Fleeing from Enemies (Philippians 3:18–19) John MacArthur

Let's open our Bibles then to Philippians chapter  3...Philippians chapter 3. And we are continuing   our look at this wonderful subject of pursuing  the prize...pursuing the prize. This is lesson   number three and there will be four lessons  because next time we'll cover what is remaining.   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. That was the  single focus of Paul's life. Back in verse 8 he   says, "I count everything else to be loss, I have  one great quest, to know Christ Jesus my Lord."   He says down in verse 13, "One thing I do, and  that one thing is forgetting the other things,   I press on toward the goal." So he had a life  focus of knowing Jesus Christ so well, so deeply,   so richly that he was becoming like Christ,  that is the goal of every Christian's life.

Now, beloved, let me remind you that in all  of the chaos, confusion and all of the myriad   of options and complexity of contemporary  Christianity, everything in our Christian   experience can be boiled down to this one  great truth...the goal of my life is to   be like Christ. Everything else spins off of  that. All my service, all my relationships,   all my worship, everything spins off of being like  Christ. If I am like Christ I will worship God in   the way He worshiped God. If I am like Christ  I will serve God in the way He served God. If   I am like Christ, I will relate to people  in the love in which He related to people. In other words, the simple focus of my life  is to be like Christ. That is why I must let   the word about Christ dwell in me richly, as  Colossians 3:16 says. That is why I must gaze   at the glory of Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:18, so  that I can be changed into his image. That is   why Christ must be fully formed in me, Galatians  4:19. That is why if I say I abide in Him I must   walk the way He walked, 1 John 2. I'm to be  like Christ. This is the goal of my life.

So the goal of my life as a Christian  is outside of me, it is not in me,   it is outside of me, it is beyond  me. I am not preoccupied with myself,   I am preoccupied with becoming like Christ. And  that is something that only the Holy Spirit can   do as I focus on Christ. I focus on Him and  the Spirit transforms me into His image. As you well know, there are many devastating  things that have encroached upon the pure   understanding of this truth in the church, not  the least of which is humanistic psychology.   Humanistic psychology has had a devastating  effect on Christians and on Christian theology   for a number of reasons. But one of these reasons  is built into the very basic humanistic philosophy   that man exists for his own satisfaction. It is  the very bottom line in humanism that man to be   happy must have all of his perceived needs and  desires met. And so humanism says that the goal   of life is to have all of my wants fulfilled, all  of my desires accomplished, all of my needs met.   Man will be happy, say the psychologists, man will  be content, man will be satisfied when his desires   are met, when his longings are met, when his  needs are met, when he is fulfilled. Contemporary   presentations of the gospel have sucked up this  humanistic psychology and philosophy unwittingly.  

And you have the good news of self- worth,  the good news of the value of you as a person,   the good news of security, the good news of  significance, the good news of prosperity,   of health, wealth and happiness, the  psychological gospel, the prosperity gospel. And even contemporary sanctification is fraught  with this humanistic needs mentality that   sanctification is a process by which all  of my needs are being met so I can be an   effective Christian. So if I've got a problem in  my life, I have to discover that problem, iron out   that problem, solve that problem, if I have some  unfulfillment in my life, I've got to fill that   pocket with fulfillment. If I have dissatisfaction  in my life, I've got to get satisfaction in that   area. If I am not able to accomplish everything  that is in me, all my desires aren't being met,   somehow I'll never be fulfilled until all  of those perceived needs are met. That has   encroached upon the church in a major way so that  much of preaching, teaching, writing today has   to do with problems and needs and satisfaction  and fulfillment of one's own personal desires.

Tony Walter has written a book entitled  "Need...The New Religion....Need...The   New Religion." In it he says this, "It  is fashionable to follow the view of some   psychologists that the self is a bundle  of needs and that personal growth is the   business of progressively meeting these needs.  Many Christians go along with such beliefs."   Further he says, "One mark of the almost  total success of this new morality is that   the Christian church traditionally keen  on mortifying the desires of the flesh,   on crucifying the needs of the self in pursuit of  Christ's likeness has eagerly adopted the language   of needs for itself. We now hear that Jesus will  meet your every need, as though He were some kind   of divine psychiatrist or divine detergent and as  though God were simply to serve us," end quote.

