Enemy of Christ ( Philippians 3:17-20)

Enemy of Christ ( Philippians 3:17-20)   17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (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: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:    Intro) 1. In today’s text Paul contrasts two types of people. one are people with true faith, others were enemies of Christ. On verse 19 Paul describes more about these enemies. “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” This chapter was Paul saying do not act like these enemies that he described.   ①There are people against Jesus’ cross (18).    Paul called people who love this world as enemy of cross. Paul wrote on chapter 2 verse 5-8 “5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” These verses are describing cross of Jesus’ mentality. In other words, mindsets which lowers you and obey what Jesus has thought us. Enemy of cross is exactly opposite. Paul beg them not to be like these enemy of cross. However, there were enemy of cross in the church of Philippian and they are still exist among us somewhere.   ②What is the life of enemy of cross like?  ⑴First of all they all are heading towards destruction (19). in verse 19 Paul said “Whose end is destruction”   ⑵ Do not make your belly as god.  Here the word belly means every kinds of greed in Hellas (koilia=κοιλιaά). Simply if you follow what your belly wants you are not serving God nut your body. Recently in Korea there was terrible accident. The ship name Seweol was sunk under cold water with many young passengers. The ship was under control of Chung Hae Jin Sea transportation company run by Byoung Uhn Yoo who is son in law of Christian Cult religion leader. This cult group called Salvation group saying people only can saved by enlightened. They not only deny traditional churches but also say if you confess that you are a sinner, you will go to hell. Experts said salvation cult group only believe God will save only sprit but body. Which means they think only sprit is important and body dosenot matter even if your body make sins. What is reason behind of born of this kind of cults? It is greed.   ▶In the American movie 'Oh My God ' explains why God made man naked. It is because if God made man with cloth, the man must have asked God to make a pocket for him, and then ask God to fill the pocket with money.   ▶There is another anecdote about human’s greed. A pastor found a thief who was about to die, so pastor held his hand and starting to pray hard for his soul. After pastor finished his prayer pastor found out the thief was already dead with pastor’s gold watch in his hand. (He stole it while pastor was praying). If you follow money more than God you are the enemy of The Christ. Some Christians loved money more than God in Paul’s era. People like them don’t care how they make money; they only care about ways to fill their endless hole in mind called greed. Moreover, using religion as cover of their corruptions is even worse sin than other sins.

What can we learn from the sinking of the South Korean ferryboat Sewol? It is that humans are nothing more than tools to make money. It is no different from the materialism seen in communism. The life of a human being is nothing sacred or majestic but expendable. To them, humans are no different than tires on a car, a light bulb in the ceiling, or the filter of a water purifier. It does not matter to them if someone lives or dies; the only importance is money. ByoungUhn Yoo and the leaders of the cult “Salvation Group” used the money from church offerings and even created a publicly traded company with the money. Not only that but they “borrowed” hundreds of thousands of dollars from their congregation and never paid them back. There were countless cases of corruption so much so that there were endless lawsuits and protests against them. In the case of the ferryboat Sewol, many ship workers and employees informed the company that the boat was unsafe for passengers, but the company had been bribed to do nothing, and the employees in turn were fired. In the end their decision to ignore the warnings of the danger of Sewol and greed for money cost the life of more than 300 innocent passengers. The result was a tragedy for the nation of Korea. They have nothing to do with the Baptist church yet they use the title and act as if they are true denomination that is sincere, Holy, and of the Gospel. This cult, “Salvation Group” that took so many lives evaded proper investigation through excuses, they covered and covered up the tracks for their religious leader, and committed other countless evils in cunning ways. This is a cult that must be erased from this Earth. Jesus told us that the love for money and wealth is the root of evil. True Christianity and Christian denominations value the gift of “life” more than anything. This is because each and every human being was made by God to reflect God in some way. This is why Jesus said, “What is the point of gaining the world if you have no life?” You cannot replace something precious with something lowly. If someone, even if they claim to be Christian, is obsessed and has fallen to the temptation of material goods, they are an enemy of the church. 3. Do not mistake shame for glory! Verse 19 says, “whose glory is in their shame”. This verse is referring to those who use shameful and immoral tactics to find or gain glory. As times near the end, the conscience and morality of people diminishes more and more. The mistake the pang felt on their conscious for glory while those in God groan and sigh. Sin is a shameful thing. Yet there are those who take this shame and instead are proud, boastful, and seek glory from it. These people are the enemies of the cross. They think to themselves, “I am the only one who can pull this off. No one would dare copy me. How smart am I? No one can match my cunning. My bribes work every time. What a simple world this is. How easy to manipulate. Look at the wealth I have built. How great am I? Humans are mere means to earn me money. Everyone is beneath me.” They take their shameful acts and justify it by glorifying themselves. 4. Do not think only of the happenings on the earth! These people are very fond of the worldly society. The happening of the earth refers to those who prefer the worldly ways and seek the worldly ways. They think that material riches on this earth are the only things that matter. They do not care about who they step on, push aside, or hurt; they only care about themselves and have no qualms about it. Romans 8:5 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” True Christians think of what is above. Colossians 3:1-6 says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: If we focus on the worldly things then we will inevitably become further separated from God. If we pull away from worship services, the congregation, fellowship, and the Word of God to search for Earthly pleasures, the wrath of God will soon be upon us. This is how one becomes an enemy of the cross. This is why verse 19 says, “ … glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” Conclusion) A life of faith is a life of looking to the Heaven above. It is a life of putting your faith and will in God. My body may be on this Earth, but my mind, heart, and will are with God above. Giving your body to God but having your mind and heart with the Earth is when problems arise. An enemy of the cross will face destruction despite their seemingly content lifestyle on the Earth. Despite all they have, everything will be lost in the end. Look at Achan whose entire family perished after thievery in the desert. Look at Judas Iscariot who sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver then killed himself. Look at King Saul who took the words of God lightly. He lost his throne and faced a tragic death. Look at Cain, the man who killed his brother Abel in jealousy. How sad is his end? Money, honor and life will all end eventually. However, if we become people of the cross, even if we seem to have nothing, we will be rich. Even the uneducated gain wisdom. Blessings are abundant. You will prosper. Future generations will prosper. You will live a life of light as the light of life. You will be come the “head” wherever you go, not the “tail”. The most pitiful people in this world are those who came before the cross then turn away as enemies of the cross. They become someone like Judas Iscariot. Will you live as an enemy of the cross? Or will you live as a citizen of heaven? We must make this decision. I sincerely hope that everyone here can make the wise and courageous decision here today. Amen!