Beware of False Teachers

Transcript

GR 635
2/27/1983
Beware of False Teachers
Philippians 3:17-19
Gil Rugh

Book of Philippians and the Third Chapter; Philippians Chapter 3, come to the closing portion of this Chapter in our study together today; and Paul in effect picks up what he started out with at the beginning of the Chapter, because the Chapter just before he closes this Chapter centers very strongly in on the issue of false teacher and those who would lead believers astray. Now we started out in the Chapter with a strong warning regarding false teachers and false religious leaders; then he showed them from his own life how you can have no confidence in physical thing, and no matter what your human attainments, no matter what you religious accomplishments they end up all being absolutely worthless.

In fact they became detrimental worse than worthless, because they hinder you and keep you from entering into a right relationship with God. And one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome is that of a good moral outstanding religious life, because so many people are trusting in their own goodness, are trusting in their own religious attainments and it stands in the way as a barrier from them seeing themselves as unworthy sinners, and in need of salvation by faith in Christ alone.

Paul said his goal in verse 9 and 10, now is to be found in Christ, and not to have a righteousness of his own that he accomplished by his own doing, but the righteousness that comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. And you can see the conflict for a person who is striving by their best efforts, by their most religious of activities to find acceptance before God it is a tremendously humbling experience to confront the reality of the fact that it's all worthless. That I am an absolutely unworthy guilty sinner, and all of my efforts to acquire acceptance before God have been for not, and I must see myself as a sinner in a hopeless condition apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Now Paul said the goal in this new life in Christ has not been realized, and the emphasis there is on the way that he walks and lives his life, because God not only intends to save us that cleanse us from sin and make us new creatures within, but he intends that our lives be transformed from the inside out. And we are going to talk about the final realization of this process when we talk about the closing verses of this Chapter. That God intends for our entire being to be transformed; and Paul says, he is in the process of realizing that that’s the goal toward which we he exerts all of his energies and all of his efforts to be like Jesus Christ in every way, to have the glorious character of God manifest in all of his doings, and all of his actions.

So a goal that he will not realize until he sees Jesus Christ face to face, but it's the ultimate end that he is pursuing. So he exerts his energy in verse 14; I press on toward the goal for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus; that upward call of God in Christ Jesus, that call to be like Jesus Christ that’s what God intends for us. Now ultimately be realized in our glorification, the way that we are to live in verses 15 and 16, is according to the maturity we have. In other words I cannot stop and plateau and say well there is no sense in my striving on, I am not going to realize that until Christ comes, and we all here the excuse that we offered none of us are perfect. Well that’s we can all agree to, but that does not mean that any of us can cease to strive for that perfection.

So we need to be careful that often becomes an excuse. Nobody is perfect, but we have been called to perfection in Christ and the very fact that I can say, I am not perfect in my activities in my practice is indication that I must strive and drive all the harder for the goal that God has set before me. Now as he comes to verse 17, then in verses 17, 18 and 19; Paul focuses in on again the realization of that goal and the hindrances there are to attaining that goal. There are things that we can do the pattern for our lives that will aid us in the achieving of that goal. There also the obstacles and the diversion that Satan plans in the way to direct us aside, so that we are not pursuing that goal. So that we are let of to course, so that our lives are ruined as far as effectiveness in ministry.

Tremendous section; if there is two tragedies the great catastrophe that men and women are going to spend eternity in hell, in spite of the fact that Jesus Christ the son of God is secured redemption by his death and resurrection. But men and women will spend eternity in hell, because they refused to believe in him as their savior, they hold on to their own sinful activities and the pursuit of their own righteous attainments, and for that there is no cure, you will not believe in Jesus Christ, there is no other sacrifice for sins the book of Hebrews tells us. Second tragedy is that there are those who believe in Jesus Christ whose lives are wasted in light of eternity, whose lives are expended on that, which is detrimental to the glory of Jesus Christ.

To me that is almost an non understandable tragedy; that we who should come to new life in Christ, who have the privilege of living out our physical lives in way that matters for eternity should waste these lives, should allow these lives to be diverted into those areas, which do not glorify Jesus Christ. And that’s what Paul talks about in verses 17 to 19. Then we will close out to Chapter by showing the glorious destiny that is ours; what we are destined to become in Christ and the realization of this perfecting process.

