presently crying. In Romans, he talked about having sorrow and continuous heaviness of heart over the lostness of Israel.
And in Acts 20, he said, I warned you night and day with tears, but this is the only time he says, as I write, I cry, I weep. His heart is broken. He grieved over the lostness of people.
He grieved over the encroachment of false teachers that disrupted the church and brought a reproach on the name of Christ and led people astray. And here he is literally weeping as he recognizes that they will infiltrate Philippi and they will try to wreak havoc in the church. He is heartbroken.
He says, I now tell you, even weeping. This is a passionate man. This is a tender-hearted man. This is a man with rich feelings.
He loved genuinely. He ached over the lost. You say, why is he weeping? What's he crying about? Well, we don't know.
It doesn't really specifically say, but we can certainly surmise. He could have been weeping because these enemies of the cross were lost for he did have sorrow over lost people as Romans 9 indicates. He could have been weeping because he could see the terrible impact that they would have on the week in the church and it was those same kind of tears that we noted in Acts 20. Tears for the church because it could be so easily led astray by false teachers.
So whether it was the damnation of the enemies or whether it was the destructive impact of their effort, it caused him to weep. He loved the church. He loved the Philippians because he loved the Christ of the church and the Christ of the Philippians. And he could see these enemies trying to seduce them and it broke his heart. After all, the Philippian church was the first church in Europe, a sort of beachhead for another world to reach.
And it was so important that they stay pure and not get messed up. Beloved, I just need to tell you from the bottom of my heart, I see the church in America today on the threshold of being deceived by a myriad of the enemies of the cross. Now you say, well, now who are these enemies of the cross of Christ that Paul is so grieved about? Who are they? He doesn't tell us. We have two options, okay? We'll reduce it down to two options. They're either Jews or Gentiles.
That's fair enough. If they were Jews, we could surmise that they were Jews who somehow identified with the church. And yet were still enemies of the cross. What kind of Jews would those be? Those would be the Jews known as the, remember, Judaizers.
And what was their agenda? They didn't deny Christ and they didn't deny the gospel. They just said it was insufficient to save.
It didn't go far enough. You had to be circumcised, physical surgery, and you had to keep the Mosaic law. So they said Christ plus the law. We accept Christ. We believe in His death. We believe in His resurrection.
But that's not enough to save. You have to add circumcision. You have to add the keeping of the law, the ritual. So that would be one possibility that it was the Judaizers. It could fit the context because he's been talking about the Judaizers. Back in verse 2, he called them dogs, evil workers, and false circumcision.
And he definitely has the Judaizers in mind. They think they're doing what is right. They're actually doing evil. They think they've had a proper circumcision. All they've had is a mutilation. He uses the word mutilation. And they think they are sheep, but the truth is they're dogs, curds, scroungy mongrels. So he really has lambasted the Judaizers who come in and say, Christ did what He did, but it isn't enough.
You have to add some other works. That is an enemy of the cross of Christ. Now notice, please, when he says enemies of the cross of Christ, the concept of the cross of Christ means all the atoning work accomplished on the cross.
It's not just the wood. It's not just the death. It's the crosswork of Christ. It signifies the whole of what He did there as the sacrifice for sin who alone could provide salvation for sinful men. That is the heart of our faith. That's why Paul said, I am determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified. We are saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ plus nothing.
We believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by that faith God imputes forgiveness to us and righteousness. But these Judaizers said, no, that's not enough. That's not enough. You've got to add to that.
Does that sound familiar to you? Anybody who comes along and says, well, yes, we believe in Christ and we believe that He died and all of that, but you have to keep the law, that's the same error. So the enemies of the cross don't necessarily deny the cross. They add to it like the Judaizers did. But you say, well, in verse 19 it describes them as their end is destruction, their God is their appetite, their glory is in their shame and they set their minds on earth. They think, how would that relate to the Judaizers?
