Sunday, March 25, 2012

Philippians 3:1-9 "Got Faith?"

With all of the attention that has been given to the issue of humility and living a Christian life, it’s no wonder that Paul decides that he needs to re-emphasize some things at this point. You see, the last several Sundays we’ve looked at calls for us to put into practice what we are taught in Scripture. The problem is that upon hearing this, many of us start to drift into the mindset that our actions are what our salvation depends upon. Or in other words, what we do determines whether or not we are saved. And it’s understandable for us to think this way. After all, we don’t want to think of some ungodly or evil person entering into heaven. We think that if our actions aren’t the measuring stick for our judgment then someone who shouldn’t enter into heaven could possibly get in. Well, truth of the matter is that none of us should be there. Or to put it another way, none of us are worthy of entering into heaven, at least not by ourselves. I have to continuously tell myself the phrase, “justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.” I encourage you to tell yourself this constantly as well. Remind yourself that you are saved completely by God’s grace, and this grace comes to us by having faith in Jesus Christ. It isn’t our works, but the work of Jesus Christ that has saved us. And that’s a good reminder for us during this time of year as we continue to prepare our hearts to gather back here in a few weeks to celebrate what Christ accomplished with his death. But here’s the great news, we don’t have to wait 2 weeks. There’s nothing stopping us from doing just that today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and every day for the rest of our lives. In fact, we should give thanks to God every day that he has saved us.
In our text today, we begin with Paul making what seems like a somewhat odd statement to begin chapter 3 of his letter. After telling the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord he references dogs, evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh. At first glance, these comments seem a little strange and perhaps even a little out of place. What is he even talking about? Well, Paul’s time was very different from our own in many aspects, but with regards to Christian teaching, and particularly false teachings, it was very similar. You see, there were many out there claiming to be teaching Christ, but they did so incorrectly. Now I don’t want you to think that I’m talking about denominations or anything like that right here. Although I may not agree with everything that another denomination does, that doesn’t mean that I consider their message to be any less gospel and Christ centered. As long as we are truly laboring for Christ and remaining true to his word, then I think there is room for variation. What I’m speaking of here are those congregations and groups that have so skewed and blurred the message of Scripture that they have almost become an anti-church. They think that they are working for Christ when they are really working against him. Some that come to mind are David Koresh and the Branch Davidian in the late 80s and early 90s. Another modern-day example is the congregation known as Westboro Baptist Church. Dear Baptist friends of mine wish they would just be known as Westboro Church and drop the middle word from their title. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, this group openly celebrates the death of soldiers as a result of some of their religious beliefs. These two groups are groups that maintain the Bible as their central book, but are in no way led by God. They think that God is commanding them to carry out heinous acts of violence and protesting, and they think that they will be rewarded for their obedience to Scripture. Well, unfortunately, that’s one of Satan’s greatest and oldest tricks. He perverts the minds of some so much that they carry out things that they think are in the name of Christ, but they are actually antithetical to His Word. I don’t know how any Christian who reads God’s Word could ever truly think that they are glorifying God by celebrating that one of their fellow men or women has passed away.
Paul tells the Philippians not to fall victim to these persons who claim they are of Christ, but actually work to corrupt his Church. He reassures them that they need not worry that they are missing the point themselves. He wants them to know for sure that they are part of the church. He knows that those evildoers will throw out their list of accomplishments in hopes to sway the Philippian Christians to their camp. Paul basically says, “Who do they think they are? They think they have something to brag about? They have nothing to brag about. None of us do. If this was a bragging contest about personal accomplishments, they aren’t even in the same class as me.” Paul tells them of how from an earthly perspective, his list of accolades is second to none. If man was worthy of bragging about anything, then there is no man that has more reason to brag than Paul.
Paul has accomplished all that one could hope to in life in one aspect. He was a Jew, and the Jews had always had a special place in God’s dealings with man. He had gone through all of the ceremonial events at the exact proper time. He was as he says, “a Hebrew of Hebrews”. He was the most righteous, zealous, law-abiding Pharisee before his conversion. Paul truly was the epitome of what a Pharisee, a religious leader of the day, was supposed to be. He spends 3 verses speaking of nothing but what he could brag about if he so chose to, but in verse 8, his tone changes drastically. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” I don’t know that we fully grasp this concept at first glance. Paul is saying that all he is, all he has done, all the titles and “hats” that he has worn are of no account and mean absolutely nothing. The language that he uses here is one that would have been of a nautical nature. The original Greek text here uses a word that would have been associated with ships throwing everything unnecessary overboard in hopes of lightening their load. Paul is casting all personal accolades and assets aside because they don’t amount to anything. All of his accomplishments mean absolutely nothing when it comes to Christ and Paul’s own salvation.
