The Case for Joy -- Philippians 2:12-18 • Russell McCutcheon

Good morning. We're gonna continue in our series in Philippians, and our text this morning is gonna be Philippians chapter two verses 12 through 18.

Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. — Philippians 2:12-18

Let's pray. Father in heaven, it's always good, even though this is virtual, to gather with your people, to open your word, to hear from you. Lord God, I pray for transformation in our lives. I pray that we won't just be hearers, but doers of your word, that we could be change agents in your world. Lord, we love you in Christ's name. Amen.

I don't know about you, but I grew up in a home where you were expected to conduct yourself in a certain way. In my home, we were taught to love our siblings as well as love our parents. I was taught to respect my parents, to have good manners. This was drilled in us. And so every now and then, when my mother would take me and my siblings out and we would go to another place, my mom would stop us and have that conversation with us. It's almost like she would lean forward and say, "Now listen here. Now when I take you guys out of here and we go into that store, you need to act like you got some home training." Act like you have some home training, or it was gonna be bad for us if we didn't. We were to represent our mother well in both speech and conduct.

We as followers of Christ are called to represent the Lord Jesus Christ well in both speech and conduct. More and more, I thank God for his work of calling people to himself, placing these people into the body of Christ. We are the church, his body, and we are called to represent him.

As we continue to walk through this series and look at this letter in Philippians, I challenge you to do something. If you're like me, when you come to these letters, you tend to read them in an individual way. And I think that's right because individually, we need to learn to apply that. But Paul is not writing to an individual. He is writing to a group of people. He is writing to the church, the church at Philippi. These were different people from different backgrounds who come together for the purpose of worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ and making much of him in everyday life.

However, when you bring people together, there could be some issues that arise. People from different areas of life, different walks of life, with different ideas can be challenging. And I think we are seeing some challenges even amongst ourselves, even within the church.

What are some of those challenges? One of the things I continue to see is that we struggle with materialism. Advertisers let us know that we need the latest and the greatest. When materialism gets hold of us, we just want to continue to keep up with the Joneses. We want to have a quality of life that's above those below us or those who may not have enough.

Technology can be an issue. Now, I'm thankful for technology because with technology, we are able to do what we're doing this morning. But technology can be a problem because with technology and the new discoveries, we can begin to think that we don't need God because we have all of the tools that we need.

Some old issues—race and racism. This still plagues the church because rather than focusing on our commitment to Christ, we allow race and racism to dictate our actions and reactions. And politics. We can look out at the news and we can just see the vitriol as it relates to politics where we should be focused on Christ and his agenda. We allow, even as Christians, whether that's Democrat, Republican, or any other political platform to guide what we do and who we are and see the other person as less than.

Just like the church at Philippi, we desperately need Jesus to rule over every aspect of our lives. But there were some issues that took place in the Philippian church.

If we remember what Paul wrote in Philippians chapter two verses one through four, he said this:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any affection and mercy, make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same attitude, unified in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others. — Philippians 2:1-4

Paul didn't want people to come together to be focused on their own need and what they wanted. He wanted people to come together serving one another, caring for one another.

In our text this morning, Paul deals with the disagreement and the competition that seems to have been plaguing the church. He urges them to continue to obey what he taught even though he was absent.

Our main thought for this section of scripture is this: Rescued people resemble and represent the risen savior. Let me repeat that. Rescued people resemble and represent the risen savior.

So as we walk through these verses, our main points will be these. First, I want us to see God's people who resemble him. We'll see this in verses twelve and thirteen. The second thing we want to see is God's people who represent him in verses fourteen and fifteen. And finally, we want to look at those people who rejoice in verses 16 through 18.

This morning, I want to title this message Represent Well.

Resembling Him (Verses 12-13)

Let's look at our first point in verses twelve and thirteen of resembling him. Again, the second half of verse 12 says:

So now, not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. — Philippians 2:12-13

Letters in Paul's day were often used as proxies for one's presence. Even though Paul was absent, he entreated the Philippian church to obey all that he taught as if he were present.

