[0:00] This was our morning series until we studied the elders together, now we're studying prayer. So this has now been moved to the evening, rather reluctantly. This is such an important series, and the numbers usually go down a bit in the evening, and I just don't like the thought of our morning congregation missing this, but there's only so much you can do. And so we are coming to near the end of this. I've worked out how many weeks looking at how this divides up, the last sermon on Philippians will be the last Sunday in January. So we've got a couple of weeks to go yet before we finish this. But we're up to Philippians 3, and we're up to verse 17.
[0:44] Paul was talking about maturity and what Paul really wanted to know Christ better, and so he wasn't content just to be saved. So let's read from verse 17 into verse 1 of chapter 4.
[0:57] Join together, he says, in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For as I have often told you before, and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
[1:20] Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven.
[1:36] And we eagerly await a saviour 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 and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends. We'll end our reading at the end of verse 1 of chapter 4. Let's come and let's use this next song as a prayer. Our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you, Lord, for the way in which you teach us and train us and encourage us, perhaps challenge and rebuke us, Lord, from your word. Lord, the passage that we have read earlier, Lord, is a challenging passage. Lord, it contrasts to a particular group of people. Lord, already we have made that choice. Lord, we know or we should know, Lord, which group we belong to, and both of them are serious. One is filled with joy, one should fill us with fear. So, Father, we pray that as we hear this sermon, as we consider your word together, we pray, Lord, that you might confirm the position in which we stand and that we might respond appropriately. So, Father, just bless us, teach us now from your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We're continuing our series of studies in the book of Philippians, a series we've called Shine Like Stars, As You Hold Out the Word of Life. And the whole letter up until this point has very much been Paul telling us how to do that, what shining as a
[3:19] Christian is really all about. And you remember last week I showed you these two people who failed to win the prize. They were very gifted in the particular field. One stopped before the race had finished, thinking she'd won or she'd come in second, only to realize that that wasn't the case. And Jacobellus, you remember, she was way ahead. She'd won the points that we're talking about silver and bronze. And then she showboated. And this is how both of them fell. And you remember last week we looked at finishing well in the Christian life, not just starting well. That's one good thing about Philippians. It doesn't just say, well, you're saved and satisfied. It's very much how we press on.
[4:04] How we stand firm right to the end. And that's what we're looking at this evening. We're reminding ourselves of what it means to press on, to shine as Christians. Paul wanted to take hold of Christ in verse 12 of chapter 3. He had a goal. His goal was heaven. His goal was Jesus. His goal was glorification, new body, and so forth. And that's our goal. We long for that goal. The prize. He pressed on to win the goal, to win the prize. The prize for which God had called him heavenward. And I disappointed you by telling you we don't know what that prize is. We can't say exactly what that is. It might be different from each one of us. Some of us, we may be saved, but never hear the words, well done, thou good and faithful servant. We've just been saved by the skin of our teeth. Others have served the Lord, and who knows how the Lord will bless us. A crown, glory, we do not know. But it should inspire us when we know this life is but a vapor, to use this life as best we can, that we might be good and faithful stewards. And he told us last week, you remember, we looked at how to press on, forgetting the past, straining forward to what lies ahead. The past can easily drag us down and discourage us.
[5:24] And we need to forget the past and move on, straining forward, straining towards the finishing line, but also living up to responsibility to that which we have already attained. Now, from 17 through to 4, chapter 4, verse 1, the desire is the same. Paul's desire is, in any of his letters, when he writes to Christians, is that we keep pressing on. We keep struggling in the Christian life. And in this passage, he's reminding us of our hope and of our confidence. That's what this passage is all about, the Christian's hope and the Christian's confidence. And he contrasts our hope and our confidence with those who don't have this hope and who do not have this confidence. So, that's what we're looking at. Our hope is, verse 20, our citizenship is in heaven. Contrasted with the previous verse, verse 19, their destiny is destruction. So, here is one, heaven, another one, destruction. We are so familiar with these things, but can you imagine if you heard these for the first time tonight, that there is a broad road that leads to destruction. And this is Jesus' teaching, not my teaching, that many there are who find it. Most people are on the road to destruction. There's a narrow road, few there are who find it, that leads to eternal life. These are sobering, sobering truths. And that's what we're looking at this evening as we look at what this is about. And it all centers around the cross, all centers around
[7:02] Jesus. And Paul here talks about friends of the cross and enemies of the cross. I think I've only got two points tonight because the passage divides up nicely into these two. These two groups of people who live a particular lifestyle and that choice of lifestyle will determine where they end up.
