Keep Your Eyes On Those Who Walk

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.”

The Apostle Paul loves to give examples. He is always stressing imitating others or himself (1 Cor. 11:1). He says here in verse 17, “join in imitating me…” This can only be said by someone who truly has a clear and clean conscience and who can say it with confidence. Paul always took pains with his conscience (Acts 24:16). He kept it clear before God and man. This can be done with great effort and confessed only with great honesty. It was never to be an imitation of Paul apart from Christ. If Jesus was not in Paul, who would ever follow Paul or want to? If Paul was not following Jesus, who would want to follow Paul? The main thing is to follow Christ. That is the essence of discipleship (Mark 8:34 – 38).

Paul is not the only example though. In verse 17, he exhorts the Philippians to keep their eyes on those who walk according to the example they had in Paul. In other words, these people also walked as Paul walked. It could be said that they too were imitating Paul. Imitation here is not the idea of being false or fake but of modeling. It is to be similar. It is no easy thing to follow Paul, let alone follow our Lord. Paul’s life was constantly exposed to danger and death. In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul said that “for the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak then I am strong.” Paul’s rejoicing and boasting in his weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9) were for one reason only: the power of Christ would then be displayed in his life. Imitating Jesus is denying self and dying to self. The Bible tells us that Enoch and Noah walked with God (Gen. 5:22 – 24; 6:9). They walked after God, before God, with God. Walking with God implies fellowship with God. Enoch had such close fellowship with God that God took him to be with himself. That is probably the highest commendation that God can pay any man.

So walking after Christ is what Paul is thinking about in Philippians 3:17. Paul brings this up because there are many imposters and enemies of Jesus. These enemies are enemies of the cross of Christ (vs. 18). They know nothing of what real life in Christ is. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, they glory in the shame of sin, and they set their minds on earthly things (vs. 19). Make no mistake about it; they profess to be followers of Jesus.

The Apostle does not need to tell us that the unbeliever out in the world is a sinner. We know that. The danger is inside. Inside there are some who profess to be Christians but the reality is they walk as enemies of the cross. The cross is the dividing line. Biblical thinking focuses on what lies ahead and not on what is behind (vv. 12 – 16). Paul was willing to view everything as a loss to him because he had found Christ (vv. 7 – 11), or rather Christ had found him. So it was pointless and valueless to focus on all those things that once meant something to him. The prize for Paul is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (vs.14). Paul says the mature Christian thinks in this way (vs. 15).

The difference between the Christian and the enemy of the cross is that the Christian’s citizenship is in heaven (vs. 20). We are of a different mind, a different heart, a different life. The Bible views us as strangers and pilgrims. We are like foreigners in a strange land. Foreigners cannot talk about a foreign country. They can only speak about their own. Paul views the believer as advancing to our home. We are going to our country. We are going to our city. We are going to our house. We are going to heaven, but we cannot just arrive there as we are now. We need new clothing. Paul says our bodies will be transformed by Jesus to be like his body and that only happens through resurrection. There will be a resurrection for those who have already died in Christ (1 Thess. 4:13 – 18).

The changing or transforming of our bodies, if we are alive when Jesus comes back is also resurrection. The power of resurrection (vs. 21) is the same power by which all things are subject to Jesus. He upholds the universe by his powerful word (Heb. 1:3). The anticipation of change is the motivation for godliness now. We need all the help we can get now. One of the ways we are helped is by following others who follow Jesus. The power of example is what the disciples saw in our Lord. The Christian truly desires holiness and purity and godliness and righteousness. We cannot do otherwise because we have Christ in us by the Spirit.

So we follow Jesus, and yes, we follow others as they follow him. However, the moment you substitute the Christian for Jesus, you have gone off course. Never follow man or imitate man for the sake of the man. There is too much of that today. Here are some rules to help us enjoy our heavenly citizenship on earth.

First, you must be persuaded that it is possible and attainable. Can I live a life of heaven on earth as Jeremiah Burroughs puts it in his work on being earthly minded? Is it possible to live with God on earth? The answer is yes, it is.

Second, if you are serious about having the life of God in you while on earth then keep your conscience clear. If you defile your conscience you lose sight of heaven. Burroughs says that “if there is a hell in a man’s conscience there will not be a heaven in his conversation (walk).”

Third, always lookout for opportunities to be godly. Exercise yourself in heavenly things. That’s what we will be doing in heaven: heavenly things. So work at it now. Be about your Master’s business. Yes, you have business in the world, but never let that be your prime thing. If it is, it will hinder your effectiveness as a Christian.

Fourth, never let formality be a part of this. There is no joy or beauty simply in duty. The form of religion as the Puritans would tell you is a mere formality. There’s a deadness to it. It will never bring you joy. It might make you feel self-satisfied, but duty alone never pleased God.

Fifth, labor to kill sin. Be about the work of mortification. This is hard work. It is painful work. Sin is pleasurable, but it is deadly. The poison may have beautiful color in the bottle, but drink it and you die. Watch out for lust. It is everywhere. It is on virtually every magazine cover, Google search page, and television show or movie (reality or otherwise). Do not give satisfaction to the flesh or the body because it will simply give strength to temptation. If you wish to be like Christ, you must be very careful and watchful over your eyes and ears.

Lastly, develop the virtue of faith. Most of us focus on loving God and sorrowing over sin. These are good and right and must be done, but if you would be like Jesus and have heaven on earth, then you must exercise faith. It is faith that makes the promises of heaven real to the soul. In fact, it is only faith in the promises of God that enables us to (truly) see. To walk by faith is to walk above the world. It is to be like Enoch.

Paul says “keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example…” What is the example? It is Christ in Paul and others. Since we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), we can do these things. Set your minds, Paul says on heavenly things (things above – Col. 3:1 – 4). Set your mind on Christ because your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is our life. Who are you following after and who is following you?