Scripture:
Philippians 2:14-16
Do
all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove
yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in
the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of
Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in
vain.
Insights: After God has done a work IN us, we
are now able, in His power, to let God work OUT OF us in this world. Paul starts off with some negative issues
that were a part of the Philippian church.
They had a group of grumblers and disputers in their midst. These individuals ran in vain seeking to have
their own will and way. So, Paul
instructs us to not live that sort of life and proceeds to give us a fivefold
method to live life out of joy. Paul
often times uses the technique found in these verses today. He starts with the end product and leads us
to the beginning point. So, let me
reverse the order and start where it begins and bring it to the proper
conclusion. Step one, hold fast to the
world of life. I know I sound like a
broken record when it comes to this issue, but it is because the Bible itself
is so dogmatic regarding it. We
absolutely must have time EVERY DAY in God’s Word. If we don’t spend time in His Word, we are
not able to do the rest of these four steps.
We need a hunger for God’s Word.
After we have received instruction from the Bible, we are able to do
step two, live a life above reproach. In
other words, our actions, even when we are by ourselves match what we claim to
believe. Because we are living lives
above reproach, we are then identified with the third step, which is our
innocence. We don’t have to experience
sin first hand to know that something is sinful. Because God’s Word tells us it is sinful and
because we are living a life above reproach we can remain innocent of the sin
by drawing near to God and refusing to sin.
When we do that we are living an innocent life, which leads to the
fourth step, our blamelessness. In other
words, we are now, because of God’s work IN us, blameless before God. From that standpoint we are now equipped to
do the last step, living as lights in the world.
Questions:
- Is your life characterized by the negative aspects of
these verses?
- Does your life follow the cyclical pattern Paul
described that leads to joy?
Prayer: Father, forgive
me for the times in which I am a grumbler, disputer and one running in vain for
the pleasures of my heart. May my life
be characterized by Your attributes and let me know perfect joy. Amen.
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