Scripture
We are in a sermon series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians that I am calling, “The Christian’s Contentment.”
After the opening greeting, Paul’s thanksgiving, and prayer, he wanted the Philippians to know that despite his imprisonment, the gospel was still advancing. Then, he urged them to live for Christ. However, like every church in every age the Philippian Church faced the danger and discord of disunity. So, Paul encouraged the believers to strive for spiritual unity, which was based on Christ’s example of humility. And, with Christ as the example, Paul now urged believers to live their lives as lights in the world.
Let’s read about lights in the world in Philippians 2:12-18:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:12-18)
Introduction
Some of you know that my favorite Bible commentator is the late Rev. Dr. John R. W. Stott. Apparently, on one of his visits to the United States, he said the following in a sermon:
You know what your own country is like. I’m a visitor, and I wouldn’t presume to speak about America. But I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion.
Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That’s what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, “Where is the light?”
If meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, “Where is the salt?”
If society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there’s no sense in blaming society. That’s what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question to ask is, “Where is the church?”
Indeed! The Philippian Church existed in a fallen human society where human evil was unrestrained and unchecked.
And, truth be told, things have not changed much in the millennia since then, and will not change much until the return of Jesus Christ. So, the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church also exists in a fallen human society where human evil is unrestrained and unchecked.
It is important to grasp the Apostle Paul’s argument in this pericope. Verse 12 begins with the word “therefore.” That references everything that precedes it in chapter 2. Paul says in effect to believers, “You have heard me urge you to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility to count others more significant than yourselves and also to look to the interests of others (cf. 2:3-4). Moreover, the supreme example of this humility is Christ Jesus, who humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. But God approved of Christ’s humiliation by highly exalting him and bestowing upon him the name that is above every name (cf. 2:5-11). In light of Christ’s example, therefore, let the gospel have a profound effect on your conduct.”
Lesson
So, Philippians 2:12-18 teaches us the effect of the gospel on the conduct of our lives.
Let’s use the following outline:?
1. General Exhortation (2:12-13)
2. Concrete Content (2:14-18)
I. General Exhortation (2:12-13)
First, let’s look at the general exhortation.
Paul’s general exhortation for how the gospel affects our conduct is in verses 12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
There are two parts to this general exhortation.
A. Our Work (2:12)
First, there is our work.
I have previously mentioned that the Philippian Church was Paul’s favorite church, as it was the first church he planted in Europe. He had proclaimed the gospel to them, and they responded wonderfully to the good news of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone by God’s grace alone. The Philippian Church was a generally healthy church when Paul wrote to them from his imprisonment in Rome. But, there were traces of conflict (notably that of Euodia and Syntyche, 4:2) and the ever-present danger and discord of disunity. So, Paul wrote in verse 12a, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed….” From the first day that they had embraced the gospel, Paul’s beloved Philippians had always walked in obedience to that gospel (cf. 1:5). Their obedience was not to Paul but to Christ and his Word.
But, now that problems were starting to arise in the Philippian Church, Paul urged them to continue in their obedience, even though he was absent from them, as he wrote in verse 12b, “…so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence….”
But what exactly where the Philippian believers to do? How were they to conduct their lives in gospel obedience? Paul continued and wrote in verse 12c, “…work out your own salvation….” This is one of the most misunderstood verses in all of Scripture. Many people believe that God saves us when we do our part. After all, doesn’t Paul say, “…work out your own salvation”?
This is where context is so important. Verse 13 will tell us that the gospel saves us because of what God has first done in us. But, even the words themselves in verse 12c should help us if we examine them carefully. Commentator James Montgomery Boice clarifies for us when he says, “The verse does not say, ‘work for your salvation’ or ‘work toward your salvation’ or ‘work at your salvation.’ It says, ‘work out your salvation.’ And no one can work his salvation out unless God has already worked it in.” I think another way to understand this clause is to say that we are to live out our salvation.
So, because we have believed the gospel, we are to live out our lives in light of the gospel. We are to work out our salvation in our daily lives because of God’s prior work in us.
B. God’s Work (2:13)
That brings us, in the second place, to God’s work.
Paul states the second part of the general exhortation as God’s work in verse 13, where he writes, “…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” We need to be clear that Paul was not teaching synergism here; that is, my work plus God’s work gives me salvation. No, salvation is all of God. J. I. Packer has expressed it this way:
“God Saves Sinners.” By this we mean that, God—the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing; saves—does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies; sinners—men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to lift a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot.
You see, the gospel transforms us. We become sons and daughters of the living God. We have a new nature; the old has gone. We have a renewed will; we desire to please God, as Blaise Pascal once wrote, “God makes us do what he pleases by making us desire what we might not desire.” And because of what God has done, we are now enabled to live out our salvation for the good pleasure of God.
Paul’s general exhortation in verses 12-13 teach us about man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty. We expend tons of energy pitting the two against each other when in fact the Bible insists that they belong together. We are responsible for how we live and God is completely sovereign in all things. I like the way D. A. Carson puts it: “God’s continuous, gracious, sovereign work in our lives becomes for us an incentive to press on with fear and trembling.”
That leads us to our second main point.
II. Concrete Content (2:14-18)
And second, let’s look at the concrete content.
