Philippians 2:1-4 ESV
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Sometimes we have to make concessions (compromises) with
other people. We have to work with various people who have differing schedules
and opinions on matters that are not foundational to our Christian faith. Yet,
we should never make compromises on the essentials of our faith and doctrine
and practice. But, sometimes we will have to all work together to make
something work, and it will require all of us to bend some here or there.
So, the point here is not that we all have to think alike on
every issue, but that we need to be likeminded with Christ on the essentials of
our faith and practice. This includes us not being selfish and demanding our
own way, but it involves all of us being willing to work with others towards
unity, peace and harmony, as long as working toward peace and harmony does not
mean compromising the foundations of our Christian faith and practice.
Philippians 2:5-11
ESV
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God, but he is God (See
John 1). Thus, God (the Son) left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on
human form, and was born as a baby to a human mother. When he lived on this
earth, he was fully God yet fully man (human). While on this earth, he suffered
like we suffer, and he was tempted to sin in like manner as we are also
tempted, yet without sin. So, he can sympathize with us and help us in our
weaknesses.
While on this earth, during his time of ministry, he healed
the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons,
comforted the sorrowful, fed the hungry, and performed miracle after miracle. He
also preached repentance and obedience for salvation of sin and eternal life
with God in heaven. And, he showed people the way to his righteousness.
He was loved by some, but hated by many. He had a large
following at the beginning, but a lot of that was people seeking after the
miracles and having their bellies filled. But, when he taught them the hard
stuff, and he explained to them the cost of following him, many deserted him
never to return to him again, because they said his teaching was too hard.
Thus, they hung him on a cross to die, as though he was a
common criminal when he did no wrong, but he only did the will of the Father in
heaven. But, it was God’s will that he should suffer in this way, for in his
death he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. In
his death he put our sin to death so that we might die with him to sin and live
with him to righteousness. And, he called for us to die with him to sin and to
follow him in obedience if we wanted to be his disciples (Lu. 9:23-25; cf. Rom.
8:1-17).
The Same Attitude
So, if we have the same attitude as Jesus did, then we
should, too, be willing to be of no reputation, and we should be willing to
humble ourselves and be willing to lay our lives down on the line in order to
see others be free from their slavery to sin, and to be able to walk in
obedience to their Lord.
We should not shy away from declaring the true gospel to people
so that they can be saved from their sins and have eternal life with God. And,
we should not worry about how people are going to respond to us, or if they
will reject us or mistreat us in return. We need to care more about them and
their needs than we care about what others do to us or say about us.
For, when we do share the truth of the gospel, many people
are not going to like us, and they will reject us, and they may even verbally
attack us or gossip about us or even slander us. And, these people who do this
may not be non-Christians, either, but they may be those within the church who
claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and even some of them may be pastors and
elders and deacons, too. For, it was the religious rulers in the temple of God
who persecuted and who killed Jesus.
But, we must be willing to suffer such persecution for the
sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in order to see people set free from
their slavery to sin. And, in this way, we are having within ourselves the same
attitude as Christ Jesus did when he emptied himself and became a man and he
suffered persecution and then death because he told people the truth.
Philippians 2:12-13
ESV
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
This is where a lot of people get hung up or they get
confused. They think that God’s grace means that God does it all and nothing is
required of us. But, that is not what his grace means. Yes! We can do nothing
to earn or to deserve our own salvation. We are not saved by our own works.
But, works of the Spirit, planned out for us before God even created the world,
are part of believing faith in Jesus Christ (1 Co. 6:20; Tit. 2:14; Eph. 2:10).
A lot of people want to separate grace and faith, but they
are married together, for it is by God’s grace, through God-given faith in
Jesus Christ, that we are saved from our bondage to sin and are set free to
walk in obedience to our Lord.
Yes! None of us come to faith in Jesus Christ unless the
Father first draws us to Him. And, it is the working of the Holy Spirit which
turns us from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that we
can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in
Jesus Christ (See: Ac. 26:16-18; Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).
But, Jesus’ purpose in dying for our sins was so that we
might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. And, scripture
teaches us that it is those who are walking in the Light, and by the Spirit,
who have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. So, we do have a part,
and that part is faith, but that faith is not just emotion, but it is a change
in lifestyle. It is us dying to sin and self and living to God and to his righteousness
day by day, empowered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
So, our faith is action, and it is repentance and obedience,
for it is God-given, and thus it submits to Jesus Christ as Lord. And, it can’t
be separated from God’s grace which instructs us to say “No” to ungodliness and
worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we
await Christ’s soon return (Tit. 2:11-14). The two go hand-in-hand.
Yes, it is God working in us, but we have to work, too, in
submission to our Lord in accordance with his will and his good pleasure, but
empowered of the Spirit of God, and not in our own flesh. And, we do have to
obey our Lord, and we do have to leave our sinful lifestyles behind us, too, if
we want to have the hope of eternal life with God. And, when we teach this,
which is what Jesus taught, then we need to be prepared to suffer as he
suffered, too, but all for the glory of God and for the salvation of human
lives.
The
Old Rugged Cross
Words
and music by George Bennard, 1913
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
*Copyright
status is Public Domain
Saturday, July 13, 2019
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