Now this kind of need mentality  leads to a man-centered theology,   a man-centered salvation and a man-centered  sanctification so that the goal of Christian   living has become for many Christians  getting my needs met, being fulfilled,   being happy, having a good self-image, a  high standard of self-worth, etc., etc.,   resolving all my conflict, eliminating all  my problems and I am focused on that. The   satisfaction of my perceived need is the goal of  my salvation and the goal of my sanctification. That's not true. That is diametrically opposed  to what the Bible teaches. The satisfaction of   human need is neither the goal of salvation nor is  it the goal of sanctification. It's not the goal   of either. The goal of salvation is that you  might be conformed to the image of God's Son,   thus that's the goal of sanctification. The goal  of my life is not to make sure I'm satisfied but   to make sure God is satisfied, that's the goal of  my life. But, you see, humanistic need psychology   has become quasi Christian need theology and so  you have a man-centered sanctification instead of   a Christ-centered sanctification. Man becomes  central rather than Christ. This is a major  

change. All you need do is look back, for example,  to someone like A.W. Tozier who simply said,   "Faith looks out instead of in and the whole of  life falls into line," end quote. Faith looks out   instead of in and the whole of life falls into  line. Christian sanctification is the pursuit   of something outside myself, not something inside  myself. It is the pursuit of Christ's likeness. It   is not a matter of assessing me, it is a matter  of knowing Him deeply. And the more I know Him   and the more I am focused on Him and the more  I am in communion with Him, the more the Spirit   makes me like Him. The more I focus on myself,  the more distracted I am from the proper path. Now 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.

Now let me approach this from another angle,  as well. I have never met a successful person,   an effective person, an impactful person in  any realm of enterprise in the world who was   not committed to reaching goals. The people  who impact the world are pursuers. They're   winners. They're competitors. They  know what it is, and listen to this,   to ignore personal comfort to reach a goal  outside themselves. They make incredible   sacrifices for the wrong reasons to reach the  wrong goals. But the people who impact society,   the people who affect society, the people  who leave an imprint on society are not   the kind of people whose lives are consumed  with making sure their own needs are met,   even from a human viewpoint, to say nothing  from a spiritual viewpoint. Those in the   spiritual dimension, however, who leave an  impact are equally competitors, winners.

I don't think people really understand that. I  have read enough biographies of famous Christians,   I have heard enough messages and lectures,  I have read enough articles, I have visited   enough places in the world to see the memorabilia  of famous Christian leaders to know this, there   are no hidden secrets about an impactful life.  It is the direct result of a maximum effort to   reach a spiritual goal and in the process ignore  your own personal situation. It is amazing what   great preachers, great theologians and great  missionaries have suffered in the process of   reaching a spiritual goal. And they all have one  thing in common, it was of little concern to them   to consider their own human condition, apart from  the fact that they considered it theologically,   it was of major concern to them that  they follow Christ, pursue Christ.

There are no secrets. Effective lives belong  to people who pursue goals that are outside   themselves and they pursue them almost  blindly. The same is true spiritually.   The people who leave an impact on the church  and the world are those who have a spiritual   goal on which they are focused, that goal of  being like Jesus Christ. They pursue that with   little thought of the conditions of their own  human life. That's Paul...that's Paul. He says,   "I'm not interested in anything else,"  verse 8, "I consider everything else a loss,   all I want is one thing, I want the prize,"  verse 14. That's what made him great. It was   that ability to be so totally focused on a goal.  And that's what we're talking about, that's what   we're talking about. We all are called to pursue  the goal. And again, the goal is to be conformed   to the image of God's Son, as we noted two weeks  ago. We are pursuing that, let say it simply,   as our total Christian duty. Can I simplify  the whole Christian life for you? The whole   Christian life can be boiled down, pursuing  Christ's likeness. That's it. That's it. If   that helps you clear up the fog, then that alone  is a great service to your spiritual progress.

