You’ll run, but you won’t run far.

Steve Brown:
You’ll run, but you won’t run far. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
Key Life is a radio program for struggling believers sick of phony religion and pious clichés. Our host and teacher is seminary professor Steve Brown. He teaches that radical freedom leads to infectious joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at a passage that isn’t normally thought of as being a passage that has to do with citizenship. But it really is. And the word that Paul uses is a word that is, refers to citizenship. It’s Philippians 1:27 through 30. And as he goes through the teaching of this particular passage, he’s talking about what it means to be a citizen of a kingdom with a king that nobody elected and nobody will depose. And we’ve noted the security of citizenship, that he’ll never let you go, that he knew about you and loved you before you were born, and he will never let you go. Boy, I’ll tell you, that makes it, and some of you don’t believe in eternal security or Perseverance of the saints. And a lot of very fine Christians are that way. The former president at Asbury College did a lecture on sanctification one time, and I said, if that’s what you mean by sanctification, then I go along with it. Even those who think you can lose your salvation don’t believe that you can lose it easily. I mean, they don’t believe, I mean, you’ve got to intentionally stomp on the face of Jesus in order, but all of us believe that we’re secure. And we’re secure no matter where we go, no matter what we do. And then we talked about the steadfastness of citizenship, that’s in Philippians 1:27b.

Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.

You know how you can tell if somebody’s a citizen of the kingdom? Because they’re still citizens of the kingdom. They may kick and scream and cuss and spit, but they’re still citizens of the kingdom. I’m an example of that. I’m still here and I’m old. People thought I would have left a long time ago or they would have kicked me out, but they haven’t. I’m still here. I’d like to say that I earned it, and I’ve been so obedient that they awarded it to me. Or that I’m so good looking, or so wise, that it’s obvious I’m still here, but that’s not true. When my friend Yechiel Eckstein and I met in a, the late Yechiel Eckstein, and I miss him a lot, the head of the Fellowship of Christians and Jews, met in a hotel room. He asked me, Steve, you ever want to leave? I said, are you kidding? Every other day. You know, sometimes this isn’t so easy, and sometimes I say to Jesus, and I’ll bet you have too. I wouldn’t do this for anybody but you. But you do it and you stay around. I’ve seen people leave so often and come back so often that I say, have a good time. Do you know a sound that I like? It’s the sound of a motorcycle. And you’re saying, Steve, are you crazy? No, I’m not crazy. When I was a pastor at a church in the Miami area on Key Biscayne, there was a young man who had been on the staff of a rehabilitation, a drug rehabilitation ministry, and he quit. And he had a motorcycle, and he stopped by my study on his way when he left, and he said, Steve, I just wanted to tell you that I quit. And I’m taking my motorcycle, and I’m going down to the Keys, and I’m going to sin. And he said, if I come back, that’ll be a good thing. If I don’t, then you’ll know what happened. And I said, don’t go. And he said, no, I’ve already decided I’m going to, and he got on his motorcycle and I watched as he went down the road. It was a month or two later when early in the morning, I heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching the church. And I knew, I knew, and since that day I’ve liked the sound of a motorcycle, especially a motorcycle in the morning. He came back, and he said, I’m home, I couldn’t, I couldn’t stay away. What was going on? The steadfastness of being a citizen. A citizen is defined by that steadfastness. William Lloyd Garrison, who was the editor of the abolitionist paper, The Liberator. Once sold his bed and slept on the floor to buy more newspapers to publish his attacks on slavery. James Hastings said about, on the epitaph of his tombstone.

I am in earnest. I will not retreat a single step. I will be heard.

Are you standing? It’s your business to stand. You know, one of the things that we see happening in our culture, is that Christians are intimidated into silence. But that doesn’t go on forever. You know why? Because of this very point of Philippians 1:27. Eventually the Christian gets tired of being silent. Eventually the Christian says, I’m going to say something. Eventually, the Christian says, I’m going to stand, and I see it happening now. That’s what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom. It means a steadfastness, no matter what. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

It’s Wednesday, and sometimes on Wednesdays, when I have a little bit of time, I answer one or two questions. And we love to get your questions. As you know, Pete Alwinson comes in on Fridays and we spend the entire broadcast answering your questions. We take you and your questions seriously. If you have a question anytime, 24 7, pick up your phone and dial 1-800-KEY-LIFE and follow instructions. We’ll record your question and sometimes put that on the air. Or you can write to

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if you live in Canada, it’s

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Or of course, you can e-mail us at [email protected] and if you can help us financially, I promise we’ll squeeze every dime for the glory of God. If you can’t, we understand. Do stop sometime, this is an expensive ministry. And we go by money, but we go by prayers, too. So, do say a prayer for this ministry. Alright, let’s turn to one or two of these questions.

This is an e-mail question. And you know, I say I’ve never heard a question that I haven’t heard before. But I don’t know if I’ve ever heard this one before. In the Transfiguration, where Jesus met Moses and Elijah, Peter recognized them and wanted to make a temple for each one of them. How did Peter recognize Moses and Elijah? I mean, why didn’t he think it was Sam and Bill? I mean, how did he know it was Moses and Elijah? I’m not sure, but everybody expected that Elijah was going to come back. And even today in Seder, there’s a chair reserved for him. So, that was an expectation, and maybe because when all of this began to take place, that he knew it was Elijah because he knew who Jesus was. And as far as Moses is concerned, have you not seen the movie The Ten Commandments? I mean, he would be hard, if he looked like that, he would be hard to turn away. But I think he probably, Jesus made sure that they knew who it was. But congratulations. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that question or even had to think about it. Let me give you another one. Why do you pray, and this is going to be a short answer. Why do you pray on Mondays? Forgive my sins, because there are many. Aren’t your sins already forgiven? Would it not be more appropriate to say thank you for forgiving my sins? No, because I’m called to ask forgiveness, even if I know in my heart that I’m forgiven. It’s I John 1:9.

If we confess our sins

not if we say thank you for forgiving our sins

If we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive our sins

and He already has

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Repentance isn’t for God’s sake. He knows. Confession isn’t for God’s sake, He knows what we’ve done. We’ve already been forgiven, that’s what the cross was all about. When Jesus died on the cross for you, it was for every sin, including the one you’re thinking about, that you’ve ever committed, that you’re committing now, or that you will ever commit. And it’s a two way street, and it’s wonderful. Not only, it’s the microphone, not only does Jesus take your sins, He gives you something in return, and that’s His righteousness. So, when you stand before God, you stand totally pure, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. So, why do I ask Jesus to forgive my sins? Well, first, because I’m a sinner. Secondly, because he told me to. And thirdly, because he told me to because He knew it would be good for me and for my closeness to him. It’s how the Christian, by the way, gets hugged by Jesus. Pagan doesn’t experience that. Got to go. Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.