CHOOSING HEROES (1): SHORT-TERM CELEBRITIES

(Phil. 3:17-19)
October 28, 2018
I Sam 2; I Cor 5;
Read Phil 3:17-19 – Got any heroes? We all need them. A picture is worth a
thousand words, and so are godly examples. Our ultimate example is Jesus, of
course. Heb 12:2a: “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
But we all look to other people as well. Paul urges: “17 Brothers, join in
imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example
you have in us.” He didn’t say that because he was perfect. He’d just admitted
he was not. But he was a flesh-and-blood example of someone with a single-
minded purpose to become like Jesus. I Cor 11:1: “Be imitators of me, as I
am of Christ.” Paul knows we all need heroes. He knows we will all copy
others – consciously or unconsciously. And he’s urging here that we select
worthy heroes to pattern our lives after.

If that was needed in Paul’s day, how much more now. It used to be that
heroes exemplified attributes of duty, honor, humility, dignity and service. But
with the advent of social media – anyone can be a hero, many with no
redeeming qualities whatsoever. Name one commendable quality of the
Kardashians, for example. Yet everyone knows them, including our kids, and
many revere them for the way they look and the attention they attract. You
can’t turn on your computer without being bombarded by the most recent
foolishness of someone who has gained notoriety simply for being notorious.
And when you consider this– we tend to become like those we revere; the
situation is serious. Kids and adults alike, when we attracted to some celebrity,
must ask, are they worthy of our attention? Are they truly heroic?

Perhaps you heard of the young woman who fell overboard from a cruise ship.
Within seconds a 70-year-old man was at her side pulling her from the water
and getting her back aboard. An instant hero. At a dinner in his honor he was
asked to make a speech. It was the shortest hero speech ever: “I just want to
know one thing – who pushed me?” He was hardly the hero people imagined.
Nor are the many self-promoters of today.

So Paul asks, Who’s your hero? Are they worthy? Bc after offering himself as
an example to follow, he identifies some who are not – yet who some of the
Philippians were imitating. The defining characteristic of these false heroes is
at the end of v. 19. The have “minds set on earthly things.” Paul was focused
higher. It comes down to near-sighted heroes vs. far-sighted heroes. I can tell
you about near-sighted because I am. If I don’t have my glasses on, don’t
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follow me! Neither do we want to adopt near-sighted heroes. Today -- I.
Earthly-Minded Celebrities. Next week: II. Heavenly-Minded Champions.

I. Earthly-Minded Celebrities – Paul gives 5 characteristics of false

heroes. These could be Judaizers – professing believers who want to impose
the demands of the OT law on NT believers; or they could be the pagan
philosophers who promote dualism – the belief that the spirit is good; the body
is evil; therefore, it is okay to give way to the licentious desires of the body bc
it doesn’t matter anyway. So which is it? Well, I do think he is not definitive
here on purpose. He is identifying characteristics of any false heroes whether
they are true believers, but not living out their faith; false believers who claim
Christ, but add to Him; or outright unbelievers. We might choose heroes from
any of these. So why would we not want to? What characterizes false heroes?

A. The Disposition They Represent (19d) – It’s earthy. They

have “minds set on earthly things” (19d). If death isn’t the end, it would be
tragic to imimtate those whose interests don’t extend beyond this world. That
eliminates a lot of heroes. But they are often attractive, outwardly happy and
reputable people. They seem to have it all. The problem is, they have far too
little. Earthly things can be enjoyed. Jas 1:17: “Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above.” Paul says in I Tim 4:4: “For everything created by
God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”
But these good gifts can distract us from greater realities which are not seen.
So Paul urges perspective. I Tim 6:17: “As for the rich in this present age,
charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of
riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
Translation: Don’t trust in your things; trust in God who gave them to you.
Those who have “minds set on earthly things” are focusing too low, settling
for too little, afflicted with spiritual near-sightedness -- not worthy heroes.

They’re like Sandy McIntyre who came from Scotland to join the Ontario
Gold Rush in the early 1900’s. He staked a claim which he sold in 1912 for
$5,000 and spent the next few decades in local saloons while more than $230
million worth of gold was taken from the McIntyre Mine. Sad story, but no
sadder than those earthly-mindedness keep them from the treasures of Christ.
Jesus Himself warned: Mt 16:26: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the
whole world and forfeits his soul?” Near-sightedness. It can happen. So in
finding someone to pattern our lives after, first question – is their whole focus
on this earth – or is attention being paid to what comes next?

