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Olympians 2 and verse 12.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,
do all things without murmurings and disputings,
that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world,
holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain,
yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,
I joy and rejoice with you all.
For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me.
The content of these verses that we just read really seems to be a summary
of this first section of Paul's letter to the Philippian church.
But of course, these verses aren't meant to be just a summary.
They're not meant to just be a summarization of previously stated truth.
They still have a very specific purpose for us.
They have a specific purpose for our understanding of the Christian life
now that we are moving away from this doctrinal digression that Paul has made
in verses 5 through 11.
In the last couple of weeks, we've studied about the person of Jesus Christ
as Paul explains it here, and we finish up with the lordship of Christ.
Now Paul gets to verses 12 through 18,
and he's turning our attention now away from the doctrinal and back to the practical.
So now that he has presented who Jesus Christ is,
what he has done for us in salvation,
he has in verses 9 through 11 presented him as the Lord that we must bow before.
Now he turns our attention back to obeying that Lord.
Because he is our Lord, this is what it means to follow him.
And so these verses primarily focus in on this process of sanctification
in the life of a believer.
Sanctification is just a theological term that we use.
It refers to the process in which God fashions our hearts,
and he fashions our wills, and he makes us more like Christ.
And Paul's drawing the attention of the Philippian believers to this fact.
And he's basically saying, once again,
you need to be concerned with sanctification.
You need to be concerned with personal obedience to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
that he's just described in verses 9 through 11.
The first thing that you can write down in verse number 12 and 13
is that we see the demand for obedience or the demand for sanctification.
Look with me again at verses 12 and 13.
Paul says,
There is a corrective nature in Paul's words here.
But it's a correction that's communicated with a very loving tone,
especially when we see that he uses this word, beloved.
Alistair Begg, when preaching on this,
Alistair Begg is one of my favorite preachers in the whole world.
In fact, he probably is my favorite preacher that I have.
He said this when preaching on this passage.
He said,
If we are issuing a challenge or offering a rebuke,
we should have earned the right to do so.
Those whom we speak to with forcefulness and with direction
will be better able to receive such correction and direction
if we can honestly refer to them as beloved or as dear friends.
But what is this loving correction that he's actually making?
He's lovingly instructing these Christians
to concern themselves with the process of sanctification
by working out their own salvation.
Now, again, this isn't to be confused with
a method of obtaining salvation through good works.
The scripture is clear that salvation only comes through faith
by the grace of God,
that there's nothing we can do to earn it,
that there's no amount of goodness
that you could possibly build up
that would make you good enough for God.
We're all sinful.
We're all unrighteous.
So our salvation comes by God's grace
as we trust in Christ through faith.
What Paul's referring to here
is this process of conformity to Christ.
What he's saying is essentially that
there is this work of God in our hearts
that needs to be worked out to the outside.
That in salvation,
at the moment that we come to Christ in faith,
we get this indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit
where God begins to transform our hearts on the inside.
He doesn't start with the external transformation.
He starts with the internal transformation.
Salvation is a matter of the heart.
It's a matter of the will.
It's a matter of the mind.
And God begins to do this work
when we come to Christ in faith.
And then from there,
Paul's saying,
you need to let this transformation
that God is doing on the inside,
you need to let it work out to the outside.
You let it work its way out
in demonstration of obedience
and demonstration of following the Lord
and following his commands in obedience to him.
Again, Alistair Begg is helpful here
when he says we don't work up our salvation
and we don't work for our salvation.
We work out our salvation.
From the inside out
is what really Paul is referencing here.
It's not an optional element of the Christian life.
This is not something that we are told
we have the choice between.
Rather, Paul demands it.
And he commands it in this correction
to the Philippian church
and then to us as well.
There's two elements to this sanctifying work
that I think is helpful for us to understand here.
One is man's responsibility to obey.
And the other is God's inner working
to bring about that obedience.
Let's look at man's responsibility first.
Look at verse 12 one more time.
Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
not in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.
The instruction for working out the salvation
clearly indicates
that there is a responsibility
in the part of the individual
in which they will be held accountable.
In this command,
we are held responsible to God
for the way that we live our lives.
We're held accountable to God
for the thoughts that we have.
We're held accountable to God
for the deeds that we act upon.
And there's two elements
to this responsibility here in verse 12.
The first is the timing of our obedience.
The timing of our obedience.