[7:23] And that's what we're looking at this evening. So, let's look at these two ways to live. First of all, then, enemies of the cross. Very strong words that Paul uses. He's talking about a group of people and he calls them enemies of the cross. Look at verse 18. As I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross. We don't know exactly who these enemies are that Paul mentions. Usually when he talks about enemies of the cross, he talks about Judaizers, people who were Jews who perhaps became Christians, but who wanted to bolt things onto our salvation.
[8:09] Jesus does so much you need to be circumcised. And it's basically Jesus plus. And I've said often, whenever you try to add to the work of Jesus, you actually take away from the work of Jesus. You cannot add to his finished work. It's caused by pride within us. We feel we have to do something and we just find it hard to believe only by grace can we enter. And there's something within us.
[8:36] But it's not the Judaizers because the Judaizers, they would go on to talk about doctrinal things. They'd talk about Abraham. They'd talk about circumcision. He doesn't do this. Instead, he talks about people who live a particular way, talking about their mindset and earthly things and their stomach as their God and so forth. We don't know for certain, but Paul saw them as a real threat to this church. That's why he mentions, I'm telling you with tears. As I thought about this, I thought, why are they so dangerous? They're so dangerous because their lifestyle is so attractive.
[9:16] And that is the thing. They're not coming along with strange teaching that you can just jettison. They live in a particular way that if you're a Christian, that that is very enticing as well.
[9:28] And so most of the commentators say that these people who are enemies of the cross are very subtle. They are professing Christians. They are people who would give the appearance that they're Christians, but they live in a particular way that nullifies their confession. And that's what makes them so dangerous. As Christians, we often take our standards, sadly not from God's Word, but from other people, from other Christians. Well, they do it. They live like that. So I can live like that as well. And whereas if you compare yourself maybe with Christians in the 1800s and 1900s, and I'll show you my big family devotions, who met, who had at least an hour's quiet time as a family, you think, wow, that's a standard. And we have diminished this. And we compare ourselves with each other.
[10:20] And that's a very dangerous thing. And that is why these enemies of the cross, as Paul calls them, are very dangerous. No wonder he's in tears. He wants to plead with them, beware, be aware of who they are, be aware of what they look like. So that's what we're going to look at just now. And Paul mentions a few things under describing these enemies of the cross. First of all, he tells us their God is their stomach. Look at verse 19. It's a very graphic way of speaking, isn't it? Their God is their stomach.
[10:55] That doesn't mean that they can't pass by a chip shop or a Big Mac. They're just like a good feed. It's not what it's about. He's basically saying their appetites dictate their lifestyle. If they want it, they will run after this. Now, that can be anything. It can be power or status or materialism or pleasure.
[11:19] It can be food, of course. It can be anything that satisfies your appetite. And if you are worldly minded, your appetite will not be on the things of God. It will be on the things of the world. And you will become very worldly in your thinking. And really, it's what drives them. They're driven by what they like and by what they want. The way of the cross. Paul had said previously that I might know him, the power of his resurrection, and sharing in the fellowship of his sufferings. Jesus says, if anyone would come after me and follow me, he must take up his cross daily and follow me.
[11:59] Well, that lifestyle is not for them. It's they like Jesus, perhaps. There is something in them. They are a real threat to real Christians. It's very tempting. But their pattern for life is not one of self-denial. It's not the way of the cross. Probably haven't been to the cross in the first place, but perhaps just bolted this on. So, holiness, righteousness, standing firm, all the things that Paul has said that cause us to shine isn't on their agenda. They're not really interested in God and his ways and Jesus because of their appetites. It's very tempting, as I said, to take our standards from others. Why am I struggling and I'm on a Sunday night and it's pouring the rain and I'm, why should I put my coat on? Others aren't doing it, so I'll not bother. And we don't serve the Lord as much as we should. We don't live a life worthy of the gospel because we take our standards from others.