The hardest part about being humble is downplaying ourselves when thinking about the good things that we have done in life. Sure, it’s pretty easy for us to admit that we’re flawed and that we make our fair share of mistakes. But it isn’t easy for us to admit that we can’t even take credit for the good things that we have done. Speaking personally, I have trouble remembering that it isn’t me that does anything in ministry, but God who does it all. The youth group that Amy and I left behind in Mississippi started out with a handful of students. Over the course of 5 years, we had around 15 students attending youth events on a regular basis. Currently, there are nearly 20 students taking part in the youth events at that church. We served in crucial roles of helping a church go from an average weekly attendance of around 40 to a membership of nearly 230 people in a 5 year period. It’s a struggle some times for me to not want to claim at least some credit for that. I say things like “I started” or “I did” even though I know they aren’t true. What I should say is “God did”. Because that’s who actually did all of the work. God did everything. He did everything when it came to building and developing this youth group and that church. He has done everything good in my life. He has worked through you to accomplish all of the good in your life. And He has worked to achieve your salvation. The Father is the architect of that plan, the Son accomplishes that plan with his death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit applies the benefits to our lives. And that’s exactly what Paul goes on to say here in verse 9. “That I may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
There is no righteousness, no good, within us that doesn’t come from God. The question now becomes, what is our response? I mentioned earlier that we are not saved based on our good works or the things that we have done. We are saved by our faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith that we hold Jesus Christ to be the Godman; to be the Son of God; to be God himself, the second person of the Trinity. It doesn’t matter if we have everything worked out for us in our minds where it all makes perfect sense. Sure there are those that may have a greater knowledge of how these things work, but it’s not as if you or I are any less a part of God’s people because of our level of understanding. In the youth group that I just mentioned, there was no kid in the group who loved Christ more than our pastor’s oldest son. You met Steve Bryant, the minister who preached at my installation/ordination service. Well, his oldest son, Stevo, has Down’s Syndrome. And although he doesn’t have the mental capacity to understand really any point of theology, he knows that God loves him and gave his Son for him. That’s what matters. What matters is that God has opened up our hearts and called us to himself, just as he has done Stevo’s. He has called us his children. He has adopted us as sons and daughters.
So, as for our works, what role do they play? Well, this is an area of debate amongst many Christians. Since we say that we are not saved by our works, there are those who want to say that works don’t matter. Well, yes and no. No, they don’t matter for your salvation, but they do matter. When the heart of a Christian has been truly transformed by the power of the gospel, there is a reaction that takes place within that person. They want to show the love of Christ to anyone and everyone. They almost have an addiction for proclaiming the gospel. That’s where our works and our actions come in. I have heard the phrase “Let the gospel be proclaimed through your actions” mentioned in various forms during my time here in Houma. And that sentiment is exactly right. Our actions, our good works, are the external, outpouring of our faith in Jesus Christ.
One of the beautiful and glorious blessings of being part of a church family is that it provides us with a vehicle for making this a reality. Being a part of a Christ-centered congregation presents us with ample opportunities for showing the love of Christ that shines within each and every one of us. Our proper response to God’s working in our hearts is to share the love of Christ and taking part fully in the life of a congregation is a great way to do just that. “For you have been purchased at a great price.” Let’s all remember the fact that we are all here by God’s grace. In response to our faith in Christ, let our lives be a living testimony and witness to God’s love and mercy. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Philippians 2:17-30 "You Need to Try This"

This past week I was reading a blog post by a good friend of mine. She referred to a blog entry made by someone else who was struggling with her faith. This other person was having a crisis of faith so-to-speak. Now, not getting into the specifics of her problem, she found herself at odds with the church that she was associated with. She had grown up Catholic and found her personal opinions on certain social issues to be at odds with some stances that the pope and the Catholic church have taken over the last several years. She didn’t feel that the church should tell her who God was and how she should live. In other words, she wanted the church to be what she wanted it to be, and she wanted it to change to fit her beliefs instead of her changing to fit the church. How often is this our attitude? Not about the church per say, but about Christianity in general. There are some hard things commanded of the Christian life in Scripture. I know that over the last several months, numerous Bible studies with all of you have resulted in someone looking at the table shaking their head saying, “I’m sorry! That’s just too hard. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there.” And I understand that sentiment; believe me I do. As we continue to grow and continue to study the Bible, we realize that God wants us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. We get a glimpse of his love, his compassion, his wisdom, his understanding, his holiness, and all of his other perfections. We see these things and they seem so unobtainable that we just sit back and say that we’ll just have to be content to live as we are. We just don’t see the point in trying if we can’t achieve our goals.