Let’s have a word of prayer before we look at the detail. Father we praise you today for Jesus Christ, for the greatness of the salvation that we will be talking about together. Father our desire is that the salvation that we have experienced by faith in Jesus Christ might be realized in the way that we live our lives everyday. Lord impresses this portion of the word upon our minds and our hearts and brings our lives into conformity within. We ask in Christ name, Amen.

Verse 17 Paul says; brethren and to remember on previous occasions we have taken time to look at the repeated occasions where Paul stresses, brethren, brethren; he did this up in verse 13; brethren, it's a term of warm and endearment, expresses the bond that he feels with them. He recognizes them as fellow believers in Jesus Christ; it also is used to get their attention. Now like we would say, now listen; he wants them to pay attention to what he has to say. He is going to give them two exhortations; really one exhortation with two dimensions; join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us, imitate me and observe those like me as what he says. So in effect it's the same thing, your life is to like mine and like those who are like mine.

But he stresses it from imitate me and fix your attention on those who have lives like my life, Timothy’s life, Epaphroditus life; join in following my example. And that word my example, we carry it over into English this word, it's the word mimic; mimic me. And what Paul says here, is join together all of you in mimicking me and we know what it is to mimic, where you go through the actions and the patterns of what someone else does. And that’s what Paul is saying; pattern your life after me, all of you together, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. And that word observe means, to look out for to fix yours sights on something; we will use this word, it's the word scope, and so we use it in words like microscope.

You fix your look, your sights on something. You look out for something observe gives you the idea. Fix your sights on those; you know there is a plural here. So they are to mimic Paul, but it's not limited though, they are to fix their eyes on those who walk. Now remember that word walk, how you live your life; those who live their lives according to the pattern you have in us and the, us here is plural, it referred to Paul, referred to the Epaphroditus, Timothy others associated with Paul. Those who have a like pattern like ours, who walk according to the pattern. Now that word pattern is another word we have in English. It's the word # type, according to the type. It originally meant the impression left by a blow.

So if you took a piece of wood and you hit it with a hammer, you would have left the type on it, you would have left the impression or mark from that blow. That’s what it originally meant. Then it comes to mean an example or a pattern. And so here follow those who walk according to the type you have in us. And what Paul is saying very simply in this verse, but very profoundly. I think we have to pay close attention, very disturbed about what happens among believers. I was talking with another pastor Bible teaching pastor here in this city a couple of days ago. We are talking about a problem that is in existence at Indian Hills at his local congregation that is result of not recognizing the importance of Philippians 317.

What Paul is saying here is that the believer where to give special attention to the mature believers; like Paul and those whose lives were pattern like Paul and patterned their lives, mimic the pattern of their lives, now adherence to this instruction which save much heartache. What Paul is saying is Philippians, you look at the matured Christians and you pattern your lives after though. One of the most frustrating things that I face in the pastorate, our believers who are not patterning their lives after mature Christians, perhaps they have been only believers for a short time, and yet they are getting off the track, because they are looking to others.

I was talking to this pastor he has a group; he says I think they are leaving the church to start their own church. These are the people many of them who at one time where at Indian Hills, but Indian Hills didn’t do things right, and we were legalist and we were everything else. He says now we are getting called all the Christian bad names ourselves, and they are going to go and start their own congregation. I understand, although he gets it by way of the great vine as you usually do on these things, no one comes and tell them, you understand they are going to start, from those that I know in this group, I know if not one man who is qualified to be an elder in that group according to qualification to scripture. And yet you have group of people who are following what, the instruction of the word of God is to mimic and pattern your lives after those who are mature in Jesus Christ.

Paul the pattern of his life is revealed in the word, others whose life they are pattern like theirs. I take it would be those who are spiritual leaders, who meet the qualifications of elders and of deacons, so often on those who are disgruntled say; well, I have been told you can't trust the elders, or you’ve got to be careful of the elders; and it to me, it's the same kind of thing Paul confronted. How many people that he have to confront, who were being let away from following him; it's ruin us like talk you this pastor, you know you have mixed feeling with the pastor if I can be quite frank. We have people who leave Indian Hills that I say, oh Lord I really hate to see them I go, but I pray that you will use them in that congregation, we are going to miss them and I believe they are going to be an asset there, quite frankly we have people who leave Indian Hills that I say, oh Lord praise you and thank you, and oh God give us special measure of your grace to wherever they go.

