Philippians 3:18, 19 (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:… For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. The apostle here refers to those who had joined the Christian Church, but whose hearts were unchanged and whose theology was antinomian. In sooth they were mere nominal Christians, having a name to live, but were dead. Observe - I. THAT THE CONDUCT OF MERE PROFESSORS OF CHRISTIANITY IS VERY BAD IN THE EYES OF GENUINE CHRISTIANS. To the eye of Paul, who was Christly in spirit, idea, and aim, the conduct of these men was revolting and lamentable. It appeared to him: 1. As and-Christian. "They are the enemies of the cross of Christ." Enemies not to the mere fact of the cross. To this, perhaps, they would have no hostility, but otherwise. But to the spirit of the cross, which was self-sacrificing love, they were practically opposed; they did not "take up the cross" and deny themselves. Theoretically they believed, in it, practically they denied it. For some reasons the greatest "enemies of the cross" are mere conventional Christians; they practically deny that which they profess theoretically to believe. All selfish, carnal, formalistic, ritualistic men are "enemies of the cross of Christ," and they are "many." 2. As ruinous. "Whose end is destruction." The conduct of the genuine Christian is restorative; that of the spurious or conventional, ruinous. Sin, the principle of death, is in it. "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." 3. As sensual. Their sensuality is here indicated: (1) By a particular carnal indulgence. "Whose god is their belly." They ate and drank, not merely to allay the cravings of appetite and to sustain their frame, but in order to gratify their gastric tastes and sensibilities. The table to them was greater than science, literature, the universe; it was their "god." (2) By a general habit of mind. "Who mind earthly things." No man should disparage "earthly things." The earth is the production, the revelation, and the minister of God, and to appreciate it as a school of instruction, a temple of worship, and a means of subsistence is what all should do. But to "mind earthly things," to live entirely in them and for them, this is the wrong; and conventional Christians as well as heathens and worldlings do this. They "set their affections on them," seek their glory from them, and look for their happiness in them. They are practical materialists, though theoretic spiritualists. II. THAT THE CONDUCT OF MERE PROFESSORS OF CHRISTIANITY IS VERY HEART-DISTRESSING TO GENUINE CHRISTIANS. "Of whom I tell you even weeping." The sight of a genuine tear has an electric force; no eloquence so mighty. Such a tear streaming from the eye of a weak woman is powerful, from a strong man more powerful, from a man of transcendent greatness it is the most mighty moral force. Such a man was Paul, and a greater than Paul never lived; and here he is in tears. "Of whom I tell you even weeping." Such a man must have had a strong reason for such tears. Why did he weep? 1. Because the conduct of such mere conventional Christians was a mal-representation of Christ, the chief object of his love. Nominal Christians are the great slanderers and calumniators of the world's Redeemer. That man who ignores Christ is a saint compared to him who calumniates him. Such is the mere nominal Christian. All genuine Christians may well weep at the conduct of conventional Christians, who constitute the vast majority of our population, and are the reigning "principalities" in Church and state. 2. Because the conduct of such mere conventional Christians obstructs the progress of spiritual Christianity in the world. As obstructives to the flowing river of spiritual Christianity in the world, the Bradlaughs, as compared to the hireling preachers and the un-Christly members of Churches, are but as small pebbles to huge boulders. The waters roll comparatively smoothly over the former, but are chafed and blocked by the latter. CONCLUSION. It is time, brothers, for us to estimate truly and to feel deeply the awful incongruity between the spirit of modern Churches and the spirit of Christianity. Talk about converting the world, the first thing to be done is to convert the Church! Parallel Verses KJV: (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: |
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