Well, that shouldn’t be our attitude at all. True, in this life we will never be completely like Christ. In fact, the more we grow in our faith the more we see how unlike him we are. But you ARE to become like him. You see, Scripture tells us that although God’s standards are high, and seem impossible, God provides supernatural resources to meet them. God helps us and works in us to put these principles that he calls us to have into practice. And this topic of humility that Paul has been talking about is no different. Paul knows that placing the wants and needs of others above our own is tough. He knows that it’s a struggle for us to look at others as being more important than ourselves. And so what he does is provide a case study of sorts. He provides three different examples for us to look at: himself, Timothy (a young minister), and Epaphroditus (a layman).
In true Pauline fashion, the Apostles reference to himself is the shortest of the three. Of himself he only says, “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.” Here, Paul is referencing a pagan sacrifice ritual. A cup of wine would be poured on a fiery altar causing steam to rise from that point. Paul realizes that he may soon be killed by pagans, but he isn’t really concerned about that. Sure, he values his life, but he values the faith of the Philippians much more. He’s telling the Christians in Philippi that his life, his ministry, his achievements, and even his martyrdom are nothing compared to their faith. You see, Paul doesn’t suffer from our common problem of seeing ourselves as more than we are. Paul knew that others were more important than himself. Paul had learned humility in all of his years in ministry. It isn’t something that came overnight, but something that Paul had worked at. After years of practice, by God’s grace, Paul was finally able to live a life that showed true humility. This ought to encourage us. This news that someone who had been so proud before his conversion and who had done so much for the sake of the gospel since that time could change gives us great hope for our own ability to change.
So we say to ourselves, “Yeah, but I mean, this is the Apostle Paul we’re talking about. He’s so much more devote than we are. That’s almost the same as pointing to Jesus as the example.” Well, the second example that Paul gives us is a young minister named Timothy. Yes, that Timothy. The one who he wrote to in 1 & 2 Timothy. The same one mentioned in the Book of Acts who had accompanied Paul on various missionary journeys. Paul says of Timothy that he has “no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.” In these verses about this young minister Paul tells us that Timothy is very much like Paul in his humility. The Philippians need not look at Paul as this model of humility that was unequaled, because Timothy too displayed the humble servant attitude that we are to have.
Also, Timothy was concerned for others. This phrase “he takes genuine interest in your welfare” tells us this. Let’s call it Christian or pastoral customer service. If you’ve ever tried to call the cable, power, or phone companies and felt like someone was just blowing you off, you probably weren’t happy about it. If you are in need of medical assistance and the doctor starts saying that he or she will do all they can do until it’s time to punch out, so they may not be able to complete their task then you know they don’t care. They are simply doing a job. But if you have ever seen someone truly care for someone else, then it isn’t hard to identify. When my grandmother was in the hospital almost 6 years ago suffering through the final stages of lung cancer, I can remember her doctor coming in and sitting with her and my father. I can remember the doctor having the same blank look of impending loss on his face that my dad had worn for quite some time. It wasn’t hard to tell that he cared. And that’s what Timothy did, he cared. He didn’t just proclaim the gospel to them and end all care for them there. It’s what any pastor, or any Christian for that matter, worth his salt does. He doesn’t just preach to his congregation, but he cares for them, labors with them, and they are just as much a part of him as he is of them.
Timothy is also concerned greatly for Christ and the gospel. All other things are secondary to him. That’s not easy, especially for us. Placing Christ above our family, our success, or anything else is tough, but it is possible. For it is only when we place Christ at the center that we can come to enjoy all of these other things in their purest and greatest sense.
And finally, Timothy has learned to work with others. How often do we just do things ourselves? I know I do. I think it’s easier for me to do something myself and so I put it all on my shoulders. Paul looks at Timothy as a son, but he doesn’t just serve Paul. He works with Paul. They labor alongside one another. How often do we try and labor over those whom we feel some sense of superiority. Or how often do we settle for serving someone else. Our goal, in Christian service, ought to be to work side-by-side with one another. No one, not even ministers, are above any other when it comes to service of the kingdom.