When are we supposed to obey?
And the answer is very easily
always, always obey.
Look at what he says.
Verse 12.
As you have always obeyed,
not in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence.
One of the most common excuses
for unbelievers in rejecting Christianity
is the church's record
of producing rampant hypocrisy.
Perhaps you've invited somebody
to come to church
or maybe you've shared your witness
of Jesus Christ
with somebody that you work with
and maybe a response
that you've heard
or that they have indicated
is I don't like to go to church.
There's just too many hypocrites.
Too many hypocrites
that are putting on a show
and they're just pretending
to really love the Lord.
They're just pretending,
but really,
I know what their life is like.
And of course,
it's not necessarily
an invalid excuse.
Of course,
in response to that,
we urge our friends
and our family
to look to the one
that we follow
rather than his followers.
We look to Christ first
who perfectly exemplified
this morality
that they refer to.
But nonetheless,
there is great damage
that's done
to the preaching
of the gospel
when those preaching it
don't always act like Christians.
We all remember times
when we were in school,
especially middle school
and high school,
because this is when
you really started
to figure it out.
When the teacher
had to go to the office
for a few minutes.
Do you remember that?
One of the schools
that I grew up in,
I went to a couple
of different schools,
but one of the schools
that I grew up in
in my younger years,
some of my classes
were in a building
that was several yards
like on the other side
of campus
from where the office was.
And if my teacher
came in one particular day
and was unprepared
in some way
and had to go make copies
or something like that,
she would have to go
all the way
to the other side of campus
to the office
which gave us
about 20 minutes
to do whatever
we wanted to do.
You know what I'm talking about?
The teacher leaves the room,
heads to the office,
goes off to do whatever it is.
Maybe she gets a phone call
or whatever.
And while the teacher
is in the room,
there's great obedience
and there's order
and there's structure
to what's going on.
But as soon as the teacher
leaves the room,
all chaos ensues, right?
And this is exactly
how Christians
treat their walk with Christ.
whenever the spiritual
authorities in their life
are around,
whether that be a parent
or whether it just be
a spiritual mentor
in your life
or whether it be a pastor
or whatever it is,
whenever they're around,
whenever they're investing
in our lives,
whenever we know
that they're going to see
what we're doing,
we do whatever we need to do
and we do it the best way
that we can.
But as soon as we get
to a point where
the accountability is gone,
how many of us tend
to now let go
of that element
of obedience
to the Lord?
And our obedience
becomes less about
pleasing the Lord
and it becomes more
about pleasing
whoever our authority is
in the area
at that particular
moment in time.
The problem with this
is this level of hypocrisy
is not only sinful,
this level of hypocrisy
does great damage
to our efforts
in the gospel.
How many children
have grown up
and abandoned the church
because they saw
this hypocrisy
exemplified in their parents?
where mom and dad
were one way
when they were at church
and they're a completely
different way
when they're at home.
How many church members
have been hurt
and maybe left a church
because this was exemplified
in their church body,
their church membership?
Where they were hurt
in one way
or they saw this hypocrisy
and maybe a blind eye
was turned
toward the hypocrisy.
They were hurt by it
and it did damage
to the church.
How many communities
have we heard about?
That the damage
to the gospel witness
that a church may have had
was prevalent
because of a revelation
of sin
in the pastor's life
and hypocrisy there.
Paul sets up
right here
at the beginning
of this passage,
he says,
not only are you
to concern yourself
with obedience
but you're to concern yourself
with it all the time.
When are we to obey the Lord?
When are we to exemplify
this sanctifying process?
We're to do it all the time
in all places
with all people.
There's also a tone here
for our obedience.
In addition to the timing,
there's a manner
in which he says
that we're to obey.
He says we're to work out
this salvation
with fear and trembling.
Now, living obediently
in fear of God
is not having
a constant anxiety
about God pouring out
sudden judgment.
Think of the person
that is afraid
to do a particular thing
because they're worried
about the lightning bolt
that may come
and strike them dead
in that moment, right?
There's people
that view God that way.
And that's not the picture
that we have of God
in the scriptures.
God's not sitting
on the edge of his throne
watching every step
that you make,
making sure that
the moment that you mess up,
man, he can nail you
with something.
God is a God of love
and mercy and grace
and joy.
That's not the picture,
the right picture of God.
But there is a tone
for our obedience
that we should have.