The Greek word for obey carries the concept of hearing. What God has revealed is a word to be heard with a readiness to execute. This is what it means to obey. This is faith, and this faith consists in obedience.

Paul calls them to obedience because Jesus was obedient. Remember what he said in verse seven about Jesus. He said that he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus is the moral standard for our obedience as followers of Christ.

Paul would even write:

Imitate me as I also imitate Christ. — 1 Corinthians 11:1

Again, Christ is the standard. Paul is not the standard.

He then tells them to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. The Greek word for work out is a command—it's imperative. This is not an option for the believer. What is he saying? He's saying, as you have run well, you must continue to run even better all the way to the finish line.

Now Paul is not saying that we must earn our salvation because there are many places in scripture that let us know that you don't work to earn your salvation. Ephesians chapter two verses eight and nine says it this way:

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is God's gift, not from works so that no one can boast. — Ephesians 2:8-9

It also says in Romans chapter four verse five:

God is the one who justifies the ungodly. — Romans 4:5

Justification and salvation are the results of faith, not works.

In context, what is he saying to us? Remember, there may be some issues taking place within the church. So Paul is calling the people to unity in the church. This is not about earning salvation. They needed to take the necessary steps corporately to be in harmony with each other, serving one another.

Now what can frustrate the community of faith is when people come in with all of their selfish ambitions and self interests and try to push their agenda. So the Philippians may have been experiencing this, and it is here that Paul wanted to remind them of something as they are working out their salvation with fear and trembling.

Verse 13 says:

For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. — Philippians 2:13

See, God initiates, presently sustains, and will complete his work in them by his indwelling power. God is at work in his people at all times.

Now this verb for "is working" is a word from which we get our word energy. What is Paul saying? God is the one energizing us in this work we're in. In our active expression of faith, we can see both our work for the Lord and the work of the Lord.

Remember what Paul said in Philippians chapter one verse six:

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6

In verses twelve and thirteen, we see two things here.

We see both the effect and the cause. Our work is the effect. God's work is the cause of our work. I don't know about you, but I think caterpillars are one of the ugliest creatures on the planet. To me, they are ugly, they are slimy, and they are absolutely slow. It may take all day for a caterpillar to go two feet. But when it undergoes the process of metamorphosis, something beautiful takes place. A butterfly comes to being.

You see, metamorphosis is the process of something at work on the inside trying to show up on the outside. Now there is only one reason that a butterfly can fly. When it is in the cocoon, the wings are developed and the butterfly is trying to work its wings to break the cocoon. As he's doing that, his wings are strengthened and then it ultimately breaks. Now if a bystander walks by and sees a cocoon and they stop this process and they open that cocoon, when that butterfly comes out, that butterfly won't be able to fly because the wings will not be developed through struggle. No struggle. No flight.

See, as followers of Christ, we may feel like a caterpillar and even think like a caterpillar. But as we continue to grow in our faith, we work on our salvation in the midst of adversity because God is at work within us to do his good pleasure. We work because God works. He is the infinite worker. His working in us precedes any work that you and I do, but it does not remove the need for our work.

Now here, Paul is not saying when he says that God is working to will and to work for his good purpose—he is not saying what one Christian song would say, "let go and let God." Paul is not calling us to passivity nor is Paul saying that God helps those who help themselves. Based on verse 12 and our work, that means we do all of the work and then God steps in and fills in the gaps or maybe give us a boost, but he's not really needed until we get into some trouble. The truth is we always need his presence to work and even to have the desire to work.

My friends, our goal is to resemble Jesus. For Romans 8:29 informs us that he predestined us to be conformed to the image of his son. So we resemble him.

