Citizens of Heaven (Part 1 of 2)

If you lived in the same place for any length of time, probably put down roots got involved in a church group of friends you're comfortable with where you live as Christians, though we don't really belong here at all today on Truth for Life.

Alastair beg helps us discover why our alien status actually provides more than we have ever imagined. Philippians chapter 3 verse one. Finally my brothers or my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil. Those mutilators of the flesh, for it is we who are the circumcision, we worship by the spirit of God who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he is. Reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews in regard to the law Pharisee. As for zeal, persecuting the church. As for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit. I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

And so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now that I've already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus to hold of me brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward's in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that to God will make clear to you only let us live up to what we have already attained join with others in following my example brothers and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you for as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach and their glory is in their shame.

Their mind is on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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, amen.

Now before we turn to the Bible together a quote from John Newton and then a prayer from John Calvin Newton writing in the 18th century said I counted my honor and happiness that I preached to a free people who have the Bible in their hands to your Bibles I appeal. I entreat, I charge you to receive nothing upon my word any farther than I can prove it from the word of God and bring every preacher and every sermon that you hear to the same standard. Now that is pray together. We call upon you are good God and father beseeching you since all the fullness of wisdom and light is found in you and your mercy to enlighten us by the Holy Spirit in the true understanding of the word teach is by your word to place our trust in you to serve and honor you as we ought, so that we may glorify your holy name and all are living and edify our neighbors by our good example may be rendered to you all. God, the love and obedience which children over to their parents, since it has pleased you graciously to receive us in Christ as your children how men well it's not quite a tradition, but it is becoming increasingly customary for us to return to this particular passage in Philippians 3 on or around 4 July, and particularly to one phrase that you will find in the 20th verse. Indeed, one sentence that begins verse 20 of Philippians chapter 3, but our citizenship is in heaven as thankful as we should be and as thankful as we are, for all the benefits and privileges we enjoy as citizens, or at least as residence of the United States.

The Bible speaks of a citizenship that transcends all the ties that our earthly better geographical art that are national and my concern in coming to this morning. Increasingly, as the day approached, was to bear a burden that was on my mind and the burden fell in terms of a question. The question that came to me was, do you people know who they are. Does your congregation know who it is.

Do they have a sense of identity and how if asked would be identify themselves.

I know that in the 60s it became customary to go in search of ourselves that people still today talk about looking for themselves, and so on were not thinking in those terms, not in terms of personal angst.

My place in the universe, but rather is seeking to understand what it means when Paul writes concerning citizenship in heaven when in that phrase he provides us with an indication of our identity and in that identity and discovery of security and in that security. All of our significance and all of our dignity. We're going to employ those three words in just a moment, but for now, let me remind you that Paul is writing from prison in Rome.

He's writing to Philippi to a church that he lives we might actually say that he loves this church is much or more than any church that he was privileged to found and Philippi is almost like a little Rome. If we had been there, we would have discovered that architecturally it looked like wrong. Linguistically, it sounded like role culturally it's practices were marked by Rome and Paul recognizes that there is a wonderful analogy in this insofar as the people who lived in Philippi actually belonged somewhere else and picking up on that as he writes to them.

He speaks of those who, while living here on earth actually belonged to another place who find their citizenship in heaven, and the terms of endearment that run through the four chapters of this letter are hard to mistake indeed the congregation would have to be pretty dead to fail to respond to their pastor when he addresses them with such endearment and such love.

Look, for example, in verse one of chapter 4. Therefore, my brothers and sisters you my love and longing for my joy and crown.

That is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends, if you had a schoolteacher who greeted you that way on a Monday morning and now class whom I love and long for whom I have missed all weekend who are my joy and my crown whom I love to tell about everywhere I go.

Goodness graces the class would just be setting up so tall and it seats as opposed to some teacher comes as if you know you are a miserable bunch.

You never finish your homework you never show up on time. I don't know what I'm going to do with you.

I don't think any of you will become enemy.