It's not fearful
of what he might do.
It's reverential fear
for who he is.
So obedience has more
to do with who God is
than what he might do.
MacArthur is helpful here.
He says,
this is not a fear
of being doomed
to eternal torment.
It's not a helpless dread
of judgment
that leads to despair.
It's rather a reverential fear,
a holy concern
to give God
the honor he deserves
and avoid the chastening
of his displeasure.
There's a difference
between fearing
a punitive judge
and fearing
a loving father.
If we were to
break the law today
and be taken
before a judge,
we might would plead
for mercy or grace,
but we're probably
going to face
that judge with fear
because they have
all the authority
and there's no relationship
there for which
they can dole out
that punishment.
But for a loving father,
the fear is present,
but it's completely different.
I would much rather
go before my father
than an authority
that I don't know
because I know
what I'm getting
from my father
is love.
I know there's probably
going to be correction,
but it's going to be
correction with a purpose
and it's going to be
a correction
that's with the intent
of building up,
not tearing down
or just punitive action
in that way.
That's how we obey the Lord.
This fear
that we have of God,
it's not we're worried
about him as our judge.
He's forgiven our sin.
That penalty of sin
as a believer,
that's already been
abolished for you.
Christ took that for you.
He took the whole payment
for that for you
as far as your eternity
is concerned.
You don't have to worry
about that.
We fear God now
as believers
as a loving father.
We don't want to face
the chastisement
of his displeasure.
We want to obey him.
We want to follow him
because of his love for us.
We want to follow him
because of his concern
for us.
So there's man's responsibility
in this demand.
And then quickly,
there's God's work
in this demand.
God's work in it.
Look at verse 13.
Paul says
that it's our responsibility
to concern ourselves
with this in verse 12.
But then in verse 13,
he says,
for it is God
which works in you
both to will
and to do
of his good pleasure.
What's God's role
in all this?
The truth is,
he's the one
that initiates it all.
He is working
in you,
Paul says.
And he's working
in there,
in you,
to affect
your will
and to affect
your actions
in order that
they may
please
him.
It's not his will
that he's affecting.
It's not his actions
that he's affecting.
He's working in you
to affect your will
and to affect
your actions.
There's a wonderful
truth in this.
That for those
that come to Christ
in faith,
we are guaranteed
the promise
of God's work
in us from there.
He doesn't leave us
on our own.
How awesome is that?
We have this struggle
with sin in our lives.
We have this struggle
with sin in our flesh
and God says,
unless you come to me
in faith,
the result of that sin
is going to be
eternal death
in a place called hell.
And then he saves us
and instead of leaving us
to ourselves
to figure it out,
he says,
now I'm going to help you
and I'm going to help you
by giving you my Holy Spirit
that's going to indwell you
and he's going to fashion
your will
and he's going to fashion
your actions
in order that your life
will please me
and accomplish my purposes.
What an awesome promise
from God.
Just like it's impossible
for us to be saved
apart from God's work,
it is impossible
for us to obey him
apart from his work.
He does this work in us.
It's a progressive work
and it's an awesome work
and it's a guaranteed work
in this passage.
That those who know Christ,
God will work in you
to make this obedience
and sanctification happen.
It would be impossible
for an unbeliever
to continue in a feigned obedience
for an extended amount of time.
The reason is
because we desperately need
God's work in our lives
to obey him.
At the same time,
it would be impossible
for a true believer
not to demonstrate
fruits of righteousness
and repentance
because we are guaranteed
that God works
in the will
and actions of a believer
to bring about his glory
and his pleasure.
It's not that those works save us.
It's that this working of God
is an evidence
that we have been saved,
that we have come to faith.
And someone who's just
putting on a show,
they've got nothing
but mere outward conformity.
They've not truly believed,
their heart has not truly
been engaged
in a walk with Christ.
eventually,
that outward conformity
will be torn away
and the hypocrisy
will be revealed.
But for that person
that has truly come to Christ,
can I tell you,
you may not look
completely different
on day one.
But day by day
by day,
God's going to fashion
your will
and you can't help it
because that's what
God does for us.
That's what's so awesome
is our sin
separates us from him
and then when he saves us,
he keeps drawing us in
and drawing us closer
and fashioning us better
and better
until one day
we get to heaven
and he raptures us home
or we lose
or we die in this life
and we go to heaven
and then he glorifies us completely
and he brings this great work
to completion
where we are now sinless,
we are now perfect
and we can now worship him
in new bodies
and with a new nature,
with a new spirit.