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 B. The Deity They Revere (19b) – “their god is their belly.”
Interesting god! What’s it mean? They worship great abs?! They are gluttons?
How about both! The philosophers had a saying Paul quotes in I Cor 6:13:
“Food is meant for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” That meant, “If I
have a desire, it must be meant to be fulfilled.” The belly was a metaphor for
any physical appetite. The idea was, “If you have a desire for pleasure and
the means to fulfill it – go for it!” Sound familiar! It’s the 1st century Playboy
philosophy. There’s nothing new under the sun. Paul’s speaking of the
insatiable pursuit of pleasure – by food, drink, ambition, gambling, sex –
whatever. The deity they revere – pleasure!

For example, I Sam 2. Israel had a priest named Eli. His sons were also priests
– not worthy ones, but they had followers! I Sam 2:22: “Now Eli was very
old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they
lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting,”
These guys were seducing the women and girls who came to the temple to
worship! They were also taking the best part of the sacrificial animals which
belonged to God for their own use. They had no shame and no reverence
except for their god – their belly of appetites. The original party animals.

Rom 16:18 says avoid “such persons [who] do not serve our Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own appetites.” So, where do appetites come from? From
God! Yes. But they were never meant to be the end-all. And they are only
safe when used by the Creator’s instructions! Fire is great – but outside the
boundaries, it’s fatal. Same with appetites whether food, drink, sex, whatever.
The rules are for our benefit, not our repression. Peter was blunt: I Pet 4:3:
“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do,
living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and
lawless idolatry.” Get over it! Whether your hero is a professing Xn, like Eli’s
boys, or an avowed pagan, don’t follow someone whose god is their appetites.

If you are lusting after the lifestyle of the rich and famous, you may have the
wrong heroes. If party-hearty is what you live for, you may need some new
examples. Xns can have fun without making a god of pleasure and without
waking up with a hangover the next morning.

C. The Disgrace They Relish (19c) – “they glory in their shame.”

When Adam and Eve’s nakedness reminded them of their fall from God’s
grace, they were ashamed – even tho they were rightful as a married couple.
But no more. Shame has gone the way steam engine. Today’s celebrities
unashamedly compete to see who can post the most revealing poses. God’s
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sexual guidelines are considered laughable, even in the church where pre-
marital sex is condoned and even expected, and homosexual conduct is
defended as an appropriate expression of love. We’ve come a long way, Baby!

Or have we? Paul faced the same thing. I Cor 5:1-2: “It is actually reported
that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated
even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2And you are arrogant!”
The Corinthians bragged about tolerating a guy sleeping with his stepmother –
something even the pagans wouldn’t tolerate. Paul warns in I Cor 5:6: “Your
boasting is not good.” 150 years later Hippolytus of Rome speaks of a group
called Simonians who “actually congratulate themselves on their
promiscuity, because (they say) that is what is meant by perfect love.”

Calvin faced it in Geneva where the Libertines boasted of sexual promiscuity.

They argued “communion of the saints” meant their bodies join to the wives
of others. They openly practiced adultery, yet expected Communion. One
such, Philibert Berthelier, was excommunicated. So, he got the city council to
override the church’s decision and came to Communion with swords drawn.
Calvin descended from the pulpit, stood in front of the Table and said, “These
hands you may crush, these arms you may lop off, my life you may take; but
you shall never force me to give holy things to the profaned and dishonor
the table of my God.” They backed down, but there’s nothing new under the
sun. We’re not the first people to spin sexual misconduct as wholesome. If
your heroes congratulate themselves for accepting sexual immorality –
whether heterosexual or homosexual – you need new heroes. They’re not on
God’s hero list! Nor are those who glory in their disgrace by running
roughshod over others, using off-color language to get in with the guys,
spreading gossip disguised as prayer requests. Watch your heroes, Beloved.

D. The Doom They Realize (19a)

The ultimate reason for avoiding false heroes. 19 Their end is destruction.”
The party may go on for a long time, but one day the party’s over. Those who
live only for this life, whose god is their appetites and who glory in their
disgrace – those will find one day soon they were too short-sighted. Suddenly
an eternity stretches out before them for which they made no preparation.

