Stray Thoughts: Tension

I bumped into a bit of Scripture recently that stood out to me.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Philippians 1:21–24

I'm sure that this is familiar to many of you. Paul is reflecting on his life. For Paul, life is about Jesus. That's what defines his attitude about life and about death. And it's why he can honestly say that, as far as he is concerned, it is gain to die. And the reason for that is obvious. Dying means being with Jesus, face to face. So, Paul writes that he wants to die. That's his heart's desire. He looks forward to it. He longs for it.

But being the kind of person that he is, he doesn't stop there. He knows that there is more that needs to be considered. So, he goes on to write that, if he sticks around, he will be able to help the saints a bit more. And he knows that they really could use his help.

Paul is caught betwixt and between. Which does he choose? This is where I get my title for this post. There is a tension in his life. He really wants to be with Jesus. That is a very deep desire for him. And yet, he also wants to be able to help the saints who had been so dear to him. Tough place to be. But he does resolve this tension. Listen.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Philippians 1:25–26

Because of his love for the saints, he puts aside, for the time being, his desire to be with Jesus and all that goes with that.

Here's what I noticed. I don't hear many Christians express this sort of tension these days. Who eagerly looks forward to dying so that they can be with Jesus? How often do you hear such a thing? But it's not that there is this great desire to remain so that the saints can be served and helped. What I tend to hear more of is the desire to remain in order to enjoy the pleasures of this life. That doesn't seem right. It seems rather selfish.

A word that comes to mind here is the word 'worldliness', pursuing life in the way that the unbelievers around us pursue life. I suspect that the Church in America won't be the salt and light that Jesus has called it to be until this attitude is repented of and replaced with the tension that we see in Paul. Something to pray for.

Incarnation

‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ Advent is about Jesus’ incarnation. While the word, ‘incarnation’, is familiar enough, taking even a moment to ponder what it means brings us into mystery and awe. The infinite God took on a very finite human body. I suspect that we will never really grasp what’s involved in that. But still, it’s good for us to do what we can to understand whatever we can about the Incarnation. To do that we’re going to use something Paul wrote as he explained and then applied the doctrine of Jesus’ Incarnation. Listen.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2.5-11 [NASV]

Incarnation

Christmas is over. And for most of your friends and neighbors that means it’s back to work and life as it was. But that’s not true for us. The Church in the Old Testament celebrated Passover with joy and happiness on the anniversary of their deliverance from Egypt. But that doesn’t mean that they forgot about what God had done in that event once the celebrating was over. The reality of the exodus from Egypt was the foundation of their life together. And the same is true of us. God’s great work, Jesus’ Incarnation, is not some event to remember once a year. It is the foundation to our life together. And that’s why Paul wrote our text to the Philippians. In this text Paul is describing and applying the Incarnation. There are two aspects that he points to. One has to do with what happened before the Incarnation that led up to it. The other has to do with what Jesus did once He took on flesh. We’ll look at both and then see what they have to say to us.

Listen as I read Philippians 2.1-11.

Trust and Obey

Philippians 2.12-13

Our text may not be a well-known favorite, but I think that it's fair to say that you've heard of it before. Here's the background. Paul is in prison. While there, he writes a very uplifting letter to this group of Christians in Philippi with whom he had a very close relationship. In this letter he aims to allay their concerns about his situation, speak to them about the joy of being a Christian and also deal with some problems that their church was facing. After giving some instructions about some of those problems, Paul writes our text. And I think that he is quite clear. In effect, he tells them, 'You need to obey what I've told you. You've obeyed when I was there with you, and now you need to do it while I'm not. There are things to be done. Do them. In this way you will enjoy Jesus more.' And so, you see, our text is a call to obedience.

It's at this point that the importance of little words once again makes itself felt. This time it's the little word 'for'. In our Bibles this 'for' is at the beginning of verse 13. For Paul, it was in the middle of his sentence. After telling the Philippians that they need to obey him, he writes, 'for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.' Do you see what Paul is saying? 'My dear Philippians, you need to obey. And, in fact, you can. And the reason that you can is that God is at work in you. He makes it possible for you to obey. You can obey my instructions and accomplish what I've commanded because of what God is doing.' Paul is connecting his call for obedience to God's grace. Underlying Paul's command is the promise of God's favor. He will make it happen. That's what Paul is doing in our text.