How awesome is that?
Posers will eventually
be exposed
but those who have
truly been saved,
those who are true believers,
they can't hide the fact
that they have been saved
because God will prove it
as he works that salvation
into outward action
and into external obedience
on their part.
The distinctive qualities
of sanctification
is the second thing.
We see it in verses 14 to 16.
The demand is seen
in 12 and 13
but what does this
sanctification look like?
In a practical sense,
what does it mean
we're supposed to do?
And how are our lives
supposed to look?
Let's look at verse 14.
Do all things, Paul says,
without murmurings
and disputings
that you may be blameless
and harmless,
the sons of God
without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked
and perverse nation
among whom you shine
as lights in the world
holding forth
the word of life.
Paul doesn't provide here
an exhaustive list
of do's and don'ts.
What he gives to us instead
is a progression,
a general progression
of what happens
in this sanctifying process.
There's three stages to it.
It starts with our attitude
toward obedience.
It is continued
with the evidence
of a blameless life
and it results
in a faithful witness.
Let's look at each
of those three things quickly.
Number one,
write down a proper attitude.
A proper attitude.
We see this in verse 14.
Do all things
without murmuring
and disputing.
Paul says here,
a distinctive mark
of this sanctifying process
begins with
having a proper attitude.
Murmuring refers
refers to an emotional rejection
and is related
to complaining.
Disputing here
refers to questioning
and it's related
to criticisms.
It's argumentative
in nature.
Both of them
come from a general spirit
of rebellion.
And these kind of attitudes,
as you know,
are infectious.
They spread
and they expand
and they intensify.
As we read earlier,
the Israelites
were notorious
about this.
Constantly complaining
about their condition,
constantly murmuring
about what God
was doing.
And if they had just
obeyed
and submitted
and endured,
think of how much
sooner they would
have been able
to reap the blessings
that God had promised.
But because of this attitude,
it led to sinful behavior,
which actually led
to many of them
not experiencing
the promise at all.
But what is Paul
actually referring to
when he mentions
this murmuring
and disputing?
It could be
that he is talking
about a specific form
of murmuring
among the people
at Philippi.
Now,
he's already talked
about extensively
the fact that
this is a great church.
As we study
the Philippians,
there's not a lot
there that we can
pick apart
like we can
the Corinthian church
or the Galatian church.
There's not a lot
of issues in this church.
It's a good church.
If there's a weakness
we can point out,
it's the fact
that Paul alludes
several times
in this letter
to the potential
for disunity.
That they're not
living humbly
!
They're not living
humbly
with one another,
but rather
in their pride
and in their selfishness,
there's discord
and he even corrects
a specific group
of ladies
in chapter 4.
He deals with this
quite often.
So it could be
that Paul's point here
is that the believers
were missing out
on demonstrating
a blameless life
in verse 15
specifically because
of this one sin
and this one weakness.
There certainly
is no doubt
that murmuring
and disputing
in the church
is a problem,
but there's always
a heart level
sinfulness
in the attitude
of a Christian
that is constantly
complaining
and criticizing
the church's people
and processes.
And we can't read
this verse
without examining
our own spirit.
What is our spirit
towards others
in the church?
What is our spirit
towards the church
as a body,
towards leadership?
And is my actions
and my attitude
showing a blameless quality
or is it actually
hindering the unity
of the church?
That could be
what Paul's dealing
with here
and it's worth our note.
It could be
that he's talking
about a murmuring
!
and a disputing
with God.
Now it would make sense
after he's just talked
about in verses 9
through 11
he's talked about
Jesus Christ
as our Lord
that we will bow
before him,
we will confess him,
as Lord
and then commands us
in verse 12
that we are to
obey him as Lord.
It makes sense then
that he might interject
the statement
that indicates
that we might resist
this submission.
After all,
our nature is
rebellious.
Our nature is
tending toward
sinfulness.
It's like when you're a kid
and you were given
a chore to do at home.
Perhaps your chore
was to take the trash
to the curb
every Wednesday
when the trash
was supposed
to be picked up.
You knew that was
your job to do.
You know it was
your responsibility
but you hated
to do it.
For whatever reason
that was the thing
that you hated
to do the most.