The third example in this case study that Paul gives us here of someone other than Christ living in a Christian manner is perhaps the most helpful of the three. He gives us Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus isn’t a great apostle and missionary like Paul. He isn’t a young minister who has had some experience on the mission field or in the “pulpit” like Timothy. No, Epaphroditus is a layman. In other words, he isn’t a minister in any sense of the word. He hasn’t been trained. He doesn’t have the experience, but he is an everyday average run-of-the-mill person. You ought to find him quite easy to identify with. And Paul has no shortage of accolades to attach to Epaphroditus. “My brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need.” Now you have to almost imagine these phrases as an introduction. If you’ve ever seen the movie “A Knight’s Tale” starring the late Heath Ledger then you can picture this. The character that plays Jeffery Chaucer is known for his way with words and his lengthy introductions. He gives these striking introductions to Ledger’s character before each jousting event that leaves the crowd so enthralled that they have no choice but to come to their feet and cheer him on. It’s similar to that. Or perhaps it might resonate more by saying that it’s similar to the introduction given to a fighter as he makes his way to the ring. The point is that the list of accomplishments builds, with the greatest of achievements coming at the end. All of these statements come together here in giving us a good summary of what the Christian life should be.
Epaphroditus is a brother. Now we commonly call our fellow Christians brothers and sisters in Christ. But you have to remember, we’ve also had over 2000 years to develop this mindset. This would have been a new thing in Paul’s day. We’re only about 30 years removed from Jesus’ death. The phrase Christian would have only been formed in the last several years in Antioch. The only groups that would have had a sense of comradery and closeness like this would have been armies. This would have come from the dangers that they faced together. And there were some political groups that shared common ideals, but hardly to the level where they would have referred to each other as brothers. Paul sees this man as his brother. Do we? No, not Epaphroditus. Do we see other Christians as our brothers and sisters? In our world today, where we say that others are our brothers and sisters in Christ, do we look to them as we do our own family with all of our compassion and loving affection? This man named Epaphroditus did.
Paul also says that Epaphroditus is a fellow worker. And more importantly, he’s a worker. Somewhere along the lines churches stopped working. No, they haven’t closed, but many have taken on the wrong attitude. So many churches have turned their focus to keeping the business going and doors open. Small churches have worried so much about budgets and staying afloat financially while larger churches have concerned themselves more with programs geared at those who are already within their own church. They have caused their purpose to be geared towards their own desires instead of what God wills for them. It’s no wonder why so many of these churches have had to close their doors. When Christians or churches operate without Christ as their focus and goal then they aren’t working properly. Do you still work for the gospel? Or have you taken the settled in approach to your faith?
In addition to being a fellow worker, Epaphroditus is a fellow soldier. He wasn’t just a hard worker who labored for Christ, but he labored hard. He labored so hard that it was almost like this work was battle. And that’s because it was. It was spiritual warfare. And it isn’t true just of things during Paul’s time, but ours as well. We are still engaged in the war that has been waging on since the book of Genesis. We, as Christians, are to fight side-by-side against the forces of sin and the evil one until such time as Jesus Christ returns. Are you still fighting? Do you feel like you’re in a war against sin?
All of these traits thus far (brother, fellow worker, and fellow laborer) build up to the climactic phrase telling us that he was the messenger of the church at Philippi and that he took care of Paul’s needs. Epaphroditus had devoted so much of himself to Christian service that he had sacrificed himself and his health. He spent so much energy caring for the needs of the Philippians and Paul that he had himself become ill. “You heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death…for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” Now don’t think that I’m charging you to go out and work yourself sick or literally work yourself to death, but I am challenging you to work. I’m challenging you to put yourself second and put others first. I’m challenging you to devote yourself to Christ more than anything else in this world.
Taking all of this in, we should have a sense of hope about us. We know that we’re not Christ. We know that we’re not even Paul or Timothy. Although, these were just men so there is nothing that they were capable of that we can’t do. But this man, Epaphroditus, we can relate to him. This man, who is mentioned nowhere else in Scripture other than this epistle, is proof for us that we too are capable of living a truly Christian life. We are capable of living the life that God calls us and commands us to live in Scripture. Let this be an encouragement to us all. Let us never settle with where we are and stop our striving for perfection. Even though we know that we will stumble. Even though we know we will fail at times. Let us never stop striving forward. Let us continue to live lives that glorify of Creator. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Philippians 2:12-18 "God Calls, We Shine"

Last week we were hit with some pretty humbling stuff. We looked at a passage that painted a very vivid picture of what Jesus endured on our behalf. We saw that his humiliation wasn’t just over a period of a few days leading up to his crucifixion, but lasted his entire earthly life. And we were called by Paul to have Jesus’ mindset or attitude of being a servant. With this example of Jesus’ humility and the subsequent call to serve in the front of the minds of the Philippians, Paul moves on to make a charge to the Christians there. You see, this is quite possibly the last time that he will speak with this beloved congregation. He speaks of his coming absence and his being poured out like a drink offering. Paul knows that even if he escapes his current imprisonment, that his time on this earth is closer to its end that it’s beginning. And he wants to make sure that the Philippians understand the importance of the task that they will now be entrusted with in its entirety once he is gone.