[13:01] That's why Paul sees them as a threat. Their appetite, what they want, dictates how they live their life. That is a, I don't know about you, that's a very real threat, isn't it? You want a particular car, you want to live in a particular house. You want to do so many things that the world does, except you'll come to church. And sometimes there's very little between us and them. And yet our lifestyle or the principles by which we live are to be different. Their God is their stomach, their appetites dictate. Secondly, their mind is on earthly things. Some folk have said these group of people are antinomians. Nomos is the Greek word for law. There's this particular group of people who said you don't need to bother with the law. You're saved. The law doesn't save you. So you can do whatever you want. Eat. There's that song, enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself. It's later than you think.
[13:58] And it's that eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. And that's how people live their life. And that's how they are. They're just thinking of the here and now. They're not, they're not thinking of heaven, a celestial city. Their city's not heaven. Their city is Edinburgh or Glasgow or wherever that might be. And this shouldn't surprise us. Even in Paul's day, the Corinthian church had many people like this. He has to write to them. Look at, you don't look at, but 1 Corinthians 5, it is actually reported there is sexual immorality among you of a kind that doesn't even occur amongst pagans.
[14:37] A man has his father's wife and you are proud. Shouldn't you rather be filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? And then when it came to the Lord's supper, when you come together, it's not the Lord's supper you come to eat. For as you eat, each one goes ahead without waiting for others. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Boy, I wonder if I'd be the pastor of that church. But he's writing to Christians. He's writing to folk who are professing faith. But they're not living as they should. They're living according to earthly standards. And Paul almost writes sarcastically to them in 1 Corinthians 4. You already have all you want. Already you have become rich. You have become kings. And that without us. How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you. For it seemed to me that God put us as apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We are fools for Christ. But you are so wise, he says. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, and we are dishonored. To this very hour, we go hungry and thirsty. And then he ends up by saying, up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuge of the world. Paul says, he contrasts his life and the life of the apostles with their life and says, you're living the dream. You're not living as a
[16:05] Christian should. You're living for the flesh. You're living in that way. And sad to say many, professing Christians can have that, have an appearance of godliness, but it's not the same.
[16:18] So by their attitude, by their appetites, by their actions, they are basically not living as friends of the cross, living in that form of discipleship, following Jesus, not having the mind of Paul to know Christ and his sufferings, avoiding all of these things, avoiding self-sacrifice, putting themselves first. Romans 12 isn't for them. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. That wasn't for them. They're not interested in true and proper worship, offering their bodies as sacrifices. They live purely to please themselves. In other words, they have rejected probably everything that Paul would have said in this letter about suffering, about putting others first, about self-denial, about the righteousness of God, about a desire to be like Christ, Christ-likeness, about growing onto maturity, to having standards for holy living. And that's why Paul encourages this church to follow him and to follow other true Christians. That's what he says in verse 17.
[17:31] Join together in following my example, he says, brothers and sisters. And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. Note the word live. Not just believe what we believe, but actually live in a particular way. Look at how they live. Look at how we live. Follow that. It's a lifestyle. A lifestyle that these people didn't want by way of the cross. Thirdly, their glory is their shame. In other words, the things that they glorified in, they should have been ashamed of.
[18:06] The things that would make you embarrassed, that you might be embarrassed if the Lord came and said, well, what are you going to show me? Your car. Look at what all I've worked for. Look at, I lived life to please myself. Something that should cause us to be shamed. They were glorying in. And it's the saddest thing. It is very sad indeed. Fourthly, their destiny is their destruction. I see it fills away for the desk, but that's the fourth one. Their destiny is their destruction. Their destiny is their destruction.