And every Wednesday
morning when mom
comes around
and says,
Jared,
it's time to go
take the trash out.
You might have obeyed
but the spirit
with which you obeyed
was less than helpful
or encouraging.
Maybe you argued
and complained
against your mom.
Maybe you fussed
and represented
a spirit
that was irritated
that you had
to do this chore
over and over
and over.
You obeyed
but the spirit
with which you obeyed
wasn't with fear
and trembling.
Maybe that's the idea
that Paul's putting out here.
Yes,
obey the Lord.
Obey His word.
Stay faithful to Him
but do it
with a right spirit.
Don't dispute
against Him.
Don't murmur
against Him.
If you murmur
against Him,
if you resist this,
you certainly
won't live this
blameless life
in this progression.
I really think
that both circumstances
apply.
They're even
intertwined together here.
If a Christian
is at peace
with God
and faithfully
submitting to God's will,
that's going to be seen
in the way
that they interact
with others.
A professing Christian
that is constantly
at war with others
and argumentative
in their spirit
always has a deeper issue
in their relationship
with God.
So I really think
it could apply both ways
and both ways
are worth our attention.
So the first thing
we see is this
proper attitude.
The second thing then
is a blameless record.
A blameless record.
Verse 15.
Look with me.
That you may be
blameless
and harmless.
The sons of God
without rebuke
in the midst
of a crooked
and perverse
nation.
The main idea here
is that Christians
would live a life
that is above
reproach.
There's a few terms
that Paul mentions.
One is
blameless,
without blame.
One is
innocent
or harmless.
The other is
without blemish
or without
rebuke.
It all points
to a life
that is
above reproach.
It doesn't
insinuate
perfection.
It certainly
isn't an example
of a prideful
piety.
But it is
the general
character of a
person
that is so
righteous
that it's
difficult to
accuse them.
That's the
mindset that
Paul's getting
across here.
He's not giving
us specific
sins to avoid.
He's saying
that our life
and this
progression
should begin
with a right
spirit towards
God and others
and then that
will be evidenced
in a blameless
life.
A life that
is above
reproach.
A life that's
not easily
accused.
The progression
is indicated
here in the
word that.
Do you notice
that in verse
15?
Do all things
without murmuring
and disputing
that you may
be blameless.
As if the
blameless
quality is a
direct result
of the
proper attitude
that he
mentions in
verse 14.
The college
that I
attended,
I went to
a small
school,
really small
school actually
in Raleigh,
just outside of
Raleigh in a
town called
Wendell.
It was a
very,
very small
school and
it was a
very,
very conservative
school and
it had lots
of roles and
those roles
went in a
lot of
different
directions.
Jared hasn't
always been
great about
keeping his
mouth shut when
he was in
disagreement with
something.
In fact,
my mom used
to always say
I wasn't a
bad kid.
It was always
my mouth that
got me in
trouble.
In fact,
she would say
that my mouth
is in drive but
my brain is in
neutral.
That's what mom
would always say
was my problem
growing up.
There was this
one rule at
our college that
I absolutely
hated.
And you're
going to think
this is silly
that I put so
much effort into
hating this
rule because it's
not really that
big a deal.
But it was a
lost and found
rule.
We had a
small campus and
the custodians
were students and
the custodians
just got tired of
having to pick up
people's stuff that
they would leave
laying around campus.
And of course,
I understand their
frustration with
that.
The problem in the
rule was whenever
you left something
on campus, they
would take it to
the school bookstore,
which was also run
by students.
And in order to
get your stuff back,
you didn't have to
just go and claim it
and describe your
item.
You had to pay them
a dollar per item
to get your stuff
back.
Anybody go to a
school like that or
you've been in a
situation like that?
Isn't that ridiculous?
I'm getting
irritated about it
now already,
just talking about
it.
And so anytime I
left something or
if there was
something going on,
I did everything I
could to try to
get it back before
it made it to the
lost and found so I
wouldn't have to
take my precious
college money and
buy my own stuff
again.
And there was this
one weekend, we
had this basketball
tournament at our
campus.
I was helping with
the tournament.
I was on staff at
the school at the
time and I was
doing something
with the basketball
tournament.
I had a jacket.
It was in January
or February.
Around this time.
High school
basketball tournament.
