Good News: The Gospel Makes Us Shine
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Philippians 2:14-18
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 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, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Many of you probably watched the presidential debate this past week, and to say the least it was a mess. I haven’t seen anyone, on either side of the political aisle, say that this debate served its purpose in trying to help the American people choose what candidate to vote for. There wasn’t much debate taking place. It was mostly just two guys arguing with each other, complaining about the job that that the other has done, and exchanging insults. Very few questions were answered, and very little clarity was gained. The consensus was that this exchange was an embarrassment to the American people.
Why? Because even those with a worldly perspective understand that this is not a proper way for people to act, especially those leading our country. Seeing grown men argue like children over a toy was a huge disappointment, and their attitudes left the American people feeling like no matter which candidate wins the election, America is hopeless.
I believe what we witnessed this week is a great example of why Paul instructed the Philippian church to do all things without grumbling and disputing. You see Paul told the Philippian church that they were to “shine as lights” in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. When Paul says we are to shine as lights, he is literally saying that we are to be shining like a star on earth.
The closest star to earth is our sun. The sun has a luminosity, that is the amount of light energy that comes from it surface, the sun has a luminosity 400 trillion trillion watts. I tried to do some math and see how many light bulbs that would be, but I don’t even know how many zeros would go on a trillion trillion. I know that 400 trillion trillion watts would be unbearably bright, and the sun is not even the most luminous star in the sky. So when Paul is telling them to shine as lights, he saying he wants them to shine and to shine brightly.
And Just like in the time Paul was writing this, we are living in a crooked and twisted generation. Crooked is a strong word in the Greek language. It’s the word skolios from which we get the medical term scoliosis, the sideways curvature of the spine, in this sense it refers to something that is immoral and dishonest. While twisted refers to something that is perverted or deviating from what is morally right and good. You don’t have to watch your TV very long too see that we indeed live in a very crooked and twisted generation. Evil is called good. Good is called evil. The moral principles given to us through Scripture are mocked and considered to be old fashioned. Hatred, murder, sexual promiscuity, drunkeness, pride - These sins, and many more that can fall under these categories are normalized and often celebrated in our culture. As a whole, our society is living in darkness. But I’ve got some good news: The gospel makes us shine. We, the true followers of Jesus Christ are called to be the light.
So how do we do this? In the midst of this dark world, how can we be the lights that God wants us to be? This morning, we are going to look at how are gospel centered life enables us to shine in darkness.
Transition: First, if we are going to shine as lights in the world, we must realize
Our Attitude Affects the Brightness Our Light
Our Attitude Affects the Brightness Our Light
Philippians 2:14
Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
Before Paul says we are to shine our lights, he warns us about grumbling and complaining. So what exactly is Paul talking about here?
The word used for grumbling is also translated as murmuring or muttering. The idea here is that of displeasure that is not openly spoken about. So this is private complaining that’s like spoken under someone’s breath. Then, disputing is when these complaints start to get vocal. In a literal sense this word means to talk through someone rather than talk to someone It’s arguing, debating, quarreling, contentiously questioning.
Now this seems like a strange command to put before shining as lights, but to understand Paul’s purpose, we have to look back at what we’ve been talking about before.
Remember, Back in Philippians 1:27 Paul gives the command to Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel. The following verse tell us how we are to live that life worthy of the gospel. United together in Christ for the sake of the gospel. At the beginning of chapter 2, being humble counting others more significant than ourselves. Looking on the interests of others and not only on your own. Then in verse 5, having the same attitude, the same mindset as Jesus Christ who was a humble, sacrificial servant.
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,
Then when we get down to verse Philippians 2:12 which we talked about last week, Paul challenges the Philippian church to workout their salvation by living in obedience to all these commands that he has given them.
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,
So when we get to verse Philippians 2:14 and he says do all things without grumbling and disputing, he is referring specifically to all the things that he has just mentioned. We are to be living a life worthy of the gospel, having the mind of Christ, working out our salvation - We are to do all these things without grumbling and disputing.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
As we said last week, the Christian life isn’t always the easiest to live. Pursuing holiness, giving generously, loving all people, serving others, showing hospitality, humbling ourselves, sharing the gospel, discipling others. It’s a lot.
