"We Are Different" Series

Folks, we are to expose evil as part of being who we are; not by accident or by passive fact, but with deliberateness. “Instead even expose them” as opposed to participating with them. A negative and a positive, both referring to deliberate action. Negative: don’t participate. Positive: Expose.

Now that is not to say we are supposed to be the morals police in our community or in our church.

Remember what I said earlier about Christians wanting to be ‘just a regular guy’ and fitting in so they won’t feel left out or rejected?

This is the opposite of that. If we live and behave according to what we are, blameless and innocent and irreproachable [please note that I said ‘irreproachable’ not ‘unapproachable’] children of God, by contrast the evil around us will be exposed for what it is and people will be brought to see the darkness in their own lives.

And yes, people react badly to that. But some are saved by it.

That is another aspect of being lights. We expose but we also warn. Like a lighthouse by the ocean or flashing lights at a collapsed bridge.

When we speak the truth in love concerning sin and salvation we let people know they are in peril and in danger of eternal consequences.

Our life exposes and our speech warns. That’s right. Can’t get around it. Part of being lights in the darkness is that we tell people the gospel…the whole gospel, that speaks of sin, of the judgment to come, of eternal separation from God for all who refuse to believe in Jesus, of the sacrifice of God’s Son on the cross, of His resurrection, of His promise to save and glorify forever all who come to Him in faith.

Living like a Christian is good testimony but it doesn’t help anyone unless we tell them about the One we are imitating.

MacArthur says “…just as right doctrine without right character is hypocritical and ineffective, so also is right living ineffective if believers are not proclaiming gospel truth.” “The New Testament Commentary: Philippians” John MacArthur, Moody, 2001

This is why Paul continues his thought with the phrase “…holding fast the Word of truth” We talked about this in our previous study. The accurate rendering there is ‘holding forth’ and is a term used for offering wine to a guest.

And we understand this ‘word of truth’ to be a direct reference to the gospel message specifically, since for the crooked and perverse generation Paul is talking about there is nothing about the Word of God that will be a help to them until and unless they have heard and received by faith the ‘word’ of the gospel.

Now just to finish off with our look at this package look with me once more at verse 16 and how very important all of this is to the Apostle, then I’ll have some closing statements.

“holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.”

Remember please that at this point Paul didn’t know whether he would be freed or put to the sword. If you glance at verses 23 and 24 you’ll see that he is sending Timothy to them as an emissary between them and Paul, and he is hoping that he too will soon be able to make that journey. But he does not yet know.