While we may want to look at this and say that it is a simple call for the Philippians to carry on with the spread of the gospel and being a light in the darkness, there are a few things that we must notice and pay special attention to as we look throughout this text today. The first is the phrase, “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.” Notice that it is “work OUT your own salvation;” it isn’t work FOR or work TOWARDS your own salvation. It’s a call to live out that which God has already earned for you. Paul makes that very clear by not stopping for one second and immediately saying, “for it is God who works in you.” You see, it isn’t us, it isn’t our works, but it’s God who does all the working. And God’s work begins with our wills. Paul plainly tells us here that He works in us first to will, then to act out his good purposes. Our willing to do something must come before our doing. It’s quite simple; you must first determine that something must be done before doing it.
And maybe I’m sticking my hand in a hornet’s nest of questions here, but I think that it’s important for us to deal with this. I had a professor in seminary who had 40+ years of ministry experience say that if either the preacher or the hearers weren’t sweating, then you aren’t doing your job as a pastor. Maybe it’s my turn to sweat a little. But as we look back to our passage and our study of it, we will never understand the doctrine of God’s working to form a person’s will until we realize that apart from the work of God in a person’s heart through Jesus Christ, he or she does not have free will as far as spiritual things are concerned. I know, I know; red flags. I can read minds this morning and they are saying, “What! Do you mean to tell me that I can’t do anything I want to?” My answer to that question is quite simply, “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. You can’t do ANYTHING that you want.” Now don’t get me wrong, you have free will to do certain things, but not all things. You can decide to go to work or call in sick, you can choose to keep or exceed the speed limit, or you can choose whether or not to pay attention to the rest of this sermon. But you can’t decide that you’re going to raise your IQ by 50 percent. You can’t just decide that you have the ability to sing and sing well all of a sudden. You can’t decide that you want a million dollars and instantly have it. All of these areas are things that we can work at and we can try and improve. We can read and study more. We can take singing lessons. We can work harder or find a better job, but there are a lot of things that must “fall our way” so-to-speak.
And quite simply, spiritually speaking, you and I don’t have the power to choose God. Adam did, but he lost it, and every person since hasn’t had the ability to choose God and to choose good on their own. That is the effect that sin has had on man since the Garden. This is the concept or doctrine in Christian theology known as original sin. Think of it as if sin were a mud hole. When God created Adam and Eve they were on the edge of that mud hole. They were standing on firm, dry ground looking in at the darkness below. They could choose to jump in or they could choose to stay out. They jumped in, and man has been struggling to climb up the slippery slopes of that hole ever since. But none of us have the strength to get out. Someone must lower the rope, and God is the only who can do it. Romans 3 tells us, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” If you have come to God, it isn’t because of you. It is only because God has first entered your life by his Holy Spirit to quicken your will, to open your eyes to the truth, and to draw to irresistibly to himself. And only after He has done all of this, can we choose the path that He sets before us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works (that is human working), so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (that is, the result of God’s working), which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10
So, God has saved us. Despite all other questions that we may have about how this is done, there is no denying that it is God and God alone who has saved us. The question for us now becomes, “What next?” In other words, since God has saved us, how are we to respond?
I don’t know where the notion began that the greater the devotion to Christ the more secluded you must become. In the early days of the church, a Syrian monk named Simon Stylites sat on top of a pillar that stood 50 feet above the ground. He did this to avoid contact with the world below so that he wouldn’t be contaminated by the sin below. He was thought to be highly spiritual primarily because of his withdrawal. Scripture in no way supports this type of spirituality. There isn’t anything wrong with spending time alone with God. In fact, we are told that we are to do so on a regular basis. But the Bible never allows us to think that meditation has achieved its purpose for us unless it results in practical application. James Boice says of this, “Truth leads to action, and there is no value to a mountaintop experience unless it helps us to live in the valleys.”
Back in 2006, I had just begun working at Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church in Madison, MS. At the time, we had these church-wide events every-so-often on Sunday evenings. We called them Chapel Nights. These events were a chance for us to gather as a church family outside of the context of worship. The very first one of these Chapel Nights that we had after I started working there was a concert by a guy named Charlie Dodrill. Now, Charlie was a little bit different than most Christian musicians that you have seen or heard of. Charlie didn’t know any worship songs. Yeah, you heard me right. The beautiful songs that we sing to begin each worship service, Charlie didn’t sing any of those. He sang and played only songs that he had written. You see, several years prior to Charlie being there with us he had spent two years in solitude in the mountains of Utah. He spent two years in a cabin with no real possessions other than a Bible and his guitar. What he discovered during this two year span was that there was a part of his heart that seemed to open up only when he was singing praises to God. Not only that, Charlie also realized that he had a gift. He had a gift that was to be shared with all of God’s people. He wasn’t to keep it to himself, but to take it to the rest of the world. And that’s what he did, and that’s what he’s still doing to this very day.
