YouTube video sermon
Philippians 2:12-18
Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Philippians 2. Next weekend is the end of Daylight-Saving Time. By the way, it’s “Saving” without the “s.” Savings are what you put in the bank. Saving is what we tell ourselves we’re doing with the daylight hours. Most of us don’t mind the custom in the fall because we “gain” an extra hour of sleep, but we’re not too fond that it gets darker earlier. Experts tell us that every year, when it gets to be winter time, a significant portion of the population gets SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. It’s a real thing. For some people, it affects their mood. They become depressed because of the lack of sunshine and exposure to light.
On the other hand, when we turn our clocks back, and it gets darker sooner, it’s also a reminder that Christmas lights will be going up soon. Man, oh, man, there’s just something special about Christmas lights. Whether you’re a Clark Griswald kind of family and every blade of grass has a light on it, and the Christmas music is blaring in the background, or whether you’re like my grandparents who just put a single electric candle in each of the windows facing the street and it was more serene, there’s something special about Christmas lights.
As a kid, I remember making those trips back and forth from our house to our grandparents’ houses, and in order to entertain me and Cooper, we used to see who could count the most houses with Christmas lights. In order for you to count the house, it had to be on your side of the car – whichever side of the backseat you were in. That was fun.
Then, I don’t know, maybe when I was about 7-8, it dawned on me that we take the same route coming and going. So, if I sat on the driver’s side going and lost, then if I just sat on the driver’s side coming back, I’d win. Now, listen to how mean your pastor was. I’m 4 ½ years older than my brother, so if I was on the passenger’s side going and I won, then when we left to return home I would say, “Are you sure you don’t want to sit on the passenger’s side? Remember all the houses I counted on the way? You’ll win.” Of course, my little brother would say yes and I’d sit on the driver’s side going home. But since it was the return trip home, all of those same houses would now be on the driver’s side and I’d win again. Isn’t that horrible? Your pastor did that.
But God has a great sense of humor and my father is a godly man. It didn’t take long for him to realize what I was doing, so whenever I tried to pull that stunt, he wouldn’t say anything. He’d let me do my thing and entice my brother to sit on the side I had been on, and then we’d pull out of my grandparent’s driveway and honk the horn. I would be sitting in the backseat grinning from ear to ear, and then he’d take a different route and drive by a neighborhood that he knew would have lots of lights on my brother’s side of the car.
Lesson learned. Be humble. Think of others. Well-played dad, well-played. In our text, today, Paul tells the church, “Shine as lights in the world” by making the glory of Christ known in a dark and perverse culture. Follow along, as I read Philippians 2:12-18.
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.
“Living God, help us so to hear Your holy Word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe and that believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking Your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Paul teaches us a lot about Christian discipleship in these verses. And perhaps I should pause and explain what is meant by “discipleship.” I think most of us know, but I don’t want to make any assumptions, and even if we know, sometimes it’s just good to remind ourselves. Discipleship is a word that you hear around churches and pastors use it frequently. In a nutshell, it simply means “growing in your faith,” or “becoming a better disciple.” Paul has a lot to say about that, and here Paul connects God’s work and our work (vss. 12-13), he connects avoiding grumbling and complaining with shining as lights in the world (vss. 14-15), and he connects sacrifice and joy (vss. 16-18).
That’s what we’re going to consider this morning under three simple headings: “Work Out,” “Shine,” and “Rejoice” – all of these things are ways we should live before the Lord Jesus Christ.
Work Out
Verses 12-13 provide us with a wonderful starting point for understanding what we call “sanctification.” Again, that’s one of those theological terms that you hear in church environments and around preacher-types, and it basically refers to your life from the moment after you’re saved to the moment after you die. The moment that you confess your sins and receive God’s gift of forgiveness by grace through faith in Jesus is what we call “justification.” It’s a one-time event. After that event you find yourself “growing up” or “maturing in” the faith, and we call that “sanctification.” It’s not a one-time thing but an ongoing process whereby we’re made holy – from the time of our new birth to the time of our death, when we experience “glorification.” That’s when God removes the final hurdle of sin from the life of the believer.
