The concepts of culture and Christianity and how they relate to one another tend to fascinate many people. I know that their relationship has always fascinated me. Why, there are even Christian schools and seminaries out there today that have taken this topic and run with it. I know of several men who train future pastors in the classroom, but actually make their living studying the relationship between Christianity and culture. Because you see, for as many different people as we ask this question to, we will get as many different answers. What is the relationship between Christianity and culture? There are some who are of the mindset that anything that has cultural significance is bad in terms of the Christian faith. There are also those that will take the complete opposite approach and completely separate their “church-life” from their “everyday-life”. Most Christians, however, will fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
Being a pastor brings with it a great deal of blessings and things that make this calling special. Getting to help others grow in their faith, baptizing believers and their children, helping celebrate Christian servants who have been called home to be with their Father, officiating a service in which a man and a woman pledge their lives to one another and to God, and so many other things that I can’t begin (and won’t try) to list them all. But there are those things about being a pastor that aren’t as much of blessing. You see there are constantly questions that people want answered. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s always bad when people have questions, but it just depends on the type of question. You see, there is nothing wrong with the question that is geared at gaining a deeper and clearer understanding of God’s Word. There is nothing wrong with the question that seeks to aide in the growth of one’s Christian faith. The not-so-fun questions, however, are those asked by those who just want to know how far they can take something before it becomes a problem. In other words, they just want you to tell them that what they’re doing is okay. They want you to reassure them that they aren’t doing anything antithetical to the Christian faith.
Now, sometimes these questions can be quite funny. I had a lady ask me one time if it was okay that she told a local charity organization that she couldn’t help out with an event that she usually assisted with. She had a vacation planned for that time before she knew about the event and she just simply felt awful about not being able to help. I quickly assured her that it was quite alright that she didn’t help and that she should indeed enjoy her vacation without hesitation. No, this isn’t the type of question that I’m talking about. I’m talking about the types of questions where the person asking almost knows the answer before they even ask the question. When someone comes into my office and wants to know if flirtation with another woman is actually a violation of their wedding vows, or when someone wants to hear that an unethical business deal is okay because it’s only business and their church and work lives are separate. These are the types of moments that feel pretty lonely for a pastor. Because as much as we may love our congregation; our fellow Christians, we don’t love having to correct them. We don’t love the damage that sin can have on their lives.
All throughout our study of Philippians; a study that has lasted us almost four months; we have seen Paul deal numerous times with the Christian life. Many of the sermons have concluded with some type of charge that the way a Christian lives is of great importance and is in many cases a strong witness either for or against the Gospel. So, as we near the end of this letter, Paul is putting the finishing touches and the closing remarks on this discourse with his most favorite of congregations. Paul gives us here a list of characteristics: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Now, I want to do something a little bit different here and if you will follow me for a second I will try and get us all on the same page.
In Galatians 5, Paul gives us the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Spirit are those things, those characteristics, that sum up the visible attributes of the Christian. If you will notice, the list in Galatians 5 and the list in our text today in Philippians 4 have no common traits. There are no words found on the list in Galatians 5 that appear on the list that we now find in Philippians 4:8. Well, I’m the kind of guy that likes to see if there is any understanding to be gained from not just what Scripture says, but what it leaves unsaid as well. With that in mind, we must ask ourselves, where does this list in our text come from and what does it mean.
Well, this list that we have in our text is actually a list of pagan virtues. Yeah, took me by surprise too when I discovered this. This list of characteristics in Philippians 4 (true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise) is taken from Greek ethics and philosophy of the day. So, as we look at this list, knowing that it is derived from pagans (i.e. non-Christians), what do we make of it? Our first thought may be to say that it is a list of evil, but could we really say that? I mean, I don’t think that things that are truthful, honorable, just, or commendable are evil. As a matter of fact, I would hope that those who know me might use words like this to describe me. So what does it all mean? Well, Paul is trying to tell us that there are good things in this world that come from many different areas.
Think about it this way; is there anything wrong with music? Is there anything wrong with appreciating beautiful architecture or fine craftsmanship? Well, I don’t think so. And if I am understanding the Apostle Paul correctly then I don’t think that he does either. We couldn’t say that there is anything inherently non-Christian about these things, but they don’t exactly flow out of these fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5 either. Think back to those questions that I mentioned earlier that I get asked on a regular basis as a result of my calling. You see, part of the problem is that we want everything written out plain as day for us to understand without any effort. We want Scripture to tell us plain and simple what is and isn’t allowed. Well, the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t. Scripture doesn’t specifically list out whether one job is more “Christian” than another. It doesn’t answer the question as to exactly which behaviors are allowed and which ones aren’t. It does in some cases, but not all. If you have ever had a discussion with any Baptist friends, you will quickly find that the mode of baptism is never explicitly laid out for us. Whether to sprinkle the head or immerse the believer isn’t defined. In terms of specifically spelled out for us, whether a person is to be baptized as an infant or after professing their faith is never said.