You see, Charlie came to truly understand a very simple biblical principle, “Get up and Go!” It’s as simple as that. What good does it do us to have all of the answers if we aren’t going to share them with anyone? We are to be in the world, but not of it. We are to take that good news that we know to be true and put it to work. We are to live for Jesus Christ. We are to live for God, but this isn’t always easy in our world today. You see, we have to understand that the world as we know it in many ways is broken. It’s hard for us to understand that and remember that sometimes. When it’s a nice temperature outside, little to no clouds overhead, spending time with friends and family, reeling in fish left-and-right, sinking a 30 foot putt to beat your buddy; yeah, it’s hard to think of the world as broken during times like that. We don’t think of it as dark at all, we think of it as a beautiful thing. But the reason for this is that the light of God is being deflected in the atmosphere by Christians so that some Christian virtues are sprinkled about so that the world doesn’t look quite so bad. But the darkness is still there. The world still has its own priorities and goals: pleasure, success, physical love, money, and fame. These are not the goals of a Christian. Christians know that all of these things are gifts from God in their purest sense, but they should never be the goal. There’s nothing wrong with being successful, with having nice things, or even being secure financially. The problem comes when we place these things as our goal above living for Christ Jesus.
How do we do this? How do we live with Christ as the goal instead of these worldly goals? Well Paul has a few suggestions. The first is to do everything without grumbling and complaining. Now despite your best wishes, this is not a call for husbands to stop complaining when the trash needs to be taken out or there is a leak that needs to be tended to in the house. No, this is a specific reference to Israel’s grumbling and complaining. They complained while they were in Egypt. They complained while they were in the wilderness. They complained they were hungry. When God gave them manna, they complained that they had no meat. They complained even after God delivered them into the Promised Land. And this is like many of us. We complain no matter how richly blessed we may be. Do you realize how foolish we must sound to other countries complaining because we can’t take a vacation because it costs us so much to put gas in our own personal cars. Instead of complaining about how things don’t work in our lives, I want all of us to try a new approach. I want all of us to thank God for all that we have that does work in our lives. Why, I bet that if we did this then we would quickly realize just how blessed we truly are.
Paul also tells us here that we are to be blameless and innocent. We are to be without blemish. Do you know that more harm comes to the gospel because of the actions of Christians than of any other group? It’s true. Those groups out there who would love nothing more than to see Christianity fail will tell you that more damage is done when a person who claims Jesus Christ fails. Think about it, there is nothing like when there is a scandal in the pulpit. When a pastor, priest, or any other prominent church member is caught doing something wrong, the news spreads like wildfire. We only want to talk about it because it’s something bad. We have to remember that as Christians we represent the name of Christ. We can’t corrupt our witness and testimony in order to achieve one of those earthly goals.
The last thing that Paul tells us here is that we are to grow. We are to “cling to the word of life.” And this is a process that goes on throughout the entire life of the Christian. I don’t care who you are, there is always room for improvement. We think that it’s true in many other aspects of life and work, and our faith is no exception. In fact, our faith is the one area where I can tell you that you will never reach a perfect score. But the beauty of it all is that we aren’t alone in our growth. We’re not expected to grow in our faith all by ourselves. Just as God has to lower the rope to get us out of the mudhole that is sin, God must work growth in us. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
So what do all these verses mean? What are they trying to tell us? Well, they are telling us that we are incapable of living out the kind of life that God requires of us, but that God is capable of living out that life in a person who yields to his Spirit. God comes to us and He penetrates our hearts with His Word. When He does so, a new life begins to grow inside of us just as a new life grows inside an expecting mother. At some point, our faith becomes an outward expression just like the birth of a new baby. From that point forward, there is a continuous learning period full of education, guidance, and nurturing. Finally, the child goes forth to live in a way that honors his Father; in a way that honors THE Father. We are to submit to his Spirit and allow God to use us as light that penetrates the darkness of this world.