My biggest burden is the fact that they are going to be detrimental to the work that they go to and I talk to this pastor he says, you know there is mixed feelings; one they haven’t really been an asset to the work quite frankly, because you know they hang on and they are the observers and evaluators of how you are doing it, they are not contributing they are evaluating. So he says my standpoint is just as well they are gone, but he says all what wasted lives. He says so much potential wasted, and that’s a tragedy; that could be avoided by simply following this basic instruction of the scripture. Now I read and say, oh that’s arrogant; you say everybody ought to be like you. I say, that we ought to be patterning our lives after those who are matured and those in leadership are to be matured, while they are not to be in leadership.

Frankly that’s why their qualifications given of elders and deacons set out in scripture. So I am burdened about this, because there is so much potential; people come to trust Christ they begin to grow to see that they are making great progress and all sudden they are diverted out of the way, and their lives are aimless and wasted if you will. That’s a great tragedy; it can be taken care of by following this simple injunction of the scripture. You mimic and pattern your life after those, who are like Paul, who are spiritually matured and manifest that maturity as it is revealed in the scripture.

Now that’s important and basic, because of what he wants to warn about in verses 18 and 19. There are those who would direct us the other way, so important then, because what he is going to say is, there are more than one kind of example, but they are the biblical examples and they are the unbiblical examples, and as writing to the Philippians that is the relatively matured church, as we have seen from what we study, and yet he has to warn them about, who they are to pattern their lives after, who they are to mimic if you will.

Look with me at a couple of passages the scripture that stress this point. First Corinthians Chapter 4, First Corinthians and the fourth Chapter, a few books in front of the book of Philippians; the book of First Corinthian Chapter 4. Now these things; I brethren I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes that in us you might learn. Note in us you might learn, not to exceed what is written in order that no one of you might become arrogant on behalf one against the other. Turn over to Chapter 11, I will get there myself. First Corinthians Chapter 11 verse 1; be imitators of me; just as I also am of Christ.

Now you note here, Paul says imitate me, because when you imitate me you will be imitating Christ. Now that’s sounds again like arrogance and Paul has told us in Philippians Chapter 3 that he is not perfect, he is not a right, and yet he still says you can mimic me, you can pattern me, because he is mature in Christ, he is not perfectly mature in every way, but he is mature relatively speaking; so that the bulk of believers can follow him, because his life is patterned after Christ. So you need to be careful becomes an excuse not to follow those who are the spiritual leaders, and the spirit and mature, because you say, well nobody is perfect and it's interesting to me that Paul has just admitted his lack of perfection in Philippians Chapter 3, then he goes on right on to say, mimic me mimic me by being in perfect no, mimic me in the fact that my life is patterned after Christ, and even though I am not perfect I am giving every ounce energy to the arrival at that goal, just as I also am of Christ.

Come over to First Thessalonians that’s toward the back of your New Testament passed Philippians, Ephesians; Colossians. First Thessalonians Chapter 1 verse 6, and verses 6 and 7 he uses both the word mimic and the word type that we have in Philippians. first Thessalonians 1:6; you also became imitators of us, and there you became mimickers now a little hard word, imitators of us and of the Lord; having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the holy spirit, so that you became an example, a type, a pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. So they followed the pattern of Paul and they themselves became a pattern.

Look in Second Thessalonians Chapter 3 in verse 7; Second Thessalonians 3:7, for you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. Again follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you. Down to verse 9, not because we do not have the right to do this to be paid and so on for their word, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, to follow our example; Paul continually exhorting them to pattern their lives to follow their example. Now I take it that is God’s pattern for us to follow say; oh I will look to the word; well, if you look to the word you will find that God tells you to look to the word and to the pattern of mature believers.

