INI February 28, 2010

Sermon preached by Pastor Stephen Kurtzahn at Cross of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), 9931 Foley Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433. Please share this with someone else when you have finished. Thank you!

Bible Text—Philippians 3:17-21  

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For the past two weeks many of us have been watching the Winter Olympics on TV, held this year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Names such as Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Apolo Ohno and Bode Miller have become common-place in some of our conversations. As we watched these athletes, fans would fill the stands around the rinks or at the finish lines waving American flags. If the best skaters, players, skiers or snowboarders were of other nationalities, you would see all kinds of other flags being waved. During both the Winter and Summer Olympics, athletes and fans are very proud of their nationalities.

Most of us here today are citizens of the United States of America—and we’re proud it! Most of us were born citizens. Some of us were born in foreign countries and we may be working on becoming naturalized citizens. But more important than any earthly citizenship we may hold, you and I are CITIZENS OF HEAVEN.

First, as CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, we follow the God-pleasing example of other Christians.

Children learn by example. A boy will learn how to be a caring husband and a loving father by watching his dad. A girl will learn how to be a loving wife and a

caring mother by observing her mom. Needless to say, if dad or mom sets a bad example, chances are the children will end up behaving the same way. Younger children even learn from their older siblings. If the oldest child is constantly getting into trouble and always disobeying mom and dad, the youngest child will probably grow up to be the same way.

When it comes to living our lives as citizens of heaven, we should follow the God-pleasing examples of our fellow Christians. When Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, he offered himself as a model for them to follow. He also offered other believers as examples. They lived their faith in their everyday lives. You could tell these individuals were believers in Christ because they made the effort to live the way their Lord wanted them to live. Such people took our Lord’s words to heart: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:16.

When we keep our eyes on other believers who take the Savior and his Word seriously, we will also be encouraged, supported and instructed. We’re encouraged in our faith when we see other Christians suffer patiently with sickness, or when we witness elderly Christians confess the hope they have of heaven. We’re supported when we can pour out the concerns of our hearts to fellow believers, and they offer words of advice or comfort from God’s Word. We’re instructed when we get into meaningful discussions of Christian doctrine with other believers. You and I can then become models for others, as well. By the examples we set, we can show others what it means to be followers of Christ.

Second, as CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, we stay away from false teachers. 

Throughout his epistles, and when he would personally visit the Christian congregations throughout the Roman Empire, the apostle Paul would warn the believers about false teachers. Today in our Wisconsin Synod we call such people “persistent errorists.” He would especially warn Christ’s believers about the Judaizers. These were false prophets who claimed to believe in Christ, but they still demanded circumcision of their followers and obedience to the ceremonial Old Testament laws of Moses. Judaizers talked about Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins, but they also told people that if they really wanted to be saved, the men had to be circumcised like Abraham, and the Old Testament festivals and food laws still had to be followed. In other words, Christians still had to worship on Saturday, they still had to celebrate such things as the Passover, and they could not eat pork. By adding such rules and regulations to the Christian faith, the Judaizers ended up destroying the very heart of the gospel!

Paul informed the Philippians that such false teachers—such persistent errorists—would end up in hell. Their destiny is destruction. To write about such people saddened the apostle to the point of tears. These false teachers had become enemies of the cross of Christ. When the Judaizers infiltrated the congregations in the province of Galatia, Paul wrote to those believers: “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all…You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace,” Galatians 5:2,4.

What else does the Holy Spirit tell us through Paul about such enemies of the cross of Christ? …Their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Such people obey the dictates of their sinful, natural hearts. The things they should be ashamed and embarrassed of they brag about! Only what they can gain in this life ultimately concerns them.

But the citizen of heaven is not attracted to such false teachers. We’re repulsed by their rejection of Christ’s robes of righteousness, which cover over our sin and guilt. Their teaching that good works will get us into heaven turns us off. We have pity and tears for the way they treat the saving blood of Jesus. We deliberately and conscientiously keep clear of all their false teaching and we stay away from their way of life. 

We need to remember that the worst enemies of the cross of our Savior are not the open atheists and blasphemers of our Lord. Anyone can see such people and run from them. The worst enemies are those who come in the name of Christ and they speak highly of our Lord, but yet they erase the sacrificial and forgiving power of his cross by their false teaching. If left unchecked, even the smallest and most insignificant error will eventually snuff out the gospel. False teaching grows and expands like a cancer or like yeast in a batch of dough. That’s why Jesus warned us: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves,” Matthew 7:15

The Judaizers are long gone. Their teachings about Christian circumcision and kosher eating have long disappeared. But the legalistic attitude of the Judaizers can still be seen and heard. You may hear it when you attend funerals elsewhere—the emphasis is placed on personal goodness. Such persistent errorists tell us we can get to heaven by being good people. This is the final tragic belief for people who sit and learn at the feet of false teachers and they don’t stay away from them. As a pastor, I have seen the final devastating effects of false doctrine when people tremble in fear as they face death because they don’t think they’ve been good enough or have followed enough rules to make it to heaven. Whatever disguise false teaching may assume today—even in the fanciest churches or the most magnificent cathedrals or behind the friendliest smiles—it's all really nothing but that old error of the Judaizers.

As citizens of heaven, we follow the God-pleasing examples of other Christians. As citizens of heaven, we stay away from the enemies of the cross of Christ for our own spiritual protection. Finally, as CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, our hearts are with Jesus.

As we heard before, the Judaizers and their followers—as well as all false teachers—are ultimately concerned about earthly things. But you and I are the exact opposite. Our citizenship is in heaven. We’re living here in this world as pilgrims and strangers. We look in constant expectation for our Lord’s second coming. We don’t dread his arrival, but we long for it!

Yes, we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s our Lord, for He’s purchased us for himself with his own blood upon the cross. His proper name is Jesus, which means Savior. He’s saved us from our sins. And his title is Christ. He’s the Messiah, the Anointed One promised in the Old Testament.

When our Lord Jesus Christ returns on the Last Day, he’ll physically raise our bodies from the grave. Our bodies will then be glorified as Christ’s was on Easter Sunday after his resurrection. What Paul writes in our text relates the same truth to us as we have in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, where Paul wrote: “…The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:52-57. Our resurrection on the Last Day will be a miracle of the Lord’s almighty power. The same power he uses to subdue the entire universe to himself, he will use to raise us physically from the dead.

And so, as we make our way down the path of life, we know that here in this world we have no abiding city. We’re simply passing through. As CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, we follow the God-pleasing example of other Christians. We stay away from false teachers and our hearts are with Jesus.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.