[18:40] Serious, serious words indeed. Verse 19, their destiny, their end is destruction. They couldn't have been Christians. Otherwise, this would, could not have been said. Paul said earlier in this letter that God who done a good work in you would bring it to completion. His task is to present us faultless before his throne. Instead, these people, like Corinthian church, many of them in the Corinthian church, might have had an appearance, but probably weren't saved. And Paul, because of this, warns them.
[19:14] I mean, he's tearful. Why is he tearful? He's tearful because the cross is diminished. If somebody came to this pulpit and said, it doesn't matter how you live. You're long as you're saved. Just, just you party on. Live. Do whatever you do. The Lord's already forgiven you. Doesn't really matter. You would know that is not true. That's not the way of the cross. It just doesn't ring true. So, Paul is, the cross is being diminished. Also, his tears were maybe because Christians could be led astray. It's a sad thing when a Christian backslides who used to worship and now have, their mind is now on earthly things. That is the saddest thing. That, that does reduce many Christians to tears. Great sadness. And there's tears maybe for those people themselves that they're not actually saved. They're in a very dangerous position. I know in Northern Ireland, I met so many people. It was often described as, oh, well, them, no, they don't want the Lord, but they made a profession of faith. And I know sometimes as parents, we, we can, we want to believe the best for our kids. But you have to ask, by their fruits, you will know them. Are they saved? At the end of the day, the God of all the earth will do right and heet. The Lord knows those who are his. Doesn't matter what we say.
[20:31] We might write them off and the Lord might say, no, they are mine. But it's a more dangerous position for us to say that they're fine. And the Lord says, well, they're not fine because they were never mine in the first place. And therefore, we cannot play fast and loose with us. Only the Lord knows. And that's why we witness and we pray for those who are in that dangerous position of thinking they're Christians and perhaps they're not. That's why this is, as Paul comes to the end of this letter, pulling all of this together. It's almost, he's saying, now I want you to look in the mirror and see who you resemble. Which way are you? And that's because of their destiny. Their destiny is destruction. Now we don't have time to, to look at the word destruction. Much thought on this. After you die, is there a punishment or annihilation, destruction completely? I'm sure most of us probably would hold to eternal punishment. That is a frightening thought. Not just punishment, but eternal punishment. That's a topic for another time. Whatever it is, if you read 19, it is not pleasant. It is not pleasant. That's the only thing we can say with 100% certainty. And the other thing we can say, it will be, at the very least, eternal exclusion from the love and the holy
[21:54] God. They will get their will. It's what they wanted on earth and they get that in glory. It is very serious. In the past, God overlooked such ignorance. Now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
[22:07] Everybody in Edinburgh, everybody in Glasgow, everybody in Musselburgh, in Balerno, he commands all people everywhere to do what? To repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of all this to all men by raising him from the dead. The grave is not the end. The end is destruction for those who have rejected. And you know the passage about separating the sheep from the goats. And it is serious. The Lord does indeed make a distinction. That then is the characteristics of enemies of the cross. Very quickly, the friends of the cross. Paul contrasts now them with another group of people. Those who are friends of the cross.
[22:54] Doesn't use that expression. But it's people who love the cross. I decided to put an image in of the cross and Jesus. For many people, they don't know what that means. They don't know the deep meaning of this. They just think, well, this is Jesus. He was a historical figure. The Jews didn't like him. The Romans crucified him. End of. You and I look at that and we know there was a lot happening there.
[23:20] This was prophesied. He is the son of God. He dies an atoning death. He dies an atoning death for your sin and for my sin. This is no small thing. We love the cross. We love the Savior who hung on the cross.
[23:35] We don't belittle the cross. And but the thing is, first of all, under this friend of the cross, we follow a pattern. As they follow a pattern for life, we too follow a pattern. And our pattern, our lifestyle, is the same as Jesus' lifestyle. Jesus set us a pattern when he died on the cross.