Secondly, We Represent Him

Do everything without grumbling and arguing so that you may be blameless and pure children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation among whom you shine like stars in the world. — Philippians 2:14-15

What does working out one's salvation with fear and trembling in the midst of community look like? He says it in verse 14: do everything without grumbling and arguing. To do everything—this is comprehensive—speaks to working out our salvation in every area of life. There is not one aspect of our lives that we could say, "Oh, this is sacred and this is secular." Like, we treat Monday through Saturday as our time and Sunday is God's time. The truth is everything that we do is lived under the divine context. We are always living under God's rule and reign, and we ought to do everything for him. We are always in his presence.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. — 1 Corinthians 10:31

Everything for the glory of God. When he mentions grumbling, this refers to whispering complaints, secret displeasures, and arguing speaks of debating in ways that are divisive. So if these things come together, it's going to ruin the community.

And I believe here that when Paul mentions this, he has the nation of Israel on his mind. How they grumbled and argued and complained when they were on their way from Egypt to the promised land. It talks about them grumbling and arguing and complaining.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites' complaint that they make against me. — Numbers 14:26

Paul believed that story of Israel was instructive for the church of God. He said in 1 Corinthians 10:10-11:

And don't complain as some of them did, and you were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction on whom the ends of the ages have come.

I want to pause here and ask each of us a question. As we are continuing to deal with this pandemic, we're continuing to be isolated, our lives seem to be interrupted. How much are you grumbling and arguing and complaining? How much?

Well, let me talk about me. There are times in my head where I may not outwardly complain and argue and grumble, but inwardly sometimes that begins to happen and I have to find myself repenting because I act like God is not in control. See, when the children of Israel were on their way to the promised land, they saw the giants.

For those spies, they saw the giants and came back and reported and just disbelieved God, didn't believe God was powerful enough to deal with the enemies. They grumbled. They complained. Are we doing much of the same even in the midst of our day?

But the question is for the Philippian church, who were they grumbling against? Who were they arguing with? Were they grumbling against God? Was it their leaders in the church? Was it Paul or was it all of the above? Now we can only speculate. What we do know about the church at Philippi is that they were suffering. And maybe their grumbling and arguing was a result of the suffering they endured or maybe they were grumbling and arguing because of their selfish ambition and conceit that was mentioned in chapter two verse three. The thing we do know is Paul wanted these behaviors gone from the church. Why? The text says so that they may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless.

See, they were to fulfill their mission in the world by cleaning up their conversation within the community of faith. When Christians attack one another and complain against each other, we lose our distinctive quality as children of God in the world. My friends, we are called to be blameless, which means no one is able to find faults of bickering and griping with us. He called us to be pure, where we don't mix our good words with negative complaints or arguments that bring division within the body. And he calls us to be faultless, where our conversations will not be marked by blemishes of bitter criticisms. All of these speak of our quality of life together as children of God.

Again, we ought to be blameless and pure children of God who are faultless where in a crooked and perverted generation among whom you shine like stars in the world. — Philippians 2:15

We are called to be different from the world.

First Peter two and nine says that we are kingdom of priests, a holy nation. — 1 Peter 2:9

We are not to act in a perverted way, but we are to shine like stars in a dark world. When we shine like stars in a dark world, we illuminate the way home for those who are lost in a dark world.

Just this week, I learned something that I never learned before, and there's something called the fifth columnist. Maybe some of you know about it. It goes all the way back to the Spanish army when they would invade a nation and would march their soldiers in four columns. But when a nation saw these four columns, they believed that they had enough to be able to deal with the four columns that's coming at them for war. But they knew nothing about this fifth column. Who were they? They were people who would move to this nation as covert operatives beforehand, before the war would take place. They would become lawyers, doctors, politicians, and businessmen. They infiltrated the land that would be attacked later. So when it was time for war, the four columns would come, but before they would march on, this fifth column would be inside of that nation causing havoc, messing things up so that when the fourth column comes, they're able to do what they need to do to that nation.

