September Passage: Philippians 3:12-4:1
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. (ESV)
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Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text. Today we will discuss...
A Life Worth Imitating
Early in the letter, Paul encourages his readers to “let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”
In the same train of thought of living a life worthy of the Gospel, Paul writes that we should live such changed lives because of Jesus that we could encourage others to live like us.
That’s what we see in today’s verse:
“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”
Now, some people scoff at this verse and say that it proves that Paul is conceited because he writes that others should imitate him. However, in the context of this passage and this entire letter, Paul is writing about the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus and how an understanding of Jesus’ glory has worked to humble Paul. Jesus’s grace to cover his sin has caused Paul to throw away all of the old things that he used to boast about.
Instead of seeing this as a proud claim of superiority from Paul, we should see it as it is — God has begun a great work of sanctification in Paul and he is no longer who he WAS, but he is now a NEW CREATION living a life for God’s glory. Paul wants others to get in on the freedom he has found in Jesus.
In another passage, Paul says, imitate me as I imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1). That passage is about living a new Christ-like life for the purpose of saving souls.
But, let’s move beyond Paul’s word to imitate him. Look to the end of the verse. It’s not just that we should imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, Christians should, “…walk according to the example you have in us.” We don’t just look to Paul, but we look to all people who have actually started to show fruit of repentance and faith.
Who do you have in your life who fits that description? We’ve said before that it is not good to idolize others, but it is good to recognize that some people are father down the road of sanctification. It is good to see how some people - though still NOT PERFECT - have been able to put some of their old sins to death.
It is good to look on the more mature saints and begin imitating their manner of life. We don’t do that is a legalistic way and we don’t do it so we can be in the “mature crowd.” We do so because we truly love our King Jesus. We do so because we really HATE our sin. We do so because we know that God has called us to more than self-defeated sin victimhood.
God has called us to be conquerors and one of the ways that God is helping us grow in our faith and maturity is by giving us good examples.
Look in your church family for example-setters in godliness and follow them.
But, be careful, make sure you don’t simply mimic their good behavior. Get to really know them and grow in faithfulness and let your growing FAITH lead to more God-honoring behavior.
Walk close with them, create time in your schedules to be near them, pursue them as coach/mentors and let them in on your struggles so they can help you grow. Be teachable and LISTEN well. Allow them to speak into your life and invite them to give you correction when and where they see you living, or speaking like a sin-slave instead of a saved Saint.
On the other side of the coin, we must also encourage and even charge the more mature and the maturing Saints in our church family to understand and live out their role as examples worth imitating.
To you, the Bible would strongly encourage that you find a couple of new or immature Christians in the family, or even outside of the church who need to learn how the Gospel speaks to all of their lives and pour into them. Lead them through the next steps.
That is basically what it means to be a disciple making disciple. As Jeff Vanderstelt says, “A Disciple is a person who Worships Jesus, is being Changed by Jesus, Obeys Jesus and Teaches others to do the same.”
Maturing Christians, you can do this. Make time in your schedules, make room at your table to help the next generation.
Imitate Christians as they imitate Christ and live a life that is worth imitating.