Now, this is all well and good. I've laid things out with a certain degree of logic and a measure of clarity. But we need more than a certain degree of logic and a measure of clarity. We need this to be crystal clear because that's the only way it will become practical. What would help is a story to illustrate what Paul is talking about. And God, knowing us so well, has provided us with plenty of stories. I have four stories from the Old Testament. These will show you what Paul is getting at from both sides of the coin, what's right and what's wrong.

Here's the first one. It's the time of Moses. The people of Israel have received the Law from God at Mount Sinai. It's time to enter the Promised Land. They send in the twelve spies who, after a month and a bit, return with their report. This is what ten of them say. 'First, the good news. The land is as good as God had told us. In fact, it's better than we expected. It is simply beautiful, flowing with so many good things. We've brought back just a little to show you that God wasn't kidding. But there is some bad news. There is no way we can conquer this land - absolutely no way. The people are strong. Their cities are fortified. We could never win. Never.' Then there is the minority report of the two other spies. 'Yes, we saw the same things that the ten did. The people arestrong and the cities arefortified. But the land really is as beautiful as our God has said. And He has promised us victory over these people. We can do this! He has promised! , let's obey what our God has told us. Let's trust Him and go conquer the land.' As you know, the people reacted badly. They sided with the ten. They start to complain and even talk about returning to Egypt. In fact, at one point there was talk of lynching Moses and those with him. Now, what is this but an obvious expression of disobedience. God had said, 'Go and conquer. I will make it happen. I will give you the victory. Go.' But the people refuse. 'Forget it! It's impossible. They're too strong for us. We can't win, so we're not going.' And how does God respond? His first thought was to wipe them all out and start fresh with Moses. But Moses persuaded Him not to do that. [And that, incidentally, says a lot about the power of prayer.] So, God went with His second option. The ten spies with the faithless report were to die and the people are to spend forty years wandering in the wilderness. Their children would enter the land, but they wouldn't. They would all die in the desert, one by one. That's the first story, a story of disobedience.

Now the second story. This one starts soon after the first. Reality hit. God pronounces His judgment on the nation. The ten spies die by a plague. The people see what happening and have a change of heart. 'You were right, Moses. We should have obeyed. We're sorry, and we'll never do that again. We'll go and attack. We'll obey now.' And how does Moses respond? 'Don't go now. It's too late now. God has withdrawn His promise of success. He will not go up with you to fight against the people. The Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of His presence, will not go with you. Don't go. If you do, you will utterly fail.' And to this the people say, 'No, Moses. We really are sorry. Really. We're going to go and conquer. We think we can do this - even if God stays here.' And what do the Scriptures say at this point? '...they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.' They put their hope in their own abilities and they failed. 'We can do it on our own if we try hard enough.' This is a story of presumption.

Third story. This one takes place in the days when Samuel was still young and his mentor, Eli, was a judge in Israel. The people of Israel faced the Philistines in battle, and they lost. They returned to camp and asked, 'What happened?!? Why didn't we beat those Philistines?' Now, the right answer to that question was clear. They weren't being obedient to what God had commanded them. The spiritual life of Israel was not good. But did they say, 'Hey, we need to repent. We need to obey our God'? No. They opted for the religious-looking thing to do. This is what they said, 'The reason that we didn't beat those guys was that we didn't have the Ark of the Covenant with us in the camp. If the Ark's with us, then we'll crush those guys. That's got to be it. That's the solution to our problem.' And so, they went and fetched the Ark, brought it into their camp with great cheers. And the next day they got beat even worse than the first time. They believed that acting religious eliminates the need for obedience. And they were wrong. This is a story about acting religious instead of being obedient.