Listen to me. “You cannot earn your justification, you cannot achieve your sanctification, and you cannot merit your glorification.” God makes all these things happen out of His love for you, by His grace alone. Paul doesn’t say, “Work for your salvation.” Rather, he says, “Work out your salvation.” That’s a huge difference. God has worked salvation for us by His sovereign grace. Christ has done the work on the cross of Calvary to make us right with him (justification). Sanctification is recognizing this reality and then living in light of this gracious gift of salvation, living in light of our new position and our new identity. And Paul offers three things in this “working out” stage. He commends them. Then, he commands them. Finally, he comforts them.
By the way, this is a good pattern to follow in leading and managing people, too. Find a way to pat them on the back. Give them some encouragement before you direct them. Notice what he says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence.” “Hey guys, you’re doing a great job. You always listen to what I have to say, and then you do it. Your brothers and sisters in Corinth – not so much. Your extended family in Galatia – good luck. Your friends in Ephesus – nah. But you guys… You obey and I appreciate you for it.”
Paul takes the same approach in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 listen, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more.” Do you see how he commends them. He pats them on the back. He compliments them – and it’s a genuine compliment, none of this false flattery. Southerners have a real difficulty with flattery, “Oh, honey, bless your heart. Aren’t you just the most precious thing.” No, Paul genuinely encourages them.
Next, notice that he commands them. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Paul doesn’t think it’s good enough to just confess Jesus and coast along. No, no. He urges them to what Eugene Peterson calls “a long obedience in the same direction.” And also notice that Paul doesn’t say we’re left to our own devices. No, no. We can work out our salvation because God is at work within us. Okay, so what does it look like to “work out your salvation?” I’m going to tell you. Are you ready? It simply means to follow the example of Jesus. Remember the Christ hymn from last week (vss. 2-11), where Jesus is set forth as the supreme example? Jesus would put it this way, “Then Jesus told His disciples, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). This is a challenge, isn’t it?
We live in a fast-paced, fast-food, microwave, internet culture, but sanctification is a slow process. We’re often drawn to the mega conferences and the flashy events, but God has called us to the day-in, day-out process of taking up our cross. It’s easy to show a spark of enthusiasm at an event; it’s quite another thing to live faithfully and consistently when no one is watching and when no one cares. That’s what Paul meant by “working out our salvation.” Follow the example of Jesus. And when we take up our cross, and we’re actually doing this, do you know what we find? We find a greater sense of fear and respect for what Jesus has done and is doing through the Holy Spirit.
Listen, when you take up your cross and you’re enduring someone’s slander, when you’re patient with your spouse and you’re genuinely not keeping a record of wrongs although every fiber of your being wants you to lash out and dredge up the past, when you deny yourself the opportunity to go to the game and serve the family next door by watching their kids and allowing them to go instead – when you take up your cross and follow Jesus, then you begin to gain a greater appreciation and humility for what Christ has done for us. You’re working out your salvation in fear and trembling – recognizing the tremendous length that Jesus went to secure that salvation in the first place.
Finally, after commending and commanding, then he comforts, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” What is it that prevents us from burning out and giving up? It’s knowing that God is at work in us! Paul has already said something similar to this in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” In Colossians he writes, “I labor for this striving with His strength that works powerfully in me” (Colossians 1:29). To the Corinthians he says, “But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Underneath and behind our working, God is working in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, that’s working out our salvation. And now Paul describes the attitude we should have when we obey Christ and pursue living like Him.
Shine
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing…” If you’re like me, you were tracking along nicely until he said that. What good is it if I can’t grumble and complain. Do you know somebody that always seems to grumble and complain? Oh, they’ll get the job done, they’ll do what you ask, but they’ve got to grumble and complain. Husbands? Wives? Anybody besides me want to confess that grumbling and complaining seems to come naturally? It’s the common language of our culture. We live in a world filled with complainers. Discipleship isn’t easy. Pursuing holiness, giving generously, practicing hospitality, loving your spouse and kids, sharing the gospel – all of this will lead to complaining, if we’re not careful.