You know amazing that often people, and again I want to say; I believe people leave Indian Hills Community Church, because God directs them to other places and he wants to use them in other places. So I don’t want you to think that I am saying that everyone who leaves Indian Hills is out of the will of God. I don’t believe that, but I believe that those who leave, because they are rebelling against the leadership inevitably unless they are to change in their lives, you find they go in this situation they going to another, what’s wrong; they don’t want to follow the example and pattern of that leadership either. You know what the problem is; those people not qualified to be leaders biblically still want to exert the leadership, and so it finally ends up they are going to start their own church, the church of the only right led by the immature and what a mess that’s going to be.

And you know who they will pray on, they will pray on believers in congregations like this, and try to draw them out. Now they have no impact with the world with the loss you will see those coming to Christ to their ministry any longer, although at one time you may have, but they pray on other believers, that’s why important that you be aware of the warning say, all your afraid people are going to leave Indian Hill, I am afraid of that, not afraid that God will lead some away, but some will be let astray, and thus led to ruined lives.

So come back to Philippians Chapter 3. Now why this injunction; follow my example observed look out for those who have lives patterned after ours. Verse 18 begins with for many walk; now you note he said at the end of verse 17, observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us, for many walk in a different way. So you want to pattern you life after those whose lives is patterned after our pattern, because many walk according to a different pattern. For many walk of whom I often told you; now I tell you even weeping that they are enemies of the cross of Christ.

Paul will have some strong things to say now; they are those who are walking in a manner that indicate they are enemies of the cross of Christ. You know what amazes me, that here are the Philippians a growing church; yet Paul is concerned that if they do not pattern their lives after his and other mature believers, they are going to be in danger of being let astray by those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Now say well, wait a minute and that really be, that’s his concern; that they will be let astray by those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ; that shows just how far astray you can go, when you get of the biblical track.

Now there is a question here if I might address it before we go into the details, of who is Paul talking about; we talked about the Judaizers in the opening verses of this Chapter. The Judaizers were those who came and preach the message of believing in Christ, plus being circumcised, plus the law and that together equaled salvation, the distorted message that does not bring salvation at all, because when you add anything to the Gospel of grace for salvation, you have destroyed the grace of God. The other view is that these are the antinomian. Antinomians, means those who are the lawless, the life sensuous. They are against the law; they are lawless in their life style.

And that would fit the context from the standpoint often the reaction to legalism is lawlessness, where people who are so proud that they now understand grace that they think that grace means you have no restrains that you have no regulations that you have no laws, no regulations for life, and so they enter into a life sensuous life style. And much as scripture talks about this Second Peter Chapter 2 in the book of Jude focus in on the life sensuousness of false teacher, either one fits in both are biblical; in the context here, I prefer to understand in light of the first part of the Chapter and the whole flow of the Chapter that Paul still talking about the Judaizers; those who are corrupting the Gospel message by wetting it to law and saying you must have the law as well as Christ for salvation.

We look at the details we go along; for many walk and I take it that in light of the expression here in verses 17 and 18, indication as what he talked about in the first part of the Chapter these are professing believers; that’s what makes the danger for Christians. So we are going beyond just Christians not astray by other Christians, not a Christians being let astray by those who just profess to be believers, but are not really believers. Many walk of whom I often told you, and you know I had to think as I thought about this message in this portion; I said to Merlyn you know we are on false teachers again, it seems we’ve have been doing that and of a lot.

Last Sunday evening if you are here for our study in First John Chapter 4 verses 1 to 6, we talked about false teachers. And if you weren’t here I appreciate if you would get the tape and listen to that as that we have complementary material to the section we are talking about that we won't have time to repeat. Paul says I often told you, evidently Paul made it practice to constantly warn his converse, the believers that he minister to about the dangers of false teachers. So this is a new material, I often told you and now I tell you even weeping. Paul has burdened about the catastrophe, about the tragedy of these false teachers. He did not give him to light they have to attack to them to say, the awful things he is going to say about them in verse 19, but it was necessary but he was burdened and burdened about the destruction that their ministry would bring. They are enemies of the cross of Christ.

