Phil 3:17-19

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

If you want to get in shape, you have a nearly endless supply of options. We have two health clubs in our small town. You can purchase one of the exercise machines advertised in those infomercials. You can buy something that Suzanne Sommers uses, or you can splurge and buy the machine used by Christie Brinkley and Chuck Norris. I’ve seen this crazy looking thing advertised in World Magazine for years. It looks like a Harley Davidson wannabe. Surprisingly, this baby sells for $14,615!

Years ago while I was working out, this guy I was talking with shared his weight lifting strategy with me. He said, “It’s simple. If I want bigger biceps, I just find the guy with the biggest arms and ask him what he does. If I want bigger quads, I ask the guy with the biggest legs.”

I am not so sure if it is quite that simple, especially if the guy you ask is doing steroids, but this man did hit on a common technique for success—imitation. Imitation is why so many people follow the investing strategy of Warren Buffet. Imitation is why so many millions of books are sold every year written by various gurus on subjects like gardening, photography, sales, weight loss, parenting, politics and self-help.

In many ways, imitation is how Paul began this section of Scripture. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. This is similar to his statement in 1 Cor. 11:1. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Most of us would not be comfortable making such a statement. To our ears, it sounds a little boastful. “Hey everyone, look at me! My life looks so much like Jesus that if you follow me, you will be like Jesus too.” That may sound a little like what he is saying, but I guarantee you it is not at all what he meant. Imitation, or whatever you want to call it, is a great way to learn how to apply the gospel.

Whenever you study Scripture, you should always be striving for two things—understanding and application. Understanding always comes first, of course. If you do not understand a given passage or point of theology, then your application will be off target. For example, if I believe that Jesus is not the only way to be saved, then the application of this belief will be greatly amiss. My false understanding will cause me to preach a different gospel and it will trickle down and change nearly every thing I do in ministry.

This happened to me just this past Friday afternoon. I was working in the office when a yoga teacher stopped in. We chatted for a while and eventually she shared her dream of doing some kind of combination yoga and Christian theme. The conversation was going along just fine until she shared this idea and I had to explain about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. She believes that all paths lead to God so she was none too excited to hear of my “narrow-minded” viewpoint.

Therefore, we can see that application without right understanding is extremely dangerous. But on the other hand, right understanding without application is useless and sometimes dangerous because knowledge puffs up and does not edify anyone. We need to be continually striving for a balance of understanding and application. I won’t always achieve this balance in my own preaching and neither will you as you teach your children or lead others, but it must be our chief goal.

In evangelical churches, would you say we struggle more with understanding or application? You might be tempted to say application, but it depends on the church. The trend even in evangelical churches it toward topical preaching. The pastor decides that he wants to preach a series on the topic of marriage and the goes in search of Bible verse that will match his topic. Topical preaching can be good as long as you let the text determine what you are going to say and provided you don’t make a steady diet out of it, but far too many preachers are heavy on application with very little understanding. On the other hand, churches that put much emphasis on the inerrancy and necessity of Scripture tend to be imbalanced in the area of understanding at the risk of too little application.

I think this is one reason why Paul encourages us to follow his example. We can follow Paul’s written example, but we cannot follow the man himself. But Paul added even more examples to follow when he wrote, take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. We all know people who are living according to the patterns in Scripture, and when we follow their example, they become a living application for us. People like this have thought hard about the gospel and they have figured out specific ways in which the gospel has applied to their personal lives, and they are doing their best to live it out on a daily basis.

That’s why I said it is a bit like a weight lifter seeking out the guy with the biggest biceps. Such a man does not want to waste his time toiling away in the weight room and not getting anywhere. Far too many of us are toiling away in our Christian lives and not getting anywhere. We would do well to seek out and follow after people who are living according to the pattern of the gospel. We would do well to follow them as they are following Christ. If you can see how they are applying the gospel you can in turn make an application of the gospel to your own life.

Some might object to the idea of following other people, so let me answer some of those possible objections.