After all, you know, and everybody just was slower and Lauren Lauren to their seat. Listen to how Phillips paraphrases this statement here. So my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for my joy and my crown stand firmly in the Lord and remember how much I love you. Just remember how much I love you. Now this is the relationship of pastor to people. This is as it should be. So it is that we come this morning to the text of Scripture. I have the privilege of addressing you in this capacity, I long to do so in the same measure and with the same deep sense of concern that we as a congregation as individuals might understand our identity, our security and our dignity as being in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the objective.

If we succeed and it will be time for him and on towards lunch three words.

First word identity now is important that you keep your Bible open and your finger in your Bible to be turned back a page in Philippians to the first chapter, you will notice that he is barely begun his letter before he employs one of his favorite descriptions or definitions of a Christian verse one chapter 1 to all the saints, and here's the phrase in Christ Jesus in Christ Jesus here is the nature of the Christians identity.

Remember, classically, in two Corinthians 517, he writes, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation and it is this phrase that Paul employs as you read through his letters, some 100 times or more. It is a parallel phrase to that which, for example, we find in chapter 2, and in verse one. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ. When you go into chapter 3 and then into chapter 4. We will discover that he also employs another parallel phrase and that phrase is in the Lord.

Okay, so in Christ Jesus united to Christ in the Lord.

All of this speaks to the question of the identity of the one who citizenship is in heaven becoming a Christian is defined as being in Christ. So the real question. All was for anybody considering the Bible and its claims inevitably comes to this my in Christ at my in Christ. If someone says to me what you identify yourself you would say I am in Christ. I am a Christian.

Note, Paul works this out in various places in first Corinthians 15 and classically in Romans chapter 5 and I want you to turn to it with me for just a moment, because unless we understand this, we we will go immediately and sadly wrong in the book of Romans, Paul is making clear that the whole world is accountable before God that none of us is a claim upon God that although we may have missed the mark only by 2 1/2 inches or missed by 2 1/2 miles we have all missed the mark.

All of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and no one will be able to protest their innocence before God. The wonderful thing. He then goes on to say is that despite the depth of this trilemma. God has come from the outside and provided for us what we need in a Savior and that when we are justified by faith we have peace with God. In other words, when we are declared to be in the right with God, then we know peace by nature were alienated from God. He is angry and we are rebellious. Jesus is come interceding on behalf of those of us who are rebellious against God, and he bears in his own body.

The anger of God against all of our rebellion and he settles the charge that is against us. That's what he's arguing as he goes through. By the time he gets to chapter 5 he is beginning to make this clear and from verse 12 on he makes this classic statement concerning the nature of our life's so verse 12 he says, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. When people ask you where did death come from the answers it came from sin – you where sin came from the answers it came through one man, that's what he's arguing what he's saying is this that Adam, the first man was appointed by God as the representative of humanity. Therefore, what Adam did, counted not only for Adam but counted for all whom Adam represented namely the totality of humanity. So Paul says since sin has entered through that one man we have sinned and him weaning be unduly concerned about blaming it on Adam because we assured each of us made perfectly clear that we've got a good handle on sinning left to ourselves what we are by nature we are also by action.

Now if you look down at verse 18. He makes this point very clearly. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass or if you like the trespass of one just as the result of the trespass of one was condemnation for all men, so also the result of the act of righteousness of one or one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men for justice through the disobedience of the one man that is Adam the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, namely Jesus. The second Adam are the last Adam. The nanny will be made righteous is not our purpose to work. All of this out this morning, but what we need to understand is this that this is the foundation for if you remember from school when you had to do Milton's Paradise lost in paradise regained now might not my favorite time in English literature, but nevertheless we gritted our teeth and we we made our way through what in the world was Milton on about. He was on about this actually in his own way and style.

The fact that humanity had fallen into sin, as represented in Adam and that the only way out for all of humanity was to be found in that second, Adam, namely in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you read first Corinthians 15 which you may do at your leisure discover that Paul is making the point. There that Jesus is the second or the last Adam, who has come to undo all that Adam did. By the fall, and to do all that Adam failed to do on account of his disobedience. So if you're like he is Adam in reverse undoing what Adam did and regaining what Adam lost and that is the significance of being in Christ, we are all in Adam by nature, but we are only in Christ by faith. You see the significance of identity.