And I’m sure that you can agree with me on this, sometimes we complain about what God asks of us as we live for Him. “Ugh, it’s my week to serve in the nursery already.” They want me to get up early, on my off day and come to church and on top of the attend growth group on Wednesday?” Doesn’t the pastor know how busy I am?” “Do I really have to live holy all the time? I’m just trying to have one night out getting drunk with my buddies, why doesn’t God let us have any fun?” - You get the picture, we are often tempted to complain about living out the gospel we claim to believe.Sometimes it’s quietly to ourselves. Other times it rises to the level of vocalizing our discontent to others.
I know it’s not easy to live worthy of the gospel. That’s why Paul says it is a workout.
You ever worked out with someone, or maybe you are the someone. And all they did the entire workout was complain? I’m tired, this is too hard, this is too heavy, why are you making me do this - blah blah blah. The whole time, whining about the workout. It’s never enjoyable working out with someone that’s going to complain the whole time.
You see the opposite of the grumbling and disputing is joy. And whether you are vocal about it or not, people can tell if you truly enjoy living the Christian life. If you are constantly grumbling and disputing it’s going to keep you from shining your light. Saved and unsaved alike are going to know how you truly feel about following Jesus.
But what we have to realize is that when we have this negative attitude, we are saying God you are not good! God you put me in a bad situation! God you don’t love me! God you won’t let me relax and have fun! - Even if we are not saying that out loud or even in our minds, our heart attitude is saying God, this ain’t working for me, you need to do something better. And God takes offense to that.
The best example of how God responds to our complaining is Israel in the wilderness. God had delivered them and was leading them to the Promised land, but they had to go through the wilderness where they constantly complained. Numbers 14:2 says
And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
Numbers 14:26-27
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.
Now, When they grumbled it wasn’t against God, it was against Moses and Aaron. But God says that their grumbling was against Him. So just realize that even when we have a gripe about a person or circumstances and not necessarily towards God, God has placed you in the situation that you are in, and if we grumble about it we are saying that God doesn’t know what He is doing. If you as a Christian are going to grumble about what God is doing with your life, why would any unsaved person want to be a part of that?
So when he says Do all things without grumbling and disputing. It literally means all things. It encompasses all the things that calls us to do at home, work, school, church, marriage, parenting, friendship, and leisure. There’s no PTO for being a Christian, our lights are to be constantly shining. But when we grumble, complain, dispute, to other believers or those outside of the church, it dims our light and it turns the world off form what following Christ is all about.
In verse Philippians 2:15 Paul says that if we have this joyful attitude as we serve Jesus, it will make us blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish. Now these words don’t mean that we are sinless, but that we are free from guilt. It’s describing someone who seeks to avoid sin.
To me, this is another interesting statement. I mean, we could probably think of a lot worse sins than grumbling and disputing, so why would Paul single out the elimination of grumbling and disputing as something that could make us blameless and innocent?
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,
Think of it like this. Is it easier for you not to murder or not to complain? Is it easier for you not to commit adultery or not complain? Is it easier not to steal or not to complain? Consider what the Bible says in James 3:2
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Complaining is one of those sings of the tongue, and as the verse says, “If you can control your tongue, you can control your whole body.” The implication here is that the hardest sins for us to overcome are going to be sins that have to do with things that we say. If you can keep your mouth from spurting out things that it shouldn’t you can control your whole body.
You see this negative spirit is a constant temptation because there are constantly things that are not going our way. People are going to disappoint us. We experience frequent inconveniences. And our default setting is grumbling and complaining It’s so easy to fall prey to a negative attitude. It’s often something that we do without even thinking about it. For us it’s not a big deal, because everyone does it. But that does not make it any less displeasing to God. But if we can train ourselves to maintain joy in the midst of adversity. Our light is going to shine as bright.
Don’t be a spiritual Karen....for the older generation that’s the generic name given to the lady that’s always upset and wants to see the manager so she can complain.
Our attitude is going affect how brightly our light shines.
Transition: Second thing I want to point of this morning is this.
