Many Walk This Way -

Are You One Of Them?

 

"There is no more powerful incentive to holiness than in the Cross. Its profession commits a man to deadness to the sin for which Christ died." 

"Christ counts none friends of His who love not His Cross. The true virtue of Christ's Cross is only found by those who are crucified by it to the world. Till this be done your love to God and hope of heaven are questionable." - quotes from the Biblical Illustrator - New Testament

 

"Our god is that which we value most, and for whose sake we do things." 

"That which a man prizes, he will glory in, be it wealth, honour, parts, or the Lord."

"Not only benefits but sufferings for Christ should be more to us than all the world."

- above quotes from the Biblical Illustrator - New Testament

 

In Philippians 3:18-19, the Apostle Paul wrote - "(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)"

 

Notice that he said that "many" are walking a certain way. It is not just a few. It seems to be a popular trend among "many."

 

Who are these "many" that he speaks of?

 

They are the false and inconsistent professors of Christianity. They are the loose livers whose practice is in open variance with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Cross impresses holiness in the believer's life, but these strangers to the pure gospel refused to allow it to bring forth the mortification of their flesh so they ended up living unholy lives. They disliked the Cross of Christ and studied all ways and means to shun it... lived demonstrating no evidence that their hearts were renewed...walked according to the course of this world - not according to the truth of the Gospel... and hence, threw off all restraints in order to live lawless lives.

 

Paul referred to them as - "the enemies of the cross of Christ."

 

Compared to the infidel, blasphemer, or persecutor - this false professor is the worst enemy for he does more damage to the cause of Christ or offers the devil more themes for laughter than any other enemy. He lives in the indulgence of some known sin...has a deeper interest in worldly affairs than in matters concerning the Kingdom of God...is absorbed with the concerns of this present world to the exclusion of the spiritual one...and lives in neglect of his Christian duties. He assumes the cross as his badge, yet perverts the principles of the Gospel by believing that whenever he sins, grace does simply abound to cover it and offers him a license to continue in it. 

 

Paul "wept" over such a perversion of grace and the cross message. He warned the believers "often" - for this "leaven" was seeping into the Churches and attempting to pervert the minds and spirits of all.

 

He was so serious about this problem that he found himself getting very specific in identifying who these false professors were. He actually listed four distinct features which would instantly identify them. They are as follows -

 

1. Their Fixed Doom Is Perdition

 

Philippians 3:19 says - "Whose end is destruction..."

 

Isn't it amazing how Paul begins the description of these people with a candid statement of where they are headed eternity-wise? He doesn't hold back in saying that these people are destined for eternal ruin and everlasting destruction. Unless they are converted and embrace the Cross in their lives to the result of holy living, they will end up in Hell. 

 

2. Their Sensual Appetites Are Their God

 

Philippians 3:19 says - "...whose God is their belly..."

 

These false professors are "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God"(2 Timothy 3:4). The end of their entire existence is to live solely after the flesh - to follow after some loathsome passion or gratify their sensual appetites. 

 

3. They Glory In Their Degradation

 

Philippians 3:19 says - "...whose glory is in their shame..."

 

These pretenders glory in disgraceful things of which they ought to be ashamed. They boast in sin and make it the brunt of their jokes.  

 

4. They Live To Obtain Earthly Things

 

 Philippians 3:19 says - "...who mind earthly things."

 

These - who oppose the Cross in their lives - relish, desire, and seek after earthly things. They are earthly-minded. Their attention is directed toward honor, gain, and pleasure. They are ambitious and covetous. Their chief anxiety in life is to acquire wealth, gain honor, and enjoy the pleasures of this world. They have no relish for spiritual or heavenly things. Their souls are absorbed with material interests. They strive to reconcile the love of the world with a profession of godliness.

 

Is your love to God and hope of heaven questionable?

 

May God Bless His Word.