I had taken my
jacket off and put it
on the back of my
chair and then being
on staff for the
school, I was
traveling all weekend
promoting the
college and I was
running late so I
had to go jump on a
bus.
When I went and
jumped on the bus to
go represent the
college, I left my
jacket in the
gymnasium.
And as soon as we
got on the road, I
realized what I did.
And I started calling
my friends, please go
get my jacket.
I don't want to pay a
dollar to buy my
own jacket back.
Except none of my
friends were good
enough friends to go
get my jacket for me.
It stayed there.
And somebody put it in
the lost and found.
Well, I had let plenty
of people know in this
small campus of only
about 150 students how
much I hated that role.
And I let them know
that a lot.
And I wasn't very
quiet about it.
I had a very poor
attitude about this
role on campus.
And so when I got back,
I was frustrated.
I was complaining about
it.
But I went to the
bookstore.
I remember it just like
it was yesterday.
I went to the
bookstore.
I had a fistful of
change is what I gave
the guy.
And another student was
working the desk.
His name was Steve
Schreiner.
And I put the change on
the desk.
I said, that's my
jacket.
I need to buy my
jacket back.
And he took my
change.
And I took my jacket
and it was all over.
The next day I was
wearing my jacket on
campus because it was
cold.
And another one of the
students that had
actually picked it up
knew that it had been
in the lost and found,
saw me wearing my
jacket and just assumed
that I had stolen it
out of the lost and
found.
She didn't ask me
about it.
She just assumed
because I had run my
mouth so much.
This is so stupid,
isn't it?
I had run my mouth so
much about this lost
and found rule that she
just assumed that I had
gone into the school's
bookstore and stolen my
own jacket, if that's
even possible to do.
Next thing I know, I've
got a note in my box at
school that I got to go
before the administration
of the school.
I didn't even know what
it was about.
I literally sit in an
administrator's office of
our school.
I have no idea what it's
about.
And she looks at me and
she says, is that your
jacket?
I said, yes, Miss
Morris, that's my jacket.
Where did you get it?
The lost and found?
When did you get it?
Yesterday?
How did you get it?
Gave my money to Steve
Schreiner.
And then she proceeds on.
She didn't believe me.
She proceeded to accuse
me of stealing that
jacket.
Steve Schreiner, who was
working the desk, told her
that I didn't actually pay
for it.
He at least said that he
couldn't remember whether
or not I had paid for it.
And they just assumed that
meant guilt.
And there was this whole
just ordeal about it.
And eventually everything
was okay, but there was
this whole ordeal about it.
Here's the problem.
The problem wasn't so much
with the rule.
And there were certainly
some issues with the way
that they tried to get me
in trouble.
The problem was Jared
wasn't a very blameless
person.
Why wouldn't they expect me
to have stolen my jacket
in that moment?
After all, I had spent
several months whining and
complaining and running
in my mouth about how I'm
never paying money to get
my stuff back.
And even though I was
willing to obey the rule
in that moment, my attitude
insinuated that I was
guilty.
And even though I hadn't
actually done anything
wrong, I didn't live a life
that was above reproach.
That's a really silly
illustration that applies
greatly to Christians.
Because when we go through
this process of murmuring
and disputing and arguing
with God and with his word
and with spiritual leaders
in our life that help us
in this Christian life when
it comes to spiritual
obedience and obeying Christ,
when our attitude is
constantly murmuring and
disputing and frustrated
and irritated and
questioning and disrespectful
to the Lord or to anyone
else, why wouldn't anybody
suspect that we were just
as hypocritical as anybody
else?
And therefore, our life
isn't above reproach.
In this progression, a holy
attitude leads to a
blameless life, but the
opposite works as well.
An unholy attitude often
leads to sinful life.
It may not just be that
you're below accusation,
but eventually you may
actually fall into that
very sin.
And it starts with that
proper attitude.
And then the third thing,
what it results in,
is a faithful witness.
Look at the end of verse 15.
That you are children of God
without blemish in the midst
of a crooked and perverse
generation among whom you
shine as lights in the world,
holding forth the word of
life.
All right, remember, this is a
progression he's talking
about.
He's not giving us specific
things here.
He's talking about this
progression in generic terms.
The first stage of it is a
proper attitude, fear and
trembling towards God, having
the right spirit towards God,
having the right spirit about
obedience towards God and
towards his word.
And what that does is it
flows into a life that is
blameless and that is
innocent and it is above
reproach, hard to be
accused.