Now the last story. This one takes place in the days of Joshua, after the forty years of wandering in the desert. The people of Israel have crossed the Jordan. They have set their sights on Jericho. Now Jericho is one of those fortified cities that the ten spies had talked about. It's a city surrounded by strong walls. The only way to defeat such a city is to lay siege to it. You surround it and don't let anyone in or out. Then, wait a year or two until the food runs out and the people give up. That will work, unless, of course, one of their allies surprises you with an attack of his own. So, Jericho is a fortified city. What's the plan to take it? This is God's plan. 'I want you to march around the city once on each of the next six days. On the seventh day I want you to march around the city seven times. And then, I'll get rid of the wall so that you can charge and clean up whatever resistance remains.' That's the plan; God's plan. And what do Joshua and the others say? 'Okay, let's go.' And in one week Jericho was theirs. This is the story of obedience based on trust.

So, here are our four stories. The first was about the ten spies and their report: a story of disobedience. The second was about obedience to God's command based on mere human ability: a story of presumption. The third was about using the Ark of the Covenant as a magic wand: a story of being religious instead of being obedient. The fourth was the conquest of Jericho: a story that could be titled, 'Trust and Obey'.

It's that fourth story that portrays what Paul is talking about in our text. 'There are things you need to do. So, do them - obey. And you will be able to do them as you believe God's promise that He will give you success. Trust and obey'.

Now, all of this gets a bit clearer and a bit more relevant to us when we consider exactly what it is that Paul wanted the Philippians to do. What was the obedience that he was calling for? He wanted them to work on their relationships with each other. Listen to what he wrote at the beginning of this section of his letter. 'So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.' And then there is this in the very next sentence after our text. 'Do all things without complaining and arguing.' The church in Philippi had some issues when it came to obeying Jesus' command, 'Love one another as I have loved you.' Paul applies this command to them and then calls them to obedience.

How interesting. At issue is not some immorality to avoid or the importance of holding to some cardinal doctrine of the faith. Paul calls the Philippians to work at their relationships within the church.

Now, those folks in Philippi had at least four ways to respond to Paul's words, matching our four stories. They could have chosen not to obey, claiming that it was too hard, impossible in fact. 'Paul, we just can't do this.' As a second choice they could have said, 'Okay, we'll obey. We know that it will be hard, but we can do it if we just try hard enough.' Or again, they could have told Paul that they don't need to worry about obedience to such things. 'Paul, as long as we do the right religious kinds of stuff we're okay. God will bless us.' And then, there's the last. 'Let's obey, trusting Jesus to make it happen.'

This all speaks quite clearly to us. Every time we are reminded of the call to work at the relationships we have with the other people in this room, to lower the walls a little more, to be the Church as Jesus has defined it - every time that happens we are faced with the same four stories. And the fact is that we don't always choose well. We don't always decide to follow the example of that fourth story: 'Trust and Obey.' But, thanks be to God, that's not the end of the world. Our God is a very forgiving God. He can be forgiving because of Jesus. So, whenever the Spirit points out how you've opted to imitate the wrong story, just remember: repent and believe the Gospel. Admit your sin, and be specific. Resolve to obey, and again and be specific. And then come again to Jesus for forgiveness and change. As we do that, our disobeying Jesus' command to be His kind of Church will be forgiven. And the Spirit will do a little more of His amazing work of changing our hearts so that we can do a little better at obeying Jesus' call to love one another. As we work at this, trusting Jesus to make it happen, we will see, in time, some impressive fruit. We will see FRC becoming more like the Church that we're supposed to be. And that will make Jesus look really good.

Death

"...death is a threat to the degree that it frustrates your main goals."

John Piper, while discussing Philippians 1.21:
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.'

Mission

Philippians 2.12-18

This morning we are going to take a look at a slice of the church at Philippi. We’re going to take a look at a church that was pursuing its mission. I’m doing this because I think that it will help us to understand who we are. We are a church that is also pursuing a mission. If that isn’t true of a church then why would it exist? The details of how we purse that mission may look a bit different from how the Philippians did that but there really is much that we have in common. So, let’s see what there is for us to learn.

Let me start by reminding you of a couple of things about this church. It was started by Paul and Barnabas. Some of the first members were Lydia, a seller of purple, and that famous jailer who asked the right question in the aftermath of an earthquake. Paul writes this letter from a jail in Rome. While there, he had received a financial gift from this church. So what we have in our Bibles is a long thank you note, written in a way that only Paul could do. Now we’re ready to take a look at our text.