And this isn’t just an individual sin problem, it’s a corporate sin problem too. Remember the Israelites in Exodus? They wanted to get out of Egyptian slavery and when they made it to the wilderness they grumbled because they didn’t have food to eat. The Lord provided manna and yet they grumbled until He provided quail. What’s the solution? The gospel. When we consider what we deserve and what we’ve been given, then we’re led to gratitude, then we’re led back to humble submission. The greatest attitude adjustment is to simply consider the cross. Seriously, just come in the sanctuary and sit in a pew and view the cross, contemplate what Jesus did for you, see Him there. When we lost sight of the gospel, we’ll go down the dark hole of murmuring.
But we don’t seek to avoid grumbling and disputing solely because it’s an awful sin (and it is), rather we also avoid it because it damages our witness. When our conversations with other believers or among outsiders are filled with negative criticisms and constant complaints, we lose our distinctiveness. Paul says we ought to be “blameless,” “pure,” and “faultless.” And that is contrasted with the world which is “crooked and perverse.” Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13). In other words, we lose our effectiveness.
People are watching us. People are listening to our conversations. What are they seeing? What are they hearing? Are we standing out like bright stars in a dark sky? Consider what an opportunity we have for making an eternal difference in someone’s life simply by speaking a different language from the culture – by going through the day avoiding the temptation to grumble and complain and instead offering gratitude and praise. I have a friend that often responds in a unique way to my query, “How are you doing?,” he often says, “If I was any better, then I’d be a twin.” That always causes me to smile – partly because it’s just different and partly because he reminds me that I need to do all things without grumbling or complaining. I’ve heard other people respond by saying, “Better than I deserve.” Again, another great way to pepper our ordinary days with expressions of gratitude and praise instead of grumbling and complaining.
Finally, we avoid grumbling and complaining by “holding fast to the word of life.” It’s our job to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. And what’s the Good News except that our sin has been forgiven and we can be restored to a right and loving relationship with our Creator because Jesus died in our place. We were destined for eternal wrath because of our sin, but that’s been paid for in the blood of Christ Jesus. Work out… Shine… Finally, rejoice.
Rejoice
“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. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” Paul is linking his suffering and their sacrifice. He’s putting them together and saying, “I want you guys to start seeing this as worship.” It’s part of your worship to God. See where Paul says, “If I’m being poured out as a drink offering?” That’s a picture they would be familiar with. We aren’t, but they would. In ancient times, pagan cultures had a thing called a libation, where they would take a vessel, a glass, maybe with wine in it. And they would pour it on top of a sacrifice that was being made. And it was symbolic of going all in. “I’m pouring everything into this.” Even in Judaism, in the Old Testament, there was something called a drink offering. It was poured out. Paul sees his life that way. He’s in jail. He’s suffering. And he says, “I may not make it out of here alive. I’m incarcerated. I might have to pour my whole life out and be killed.” By the way, that’s what ultimately happened to Paul. In the very last letter, he ever wrote he said, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my death is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6).
So, here’s what he’s saying. Even if this means I’m being poured out on the sacrifice and the service of your faith. It’s their sacrifice and his offering is being poured on top of it. That’s the word picture. So, let me tie it all together for you as we close. Paul is saying, all of our glowing, all of our light bearing, all of our gospel preaching, all of our attitude adjusting, needs to be seen as part of our worship to God. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” So, let’s shine the light of Christ in this dark and perverse world.
I want to close with a crazy question. But I want an honest answer. How many of you drink Coca-Cola products? (Raise your hands. Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero.) Okay, how many Pepsi people? (Raise your hand.) OK, so I’ve got to tell you, Coca-Cola wins. And I think I know why. A few years back, the management of Coca-Cola said, “Our goal is for every person on earth to taste Coca-Cola.” Every person. That’s our goal. I want everybody in the world to taste Coca-Cola. This is how well they’ve done.
As of today, 97% of the world has heard of Coke. 72% of the world has seen a Coke product. 51% of the world has tasted Coca-Cola. You say, “Well, that’s only half. It’s not 100%.” Yeah, but you know how long Coca-Cola has been around? Only 130 years. In 130 years, over half the world’s population has tasted Coke. Are you ready for the gut punch? How long has Christianity been around? (2,000+ years.) I know the slogan says “things go better with Coke.” But things go way better with Jesus. Work out your salvation. Shine as lights. Rejoice.