[23:59] That's why he said he didn't expect people to die on the cross as he was dying on the cross. But he says, if you would follow me, you must deny yourself. Take up your cross daily and follow me. That is the pattern. His pattern is our pattern. He dies to bring life. We die in a similar way. That's why, verse 17, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. What is the lifestyle? The lifestyle Paul mentions in verse 27 of Philippians 1. Whatever happens, he says. Remember those words? I remember preaching them here. Whatever happens. If there's only one thing you do, he says, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Whether I see you or hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. This involves faith, trust, humility, holiness, self-sacrifice, living a life worthy of the gospel, embracing the righteousness of Christ, to wanting to know more of Christ, wanting to be like
[25:09] Christ to share in his sufferings. You know all these teachings. But that's what it means to be a Christian. The cross means our death. Are you familiar with this wee drawing, the two ways to live? Are you familiar with that course for doing evangelism? You've never done this before? No? That's a great course for evangelism. It's very, very good. You learn it by rote. You have to keep learning this. But once you learn it, usually you can see it. It's a while since I've used it. But basically, you've got one, two, three, four, five, six, going along the top, one, two, three. They say you can use it if you're explaining the gospel to somebody in those verses. It's very good. But the first diagram basically says, God is a loving, the ruler of the world. He made the world. He made us rulers of the world under him.
[26:02] That's what that first wee drawing's all about. God made us a ruler under his rulership. But diagram two, we all reject the ruler, God, by trying to run life our own way without him. But we fail to rule ourselves or society or the world. We've rejected God and we try to rule life our own way. Diagram three, God won't let us rebel forever. It says, God's punishment for rebellion is death and judgment.
[26:36] Diagram four, but because of his love, God sent his son into the world, the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God's rule. Yet by dying in our place, he took our punishment and brought forgiveness.
[26:52] Diagram five, God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now gives life and will return to judge. This is Jesus today. He is ruler of the world. He's died.
[27:06] He's risen again. Diagram six is two ways to live. My way is to reject God as rule, try to run life our own way. Try to run life our own way. The result is condemnation by God facing death and judgment. God's new way is submit to Jesus as a ruler, rely on Jesus' death and resurrection as God's provision for our sin. The result is forgiven by God and eternal life. Very simple, wee drawings. And but people have to choose this one here, which one they are. You'll have members of your family that are on their left. Jesus is not Lord or Savior of their life. They will live, make their own decisions, enemies of the cross, that we've just considered earthly things. Their destiny is destruction. Until we realize that we need Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then our destiny is heaven and glory. That is what this is about. Two ways to live. We have to die to self and live to Jesus.
[28:16] There is, that is the pattern. There's a great verse in Galatians 2. It's Louise Palau's favorite verse. I've been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That is the pattern we live by. We live to please him. We live under his rule and his guidance. That is the pattern for us. And as you look at what it means to live as a Christian, you think, is it attainable? Paul says it is attainable.
[28:50] So secondly, the friends of the cross not only follow the pattern of the cross, we follow others. Verse 17, keep an eye on those who live as we do. And that's the whole thrust of this section. Remember, look at Timothy, look at Epaphroditus, look at me, look at Jesus. Follow these, live as they lived.
[29:13] And that's in contrast to others whose God is their stomach, whose mind is on earthly things, glory is their shame, their destiny is destruction. Do you love Jesus? Are you a disciple of Jesus following him?
[29:31] Fourth, thirdly, they belong elsewhere. Our citizenship is in heaven. That would have meant a lot to the people in Philippi. It was a Roman colony. Paul mentions this in Acts 12. He says, we were traveling to Philippi, a Roman colony, and the leading city of that district of Macedonia, to say to Philippians, while you are living in, I love living in London. London is one of the most, most powerful cities in the world. Folk come from New York and just love, I always think, why do you love London? It's about a midden in places. But it's so small and they're queen and you've got everything.
[30:17] London. To say you come from London, I'm pleased that I say I come from Glasgow. Boo, hiss. Anyway, but I come from Glasgow and whenever I've been down south, where are you from?
[30:29] I'm from Glasgow. I was born in Springburn. I don't mention that. Well, I mention that because you don't have a clue what Springburn is. It sounds nice, a bit like Castle Milk. Sounds nice. Chateau Lai until you've actually been there and you wouldn't actually tell you come from there.
