Sermon Manuscript

Philippians 2:14-16; How To Do Everything You Do ~ 20240211 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

02/11 Philippians 2:14-16; How To Do Everything You Do; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240211_philippians-2_14-16.mp3

Paul gets very practical in this passage and tells us exactly what it looks like for us to walk in gospel unity, and what it does not look like.

Exhortation to Gospel Unity

At the end of chapter 1 he exhorted us that we are to ‘let our manner of life be worthy of, or congruent to, in line with, fitting the gospel of Christ. He said that walking consistent with the gospel looks like ‘standing firm in one Spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel’. It looks like gospel fearlessness in the face of opposition. It looks not only like believing in Jesus, but also suffering together for the sake of his name. A gospel shaped life looks like gospel unity among God’s people. In chapter 2 he continues the exhortation to ‘be of the same mind, have the same love, be in full accord and of one mind’; ‘in humility count others more significant than yourselves,’ and he holds up Jesus, who although eternally existing as God, equal to his Father, he humbled himself by his voluntary submission to his Father. Jesus is now exalted by his Father as Lord of all, to whom we owe our full allegiance.

‘Therefore,’ (2:12) in response to this, we are to continue in our obedience to the faith, living consistent with the gospel, working out this salvation that God worked in us with fear and trembling.

Live consistent with your obedience to the gospel; work out your own salvation; work out your blood-bought gospel unity as believers in Jesus, with reverential awe and fear of the Lord, because God initiated this work; he works it into you both to desire and to do, both to purpose and to carry it out, according to his own good and sovereign will.

How? What does this walking in gospel unity actually look like? What does this working out together our salvation look like? What does it not look like?

God’s Will and How We Do What We Do

It doesn’t always matter what you do, but it always matters how you do what you do. What is God’s will for my life? Should I go to college? What degree should I pursue? What carreer path? Should I take this job, or that one? Should I live here or there? It doesn’t’ really matter. It doesn’t really matter if you earn a PhD and work as a neurosurgeon, or you flip burgers; but it matters greatly how you do those things; it matters how you do whatever you do.

Here is one of the most clear statements on the will of God for your life; are you ready? It’s in 1 Thessalonians 5.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

What is God’s will for my life? Rejoice, pray, give thanks in all circumstances. Find joy in every circumstance, live in constant dependence on and communication with God, thanking him always in every circumstance. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Notice God’s will is not so much what you do as how you do it? With joy, in humble dependence, with thankfulness. That’s a positive statement of what gospel unity looks like.

What Gospel Unity Does Not Look Like

Here in Philippians 2:14, Paul starts with what gospel unity does not look like. He gives us some things to avoid that would disrupt and destabilize gospel unity among believers. And he is focused not on what we do or don’t do, but on how we do everything we do.

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

Do all things without grumbling or disputing. He just got done saying that we are to work out that which God has worked in us; now he tells us how to do everything we do. Everything you do, do it all apart from grumbling and disputing. Notice, these two things don’t make much sense if he is focusing on our individual personal salvation. He is continuing his focus on gospel unity among believers. We might be able to grumble on our own, but usually we grumble to others. And it’s difficult to dispute with only yourself. These things relate primarily with how believers interact with one another.

Grumbling [γογγυσμός]

In John 7, ‘There was much muttering [grumbling] about Jesus among the people.’ People disagreed (and still do today) about Jesus. In Acts 6, there was a complaint or grumbling by the Greek speaking Jews against the Hebrew speaking Jews about favoritism. Acts 6 is where Deacons were appointed settle these disputes. In 1 Peter 4, Peter says:

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Sinners, even forgiven ones, sin against others. Love covers a mulitude of sin. Peter instructs us to show hospitality without grumbling. This reminds me of Martha in Luke 10,

Luke 10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The word grumbling is not used in this account, but I think it would be an accurate description of how Mary was extending hospitality. What she was doing was a good thing; it was her attitude while doing it that was a problem, so much so that she grumbled to the Lord; “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” She accused the Lord of not caring. She called attention to her serving. She told the Lord what he ought to say to her lazy sister. She was serving, and that is a good thing, but she was distracted with much serving. It kept her from listening, which led to irritability, grumbling against the Lord, telling him what he ought to do. Do you see how serious grumbling is? Grumbling may be against one another, against neighbors, against leaders, but ultimately all grumbling is grumbling against God.

Disputing [διαλογισμός]

‘Do all things without grumbling or disputing.’ In Mark 7, Jesus

Mark 7:20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts [disputing], sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Jesus doesn’t start his list with murder or sexual immorality; he starts his list with evil thoughts, evil disputes. Sin starts within. Evil thoughts; the internal dialogue we carry on. But it quickly leaks out in a toxic spill of words or worse. Disputes defile us.