Much of our text is a list of instructions for the Philippian Christians to follow. But there is one thing that is a fact that describes the Philippians and their situation. And we must understand this fact if we are going to understand the instructions. Paul identifies these folk as children of God. There are some things that they must do, things that Paul has laid out for them, but they must do these things as the children of God. This is important so I’m going to spend a little time here. Listen to this from John’s Gospel. ‘He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ Here is John at the beginning of his Gospel. And he is about to describe why Jesus has come and what happens to those who believe Him. So, does he talk about forgiveness of sin? No. As important as that is, it isn’t what takes first place for John. Instead, John points to becoming one of God’s children. For John, this is the big deal about being a Christian. It’s no wonder, then, that John gets excited when he writes, ‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…’ You can hear the wonder in his voice as you read those words. This really is a big deal. The theologians call this the doctrine of adoption. We have been adopted into God’s family, made His children, and all this because of Jesus.

Now, I’m sure that you have no problems believing this part of the Gospel. If I were to walk up to you and ask if you believe that you are a child of God you’d say yes. There is no problem here, at least in theory. But I have found that too many Christians have a very hard time believing this when it comes to putting it into practice. Too many Christians have a very hard time enjoying this fact. So, let me lay this out in as clear a way as I know. God’s fatherly love, His love for His children, has no gradations. It’s not like an oven. You can set your oven for 350^o or you can set it at 250^o or you can set it all the way to broil. But this isn’t what God’s love for His children is like. It isn’t really hot some of the time and then sort of tepid at other times. Instead, God’s love is like the old-fashioned light switch in your kitchen. When you push the switch up, the light goes on. When you push the switch down, the light is off. God’s fatherly love is a light switch. It’s off when it comes to those who aren’t His children. But it’s on when it comes to those who are His children. Our God doesn’t love His children a little bit more at one point or a little less at some other time. God’s fatherly love for His children is just ‘on’ – like the kitchen light. His love for you is always on. God does love the lost, those not His children. But that is not His fatherly love. That is a love that can be lost. Not so with His children. For them, His love can never be lost. It’s always on.

Now as I said, we all believe this in theory. Here’s a test to see if you believe it in practice. We all have those times when we do something that’s foolish – or to be blunt, something that’s just plain stupid. There are those times when we sin and we feel horrible because of what we’ve done. This is what I want you to do the next time you’re in that situation. I want you to ask yourself, ‘Does God love me now? I’ve just sinned again. Does God love me now in the same way that He loved me before I sinned?’ How many Christians do you think could come up with a resounding, ‘Yes!’ to that question? You may be the exception (which is great!), but for so many of us, it’s no longer the image of the light switch that’s always on. In terms of how we feel, the setting on the oven just got lowered. Our feelings tell us, ‘Well, He can’t love me like He did before. Look at what I just did?’ In practice, we think of God’s love as an oven. We’d be loved more if we behaved better. But where’s grace in that? It’s just another example of salvation by works.

Paul is telling these Philippians that they are children of God. And the Spirit is saying the same thing to you. That means that you are loved by God, your Father. And that cannot change. God cannot love you more than He does. That’s impossible – even for Him. And He refuses to love you less. You see, it’s a light switch that’s always on and it’s always on all the way. His love for you never wavers. Never wavers. Never. I’ve changed my mind. The next time you do something stupid, don’t ask yourself any questions. Instead, tell yourself, ‘My Father still loves me. I am His child. His love for me doesn’t waver. It’s a light switch.’ And then pray: ‘Father, help me to believe this.’ ‘Amazing grace how sweet the sound that continues to save a wretch like me.’