So, if God has worked salvation in us, and we are to work out (that is, live out) that salvation in our lives, what does that look like? What does gospel conduct look like practically?
Paul suggests three ways in which gospel conduct is expressed in our lives.
A. Gospel Conduct Does All Things without Grumbling or Disputing (2:14-16a)
First, gospel conduct does all things without grumbling or disputing.
Paul wrote in verse 14, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing….” Why? He continued in verses 15-16a, “…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” “In other words,” as D. A. Carson writes, “Christian contentment (a theme the apostle takes up later in this epistle) stands out in a selfish, whining, self-pitying world.” Gospel conduct causes believers to live in such a way that they do all things without grumbling or disputing.
Jeff Collins writes the following:
It had been a trying week at our Love & Action office. At five o’clock on a Friday, I was looking forward to having a quiet dinner with friends. Then the phone rang.
“Jeff! It’s Jimmy!” I heard a quivering voice say. Jimmy, who suffered from several AIDS-related illnesses, was one of our regular clients. “I’m really sick, Jeff. I’ve got a fever. Please help me.”
I was angry. After a 60-hour workweek, I didn’t want to hear about Jimmy. But I promised to be right over. Still, during the drive, I complained to God about the inconvenience.
The moment I walked in the door, I could smell the vomit. Jimmy was on the sofa, shivering and in distress. I wiped his forehead, then got a bucket of soapy water to clean up the mess. I managed to maintain a facade of concern, even though I was raging inside.
Jimmy’s friend, Russ, who also had AIDS, came down the stairs. The odor made Russ sick, too.
As I cleaned the carpet around Russ’s chair, I was ready to explode inside. Then Russ startled me. “I understand! I understand!”
“What, Russ?” Jimmy asked weakly.
“I understand who Jesus is,” Russ said through tears. “He’s like Jeff!” Weeping, I hugged Russ and prayed with him. That night Russ trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior—a God who had used me to show his love in spite of myself.
I am afraid that I am more often than not like Jeff. Nevertheless, gospel conduct does all things without grumbling or disputing. That is what the gospel calls us to.
B. Gospel Conduct Delights Christian Leaders (2:16b)
Second, gospel conduct delights Christian leaders.
Paul wanted the Philippian Church to do all things without grumbling or disputing…“so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (2:16b). Paul wanted to see the maturing faith of the Philippian believers. He wanted to be delighted by their gospel conduct.
Did you know that the Apostle Paul spent roughly one-quarter of his missionary career in prisons. John McRay wrote in Christian History:
Roman imprisonment was preceded by being stripped naked and then flogged—a humiliating, painful, and bloody ordeal. The bleeding wounds went untreated as prisoners sat in painful leg or wrist chains. Mutilated, bloodstained clothing was not replaced, even in the cold of winter.
Most cells were dark, especially the inner cells of a prison, like the one Paul and Silas inhabited in Philippi. Unbearable cold, lack of water, cramped quarters, and sickening stench from few toilets made sleeping difficult and waking hours miserable. Because of the miserable conditions, many prisoners begged for a speedy death. Others simply committed suicide.
Paul’s imprisonment in Rome was perhaps a little better than this. And yet, he wrote this joyful letter to the Philippian Church urging them to live their lives with gospel conduct “so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
C. Gospel Conduct Produces Joy in Leaders and Believers (2:17-18)
And third, gospel conduct produces joy in leaders and believers.
Paul wrote in verse 17a, “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Kent Hughes notes:
The sacrificial image Paul evokes was common practice in both pagan and Jewish sacrifices. A priest would offer a sacrifice and then later pour out a sacrificial libation to complement it. So Paul saw the Philippians as priests offering a sacrificial offering of faith, followed by his pouring his own libation over it. Was Paul referring to his death? We do not know. But what is clear is that he viewed his service as a complement or contribution to their service. Paul’s Christlike humility flashed bright here because he viewed himself as a complement to their sacrifice and not vice versa. At this thought his joy peaked. Literally he said, “I rejoice and co-rejoice with you all.”
Paul then said that the Philippian believers should join his double-dose of joy with a double dip of their own in verse 18, “Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.”
In a recent book, Phil Cooke and Jonathan Bock ask significant questions:
Why did the Early Church succeed where we are failing? How did they transform the Western world in such a relatively short time? They did it because they did things that baffled the Romans. The Early Church didn’t picket, they didn’t boycott, and they didn’t gripe about what was going on in their culture. They just did things that astonished the Romans. They took in their abandoned babies. They helped their sick and wounded. They restored dignity to the slaves. They were willing to die for what they believed. After a while, their actions so softened the hearts of the Romans that they wanted to know more about who these Christians were and who was the God they represented.
The gospel changes lives, and gospel conduct produces joy in leaders and believers.
Conclusion
Therefore, having analyzed the concept of gospel conduct in Philippians 2:12-18, let us live as lights in the world.
God has worked salvation in us. He has given us the gospel. We are to work out—that is, live out—the gospel in our daily lives.
Gospel conduct does all things with grumbling or disputing.
Gospel conduct delights Christian leaders.
And gospel conduct produces joy in leaders and believers.
May this be true for each one of us. Amen.
