A Glowing Gospel Community

Over the last ten years, I have noticed a trend. I notice it in many cemeteries, but only at night. I first started noticing the trend when I drove by the Pine Crest Cemetary in Bryant. The trend is called grave lighting.

When I first noticed grave lighting, a handful of lights were noticeable. Now, I drive by Pine Crest Cemetary, and many families opted for solar lighting for the grave of a loved one. It has become an option when you purchase the headstone. Grave lights help bring color and a spirit of hopefulness to a gravesite. If you think about it, the lights bring vibrancy in a place of death and darkness.

This trend started me thinking about the church’s mission, especially as we approach our Philippians passage this morning. Notice what Paul says in Philippians 2:14-15: “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.” The church is a shining light in a dark world full of hopelessness and death.

You could say we are grave lights. The church’s message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the only hope for this dark world that we live. Therefore, to impact the world, what do we have to do to be shining lights? What do we have to do to be a glowing gospel community?

According to Paul’s letter to the Philippians, a glowing gospel Community is determined by how church members relate to one another. Living in the gospel community has been the subject from verse twenty-seven of chapter one to verse eighteen of chapter two. It started with the general command in verse twenty-seven to live worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, followed by the specific command of standing firm in the unity of the Spirit.

In verses one through four, Paul gives specific directions for keeping the unity of the gospel community, followed by the command to be like Christ, which is supported by Christ’s example in verses five through eleven.

Verses twelve through eighteen of chapter two summarizes life in the gospel community: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absences, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 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 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.”

In answering the question about what it takes to be a glowing gospel community in a dark world, we need to recognize the imperatives in these verses. The imperatives reveal our responsibility in glowing bright the gospel light.

In verse twelve, the first imperative is “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” The second is in verse fourteen, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing. The third imperative is verse eighteen, “Likewise, you should be glad and rejoice with me.” These imperatives give us the framework for being a shining light in a dark world. First, we notice God empowers the church to be a glowing gospel community.

1. God empowers the church to be a glowing gospel community

When I say, God empowers I mean the glow of the gospel community is God-made, not man-made. The Lord’s presence in our lives is the source of the glow. However, the Christian must cooperate with the Lord for the light to shine bright in the darkness. Verse twelve reveals our responsibility as believers.

a. Our responsibility

Verse twelve, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but also in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Paul begins verse twelve with “therefore,” just like he did verse nine.

In verse nine, we have God the Father’s response to Christ obedience in verse eight. Notice verse eight, “And being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” How does God respond to Christ’s obedience? “Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” Verse twelve reveals the Christian response to Christ’s obedience, “as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

The believer’s response to Christ’s obedience must be consistent obedience. Paul described this obedience as “working out your own salvation.” Some people misunderstand this verse. Paul is not saying that we need to work for our salvation. Jesus worked for our salvation when he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. If we have trusted Jesus, we have salvation, and we need to work that salvation out in and through our lives.

Another way you can translate the command is “work out your sanctification with fear and trembling.” Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ in and through our lives. This is done through obedience, or as Paul put it, working out your salvation. We need to take this call seriously, that is why Paul says we must do it with fear and trembling. The call to live worthy of the gospel must not be taken lightly or casually. The witness of the gospel is dependent upon how the church lives out the gospel.

We are children of God and we must act like children of God. This comes through consistent obedience to the Lord, specifically in our relationships with one another in the church. It’s our responsibility to live out our salvation in our relationships with one another.

b. God’s empowerment

Here’s the good news. The obedience that God expects from us regarding our sanctification is made possible through his empowerment. We are commanded to “work out our own salvation,” and we can work it out because God works it in, “for it is God who work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God doesn’t do our work for us, but he provides the working power for us.

When we are in Christ, we are invaded by the Holy Spirit, and empowered to live the Christian life. You can’t work out your salvation if the Holy Spirit has not invaded your life because you haven’t experienced salvation. I love how the New Living Translation version translated verse thirteen, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” We glow when God is at work in us and we are working out what God is working in us. God empowers the church to be a glowing gospel community. Second, God empowers the church to resist attitudes and actions that dim the glow of the gospel community.