Well, it could relate to them. Their end is destruction because they're not really saved. The word end, telos, means their ultimate destiny. That's a very important New Testament word. It means their ultimate destiny is destruction. Why? Because to believe everything about Christ and to believe that it's all true and also believe you have to do something to be saved is to be damned forever.
You get that? Anything beyond Christ is a damning belief. So they are headed for destruction. When it says whose God is their appetite, it means that they really worship their flesh. They worship their fleshly accomplishments. They worship all of the fleshly religious works that they do.
They're very sensual in a religious sense. It could even be that that could include their appetite in the sense that they're into dietary laws and the Jews had a whole series of dietary laws which they prescribed as part of the observance of the law necessary for salvation. And then when he says in verse 19, their glory is in their shame, it means they boast in the very works of which they should be ashamed because the best of their works are nothing but filthy...what?...rags anyway.
Here they are boasting in their accomplishments and they really ought to be ashamed of their accomplishments because apart from what God has wrought in us, everything is filthy rags. Paul says everything is manure back in the same chapter, verse 8. And finally, they set their mind on earthly things if speaking of the Judaizers could refer to the fact that they're into ceremonies and festivals and feasts and sacrifices and new moons and everything that's physical, all the prescriptions that they went through. So it could definitely refer to Judaizers.
And I believe that it's fair to let Paul be as broad as he can be here and say he probably has that in mind. There are the enemies of the cross today, beloved, who come along and they side up alongside the church and they say, We're the friends of the church. We're the friends of the cross. We're the friends of Christ. We want to lead you.
We want to show you this direction. And the truth of the matter is they are adding works to grace. They believe they have to achieve something in their flesh and thus they are the enemies of the cross. Be very aware of that. We cannot coexist with those people. We cannot embrace them. And the church is prone to do that. And that is a very dangerous thing. The church had better get some discernment if it finds itself following people who believe that Christ is not sufficient.
You have to add some human work. They are damning their own souls. You have to achieve something for salvation. Now, on the other hand, he could be talking about Gentiles. Let's go at it a whole different way. He could be talking about Gentiles. Gentiles, too, could be the enemies of the cross. You say, well, in what sense? Well, now remember, they're not stated as enemies.
They're subtle. There were in the church groups of people who said, yes, we believe in Christ. We believe in the gospel of Christ.
We believe that He died for our sins and all of that. But they had a dualistic philosophy. They later became known as the Gnostics. They had a dualistic philosophy. The philosophy went something like this.
They believed in that dualistic viewpoint that says spirit is good and matter is what? Is evil, okay, or bad. That is a longstanding philosophy.
Okay. So they said matter is evil. It is intrinsically evil. It will always be evil.
It can't be anything but evil. Spirit is good. So we are Christians in the spirit. Body is matter. Body is matter is evil. Therefore, what your body does doesn't matter at all.
It's inconsequential. Matter doesn't matter. That's their basic philosophy. Spirit matters, matter doesn't. So they would say if matter is essentially evil, then the body is essentially evil. If the body is evil in essence, it is going to be evil no matter what you do with it.
Since it is going to be evil no matter what you do with it, glut it, satiate it, don't worry about it. Be a glutton. Be a homosexual. Be a fornicator. Be an adulterer.
Be a drunkard. Doesn't matter. It only affects the body, not the spirit. That dualism went right into Gnosticism. It went right into what was called in theology antinomianism. It's right into the contemporary libertinism of today, which basically says, Sure, I'm a Christian. I received Jesus. He changed my spirit, but it's inconsequential how I live.
I live any way I want to live. This kind of antinomian libertinism that says, Well, yes, I believe in the gospel, does the opposite of what the Jews did. The Jews said it's the gospel plus. They said it's the gospel minus. That when Jesus died, He took care of our sins in the spiritual dimension, but it doesn't matter how we live.
So they subtract from what the Judaizers added to. So you've got them infiltrating the church and they say, It doesn't matter how you live. You're saved anyway. We just believe in Jesus at one point.