Somebody brings up an
accusation, most people
aren't going to believe it
right away.
It doesn't mean you're
perfect.
It just means that your life
exemplifies righteousness.
Nine times out of ten,
you're going to do the
right thing.
Because you love the Lord,
you're going to be obedient.
All right, that
characterizes your life.
What then does that do?
It causes your life to shine
as a light in the midst of a
dark, sinful, crooked,
perverse world and culture.
And then he says the way
that it shines is because
you're holding forth this
word of life.
Believers hold fast to the
word in that they stand
firm on sound truth and they
obey the Lord and they follow
him.
And in holding fast to God's
word in obedience, they end
up as their life is displayed
holding forth that same word
that gives life to all who
will believe.
So then we see that God's
desire for our obedience isn't
just for obedience sake.
There's a purpose and an
intention in this sanctifying
process.
Ultimately, that he would
receive glory and that our
lives would be used for his
gospel purposes.
So Paul says work out your
salvation, a proper attitude,
gratitude, a blameless life so
that you can shine as a light
in this dark world, holding
forth the word that can give
life.
Your behavior matters in that.
And then finally, quickly, we see
the demand, we see the
distinctive qualities of it, and
then we see the delight.
Verse 16, Paul says that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain,
neither labored in vain.
And if I be offered upon the
sacrifice and service of your
faith, I joy and rejoice with
you all.
For the same cause also do ye joy
and rejoice with me.
And here, once again, this theme
of joy is interjected in this
letter.
Except here, the joy comes from
our obedience.
obedience, and it comes to three
people.
First, it comes to spiritual
leaders.
See what Paul said in verse 16?
Do all of this so that I can
rejoice and be glad when I stand
before Christ.
It's kind of like a mother who
works and works and works at
trying to teach their kids to
obey, and then finally they see
them obey when they don't know
that mom is looking, and the
pride and the encouragement that
wells up in that moment.
This is Paul as a loving
spiritual father looking at this
church and saying, it makes me
so glad.
I rejoice when I see that your
life is in obedience to God and
his word.
This is the case for all spiritual
leaders.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17.
Obey them that have the rule over
you as those that will give an
account to the Lord, that they
watch for your souls, that they
may do it with joy and not with
grief.
There, it's given as a
motivation.
This joy for spiritual leaders.
It's also a delight for persecuted
saints.
Verse 17.
Paul says, and if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of
your faith, I joy and rejoice with
you.
The if statement there is similar to
the if statements at the beginning
of chapter 2.
It's referencing not a question as
to if something would happen.
It's a reference to something that
is already certain.
He's referencing his own
imprisonment.
Why is Paul in prison for preaching
the gospel?
Who was affected by that preaching
of the gospel?
The Philippians were.
And he says, even if my life has
to be hindered in comfort and in
wealth, if I have to be in prison
for four years for preaching the
gospel, but that gospel saves your
soul and it's exemplified in this
obedient living, he said, I'll rejoice
in my imprisonment.
Persecuted saints rejoice in this.
And then finally, the believer
themselves rejoices in this.
Verse 18.
For the same cause, Paul says, for
the same reason, you should rejoice.
There is great joy that comes with
obedience.
It's not that we're proud of
ourselves.
It's not that we pat ourselves on the
back.
It goes back to this process of the
evidence that God is at work in us.
Paul wasn't rejoicing in the
righteous actions themselves so much
as he was rejoicing in what those
actions gave evidence to.
And that was their genuine conversion.
It wasn't that he wanted them to
conform to a set of rules.
So many people make that mistaken
judgment about the Christian life.
It's not about a set of rules.
It's about who is affecting that
change.
And for them to follow the Lord in
obedience meant that the Lord was at
work in their lives.
And he rejoiced in the fact that God
was working.
And when you find yourself falling in
obedience in a way that you hadn't
done previously, rejoice in that, not
because you did something good, because
it really wasn't you that did it.
It was God fashioning your heart and
working in your will and working in
your actions in order to accomplish his
purposes.
And in that moment, we rejoice at the
fact that God would help us.
Rejoice in the fact that God is
helping you and he's helping me.
How awesome is that?
What a God is that?
That not only is he the Lord and
judge, but for those that belong to
him, he's the helper.
And he's the encourager.
And that certainly is worth rejoicing
in.
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