Having this as a settled issue results in lots of good things. One is a sense of security in His love. And that is a rock that you can stand on. But there are also lots of things that being assured that you are God’s child doesn’t lead to. One is a sense of superiority. Another is a sense of complacency. Paul is clear in what he writes to the Philippians. ‘Yes, you are children of God. But you are still sinners.’ And so, we read, ‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing…’ Now, why would Paul write that unless it was at least a temptation that they were facing? And I’m inclined to think that it was more than just a temptation. One of the themes in this letter that Paul harps on is unity. Listen. ‘…complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. … Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel… I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.’ And then there is the famous hymn to Jesus that starts, ‘Have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus…’ That’s where Paul talks about humility. It sounds like they had some sins to deal with. So, Paul writes the Philippians and reminds them that they are children of God. But he also makes clear enough that they are still sinners. So much for any sense of superiority. I was reminded of this during my Bible reading this week. I was reading Luke 19 which includes the incident with Zaccheus. You remember the song that we’ve taught to our kids. But did you notice that the song leaves out the people’s response to Jesus when He invites Himself to lunch at Zaccheus’ home? ‘And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."’ ‘Jesus, what are you doing? It makes sense for you to dine with one of us, but him?’ A sense of superiority. Paul allows no room for this among the Philippians. They are loved by God with an astounding love. But they – and we – are still sinners who have some things to work on. And that leads to my thought that there is no room for complacency.

Paul writes, ‘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…’ We have work to do. There is sin that we need to get rid of and holiness to perfect. Being the children of God provides great comfort. But it also makes demands of us. The call to follow Jesus is the call to holiness. And so, in our text Paul talks about being blameless, innocent, without blemish, avoiding grumbling and dealing with the sins that attack unity. There is work to be done. An honest look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Law is great protection against the pride of superiority and the sin of complacency. Yet, even here, Paul puts the demand of the Gospel for holiness in the context of the grace and fatherly love of God. So, having told us to work out our salvation, he then writes, ‘for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’ The Father does not leave us to our own resources in this striving. While we are called to act, to strive, it is the Spirit who is doing the real work of change behind the scenes. You see, it really is grace. So, though we are all eager to follow Jesus faithfully, striving to get rid of our sin and to pursue holy living, we are not anxious about it. The Spirit is doing His work and He will continue to do His work. So, there is a mysterious interaction between what we do and what the Spirit does. Our part focuses on honest dealings with the Word since it is the Word that the Spirit will use, and serious prayer in response to what the Spirit does with the Word, repenting of our sin that the Spirit points out and pleading with God for the change that He has promised.

Now for the point of the sermon. Everything that I’ve said leads up to my next point. Now we’re ready to talk about being a church with a mission. I’ve told you about who you are, children of God, and what they means – you are loved. I’ve also told you that there’s still work to be done, dealing with remaining sin, depending on the Spirit to do His work. The goal of all of this is in verse 15 where Paul says that the Philippians live ‘…in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…’ Lights shining in a very dark world. Understand the imagery. What does light do? It dispels the darkness. As the light grows to be brighter the darkness shrinks. We started with one light, Jesus. Through the years many have joined Him and the light has gotten brighter. But the darkness doesn’t just quit. It fights back. So, in our day, the light in our culture is dimmed. But we know that the light will grow until there is no more darkness. Now, what is this light that Paul is writing about? The light is you. It’s your life that shines. ‘… among whom you shine as lights in the world…’ Paul is writing about lives that are being changed by the Gospel. And it is those lives – your lives – that fight against the darkness. It is those lives – your lives – that will ultimately banish all darkness.

Do you see what this says about our mission? Our mission is to let the world see our lives and that includes all that I’ve pointed to in this sermon. We are to let them see what it means to know that you are loved by God and to be secure in that love. We are to let them see that we are not better than they. We’re not perfect. We’re sinners and we still wrestle with our sin. We are to let them see the evidence of the mysterious work of the Spirit as He changes us from sinners into holy people. That’s the mission according to our text. That’s what the Philippians pursued. And that’s what we pursue. As we do, the world will be attracted to Jesus, the cause of the light that is shining in us. How can that not happen? This is the mission that we are pursuing. We each do it in different ways because our situations are different. But we are all working on this.

So, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to continue what you’ve been doing. I want you to continue to grow in you confidence in God’s fatherly love. I want you to continue to work out your salvation. I want you to continue to depend on the hidden work that the Spirit does. All that this means is that I want you to continue to work at following Jesus faithfully. And I want you to continue to let the world see this. And in this way you will do your part to dispel the darkness until there is no more.