[30:43] But to boast about where you come from. And they would have been proud. We come from Philippi. But Paul says to them, your citizenship is not here. Your citizenship is in heaven. That's where you belong. You're a citizen of heaven. It really is quite exciting. That's better than any leading city. We can see through the cities of the world. They're just vanity fair. They have nothing to offer.
[31:09] Like Abraham, we look forward to a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God. And we're like the people who, living by faith but died, saw and welcomed it from a distance.
[31:23] They admitted that there were aliens and strangers on earth. You're an alien and a stranger living in Edinburgh. You don't belong here. As nice as your house is and your street is, and you might say, well, I come from Balerna. I'm glad I don't come from that area. Your citizenship, it doesn't matter.
[31:42] Your citizenship is in heaven. You belong there. And fourthly, they are waiting for Jesus. That is, there's a great biblical definition of conversion. It's found in 1 Thessalonians.
[31:58] Paul says, describing the believers at Thessalonica, For they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell us how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. It's as real as that. If you're a Christian here, you long for heaven, but you long for Jesus. You long for his return. You want him to return. I want him to return tonight. I don't want another Monday morning. I would want him to come back and bring in a new kingdom fully. My faith is turned to sight. John, 1 John talks about this day of judgment. He says, everyone who has this hope in himself purifies himself just as he is pure. We long for his appearing. We hope for his appearing. We want a better body. Paul says he could say a lot, but all he says in this, the last verse of chapter 3, he will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. I don't know if it's just the fact that you share more prayer requests in
[33:14] Western Hale Baptist Church for. I couldn't get the folk in London to pray. If they get hit with a bus, they probably wouldn't tell you. But in the church here, I just get the impression, I don't think there's anybody well. Everybody's unwell. There's something. Pray for this. I've got this appointment. I've got that appointment. And I'm thinking, wow, we really want a glorious body, don't we? I mean, we're living in Scotland. I mean, even I'm discovering aches and pains that I've never had for years. I've been away for 13 years. Suddenly they all come back with the climate. It must be the climate. Definitely. It must be something about the damp and the cold. And you think, ah, I just long for the sun. I long for the sun of God. I long just to get a better body. Your body's decaying. I was having this conversation. You think you're 25 all the time, but you're not. As Lucille gets a flower out of wherever, and I think, that's great. That looks good. I expect that to die. I expect it to die in a few days' time. I expect it to start going like this. We are formed of the ground. I mean, we are going the same way, whether we like it or not, whether we live in denial, that our bodies are decaying all the time from the day we're born. Maybe 25, you're the fittest and you'll look better than you've ever looked. You're going to get older. You're going to creak.
[34:32] It's going to happen. Yeah, I don't pray for folk in hospital when they're 85 that they'll return back to running marathons. It's not going to happen. We live in the real world.
[34:43] Our bodies are decaying. We long for a better body. He will transform our lowly bodies. Your body, no matter how much you might think of it, it's lowly. It's a lowly body. But he's going to transform it to be like his glorious body. That is the hope for the world. We want this hope. We want a better place. We want a citizenship. So what we said, enemies of the cross live for this world. Their God's their stomach. They live in earthly things, their appetites and so forth. Their glory is their shame. They should be ashamed. Their destiny is destruction. But for us, we follow a pattern, pattern of salvation and service for the Lord.
[35:20] We follow others onto maturity. We belong elsewhere in heaven and we're waiting for Jesus. We have already chosen tonight. Every one of us here has already chosen. You're either in one camp or in the other. You're either heading towards destruction or you're heading towards a celestial city with a new body. Everybody has already chosen. Now, it's not too late to choose something else. If you realize I'm on the road to destruction, I want to walk on the road that leads to life, that narrow road. I want that. And we must pray for members of our family. I have members of my family who are on that broad road that leads to destruction. Their appetites are their God.
[36:03] And we need to really pray for loved ones. Here is a sober reminder of the truth of the gospel as Paul finishes or draws his letter to a close. So next week, we'll look at Euodia and Syntyche, two women who fell out in the midst of all of this. It almost seems mundane to mention these two women after these glorious thoughts that he's just told us. But we will look at that next Sunday night.
[36:29] Let's stand and we'll see you next time.