Now you ought to underline that, they are enemies of the cross and circle cross, enemies of the cross of Christ, because the focal point that I think he is bringing out is the cross becomes the crux of the matter. It is the focal point the fulcrum everything hinges than pivots on the cross. So what these Judaizers did was opposed the cross of Christ. They have no problem with Christ. They have no problem with talking about his death, the problem they had centered in the fact that they were unwilling to see that the cross paid in full the penalty for sin; that they said, fine you should have Christ, but you should also have circumcision.

They were the enemies of the cross, because as soon as you do that you say the cross of Christ is not adequate. Now important to keep that in mind those who say you must not only believe in Christ, but also be baptized to be saved are the enemies of the cross of Christ, because what they are saying is the cross is not adequate. You say, oh no, no, no I know people who believe that and they aren’t saying that; well God says they are, as soon as you say that you need something else beside the cross of Christ you are the enemy of the cross of Christ, because the cross is not sufficient in your system of theology.

Now come back to First Corinthians Chapter 1. It is important and it helps to explain why so much of liberal theology can talk about Jesus Christ, can talk about faith in Christ; you talk about people in other regions protestant or catholic, and you will find you can talk about Christ generally, and they agree with you. And they agree about needing to believe in Jesus Christ. You know when you will hit a barrier, when you zero in and say now, in Jesus Christ death and resurrection the penalty for sin was paid completely and finally, and it is only by believing his death on your behalf that you have salvation, then you see if you don’t part company, with even those religious people were saying, yes we believe in Christ; you know why, the cross becomes offensive.

In First Corinthians Chapter 1 verse 17. Paul said, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel not in cleverness of speech that the cross of Christ should be made void. And that is a good statement about the average liberal preacher today. They are very clever in their speech and they nullify the cross of Christ. For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us are being saved it is the power of God. We are going to get to those who are perishing in a moment. You know it's the word of the cross that is to those who are perishing in the process of perishing foolishness.

As we have to be careful in your witnessing. You can talk to someone about Christ and never get to the point. You must be careful when you are talking to someone about eternal matters that you get to that, which is eternally significant. It's the cross of Jesus Christ. You have to cut through everything else, you can talk for hours with the religious person about Christ, and agree on it, and not of God into the basic issue in their salvation; that Jesus Christ the son of God died on the cross to pay one sin for all forever, the penalty for sin and it's only by faith in that finished work; that you can have salvation. That’s the point, that’s where the conflict comes on.

First Corinthians 2:2 Paul said; for I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ and him crucify. You know the crucifixion again becomes the key point that you keep coming back to, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ. In Galatians Chapter 6, it's the cross that is the focal point. So come back to Philippians, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; important that we see them as God sees them. Anybody no matter what they say who adds anything to salvation by faith in Christ is an enemy of the cross. So if you have to believe Christ, plus to be baptized to be saved you are an enemy of the cross of Christ. If you have to believe in Christ plus join the church you are an enemy of the cross of Christ. If you have to believe in Christ plus you add to be saved you’re an enemy of the cross of Christ.

Now he describes these enemies of the cross with the four full description, in verse 19, and lust you wonder about the time; we are not going to do verses 20 and 21 this morning. I wouldn’t want anybody having heart palpitations to know good reason. You know a lot of material verses 20 and 21 and first verse of Chapter 4 and we are going to develop that in full in our next study, and it's the exciting climax and highlight of the explanation of what actually occurs when this process are perfecting is brought to completion.

You note the four details, these are the enemies for the cross of Christ; they are described in four ways; whose end is destruction. End is destruction; this word destruction is a word that’s used in the New Testament to be the opposite of salvation. Now that’s one way to explain it; whatever is and held in salvation the opposite that is destruction. We are going to see that with the description verse 19; then when we study verses 20 and 21. You have the exact opposite for those who are believers in Jesus Christ.

Back in Chapter 1 verse 28; Paul contrasted this word destruction with the word salvation. In no way alarmed by your opponents which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you. So you see the contrast, for them destruction, for you as believers salvation. Go back to Matthew Chapter 7; they are no more awful doctrine in all the scriptures, then the doctrine of the destruction of the laws probably becomes one of the most difficult for people to accept. That there is such a thing as eternal damnation; that people will suffer forever and ever and ever in the eternity of hell.