We get fire insurance out of hell. We live any way we want. After all, it's only the body who cares.
That's common today. I know a pastor personally in a church that taught that. In fact, many that have taught that, he taught it in a rather extreme form, was well known even across the country and advocated certain gross kinds of evil things, eliminated all church discipline from his church. He said, After all, why discipline the flesh? The flesh is the flesh. The body is the body. It's going to be evil all the time anyway. Let it go.
Don't worry about it. That kind of thinking still exists. One writer defending this view said, I am persuaded that as God did not set His love on me at first for anything in me, so that love, which is not at all dependent on anything in me, can never vary on account of my sins. And for this reason, when I sin, supposed by adultery or murder, God ever considers me as one with His own Son who has fulfilled all righteousness for me. Now there's truth in that, isn't there? When I sin, am I not still one with Christ and God's imputed His righteousness to me?
Yes. But look where he takes it. There are no lengths then I may not run, nor depths I may not fall into, without displeasing Him. In other words, I can't displease God no matter what I do. I may murder with Him, that is with David. I may worship Ashtoreth with Solomon. I may deny Christ with Peter.
I may rob with Onesimus. I may commit incest with the Corinthian without forfeiting either the divine favor or the kingdom of glory. End quote. See, He's gone so far as to say it doesn't matter how I live. Doesn't matter what I do.
It's just my flesh. Doesn't matter. God didn't choose me on the basis of what I was, so it doesn't matter what I am.
Is that true? If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. But I'll tell you, there are going to come people like this and they're going to say, Oh, we love Christ. We love the cross. We believe all of that.
Now it doesn't necessarily affect our lives. We may be drunks, alcoholics, homosexuals, fornicators, adulterers, group sex participants. We may be into pornography.
We may be into stealing large sums of money. But when we get on TV and smile at you, we preach Christ. Now what kind of theology allows for that kind of living? It's that same antinomian theology.
Now look at that same text from that viewpoint. They are the enemies of the cross, then he says this, whose end is destruction. This is the doom they face. Their eternal destiny is sealed in damnation. They will be an everlasting torment in hell.
Why? They're not true Christians. How do you know they're not true Christians? Because they subtracted from the gospel. They subtracted what?
They subtracted the transforming essence of it. They have a useless kind of faith that never brought a true transformation so that they were new creatures desiring what was right in the inner man. They'll be doomed. Church, watch out. Watch out for the people who come along and are the legalists who add all the stuff.
Watch out for the people who come along and are the libertines who subtract the virtue. Secondly, you see the deity they serve, not only the doom they face, but the deity they serve in verse 19 whose god is their appetite. The word appetite is coelia.
The word colitis comes from it. It has to do with the midsection, particularly the stomach. Their god is their stomach, their appetite. It simply means their sensual desires. They're driven by their desires, their drives, their sensual. They live off of unrestrained sensual pleasure. That's so typical of false leaders who are libertines, who name the name of Jesus, say, We're the friends of the cross, but in truth are the enemies of the cross headed for destruction. And you can tell they are because they have some kind of a gospel that has no virtue in it, no holiness in it, no transformation in it, no love of godliness in it.
And they're driven by their sensual desire. And then thirdly, he says the disgrace that they bear, whose glory is in their shame, literally whose glory is their shame. Glory means boast. What this means is that the disgrace is this. They boast about what they should be disgraced for. The very thing that should shame them, they boast in it.
It's incredible, like 1 Corinthians 5, where the Apostle Paul says to the church, Not only do you have someone in incest, but you have someone in incest, he says in verse 2, who is proud about it. This is a libertine. Hey, look, this is the way I'm living. But, you know, I'm covered by the blood.
I'm saved. Doesn't matter what I do. I can do whatever I want. They boast in the very thing that shames them. On the other hand, the Judaizer is boasting in his self-effort which shames him. This person is boasting in his sin which should shame him. They're proud of their shameful lifestyle. This is so typical of a libertine. If you ever meet a libertine person, they will celebrate and recite for you all of the things that they're free to do. And they'll castigate...they do this to me...castigate me as a legalist and tell me all the things they're liberated to do.