I always think of Ben Franklin in this regard. A few weeks before he died Ezra
Stiles, Pres of Yale, asked him about his faith. Franklin responded: “As to
Jesus of Nazareth … I have … some doubts as to his Divinity, tho’ it is a
question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it
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needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of
knowing the truth with less trouble.” Such a worldly wise man; such a
spiritual fool. The slightest investigation would have revealed, it’s too late to
decide about Jesus later. The day of salvation is now. Jn 17:3, “And this is
eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you
have sent.” The doom false heroes realize is the doom they bring on
themselves by ignoring God’s ultimate revelation – His own Son. To ignore
Him now is to die later – and there is nothing heroic in that. I don’t know
Franklin’s end. But I know those who never come to faith in Christ face an
end that is destruction. No wise person would follow them there.

E. The Deliverance They Reject (18)

False heroes reject the deliverance that is right in front of them. Paul describes
their major folly in v. 18 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 main
issue is not their earthly mindset or the pursuit of their appetites or their glory
in their disgrace. The problem that dwarfs all the others is this: they are
enemies of the cross. They reject the significance of the cross. They deny the
deliverance bought and paid for at the cross. And you can’t deny the cross and
escape destruction. On the cross God paid the unthinkable price to redeem a
fallen humanity. To reject what He did there is to condemn oneself.

Some deny the cross by claiming it was just a tragedy of history – another
great young man who died too young – like Caesar, or Gandhi or Lincoln.
That’s bad enough. But far worse are those who claim the Christian faith and
yet deny that Jesus died willingly and purposely to pay the penalty for the sin
of all who believe. To deny that is the worst sin of all.

A Greeley area pastor recently wrote in the Greeley Tribune about his
experiences as a child hearing various people explain Good Friday: “On this
day of dying, the speakers offered explanations about why someone I loved
had suffered. Some said it was because we are evil, but I couldn’t imagine
what I had done that had led to the death of the one about whom I sang
every week, “Jesus loves me.” Some said God was angry and needed a
sacrifice to save people. But I didn’t want to think that God would kill
[anyone].” Sounds seductively reasonable, doesn’t it? Yet it denies everything
the Bible teaches about God’s holiness, about mankind’s sinfulness and most
of all about God’s love in providing a sacrifice to solve the problem. To deny
the cross is not a defense of God’s love; it is a denial of God’s love. This man
– a pastor hero to some – is an enemy of the cross. He has denied the message
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of the whole Bible summarized in Heb 10:12: “But when Christ had offered
for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”
The cross was about one thing – Jesus dying for your sins and mine. Remove
that, and you deny the cross, the Bible, Christ and God all in one fell swoop.

Pastors like that are like the Pharisees to whom Jesus said: Mt 23:15: “Woe to
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to
make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him
twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” False heroes – leading others to
destruction along with themselves. Paul wept for these who could so denied
the message of the cross. So should we. But we must never make them our
heroes, sit under their teaching or in any other emulate their example.

Conc – So, young people, who are your heroes? Who are you patterning your
life after. Adults – same question. Who do you want to be like? Are they
worthy? Or are they earthly-minded only, worshipping their appetites,
glorying in their naughtiness or most of all – are they enemies of the cross
even tho they may be wearing clerical robes? Who are your heroes? Do you
need to reconsider who you are emulating?

When I was boy living in KS, I got intrigued by a guy who used to do a fitness
show – Jack LaLanne. Later when we moved to CA, he used swim one mile
every year pulling as many rowboats as his age. Jack Lalanne was a nice guy –
a fitness guru and hero to many. He once said, “My workout is my obligation
to life. It's my tranquilizer. It's part of the way I tell the truth—and telling
the truth is what's kept me going all these years.” Anything wrong with
exercise. No – I believe in it. But here’s another thing LaLanne said in 2007 at
age 93: “To me, this one thing – physical culture and nutrition – is the
salvation of America. Billy Graham is for the hereafter; I’m for the here
and now!” Salvation of America? It wasn’t even salvation for Jack LaLanne.
Despite his fanatical workouts, he died in 2011 and learned too late – there is a
hereafter. I hope he was ready; I fear he was not. Choose your heroes
carefully, Beloved. Make sure they are leading you to life, not destruction –
because they are leading you to one or the other. Let’s pray.