Friends, the darkness is much closer than you think. We are all thankful that God has called each and every one of us to Himself. But we still mourn for our friends, our neighbors, and our family members who God has yet to call. We must continue to strive for the gospel and pray that God will work through us to speak to those around us so that we may help point them to the cross. The darkness isn’t only in some far off mission field, but is embedded within our own community. We must continue to strive forward and be a light that points to Christ through the darkness of this world.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Philippians 2:5-11 "The Ultimate Humility"

If you ask someone what humility or being humble really means, you would expect an answer along the lines of “it’s the trait or quality of being modest and respectful.” You see, we think that someone is humble when they have something to brag about, but they don’t. I have a great friend of mine who one day you might even get to meet. I knew this guy for many years and had spent a lot of time around him before I knew all about him and his family. You see, his family happened to own a very large and successful company and he really didn’t have to worry about money. And this news took me by complete surprise, because as long as I had known him, he was a worker. He was always working these odd jobs for a few extra bucks. One day he randomly noticed that Amy’s car that she had at the time was dirty and the clear-coat was peeling off, so he offered to wash and wax her car for $20. This was just one of many similar events that had taken place over the time that I had known him. He never spoke of his family money, he never waved it in the face of others, and he never tried to impress others with his good fortune. Even when he chooses to help someone he does it in a respectful manner. If he hears of someone who is in real need of financial help, then he asks them if they will come and work at his house doing jobs for him. He doesn’t just give out money, but instead he allows others to earn money and gain a sense of accomplishment in the process. He doesn’t want them to feel like less of a person or a lesser person than he is because they haven’t earned what they have been given. He is just a really genuinely nice guy. And this dear friend of mine is perhaps one of the more vivid examples of humility that I have ever seen. I can’t think of anyone that I personally know that represents the principles of modesty and respectfulness any more than he does.
But you see, even this example of humility is lacking something. Biblically speaking, humility, as Paul is talking about here, is something so much more than being respectful of others and modest about our own accomplishments. Biblical humility is complete and total surrender. Biblical humility is our laying all that we have and all that we are at the feet of Jesus. As we were reminded last Sunday evening, all power that we have and all of our abilities cannot produce one ounce of good apart from our Savior Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Paul gives us an example of humility. He gives us a more intense, more in depth explanation of the person and work of Jesus Christ than we find anywhere else in Paul’s writings.
As we begin to look at verse 5 we see an exhortation, or call, made by Paul for those in Philippi to share Christ’s attitude. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” When Paul says the phrase “mind among yourselves” he is calling us to a particular attitude. What attitude is he talking about? What specific attribute of Jesus is Paul calling us to model? There are so many things that Paul could mean with this statement, but what he is specifically referring to here is the attitude of Christ that is like that of a servant. Christ was humble and willing to give up all of his divine rights as the second person of the Trinity in order to serve God’s people.
When you first read this text you might be reminded of a Christian movement that was popular in the 1890s and re-emerged with force in the 1990s. The WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do movement, was a simple idea created to help Christians when faced with a difficult situation. It was originally aimed at teenagers who had a difficult time deciding between what the socially acceptable thing to do was and the “Christian thing” to do. The hopes behind this movement were that Christian youth would make correct choices and serve God out of their love for God and other people. The movement spread to take on an almost gospel-like message, but Paul isn’t trying to say here that we should “Be like Christ” in just a general sense. As much as Christ-likeness might be something worthy of imitation and worthy of striving for, it is impossible. If our salvation was determined based on our being like Christ, then none of us would be anywhere close to being worthy of salvation. It’s not what Christ did, but how Christ did it that Paul is calling us to imitate. Christ’s servant attitude was out of such love and obedience and not out of fear or guilt. We are to imitate the humility of Christ. We must live as humble servants of God and others, just as Christ willingly did. For an even deeper and further look at Christ’s servant attitude we can turn to the gospel of Mark 10:45. There we find, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The second person of the Trinity came to serve man and give up his own life as a ransom for our sins. Now if the doesn’t show the enormity of the humility of Christ, then I don’t know what does.
We move from this exhortation that Paul makes for us to have an attitude like that of Jesus, and we now look at what he, Jesus, actually did. Now it is suggested that verses 6-11 are actually an old hymn; something that existed before Paul and would have been well known to those in Philippi already. Regardless of whether this is something that was already written or whether it came from Paul’s pen, the apostle uses this text to examine the humility that Christ experienced in becoming man and carrying out his earthly ministry and the glorious exaltation that soon followed.
We see in verses 6-8 the humiliation that Christ endured. This humiliation was one that He willingly undertook. The first thing that we notice when we continue our study by moving into verse 6 is Christ’s divine status as the second person of the Trinity. Verse 6 begins, “Christ Jesus was in the form of God”. Christ was God! Christ is God! Due to the fact that “Christ is God” is the first thing that the apostle chooses to tell us, we can deduce that, according to Paul, for us to understand Christ’s humility we must first understand his supreme divine status. As we continue through verse 6 we read, “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped”. Here, we can see Christ’s refusal of his divine rights. He has every right and prerogative to enter into this world as a completely divine being, but as we continue on we will see that what he does is, in fact, completely the opposite.
