Minds Set on Earthly Things

[Christsfreeservant]

“Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:17-21 NASB1995)​

Be careful about whose example you follow, for not all who profess faith in Jesus Christ are of genuine biblical faith which saves. Many are giving lip service only to God while they continue in their deliberate and habitual sin in direct defiance to God and to his New Covenant commands. So not all who claim to be “in Christ” are truly in Christ by genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus. For by faith in Jesus, if our faith is of God, and not of human flesh, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God.

And many do walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, for even though they profess him with their lips, they refuse him by their lifestyles. They profess him with their lips hoping that they can escape hell and go to heaven when they die, but while they ignore God and his commandments (New Covenant) and they do their own thing, and they chart their own course, and they live however they want without regard for God and for what he requires of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. For they are believing the lie that all they have to do is profess faith in Jesus and now heaven is secured them.

But what did Jesus and his New Testament apostles teach as the gospel of our salvation? They did not teach lip service only. They taught that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ that we now put sin to death in our lives and that we now surrender our lives over to the will of God for our lives, and that we now walk in the ways of the Lord as are taught us in the New Testament writings. Our old lives of living in sin and for self are to now be done away with so that we can now live for God in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin.

Yet many people who profess the name of Jesus do not honor Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives, for they are those whose god is their appetite for sin and for self-pleasure and for the things of this sinful world and for the lusts of the flesh and of the eyes, and the pride of life. They want their eternal security in their pockets while they still live according to the lusts of the flesh and not according to the will of God for their lives. But it doesn’t work that way. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, then we do not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, don’t be like them! For that is like giving your marriage vows to your spouse but then continuing to live as though you are still single. And sadly, many married people are doing that. Many of them are living in adultery against their spouses via addiction to sexually explicit videos, movies, and the like, and via taking care of their own needs, as a result, rather than being in a loving and faithful and intimate relationship with their spouses. And the Bible teaches our relationship with Jesus Christ as a marriage, with Christ as our husband, and with us who believe in him as his bride.

So, for those whose true citizenship is in heaven, and not in hell, we are to be those who are putting the deeds of the flesh to death, by the Spirit, and who are walking in the ways of the Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice. We should be a faithful bride to our loving husband, Jesus Christ, and serve him with our lives, instead of feeding our own flesh. And we should be sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of this world so that many more people can die to their sins and now obey God with their lives. Then we have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Caution: This link may contain ads

Minds Set on Earthly Things
An Original Work / June 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love