God expects every Christian to function in every area of society as a fifth columnist. He calls us to be a part of his army that works behind enemy lines. He calls us to represent him and his interests here on Earth. As fifth columnists, we don't become a part of the culture, but we function in a way that brings about the bigger plan of the nation that we are part of, which is God's kingdom.

This brings to mind what Paul wrote in Second Corinthians five and twenty:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. Since God is making his appeal through us, we plead on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. — 2 Corinthians 5:20

We are called to represent the Lord Jesus Christ here on Earth.

Those Who Rejoice

And finally, we want to look at those who rejoice. Verses 16 through 18:

By holding firm to the word of life, then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. — Philippians 2:16-18

Paul wanted to boast on the day of Christ for how the Philippians lived. He also called the Philippians to hold firm to the word of life so that they would not be overwhelmed by the opposition that would come to them from the world. He called them to stand firm.

But what is the word of life? It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did Paul want them to hold firm to this message? The word of life. So that it would generate life in all who hear the message and believe. And so that he would be able to boast in the day of Christ showing that he did not run or labor in vain. He wanted the Philippians to be motivated by the prospect of the quality of their lives and Paul being able to, as he stood before the Lord Jesus Christ, boast about their lives.

Now, this boasting is not human boasting. This is not boasting from Paul that says, look at me, I'm better than anyone. This is not human boasting. This is boasting that gives glory to God because their lives were demonstrations of grace and power through human weakness and tribulation.

See, Paul exerted a lot of energy for the Philippians, for the church at Philippi. And he also says in verses seventeen and eighteen:

But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. — Philippians 2:17-18

See, both the Jews and the Gentiles would have understood what it meant to be poured out because this is suffering that leads to martyrdom, having the ultimate sacrifice. Paul didn't resent this type of suffering, but he rejoiced in it even if it cost him his life.

See, Paul knew that death was a real possibility for him. His life was being poured out as a sacrifice to God. Again, Jesus is the ultimate example of this because, in chapter two verse seven, he wrote that Jesus emptied himself, and he was obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

Jesus emptied himself on a cross — Philippians 2:7

Paul viewed the possibility of following the way of Christ unto death. Paul shared the Philippians' joy, and he called on the Philippians to share in his joy. See, he didn't want them to be depressed by his suffering. He had joy in the midst of suffering. See, to rejoice with him in suffering displayed their partnership with him in the gospel.

I don't watch westerns. I don't like them. But if you watch westerns and if you like westerns, you may know of the movie with Gary Cooper called The Hanging Tree. See, Gary Cooper was a doctor, and he saved people's lives. And in one scene in this movie, a man gets shot and he's dying. Gary Cooper steps in and he saves this man's life and he removes the bullet. The man was so grateful for being rescued. He says to Gary Cooper, "What can I do for you?" Gary Cooper says, "Well, I always need an assistant. So why don't you assist me? I'll teach you what to do." And so this man who was saved said, "For how long?" Gary Cooper replied, "For the rest of your life because that's how long you would have been dead if he hadn't saved you."

Isn't that true for us? That if Jesus Christ did not save us, we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins. But he rescued us. He saved us. And because of what he has done for us, we should have hearts to say to him, "Here is my life. I offer it to you to be used in your service." He wants us to yield ourselves for his purpose, his pleasure, and his goals.

Remember, we are called to be witnesses of his on the earth. We are his ambassadors that have been given the ministry of reconciliation. Paul by his life, by his words and deeds, he discipled the church at Philippi, the people who were at Philippi. Like him, who are the people that we have called to be close to us through life indeed, through word indeed, that we are discipling, that we are giving ourselves for? Who are we calling to be with us as we imitate the Lord Jesus Christ?

See, these are our marching orders. The world is in need of us shining like stars to show them the way home.

Let's pray. Father, always thank you for your word and realizing as we learn of the Philippians or learn of anyone in scripture that humans are fallible, humans are broken, but you can take crooked sticks to hit straight licks. You could use us, and you do use us, and we want to offer ourselves to you, Lord, for your glory. In Christ's name. Amen.