The Gospel Powers Our Light
The Gospel Powers Our Light
Now look at this passage again Philippians 2:14-16
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 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, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
I’m going to get a little grammatical here. That phrase holding fast to the word of life is what is called a circumstantial participle. It tells the circumstances or condition under which an action can take place. So the condition under which we can do all things without grumbling and disputing, and shine as lights in the world is if we are holding fast to the world of life. And the word of life that Paul is referring to here is none other than the Word or the message that gives us life- gospel of Jesus Christ.
When we as Christian lose sight of the gospel, when we don’t keep at the forefront of our hearts and minds the sacrifice that Jesus made for us to purchase our salvation it’s easy for us to start to grumble and dispute. We have to keep in mind everything that we have been given through the gospel of Christ. Just in the verses that we’ve studied in Philippians so far we’ve seen.
God promises that He will complete His work in us Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
We learn that out setbacks can be used for God’s glory Philippians 1:12
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
We know that end, will be gain Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
From Philippians 2:9-11 We know that the pain of obedience will be met with the praise of God.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
And we learn that we don’t have to live this life on our own. God is working in us as we work out our salvation Philippians 2:12-13
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, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
And these are just highlights from 42 verses of Scripture. We have an entire Bible filled with promises of God.
The gospel gives us no reason to complain. We have to remember that even in the worst of circumstances we are far better off than we deserve. As it say in verse 15, we are a children of God. And as God’s children there is an inheritance waiting for us.
What if I told you that you inherited this $30 million estate, and everything that went along with it. The house, cars, boats, staff - All of it was yours. All you had to do was drive there and claim it. But just one mile away from your new estate, your car breaks down forcing you to walk the rest of the way. Wouldn’t it be foolish for us to grumble, complain, and get all up in arms when every earthling thing that we want is only a 1 mile walk away? We would call that person a spoiled brat if they were throwing a fit because they had had to walk 1 mile to claim a $30 estate.
Hey church, we are only a mile away. There’s an inheritance waiting for us in heaven. We are going to spend in eternity with Jesus in heaven. Jesus has done all the work. He’s already given His life. All we must do is trust and obey during our time on earth. What reason do we have to complain as walk the last mile?
We must hold fast to the gospel, for it gives us life. But when the Bible says hold fast to the word of life, it’s not just saying keep a tight hold on it for yourself. It is also implicated that we need to extending the gospel to others. Paul is calling for us to not be a proclaiming church instead of a complaining church. Allowing our lights to shine by not grumbling and complaining gives us a platform, but we still must be faithful to speak the gospel to others as well.
So we must hold fast the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. Allow it to remind you God’s goodness and mercy towards you, and be willing to share it with others as God gives you opportunity.
Transition: Our attitude affects the brightness of our light, The gospel if the power of out light. Here’s the third truth I want to point out this morning.
Life’s Greatest Investment Is Our Light
Life’s Greatest Investment Is Our Light
Look again at verse Philippians 2:16
holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Paul encouraged these believers to hold fast to the gospel because he didn’t want the investment that he made into their lives to be a waste of time. Rather, he wanted to be proud at the day of Christ when he stood before God. Now the pride here is not talking about Paul boasting in himself or what amazing things he had done. Paul’s pride was in the work that God had done in the truth through him. Paul made it clear that we have no reason to boast except for in the work that God has done in Galatians 6:14
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
But at the same time, Paul took great joy in the fact that he was able to invest his life into others with hard work as a result of God’s grace working in him.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
I believe everyone in this room can think of somebody right now that has invested into their spiritual lives. Parents, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, pastors, a godly friend. Someone that poured their lives into you spiritually. Would that person say they wasted their investment on you? Paul says if you guys are going to grumble and dispute instead of holding fast to the gospel. I wasted my time. And if we are going to let anything dim our light and take away our platform to share the gospel we have wasted the time of those that invested in us spiritually, and we are wasting our time right now.
Seeing those that he invested in hold fast to the gospel was his greatest joy. Look in verse Philippians 2:17
Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Remember Paul is in prison at this time. He isn’t sure if he is going to live or die. But he says, even if he dies. Even if his life becomes a sacrificial offering he is going to rejoice in what God is doing in and through the church.