You see how easy it is for us to think of ourselves in terms that make us feel okay about ourselves in superficial transient passing ways while failing to recognize the great need that is represented in our lives, of being in Christ. Sometimes it is only when we are in Christ that what Christ has achieved what he has accomplished in his death for sinners in his living of a perfect life. It is only when we are in Christ becomes of any practical benefit to us and you know that if you have come to Christ because before you are a Christian believer growing up in your home and your parents told you Jesus died upon the cross for sinners and he lived a perfect life and will except on the basis of his righteousness, which is not in our heads.

If you would sing in Christ alone.

My hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song and we realize we want to fortify lines around the globe and just said, but not when we sing and it means everything to us in Christ alone. My hope is for. He's my light. He's my strength he's my song, he's my solid ground. He's my only hope in life and in death.

Why do I sense this because you are in Christ because all of the blessings and benefits that have been accomplished in Jesus have been applied to your life as you have come to trust in Christ and not expose personal testimony is that in chapter 3, you can read it again for yourselves at home. He says if you want to think about acceptance with God in terms of personal righteousness and a number of you apparently want to put up your hands and say yes then he says I can tell you that I had that covered in the extreme. If you want to hear my credentials. They are as follows.

I was circumcised on the eighth day I was part of the tribe of Benjamin. I was born as a citizen of Israel. I grew up in this way, and so on.

And then he says the most remarkable thing, but whatever was to my profit. I now consider loss.

Something has happened to this morning. I was thing about this as I drove here and III thought of the song. The begins adapter to mercy alone and then I went and found it and let me just give you a this is Augustine's top lady in them. The 18 century. Here is the testimony of somebody who is in Christ who understands that identity adapter to mercy alone of covenant mercy. I say nor fear with you righteousness on my person and offering to bring the terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do anything. You are the terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do. All I want to hear the Augustus, you must be one special person you don't fear the judgment of God. You don't fear death. I mean, you're saying that not in Christ alone. Some no guilt in life no fear in death.

Where does that come from the terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do. My Savior's obedience and blood hi all my transgressions from view.

I in Christ. Therefore, I am viewed in one sense, by God as being as righteous as Christ as righteous as Christ because the only righteousness I have is the righteousness of Christ has nothing to do with what I'm doing everything to do with what he has done. There is no story like anywhere else except in the Bible. Part one of the message from Allison to big title citizens of heaven, listening to Truth for Life are teaching today touched on an extremely vital question. Am I in Christ. Maybe you're not exactly sure of your answer that's the case I want to invite you to learn more page on our website. There you'll find a brief video from Alastair that explains the gospel. You'll also find an illustrated presentation that explains God's plan for our salvation, simply visit Truth for Life.org/learn more if you listen regularly to Truth for Life. You know that we carefully select books to help you deepen your relationship with God books the you can read on your own or with the small group today will recommending a book written by Alistair Begg it's titled pray big and it comes with a companion study guide both the book and the accompanying study guide help us explore the apostle Paul's prayers for his fellow believers in Ephesus and the thought-provoking questions in the study guide make this perfect for group study, pray big is a short book but it's not one you want to read quickly. Alister suggests she read a chapter a week and then spend the rest of the week putting Paul's example into practice in your own prayer life. You can even commit to praying for the members of your small group requester copy of the book pray big when you donate to support the teaching you hear on this program.

Giving online is easy could visit our website Truth for Life.org/letter mail your donation along with you a question for the pray big write to us.

Our address is Truth for Life PO Box 39, 8000, Cleveland Ohio ZIP Code is 44139 Bob Lapine tomorrow. Alister continues looking at our citizenship in heaven unpacking two more benefits that are grounded in our identity in Christ.

Is there anything we can do to earn them for to lose them. Find out Friday. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living