Philippians 2:14-18 A Renewed Call to Unity and Purpose

In his Epistle to the Philippians Paul is emphasizing unity within the church. He does so, presumably, because he has heard of disunity going on. Nothing doctrinal, but a division nonetheless. And so he addresses this problem in his epistle. What he calls the church to is a unity centered around the purpose of the gospel.

Verses fourteen through eighteen of chapter two are the concluding segment of a section which began in chapter one and verse twenty-seven. If the section were to be viewed as a sandwich, these verses are the other slice of bread. They bring us back to the admonition begun at the latter end of chapter one.

The church at Philippi, indeed all the churches throughout the empire, is beginning to experience opposition. Paul sees this and, knowing that if they are not united around a singular purpose they will fall before the opposition coming, urges them toward unity of purpose. That purpose is the gospel.

In this informal study of these verses we emphasize the purpose of the New Testament church in this age and seek to unite with those first century Christians. Their purpose, the purpose to which God called them, is ours as well.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 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, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.--Philippians 2:14-16 (ESV)

One of the things I point out in this study is that in these verses, purposely or not, Paul is making numerous allusions to the Old Testament. Did he purposely compare the Old Testament Church, the Church in the Wilderness, to the Philippian church? Or is Paul so saturated in the Hebrew Scriptures that he just naturally speaks this way? In the end it doesn't matter. What we have is a vivid and wonderful picture of what we, as Christians, are to be in this fallen world.

I hope that you will take the time to listen to the audio from this informal study of these verses. My prayer is that you will be blessed and drawn closer to Christ.

To listen, click here:  Philippians 2:14-18

Psalm 26 A Psalm of Self-Examination

Vindicate me, O LORD,

for I have walked in my integrity,

and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Prove me, O LORD, and try me;

test my heart and my mind.

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:1-3 ESV

What does David mean when he says he has walked in his integrity? And what kind of vindication is he looking for?

As in many of the other psalms, in this psalm David is crying out to God about false accusations that have been leveled at him. But he wants more than just for God to vindicate him. He wants an examination. He is looking inward and asking God to show him what is there. He wants to be better. So in the sermon from this psalm we look at that, going verse by verse and asking God to improve our walk of faith in this world. The sermon was preached on Sunday, August 14 at the Winnsboro Reformed Church in Winnsboro, Texas. Just click the link below and it will take you to the page on Soundcloud where an MP3 recording of this sermon can be found. God bless.

Psalm 26

Philippians 2:12-13 An Outward Working of An Inward Grace

These two verses comprise one of those passages often cited by people who deny sola fide (justification by faith alone) and preach a salvation by works or human effort. Pulled out of their context they seem to indicate that our salvation is the result of our efforts. What I do in this short study is put them back into their context, showing how they fit into the larger narrative of Paul's letter to the Philippians, and pointing out what Paul is actually saying.

While the verses are not primarily soteriological (concerning or dealing with salvation) in their focus, they do shed some light on how God works in us and how that work manifests itself in us outwardly. As Christians we are part of a larger community and God works in this world through that community. That community is the Church, and the Church in community is who Paul is addressing in these verses. As churches we are to maintain our focus on the gospel and gospel ministry--the mission God has given us in this world.

These studies in Philippians are delivered in a small group setting. Don't expect a sermon so much as an informal study that sometimes gives way into light discussion. I encourage you to listen and pray that it will be a blessing.

Click here: Philippians 2:12-13 An Outward Working of An Inward Grace

Psalm 25 - A Psalm of Faith and Instruction

Psalm 25 is one of the acrostic psalms. It contains twenty-two verses, each one pertaining to one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It has been labeled by some as one of the penitential psalms, or psalms of repentance. As you will see I had a slightly different take on it.

I divided the psalm into two equal halves and preached two sermons from it on successive Sundays. The sermons are linked below. Just click on one to listen to it.

Psalm 25 Part 1

Psalm 25 Part 2

The psalm appears to be one that David would have written toward the end of his life. It is full of instruction in the faith, teaching us what David had learned through the years. There is much value here and I hope that as you listen you will not hear me, but hear the word. God bless.

Philippians 2:9-11 - The Exaltation of Christ

Jesus emptied himself and became flesh. He humbled himself to obedience. He was obedient even to death, and not just any death--the death of the cross. He who was very God of very God became human that he might die the most ignominious death ever devised.

How did the Father respond? One word: vindication.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What is "the name that is above every name"? To find out we went looking for a passage in the book of Isaiah that Paul alludes to in these verses. To listen to the audio of this Bible study just click the link below. It will take you to an MP3 file that you can stream or download for later listening.

Just click here: Philippians 2:9-11 - The Exaltation of Christ

May the Holy Spirit lead you to worship him who has been given the Name above every name.

Philippians 2:8 - The Humanity of Christ

As Christians we confess that we believe certain things about Jesus. We believe that he was God--fully God--and eternally so. We believe that he took on flesh and became human--fully human--and that this incarnation (as we call it) was essential for our salvation.

In Philippians chapter two Paul is describing this as the 'emptying' of Christ. As God he had every right to demand everything that God has a right to demand. But he didn't. He laid that aside and instead became flesh and blood. Then, as a man, he humbled himself further by submitting and being obedient. His obedience was a complete obedience. It led him to die the most humiliating of deaths. He completely forsook self to live for the Father's glory.

Paul describes Jesus as the second Adam. In this lesson we considered a few other passages from Paul's epistles where he describes Jesus as the second Adam and shows how his humanity was vital in order for him to represent us and redeem us from all that we lost through the first Adam. Take a listen to the MP3 recording at the link below. I hope it will be a blessing to you.

Click here:  Philippians 2:8 - The Humanity of Christ

Psalm 24 - The King of Glory

The Christian view of the universe and God's relationship to it encompasses three ideas:

God is creator.
God is sustainer.
God is sovereign (always in complete control).

God spoke and the universe came into existence. God continues to speak and therefore it continues to exist. As Paul quoted in his sermon at the Areopagus, "In him we live, move, and have our being." God created all things, he sustains all existence, and everything happens according to his decree. This is the historic Christian view, and insofar as some Christians have and do depart from that view they depart from the historic Christian faith.

What, then, of free will? Do we deny it? Not in the classical sense of the term, we don't. Men are free creatures in that their actions are uncoerced by God. Our decisions are our own. Man is free and responsible. How do we reconcile this to God's sovereignty? Well, that's one of the things discussed in this sermon I preached from Psalm 24.

The second and more important question I seek to answer in this sermon is what kind of person can enter into the presence of God? Psalm 24 answers that as well. And it also points us toward a hope beyond what we could ever hope to attain by ourselves. It point us to the King of Glory.

Just click here to listen to the sermon:  Psalm 24 - The King of Glory