2. God empowers the church to resist attitudes and actions that dim the glow of the gospel community.

Verse fourteen gives the second set of imperatives, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing….” Paul is once again giving a specific application for community living and unity. You could say that Paul has gone from preaching to meddling at this point. The attitudes and actions of grumbling and disputing find their source in the selfish ambition and conceit of in verse three of chapter two.

Whenever there is disunity in a church, you will hear and see grumbling and disputing because these are the symptoms that breed disunity.

It is not a coincidence that this second set of imperatives follows verse thirteen. If God is working in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure, and we are working out what we are working in, it won’t come out in the form of grumbling or disputing.” That means, constantly criticizing and grumbling and disputing is not a spiritual gift. Therefore, we, God’s children, must resist these attitudes.

The word translated “grumbling’ speaks of behind the scenes talk, displeasure, complaint that is expressed in murmuring.

The word translated “disputing” speaks of verbal exchanges that take place when conflicting ideas are discussed.

Paul used the same word for “grumbling” in 1 Corinthians chapter ten when he used the example of the Israelites grumbling in the wilderness. Not that the Philippians's problem was the same as the Israelites, but to show that grumbling and disputing is not from God and doesn’t please God. God’s children are empowered to resist these divisive attitudes and actions.

In verses fifteen and sixteen he gives the purpose for resisting them, “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.”

The world needs to seed God, and it’s the responsibility of God’s children to reveal God in how we live our lives. We live in a dark world, that is characterized by grumbling, arguing, and bickering. The church must glow in this darkness, by resisting these attitudes and actions.

Why? We have the words of life, the gospel of Jesus Christ. If all the unbelieving world can see is the same attitudes they see in their world, in ours, they won’t hear or believe the gospel message.

A glowing gospel community is much like a incandescent light bulb. An incandescent light bulb glows when the filament in the light provides enough resistance to the electricity flowing through it that it becomes hot and begins to glow. When the church, empowered by God resists ungodly attitudes and actions we glow.

God empowers us to resist divisive attitudes that dim the glow of the gospel community. He also empower mutual gladness and joy in a glowing gospel community.

3. God empowers mutual gladness and joy in a glowing gospel community.

Verses seventeen and eighteen, “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.” Paul is referring to his situation in a Roman Prison, not sure if he would live, or be executed. He saw his service to the Lord as a sacrificial drink offering being poured out on their sacrificial service to the Lord. The Philippians service provided the sacrifice to be burned, and Paul’s service provided the drink offering.

Verse eighteen gives the imperatives, “Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” Paul's glad and is rejoicing because he is serving Christ and the church, and in the same manner the Philippians should, if they are living like little Christs, should be characterized by gladness and joy for serving Christ and others.

When the world sees gladness and joy from the church, not grumbling and complaining, they hear the words of life, and see the words of life.

The unbelieving world see spite and arguing, anger and hate, shouting cruel comments in their families.

They go to work and see cutthroat tactics and cattiness, underhandedness and deceit, crudeness and harassment.

When they come to church, they should see Jesus. They should see love and kindness, gladness and joy. They should see that we are God’s children because we give evidence of God’s life. When we glow and shine the light of God to a crooked and perverse word, people are drawn to God’s family, and the words of life.

This past Tuesday, we celebrated Maribeth’s twenty-first birthday. We chose the restaurant we took her to by using a social media app called Yelp. This particular app allows customers to rate their eating experiences. This particular restaurant had a four-star review. That’s considered a glowing review.

My prayer for Shepherd Hill is that we strive to be a glowing gospel community to a lost and unbelieving world by working out what God is working in, resisting attitudes and actions that could dim our light; a glowing community that is characterized by gladness and joy because God’s children are serving Christ and each other.

A pray we become a light for those who are walking in darkness and death, without any hope.