Now I do not understand, I do not grasp it's more awful, than I can imagine; that in a 100 billion trillion years of unrelenting suffering that God will not say now, that’s enough. But though I don’t grasp it, I know it's true, because God has said. And he has committed himself to the truth veracity of that just as strongly as he has to the truth and veracity that my salvation is eternal, and in a 100 billion trillion years he won't change his mind about my salvation either and I don’t understand and grasp that quite frankly.

Matthew Chapter 7 verse 13, enter by the narrow gate Jesus is speaking, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many there are be, they many there be who enter by it. Now there is the word destruction; the gate to destruction is brought, the gate to life is narrow, because Jesus said I am the door. He is the only means of access into God’s presence. So everything else leads to destruction, that’s the culmination the end, the consummation of these false teachers, the way that they are on, that makes which makes them so repulsive. They are leading people to destruction.

Look in Luke Chapter 19. Luke Chapter 19 verse 10; for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And that word lost, comes in the same basic word, as the word destruction; that which was lost, that which was destined to destruction, Christ came to save it. So don’t say that all God couldn’t send people to help, he alone realizes how awful hell is, and thus provided redemption at the cost of his own son, so that we might not perish what have eternal life.

Look over in Second Peter Chapter 2. We read in First Corinthians 118 that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. There is our word, this word perishing and related words have nothing to do with the annihilation in scripture, some because of the doctrine of hell have decided that there is annihilation, but the same words for eternal that are used of the life that we have in Christ are used of the destruction that the wicked will suffer. And they are going to suffer torment day and night into the ages of the ages, just as you and I are going to enjoy the glory of God’s presence into the ages of the ages as well.

There is no way you can get around this awful as it is, hell was real and it just shows how awful sin is, now problem is not that people think that all hell is too awful, they don’t have a conception of how awful sin is, and how holy God is, and the necessity for hell. Second Peter Chapter 2 verse 1; in verses 1 and 3 he uses the word destruction repeatedly, but false prophets also arose among the people just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies. There is word destructive; their end is destruction and their teaching leads people to destruction, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

You say, wait I know somebody who has taught that heresy for 40 years; that’s right, but they will come a time when it will come swiftly upon and then in an instant of time they will be carrier into the torments of eternity. Many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned, in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment for long ago is not idle, their destruction is not asleep. And that word destruction used repeatedly in the context of the ministry of false teachers, false religious leaders. Destruction surrounds them; all that they do, all that they teach can be summarized with destruction, hell.

Come back to Philippians 3; whose God is their appetite. Second thing about them, the God that they have; they don’t have the true living God, their God is their appetite. The word that means their belly means the body cavity. And interestingly two possibilities here, this word translated appetite # means the body cavity; 12 of the 22 times it's used, it's used of the womb, the womb; and it maybe here that what Paul is saying their God is the womb. In other words for these Jews they hinge the eternity on what; their physical linage, their physical tie to Abraham; that was their God. They thought to being the son of Abraham guarantee them eternity. So their God is their womb; now that the birth brings them their salvation.

What many people think today born into this family, gone through all the religious routine; it's not biblical I would also may mean just their own fleshly desires and that’s more probably; that their God is their appetite, their own fleshly desires. Look over in Romans Chapter 16. Romans 16 verse 17; and you will note here who do follow their own appetites, those who cause dissensions. Verse 17 of Romans 16; now I urge you brethren, keep your eye on those. Interesting that word keep your eye on; that’s translation of the same expression we have translated, observe.

In Philippians 3, observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us, there fix your eyes on those, whose lives you ought to emulate, here fix your eyes on those who you don’t want to be like, you watch them for the purpose of avoiding them, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned and turn away from them. Now the scripture clear, turn away from them, you know we don’t have anything to do with them. For such man our slaves not of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of their own appetites. There is our word their bellies, their own fleshly desires, by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. So these false teachers are not serving Jesus Christ, they are serving themselves.