Immediately after Jesus told his disciples that he would be betrayed into the hands of men,

Luke 9:46 An argument [dispute] arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.

Do you see how self-seeking they were? Jesus says something really important, and they completely miss it. The text says ‘they did not understand this saying; it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it.’ But it was hidden right out in plain sight; Jesus said it out loud, but they missed it because they were so inward focused.

Paul warns in Romans 14, when talking about what we might call the gray areas of right and wrong; matters of conscience; what you eat or abstain from eating, what you drink or abstain from drinking, what days you observe or don’t observe;

Romans 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel [dispute] over opinions.

He says ‘each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (14:5), but we should not judge or look down on those who hold a different opinion, and we shouldn’t waste time quarreling or disputing over these matters of conscience. There’s plenty that is black and white that we need to pay closer attention to.

Grumbling and disputing are sins against unity, sins against the community. They are opposed to Christlike humility, because they are motivated by pride and self-seeking. They are opposed to the blood bought unity we have been given in the gospel.

Blameless, Innocent, without Blemish

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish...

How you do everything you do matters. Our attitudes matter. If we live free from grumbling and disputing, that will be a radical testimony to the contentious self-seeking tear each other down world around us.

The purpose of doing all that we do without grumbling or disputing, is ‘that we will be blameless, innocent, without blemish’; irreproachable, untainted, unblemished.

Remember, this is how we work out the salvation that God has worked in us, how we live consistent with the gospel. We are not cleaning ourselves up to make ourselves presentable to God; he washes us clean in the blood of Jesus, he releases us from the debt of our sins because the price was paid at the cross, his wrath was satisfied in Jesus’ suffering and now he counts us righteous in Christ. That is what is true of us because of the gospel. But the good news makes us new, gives us a new heart, new desires, desires to please the good God who humbled himself to rescue us. We do not work for our salvation; we work from our salvation, and we work it out in seeking to live consistent with the gospel. If we truly understand what we as sinners deserve, and what has been given us freely in Jesus, we have no reason to grumble, and rather than disputing, we ought to be worshiping together with one another.

Children of God in a Crooked and Twisted Generation

He calls us ‘children of God’

Philippians 2:14 ...children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, ...

John tells us that ‘all who receive Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born... of God.’ (Jn.1:12-13). Paul tells us

Romans 8:15 ...you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Adopted children. Adopted into the family. Made co-heirs with Christ. John says:

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. ...

What love! What a gift! What a high and holy privilege! To be adopted, called sons of God. If that is our new gospel identity in Christ, we ought to seek to live consistent with this gospel reality. We ought to conduct ourselves in a way that suits our identity as children of God.

Shining as Lights in the World

Philippians 2:14 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...

Paul contrasts believers who seek to live consistent with the gospel, with this crooked and twisted generation. He draws his language here from Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32 contrasts God whose ways are perfect with his people;

Deuteronomy 32:5 They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation. 6 Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

This is the passage where he says

Deuteronomy 32:21 They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

In Deuteronomy the crooked and twisted generation are God’s own chosen but rebellious people who are acting inconsistent with their high and holy calling, living like the world. Here Paul calls the Philippians to stand out from the crooked and twisted world around them by their gospel shaped integrity.

He says they will shine like lights in the world. This is exactly what Jesus calls us to;

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Paul follows Jesus, who calls us to let our light shine in such a way that people see us working out our salvation so it is clear that it is God who is working in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure. We together, living in gospel unity, shine in such a way that the world begins to see the glory of God on display in his blood-bought community, the church.

Hold Fast to the Word of Life

How do we shine in the world? By holding fast to the word of life. By holding securely to the word and holding up the word for all to see. Hold fast to the word that was preached to you, the truth of the good news. Hold tightly to the Word who was with God and who was himself God, who became flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Abide in the Word, let his word abide in you, and you will bear much fruit, you will shine.

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2024.01.11 Sermon Notes

Philippians 2:14-16; How To Do Everything You Do

It doesn’t always matter what you do, but it always matters how you do what you do

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Philippians 2:14

Do everything you do without grumbling

John 7:12; Acts 6:1; 1 Peter 4:8-9; Luke 10:38-42

Do everything you do without disputing

Mark 7:20-23; Luke 9:44-47; Romans 1:1

Purpose: that you may be blameless and innocent

Philippians 2:15

Live consistent with your gospel identity as adopted children of God

John 1:12-13; Romans 8:15-17; 1 John 3:1

Contrast with this crooked and twisted generation

Deuteronomy 32:5-6, 21

Let your light shine in this way; that they see God at work in us

Matthew 5:14-16

Hold fast to the Word of Life

1 Corinthians 15:1-2; John 1:1-5, 14; 15:5, 7

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org