1. There are two important words found often in the Bible and they are both found here in our text: "perfect" (3:15) and "walk" (3:16,17,18).
2. The word "perfect" has confused people. How can we be perfect? Some churches teach what they call "sinless perfection." But how does this line up with the Bible (cf. I John 8-10)?
3. "Perfect" in the Bible can mean mature, not sinless (cf. Job 1:1; I Kings 15:14; II Chron.16:7-13).
4. Our Lord said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt.5:48; Scofield’s note, bottom of p. 1001; Eph. 4:12,13).
5. I believe that in the Bible, perfection is a goal (Phil. 3:12-14). And if perfection is a goal, then it is not an attainment (in this life) (cf. Heb.6:1).
6. A.J. Gordon said: "I would rather aim at perfection and fall short of it, than aim at imperfection and fully attain it."
7. You may recall that Paul said he was not "already perfect" (3:12). But here in 3:15 he says, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect…" I think Paul is giving both sides to the doctrine of perfection – we do not achieve sinless perfection, but we can reach a perfection of maturity.
8. Therefore, Christian perfection is not the perfection of the final state, but the perfection of the possible state.
9. The other word is "walk" (3:16,17,18). Today I want to speak on the subject of the Christian’s perfect walk. It is an orderly walk. It is a separated walk. And it is a heavenly walk.

1. IT IS AN ORDERLY WALK (3:15,16).

1. Paul says we are to "walk by the same rule" and we are to "mind the same thing" (3:16). Ours is to be an orderly walk.
2. This does not mean that all Christians have to agree on everything. There can be diversity within the local church. However, we are to agree on the "rules" which God has set forth in His word. There must be unity based on doctrine. A church without this kind of unity cannot go forward.
3. Some Christians do not seem to understand this. Paul says that "God shall reveal even this" unto them (3:15).
4. This is an important Bible principle (cf. John 7:17).
5. H.A. Ironside wrote: "There are truths and principles so plainly put in God’s Word, that any Spirit-taught believer may readily see them."

2. IT IS A SEPARATED WALK (3:17-19).

1. Paul maintained a separated walk and we are to "be followers" of him (3:17; cf. I Cor.11:1). We are to "mark" (observe) those who maintain a separated walk and follow them (3:17).
2. As Bible-believing, born-again children of God, we must maintain a separated walk. We must be separated from worldliness. We must be separated from doctrinal error. And we must be separated from those worldly false teachers who teach error (3:18,19).
3. Many Christians are ignorant when it comes to Bible separation, but the Bible is clear about it and we must stay true to the Bible.
4. I have a friend who knew nothing about separation and applied to the same Bible college I went to. When she mentioned this to a friend they warned her that it was a school that practiced separation. She thought that meant racial segregation. She said, "Oh well, if they accept me they can’t be too separated!"
5. Why does Paul weep over these wolves in sheep’s clothing (3:18)? Because he saw all the damage they have caused and all of the lives they have ruined.
6. False teachers are "the enemies of the cross of Christ" (3:18). They lead people astray. Like the false priests of Malachi’s day, they are "cursed, corrupt, and contemptible." All through the Bible, God uses stern language to describe false teachers. It is a warning for us to heed.
7. These enemies of the cross are headed for hell – their "end is destruction" (3:19). Our Lord said, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matt.7:13).
8. Their God is their "belly" (3:19), i.e. they are led by their appetites, they only care about feeding themselves. F.B. Meyer said: "There is no chapel in their life. It is all kitchen."
9. "And whose glory is in their shame" (3:19). They bragged about the very things that should have made them ashamed – their selfishness and their immoral behaviour.
10. They were preoccupied with "earthly (worldly) things" (3:19b). For them all that mattered was food, comfort, worldly pleasures, money, and so on. The things of God did not interest them at all. They had no interest in heaven or hell, the Bible, salvation, etc. (cf. Col.3:2).
11. It is sad when those who start out preaching the Gospel associate with the enemies of the cross. Billy Graham is a good example of this. We must separate from all of these false teachers and even true believers if they associate with them (e.g., PK).

3. IT IS A HEAVENLY WALK (3:20,21).

1. The word translated "conversation" (3:20) could be literally translated "citizenship." At the time Paul wrote this epistle, Philippi was a colony of Rome (Acts 16:12). Therefore, the citizens of Philippi were citizens of Rome. Paul is here reminding us, "For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven."
2. This doesn’t mean that we are not also citizens of earthly countries such as America. It doesn’t mean we are not to be patriotic.
3. Elsewhere in the Bible we are told to be subject to earthly governments because they were established by God (cf. Rom.13:1-7).
4. What Paul is saying is that we have a dual citizenship and our first allegiance is to God. Our first loyalty is to God and His church because the most important thing is that we are citizens of heaven (cf. Eph.2:19).
5. As citizens of heaven we are to "look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (3:20b). The rapture is imminent.
6. And when we are raptured, God will "change our vile" bodies (3:21; cf. I Cor.15:51-58).
7. And our "vile body" shall "be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Phil.3:21; cf. I John 3:2,3).

CONCLUSION:

1. Our walk is to be an orderly walk, a separated walk, and a heavenly walk.
2. It is hard to maintain this kind of orderly walk in this very disorderly world. However, soon the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back. And when He does, He will "subdue all things unto Himself" (3:21). That means He is going to straighten everything out.