Now, what are the necessary elements in doing  this? And that will bring us to our text,   verse 17. What are the necessary elements? We've  already gone through the rest of the chapter,   that was just a review. 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." Remember I told you that Paul   says, "Look, you've got to have somebody  to show you the path." Now listen again,   let me repeat this truth that I mentioned  to you. Christ is the perfect model. Christ   is the pattern of perfection. But Paul and  others are the patterns of the pursuit of   that perfection. I see in Christ what I want  to be, but I cannot see in Christ how to get   there. Why? Because Christ didn't follow some  path to perfection, He was always perfect. You   see? So if I look at Christ I see what I am to  be, and if I look at Paul and other believers,   I can see how to move that direction...as I see  those who are able to deal with temptation and   sin in the pursuit of the prize. So Paul says  you need an example, you need someone to follow,   you need a model, so follow me and those who walk  according to the pattern that you have seen in us.

In other words, get some models and follow  them. Now we're right in the heart of   discipleship. That's what we're all about.  We need a human pattern to follow. Beloved,   here is the essence of the matter of church  leadership. What is church leadership? I'll   tell you simply what it is, it is not just  speaking the Word and preaching the Word,   it is being the model that people can follow  in the pursuit of Christ's likeness. That's the   high calling...that's the high calling. That  is why leadership in the church is so highly   regarded in the Scripture, and that is why  a person's life has to be above reproach and   blameless because that person is the pattern  of pursuing Christ's likeness the people are   asked to follow. And then they follow him and  others follow them, and others follow them,   and that's how the church functions. That's why  when a person fails to be the pattern, it isn't   enough still to be the preacher because now you've  split the whole thing right down the middle and   you've got a preacher who isn't a pattern and all  you have are words but nothing is demonstrated.

So, 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." Now what's he saying? He's saying, "Follow  my example and the people who live the way I   live in the pursuit of the prize, you follow  us because so many others are the enemies of   the cross of Christ." He's simply saying watch  out that you don't follow them, that's the idea.   In the pursuit of Christ's likeness, there  are some to be followed, listen carefully,   and there are many to be avoided. He narrows it  down. He says follow me, verse 17, and those who   follow the pattern that I have set. And then  he says, "Many are the enemies of Christ." The   word "many," do you see it at the beginning of  verse 18? Not a few, many, they're everywhere.

Now, beloved, here's the challenge in the  church, listen carefully. Here is the challenge,   especially in a high-profile media society  like ours, do you realize the exposure that   bad examples get today? Do you realize  the exposure that enemies of the cross of   Christ find for themselves today through  radio, television, books, and so forth?   You have to be very careful and very  discerning not to follow someone who   is masquerading as a friend and is really an  enemy of the cross. So in verses 18 and 19,   and I want us to focus on this, he introduces  us to the enemies of the cross of Christ. Now let me suggest to you here that the  implication of the text is that these   people are not stated as enemies. They don't come  down the road saying, "We're against the cross,   we're against Christ, we deny His work on the  cross, we deny salvation by grace through faith,   etc." They don't do that. They're not subtle.  Anybody who does that is not a threat, right? That   kind of a person you can spot immediately, someone  who denies Christ, denies His work on the cross,   that's not subtle enough to threaten the  church. But these are people who say they are   the friends of Christ and the cross of Christ,  who advocate Christ, who identify with Christ,   whose names are on the church roll, who  want spiritual leadership, but they are   the enemies of the cross of Christ. They're very  subtle. It takes discernment to recognize them.

Beloved, this is such a ringing constant theme in  the New Testament that you almost feel like you're   in a revolving door on this subject. Jesus  said it, "Beware of those who come to you in   sheep's clothing and inwardly they are wolves."  Later on in Matthew 23 He described them again.   He was concerned about the false teachers, the  false leaders, the antichrists in chapter 24.   You find it all through the book of Acts. The  false as against the true...the Simon Maguses,   the Elimusus(?), the sorcerers, whoever they are,   the false claiming in the name of God to cast  out demons later on in the book of Acts. You   find it in Paul's epistles as he warns, for  example, stay away from endless genealogies,   stay away from speculations, stay away from false  teachers, know sound doctrine, pure doctrine,   avoid the janglings and the haranguings of  those who are not true teachers. Peter gives   an entire epistle, 2 Peter, to the unmasking  of false teachers. Jude is concerned about   it. John is concerned about it in his three  epistles. It is all through the Scripture.   We must beware of the enemies who masquerade as  friends. That's the idea here. He has to tell  

