Sermon Tone Analysis

One of the signs of a troubled church is a spirit of bickering that leads to disunity.

Unfortunately it is a pox that plagues many churches today.

Fifteen-hundred years ago, a very wise Church Father named Augustine said: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.

This is good advise for the Body of Christ.

There are some things Christians must agree on, such as the Divinity of Jesus, the accuracy and authority of the Bible, and that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

If we don’t agree on those then we’ve got big problems.

Unity is not more important than doctrine.

But we should be as charitable as possible when disagreeing.

There are honest debates, for example, about how to interpret the Book of Revelation, and one can hold one of several views and still be an orthodox Christian.

There are many worship preferences (music, style, etc.) that we don’t need to agree on.

There is remarkably little guidance in the New Testament on how to conduct worship services, so a little flexibility should be in order.

The main thing is to never alter the message of the Gospel.

When we are united on the essentials, Christianity is incredible.

One of the things I’ve so appreciated about this congregation over the years is a real sense of unity among the brethren.

It hasn’t always been so.

ILLUS.

Conversation with Jewel Thomas.

For some weeks now, I’ve been preaching on the Pillars of Christian Character.

We’ve already examined four of those pillars: Faith, Obedience, Humility, and Love.

Unity is the fifth and there are five more to go.

The text I’ve chosen to develop this theme of unity as foundational to Christian character, comes from Philippians 2:5-11.

This passage give us one of the most exalted views of Christ in all the Scriptures.

It's theological scope is breathtaking.

What I find so interesting is that it was written because of a squabble between two women in the church at Philippi.

The incident that prompted Paul's writing of this letter and this passage in particular was a hostile rivalry that started as a private matter but soon affected an entire congregation.

/“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”/

(Philippians 4:2-3, NIV)

The church in Philippi was evidently taking sides behind these two contentious women.

Pride and stubbornness kept Eudoria and Syntyche from resolving their problems.

The result was that Jesus Christ, and His Lordship over that church, was eclipsed by the conflict.

Any sin, whether it be individual or corporate, that overshadows the glory of Christ in his church must be dealt with.

!

I. PAUL'S PLEA FOR UNITY AMONG THE BRETHREN

#. let me take a few moments to share with you the basics of Christian unity

#. unity in the local church is fundamental to the health of any local congregation

#. in verses 1-5 Paul lists four incentives for spiritual unity

!! A. THE FIRST INCENTIVE FOR UNITY IS OUR STATUS IN CHRIST

* v. 1a /"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,"/

#. we are united with Christ

#. we are not strangers united around a common purpose

#. we are family united around a common love interest the Lord Jesus Christ

#. our first incentive for unity is a vital and spiritual kinship, not just a common label

!! B. THE SECOND INCENTIVE FOR UNITY IS A BOND OF LOVE

* v. 1b /"If any comfort from his love,"/

#.

God loves us and if He loves us we ought to love each other

#. the world will know that we are the children of God not . . .

#. when we perform great signs and wonders . . .

#. when we preach in the power of the Spirit . . .

#. when we have theological unity . . .

#. when we have doctrinal conformity . . .

#. when we reach political congruity . . .

#. no, the world will know that we are the children of God when we love each other

!! C. THE THIRD INCENTIVE FOR UNITY IS A FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT

* v. 1c /"if any fellowship with the Spirit"/

#. when each believer in a local New Testament church is filled with the Spirit, there will be unity

#. the Holy Spirit is never a party to shady deals, insincerity, haughtiness, arrogant and condescension

#. our fellowship with the Spirit is proved by our fellowship with others in whom the Spirit dwells

!! D. THE FOURTH INCENTIVE FOR UNITY IS SPIRITUAL EMPATHY

* v. 1d /"if any tenderness and compassion,"/

#.

Paul is essentially saying, "Do you have a heart?

If so, listen to me."

#. those who name the name of Christ are the recipients of compassion and tenderness

#. the recipient of the grace of God should be able to express compassion and tenderness to others

#.

Paul wants these two ladies as well as the church to /"complete my joy by being of the same mind."/

#. this unity that Paul refers to does not mean that Euodia and Syntyche must see eye-to-eye on all points

#. to be of the same mind does not mean to agree completely on everything

#. it does mean adopting these four spiritual laws as the foundation of Christian fellowship

#. these two ladies were at each other's jugular vein

#. selfish ambition and vain conceit were posing a serious threat to the fellowship and ministry of this congregation

#. to counter these attitudes, Paul insists that their demeanor toward each other be grounded in the attitude and humility of Christ himself

!

II.

PAUL'S CORNERSTONE FOR UNITY AMONG THE BRETHREN

#. what is Paul's solution to this problem?

* /“not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.”/

(Philippians 2:4, ASV)

#. the Apostle does not mean that we are to covet or look desirously upon the things owned by those around us

#. he means that we are to look after the lives of those around us and desire the best for them

#. the antidote to the sin problem in this church is the right attitude

!! A. OUR ATTITUDES DETERMINE OUR BEHAVIORS

#.

Paul knew that the believer's mind is a battle ground of our life where we either win or loose the fight for practical Christian living in this world

#.

what you view with your eyes . . .

#. what you hear with your ears . . .

#. what you perceive with your other senses . . .

#. are all indelibly imprinted upon that great storehouse of information called the human brain

#.

all this information finds expression through what social scientists call attitudinal formation

#. attitudes are a culmination of our thoughts, perceptions, beliefs and feelings we hold toward our culture, events and even people

#. the sum total of our attitudes forms our world-view

#. our world-view ultimately affect our behavior

#. now, if all that seems confusing to you, listen to the way the writer of the Book of Proverbs puts it: /"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."/

#. the Scriptures affirm that the Christian’s attitudes determine our behavior in the church and in the world

#. this is why the Apostle Paul says in Phil.

2:5, /"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."/

#. the NIV says it this way: /"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."/

!! B. THE DISCIPLE'S MIND MUST BE CHRIST-CENTERED AND SPIRIT CONTROLLED

#. our goal is to imitate the incarnation

#. whoa-boy!

BIG challenge!

#. let this mind be in you Paul tells the Philippian believers

#. literally the phrase is, keep on thinking this in you

#. the implication is that the mind of Christ is something we are to regularly, consistently, daily strive to achieve

#. in verses 5-8 Jesus Christ is introduced as the exemplary illustration of the sort of mind we are to assume in our interpersonal relationships