Objection #1: It seems potentially dangerous to follow another person. Shouldn’t we just follow Christ? This objection is answered by verse seventeen: take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. God is telling us that this is one way to apply Biblical truths. It is not the only way to grow, but it is a helpful way. It is God’s idea, so take advantage of it.

Objection #2: What if we follow another person and they disappoint us? What if they fail and let us down? Let me reassure you about something. If you follow the pattern of another person, sooner or later, they will let you down. We are all sinners trying to live in a sinful world with an enemy that is continually seeking our destruction. Will other people let you down? Of course they will. That is why you never put your trust in them. You can follow their pattern, you can learn form them, they can mentor you and coach you, but your faith is still in Christ. If you expect to be let down occasionally, you won’t be so devastated when it happens.

I saw this happen years ago when Karen’s Intervarsity staff worker had a moral failure. You can imagine how this affected all of the college students in this group. It was really devastating for many people. I remember that Karen had some deep questions about the whole thing.

Something similar could have happened to me this past week. Many of you know that one of my favorite writers and preachers is John Piper. Along with others, he has been one of my mentors from afar for me over the years. His sermons and books are part of my discipleship. This past week I was at a three day Pastor’s conference sponsored by the ministry founded by Dr. Piper. The conference was about evangelism and during the question and answer time, someone asked him how to deal with the stifling fear that many feel when they think about sharing their faith. Several pastors confessed that although they can preach the gospel to hundreds at a time, they were often paralyzed with fear when it came to personal witnessing. Piper shared a story about his own fears. He said that if he sees a group of guys hanging around—and here he used the illustration of a native American, an African American and a Latino—he has no trouble at all telling them about Jesus. But when he sees someone like a lawyer working in a high flying law firm, he gets nervous and tends to avoid sharing with such people. Then he told us the reason for the difference. He said it was easier to share with the minorities because he felt superior to them, but he felt intimidated by the highly educated person. He confessed his pride and lack of faith. I might also call it racism. This was a significant confession in front of 1300 pastors and tens of thousands who would hear it later, but what if I had elevated him to a hero status? I could easily have been devastated by his sin and confession. But if I realize that John Piper is a fellow sinner saved by grace, then I can continue to learn from him and be discipled by him without being let down. Take note of those who live according to the pattern of the gospel, but never turn them into heroes.

Objection #3: How do we ever find such a person? How do we find someone who “really has it all together”? Again, I would say that you won’t find someone who is living out the gospel in every area. I think the main idea is to find not just one person, but several different people. Look for people who have a strength in one specific area. Maybe you know someone who has conquered their anger. If you need some parenting help, then seek out someone whose kids seem to be doing well. If you are suffering then find someone who has walked down that road.

The great thing about this is that you have to seek out more than one person. As a pastor, I hope that at some level I can say to you, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” I feel confident that, by the grace of God, I have something to offer in the area of evangelism. God has given me a true passion for sharing Christ with others and there is nothing I enjoy more than having conversations as I did with the yoga teacher. The elders at our church ought to be able to say the same thing. We will do some things well, but no one does all things well.

Furthermore, like I follow John Piper and others, the people you follow don’t have to be your friends or fellow church members. They don’t even have to be alive. We have almost two thousand years of dead men and women Christians who had lived out the pattern of the gospel in their lives. This is why I do a Christian biography once a year. This is why every Christian should be a learner of some kind. Read books. Listen to Christian radio. Download sermons and classes off of the internet. Today, most teachers have all of their sermons available for free as downloadable mp3’s. John MacArthur recently made forty years of sermons available on his website for free. I am in the process of burning DVD’s of the conference I just attended and will have them available by next Sunday. Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia has fifteen full seminary classes available online for free. If you commute to work any distance at all, I strongly encourage you to buy an mp3 player. You can find really decent players on Ebay for about fifteen dollars.

None of this kind of following the examples of others is any kind of substitute for your own personal Bible reading and striving with every spiritual muscle in your body.