the Philippians that they are enemies of the  cross of Christ because they're very subtle. And frankly, folks, the church lacks discernment.  I continue to be absolutely astounded at the stuff   and at the people that Christians will follow  because they're so undiscerning. If you have a   lack of precise biblical teaching, as we do today,  if you have a lack of precise clear doctrine,   as we do today, you have a lack of precise  clear thinking. And if you have a lack of   precise clear thinking, you cannot have  discernment. And so people are victimized   by the widespread exposure of those who in  truth are enemies of the cross of Christ. Now let's go back to verse 18 and look a  little more particularly at what he says.   "For many walk"...walk being the idea of daily  conduct, manner of life, course of living,   this is their pattern. He says, "Many walk  of whom I often told you." Some see this as   a reference back to chapter 1 verse 28 where he  mentions not being alarmed by your enemies or your   opponents. But that doesn't seem to be the best  interpretation of that phrase. The fact that he   says, "Of whom I often told you," probably refers  to times when he was with the Philippians and  

he was repeatedly telling them about people who  would come along outwardly identifying with Christ   but who would be enemies of the true gospel.  Paul was ever and always in a warning mode. Do you remember back in Acts, that very  familiar twentieth chapter where Paul gives   so much teaching on ministry? He says in verse  31, to the Ephesian elders, "Be on the alert,   remembering that night and day for a period  of three years I didn't cease to warn each   one with tears." What an amazing statement.  For three years night and day I warned each   individual with tears about false teachers,  false leaders, false doctrine. And then he says,   "The only thing I can do is commend  you to His Word which will build you   up." You're protected by the Word. If you  don't know the Word, you're not protected. So, 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 is presently crying. In Romans he  talked about having sorrow and continuous   heaviness of heart over the lostness of  Israel. And in Acts 20, as I just read,   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 weak   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 circumcized, 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...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, curs, 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 cross work  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'm  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 that's not enough,   that's not enough, you've got to add to that. Does that sound familiar to you? Any of you  who were raised say in Roman Catholicism   would experience that kind of thinking. No  one in Roman Catholicism would deny Christ,   they wouldn't even deny the deity of Christ, they  wouldn't deny the cross of Christ, they wouldn't   deny that He died as a substitute for sin, they  wouldn't deny the resurrection, but they would   say that's not sufficient, you must do certain  works. You must accomplish certain spiritual   deeds. You have to earn your way in. They would  talk about grace and yet they're very definite   works by which you earn favor with God. That's  been around a long time. That's another form of a   Judaizing kind of heresy. 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 mind on earthly things,   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. Did 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 this 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, to  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 long standing   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, it doesn't matter,   it only effects the body not the spirit.  That dualism went right into Gnosticism,   it went right into what was called in theology  antinomianism, it's right in 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 while 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,   a 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, suppose by adultery or murder, God   ever considers me as one with His own Son who has  fulfilled all righteousness for me," end quote.

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. Now, see he's gone so  far to say it doesn't matter how I   live, it doesn't matter what I do, it's  just my flesh, it 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  effect our lives, we may be drunks, alcoholics,   homosexuals, fornicators, adulterers, group  sex participants. We may be in to pornography,   we may be in to stealing large sums of money,  but when we get on TV and smile at you,   we preach Christ." You seen them?  You've seen them exposed, haven't you?

Now what kind of theology allows for that kind  of living? It's that same kind of 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  in 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 koilia, the word colitis   comes from it. It has to do with the mid-section,  particularly the stomach. It's the...their God is   their stomach, their appetite. It simply means  their sensual desires, they're driven by their   desires, their drives, they're 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...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, it 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 life style. This is so typical of a libertine.  If you ever meet a libertine person,   they will...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 life style. 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 and 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...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. Well   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 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,  you've 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 and it's  one of the greatest portions in the Scripture,   verses 20 and 21, for next Lord's day. Let's pray. Our Lord, we thank You this morning 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,  O 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 this wonderful  congregation of 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 Christ's likeness. 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. You've been listening to John MacArthur,  Bible teacher with Grace to You. For free   access to all of John's lessons and a listing  of Study Bibles and books available for sale,   visit Grace to You's website at gty.org.  John MacArthur and Grace to You reserve   all copyright protection under applicable  law. Our copyright policy is available at   gty.org and it includes instructions for and  limitations on duplicating this digital file.