Light in A Dark World

Series on Philippians

III Oneness through Service

D Exhortation to Obedience

2 Become Faultless Children, Text: 2:14-18

Title: Light in A Dark World

Introduction

Do everything without complaining or arguing it says in verse 14. Paul has been insisting on unity among the believers. In Chapter one he said they must stand fast in one spirit contending as one man for the faith of the Gospel. Then in Chapter 2 he says, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being likeminded. In Chapter 3 he says, Join with others in following my example, and in Chapter 4 He asks Euodia and Syntyche to agree with one another in the Lord. Outside of this letter we do not have any hint of what was going on in Philippi, but we can say without any fear of contradiction that they were not working together, and we should for four reasons: the world we live in, the way we act, the Word we hold, and the wonder of service.

I The World We Live in

The Apostle describes it here in verse 15 as a crooked and perverse generation, So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe We can all agree that we live in a crooked and perverse generation, but Paul takes these exact words from Deuteronomy 32:5. There the words are translated as warped and crooked, but they are the same words. God was not describing the nations around Israel, he was describing the murmuring and complaining of Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus. He writes to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 10:1-12 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did-and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. The Apostle is not contrasting the church with the world. He is making it perfectly clear that we are all in the same predicament. You often hear Christians complaining about how bad the world is as if they were not part of the problem. Recently the Tampa Tribune carried an article about families moving to South Carolina to start a Christian community. They said that, if it was necessary, they would secede from the USA. It’s been tried before by the Mennonites and the Amish and others. They have their own struggles with the lifestyle of the world we live in, but they are not being lights in the world. Here we should learn that we are already part of the problem. The question is whether we will be part of the solution and so Paul turns to the way we are to act.

II The Way we Act

We are not to complain so that we can be pure, blameless and shine for Jesus according to verses 14 and 15, Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Paul used both of these words, pure and blameless in his prayer in Chapter 1: 9,10. Blameless refers to our reputation. Purity refers to the quality of our devotion to Christ. Are we single-minded? The importance of this is paramount. One writer bluntly says that we need to live up to the world’s expectations. We have a neighbor who professes to believe but does not go to church. As we witness to her we find disappointment and confusion. She has been in so many churches that let her down through the bad behavior of ministers and congregants she is constantly looking at other options. Her problem is that she’s looking at men instead of God and His Word. Our problem is that she is turned off by her bad experiences with Christians. Paul understands that the church is a lighthouse. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. He said a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. If the city of God cannot resolve its own problems, how can we expect to help the world? Of course we do, but not in the measure we should. I live in the country and I can still see the stars because the ambient light of civilization has not blocked them out, but it will, And when it does it will be a modern parable. Shining like stars in the universe is hard when the world’s lights are so bright, but take courage brothers for if we are pure and blameless we will shine.

III The Word we hold

I like the way Paul presents this in this verse because if he means we should hold out the word of life he has put first things first. Our witness depends first on our behavior and not our speech. However, I do not think, according to the best authorities, that is what he is saying. The original Greek says “Holding the word of life.” It does not say forth or out and it does not say to. A note in the New International Version indicates the same. I am inclined to think that Paul is telling them to hold steadfastly to the word of life as a means of preserving their testimony in a crooked and depraved world. Peter Agrees with Paul. In II Peter 1:3,4 he says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. So it is holding on to the Word that enables us to persevere and be the light of the world,

IV The Wonder of Service

If they hold fast to the word, then in verses 16-18, Paul anticipates the following result, In order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. Paul wants to boast in the day of Christ which is the judgment day. Obviously his service is the issue here and not his pride. He simply wants to know that he has not wasted his efforts, and this has little to do with him and much to do with the Philippian Christians. He is trying to get them to appreciate his sacrifice and service. At the same time he is letting them know that he is inspired by their sacrifice and service. Thus, as he appreciates their efforts and they should appreciate his. This is a heavy duty guilt trip. The word for poured out is the word from which we get our English word spend, or spent. The libation or drink offering completed the sacrifices in the Old Testament. Whether he lives or dies, Paul is being spent in their service and in the service of God. They can do no less. So they must mutually rejoice in their service to God and one another. The wonder of service is that it builds others up and raises the electric output for the church so that it can shine.