Come back to Philippians 3, they glory in their shame, they glory in their shame with these Judaizers did and what every religious person does is they are boosting in their own physical attainments, their own religious attainments. For the Jews it was their own legalistic attainments. They were confident in circumcision and yet Paul says in verse 8, these think are dung, they are rubbish; those are the things to be ashamed of. Paul says I put that all on the dung heap, its rubbish. It's those things which you are ashamed of and these people are glorying in that which they ought to be ashamed of, because they are glorying in that which is keeping them from Christ.

In Galatians Chapter 6 verse 13 and 14; let me read it for you; for those who are circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, what they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh, may it never be that I should boast their glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see the conflict there, they won't have you circumcised they can glory in your flesh own physical attainments, they glory in their shame the very things he ought to be ashamed of, things that they have try to use to gain favor before God, those are the things to be ashamed of, not proud of, but how many people you talk to them about their relationship to God about going to heaven and they can show you they are baptism or certificate.

They can tell you how long they have been part of this church and they can tell you that they take the sacraments, they can tell you they come and hear Gil preach, you know it's all put on the dung heap nothing to be proud of, if you are trying to gain favor with God and acquire salvation. So they glory in their shame; shows how twisted we become that the very opposite occurs. One other statement, they set their minds on earthly things and we can’t appreciate this until we do verse 20 and 21, where the contrast is; they set their mind on earthly things. Their attention is fixed on the physical and the material, the things in this life and I keep using baptism, because that such a key and obvious issue just the circumcision was in Paul’s day. What is it, it's a physical right; they set their mind on earthly things and this is what their life revolves around the physical and the material.

Now a couple of passages and we are done. Galatians Chapter 4 verse 3; so also while we were children we were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. There been word for world than earth, but the same idea. You know talking about the law and those requirements and so on, you know it's associated with the world that where physical activities. Down verses 9 and 10; now that you have come to know God or rather be known by God how is it you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things to which you desire to be in slaved all over again, you observe days and months and seasons and years, the physical things of this life become the focal point in their religion.

Colossians Chapter 2 gives the same kind of emphasis. Colossians 2 verse 8, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Verses 21 and 22 do not handle, do not taste, do not touch; all referred to things destined to perish with the using, they are earthly, they are material and that’s what people put their confidence in, they set their mind on earthly things.

What do we need to do as believers now the study of First John Chapter 4 last Sunday evening; we noted that God has given us the victory in Christ, and the spirit of God indwells all those who are believers in Christ. We have overcome them the false teachers, there is no excuse tolerating in the scripture for a believer being let aside and let astray, it is always a matter of personal accountability and personal guilt, because the spirit of God if he is controlling your life does not lead you after false teachers, does not lead you aside and astray from the word of God. So that’s a tremendous encouragement that I need not have a fear, oh I will be let astray because all I got to do is stay true to the word, pattern my life after those in a mature that God has set before me and allow him to work in my life through the word and the spirit won't lead me astray.

So that’s the tragedy of Christians, who are let astray, there is no reason for it, there is no excuse for it as presented in the scripture God has provided for us to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ, and that’s his intention. Who you are following, you are like patterned according to Jesus Christ, what is the focal point of your life, what are you trusting for your salvation your own goodness your own works; you need to be very careful easy for a church like Indian Hills all we pride ourselves we are biblical. Yes, some people really needs this message, you know they could get let astray.

You know I look at the Philippians church and say, oh what a church, what a testimony and Paul says, be careful you could get let astray. What a tragedy that you would end up following and supporting someone who is an enemy of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, who glory in their shame, who set their mind on earthly thing; what a tragedy, what a wasted life for one whose life is the glorifying exalt Jesus Christ. Maybe true of us individually and as a congregation that we indeed follow Jesus Christ and reflect his glorious character.

Let’s pray together. Father, we thank you for the glorious simple truths that we have considered this morning. Lord, pray that we’d be careful to take to them our heart to allow the spirit to bring our lives into conformity to what we have studied. Lord, may we be a people who mimic and pattern our lives after those whose lives are patterned according to Jesus Christ. Lord, make us aware and sensitive to the false leaders, false teachers that are so prevalent today; who had seek to lead astray your people. Lord, bring them into a position of not glorifying you as they should, into confusion in their lives. Lord, may we be a people for true to your word that we might manifest the glorious character of Christ in all of our actions. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.