August 10th 2012
Philippians 2:12-18
Living as Heavenly Citizens
by
Being Lights to this World
I have this app on my iPhone. It is the flashlight app and it is one of the most used apps on my phone. Now when I use the app in a lighted room it is hard to tell that it is on. Unless you are looking right at it you cannot see that the app is on. But in a dark room the phone could be on the other side of the room facing away from you and you can still tells that it is on. This is because when the lights are on, the flashlight is no different then the light around it and blends in with the rest of the light, but when the lights are off it is very different and it shines bright in the darkness. Go ahead and try it, see what happens.
The same is true in our Christian life, if it is the same as the world around us we will shine no brighter then the rest of the world, we will blend right in. But if we are different, if we truly live as Heavenly Citizens our light will be very different and will shine bright in this world. In Philippians 2:12-18 Paul is calling us to be lights to this
world, by living according to our salvation and not according to this world.
Philippians 2:12-18 ESV
[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.
Paul starts off this passage by building on what he has already said, continuing the idea of encouraging the church to keep growing and obeying, and to keep them looking at what he has already laid out and to keep looking to the example of Jesus Christ in Phil. 2:9-11. Paul calls us to obey by “Working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Paul is not saying that we are saved through our works, nor that any works can save us other then Jesus’ work on the cross. No, Paul is saying to work OUT your salvation. How does the fact that I am a Christian work itself out in my life? How does the gospel come out in my everyday activities? Dose the fact that I’m saved come out in how I study or do homework? Or in how I treat my family? Does the gospel which is in my life come out in the movies I watch or the music I listen too? How does my salvation affect my workplace? We are to be making an effort to make sure that every area of our life is affected by our salvation. This is not something that just happens or is easy, it is something the we participate in and have to work at. Are you taking time everyday to work on this? To actively work out your salvation?
The the second part of this command is just as interesting as the first. “with fear and trembling.” Paul here is giving us the conduct with which we are to work out our salvation, and it is no joking manner. Paul wants us to be vary serious about how we work our our salvation. In a interview last week Olympian Micheal Phelps was asked why he came back this past year to train for and participate in the 2012 London Olympics. He responded, “I didn’t want to have any ‘What if’s.’” That fear of having what if’s motivated Phelps to train like crazy. That is what Paul is talking about here, we do not want to have any what if’s. “What if I would have acted different at work would more people of come to Christ?” The fear of not using our salvation to its fullest should motivate us to action. This is a call to steward our salvation, and always asking if we are using this gift God has given us for his purpose.
Verse 13 says “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” In the end it is God’s work IN us that allows us to do anything and is nothing of ourselves. Paul uses a play on words here to give us a picture. We are to work OUT our salvation, because of how God works IN us. God gives us what we need and then allows us to participate by allowing us to work out the things he has put in us. This is all for his will and good pleasure.
Paul then goes in to verse 14 giving us an area that we need to be working out our salvation. He says “Do all things without grumbling or disputing,” Thats crazy, all things? Paul brings this up because it is poison in our personal lives and in the church. It causes people to be divided, not allowing them to work together or be unified. It starts inward, slowly moving through the heart and then outward into the mouth, then from your mouth into someone else’s heart to start all over again. It looks a little like this. Inward ...It starts inward, in our heart, we hear something we don’t like, a leader or parent tells us some we do not want to hear. Another student/coworker does something we think is annoying, or immature and we let those things dwell or fester in our hearts. OR someone says something that is hurtful and we dwell on it growing bitter, “I thought they were my friend, I can’t believe they would say something like that.” This is how it starts in our own soul. Outward ...After it infects our heart and soul it starts to spew out of our mouths, into the hearts and souls of the people around us. “I can’t believe Jesse told me to do this! Can you?” Did you hear what she did?” “I don’t like this person I think I am going to go somewhere else/do something else.” We are one body that is suppose to be unified and this is the exact opposite of being unified. This is how the world lives and acts every day. The world thrives on grumbling about someone else, or complaining about what is going on at work. This is why the sports teams that have the most grumblers and disputers get talked about the most on ESPN, because that is what sells and what people want to see. If we truly are to be different so that our lights shine brighter we need to do EVERYTHING WITH OUT GRUMBLING AND DISPUTING.
Going on into verse 15 Paul says that if live this way (with out grumbling) we will be blameless and innocent, Children of God, without blemish. He goes on to say that IF we live this way our light will shine bright and we will be lights to this world. The more we are different then this world the brighter our lights will shine. I am not saying that we need to become Amish and be different to the point of being separatists, but being different in how we treat people. Being different by having a community that operates on different principles. By having hearts that are filled with the gospel and live true, joy filled lives.
In the last few verses of this passage Paul talks about the sacrifice he is willing to make for the church of Philippi. He says he is willing to be poured out like a drink offering for the people. And then he says that he is “glad and rejoice with you all.” He is offering up his life for this church and he is glad and joy filled. This is the attitude we need to have if we really are going to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. If we really are going to do all things with out grumbling and questioning, and if we are going to truly shine like stars!
In closing, God calls us to obey him because of what he has done for us, we do this by working out our salvation in our lives which God put there for his purposes. If we are working out our salvation we will start to do all things with out grumbling or questioning, allowing us to be what God wants and then that lets us shine like stars or lights in this world. We do this because we view our lives as an offering to Christ and because we are joy filled by it.
Jesse
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