Paul isn’t complaining about being in prison, he isn’t complaining that he might end up being killed for spreading the gospel. He would still have joy if his life was ended because he was advancing the gospel. And then Paul says in Philippians 2:18
Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Back at the end of chapter 1, Paul says that he is ready to die. He said Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
If Paul died advancing the gospel, so be it. He lived his life investing in what mattered most, and was going to be with Jesus. So Paul says if I die for the sake of the gospel, you all should rejoice with me because I have fulfilled the purpose that God had for me. I left nothing on the table. Rejoice with me that I finally get to enter into my rest and be with my Savior.You see in life and in death, it was all about the gospel for Paul. And the same should be true for us.
What is life’s greatest joy for you? What is your greatest investment. If it’s not holding fast to the word of life. Living and proclaiming the gospel what are we doing? There’s no way we are going to have the attitude of Paul that says if I die, it’s OK. Because I know I invested my life advancing the gospel. I was doing the Father’s will. There’s no time to complain about anything here on earth because the worst that could happen is also the best that could happen. If I die, I’ll be with Jesus.
Paul had truly adopted the attitude of Christ in this area. I don’t have time to read the entire chapter this morning, but read Isaiah 53 when you get a chance. But in particular look at verse Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
It was the Father’s will for Jesus to lay down His life for us on the cross. Yet, he didn’t grumble. He didn’t complain. He didn’t dispute. He willingly did His Father’s will.
And I think this is important to mention. Jesus teaches us how we can express discontent without complaining. Remember Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying before He was betrayed. He asks God that if there was some other way than going to the cross that He would rather go that route. The cross was not going to be a pleasant experience. But he didn’t complain. He didn’t grumble. He didn’t dispute God and say why do I have to go to the cross! Most of these people are going to reject me anyway! That wasn’t His attitude. He said Not my will, but thine. His greatest joy was to do the will of the Father, even if that meant He had to go through adversity.
Church there will be times when God has you in a situation that’s not comfortable or pleasant. Will you complain or will you be like Jesus. If holding fast to the gospel is our greatest joy, if letting our light shine before others is our greatest investment. We can say you know what God, I don’t like this. But not my will, but yours. Following you is my greatest joy.
If you missed everything I said this morning get this one statement.
A ministry of joy makes a difference in darkness.
A ministry of joy makes a difference in darkness.
A passage you are probably familiar with is Matthew 5:14-16 which says
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. 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.
But the proceeding thought before this passage says Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So when you read the light of the world passage in context, it’s saying that having joy in times of adversity. Not grumbling or disputing when you are going through difficulty. Maintaining that attitude of joy. That’s what makes you shine in darkness. The believer who does not have joy as he serves Christ is like a person who lights a lamp and hides under a basket.
Church, we need to do all things with joy instead of grumbling or disputing, so that our light can shine bright. So we can live a life that’s worthy of the gospel, and work out the salvation that he has given us. How do we do that? We must have the mind of Christ, who gave up everything with no complaint because His greatest joy was to do His Father’s will.
Just as a practical step. I want to challenge you to have a complain counter. Now you could do this yourself, but I think that we often complain without even realizing. Have someone like your husband or wife, or a friend that you are close to keep you accountable. Anytime you start to complain, let that person stop you and keep a count. We must learn to be able to express a grievance or discontent without complaining. Here’s how this is defined from a psychology standpoint. Complaining repetitive expression of struggle and blame, with an absence of consideration of others or potential solutions. So you are saying things that are making you upset blaming others and with no solution in mind.
The healthy way to express discontent is “sincere expression of difficulty with a genuine desire to resolve it, or at least, rise above it”. and I would add to that, keeping in mind God’s purpose for this situation. Other people watch how you respond in adversity. Let your light shine and give yourself an opportunity to glorify God as you have joy no matter the situation.
This message has been mostly directed towards believers, but if you are listening this morning and you don’t know Christ. I want to encourage you to come to Him today. As we’ve already said this morning. Jesus laid down His life and rose from the grave that you may have eternal life . If you reject God today, you will have no reason to complain when you stand before God in judgement and He says I never knew you, and you spend eternity separated from God in hell. You will have no excuse because you have heard the gospel. I urge you to respond to God’s call today.