So you see, there are a lot of things that aren’t spelled out for us clearly in Scripture. Do you know why they aren’t clear? It’s because we don’t have the ability to decipher everything as clearly as we would like. Our sin has caused a great barrier to form between our minds and the meaning of the Word. You see, Scripture contains within it all that we need as our rule and guide for daily life. The problem comes when we aren’t led by Scripture but instead we are led by things of this world. Take the issue of money. There is nothing inherently wrong with money, but there is something wrong with the love of money and money being a driving force in a person’s life. Or perhaps you might think of love. There is nothing wrong with the relationship between a man and a woman. In fact, it is a blessing given to us by God; an ordinance commanded shortly after creation. The problem comes in when it becomes corrupted by sin and love becomes lust and this lust destroys the beauty of the covenant of marriage.
There’s a phrase that says that we need to “let Scripture interpret Scripture.” So, let’s do just that. There are two verses that were also from Paul that I think help to give us some clarity on these verses in Philippians 4. The first, Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” You see, we don’t earn our own salvation. Our salvation was gained by the saving death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people act in a manner that if they aren’t doing something that is explicitly commanded in Scripture, then they are doing something evil. Well, the second verse I want to look at helps to clarify that thought. 1 Corinthians 6:12 states, “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” There are a number of things in this world that are not necessarily Christian. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t think that music or architecture are inherently Christian. We could add to that list sports, fishing, hunting, gardening, social clubs and organization, and numerous other activities. We could say that all of these things are non-Christian in their origin since they are all things that aren’t specifically commanded in Scripture, but I don’t think that any of us would call any of these things evil. Sure, when we turn football stadiums into houses of worship then there is great danger there. When I can tell you more about the starting lineup for my Mississippi State Bulldogs football team than I can about my prayer life, then there is a problem. But if football is simply something that I enjoy in its proper place within my priorities then I see nothing wrong with that.
And I think it is this sentiment that the Apostle Paul is trying to convey to us. In fact, he is telling us that there are great works that can be done for the sake of the gospel through these other things. I can’t begin to tell you how many people that I know who have begun their Christian walk by being encouraged by others while taking part in activities outside of the church. Why, I have seen people come to know Christ through softball teams, community plays, fishing trips, hunting trips, camping trips, construction projects, cooking events, and other things along the same lines.
As we were talking about these verses Wednesday morning at our men’s Bible study, I shared with everyone some things that Amy and I had to deal with when we told all of our friends that I was going to attend seminary and enter into pastoral ministry. Most of our friends asked us the question, “So, how does this change things?” What do you mean “change things?” I was a Christian before going to seminary and I will be a Christian after seminary. Many of our friends felt like they had to be guarded around us because of my calling. I had to be extra careful and go out of my way to show them that I was the same person now as I was prior to my calling to ministry. I used a lot of the same activities that I used to do with my friends to show them that things hadn’t changed. I still went fishing with my friends, I still went hunting with my friends, I still played golf with my friends, I still went out and got together with all of my friends. I wasn’t condemning. I wasn’t standing over all of them telling them what they needed to do. In other words, I was being the same person that I had always been, but with a new calling on my life.
Over time, my friends began to understand that I was still an average person. I was still the guy that they had known for years. That same guy who had gotten into trouble with them years earlier was still there, but he had a different calling on his life. And do you know what this eventually led to? This eventually led to opportunities for me to discuss my faith with them. More importantly, it led to opportunities for us to discuss their faith. It presented me with great opportunities to witness to them and to share the Gospel with them. It’s not as if any of them went through any miraculous conversions, but it did plant a seed within many of them that would bloom at a later date. Over the last 5 years, it has been amazing for Amy and I to watch as many of our friends who were not involved in churches to not only join churches, but become active in the life of those congregations.
You see, this list that we have in our text, although a list of non-Christian virtues, are good things. There are things in this world that are technically non-Christian, but are very good. They are good for energizing us and they are good opportunities for us to share the Gospel. I want to challenge everyone in this room today. This isn’t a challenge that consists of making drastic lifestyle changes. This isn’t a challenge to really change anything at all. This is a challenge to continue to live the same life that you have always lived. The only thing that is changing in any way is what you are to do in those moments when you find yourself in the company of others. Look for opportunities to share your faith with those around you. Pray that when you are presented with a chance to help someone out in their Christian walk, that God will use you to present the Gospel to them. We have no idea whose heart is open and ready to hear the good news of the Gospel. I cannot stress to you enough how powerful the Lord can work during these moments to change the hearts and minds of those who He calls to be His own. Our lives are great blessings. God wants us to enjoy what He has given to us. Let’s enjoy all that we have been given, while taking every opportunity we get to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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