May 8, 2010

Series on Philippians #20

You are NOT Alone! (a Review)


We are not going to go long tonight. This is the last in a series of messages from the book of Philippians. So, I want to hit what I think is one of the key elements of this letter then move into the conclusion and then we’re out.

Let’s pray…

Since this is the end of the series on Philippians, I was going to do a quick review of the “Greatest hits” from the letter.

But then when I started pouring over it, I couldn’t find anything to cut and I would have ended up going over the entire letter. There is too much good material.

Instead I am going to review what I think is a key theme that we find throughout, and that theme is fellowship, or partnership in the Gospel.

Over and over Paul uses his words to gather the people together like a sheep dog would to a flock.

And he begins by providing a basis for the fellowship. Right from the start, He reminds the Philippians that they have an identity that is in Christ. And nothing else.
While they came from many different social and economic and religious backgrounds; the thing that brings all the church together is Jesus.

This tells us that there is no place in the Kingdom for a white church or a black church, for a poor church and a rich church, for a blue collar and white collar church, or for a democratic and republican church.
No! It is The Church. Let’s read 1:1 as a reminder


Paul says the glue for the church is Jesus. We as believers are to set aside ALL other identification to a secondary position – I’m not saying get rid of it — but it need to be secondary. Any other distinctive in you and in me has to take a place in line AFTER our identification as believers in the risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

In other words, you can be a democrat or a republican or a libertarian — or a cop or an ex-con — or a factory worker or a teacher — or a musician or a painter, or a physicist or a banker. Or a parent or a... But when the world sees you they should FIRST see you as a Christian.

And Paul makes it clear, that isn’t going to happen. The world won’t see you or me as a Christian unless we see OURSELVES that way first.

So this letter starts off by reminding us, from greatest to the least we are servants of Christ AND Saints in Christ.

People will see us as Christians; we will more fully shine the light of God’s glory into the darkness, only when we take on that servant attitude of our Lord.

When we stop trying to fight for our rights and start investing that same energy into helping our neighbors and relying on God to keep us in His hands. This takes us back to Jesus who washed the nasty mud and dung-covered feet of His disciples and then told them, now you go and do the same for others.

And it doesn’t stop with servant attitudes. We also need to see ourselves as saints. To do that we might need to throw away all the religious baggage that the word Saint has with it.
Biblically – not religiously sainthood is our position AS SOON AS we come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

It has nothing to do with your good works or mine; it has nothing to do with miracles that you preformed. It doesn’t take a vote from a group of other men. That mindset is antithetical to the BIBLE.

Sainthood is not about what you have done; it is all about what Jesus did for you. When God the Father looks down and sees you if you are a believer, He sees a saint. Used to see a sinner. Now He sees a saint. Why?

Because of the cross of Christ! Because at the cross, Jesus took the sin that kept you and me far from God and in that gracious transaction, He covered us in His righteousness. The Bible says it like this in Isaiah 61:10:


He did it. And it is done. If you are a believer, you are a Saint. Don’t work to hopefully get a far off sainthood. Live and breathe and identify in the Sainthood that Jesus already gave you through the cross. Amen?

Okay that’s just the first verse of the letter. See why we couldn’t review the whole thing tonight? It was important to get this identity piece because – again – that’s keeps the fellowship together.

Now, lets go through and hit and quickly unpack some areas where Paul fleshes out this fellowship in Christ.

First Paul is grateful for the fellowship:

Next Paul carefully ties our fellowship to our effectiveness as Christ’s ambassadors in the world.




2:14-15:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you (you individually and collectively) may become (Become here is actually the Greek word ginomai, better English translation would be appear or show oneself to be…) blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Then Paul defends the fellowship against false teachers by stressing the need for sound doctrine:
3:2-3: 2 Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (After this Paul lists a long resume of worldly and humanistic reasons for confidence and then says it all amounts to a pile of crap in comparison to what he holds to now – the greatness of Jesus).

(Then skip down to vv 17-18)

Then he addresses an inner-church conflict by encouraging fellowship and Christ centered partnership


Finally, Paul writes a reminder for us to support one another and the Kingdom Mission with our Time, Talent, and Treasure; with EVERYTHING we have


With all of that said, I can still think of a million things we have to leave out for the sake of time.

The NOTES for every sermon are posted online at churchinthegrasssermons.blogspot.com. If you want a more thorough review, go there.

With all of that incredible instruction, encouragement and correction from Paul behind us, we now close the series with the last three verses And here’s what we’re going to see,

Paul is going to beautifully leave us by once again connecting us individually and as a body of believers to the common bond of Jesus Christ, and he begins by reminding us of the ULTIMATE reason for our fellowship, the ULTIMATE reason for our love, The ULTIMATE reason that we share the Gospel with the lost and the ULTIMATE reason that God saved sinners like you and me…

IT was and is and will forever be, for His glory:


One thing I haven’t addressed tonight, is what’s this letter mean for the non-believer?
I hope this letter and this review has given a glimpse of what the Christian life is Biblically supposed to be like.

Paul clearly and deliberately laid out life in Christ. He answered the question that my old pastor in Ohio used to ask all the time, “You’re saved, Now what are you going to do with that?”

The answer is, we believers are now called to live lives that are worthy of the Gospel by serving and loving and forgiving and being patient with other believers in order to show a glimpse of God’s great grace, love and compassion to the world.

It is a calling that is worth any cost. And in the moments that we are actually living out this Biblical design, we find it is a calling that provides an avenue to a greater freedom and joy than we have ever found anywhere else.

That’s what we invite you to join.
Let’s Pray…
Join in communion…
Posted by