Extreme Makeover

“Extreme Makeover”
Philippians 3:17-4:1
preached February 28, 2010

(I’m always amazed at how things change by the time you preach the sermon.)

I have only watched the television program one time. But I understand it is pretty much the same episode each time you view. A homeowner is chosen for a complete makeover of their house. And they need the renovation. Many of the houses have gone neglected so long that they are rather disgusting—particularly bathrooms. These houses need lots of work. So the family is whisked away at the program’s expense for a vacation while the house is reborn—sometimes like a phoenix. The house is demolished and then restarted from foundation up.

A week or two later, the family is brought back while the house is obscured by the Extreme Makeover bus. The family and crews are on one side of the bus and the rebirthed house on the other. Everyone shouts, “Move that bus” and it does, revealing the gorgeous new house to the astonished family.

Now I cannot help the feeling I have as the family is taken through the house. Perhaps it is why I do not watch the program. (Besides not wanting to cry at how much better off the family now is; it really is emotional at this point in the show.) The feeling I have—even amidst a kind of grateful emotion—is, “How long will this last?” Will they allow it to fall again into disrepair? That which was once reborn, would it once more become disgusting and even, to borrow an idea from Paul in our text today, shameful?

Paul seems to have similar concerns for the household of God. Would that which was once in a horrible state but had been rebuilt and reborn fall back into humiliation? It is all too easy, isn’t it, for the Christian to espouse proper doctrine but be shameful in her actions? We all know of cases—indeed, we have cases among us now—in which those who would tell us of the greatness of Christ in their lives are living proof that they actually believe otherwise. Oh, yes; rebuild this house and watch me tear it down again! Paul has an answer for these people.

Keep your eyes on me even as I keep mine on Jesus. He says, “Imitate me.” I remember the first time I read that, I thought, How arrogant. Strange, isn’t it? We don’t think it proud if someone says, Look here at how much weight I’ve lost in so short a time. I did it by following these steps and if you do the same thing, if you imitate me, you will lose too. We don’t think it arrogant when someone says, I love what you’ve done with your house. Who did your painting or Who came up with that idea? And then when you’re told how and that you could use that idea too to improve your own home, you don’t think it prideful. You think it is helpful.

Paul intends to help, not make you feel foolish. He says imitate me, not because his life is anything great of itself. This is the same guy who was a prideful murderer a few years before. But now he is forgiven, made by Christ’s grace an Apostle of the Church, and by the power of God able to say to others, If you want the same thing, imitate me. That’s not arrogance; that’s prudence.

There are two prime problems in the Church today. One, people think it exists to help them through some shabby patch in their lives. Two, the Church thinks it’s her job to make of us good people. Children are born and suddenly we think we need to go to church. That’s great. But what if that child dies? Will you want to go to church then or will you stop this God business because it doesn’t make you feel any better. Economic times get tough and people go to church. But if God asks of you an offering—a real sacrifice—making the finances even tighter, how long will you continue in the church game? If you follow the Way of Light and Salvation there is nothing to fear in this life. Leave the fellowship and thought you may feel good sometimes, there is much to fear. Imagine the people who had to camp outside the ancient cities instead of being safe inside its walls.

Worse, what if you came to church because you simply felt the need to be a better person—a good person? The Bible says there is no such thing. Psalm 53:3 says, “there is none who does good, not even one.” Paul wants us to make it into the kingdom of God in heaven. He says that our citizenship is there—not here where we so often want comfort and good feelings over the cross or even simple fellowship. William Law, the 18th century English cleric, said, “If we are traveling heavenward, we are already in heaven.” That’s the idea that Paul has when he says “citizenship.” The word he uses is politeuma and means a colony or outpost. Paul was familiar with this idea of being a citizen of the Roman Empire. He even seemed proud to be a Roman citizen. Though he lived in a far-flung outpost of the empire, he lived as a citizen of the capital city. That is what Paul desires for us, that we act like we’re in heaven already, while we live in this distant earthly colony. But how does one live as a citizen of heaven? Have you ever been there?

When Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk went on pilgrimage to Rome, he was overwhelmed with the differences between it and his homeland of Germany. He found that he didn’t live at all like the citizens there and determined to learn how and enjoy what should have been that most important time in his life. So he watched the lives of the people there to see what they did and how they acted.

Paul offers the same thing to us. He knew how to live as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and offers to show us the ropes. Paul doesn’t want us to imitate him so that we’ll be good people or so that life will be easier for us. He wants us to imitate him for one reason: so we’ll remember to whose kingdom we belong. God intended from before the time of Abram to make us heirs of a great landscape. We need to remember that we were bought with a great price, not that Jesus died so we might feel better about our wretched condition. If you were to feel better…in fact, if you were going to be better, who would you try to be like? If you were going to makeover your life, tear it down (at least the bathroom and kitchen and maybe that ratty backyard that needs landscaped so badly), and renovate it, what would you want it to look like? Who would you want to be like?

Paul offers himself as a model because he had modeled his life after Christ’s life. Seems like a good example to follow to me. Or if not me, perhaps Timothy or Epaphroditus, He says to to “keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example” of the apostles, whom Jesus himself taught to follow his own way of living.

Paul is in tears as he dictates this part of the letter because many had not followed his example but followed their bellies instead. Good feelings and high times were what they really desired even though they said they were followers of Jesus. It brought real tears of regret and sorrow to the apostle’s eyes. He had wanted those people to enjoy their citizenship and fellowship here and to arrive with him at the gates of heaven.

Susan and I have worked pretty hard (in fact some of you have helped us and we are grateful to and for you) to renovate a 90-year old house. In fact, I think we’ll be renovating until the day we die; there is so much more to do. We are glad to live in Graham and want our house to reflect how we feel about where we live. But there are many houses in this and every community where people have no pride in citizenship. This reflects on the whole city and state and country. It would be an extremely extreme makeover to bring everybody’s house up to par.

That is just what Paul is weeping over; he wants everybody’s life to be of apostolic stature. He doesn’t want any nominal Christians in the kingdom. He wants everyone to be gradually, a project and a room at a time, conformed to a higher standard. That begins here in this earthly outpost and must continue until the Lord transforms us totally into a glorious body like his own.

Now that is an extreme makeover. But how is it done? Just as the Roman armies used to stand before their enemies, we in this frontier outpost are to stand our ground against the very personal enemies of our Faith. In doing so, the land is ours. The landscape looks less and less godly today because we do not stand for the Faith. We think that if we vote for someone who looks most like our idea of a Christian—or for that person who promises to give us the most feel good stuff—that we have stood our ground or done the right thing. That has little or nothing to do with it and will result in an extreme destruction (v19) instead of a makeover.

If you would stand your ground in this world… Let’s make it more personal: If you would stand your ground in this country, you must keep your eyes on those who walk according to the examples of Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus. How do you do that? I only know of one sure way to see what their example is and that is in the words of this book.

What example do you see there? Fix your eyes therein. Imitate. Follow. And Christ will make you over to the extreme.