I would like to tell you about someone who is living according to the pattern of the gospel. I want to use an example from another person named Paul. This Paul is Paul Myzia, a sixteen year old teen from Chicago. A few weeks ago, Paul posted two notes on his facebook page. Some of you have already read these, but I trust you will benefit from thinking about them again. Look what he wrote in one of these notes which he titled, To Every Brother in Christ.

I struggled—battled with pornography…for…two years. I was sixty feet under. Digging my own grave. You start out with a little, and then you want more, and more, and both are roads that share the same destination: fornication. But EVEN if you don’t go that far—every single that woman lust after (sic), and fantasize about, God sees it as an act of fornication even if you haven’t physically had sex. The simple truth is, adultery is adultery. Once you’ve committed adultery, you’re guilty. No if’s and’s or but’s about it. I thought for so long that it wasn’t that bad as long as I didn’t fornicate. Oh how wrong I was.

The saddest part? Every single woman I lusted after was a creation of my Savior. [1]

So far this may not seem like a story about someone living out the gospel, but I promise you that it is. The first thing to note is that Paul is now sixteen, which means that he had been addicted to pornography for two years-since he was fourteen years old! Parents, what are you doing to prevent such a tragedy in your own home? I showed this note to one parent and he said to me, “Wow, do you mean that could happen to my son as well?” I am not saying that it could happen to your teenage son, I am saying that it will happen unless you take steps to prevent it. No matter how many times I warn parents to put internet filters on their computers, I am always amazed at how many people still have not done so.

The wonderful thing about this story is that Paul now believes he has been freed from this addiction. In his note, he weaves a great deal of Scripture about forgiveness and meditations on the gospel. Obviously, one of the most striking things about this note is its honesty. How many sixteen year old teen guys could confess such a thing and essentially share it with the whole world? What do you think will happen to Paul now that he has been so honest? I know that He has received some wonderful compliments from fellow believers, but remember, this is on his facebook page! A teacher from Beaver Dam, WI was just suspended for posting a picture of her holding a gun on her facebook page. People see this stuff. What do you think will happen to Paul when his unsaved friends at school read this note? It is possible that it will have a positive effect on some, but there is tremendous potential for teasing and persecution.

But Paul doesn’t seem to care. “A year ago, I never dreamed of telling a single soul what I was going through. But here I am today. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” Believe me, I don’t mean to set up Paul as the greatest thing since Jesus was a teenager. I have no idea if he will fall again or not. I do know, like the rest of us, he has sinned every day since he wrote this, but like we have been saying, when Paul encouraged us to take note of people who are living according to the pattern of the gospel, I don’t think he intended us to limit our models only to pastors and seminary professors.

Paul Myzia is not only honest about his past struggles, he admits that the battle against lust will continue throughout his life. That is why he wrote a second note called, To Every Girl.

TO EVERY GIRL that i know. there is one major thing you can do to help. be modest.

[IMMODESTY] IS NOT ATTRACTIVE. it's a stumbling block for me. it says 'this is me being pretty. this is what the rest of the world is doing. i have to do it too if i want to fit in and be beautiful like them.'

um...why would you want to be associated with this world? God says not to be of the world. and you may not even think twice about it. believe me, i know plenty of christian girls who still wear even a slightly low cut shirt. that's still a stumbling block for any guy, i don't care who he is. that's the way God made us. and the last thing i want to be doing, is lusting after my own sister. ugh.

please, please, please...recognize that your modesty is extremely important. i want to be innocent.[2]

Paul’s last sentence is particularly helpful because it highlights the key to this verse. To take note of people following the pattern of the gospel does not mean that we simply acknowledge their presence. If that is all we do, then we defeat the entire point of this verse. Remember, to take note of someone means to notice how that person is applying the gospel to their lives.

This means that you will need to humble yourself and ask for help. Paul has already been helped by God, yet he is still begging for help. You can hear the urgency is his voice. There is no boasting in this. This requires great humility. Obviously, it requires humility to ask for help, but it also requires humility to be the kind of person who others can pattern their lives after. May God make us into both kinds of people.

[1] Paul Myzia, To Every Brother in Christ, January 2009.

[2] Paul Myzia, To Every Girl, January 2009