Enemies of the Cross
A Sermon on the Enemies of the Cross from Philippians 3:18-19
Originally preached June 24, 1962
Scripture
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: 19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Philippians 3:18–19 titled “Enemies of the Cross,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses two common lies: works are all that matter or that works don’t matter at all. Furthermore, he discusses the traits that an enemy of the cross possesses. These are excellent tests to apply while listening to this sermon and examining the soul: “is my mind set on earthly things? Am I interested in spiritual realities? Does my appetite for food, sex, or material goods rule what I do? Am I proud of things that Scripture says are shameful?” Paul describes enemies of the cross in these ways and says that their end is destruction. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that the enemies of Christ are short sighted; they think about temporary things. They are given to temporary and fleeting desires, and don't have enough foresight to see that these things will come to an end in wrath and destruction. In contrast, the Christian is concerned with eternal realities and pleasing God rather than their fleshly desires. Moreover, their end is not destruction but vindication and fulfillment from Almighty God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul warns the Philippians about false teachers who claim to be Christians but live worldly lives.
- Paul tells them "even weeping" about these false teachers who are "enemies of the cross of Christ."
- Paul describes these false teachers in three ways:
- Their "end is destruction" - they will face eternal punishment.
- "Their God is their belly" - they live for worldly pleasures and indulgence.
- "Their glory is in their shame" - they boast about their sinful behavior.
- These false teachers "mind earthly things" - they are concerned only with worldly affairs and pleasures.
- True Christians focus on eternal, spiritual matters - not just earthly things.
- The false teachers misrepresent the meaning of the cross - they think it gives them license to sin without consequence.
- The cross actually delivers believers from sin and the world. The false teachers deny this by continuing to live worldly lives.
- The false teachers bring disgrace to Christianity through their ungodly living.
- Their "end is destruction" - like the people in Noah's and Lot's time, they will face judgment for ignoring warnings to repent.
- We must examine ourselves to see if we view the cross like the false teachers or like Paul - as delivering us from sin to live holy lives.
- If we see the cross as only providing forgiveness so we can live as we please, we are enemies of the cross.
- If we see the cross as enabling us to live holy lives through the power of Christ, we are true Christians.
Other Sermons
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.