As we move on to verse 7 we read, “He made himself nothing.” So we have seen that he is divine. We have seen that he has refused his divinity. And now we see that he has emptied himself and become nothing. The question now becomes, how did he become nothing? But first we might even ask what does becoming nothing even mean? We find the answers to both of these questions to be the same statement, and this statement is found in the second part of verse 7. “He took the form of a servant.” Christ became a servant of man. He became a servant of the people of God. He has taken up a life of servitude for you and for me. As we continue to read, we see what the form of a servant is, “being born in the likeness of men.” Notice the condescension of Christ in his incarnation. Christ was a divine being who was born by a woman. He was born by someone who was lesser than him. No matter what status the woman had in society, she was still someone who was going to be lesser than Christ. This birth is where Christ’s earthly humiliation begins.
As if the humiliation of Christ’s moving from his place as the second person of the Trinity to a mere man wasn’t enough, look at what we find in verse 8, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Notice that what Christ experienced is not just death, but death on a cross! Death upon a cross was a death of unimaginable pain and utter shame which to the Jew meant that the victim was placed outside God’s covenant people. This was the most shameful way for a person in that day to die. WHAT? I mean for Christ to go from being God to being outside of God’s covenant people; that’s nothing but pure humiliation on the part of Christ. Do we even realize that the Son died the most humiliating death of the time? I think that we too often forget such an astounding fact. Christ willingly came to earth to experience such shame on our behalf. All of that shame and suffering that he voluntarily endured should have actually fallen upon us. We are the ones who turn our backs to God. We are the ones who reject God’s rule. Not Christ. Christ never acted in a manner that was even the slightest bit outside of complete obedience to God, yet he bore our shame; shame that he willingly and voluntarily experienced.
Have you ever seen the TV show COPS? Some of you are wondering where I’m going right now. If you have ever seen the show then you know that it really is quite humorous. There is always someone on the show who is very guilty of a crime yet they refuse to go quietly. As they are forced into the back of the police car the person being arrested starts to scream “You can’t do this to me! I know my rights.” As much as we laugh at the criminal who has just been caught red-handed breaking the law, he has a point. In this country we all have certain inalienable rights that are given to us in the Constitution. When these rights are violated or even appear to be in danger we are quick to cry foul. Now I am proud to live in this country and I stand 100% behind our constitution and I think that those rights should be preserved.
But think of the violation of rights and giving up of one’s rights that Christ experienced. He was in the highest position possible; a position that we cannot even fathom. Christ was God, the Son, the second person of the Trinity. He gave up his place of high esteem to come to earth and live a humiliating and impoverished life. He gave up all his rights, all rights that come with his divinity. It’s not as if his life on earth was even one of luxury. He had no great wealth, no political/social power, nor did he possess great fame, at least not via his family. We could say that the person of Jesus was seen as a nobody. He was a poor carpenter, born to parents who were of no particular status. The humiliation and suffering of Christ did not begin at Calvary; it started in Bethlehem and climaxed with his crucifixion. We cannot begin to imagine what it is like for someone to “fall” so far from their position. Imagine someone like Donald Trump, Bill Gates, or any former president of the United States being homeless and begging for food. These are images that are nearly impossible for us to conjure, yet Christ’s fall was much greater than all of these combined. What’s even more amazing is that Christ’s fall occurred voluntarily for sinners just like you and me.
Now I want us to turn our attention to verses 9-11, the second half of this example of Christ. As we begin to look at these verses we see that the Apostle Paul has shifted his focus from the humiliation of Christ to Christ’s exaltation. In verse 9 we see, “Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” Christ has gone from the depths of shame, in his crucifixion, and been lifted up and exalted by God to a place that is above all others. He has been placed at the right hand of God the Father. Also notice that the name that is bestowed upon Christ is higher than any other. This tells us that the one whose life on earth and whose shameful death were of no reputation has now received a reputation that surpasses all others. Paul continues to discuss Christ’s exaltation with verse 10 where we read, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” There is no one left that does not know the name of Jesus Christ. There is global adoration for Christ that has no end. Even those who are condemned and attempt to deny Christ will recognize Jesus’ authority and right to rule. As we conclude this section on the exaltation of Christ we read, “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” There is no doubt about where our greatest joy lay, and it’s in Jesus Christ. We cannot claim that true joy exists in any other.
So as we think back upon this passage we recall several things. First, Paul exhorts the congregation at Philippi (and Christians everywhere) to have a mind of humility among them. He gives Christ’s voluntary humiliation as an example of this mind of humility. What happens to us if we live with this mind? What happens to us if we devote ourselves to being faithful and humble servants of God Almighty? Exaltation! Glory! And Joy! Glory be to God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.