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“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:12-13 NKJV)
While admonishing the Christians in Philippi to follow his example, Apostle Paul sternly warned them to separate themselves from the Judaizers or self-indulgent Christians who were not walking according to his teaching and the standards he had set. Paul rightly referred to them as “the enemies of the cross of Christ.”
Philippians 3:17-19 – NKJV
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame–who set their mind on earthly things.
Paul’s admonition to note and separate from the enemies of the cross of Christ is undoubtedly still very much relevant today. As it was in the days of Paul, there are still many enemies of the cross of Christ today. Unfortunately, some believers or ministers of God today are enemies of the cross of Christ either by their doctrine or lifestyle.
From our human perspective, those persecuting the followers of Christ because of their faith and commitment to Christ are the enemies of Christ. But from a divine perspective, they are not the real enemies of Christ. They are just ignorant religious zealots whose eyes Satan, the god of this world, has blinded (2 Cor. 4:4).
From Paul’s epistles, it is unmistakably clear that the real enemies of the cross of Christ are within the Church. Paul was not referring to the ignorant, unregenerate people outside the Church who were persecuting the saints as the enemies of the cross of Christ.
In his epistles, Paul gives us some characteristics of the people he refers to as the enemies of the cross of Christ. It is wisdom for us to understand these characteristics carefully so that we may identify and separate ourselves from these enemies of the cross of Christ within the Church today.
Paul describes the enemies of the cross of Christ as those “whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame–who set their mind on earthly things.” (Philip. 3:19 NKJV).
Let us sift through this description.
First, Paul describes the enemies of the cross of Christ as the professed believers or ministers “whose god is their belly.”
By this terminology, what does Paul mean by “their god is their belly?”
Paul meant they are either legalistic or indulging in sinful, fleshly desires.
The enemies of the cross of Christ are those in the Church who trust in themselves, in their self-righteousness, performance, or good works to earn or obtain God’s love, acceptance, favor, blessing, or salvation. They don’t believe or preach that salvation is only through grace and faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work of redemption (Ephesians. 2:8-9).
The cross of Christ speaks of the finished work of redemption through Christ’s substitutionary or sacrificial death for our sins. The cross speaks of everything Christ provided for us through His death. It speaks of the grace by which everything was provided.
God is entirely and eternally pleased and satisfied with Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins on the cross. God’s wrath against us for breaking His law was emptied on Christ at the cross. Christ received the wages of our sins on the cross (Hebrew. 2:9). Peter aptly states this truth in his epistle.
1 Peter 2:24 – WNT
24 The burden of our sins He Himself carried in His own body to the Cross and bore it there, so that we, having died so far as our sins are concerned, may live righteous lives. By His wounds yours have been healed. (WNT).
Jesus Christ finished the work of our redemption; nothing is to be added to it (John 19:30)! Therefore, anyone preaching or teaching people to add good works to the finished work of Christ as a means of earning a right standing with God, or as a means of obtaining God’s salvation, or as a means of deserving God’s love, acceptance, favor or blessing is simply an enemy of the cross of Christ.
When you approach God for anything trusting in your self-righteousness, performance, goodness, or good works, you are simply demeaning or disregarding the finished work of Christ as the only basis for having a loving and intimate relationship with God and the only means of obtaining God’s acceptance, favor or blessing. Thus, you are an enemy of the cross of Christ.
Anyone who claims to belong to Christ but who is not wholly trusting alone in the finished work of Christ as the only basis of having a loving and intimate relationship with God and enjoying God’s blessings is simply a liar; he is an enemy of the cross of Christ.
Sadly, many people today who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour reject Him by their actions as they continue to trust in their righteousness, goodness, performance, or good works to please God and obtain or earn God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessings.
Our self-righteousness, which comes from the works of the law, cannot be mixed with God’s righteousness, which comes from faith in Christ Jesus and His finished work alone as a basis for a relationship with God. Both are incompatible! Either you receive God’s righteousness as a gift or cling to your imperfect, stinking self-righteousness in your dealings with God (Romans. 9:30-32, Isa. 64:6).
On the other hand, this terminology, “whose god is their belly,” used by Paul to describe the enemies of the cross of Christ, speaks of being led, controlled, or governed by fleshly desires and appetites.
Therefore, the enemies of the cross of Christ are the professed believers or ministers who indulge in sinful pleasures and live as debtors to the flesh, fulfilling the flesh’s lusts, passions, or desires.
Living according to the flesh or gratifying the desires of the flesh will ultimately result in corruption, death, or destruction. This is why Paul states that the end of the enemies of the cross of Christ is destruction.
Philippians 3:18-19 – NKJV
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame–who set their mind on earthly things.
Romans 8:12-13 – NKJV
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Beloved, if you profess to belong to Christ and yet still live as a debtor to the flesh, your lifestyle negates or contradicts the power and purpose of the cross.
The cross is the gateway to a supernatural lifestyle. The sinful life terminates, and Christ-life starts at the cross. The cross releases the believers to walk in the newness of life—to live and walk as Christ did (Romans. 6:4, 2 Cor. 5:15, Gal. 2:20). This is the power and purpose of the cross of Christ!
Therefore, anyone who professes to belong to Christ but does not live according to Christ but instead according to the flesh is demeaning the cross of Christ, thereby making himself an enemy of Christ.
Find out more about the enemies of the cross of Christ within the Church in the second part of this piece.
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the cross of Christ where my sinful life was terminated. Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me embrace the cross daily to live a supernatural life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
OUR mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
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