Proud about their shameful lifestyle. And then finally, the disposition they display in verse 19, they set their minds on earthly things. In the case of the Judaizers, they're into the earthly ceremonies, rituals and stuff that is nothing more than earthly symbol. In the case of the libertines, hey, they love the world. An enmity with God is the result of friendship with the world, says James.
And if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you, says John. They are what Paul Rees calls thing-minded. Have you read John Bunyan lately? You remember the man with the rake who was raking the muck, the manure?
John Bunyan in his incredible way shows this guy who is totally unconscious that there's a heavenly messenger right above him with a crown, a golden crown, because his eyes are constantly on the ground where he's raking up the manure. Oh, that's these people. The gospel offers them a golden crown and they're raking the muck. Obsessed with stuff in the world, houses and cars and money and bank accounts and trips and self-aggrandizement and wardrobes and accumulating stuff, you ought to be able to tell the enemies of the cross. Don't listen to what they say.
Look closely. Do they add to the gospel and say it's not enough, you need this to be saved? Do they take away and say, oh, it's too much, it's too much, all you have to do is believe, it doesn't matter how you live, it's only the flesh? Beware. My prayer is that the church will be more discerning.
I fear that the lack of discernment is causing people in the church to just run after all kinds of people who are enemies of the cross. Well, if you're going to pursue the goal, got to follow the right example, avoid the wrong example, and there's one last great driving, motivating, necessary element, but we're going to save it for next time. Let's pray. Our Lord, we thank You for meeting with us, for evidencing Your presence in our midst in the joy of the Spirit, the love of the Spirit, the peace of the Spirit, the righteousness of the Spirit, which is the kingdom, as Paul said to the Romans. We thank You for evidencing Your presence through the power of Your Word. We thank You, oh God, for evidencing Your presence through the fellowship of others through whom You come to us to minister and encourage and strengthen us. And Father, we thank You for directly revealing Yourself in our hearts by conviction, by eliciting repentance, by calling us to obedience, by cleansing and forgiving us. Thank You, Lord, for the faithful people with eager hearts who have come, as it were, to expose their lives to Your truth. Bless them, Lord, each one. May every real spiritual need be met in Your sufficiency, and may they lose sight of the passing things of the world and be motivated not by personal comfort, but by the pursuit of Christlikeness. Help them to follow the right example, avoid the wrong, be discerning, and find that true path to be like the Savior they love and the one in whose name we pray.
Amen. That's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. John's current study here on Grace to You is called Reaching for the Prize. And, friend, here at the starting line of 2025, it's a great time to cultivate a habit of studying God's Word. And a great resource that can help you with that is the MacArthur Daily Bible. Each day, it gives you a portion of the Old and New Testaments, Psalms, Proverbs. To place your order, contact us today.
Just go to our website, gty.org. The MacArthur Daily Bible also comes with study notes by John that explain difficult passages and, again, to purchase your copy, just go to our website, gty.org, and our staff will process your order after they return to the office and they'll be back tomorrow. You'll receive your Bible as soon as possible in January. And, keep in mind, at gty.org, you can download 55 years of John's sermons free of charge. That's more than 3,600 sermons from John's time as pastor of Grace Community Church. Or, you can jump into what we call the Grace Stream. It's a continuous broadcast of John's teaching through every verse in the New Testament.
We start in Matthew, end in Revelation, and then start it all over. All of those resources and much more are available at gty.org. One more time, our website, gty.org. Now, for John MacArthur and the entire Grace to You staff. I'm Phil Johnson, hoping you'll have a great year this year. And thanks for listening today. Make sure you're here tomorrow as John shows you that even though the Christian life can be arduous, you will never regret obeying and following Christ. Practical encouragement from the series Reaching for the Prize. Be here tomorrow for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on the next Grace to You.
