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In the mildest of his epistles (in terms of rebuke and correction), the apostle Paul nonetheless warned the Philippian saints of “enemies of the cross of Christ” (3:18–19), which he at one time was. He thereby vividly aligned those who lived contrary to the Gospel with the former Saul of Tarsus in his most zealous days of persecuting the Lord. Notably, Paul here made the cross the apex, summary, and symbol of Jesus’ earthly life and work (His purpose in coming, His doctrine, His church, et al.).
In this context the apostle specified three identifying marks of these enemies, who still thrive in the time and place in which we live:
- “Whose God is the belly”—These are those who live only to satisfy fleshly appetites. They live by the philosophy, “If it feels good, do it.” The gross breakdown of sexual morality in our nation over the past half-century is a graphic manifestation of “belly-worship.” “Bellyolatry” also reveals itself in hedonisms ranging from road rage to alcohol consumption, drug addiction, gambling, and various criminal acts (some of which acts some politicians in the highest circles of power are guilty). As America has increasingly cast aside the Bible (and God with it), its righteous restraints of continence have increasingly vanished. Belly-worship is simply an apt moniker for unmitigated selfishness, which is a good working definition of Secularism and Humanism.
- “Whose glory is in their shame”—Glory here refers to behavior of which men might rightly boast and be proud, thus things men ought to honor. The enemies of Calvary, however, have turned things upside down, proudly parading and engaging in behaviors of which they should be ashamed. No more apt description than this could be drafted of homosexual practitioners and their defenders. In step with them are those who advocate removing all restraints in the entertainment media on nudity, sexual acts, and cesspool language. All who participate in and boast of any evil deed have thereby made themselves “enemies of the cross.”
- “Who mind earthly things”—These folk live only for time, with little or no thought beyond (which is why their “bellies” are their “god”). Theirs is the old Epicurean credo: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32). Its modern incarnation, Humanism, denies the existence of God, the immortality of the human soul, the resurrection of the body, and the realm of spirits.
Paul prefaced the foregoing list by saying of such practitioners, “whose end is perdition.” That is, they will suffer the unrecoverable and eternal loss of their souls in Hell. Jesus will say to them: “Depart from me…into the eternal fire” (Mat. 25:41).
[Note: I wrote this article for and it appeared in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX, August 23, 2013.]
Attribution: From TheScripturecache.com, owned and administered by Dub McClish.
Concerning Paul's statements about the belly… Do you eat what God said don't eat? Paul's talking about that too. God never changes. He meant what he said in the "Old Testament." Dont be fooled by misinterpretations. Study and listen from the Hebrew perspective. Listen and Do = Hear.
Dear anonymous,
It is sad that you have been so grossly misled as to believe that we are still under the Old Testament in any respect. Its authority—all of it—was “nailed to the cross” with the Lord (Col. 2:14; Heb. 9:15–17; et al.). In the New Testament, Paul teaches that we are free to receive all kinds of “meats” (the Greek word literally means “foods”), which includes “every creature” (1 Tim., 4:3–4), and that to teach otherwise is a “doctrine of demons” taught by “seducing spirits” (vv. 1–2). Do you still offer animal sacrifices, keep the “year of jubilee,” demand that every male child be circumcised on the 8th day, and hundreds of other Old Testament regulations? If not, you must do so or prove yourself woefully uninformed and mistaken—or a hypocrite. You cannot pick and choose which of the OT laws you will keep and impose upon others, even if we who have lived since the cross were still under the Old Testament (which we are not). Paul laid down the principle that you apparently do not understand: “Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a ddbtor to do the whole law” (Gal. 5:3). In other words, the Old Testament is unit, and to obligate oneself to one part of it demands that one keep all of it. Now, I say to you, “Study and listen from the perspective of the Jesus and His inspired writers of the New Testament. Listen and Do = Hear.”
Yours in the Cause of Christ (not Moses),
Dub mcClish